Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924054703792 ENCYCLOPJiDIA OF AGRICULTURE: COMTKISINQ THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE VALUATION, TEANSFBB, LAYING OOT, IMPKOVEMENT, AND MANAGEMENT OF LANDED PROPERTY, AND OF THE CULTIVATION AND ECONOMY OF THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF AGEICULTUEE, INCLUDING ^U tjbe latest Smprobements ; ■ *" ■ . A GENERAL HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE IN ALL COUNTRIES; A STATISTICAL YIEW OF ITS PRESENT STATE, WITH SUGGESTIONS FOK ITS FUTURE PROGRESS, IN THE BRITISH ISLES; AND SUPPLEMENTS BRINOIKO DOWN THE WORK TO THE YEAR 1844. BY J. C. LOUDON, F. L. G. Z. & H. S. &c. AUTHOH or THE ENCrCLOF^DlA OF GAKDENING, t:TC. SIXTH EDITION. ILLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF TWELVE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, BY BRANSTON. LONDON : LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1866. LONDON PRINTED BY BPOTTISWOODE AND 00. NEW-STBEET BQDARB PREFACE. The subject of Agriculture admits of two grand divisions; the improvement and general management of landed property, which may be termed Territorial Economy i and the cultivation and treatment uf its more useful animal and vegetable productions, which are called HuAandry, or jtgrictdiure in a more limited sense of the term. Numerous as have been the publications on rural matters during the last twenty years, there are but two or three of them whose titles might lead to a supposition that they embraced both of these departments. That none of tliem did embrace both, however, previously to the appearance of this encyclopaedia, may be confidently afHniied. This work, which is termed an Encydoptedia of Agriculture, on account of its superior comprehensiveness, though in part an original composition from the author's practical experience and observation, is yet chiefly a compilation from books. It professes to embrace every part of the subject ; and, what has never hitherto been attempted, to give a general History of Agriculture in all countries ; and a condensed survey of its present state in every county of the British Isles. A systematic arrangement is adopted as by far the best for instruction, and also as best admitting of compression. At the same time, a copious General Index is supplied, to render the whole work of the easiest access as a book of reference. So much information as is here given could only be com- pre^d into one volume by the use of a very small type, and by the liberal employment of engravings. By means of the latter, much verb J description is avoided ; a know- ledge of implements and operations is more forcibly conveyed to the reader ; and such a body of useful matter is brought together, as, by the system of detached copper-plate engravings, and ordinary letter-press, would have occupied half a dozen volumes. Throughout this work, we have kept in view the following objects: in Part I., to depict what may be termed Universal Agriculture, by giving a historical view of that of all countries ; in Fakt II., to exhibit the principles on which the operations and results of the Agriculture of all countries are fotmded; and, in Pakts III, and IV., to apply these principles to that particular Agriculture which is practised in Britain, and adapted to similar climates. In pursuing these objects, we have aimed at language sufliciently free from provincial or obscure technology to be understood by all classes of readers. In describing the Agriculture of Britain, we have held up to view that of the northern counties of Northumberland, Berwickshire, and East Lothian, as examples, in most things, to the other parts of the empire. In addressing landlords, superior agents, valuers of land, and patrons, we have pointed out the advantages of equitable and liberal conduct to their tenants and dependants : in discussing the .duties of land stewards, bailiffs, and other serving agriculturists, we have recommended habits of order, vigilance, and economy : and, finally, we have submitted to all classes of readers, the advantages of enlightening the minds and ameliorating the condition of the working classes of rural society, by facilitating the attainment of instruction ; by pointing out the evils of their entering too early into the marriage state ; by increasing the comfort and improving the appearance of their cottages and gardens ; and, especially, by repaying the labour of form servants to a certain extent in productions calculated for their chief support. (See § 7834. 7862. and § 7953. to 7980.) For, in our opinion, the main comfort of all those engaged in agriculture as a profession, from the labourer to the gentleman farmer, will ever consist more in tlie possession within themselves of t/ie essential means of comfortable existence, than in the power of accumulating fortunes, such as manufacturers and commercial men frequently acquire. As much of the value of a work of this kind will depend on the knowledge it con- veys of the modem improvements in implements and buildings, particular attention has been paid to these subjects. Many of the latest improvements in implements and buildings have not found their way into any books, and for them we have had recourse to the originals, and to the most eminent agricultural mechanics and manufactuiers of implements. Our thanks, in this respect, are particularly due to the proprietors of Weir's Agricultural Repository, Oxford Street, London, for permitting us to take sketches from their extensive collection, and more particularly of those implements and machines which the late Mr. Weir invented or greatly improved. Our best thanks are also due to Mr. Morton, Leith Walk, Edinbiurgh, who is equally eminent as an agricultural mechanist in Scotland; to Messrs. Cottam and Hallen, of Winsley Street, Oxford Street, manufacturers of agricultural implements and machines in iron ; and to Mr. Wilkie, of Uddistonc, near Glasgow, a scientific mechanist, and an eminent manufacturer A 2 ■ iv PREFACE. of agricultural implements both In timber and iron. Tliere is no- implement or machine mentioned in this work which will not be found on sale, or may not be made to order, in the establishments of these gentlemen, in the best manner, and at an equitable charge. ^ For important assistance in the Veterinary Part of this work, our best thanks are due to an eminent professor. Through the kind assistance of this gentleman we have been enabled to bring together a body of useful information on the anatomy, physiology, patliology, breeding, rearing, and general treatment of the horse, the ox, the sheep, and other domestic animals, even to dogs and poultry, such as we can safely assert is not to be found in any other single volume on Agriculture. It may be necessary to mention, as a key to this work, that such technical terms as are used in a more definite sense than usual, or such as practical readers in the country, or mere general readers, may be supposed not familiar witli, are explained in a Glossarial Index (p. 1241 .) ; and that the abridged titles of books are given at length in an appro- priate catalogue, (p. viii.) The systematic nomenclature of plants adopted is that of our Horlus BrUanmcus, with some exceptions which are noted where they occur. In the specific names of the more common animals, we have followed Turton's edition of the Syslema Natirce of Linnaius ; in those of insects, we have followed modern authors : such chemical, mineralogical, and geological terms as occur, are those used by Sir H. Davy in his Agricultural Chemistry, and by Professor Brande in his Geology .• the weights and measures are always according to the standard of Britain, and the temperatmre to that of Fahrenheit's thermometer, unless otherwise expressed. Systematic names of animals, vegetables, and minerals are accented, and their derivations indicated, in the manner adopted in the Gardener's Magazine and in the Magazine of Natural History, as ex- plained in a separate article, (p. vii.) The recent changes which have taken place in the market value of currency, render price a criterion of much too temporary a nature to be employed in any work which aims at general and permanent utility. For this reason we have in this Encyclopaedia generally avoided money calculations, preferring to indicate the value of objects or operations by the quantity of materials and labour requisite to produce them, or by stating their cost relatively to the cost of other articles. We have also avoided entering on the subject of state policy, as to the relative pro- tection of agriculture and manufactures, or of the protection of the home against the foreign grower of corn. Natural prices will always be safer for the farmer than arti- ficial ones ; and with low prices the farmer has the chance of deriving a greater benefit on an extraordinary rise, and sustaining less loss on an extraordinary fall. If the prices of corn were one half lower than they are, neither farmers nor proprietors would find their comforts diminished ; for the value of manufactures and importations would fall in pro- portion to that of agricultural produce. Price, it is true, is not always value ; but they are never materially different for any length of time. The first edition of this work was written in the autumn and winter of 1822-3, and published in June, 1825. In this second edition, commenced in January, 1828, and completed in January, 1831, will be found very considerable additions and improvements, including nearly 500 new engravings. Of these engravings nearly 200 are more useful figures, substituted for others considered less so ; and the remainder, consisting of nearly 300 are entirely additional. A catalogue of all the engravings in the work arranged systematically is also given (p. xxxii. ), for more convenient reference, when the purpose of the reader is a choice of implements or machines. The principal additions to the letter-press of this edition have been made at the suggestion of our much esteemed friend Mr. Cleghorn, of Edinburgh, late editor of the Farmer's Magazine, formerly published in that city ; and, in consequence of the assistance procured by the Proprietors, on our recommendation, from Mr. Swainson, the eminent naturalist. The former gentleman perused an interleaved copy of the Ency- clopzedia, and suggested on the blank pages whatever he thought wanting ; indicating at the same time the books or other sources which might be consulted for the purpose of supplying these wants. Mr. Swainson most obligingly took the trouble of writing some paragraphs in the Agricultural History of South America (p. 200.), and the whole of the article on Insects (from p. 1112. top. 1121.), with some other sentences and para- graphs in different parts of the work, not always considered of sufficient importance to be marked with his signature. Dr. Trail, of Liverpool, on our suggestion to the Pro- prietors, examined the chemical and geological departments of Part II. Book III., and was good enough to send us some corrections and additions, most of which are indicated by the letter T. With the exception of the additional engravings of implements before mentioned, Mr. Swainson's article on Insects is by far the most valuable addition which the Encyclopaedia has received ; and it is but doing justice to him to state, that he is the only gentleman among the List of Contributors (p. vi.), who took the trouble to write out his additions in such a manner as to accommodate them to the portions of the PREFACE. V work for wliich they were intended. The amalgamation of the information sent by tlie other contributors, and the selection and description of the engravings, are of course our own ; together with what we have been able to collect ourselves, not only from books and correspondence, but also from the personal observations we made, during a tour in France and Germany undertaken in 1 828-9 on purpose for this work. In consequence of repeated invitations given on the cover of the Gardener's Magazine, a considerable number of corrections, additions, and suggestions, have been sent us by the anonymous and other correspondents enumerated in the list (p. vi.) before referred to. The essence of the greater part of these communications was inserted in the Gardener's Magazine at the time they were received, and the whole of these are either given, quoted, or referred to, In this edition of the Encyclopaedia, in the proper places ; but some which arrived too late for being used in the body of the work are given in the Supplement, (p. 1279.) Similar Supplements are intended to be published occa- sionally, perhaps every two years, and sold separately at the lowest possible price. To every supplementary paragraph will be prefixed the number of the paragraph in the body of the work to which the additional information belongs ; and every future im- pression of the body of the work will contain references from the proper paragraphs to the additions to these paragraphs given in the different Supplements: the manner is exemplified in p. 1 138., viz. by the star (•) placed before § 7790., which signi- fies that an addition to that paragraph will be found in the Supplement given in the present edition after the General Index, (p. 1279.) Where the supplementary matter contains figures, similar references will be made from the Systematic List of Engravings, as in (p. xxxii.), where the star (*) prefixed to Thkeshino Machines indicates that the Supplement contains a figure or figures of one or more kinds of threshing machines. This improvement in the manner of rendering supple- mentary information available to a work already in type, and, considered in sdl its bearings, a very great one it is, can only be effected in consecutive editions of a stereotyped book, in the plates of which stars or other marks can at any time be easily introduced It is calculated to save the reader much trouble that would other- wise be unavoidable in referring to numerous Supplements at random ; to prevent any additional information from escaping his attention ; and to render it unnecessary on the part of the Proprietors to publish, or on that of the possessors of the work to purchase, a new edition for several years to come. We have stated above that the essence of most of the improvements contained in this edition, and many of the new engravings, have been given from time to time in the published volumes of the Gardener's Magazine ; into which they have been introduced in conformity with that object of the work indicated in the titlepage by the expression " Re- gister of Rural and Domestic Improvement." We think it right here to repeat, what we stated in the Prospectus and Introduction to that Periodical (see vol. i.), that though chiefly intended as a perpetual Supplement to the Encyclopedia iif Gardening, it is also meant to be a perpetual Supplement to the Enc^clopadia of^gricuUure in all matters of vegetable culture, implements, buildings, and territorial improvements, with a view to farm bailifis and land stewards. Temporary agriculture and statistics, and matters connected with live stock and other things which more immediately interest the commercial farmer, we leave to journals and newspapers wholly agricultural. In order to show how much we are indebted to contributors for the improvements contained in this second edition, as well as to simplify the duty of thanking them, we have placed their names or signatures in the following alphabetical list; and we beg leave, on the part of the Proprietors and ourselves, to return them sincere thanks. We have earnestly to request that these contributors and all our readers will examine the present work with a scrutinising eye, and send us whatever they think will contribute to its farther improvement. Our ardent wish is, by means of frequent Supplements, to keep it at all times on a pace with the rapidly advancing state of agri- cultural knowledge and practice ; and we are well aware that this can only be done by the extensive cooperation of scientific and practical men. By referring to the Calendarial Index (p. 123S.), those parts of this work which treat of Farm and Forest Culture and Management may be consulted monthly, as the operations require to be performed; by recurring to the General Index (p. 1248.), any particular subject may be traced alphabetic^ly, through all its ramifications of history, theory, practice, and statistics; and, by turning to the Glossarial Index (p. 1241.), the meaning of all words not familiar to general readers may be found. Thus we have here combined an Agricultural Treatise, embracing every part of the subject, a Husbandman's Calendar, a Dictionary of Rural Affairs, and a Glossary of Agricul- tural Terms. J. C. L. Bayswater, Jan/uary, 1831. A S LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THE SECOND EDITION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. An Amateur Naturatist,8tc : Anon., Coleahill, War- wickshirej a Reader qf the Gardener's Magazine froxa its commencement; a Subscriber to the Magazine of Natural History. Suggestions, corrections and hints. Anderson, John, 49, Park Sireet, Grosvenor Square, Ijondon, agricultural engineer; formerly an ex- tensive farmer in Northumberland ; afterwards draughtsman and manager at E. Weir's agricul- tural repository, Oxford Street Various elaborate drawings of machines, par- ticularly of the bone-mill, and of the very excellent machine for threshing and other purposes erected at Bagshot Park, Berkshire. B., a retired veterinary surgeon of eminence, author of various works. The greater part of the article on the horse, p. 949., and the veterinary part of the subsequent articles on agricultural and domestic animals. Bell, the Rev. Patrick, of Mid Lioch, Auchter House, near Dundee^ inventor of a greatly improved reaping-machme. Drawings and an elaborate description of his excellent mvention, p. 422. Booth and Co.y distillers, Brentford, Middlesex. The details of their establishment for fattening cattle, Aimished to us on the spot, p. 1035. Vurnes, — , Farm manager to the Duke of Glouces. ter, at Bagshot Park. Various hints, and permission to publish plans of his machine, &c. 'eehom, James, Accountant, Edinburgh; editor of the latter volumes of the Farmer's Magazine, till that work was discontinued ; characterised by the late Professor Coventry to us, in 18S2, as the first agricultural writer in Scotland. Author of the article Agriculture in the Supplement to the Encyc. Brit, and of other works. A general examination of the whole work, with numerous corrections, various suggestions for im- provements, and references to works where the requisite information might be obtained. Cottam and Hallen, agricultural implement manu- facturers, chiefly in iron, Winsley Street, Oxford Street Corrections, additions, and every assistance in delineating some new implements and machines. Dickson, W. formerly a farmer near Edinburgh, now of Kidbrook, in Kent Various details respecting his farm when in- spected by us, in April, 1829. Jiombasle, C. J. A. Matfdeu de, director of the agri- cultural establishment at Roville, near Nancy, in France, and author of various agricultural works. Various information respecting the agriculture of France, and the inspection of all the details of the establishment at Roville. Eichtkal, M. le Baron de, an extensive proprietor in Bavaria.who has resided some time in Britain, and especially in Scotland; studied our agriculture; and introduced it on his Bavarian estates by means of Scotch farmers. Various information respecting the agriculture and state of property in Bavaria, in London in 1826, and at Munich and Eichthal in I8S8. Forsffth, WilUam, F.H.S. &c., Nottingham Place, London. Various corrections and additions, more espe- cially to the bibliography, p. 1206. F. and TV., the latter a Scotcn farmer of experience both in Fifeshire and Middlesex. Notes on the agriculture of France and Italy, ftom a tour made there in 1828. G^bs and Co., Messrs., nursery and seedsmen, Lon- don. Lists of hardy fruits suitable for a field orchard in the midland counties of England, p. 667, and information respecting the Serradilla, p. 886. Gibbs, M. sen., late nurseryman at Inverness ; after- wards superintendent of a British colony attempt. ed to be established at Caraccas. Information respecting the agricultural capa- bilities of some parts of North and South Ame- rica. Gladstone, M., engineer, Chester. Drawmgs of several of his late father's inven- tions ; among others, of the bean reaping-machine, p. 427-, and water-furrowing plough, p. 397. Gorrie, Archibald, F.H.S., &c., Annat Gardens, Errol, Perthshire. Various corrections and additions, as to the wheat-fly and other matters. Gossier, M. 1' Abbt* de, of Rouen, late president of the Agricultural Society there. Information respecting the state of agriculture in Normandy. Graham, James, formerly a farmer in Perthshire; afterwards in Middlesex; and latterly in the neigh- bourhood of Sydney, in Australia. Some notices respecting Australia. Hazxi, M ., president of the Agritultural Society of Bavaria, and the father of improved agriculture in that country; author and editor of various works. Various corrections and additions relative to the agriculture of Bavaria. Heai/rick, the Rev. J, author of the Survey of For- farshire, and of various chemical and agricultural works. Various additions and corrections to the sta- tistics. J. C, near Alnwick, Northumberland, a very ex- tensive farmer, and an enlightened political economist Various corrections and additions. J. W. L. Corrections and additions to the statistical de- partments, and especially to Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Laycock, M., Islington. The details of his dairy establishment, from which we drew up the account, p. 1029. Lind/ey, John, F.R.S. L.S. &c., professor of botany in the University of London. Botanical corrections. M., an extensive proprietor, who cuttivates a part of his own estate in Suflfblk. A general examination of the whole work, and various corrections, suggestions, and additions. Main, James, A.L.S., &c., editor of the British Far- mer's Magazine ; author of the Cottage Florist's Directory, and other works. General corrections and additions. Masclet, M. le Chevalier de, late French consul at Edinburgh, and then a writer in the Farmer's Magazine and other periodicals; now residing in Paris. Various corrections and additions relative to the agriculture of France and Flanders. Menteath, C. G., stuart of Closebiirn, Dumfries- shire. An account of his limekilns, waggons, and mode of improving grass lands, p. 626. et seq. Morton and Co., Leith Walk, Edinburgh, agricul- tural implement manufacturers, chiefly in wood." Various information respecting agricultural im- plements, and several drawings of some new ploughs, drill-machines, &c Pearson and Co., Messrs., nurserymen, Chilwell near Nottingham. * Lists of hardy fruits suitable for a field orchard in the northern counties of England, p. 668. R. M. of Devonshire. Additions to the dairy department Ransome and Co., agricultural implement makers. Ipswich. * Drawings of ploughs and other implements. Rhodes and Co., Islington. The details of their dairy establishment, from which we drew up the account, p. 1028. Ronalds and Sons, Messrs., nurserymen, Brentford. Lists of hardy fruits suitable for a field orchard in the midland counties of England, p 668 Sherriff, Patrick, of Mungo's W^lls, near Haddine- ton. " Several important suggestions, and various cor- rections. Sinclair, George, F.L.S,, H.S., &c. o( the firm of INDICATIONS, &c., OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES. Cormack, Sons, and Sinclair, nursery and seeds- men, Newcross, London. Various corrections and suggestions. Snowden and Co., agricultural implement manu* facturers, Oxford Street, London. Drawings of the leaf-gathering machine, and other implements. Swainson, WUllaviy F.R.S., L,S., &a^ author Qf vari- ous important works on natural history. Various corrections and additions ; more espe- cially the entire article on insects ii^urious to agriculture, p. 1 112. Taylor^ B. C.,T.&a. &c. Geological and statistical corrections, and in- formation fVom North America. Tai/lor, Samuel, F.R.S., &c., late editor of the agrt. cultural department of the Country Times news- paper. Various corrections and additions. TVoi^ Dr., of Liverpool. CJeoIogical and chemical corrections. lYedgoid, Thomas, civil engineer, author of various works, who died in 18SSI Some hints as to the subject of the application of steam to agriculture. T. W. H., agricultural pupil with a farmer near Woolerin Northumberland. Information and corrections. Vilmorin, M., of the firm of Vilraorin and Co., seedsmen, Paris. Various corrections as to the agriculture of France, and additions to tlie forage plants and Cere&lia. W, proprietor of the Metropolitan Dairy establish- ment, in the Edgeware Road, London. The details of his dairy establishment, from which we drew up the account, p. 1029. Weir and Co.y Oxford Street, London, agricultural implement manufacturers, chiefly in wood. Corrections, additions, and every assistance in making drawings and descriptions of a great variety of new implements, machines, and utensils. Wilkiey J., of Uddistone, near Glasgow, agricultural implement maker, both of wood and iron. Various drawings and descriptions ; especially of his new plough, p. 393., and cultivator, p. 405. INDICATIONS AND ACCENTUATION OF SYSTEMATIC NAMES. The systematic names employed in the sciences are for the greater part derived from the Greek or Latin, as being dead, and consequently fixed, languages ; and partly also as being languages more or less understood by men of science throughout the world. The Greek language is preferred to the Latin, as being more copious and flexible. In general, family or generic names are composed of two or more Greek words, indicating some quality common to the family or genus ; and specific or individual names, of Latin words indicative of some quality in the individual or species. A number of names, however, are formed, by giving Greek or Latin terminations to aboriginal names, or by aboriginal words unchanged ; not a few names, generic and specific, are given in honour of individuals ; and some, more especially specific names, point to countries, towns, or other places connected with the history of the plants. All systematic names, whether generic or specific, which Greek or Roman authors have applied to the same class of beings as the modems, and which on this account are called classical names, are indicated by the first letter being put in Italic when the remainder of the word is in Roman, or in Roman when the remainder of the word is in Italic; as, £^quus, the horse ; Plnus, the pine tree; Jtfarmor, marble i^ or, E*jKiM, the horse i PIjiiw, the pine trees Mdrmor, marble. Names, whether generic or specific, formed firom aboriginal words by altering the termination of the aboriginal word, or by adopting the aboriginal word without altering its termination, and names of uncertain derivation, are distinguished by all the letters being in Italic when the preceding and following words are in Roman, and in Roman when the preceding and following words arc in Italic ; as, Gl^ma (C^m^lusGr/dffia], the lama; Tabacum (Nicoti'dna raftaeuwi), tobacco; and 7V*/ii (Cemtfntum 7V)f vol- canic earth : t^, Glkma iJCamelus GlStma), the lama ; Talcum (Ji/tco/i^a TabS^cum), tobacco j and Titfa iCem^tum Tiifa), volcanic earth. Names, generic or specific, commemorative of individuals, are indicated by putting the letters added to the name of the person, or the final letter if none are added, in Italic when the preceding and following words are in Roman, and in Roman when the preceding and following words are in Italic ; as, Cfgnus Yarr^f, Yarrell's Swan ; Z^cium Shawiii, Shaw's Lycium, and Olivlnus Wem&ri, the Olivine of Werner : or, Cpgnus Yarrdlfi, Yarrell's Swan i Lycium Shdwii, Shaw's Lycium ; and Olivinus Wemen, the Olivine of Werner. RULES FOR PRONOUNCING SYSTEMATIC NAMES. SYLLABLES. Tn classical words there are as many syllables as there are vowels ^xcept when u with any other vowel follows ff, ff, or St and when two vowels unite to form a diphthong. The diphthongs are (P, ce, ai, rf, oj, ui, au eu, and ou. These seldom coalesce in final syllables, oo, ee, ea^ and other combinations which never occur as diphthongs in classical words, follow, in commemorative names, the pronunciation of their primU tives, as TeediVv, Woodsjo, In this work the sounds of the accented vowels are indicated by the mark placed over each ; the long sound by a grave accent O, and the short by an acute ('), as Miry, M&rtha. In addition to the primary accent, every word of more than three syllables contains a secondary accent, which is regulated by the same rules. The secondary accent must always be at least two syUables before the primary accent, as in Ch^lidbnium ; for its place the ear is a sufficient guide, and even were it entirely omitted, still, however inharmonious, the pronunciation would not be incorrect, C0NSONANT& C and g are hard before a, o, and «, as Cdrnus, Galium : soft before e, i", and y, as Cetr&ria, Citrus. T «, and c, before ia, ie, it* io, iu, and eu, when preceded by the accent, change their sounds, / and c into sh, as Blfatra, /^cia ; and s into aiA, as Bl^i'a ; but, when the accent is on the first diphthongal vowel, the preceding consonant preserves its sound, as aurantlacum. CA, before a vowel, is pronounced like A, as Chelid6nium {kel), C61chicum {kotkehum); but in comme- morative names it follows their primitives, as RichardsEinta, in which the ch is soft. Cm, en, ct em^ent mn, tm, ps,pt, and other incombinable consonants, when they begin a word, are pronounced with tne first letter mute, as Ptferis (teris), Cnlcus {nikus), Gmellna {melina), Cfnidia (nidia) j in the middle of a word they separate as in English, as £ap-s&na, X^m-na. Phf followed by a mute, is not sounded ; but, followed by a vowel or a liquid, sounds like /, as Phlfeum (Jleum). Sch sounds like sk, as Schoe^us {skenus) ; in // and zm both letters are heard. S, at the end of a word, has its pure hissing sound, as i>&ctylis ; except when preceded by c, r, or ft, when it sounds like x, as R\bes {ex). X, at the beginning of a word, sounds like z, as X&nthium ; in any other situation it retains its own sound, as Tkx.us, raraarix, {Gardener'a Magaxme, vol. v. p. 232.) A 4 LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO, THE TITLES OF WHICH ARE ABRIDGED IN THE TEXT. Of those marked * soma further account, or some notice of their author a, wilt be found in the Agricultural Bibliography, p. 120S. Account of the Shetland Sheep, byThos. John- son, page 1053. Report on the subject of Shet- land Wool Lond. 1790. 8va Ss. Advt byCormack, Son, and Sinclair, p. 894. A few pages printed and given away by Cormack, Son, and Sinclair, seedsmen. New Cross. Lond.8vo, 1830. • Agriculture appliqu6e, &c. !>. S2I. See Chaptal AgricultureappUquee kChimie, p. 332. See Cnaptal. Agr. Chim. app. p. 895. See Chaptal. • Agricultural buildings, p. 741. See Waistell's Agri- cultural Buildings. Agr. Ilep. of Cheshire, p. 713. See Holland. Agr. Mem., p. 806. Agricultural Memoirs; or. History of the Dishley System, in answer to Sir John Sebright Lond. 1812 8vo /Vgricultural Memoirs, &c., p. 305. See Agr. Mem. Agr. Tuscan, p. 50. Tableau de PAgricultureTos- cane. Geneva, 8vo. 1801. Aiton, p. 1015. A Treatise on Dairy Husbandry. Edin. 8vo. 1825. • Aiton's General View, p. 1185. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr, with Ob- servations on the Means of its Improvement. Glaag. 1811. 8va Amer. Quart Rev,, p. 266. American Quarterly Review, New York. 8vo. American Farmer, 1090. New York. 4to. Amien. Acad., p. 109. Amcenitates Academicie, seu Dissertationes varise, &c. By Charles Linnxus, &c. 3d edition. Erlang. 1787. • Amos's Essay on Agricultural Machines, p. 391. Minutes of Agriculture and Planting, illustrated with specimens of eight sorts of the best, and two sorts of the worst, natural grasses, and with accurate drawings and descriptions of prac- tical machines, on seven copper-plates, &c.. Lond. 1804. 4to. • Anderson's Recreations in Agriculture, p. 387. Recreations in Agriculture, Natural History, Arts, and Miscellaneous Literature. Lond. 17y9_1802. 6 vols. 8vo. Andrew's Continuation of Henry's Hist., p, 42. See Henry. A Continuation of Henry's History of Great Britain. Lond. 1796. 4to. Sis. 2 vols. 8vo. Annalendes Ackerbaues. Vol 111.8.389. Berlin,Svo. • Annals of Agriculture, p. 4S8. See Young's Annals of Agriculture; • Annals of Agric, p. 47. See Young's Annals of Agriculture. Annals of Phil. Annals of Philosophy, &c. In monthly Nos. Bvo., continued in coi^unction with the Philosophical Magazine. Annual Biography, p. 1208. Annual Biography and Obituary. Lond. 8vo. 1 vol. annually. Archer's Dublin, p. 1234. Statistical Survey of the County of Dublin, with Observations on the Means of Improvement, drawn up for the Dub- lin Society. Dub. 1803. 8vo. Archer's Statistical Survey, &c., p. 1199. See Archer's Dublin. • Arthur Young's Survey, p. 1155. General View of the Agriculture of uie County of Lincoln j drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1799. 8vo. • Arthur Young's Oxfordshire, p. 1137. General View of the Agriculture of Oxfordshire. Lond. 1808. 8vo. • Arthur Young's Survey, p. 1130. General View of the Agriculture of Hertfordshire; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1804. 8va A. Young's Sussex, p. 1127. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Sussex ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. By the Rev. Arthur Young. Lond. 1808. 8vo. A. and W. Driver's General View, p. 1165. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Hants. Lond. 1791, 4to. „ App. to Flinders' Voyage, p. 166. A Voyage to Terra Australis, undertaken to complete the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Inves- tigator, and subsequently In the armed vessel Porpoise, and Cumberland schooner. Lond. 1814. 2vols.4ta, with an atlas and plates. A Series of Plans for Cottages, by J. Wood of Bath, p. 457. Series of plans for cottages or habitations of the labourers. Ijond 1792. foL *Bailey, p. 1161. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Northumberland, with observ. ations on the means of its improvement ; drawn up for the Board of Agricultur& Newcastle, 1797. 8vo. 1800. 8va * Bailey and Culley's General View, p. 1160. See Bailey. * Bailey's General View, p. 1159. A General View of the Agriculture of Durham, with observ- ations on the means of its in^rovement ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture; Lond. 1811. 8va * Baily's Tables, p. 541. Tables for the purchasing and renewing of leases. 1803. 8vo. 3d. edit * Bakewell's Tarentaise, p. 94. Travels in the Tarentaise, &c. By Robert Bakewell, Esq. Lond. 8vo. 1824. Bakewell, p. 63. See Bakewell's Tarentaise. Bakewell's Travels, p. 59. See Bakewell's Taren- taise. Barrington's Observations on the Statutes, p. 40. Observations on the more ancient statutes, from Magna Charta to the 21st James V., cap. xxvii., with an appendix, being a proposal for new mo- delling the statutes. Lond. 1766. 4to. Batchelor's Bedfordshire, p. 1132. General View of the Agriculture of Bedfordshire. Lond. 1808. 8va Bath Society's Papers. Letters and Papers on Agri- culture, Planting. &c, selected from the Cor- respondence-Book of the Bath Society. Bath. 8va 1780. '' • * Bayldon's Valuation of Rents and Tillages, p. 541. The Art of Valuing Rents and Tillages, and the Tenant's Right on entering and quitting farms. Lond. 8vo. 1825. BediB Hist Abbat Weremath., p. 36. Historic Ecclesiasticee libri quingue, Iiatine. Ant 1550. foL Belsche's General View, p. 1187. Belsche's General View of the Agriculture of Stirlingshire. Lond. 4to. 17£)4. Berenger's History andArt of Horsemanship, p 1002. The History and Art of Horsemanship ; ftom \^^ ,^''filp,'^ o^ ,Mo"s. Bourgelat 1754. 4ta Lond. 1771. 2 vols. 4to. Bibliographia Britannica, p. 1206. BibUotheca Bri- tannica; or. General Index to British and Foreign Literature. By Robert Watt. M.D. Edin. 4 vols. 4to. 1824. * Biblioth. Univer. de G^nfeve, p. 810. Geneva, 8va LIST gp BOOKS REFERRED TO. Bicheno'B Inland, p. 1202. Ireland and its Eco- nomy. By J. E. Bicheno, Esq., F.R.S. Lond. l^no. 1830. BilUngtoii's Facts on Oaks and Trees, IIU. A Series of Facts, Hints, Observations, and Expe- riuieiits on the diftbreiit modes of raising, pruning, and training young trees in plant- ations. Shrewsbury, Svo. 18S0. Billingsiey's General View, p. 1168. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Somerset, with observations on the means of its improve, menti drawn up for the Board of Agriculture m the year 1795. Bath, 179a 8va Birkbeck, p. 68. Notes in a Journey in America, from the coast of Virginia to the territory of tlie Illinois. Lond. Sva 1818. Bishop'ji Causal Botany. Causal Botany j or, a Ireatise on the causes and character of changes in plants, especially of changes which are pro- ductive of subspecies or varieties. Lond. 1829, 8va Bishtou's General View of the Agriculture of the County of Salop. Brentford, 1794. 4to. Bishton's Shropshire, p, 1 145. Blackstone's Commentaries, p.S6a Commentaries on the Laws of England. Oxf. 1765-8. 4vols. 4to. Blyth's Improver Improved, ed. 1652, p. 391. The improver Improved. 1652. 4to, Bot Reg., p. 935. The Botanical Register. Lond. In monthly Nos. 8vo., continued. Boys's Kent, p. 1128. A General View of the Agri- culture of the County, with observations on the means of its improvement; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture, with additional remarks of several respectable country gentlemen and Fantiers. Lond. 1796. 8vo. British Colonies, p. 167. See Kingdom. * British Farmer, p. 393. Finlayson's Treatise on Agricultural Subjects. 8vo. plates, subsequently changed to the British l-armer, &c. Lond. 1830. 8vo. • BriL Farm. Mag., p. 306. Fleming's British Far- mer's Magazine. Lond. 2 vols. 8vo. : continued under the name of the British Farmer's Maga. zine. 2 vols. 8va Bright's Travels, p. 98. Travels fromVienna through Lower Hungary, with some Account of Vienna during the Congress. Edin. 1818. 4to. •Brodigan, p. 938. A Botanical, Historical, and Prac tical Treatise on the Tobacco Plants in which the art of growing and curing tobacco in the British Isles is made familiar to every capacity, as deduced from the observations of the author in the United States of America, and his prac- tice in field cultivation in Ireland. Lond. 8vo. Brown's Derbyshir^^ p: 1152. General View of the Agriculture of Derbyshire. Lond. 1794. 4to. * Brown'sTreatiseonRurat Aflfairs, p.l29. Treatise on Rural Affairs; being the substani^e of the article. Agriculture, originally published in the Edinburgh EncyclopEedia, with improvements and additions. Edin. 1811. 2 vols. 8vo, • Brown's West Riding, p. 1157. General View of the Agriculture ofthe West Riding of Yorkshire, surveyed by Messrs. Rennie, Brown, and SheriS^ in 1793 ; with observations on the means of its improvement, and additional information since received ; di%wn up for the Board of Agricul- ture. Lond. 1799 8vo. Browne, p. 195. The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica ; containing an accurate description of that island, its situation and soil, and a brief account of its former and present state, govern- ment, revenues, produce, and trade ; a history of its natural productions, including various sorts of native fossils, perfect and imperfect vegetables, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, &c.; an account ofthe nature of climates in general, and their di£ferent effects upon the human body, with a detail of the diseases arising from this source, par'^icularly within the tropics. The whole illustr*ited with fifty copper-plates. Lond. 1789. fol. 420. Browne's Hist of Jam., p. 196. See Browne. Bull in Caled. Hort Mem., p. 657. Memoirs ofthe Caledonian Horticultural Society. Edin. 8vo. 5^ vols, to 1831. Bull du Comity d'Agri. de la Soc. des Arts de G^nfeve, p. 341. Geneva, 8vo. Bull, des ScL Agr. Feby. 1828., p. 837. Ferrusac's Bulletin des Sciences Agricoles, Paris, Svo. mouthly. Burchell's Travels, p. 182. BurchelVs Travels J AlVica. Lond. 1821, 4to; Ciesar dc Bell. Gall, p. 36. De Belle Gallico, k Mair. 1808 8vo. Cat., p. 14. Cato de Re Rustica, cum Notis Beroaldi. Reg. 149a fol. Chalmers's Caledonia, p. 45. Caledonia: or, an Ac- count, Historical and Topographical, of North Britain, from the most accient to the present times, with a Dictionary of Places, Chronolo- gical and Philological j in 4 vols. Lond. 4to. * Chaptal de I'lndustrie Frangaise, p. 68. De I'ln- dustrie Fran^aise. Paris, 1819. 2 vols. 8vo. La Chimie appliqu^e £i 1' Agriculture. Paris. 1822. 2 vols. Svo. Chateauvieux, p. 268. Italv, its Agriculture. Trans- lated by Dr. Bigby. Norwich, 1819. 8va Chimie appliiju^e, p. 345. See Chaptal Chimie apuhquee & I'Agriculture, p. 135. See Chaptal. Chron. Gervas., p. 37. A Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the year 1122 to 1200. Claridge's General View, p. 1168. General View of the Agriculture of the Countyof Dorset. Lond. 1793. 4to. Clarke's Enquiry into the Nature and Value of Leasehold Property and Life Annuities, p. 541. An Enquiry into the Nature and Value of Household Property, Reversionary Interest in Estates, and Life Annuities ; with a variety of tables, demonstrating the ratio of fines due on the renewal of leases of church, college, and other estates, and for the purchase and sale of leases of every denomination. Lond. 1808. 8vo. Clark's Herefordshire, p. 1144. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Hereford. Lond. 1794. 4to. Clarke's Observations upon Roads, p. 589. Dublin Svo. Clarke's Scandinavia, p. 109. Travels in various countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Lond. 1810 and 1812. 4to. Clarke's Travels, p. 7. See Clarke's Scandniavia, p. 109. Clavigero, p. 191. The History of Mexico, collected from the Spanish and Mexican hiotonans, from MSS. and ancient paintings of the Indian^i ; to which are added, critical dissertations on the land, the animals, and the inhabitants of Mexico. Lond. 1782. 2 vols. 4to. * Cleghorn on the Depressed State of Agriculture, p. 125. Edin. 8va Climate of Britain, p. 368. Williams's Climate of Great Britain. Xond. 1818. 8vo. Climate of Great Britaui, p. 353. See Climate of Britain, p. 368. Cobbett's Treatise on Cobbett's Corn, p. 1208. Lond. 1829. 12mo. Code. See Sinclair. Code of Agriculture, p. 453. See Code. Col, p 14^ Columella De Re Rustica. Collection of Antiquitie, p. 24. A collection of curious 1'ravels, Voyages, Antiquities, and Natural Histories of Countries. * Collection de Machines, p. 26. Collection de Machines, d'lnstrumens, &c. employes dans I'Economi^ Rurale, Domestique et Indus- trielle, d'apres les Dessins faits dans diverges Parties de I'Europe. 2 vols. 4to. £00 pis. Paris, 1820. Coll. de Mach., p. 51. See Collection de Machines, p. 96. Commun. to Board of Agriculture, p. 21. Com- munications to the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 7 vols. 4ta New Series, 1 vol Svo. 1797— 1819. Communications to the B. of Ag., p. 304. See Com- mun. to the Board of Ag. p. 21. Com. B. Ag., p. 1153.- See Commun. to Board of Ag., p. 21. * Complete Farmer, p. 441. Dickson's complete Sys- tem of Modern Husbandry. Lond. 1811. 8vo. Co-operative Magazine, p. 1230. Lond. 1827. Svo. Cooper's Lectures on Political Economy, p. 1226. New York, 1830. Svo. Coote's Agricultural Survey of King's County, p. 120(». Dublin, 1801. Svo. Coote's Statistical Account of Cavan, p. 120^ Dublin, 1801. 8vo. LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. Coote's Surrey of Monaghan, pi IS&l. Dublin, 1801. 8vo. Cootc's Survey of Annagh, p. 1305. Dublin, 1804. 8to. Cours, &-C,, p. 739. Nouveau Cours Completd* Agri- culture, Ifi vols. 8vo. Paris, 1821. * Cours Complet d' Agriculture, p. 333. See Cours, &c. p. 739. County Reports, p. 470. The Reports of the different Counties of Great Britain and Ireland, drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agri- culture. Country Times, p. 8261 A weekly agricultural news- paper, commenced in, 1830 : the agricultural part of which was for some time edited by & Taylor, Esq., F.R.& * Coventry on Live Stock, p. 1017. Observations on Live Stock, in a letter to Henry Cline, Esq. Edin. 8vo. Cruickshank's Practical Planter. The Practical Planter; containing directions for the planting of waste land, and management of wood ; with 8 new method of rearing the oak. Edin. 1830. 8va Crutchl^y's Report, p. 1156. Crutchley*s General View of the Agriculture of Rutlandshire. Lond. 1794. 4ta * Culley's Introduction, p^ 302. Observations on Uve Stock ; containing hints for choosing and improving the best breeds of the most useful kindsof domestic animals. Lond. 1786. 8vo. * CuUey on Live Stock, p. 954. See Culley*s Intro- duction, p. 303. Cumming's Essay on the Principles of Wheels and Wheel Carriages, p, 605. The destructive ef- fects of the conical broad wheels of carriages, controverted ; with the improving effects of cylindrical wheels of the same breadth, as they regard the roads, the labour of cattle, &c. 1804. 4ta * Curwen, p. 1201. Letters written during a Tour in Ireland. Lond. 1819. 2 vols. 8va Curwen's Letters, p. 132. See Curwen, Curwen's Observations, p. 1231. Observations on Live Stock, &a Workington, 1810. 8va * Dairy Husbandry, p, 1015 See Alton. Daniel's Rural Sports, Lond. 1810. 3 vols. Svo. ; vol 4. 1813. 8vo. : supplement, 1813. 4ta Darby's View of the United States, p. 184^ Davis's Report, 1137. General View of the Agri- culture of the County of Oxford. Lond. 1794. 4to. Davis's Report of Wilts, p. 905. General View of the Agriculture of Wiltshire, drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lfflid. 1811. Svo. Davis's Wiltshire, p. 1166, See Davis's Report, 905. Davy's Ceylon, p. 150. An Account of the Island of Ceylon, &c. Lond. 1820. 4to. Dearn'fi Tract on Hollow Walls, Hints on an im- proved method of building. Lond. 1821. 8vo. Denson's Feasant'sVoice, p, 1231. A Peasant's Voice to Landowners on the best means of benefiting Agricultural Labourers, and of reducing Poor Rates. Cambridge and Lond. 1830, Svo, * Derbyshire Report, p. 724. See Farey. Des Etablissemens pour I'Education Publiquc, &c. p. 1226. Des Etablissemens pour I'Education Fublique en Bavifere, dans le Wittemberg, et & Bade, avec Remarques sur les Ameliorations h iutroduire dans ces Etablissemens pour les faire adopter en France, en Angleterre, et autres Pays. Par J, C, Loudon. Paris, 1829. Svo. Des Institutes de Hofwyl, &c. Par Cte, L, de V., p. 62, Paris, Svo. Description of Britaine, p. 42. Hollingshed's Chro- nicles of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Lond. 1587. 2 vols. fol. Vol. I. contains An Histori- cal description of the Island of Britanne, in 3 books. By William Harrison. * Designs for Farms and Farm Buildings in the Scotch style, adapted to England, &c., p, 1138, By J. C. Loudon. Lond. 1811. fol. Dewar, p^ 135. Observations on the Character, Customs, Superstitions, Music, Poetry, and Language of the Irish ; and on some of the causes which have hitherto retarded the moral and political improvement of Ireland. X^ond. 1812. 8va Dial, on Dot p. 264. Dialogues on Botany. Lond. 1810. Svo. * Dickson, p. 1163. General View of the Agricul- ture of Tjancashire. By R, W. Dickson, M. D. Lend. 1815. Svo. * Dickson's General View, prenared by Stevenson, p. 1162. See Dickson, p. 116.3. * Dickson's Practical Agr.. vol.2, p. 915. Practi- cal Agriculture; or a complete system of mo- dern husbandry; with the methods of planting and the management of live stock. Plates Lond. 1804, 1805. 2 vols. Svo. Diet de PAgr., p. 13. Cours complet d' Agriculture, Thfeorique^ Practique, Economique, &c. ; ou Dictionnaire universel d'Agriculture. 12 vols. 4to 1796: Diet of Chem. p. 317. Ure's Dictionary of Che- mistry. Lond. 1821. Svo. * Donaldson, p. 914, Modern Agriculture: or the present state of Husbandry in Great Britain, Edin. 1795, 1796. 4 vols. Svo. •Donaldson's Report, p, 1156, General Views of the Agriculture of the Counties of Perth, Banff, Northampton, and Meams or Kincardine. London, 1794. 4to. Douglas's General View, p. I1S3, A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Roxburgh and Selkirk. Edin. 1798. Svo. Douglas's Roxburghshire, p, 1182. See Douglas's General View. Douglas's Surv. of Roxb., p. 129. See Douglas's General View. Dr. Abel's Nar., n. 158. Personal Observations made during the Progress of the British Embassy through China, and on Its Voyage to and from that Countpy, in the Years 1S16, 1817, 1818. 4to. Lond, 1821. Dr. Brewster's Edin. Journ. p. 744. The Edinburgh Journal of Science. In Quarterly Numbers, Svo. continued. Dr. Hutton's Mathematical Dictionary, p. 535. A Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary ; containing an explanation of the terms, and an account of the several subjects comprised under the heads. Mathematics, Astronomy, and FhU losophy both natural and experimental; with an Historical account of the rise, progress, and present state of these sciences ; also memoirs of the lives and writings of the most eminent authors, &c. With numerous plates, Lond. 1795, 1796. 2 vols. 4to. Dr. Mavor, p. 1139. General View of the Agricul- ture of Berkshire. Lond. 1809. Svo, Dr. Parry's Tracts on Wool and Merinos, p. 1064, Facts and Observations, tending to show the practicability and advantage to the individual and the nation, of producing in the British Isles, clothing-wool equal to that of Spain : together with some hints towards the management of fine-wooled sheep. Lond. 1800. Svo. Dr. Rigby's Holkham, its agriculture, &c,. p. 1136. Norwich. 1818. 8vo. » > r '^-^ Dr. Robertson's General View, p.HS9. General View of the agriculture in the County of Perth, with observations on the means of its improvement • drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Perth 1799, Svo, * Dr. Thomson's System of Chemistry, p. 226. Lond. 4 vols. Svo. See Thomson. . Dr. Young, p. 291. Young's Lectures on Mechanical Philosophy. Lond. 1807. 2 vols. 4to. Dublin Society's lYansactions. Transactions of the Dublin Society. Dublin. Svo. Dubourdieu's Survey of Antrim, p. 1205. Statistical Survey of the County of Antrim, Dublin 1812 2 vols. Svo. Dubourdieu's Down, p. 134. Statistical Survey of the County of Down. Dublin, 1802. Svo Dubourdieu's Survey of Down. See Dubourdieu's Down. Duncombe's Report, p, 1144. Survey of the Agri- culture and Ruraf Economy of Herefordshire - ?In^"o"P ^^^ ***^ ^°^'^ °^ Agriculture. Lond! 1005. ovo. Dutrochet, Agent Imm^diat dn Mouvement Vital P-,^7;^ -^e™' immiSdiat du Mouvement Vitai devoid dans sa Nature et dans son Mode d' Action Chez les VSgfetaux et chez les Ani- maux. Pans, Svo. pp. 226. Dutton's Survey of Galway, pl203. A Statistical and ABTicuitmal Survey of the County of Galway, with observations on the means of improve! ment; drawn up for the consideration, and by LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. the direction of the Royal Dublin Society. By Hely Dutton, landscape gardener and land improver. Dublin, 1824. Svo. Dutton's Survey of Clare, p. 1202. Dublin, 1808. Svo. E. Edgeworth on Roads, p. dIO, An Essay on the Con- struction of Roads and Carriages. Lond. 1810. 1812L 8va Edin. Encya, p. 44^ The Edinburgh Encyclopsedia Edited by Dr. Brewster. Edin. 18 vols. 4to. Ed. Eiicyc, p. 125. Sec Edin. Encyc. Edin. Encyc. Roads. See Edin. Encyc. EiUn. Gaz., p. 1125. The Edinburgh Gazetteer, or Geographical Dictionary, &c. In 6 vols. Lond. 1827. Edin. Gaz. abridged, p. 1171. The Edinburgh Ga- zetteer, &c. abridged from the larger work. Edin. 1829. 1 vol. 8va Edinb. PhiL Journal, t^ 1117. The Edinburgh Phi- losophical JoumaL Conducted by Dr. Brewster. In quarterly Kos. 8vo. continued. Edin. PliiL Tr., p. 357. Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions. Edin. 4to. Ed. Rev., p. 201. The Edinburgh Review. In quarterly Nos. Svo. Elcm. of Agric Chem., p. 311. Davy*s Elements of Agricultural Chemistry ^ in a course of lec- tures for the Board of Agriculture, 1813. 4to., and 1829. Svo. Elements of Agr., p. 338. Elements of Agriculture ; being an essay towards establishing the culti- vation of the soil, and promoting vegetation on steady principles. Lend. 1807. Svo. Elements of Natural Philosophy, p. 525. Elements of Physics, or Natural Philosophy, General and Medical, explained independently of Technical Mathematics, and containing new Disquisitions, and practical Suggestions. By Neil Arnott, M. D. Lond. 1827. * ElUs*s Practical Farmer, p. 521. Practical Farmer, or Hartfordshire Husbandman ; containing many improvements in Husbandry. Lontt 1732. 8vo. Encyc. Brit, p. 41. Encyclop2edia Britannica. Edin. 4to. Encyc. of Gard., p. 5. Loudon*8 Encyclopffidia of Gardening, &c. Lond. 1824. Svo. Encyc. Brit. Sup., p. 310. Supplement to the Ency- clopsedia Britannica. Edin. 4to. Encyc. Methodique, p. 11. £ncyclop61ie M^tho- dique Paris, 4to. Erskine's General View, p. 1187. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Clackmanan. Edin. 1795. 4to. Essai sur la G^ographie des Flantes, p. 264. Paris, 1807. Svo. * Essay on the Construction of the Plough on Mathematical Principles, by Baillie of Chil- lingham, p. 390. 1795. Svo. Essay on Dew, p. 352. An Essay on Dew ; with several appearances connected with it By W. C. Wells, M. D. Lond. 1814, 1815. Svo. Essay on the Improvement of Peat-moss, 1795. p. 329. Smith's Essay on the Improvement of Feat. moss. Edin. 1795. Sva * Essay on Manure, p. 208. Essay on Manures. By Arthur Young. Bath Soc. Papers, vol. x. p. 97. Essay on Wheel Carriages, &c., p. 484, Fry's Essay on Wheel Carriages. Lond. Svo. Every Man his own Road-maker, p. 587. Fall's Surveyor's Guide; or Every Man nisown Road- maker. East Retford, 1828. 12mo. Examiner, p. 1^5. The Examiner Newspaper. Lond. In weekly Nos. 4to. Fall's Surveyor's Guide, p. S91. See Every Man his own Road-maker. • Farey's Agricultural and Mineral Survey, p. 1152. General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire. Published by order of the Board of Agriculture ; with a map and sections. vol. i. Lond. 1811. 8va toL it 1813. voL iii. 1817. Farey's Derbyshire, vol. i. p. 653. See Farey's Agricultural and Mineral Survey. Farmer's Journal, p. 327 The Farmer's Journal Newspaper. In weekly Nos, foL Farmer's Magazine, p. 327. The Farmer's Maga- zine. Edui. 26 vols, Svo, pis, Fife Report, p. 1018. General View of the Agricul- ture of the County of Fife; with observations on the means of its improvement By the Rev. John Thomson, D.D. Edin. 1800. Svo. Fitzherbert on the Statute Extenta Manerii, p. 560. The Reading on the Statute 4 Edw. I. De Extenta Manerii, 15^9. « Findlater's Report, &c., p. 1IS3. General Survey of tlie Agriculture of the County of Peebles ; with various suggestions as to its improvement ; with a map and plates. Edin. 1802. Svo. ♦Fleming's Farmer's Journal, p. 1^7. A weekly Agricultural Newspaper, begun in 1825, and discontinued in 1827. Fleta, p. 39. Fleta Book with Mr. Selden's Dissert- ation. Lond. 2d edit 1685. F16ra Brit, p. 316. Compendium Flors Britannicte. By Sir J. S. Smith. Lond. 1800. Svo. Flbra Grs^ca, 1138. Flora Grieca, sive Flantarum rariarum Historia, quas in Provinciis Grieciee legit, investigavit et depingi curavit Joannes Sibthorpe, M. D. By Sir J. E. Smith. 1808. Forest Pruner, p. 652. The Forest Pruner, or Tim- ber Owner's Assistant ; being a treatise on the training or management of British timber trees, &C. By William Pontey. Ix>nd. 1805. Svo. Forsyth's Treatise on Fruit trees, p. 513. Treatise on the Culture and Management of fVuit Trees ; in which a new method of pruning; and training is fully described. With plates; Lond. 1802. 4to. 1827. Svo. For, Rev. and Cont Misc., p. 61. The Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany. Lond. In quarterly Nos, Sva For. Quart. Rev. The Foreign Quarterly Review. London, Paris, and Strasburg. In quarterly Nos. Svo. Eraser's General View, p. 1169. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon ; with observations on the means of its improvement Lond. 1794. 4to. Eraser's Cornwall, p. 1171. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cornwall. Lond. 1794. 4to. Fraser's Survey of Wexford, p. 1199. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wex- ford. Wexford, 1796. Svo. Eraser's Survey of Wicklow, p. 1199. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wicklow. Frazer's Dissertation, &c. A Dissertation on the High Roads of the Duchy of Lorraine, as well ancient as modern : done from the French. 1729. Svo. Fulton, p, 615. Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation, &c. 17 plates. Xiond. 1796 4to. 6alpine*s Compendium, p. 316. A Synoptical Com- pend of British Botany (from the Class Mo- n^ndria to Polyg^mia inclusive), arranged after the Linnxan System ; and containing the eft- sential characters of the genera, the specific characters, English names, places and growth, soil and situation, colour of the flowers, times of flowering, duration, and reference to figures. Lond. 1806. J2ma * Gardener's Magazine, p. 167. Lond. 1826. In Sva Concluded in 1842. 19 vols. Garten Magazin, p. 98. Neues Allgemeines Garten Magazin,&c. Weimar. 4to. Gaufrid. Vinisauf. Iter Hierosolymit p. 38. GalMdi Itinerarium Regis Ricardi in Terram Hiero- solymitanam, &c. Oxon. 1687—91. 2 vols. foL General Report of the Agricultural State of Scot- land, p. 470. General View of the Agriculture ot the Northern Counties and Islands of Scotland. Edin. 1812. Svo. General Report of Scotland, p. 302. General Report of Scotland. Edin. 5 vols. Svo. General Survey of the Agriculture of Shropshire. By Joseph Plymley. M.A. Lond. 1803. Svo. p. 310. General View, by J. Bailey and G. CuUey, p. 1161. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cumberland. IBll. Svo. Gcorg. p. 21. The Works of Virgil, translated into English. By Robert Andrews. Birming. 1766. 8vo, xu LIST OF BOOKS RKFERUED TO. Geographle des Plantcs, jk 270. Humboldt's Q6o- graphic deii Plantes. Paris. 8vo. Geological Essays, p. 317. Geological Essays. By Richard Kirwan, LL. D. Lond. 1799. 8va Geschichte, p. 270. Sicltler's Gdschichte der Obst- baumzucht, &a Leipzig, 8vo. Gill's Technological Rep., p. 1088. The Technolo- gical Repository. In 8vo. Nos. monthly. Gilpin's Life of Latimer, p. 4S. Life of Hugh Lati- mer, Bishop of Worcester. Lend. I75i. 8vo. Oirald. Cambrens. pu 38. Itinerarlum Cambrias, &c. Lond. 1585. 8vo. A translation by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in 180& Girald. Cambrens. Descript Cambrise, p. 38. See Girald. Cambrens., p. 38. Gloucestershire Report, p. 724. Survey of the Agri- culture of the County of Gloucester, drawn up for the Board of Agriculture: By the Rev. S. Rudge, Lond. 1807. 8vo. Gooche's Cambridgeshire, p. 1134. General View of the Agriculture of Cambridgeshire, drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1811. Svo. Granger's General View, p. 1159. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Durham. Lond. 1794. 4to. Gray's Implements, p. 400. The Plough Wright's Assistant ; or a Practical Treatise on various implements employed in agriculture, illustrated with 16 engravmgs. Edin. 1808. 8vo. * Grisenthwaite, p. 318. A New Theory of AgricuU ture, in which the nature of soils, crops, and manures, is explained, many prevailing preju- dices are exploded, and the application of bones, gypsum, lime, chalk, &c. determined on scien- tific principles. By W. Grisenthwaite. Wells, 12ma H. « H. G. Wob., 2d. edit. p. 420, 421. 889. H6rtU8 Gra- mlneus Wohurnensis ; or, an account of the re- sults of various experiments on the produce and fattening properties of different grasses, and other plants used as the food of the more valu- able domestic animals ; instituted by John Duke of Bedford. To which is added, an appendix, pointing out the different grasses best adapted for the manufacture of Leghorn bonnets, &c. By G. Sinclair. Lond. Royal 8va 1825. Harleian Dairy System, p. 44fi. The Harleian Dairy System, &c. By William Hariey. Lond.lH29. 8vo. Harrison's Description of England, p. 42. The first volume of the Chronicles of Englande, ScoU lande, and Irelande, &c. LiOnd. 1^7. fol. See Description of Britaine, Harte's Essays, p. 11. Essays on Husbandry. Lond. 1770. Svo. Hassal's Report, p. 1143. A General View of the Agriculture of Monmouthshire. Lond. 1794. 4to. * Headrick's General View, p. 1190. - General View of the Agriculture of the County of Angus, or Forfarshire; with observations on the means of its improvement Drawn up for the consi- deration of the Board of Agriculture, and in- ternal Improvement. 1813. Svo. * Headrick's Survey, p. 1197. See Headrick's Ge- neral View, 1190. Henderson's General View, p. 1193. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Caithness 1812. Svo. Henderson's Treatise on Swine, p. 1076. Treatise on the Breeding of Swine and Curing of Bacon with hints on agricultural subjects. Edin 181l' 8va Henry, p. 40. Henry's History of Great Britain, from the first Invasion of it by the Romans under Julius Caesar. Continued by Andrews. Lond 1814. 12 vols. 8va * Highland Society's Transactions, p. 373. Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland. Edin. to 1820. 6 vols. Svo. New Series, published in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, commencing 1828 to 1831. 2 vols, forming the 7th and 8tfa. Hints to Paviors, p. 602. Hints to Paviors. By Colonel Macerone. Lond. 1826. Svo, A 2d edition in 1827, by the Editor of the Mechanics', Magazine, in which is given a Comparative View of all the dififerent methods of paving hi- therto used or suggested. History of Britain, p. ^. See Henry. History d'un Morceau de Bois, Hort. Tour, p. 235. See Neill'6 Horticultural Tour. HistoryofJava.p. 153 A Statistical Account of the Island of Java. By T. S. Raffles, Lieutenant Governor of Batavia. I^nd. 1HI5. 2 vols. 4to. History of Moscow, p. 107- Lyall's History and De- scription of Moscow. Lond. 1824. 1 vol. 4to. History of Northumberiand, p. 1119. The Natural History and Antiquities of Northumberland, and of so much oi the County of Durham as lies between the rivers Tyne and Tweed. By J. Wallis, A. M. Lond. 1769. 2 vols. 4to. History of Sumatra, p. 164. The History of the Island of Sumatra, &c. ByW. Marsden. Lond. 1811. 4to. Hodgson, p. 88. Hodgson's Travels in Germany. 2 vols. Svo. 1819. , . , Holinshead, p. 41. Chronicles of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Lond. 1.577. 2 vols. foL • Holland's General View, p. 1163. General Viewof the Agriculture of Cheshire; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond, 1817. 8vo. Holt's General View, p. 1162. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lancaster ; with observations on the means of its improve- ment Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1795. Svo. Homer's Enquiry into the State of the Public Roads, p. 567. An E^iquiry into the Means of Preserving and Improving the Public Roads of this King- dom. Oxford, 1767. Svo. Horner's Art of Delineating Estates, p. 546. De- scription of an Improved Method of Delineating Estates. Lond. 1813. Svo. Horse-hoeing Husbandry, p. 126. See Tull. Hort Trans., p. 155. Transactions .of the London Horticultural Society. liOnd. 7 vols. 4to. 1815 to 1831. Houghton's Collections, p. 44. Collections for the Improvement of Husbandry, relating to Corn. Lond. 1727- 4 vols. Svo. Huish's Treatise on Bees, p. 1107. A Treatise on the Nature, Economy, and Practical Management of Bees. Lond. 1815. 8vo. Husb. of the Anc, p. 22. The Husbandry of the Ancients. Edin. 1778. 2 vols. Svo. •Husbandry of Scotland, p. 1 138. An Account of the Systems of Husbandry adopted in the more im- proved Districts of Scotland, &c. By Sir John Sinclair, Bart Edin. 1812. 8vo. Hunt's Agricultural Memoirs, p. l!^7. See Agricul- tural Memoirs. Huntingdonshire Report, p. 746. General View of the Agriculture of Huntingdonshire. Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. By R. Park- inson. Lond. 1811. Svo. * Illustof L.G. Illustrations of Landscape Garden- ing and Garden Architecture ; or a collection of designs original and executed, for laying out country residences of every degree of extent, from the cottage and farm, to the national pa- lace and public park or garden ; kitchen gar. dens, flower-gardens, arboretums, shrubberies, botanic gardens, scientific gardens, cemeteries, &C. In different styles, by different artists, of different periods and countries. Accompanied by letter-press descriptions in English, French, and German. By J. C. Loudon. Lond. 1830. Atlas fol., in half yearly parts. •Improvements on theMarquess of Stafford's Estates, ^J,;;^ Loch's Improvements on theMarquess of Stafford's Estates. Lond. 1819. Svo. introd. to Gerardin's Essay, p. 16. An Essay on landscape ; or on the means of ornamentine the country around our habitations. Translated trom the French, said (but erroneously! bv Da_ T "'!l Malthus, Esq. Lond. 1783. 12mo: Inwood's Tables for Purchasing Estates &c n Wi Tables forthePurchasing Sf EstIS, Fre^hSJi Copyhold, or Leasehold; Annuities; and for the renewmg of leases held under cathedral churches, colleges, or other corporate bo^S LonisJo'" y"^"*=«'^^-". «^d for Uv«.&S • Italy, p. 60. 'See Chateauvieux. J. ^^°nf NnSh J'^i^^" ^'*"'» ^"'J «n the Agriculture of Northern Europe, p. 90. Lond. foL 1826. LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO- Jacob's Travels, p. 1 15. Travels in the South of Spain, in letters written A. D. 1809 and 1810; iUus- tratcd with 13 plates. Lond. 1811. 4ta Jamaica Planter's Guide, p. 194. Roughley's Ja. mntca Planter's Guide. Lond. 1823. Svo. ♦Johnstone's Account of Elkington's Mode of Draining Land, p, 6Pl. An account of the most approved mode of draining land, according to the system practised by the late Mr. Joseph Elkington ; with an appendix, containing hints for farther improvement of bogs and other marshy grounds, after draining ; together with observations on hollow and surface draining in general The whole illustrated by explanatory engravings. Drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture. Edin. 1797. 4to Journ. de Med., p^ 1066L Journal de M^decine, Fa. ris, in Svo. Nos. monthly. K. * Kames, Crent Fanner, p. 742:. The Gentleman Farmer; being an attempt to improve agricul- ture, by subjecting it to the test of rational principles. Edin. 1776, Svo ; fifth edit, Edin- 1802. Svo. By Henry Home, usually called Lord Kames. Keith's General View, p. 1191. General View of the Agriculture of Aberdeenshire ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1811. 8va 15*. Kent's Hints, p. 316. Hints to Gentlemen of Landed Property. Lond, 1775. Svo. Kent's Hints to Gentlemen of lianded Property, p. 549. See Kent's Hints, p. 316: Kent's Norfolk, p: 1136. General View of the Agri- culture of the County of Norfolk ; with observ- ations on the means for its improvement Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture, and Internal Improvement; with additional remarks from several respectable Gentlemen and Farmers, &c. Norwich, 1796- 8va Kerr's Berwidmhire, p. 1181. Statistical, AgrU cultural, and Political Survey of Berwickriiire. 1809. Svo. Kingdom, p. 167. Account of British Colonies. Lond. ISSa Svo. Kirby, p. 298. An Introduction to Entomology ; or elements of the natural history of insects. Il- lustrated, with coloured plates. 2 vols. Svo. 1815 — 1817. A fourth edition, much improved, in 18S2. Kirlw and Spence, lut to Entomology, p. 1120. See Kirby. Klapraeyer in Thaer's Annalen., p. 875. SeeThaer. Kincardineshire Report, p. 1052. General View of the Agriculture of Kincardineshire. By James Robertson, D.D. 1811. 8va Lancashire Report, p. 903. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Lancaster; with observations on the means of its improve- ment Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture, By John Holt Lond. 1795. Svo, Lancisis Disputatio Historica de Bouvllld Peste, Paris, PL 1032. Sva Lardner's Cyclo. Dom. Econ., p. 672. Lond, 1829. 12mo. Last CoL de Machines, &a, p. 740. See CoL de Machines. Leatham's General View, p, 1158. General View of the Agriculture of^tne East Riding of York- shire. Lond. 1794. 4to. Lectures on Natural Philosophy, p. 311. A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy, and the Mechanical Arts. By Thomas Young, M. D., F. R. S. Lond. 1807. 2 vols. 4to. Leges Burgundiorum, p. 34. See Ranken's Historv of France. The History of France, Civil and Military, Ecclesiastical, Political, Literary, Commercial, &c., from the time of its conquest byCIovis, A. p: 486. Lond. 1801—1805. 3 vols. I^ges Wallicae, p. 36. See Henry's History of Bri- tain. Lehman's Topographical Plan Drawing, p. 543L Lond. 1819^ Oblong folio. Leslie's General View, p. 1192. A General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Nairn and Murray. 181L Svo. Les Prdjug^s D^truits, ftc, p. 1S26. Les Fr^jug^:} D^truits ; par J. M. Lequinio. Mcmbre dc la Convention National de la France, et Citoycu du Globe. Paris, 1792. Svo. Letter to a Young Planter, p. 195. Lond 1785. Svo. Letters and Communications, p. 578. See Communi. cations to the Board of Agriculture Xetters on Italy, p. 56. See Chateauvicux. Letters on Road-making, {y. 578. See Paterson. Life of the Duke of Ormond, p. 134. Thj History of the Life of James Duke of Ornvond, from his birth in 1610, to his death in 1688 ; with a collection of his letters to verify the said his- tory. By T. Carte. Lond. 1735, 173a 3 vols, folio. Linn. Trans., p. 258. Transactions of the Linnfpan Society of London. Lond. 1782— 1S31, 17 vols. 4to. * Loch, p. 708. See Loch's Improvements of the Marquess of StaSbrd, 470. Lond. 1820. Svo. Loch's Improvements, p. 114S. See Loch. Ijondon Encyc, p. 237- Tegg's Z^ondon Encyclopae- dia, Lond. 1825. Svo. London Journal of the Arts, p. 591. See Newton's Journal Long's Jam,, p. 195. History of Jamaica, Lond, 1774. 3 vols. 4to. Lord Karnes's Gentleman Fariher, p. 391. See Kames. * Lord Somerville's Facts, p. 1054 ; Facts and Ob. servations relative to Sheep, Wool, Ploughs, and Oxen; in which the importance of improv- ing the short- wooUed breeds by a mixture of the Merino breed, is deduced from actual practice. Together with some remarks on the advantages which have been derived from the use of salt Lond. 1803. New edition, 1809. 8va * Loudon's H6rtus Brit, p. 316. Loudon's H6rtus Brit^nnicus. A Catalogue of all the Plants, indigenous, cultivated in, or introduced to, Britain. Lond. 1830. 1 vol Svo. Lowe's Report, p. 1155. General View of the Agri- culture of the County of Nottingham ; with ob- servations on the means of its improvement. Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement Lond. 1794, 4to.^ m: M' Adam's Remarks on Roads, p, 577. Lond. 1819. Svo. M' Adam's Report to the Board of Agriculture, p. 577. See M' Adam's Remarks on Roads. Macdonald's General View, p. 1197. General View of the Agriculture of the Hebrides. 1811. Svo. Macdonald's Report of the Western Islands, p. 519. General View of the Agriculture of the Hebrides. A new edition. 1811. Svo. Macdonald's Report of the Hebrides, p. 1052. See Macdonald's Report of the Western Islands, p. 519. M'Evoy's Survey of Tyrone, p. 1204. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Tyrone. Dublin, 1802. Svo. Mackenzie's General View, p. 1192. A General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Ross and Cromarty. Lond. 1810. Svo. M*Nab's Hints on Planting Evergreens. Hints on the Planting and General Treatment of Hardy Evergreens in the Climate of Scotland. Edin. 1830. Svo. M*Parlan's Survey of Leitrim, p. 1203. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Leitrim, Dubl. 1802. Sva M'Parlan's Survey of Donegal, p. 1204- A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Done- gal. Dubl. 1SU2. Svo. M'Parlan's Survey of Mayo, p. 1203. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mayo. Dubl. 1802. Svo. M'Parlan's Survey of Sligo, p. 1204. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Sligo. Dubl. 1902. ova Maison Rustique de Cayenne, p. 201. Paris, Svo, Mag. Nat Hist, p. 1126. Loudon's Magazine of Natural History. Lond. in Svo. Incorpo- rated with Ann. Nat. Hist. Major's Treatise on Insects. A Treatise on the Insects most prevalent on Fruit Trees and Garden Produce ; giving an account of the states they pass though, the depredations they XIV LIST OF BOOKS UKFERRED TO. commit, Including the Recipes of various au- thors for their destruction, with remarks on their utility ; also, a few Hints on the Causes and Treatment of mildew and canlter on fruit trees, cucumbers, &c. &c. London and Leeds. Sva Malcolm's Survey, p. 1126. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Surrey. Lond. 1794. 4to * Manual of Cottage Gardening, 1225, Loudon's Manual of Cottage Gardening, Husbandry, and Architecture, &c., with 3 Plana for Cottages. Lond. 1830. 8vo. * Marquess of Stafford's Improvements, p.S62. See Loch. * Marshall's Midland Counties, Minute 27, p. 731. Rural Economy of the Midland Counties | in- cluding the management of livestock in Leices- ter and its environs ; together with Minutes on Agriculture and Planting in the District of the Midland Station. Lond. 1790. 2 vols. 8vo. * Marshall's Review, p. 1125. Review of The Land- scape J a Didactic Poem : and also, an Essay on the Picturesque; together with practical re- marks on rural ornament Lond. 1795. 8vo. Marshall's Rural Economy of Norfolk, p. 1061. The Rural Economy of Norfolk ; comprising the Management of Landed Estates, and the present Practice of Husbandry in that County. Lond. 1788. 2 vols. 8va * Marshall's Yorkshire, vol. i., p. 744. The Rural Eco- nomy of Yorkshire; comprising the Management of Landed Estates, and the present Practice of Husbandry in the Agricultural Districts of that County. Lond. 1788. 2 vols. 8vo. Martin's Essay on Plantership, in Young*s Annals of Agriculture, p. 195. See Young. Massinger's New Way to Pay Old Debts, p. 550. Flays, with Notes critical and explanatory, by William GifFord. Lond. 1805. 4 vols. 8vo. Matthew on Naval Timber, &c. A Treatise on Naval Timber, and Arboriculture; to which are added. Critical Notes on Authors who have recently treated the Subject of Planting. Lond. 1831. 8vo. * Mavor's Report, p. 1138. Mavor's Agricultural Survey of Berkshirb * Maxwell's Practical Husbandman, p. 891. The Practical Husbandman; being a collection of miscellaneous papers on Husbandry. Edin. 1757. 8vo. * Maxwell, p. 1134. See Maxwell's Practical Hus- bandman, p. 391. Mech. Mag., p. 429. Mechanics' Magazine, Mu- seum, Register, Journal, and Gazette. Lond. 8vo. In weekly Nos. and Monthly Farts. Mim. de la Soc. Agr. du Seine, tome ii. p. SOS. M^. moires de laSoci^te d' Agriculture du Seine et Oise. Paris. 8vo. M^ro. de la Soc. Agr., p. 49. See Mem. de la Soa Agr. de Seine. M^m. de la Soci^t^ Royale et Centrale d'Agr. de Paris, p. 333. Paris, 8vo. Middlesex Report, p. 731. A View of the Agricul- ture of Middlesex ; with o'bservations on the means of its improvement ; with several Essays on Agriculture in generaL Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1798. Svo. Middleton's Survey, p. 1125. See Middlesex Report, p. 731. ddle Middleton's Survey of Middlesex, p. 519. See Mid- dlesex Report, p. 731. Minutes of Evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, p. 572. Lond. foL MoDtfaucon, M., Monumensde la Monarchic. Les Monumens de la Monarchic Fran^aise, avec les fig. de chaque Rfegne, que I'injure du Temps a ^pargn^es. Par. 1729—1733, 5 vols. foL Montliy Magazine, p..744. The Monthly Magazine, Lond In Monthly Nos. 8va * Morel de Vind*?, p. 340. Essai sur les Construc- tions Rurales et Economiques ; contenant leurs Plans, Coupes, Elevations, Details, et Ddvis, £tablis aux plus bas Prix possibles. Paris, folio, 1822. 40 pages, with 36 plates. Morier's Second Journey, p. 141. A Second Jour- ney through Persia to Constantinople, between the Years 1810—1816: with a Journal of the Voyage by the Brazils and Bombay to the Per- sian Gulf; together with an Account of the Proceedings of his Majesty's Embassy, under his Excellency Sir Gore Ousley, Bart, F.R.S.L. With maps, coloured costumes, and other en. gravings, from the designs of the Author. 1S18 Moryaon's Itln., p. 42. Itinerary; written first in the Latin tongue, and then translated by him- self into English; containing twelve Years 'IVavels through Germany, Bonmerland, Switz- erland, Netherlande, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Turkey, France, England, Scotland, and Ire- land. In three parts. Lond. 1617. fol. Mowbray, p. 1086. A Practical Treatise on the Me- thod of Breeding, Rearing, and Fattening Domestic PoiUtry, Pigeons, and Rabbits/ Lond. 1815. 8vo. . ^ . , Munro's Guide to Farm Book-keeping. A Cruide to Farm Book-keeping, founded upon actual practice and upon new and concise principles. Edia 1822. Svo. N, Naismith's General View, 1185. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Clydesdale, with Observations on the Means of its Improve- ment Drawn up for the Consideration of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improve- ment Brent 1794. 4to. Narrative, p. 155. Personal Observations made dur- ing the Progress of the British Embassy through China, and on its Voyage to and from that Country, in the Years 1816-1817. By Clerk AbeL Lond. 1818. 4to. Nat Hist., p. 14. See Plin. Nicholson's Journal of Natural Philosophy, Che- mistry, and the Arts. Illustrated with engrav- ings. Lond. 1797—1802. 5 vols. 4to. Nic, four., p. 1223. New Series. Lond. 1802— 1814 36 vols. Svo. Neill, p. 69. Journal of a Horticultural Tour throughout some parts of Flanders, Holland, and the North of France, in the Autumn of 1817, by a Deputation of the Caledonian Hor- ticultural Society. Drawn up by P. Neill, one of the Deputation. Edin. Svo. 182a New System of Cultivation, by General Beatson, p. 402. A New System of Cultivation, without Lime or Dung, or Summer Fallows, as practised at Knowle Farm, in the County of Sussex. Lond. 1820. Svo. Plates and Supplement, 1821. Svo. plates. • New Theory of Agr., p. 260. A New Theory of Agriculture, in which the Nature of Soils, Crops, and Manures is explained, many prevailing Prejudices are exploded, and the Application of Bones, Gypsum, Lime, Chalk, &c., determined on scientific Principles. By William Grisen- thwaite. 1820. 12mo. Newenham, p. 135. A Statistical and Historical En- quiry into the Progress and Magnitude of Popu- lation in Ireland Lond. 1805. Svo. 1818. Svo. Newenham's Statistical Survey, p. 1205. See Newen. ham, p. 135. Newton's Journal, p. 372. The London Journal of Artfi and Sciences, &c. Lond. Monthly Nos. Svo. • Northum. Survey, p. 127. A General View of the Agriculture of tlie County of Northumber- land, with Observations on the Means of its Im- provement. Drawn up for the Board of Agri- culture. By John Bailey. Newcastle, 1797 Svo. 1800. Svo. • Northumberland Report, p. 501. See Northum. Survey, p. 127. Notes, p. lOT. Notes on the Crimea. By Mary Hoi- derness. Lond. 1831. l^no. Notes to Sir H. Davy's Agr. Chem., p. 353. Davy*a Agricultural Chemistry. Edit 1826. Svo. Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, p. S09. Paris, 13 vols. Svo. O. * Obs. on Husbandry, p. 43. Observations on Hus- bandry. By Edward Lisle, Esq. Lond. Second edition. 1759. 2 vols. Svo. • Observations on Irrigation, p. 731. Observations on the Utility, Form, and Management of Wa. ter Meadows, and the Draining and Irrigating Peat-bogs ; with an Account of Prisley Bog, and other extraordinary Improvements, conducted for the Duke of Bedford. By William Smith. Lond. 1809. Svo. Observations upon Rnads, p. 576. Fry's Observations on Roads and Wheel-Carriages. Lond 8vc. LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. Odyss., p. 10. The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, translated by Alexander Pope. I^nd. 1806. 4 vols. ISmo. * On the Conversion of Arable Land Into Pasture, I>. 895. On the Conversion of Arable Land into Pasture, and on other Rural Subjects. By Francis Blaikie. Lond. 1819. 12mo. On Hedges and Hedge-row Timber, pi 10. A Trea- tise on the Management of Hedges and Hedge, row Timber. By Francis Blaikie. Lond. 12mo. Oxfordshire Report, p. 745. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Oxford. Richard Davis. Lond. 1794. 4to. P. By Pal. p. SI. Translation of the Fourteen Books of Falladius on Agriculture. By the Rev. T. Owea Lond. 1807. 8va Pallad., la See Pal., p. 21. Paper apud Transactions of Sc. Ant. Soc, p^ 43. Transactions of the Antiquarian Society of Scotland. Edin. 4to. Parker*8 Essay, jk 502. An Essay or Practical En- quiry concerning the Hanging and Fastening of Gates and Wickets. Second edition, im- proved and enlarged. Six 4to plates. Lond. 1804. Parker's Essay on Hanging Gates, p. 504. See Par- ker's Essay, p. 502: * Parkinson, p. 1134^ General View of the Agricul- ture of Huntingdonshire. Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. ISII. 8vo. Paris, M. Hist, p. 38. Historia major Anglis Guli. elmo Victore ad ultiraum annum Henr. III. Lond. 1684. fol. Paris, M., Vit Abbot p; 38. See Paris, M., Hist, p. 38. * Parochial Institutions, &c., p. 1226. Parochial Institutions ; or an outline for a National Edu- cation Establishment, as a substitute for the National Churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland. By J. C. Loudon. Lond. 1829. 8vo. Paterson's Letters, p. 581. Xietters on Road-making. Montrose, 12mo. Pearce'8 Berkshire, p. 1138. General View of the Agriculture of Berkshire. Lond. 1794. 4to. Perth Miscellany. The Perth Miscellany of Litera- ture, Agriculture, Gardening, and Local In- telligence. Perth, 1830. Three Nos. Peyrouse, pi 7L A Sketch of the Agriculture of a District in the South of France. By Baron Plcot de la Peyrouse. Translation, with notes. Lond, 18ia 8vo. PhiL Trans., p, lllN. The Philosophical Transac tions of the Royal Society of London, from their commencement in 1665 to 1831. Lond. 4ta Abridgement by Hutton, Shaw, and Pear- son. Lond. 180^-1809. 18 vols. 4ta PhiL Trans, et Abr., p. 1207. See Phil Trans., p. 111& Philos. Mag., p. 334. The Philosophical Magzaine. Lond. 8vo. In monthly Nos. Continued. Phys. des Arb., p. 24 1. Physique des Arbres, oil il est traite de I'Anatomie des Plantes, et de I'EcoQomie Vggetale : avec une explication des termes propres k cette science. Par Henri Louis du Hamel du Monceau. Paris, 1758. 2 vols. 4to. * Fhytologia, n. 329. Phytologia, or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening, with the theory of draining morasses, and with an improved construction of the drill plough. By Erasmus Darwin, M. D. Lond. 1801. 4ta Pitscottie, p. 40. See Henry's History of Britain. Pitt's Report, p. 1156. A General View of the Agriculture of Korthamptonshira 8vo. Lond. Plant KaL, p. 640. The Planter's Calendar, by the late Walter Nicol ; edited and completed, by Edward Sang. Edin. 1820. 2d edition. 8vo. Planter's Guide, 193. The Planter's Guide ; or, a practical essay on the best method of giving immediate c£^t to wood, by the removal of large trees and imderwood, &c. By Sir Henry Steuart, Baxt» LLD., ftc. Edin. 8vo. 5 pis. pp. 473. Plin. Nat Hist, p; 17. Pliny's Natural History of the World, translated into English by Phile- mon Holland. Lond, 1601. 1634^ 2 vols., ge- nerally bound in one, foL Plumtree's Residence in Ireland, p. 133. London, 1820. 4to. Plymley's Shropshire, p. 11'15. A General View of the Agriculture of Shropshire. Lond, 1804. 8vo. Polydore Virgil, p. 41. Historia Anglicana. Basle, 1.534. fol. Pomeroy's Worcestershire, p. 1142. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Worces- eer. Lond. 1794. 4to. Potter's Antiq., p. 10. Archseologia Graeca; or, the Antiquities of Greece. Oxf. 1697 — 1599. 2 vols. 8va Present State of Turkey, p. 121. The Present State of Turkey j or a description of the political, ci- vil, and religious constitution, government, and laws of the Ottoman empire, &c. By F. Thorn- ton. Lond. 1807. 4to. Principles of Botany, p. 243. See Willdenow. Pringle's General View, p. 1162. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Westmore- land, with observations on the means of its improvement. Edin. 1794^ 4to. Pringle's Present State of Albany, South Africa, p. 181. • Prof. Plant, 639. The Profitable Planter ; a trea- tise on the cultivation of the larch and Scotch pine timber,sh owing that their excellent quality, especially that of the former, will render thi'm so essentially useful, as greatly to promote t\iQ interests of the country. By William Pontey, Huddersfield. 1800. 8vo. Q. Quarterly Journal of Agric, p. 316. The Quarterly Journal of Agriculture : and the Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland. Edin. 1828. In 8vo numbers, quar- terly. Quar. Jour.:Science, p. 602. The Quarterly Journal of Science Edited at the Royal Institution of Great Britain: In 8vo numbers, quarterly. In October, 1830, it was given up, and the Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain sub- stituted. Quayle's General View, &c. of the Norman Islands, p. 1 172. Quayle's General View of the Agricul- ture, &c of the Islands on the coast of Nor- mandy subject to Great Britain. Lond, 1815. 8vo Raccolta dei Autori che trattano del' Aque, p. 329. Firenze, 8va Rawson's Survey of Kildare, p. 1200. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Kil- dare. DubL 1807. 8vo. Recherches de Physiologie et de Chimie Fatholo- gique, par P. N. Nysten., p. 311. Paris, 1811. 8vo. Recr., p. 144. See Anderson. Recueil Industrlel, p. 810. Recueil Industriel Ma- nufacturier, Agricole, et Commerciel, ftc. Paris, 1829. In monthly numbers, 8vo. Continued. Rees's Cyc, p. 1224^ The New Cyclopaedia, or Uni- versal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, formed upon a more enlarged plan of arrangement than the Dictionary of Mr. Chambers, compre- hending the various articles of that work, with additions and improvements; together with the new subject of biography, geography, and his- tory, and adapted to the present state of litcra- ture and science. Lond. 1803, 45 vols. 4to. Reflections on the Commerce of the Mediterranean. By John Jackson, Esq. Reflections on the Com- merce of the Mediterranean, deduced from ac- tual Experience during a Residence on both Shores of the Mediterranean Sea, &c. Lond. 1804 8vo. Rcgiam Majestatem, p. 39. See Henry's History of Britain. Relat of Heat and Moisture, p. 359. Short Account of Experiments and Instruments depending on the Relation of the Air to Heat and Moisture. By John Leslie, F.R.S., &c Edin. 1SI3. 8vo. Relat du Voy. fait, en Egypte, p. 7. Relation du Voyage fait en Egypte, dans I'Annee 1730. Par Granger. Paris, 1745. 12mo. Reliquise Spelmannianae, p. 36. Reliquae Spelman- nian£e : or his poslnumous works, &c Par Edmund Gibson. Oxf. 1698. FoL LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. Remarks on Live Stock, p. 302. Remarks on Live Stock, in a letter to Henry Cline, Enq. By Andrew Coventry. M. D. Edin. 1808. 8vo. Report of the Edinburgh Railway, p. 572. Edin. 18S6. 4ta Report of Nairn and Moray, p. lOlS. Donaldson's General View of the Agriculture of Nairn, Lond. 1791. 4to. j and of Elgin and Moray, Lond. 179*. 4to. Report of Northum., 1182. See Bailey. * Report of the Workington Society, p. 771. By John C. Curwen, M P. Repton's Enquiry, p. 566. An Enquiry into the Changes in Taste and Landscape Gardening, By Humphry Repton, Esq. Lond. J806. 8vo. •Robertson's Rural Recollections, p. 1178. Rural Recollections ; or, the progress of improvement in agriculture and rural affairs. Irvine, 18S9. 8vo. * Robertson's Survey, p. 1178. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mid-Lothian, with observations on the means of its improve- ment With the additional remarks of several respectable gentlemen and farmers in the county. Drawn up for the Board of Agricul- ture. Edin. 1795. 8vo. Roughley, p. 193. Jamaica Planter's Guide. Lond. 1823. 8vo. Roughley's Jamaica Planter's Guide, p. 195. See Roughley, p. 193. Rox. Coromandel, p. 158. Plants of the Coast of Co- romandel ; selected from the drawings and de- scriptions presented to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, By W. Roxburgh, M.a, F.U.S., &C. Lond. 1795. 1802. 2 vols. fol. Roxburghshire Report, p. 1060. A General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk. By Robert Douglas, D.D. Lond. 180a 8vo. Rudge's Report, p. 114^). Survey of the Agriculture , , of the County of Gloucester. Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1807. 8vo. Rural Economy of Norfolk, ij.518. The Rural Eco- nomy of Norfolk ; comprising the management of landed estates, and the present practice of husbandry in that county. Lond. 1788. 2 vols. 8vo. * Rural Recollections, p. 1178. See Robertson. S. Saggio Botanlco Georgico intomo PHibridismo delle Piante. By Billardi. Pavia, 1809., p. 813. Sampson's Survey ot Londonderry, p. 1205. Memoir explanatory of the Chart and Survey of the County of Londonderry, Ireland. DubL 1802. 8vo. Sang, p. 656. See Plant. CaL Scandinavia, p. 110. See Dr. Clarke's Travels. Saxon Rarities of the Eighth Century, p. 36. See Strutt's Chronicle of England ; or, complete History, &c. Plates. Lond. 1777, 1778. 2 vols. 4to. Scot Waring's Persia, p. 139. Tour to Sheeraz, by the Route of Kazroon and Feerozabad ; with va- rious remarks on the manners, customs, laws, language, and literature of the Persians. To which is added, A History of Persia from the death of Kureem Khan to the subversion of the Zund Dynasty. Lond. 1807- 4to. Scotsman, p. 65. The Scotsman Newspaper. In folio numbers, twice a week. Select Remains of John Ray, p. 45. Select Me- moirs of the learned John Ray ; with his life by Derham. Published by John Scott. Lond. 1761. 8vo. Shaw's Zoology, p. 1103. General Zoology, or Sys- temaclc Natural History ; with plates from the first authorities, and most select specimens, engraved principally by Mr. Heath. Lond. 1800^1806. 6 vols, large 8vo., and a smaller size. Shirreff's Survey of Orkney and Shetland, p. 1052. General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands, with observations on the means of their Improvement; drawn up for the Board Of Agriculture. Edin. 1814- 8vo. Shrew. Rep., p. 311. See Plymley. Sigismondi, Agr. Tosc, p. 329. See Agr. Tuscan. Simond's Switzerland, 60. A Tour in Switzerland, &c Lond. 1819. 8vo. Sir J. Banks on Blight, 1805. p. S count of the Causes of the A short Ac- le Diseases in Corn, called by Farmers the Blight, the Mildew, and the Rust. With plates. Lond. 1803. 4to. Six Essays on Public Education, from the New York Daily Sentinel, p. 1226. New York, 1830. 8vo. Smeaton's Posthumous Works, p. 329. Lond. 1810. 3 vols. 4to, Smith's Compendium of Practical Inventions, p. 433. Smith's Mechanic, or Compendium of Practical Inventions. Liverpool. 2 vols. 8vo. Smith's Mechanic, p. 432. See Smith's Compendium of Practical Inventions, p. 433. Smith's County Geological Maps, p. 1125. Geologi- cal Maps of the different Counties of England. By William Smith, Engineer and Mineralogist Lond. Smith's Geological Map, p. llSa See Smith's County Geological Maps, 1125. Smith's Geological Map of England, Wales, and part of Scotland, p. 1125. I^nd. 1818. Smith's General View, p. 1184^ General View of the Agriculture of Galloway j drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1811. 8vo. Smith's Geological Table of British organised Fos- sils, p. 1125. Lond. 1819. Smith's History of Kerry, p. 1202. The ancient and Present State of the County of Kerry, &c. )ublin, 1774. 8vo. Smith's Introduction, p. 262. An Introduction to Physiological and Systematical Botany. Lond. 2d edit 1809. 8vo. * Small's Treatise on Ploughs and Wheel Carriages, ■ p. 391. Treatise on Ploughs and Wheel Car- riages. Edin. 1784. 8vo. * Somerville'B General View, p. 1180. General View of the Agriculture of East Lothian ; drawn up from the papers of the author. Lond. 1805. Svo. * Specimen of a work on Horse-hoeing Husbandry. p. 1161. ByJethroTulL Lond. 1731. 4to. Spectator, p. 1226. The Spectator Newspaper. In weekly Numbers. Long 4to. Spix,p.200. Travels in Brazil. ByDrs. Spix and Martius. Lond. 1824. 2 vols. Svo. Spix's Travels, p. 165. See Spix. Strabo, p. 36. Geographia, &c. Oxford, 1807. 2 vols. folio. * Statistical account of Scotland. The Statistical Account of Scotland ; drawn up from the com- munications of the ministers of the different parishes. Edin. 1791 — 1799. 21 vols. 8va Stedman's Surinam, p. 201. Narrative of a five Years' Expedition against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, on the wild Coast of< South America, from 1773 to 1777; elucidating the history of that country, and describing its I>roductions, viz. quadrupeds, birds, fishes, rep- tiles, trees, shrubs, &c. ; with an account of the Indians of Guiana and negroes of Guinea : iL lustrated with SO elegant engravings, from drawings made by the author. Lond. 1796. 2 vols. 4to. * Stevenson, p. 1127. General View of the AgricuL ture of the County of Surrey. Lond. 1809. Svo. * Stevenson's General View, p. 1168, See Stevenson. p. 1127. * Stevenson's Surrey, p. 439. See Stevenson, p. 1127. * Stevenson's Survey, p. 1126. See Stevenson, p. 1 127. * Stevenson's Plan for Ti-ack-roads, p. 570. See Brewster's Encyclopedia. Art Boad. Stillmgfleet's Life and Works, p. 5. His Literary Life, and Select Works By William Cox. Lond. 1811. 3 vols. Svo. Stone's Bedfordshire, p. 1132 General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bedford. Lond 1794. 4to. Stone's Report, p. 1155. See Stone's Bedfordshire. p. 1132. * Stone's Huntingdonshire, p. 1134. A General View of the Agriculture of Huntingdonshire. Lond. 1793. 4to. Strickland's View, p. 1158. A General View of the Agriculture of the East Riding of Yorkshire Lond. 1812. Svo. Strutt's Complete View of the Manners, &c. Horda AngeUCynnan; or, a complete view of the manners, customs, arms, haliits, &c., of the^ people of Engl&nd from the arrival of the Saxons till the reign of Henry VIII. ; with a short account of the Britons during the govern. ment of the Romans. Lond. 1774 — 1776. 3 vol* 4to. LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. X*I1 Surrey of the West Riding of Yorkshire, p, S91. See Brown's West Riding. Survey by St John Priest, p. 1131. General View of the Agriculture of Buckinghamshire. Sra Lend. 1810. in 4to. Swainson's MSS., p. 200. Matter furnished by Mr. Swainson, F.K.S. See List of Contributors, p. 6. System of Chemistry, p. 311. A System of Chemis- try. By Thomas Thomson, il. D., F. K. S., Sec Lond. 1817. 4 vols. 8vo. y T. T., p. 347. Matter ftirnished by Dr. Trail of Liver- pool. See List of Contributors. Tacit de Morib. German., p. 36. The works of Taci- tus. By T. Gordon. Lend. 1770, 1771. 5 vols. ISmo. The Country G}entleman*s Companion, p. 521. By Stephen Switzer, Gardener. Lond. 17^ 8va The Country Gentleman's Recreation, p. 1100. Lon- don. 1753. 2 vols. I3ma The New York Daily Sentinel, p. 1S26. A Daily Newspuier published at New York. The Rev. Dr. Singer's General View, p. 1183. Ge- neral View of the Agriculture, State of Pro- perty, and Improvements in the County of DumfHes. Edin. 1812. 8vo. The Woodlands, p. 640. The W^oodlands ; or a treatise on planting, describing the trees, &c. By W^illiam Cobbett Lond. 1826. 8vo. The Working Man*s Advocate, p. 1226. A New York Newspaper. Theo. de Caus. Plant, p. S5. Historia Plantarum, kTheodoro Gaza interprete. Ven. apud Aid. 1498. Theophrast Hist Plant, p. 251. See Theo. de Caus. Plant, p. 25. Thomson's General View, p. 188. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Fife ; with observations on the means of its improvement Edin. 1800. 8vo. Thomson's Survey of Mcath. Dublin, 1802. 8vo. Thornton, p. 121. * The present State of Turkey, &c. By Thomas Thornton. Lond. 1810. 2 vols. 8vo. * Thouin, p. 371. Cours de Culture et de Natural- isation des V^gfetaux, &c. By Andr£ Thouin, with an Atlas of 25 plates in 4to. Published by his Nephew Oscar Leclerc. Paris. 1827. 3 vols. 8vo, and 1 voL 4to. Tlgbe's Survey of Kilkenny, p: ISi-. Statistical Ob- servations on the County of Kilkenny, made in 1800 and 1801. Svo, Tooke's View of the Russian Empire, p. 105. View of the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine IL and J» the close of the present century. Lond. 1799. 3 vols. 8vo. Townsend, p. 118. A Journey through Spain in the years 1786 and 1787; with particular attention to the Agriculture, Manufactures, Commerce, Population, Taxes, and Revenue of that coun- try, and Remarks in passing through part of France Lond. 1791. 3 vols. Svo. Townsend's Spain, p. 115, See Townsend, 118. Townshend's Corl^ p. 134. Statistical Survey of the County of Cork. 1810. Svo. Townshend's Survey of Cork, p. 1201. See Town- shend's Cork, 134. Traits des Assolemens, p. 333. See Nouveau Cours complet d' Agriculture, &c IVait^ de Chim. Element p. 226. Recherches Fhy- sico-Cfaimi^ues. Par MM. Gay-Lussac et The- nard. Paris. 1815. 2 vols. Svo. TranaactionsoftheDublinSociety, p. 568. See Dub- lin Soa • Trans. HighL Soa, p, 1187. See Highland Society's Transactions. Trans. Ir. Acad. p. 367- Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. Dublin, 4to, Trans. Soc. Arts, p. 373. Transactions of the So- ciety for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufac- tures, and Commerce. &c Lond. 1783. Svow Travels, p. 95. See Jacob. Travels in Hungary, p. 96. Travels from Vienna through Lower Hungary ; with some Account of Vienna during the Congress. By Richard Bright, M. D. Edin. 1818. 4to. Numerous engravings. Travels in the Tarentaise, p. 62. See Bakewell. Travels through Germany, Poland, &c. , p. 89. Mar- shall's lYavels through Germany, Poland, &c. Travels, trans, by A. Plumtree, p. 122. Travels through the Morea, Albania, and other parts of the Ottoman Empire. From the French of Poucqueville. 1813. 4to. Treatise on Cobbett's Corn, and Quar. Joiirn. Agr., p. 831. A Treatise on Cobbett's Corn j contain, ing instructions for propagating and cultivating the plant, &c. Lond. 1828. 12mo. * Treatise on CountryResid. vol. 2., p. 64. Loudon's Treatise on Country Residences, &c. Lond. 182& 2 vols. 4to. Treatise on Dew, p. 359. Garstin's Treatise on Dew. Lond. Svo. Treatise on Horses, p. 308. Philosophical and prac- tical Treatise on Horses; and on the moral duties of man towards the brute creation. By John Lawrence. 1809. 2 vols. Svo. Treatise on Roads, p. 571. Paterson's Treatise on Roads. Montrose. 18 . 12mo. Trotter's General View, p. 1187. General View of the Agriculture of West Lothian; with ob- servations on the means of its improvement. 1812. Svo. Tuke*s Report, p. 1157. General View of the Agri- culture of the North Riding of Yorkshire ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. 15 plates. Lond. 1800. Svo, Turner's Report, p. 1140. A General View of the Apiculture of Gloucestershire. Lond. 1794. 4to Tyrwhitt's Tracts on the Improvements at Dart- moor, p. 1169. Printed, but not published, 1819. lire's General View, p. 1188. A General View of the Agriculture of Kinross-shire. Edin, 1795. 4to, V. VaL Max. p. 17. The History of the Acts and Say. ings of Valerius Maximus. By W. Speed. Lond. 1678. Svo. Vancouver's Cambridgeshire, 1134. A General View of the Agriculture of Cambridgeshire. Lond. 1794. 4to. Vancouver's General View, p. 1165. General View of the Agriculture of Hampshire, including the Isle of Vvight ; with observations on the means of its improvement Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture: 1811. Svo. Vancouver's Survey of Devon, p. 1048. General View of the Agriculture of the County of De- von ; with observations on the means of its im- provement Lond. 1807. Svo. Vancouver's View, p. 1169. See Vancouver's Sur- vey of Devon, 1048. Var., p. 21. Marcus Terentius Varro, Libri de Re Rustic^, Reg. 1496. fol. Translated into Eng- lish, by the Rev. T. Owen. Lond. 1800. Svo. Var. de B. R., p. 14. See Var. p. 21. Varro, p. 22. See Var. p. 21. Vet Outlines, p. 997. Hie Outlines of Veterinary Art : or the principles "bf medicine, as applied to a knowledge of the structure, functions, and economy of the horse, the ox, the sheep, and the dog ; and to a more scientific and successful manner of treating their various diseases ; illus- trated with plates. By Delabere Blaine. Lond. 1802. 2 vols. New edit. 1816. Svo. Voyage, &c., p. 149. The Journal of a Voyage to Madras and China. By James Wathen, Esq. 1804. 4to. W. Waistell's Designs for Agr. Buildings, p. 810. De- signs for Agricultural Buildings, &c. ; to which are added, plans and remarks on Caterham farmyard, as it formerly was ; and also, as it has been improved. Lond. 1826. Svo. Wakefield, 11S9. An Account of Ireland, Stahs. tical and Political Lond. 1812. 2 vols. 4to. * Wakefield's Statistical Account, p. 132. See Wakefield, p. 1199. ,^„, * Wakefield's Statistical Survey of Ireland, p. 12U1. See Wakefield, 1199. Walker's Hebrides, p. 519. The Economical His- tory of the Hebrides and Highlands of Scot- land. Edin, 1812. 2 vols. 8va XVllI LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO. Walker's Report, p. 1130. A General View of the Agriculture ol Hertfordshire. Lend. 1795. «to. Warner's Isle of Wight, p. 1165. The History of the Isle of Wight, Military, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Natural : to which is added a view of its Agriculture. Southampton, 1793. 8vo. Wedge's General View, p. 1163. A General View of the Agriculture of (he County of Cheshire. Lond. 1794. 4to. White's Treatise on Voter. Medy p. 443. Treatise on Veterinary Medicine. Lond. 1815. 4 vols. 12nio. White and Macfarlane's Report, p. 1186. General View of the Agriculture of Dumbartonshire ; with observations on the means of its improve- ment : drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Glasgow, 1811. 8vo. Widowson, p. 168. Present State of Van Diemen's Land ; comprising an account of its agricultural capaliilities, &c. Lond. 1S27. 8vo. Widowson's Present State of Van Diemen's Land, p. 166. See Widowson, p. 168. Wilkins, Leges Saxon., 35. Leges Anglo-Saxonicaj Ecclesiasticse et Civiles ; accedunt Leges £d- vardi Latins, Guil. Conqucstoris Gallo-Nor- mannics, et Henrici I. Latins; subjungitur H. Spelmanni Cod. Legg. Vett a Guil. I. ad Hen. III.; et Dissertatio GuiL Nicolsoni, de Jure Feud. Vet. Saxonum, cum Notis, &c. ; Lat et Sax. Lond. 1721. foL WiUdenow, Piinc. Bot, p. 263. The Principles of Botany and Vegetable Physiology, translated from the German. Edin. 1806. 8vo. With plates. Withering, p. 935. An Arrangement of British Plants. 3d edition. Birmingham, 1796. 4 vols, 8vo. Worgan's Cornwall, p. 1171. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cornwall Ix)nd. 181L 8vo. Worgan's Survey, p. 1171. Sec Worgan's Cornwall, p. 1171. Works, p. 5. See Stillingfleot Wotton's Legos Wallica, p. 117a Leges Wallica; Ecclesiastical et Civiles Hoeli Boni et aliorum Principum Wallia;, &c. Welsh, with a Latin translation. Notes, and a Glossary. To which is added a Preface by Mr. Clarke. Lond. 1730. Fol. POBtll. y. * Young, p. 135. See Young's Tour, and Arthur Young. * Young's Annals of Agr., p. 194. Annals of Agri- culture, and other useful Arte. Published in Nos. Bury St. Edmund's, 17B0— 1804. 40 vols. 8vo. » Young's Norfolk, p. 1136. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Norfolk. Lond. 1804. 8vo. * Young's Report, p. 1155. General View of the Agriculture oftheCountyof Lincoln. Brawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1799. 8vo. ♦Young's SufTolk, p. 1136. General View of the Agri. culture of the County of Suffolk. Drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 1797. 8vo. ■* Young's Survey, p. 1129. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Essex. Lond. 1806, 1807. 2 vols. 8vo. » Young's Tour, p. 1200. Tour in Ireland ; with go. neral Observations on the present State of that Kingdom; made in 1776—1779. Dubl. 1780. 2 vtus, Sva N.B. Such as are in possession of some of the County Surveys above enumerated, may probably find the year of publication in the titlcpage different from what is here given. The reason is, these surveys, most of which belonged to the late Board of Agriculture, were twice sold to different bookseDers, on which occasions new and'altered titlepages were printed We have generally endeavoured to give the original title ; and, through the kind assistance of Mr. Forsyth, we have been enabled to do so in most instances. AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. As a source of reference to the readers of agricultural works, foreign as well as domestic, we have deemed it useful to bring together in this place comparative views of the land and com measure of Eng- ^d, Scotland, and Ireland, and of different foreign countries. We have also given a general view of the French metrical or decimal system, as being, the most perfect which has hitherto appeared, and alone worthy, in our opinion, of tmiversal adoption. All ^oung persons ought to make themselves masters of this system as one likely to be in general use, at least in Europe, North America, and Australia, before they become old men. LAND MEASURE. Contents of a single Measure of each sort Number of each equal to England Acre ... English Square Yards. French Acres. 10 English Acres. 4S40 . 40-4fe6 Ifl-OOO ScoUand Acre - - 6150 Sl-119 7-869 ' Ireland Acre .... 7840 65-549 6173 France Hectare 11960 100-000 ,4-04« Berlin Great Morgen ... 6786 66736 7-132 : Little Morgen ... SOSi 25-531 16-848 PiUBsia Morgen 3053 25-526 15-853 Saxony Acre . - 6590 65-098 7-341 Hamburg ScheffelofCom Land . . : 5022 41-981 9-637 Morgen . _ . - 11545 96-625 4-192 Hanover Morgen .... 3100 25-S18 15613 Nuremberg Corn Land Morgen 6651 47-272 8-660 . Meadow Murgen ... ZSU 21-270 19-025 Rhineiand Morgen 10185 85-158 4-752 Danteio Morgen 6850 55-642 7-278 Geneva Arpent ... 6179 . 61-661 7-833 Amsterdam Morgen ... 9722 81-286 4-978 Netherlands Vierkantebunder 1196 l-OOO 406722 Naples Moggia 3998 33-426 12-J06 Spain Fanegada 5.ii00 46-984 8-800 Portugal Geira 6970 68-275 6-911 Sweden Tunncland 5900 49-329 8-203 _ Switzerland Faux - ... 7855 65''671 6-161 Tuscany Quadrato 4071 34-062 11-880 ROAD MEASUEE. Length.of a single MeasAre of each sort. Number of each equal tO' England Mile - English Yards. French Kilometrbs. 1 100 English Miles. 1760 !-6flg' lOO-OOO Mile, geographical - . - 2025 1-851 86-913 Scotland Mile . - - - 1981 1-811 88-709 Ireland Mile 2240 2-048 V8-871 France Kilometre _ . - 1093 l-gijO; 161-024 League of 2000 toises 45B3 - -. s-m; 41-285 Leagueof25 to the degree - • 4860 4-444 ■ 36-211 . League, marine 6076 5-555 28-966 Germany Mile, geographical 8101 10126 7=4*7 9-268 21-725 17-S81 Mile) short 6859 6-271 25-6.69 Netherlands Mile, metrical 1093 1-000 161-021 Poland Mile, long 8101 7-107 21725 Mile, short 6076 5-5S5 28-966 Denmark Mile .... 8244 7-638 21-348 Holland Mile - 8101 7-407 21-725 Spain League, commos 7416 6781 23732 League, judicial 4fS5 4-238 37 972 Russia Wefst 1167 1-066 160-811 Sweden Mile 11700 10-698 15-042 Switzerland Mile 9163 8-369 19228 Tuscany Mile . . . - 1808 1-663 97.345 Turkey Berri 1826 1-669 , 96-385 a2 AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. LONG MEASURE. Length of a single Measure ■ of each sort Number of each equal to 100 EnglUh Feet, English Inches. French England Foot Decimetres. 12-00 3-048 100 000 France Pied de Roi 12-78 3-248 93 896 Metre - 39-37 10-000 30-480 Rhineland Foot 12-3S S-138 97-166 Amsterdam Foot - - - 11-14 2-831 107-719 Rhineland Foot 12-35 3-138 97166 Berlin Foot . 12-19 3-097 98-441 Bourdeaux Foot 14-04 3-567 85-470 Rhineland Foot 12-S5 S-1S8 97166 Dantzic Foot 11-30 2-869 106-194 Frankfort Foot . . - 11-28 2-865 106-382 Hamburg Foot .... 11-28 2-865 106-382 Leipsic Foot 11-11 2-822 108-010 Builder's Foot 11-13 2-826 107-816 Malta Foot .... 11-16 2S36 107-526 Moscow Foot .... 13-17 3-343 91-116 Prussia Rhineland Foot ... 12-35 S-138 97-166 Rome Foot 1172 2-978 102-389 Sp^n Foot ■ . . - . 11-12 2-826 107-913 Sweden Foot - ... 11-68 2-968 102739 Vienna Foot .... 12-45 3-161 96-385 Wirtembeig Foot .... 11-26 2-860 106-571 CORN MEASURE. Contents of a single Measure of each sort Number of each equal to One English England Bushel - Cubic Inches. Bushels, French Litres. Quarter. 2150-4 1-000 35-236 8-000 Scotland Wheat Firlot . 2197-3 1-022 36-005 7-827 Barley Firlot 3205-5 1-490 S2-.526 5-369 France Setier 9619-5 4-427 156-000 1-807 Hectolitre . 6102 2-837 100-000 2-819 Boisseau Usuel 7627 0-354 12-600 22-698 Amsterdam Mudde . 6788 3-157 111-256 2-534 Berlin ScheBtl . . 3180 1-479 52-107 5-409 Bourdeaux Boisseau. 4682 2-177 76708 3-674 Cadiz Fanega . ^ . 3439 1-699 56-351 5-01)3 Copenhagen Toende . . . 8488 3-947 139,084 2-026 Constantinople Killow ... 2023 0-941 33-148 8-601 Elbing Scheffel ... 2965 1-378 48-584 6-805 Florence Stajo . . 1486 0-691 24-369 11-577 1 Frankfort Malter ... 6.590 3-064 107-984 2-611 Hamburg Scheffel 6426 2-988 105-296 2.S77 Munich Schefibl ... £2130 10-290 362-622 0.777 Netherlands Mudde ... 6102 2-837 100-0(10 2-819 Poland Korzee ... 3120-8 1-451 51-137 5-513 Russia Chetwert ... 12800 5-952 209740 1-344 Sicily Salma grossa . 21014 9771 34-433 0-818 16886 7-851 27-667 1M19 Spain Fanega ... 3439 1-599 56-351 5-003 Sweden Tunna of 32 Kappar 8940 4-157 146-490 1-924 Kann ... 159-6 0-0742 2-615 107-816 Vienna Metzen ... 3753 1745 61-496 4-684 - Zealand Sack ... 4556 2-119 74-660 S77S FRENCH WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. What is called a standard in weights and measures is merely an authority ; and this in rude aces is founded on custom, or some arbitrary quantity ; while, in the progress of improvement, a standiii d is derived from nature. Among the various natural standards, the two following may be considered the best :— 1. The length of a pendulum that vibrates seconds of mean solar time, 2. The length of an arc or portion of a meridional circle. F^om the measurement of a meridional arc in France ; the length of the quadrantal arc was comnuted ■ and the ten-millionth part of this quadrant is the metre, which is the standard unit for all French mea! surcs. The standard unit for all wights is the gramme, which is the weight of a cubic vessel of water ol the greatest condensation and purity ; the side of such cube being the hundredth part of the metre. From these two units the other measures are derived by decimal division or muUipUcation and hence this system is generally called. AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. TirS METRICAL OR DECIMAL SYSTEM, In order to express the decimal proportion, the following vocabulary of names has been adopted, in which the terms for multiplying are Greek, and those for dividing are I^tin :— For multipliers, the word Deca prefixed means 10 times. Hecto 100 times. Kilo 1000 times. Mi/ria »,.,„ 10,000 times. "On the contrary, for divisors, the word Deci expresses the „ 10th part Centi 100th part. MiUi 1000th part Thus, Decametre means 10 metres. Decimetre the 10th part of a metre. Kilogramme » 1000 grammes, &c. The are is the element of square measure, and ia a square decametre, equal to 3-955 English perches. Ihe stere is the element of cube measure, «id contains 35.317 cubic feet English. The litre is the element of all measures of capacity. It is a cubic decimetre, and equals 2'11S5 English pints, 100 litres make the hectolitre, which equals 36-419 English gallons, or 2838 Winchester bushels. T/ie decimal Jl^eights and Measures of France, compared with the Weights and Measures at present considered the National Measures of Britain. Long Measures. British arbiliaTy System. 0-03937 inches. 0*39371 inches. S'93710 inches. 39-S7100 inches. 32-80916 feet 328*09167 feet Decimal System. Millimetre Centimetre Decimetre Metre Decametre Hectometre , Kilometre 10936389 yards. Myriametre » 1093638900 yards, or 6 miles, 1 furlong, S8 poles. Superficial Measures. Centiare „.. 1*1960 square yards. ^deSSiri 119-6046squareyard.. Decare 1196*0460 square yards. Hectare 11660-4604 square yards, or 2 acres, 1 rood, 35 perches. 'Measures qf Capacity. 0*06103 cubic inches. 0*61028 cubic inches. 610280 cubic inches. { 61-02802 cubic inches, t or 21135 wine pints. ...» 610-28028 cubic inches, or 2*642 wine gallons. Millitre .. Centilitre Decilitre , Litre (a cubic ) decimetre) J Decalitre Decimal System. British arbitrary System. Hectolitre 3*5317 cubic feet, or 26*419 wine gallons, 9& Imperial gal- lonSf or 2*839 Winchester bushels. Kilolitre 35*3171 cubic feet, or 1 tun and 12 wine gallons. Myrialitre 35317146 cubic feet Solid Measures, Decistere 35317 cubic feet Stere (a cubic metre) 35*3174 cubic feet. Decastere 353*1714 cubic feet Weights. MUIigramme « 0*0154 grains. Centigramme 0*1543 grains. Decigramme „ 1*5434 grains. Gramme » 15*4340 grains. Decagramme 154-3402 grains, or 5'64 drams avoirdupois. Hectogramme 3-2154 oz. troy, or 3'527 oz. avoirdupois. Kilogramme 21b. 8oz. 3dwt 2gT. troy, or 2 lb; 3 oz. 4^428 drams avoirdupois. Myriagramme 26*795 pounds troy, or 22*0485 avoirdupois Quintal 1 cwt 3qrs. 251b; nearly. Millier, or Bar ....^ 9 tons 16 cwt. Sqrs. 121b THE FR£XCH STSTEME USUEL. Tlie Systeme Usuel has the metrical standards for its basis ; but their divisions are binary ; and instead of the new nomenclature, the names of the ancient weights and measures are used, annexing the term usuel to each : thus, the half kilogramme is called the livre usuelle, and the double metre, the toise usuelle, &c. This system was legalised by an imperial decree in 1812, for the use of retail traders, and the decimal system was continued for all other kinds of business and measurement : but as the law was left optional, it led to many difficulties, insomuch that in 1816 the systeme usuel was enforced by a royal decree, in which the use of weights or measures decimally divided is absolutely prohibited in shops or any departments of trade connected with retail business, while the decimal system is confirmed for all other purposes. As the systime usuel has the metre and gramme for its basis, any of its divisions may be easily com. puted from the foregoing tables. The following, however, are the contente of its principal units in Eng. lish measure :— The toise usuelle of 2 metres equals 6 feet 6f inches English. The pied usuel equals \ of the toise, and the inch -^ of the foot. The aune usuelle equals 3 feet 11^ inches English, with all its divisions in propordon. The long measures are also divided into thirds, sixths, and twelfths, which are easily computed fl*om the foregoing dimensions of the toise and aune. The boisseau usuel is \ of the hectolitre, and equals 0*35474 English bushels, with halves, quarters, &a in proportion. The litrtm usuel equals 1*074 Paris pints, with halves, quarters, &c. in proportion. Apothecaries have adopted the systeme usuel in compounding medicines ; which weight, in small quan. , titles, scarcely differs from the poids de marc. ■ Diamonds arestill weighed by carats of 4 grains each; but these grains diflTer from the foregoing : thus, 1 carat equals 3.876 grains poids de marc, or 3798 grains usuels, and also answers to 2*01 decigrammes, or 3I, English grains. The livre usuelle = 500 grammes = 9413*575 grains poidg de marc, or 7717 English grains ; and all its di- visions and multiples in proportion. Hence the common pound of France equals 1 It). 11 oz. lo| drams avoirdupois; and therefore the ffutn^a^fn^/riftte of 100 kilogrammes answers to 220*486 lb. avoirdupois, orlcwt 3qrs. 24| lb., which is 1000 grains less than has been hitherto reckoned, on account of the undue proportion allowed to the French weight {KeUy^s Cambist, vol i. p. 140.) The Systeme Usuel of the French, compared with the British System, Co7nparison of Weight. Ttaj Weight, (jrammes. lb. 02. dwt. gr. Kilogramme 1000 2 8 3 2 Livre usuelle 500 1 4 1 13 Half 250_ 8 18*5 Quarter 125 4 C 9*25 2 3 4i 1 1 104 8 13| 4 6i Eighth .., Once Half Quarter . Gross Troy Weight. Grammes, lb. oz. dwt. gr. 62-5 31*3 15-6 7-8 39 1 0. 10 5 4*5 2-25 1-125 t>-5 12*25 a 3 AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Comparison qf Linear Measures. Mesurea usuelles. English Measures. Metres. Feet. Inches. Parts. Toiseusuelle 2 ... 6 6 9 Pied, or Foot Oj ... 1 1 1* Inch O-A "■ Oil* Aune 1^ ... 3 11 3 Half oi ...1 11 7J Quarter 0^ ... 11 9| Eighth o|( ... 5 m Sixteenth o|j ... 2 n/g Mesurcs usuelles. En/rUsh Measures. Metres- Feet. Inches, rarti One t|iird of an aune ... Oj ... 1 3 9 Sixth OJ ... 7 10} Twelfth. 0^ ... 3 Hi Comparison qf Measures qf Cipacity. Litres. English bnshds. Boisaeau U8uel 12'5 0-35474 With halves and quarters in proxwrtion. Paris pinle. EngUsh plnU Litronusuel 1074 S^ With halves and quarters in proportion. ENGLISH WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The following Tables show the state of English weights and measures as long established ; but a °^^ law has lately passed, which proposes the following alteration in measures of capacity, that is to say, both in liquid and dry measures, from the let of January, 1826. Thus, instead of the thjee different gallons heretofore used, viz. the wine, ale, and corn gallons, one measure only is to be adopted, called the imperial gallon, with its divisions and multiples, whicri are to be as heretofore for wine measure. But for corn or other dry goods not heaped, the divisions and multiples are to be as in corn measure. The imperial gallon is to measure 277"274 cubic inches, and to weigh 10 lb. avoirdupois of water at the temperature of 62 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, thebarometer being at thirty inches. The imperial bushel is to measure and weigh eight times the above, and all the other multiples and di- visions of the imperial gallon are to be in proportion. All new medsures in future are to be constructed on the imperial plan ; but the old measures may con- tinue to be used, provided their contents be marked on them, that is, the proportion which they may be found to bear to imperial measure. The following Table shows tk? contents of the differ- ent Gallons, both in Measure and Weight, Imperial gallon Corn gallon •Wine gallon.... Ale gallon Cubic Inches. Avoirdup. Weight. Troy Weight 277-274 2fi8-8 231 282 ib. oz. dr. 10 9 10 1| 8 5 6| 10 2 llj lb. oz.dwtgr. 12 1 16 16 11 9 7 12 10 1, 9 22 12 4 6 8 The above Table will be found useful in compar- ing different vessels where gauging caimot be relied on. Hules for converting the Old Measures to the NeWy and the coiitrary. 1. Wine Measure multiplied by 5 and divided by 6 will give imperial measure, and the contrary, 2. Corn Measure multiplied by 31 and divided by 32 will give imperial measure, and the contrary. 3. Ale Measure multiplied by 59 and divided by 60 will give imperial measure, and the contrary. The coal measure is scarcely changed by the new law, and therefore will probably remain unaltered in practice. Tables of English Weights and Measures^ compared with those of France. TROV WEIGHT. French grainmes. 1 grain 0-0648 24 grains 1 pennyweight 1-5552 20 pennyweights 1 ounce . ,...;. 31*1027 12 ounces 1 pound 373-2330 The grain troy is divided into 20 mites, the mite into 24 doits, the doits into 20 periots, and the pe. riot into 24 blanks. These divisions are imaginary ■ but there are real weights of decimal , divisions to the thousandth part of a grain. APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT. Fr. gram. 1 grain 0C648' 20 grains 1 scruple 1-295 3 scruples 1 dram .„ 3*888 8 drams t- ounce 31102 12 ounces 1 pound 373-233 This weight is essentially the same as troy weight, but differently divided. It is chiefly used for medical prescriptions ; but drugs are mostly bought and sold by avoirdupois weight AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT. French gram. 1 dram 1771 16 drams 1 ounce « 28-346 16 ounces 1 pound 453*544 28 pounds 1 quarter 12-699 kilog. 4 quarters 1 hundred wt. 50-796 20 hundred wt 1 ton 1015-920 The dram is subdivided into three scruples, and each scruple into ten grains ; the poimd or 7GS0 grains avoirdupois, equals 7000 grains troy, and hence one grain troy equals 1.097 grains avoirdupois. Hence also 1441b. avoird 1751b. troy. and 192 oz. ditto 175 oz. do. The stone 'is generally 141b. avoirdupois, but for butcher's meat or fish it is Bib.. Hence the hundred equals 8 stone of 14 lb. or 14 stone of 8 lb. A stone of glass is 5 lb. A. seam of glass 24 stone, or 120 lb. Hay and straw are sold by the load of 36 trusses. The truss of hay weighs 56 lb. and of straw 36 lb. The truss of new hay is 60 lb. until the 1st of Sep- tember. The hay is by that time become dry, and the same quantity weighs less. The custom of allowing more than 16 ounces to the pound of butter is very general in several parts of the country. Other customa/ry Weights, ^c. CHEESE AND BUTTER. 8 pounds 1 clove. 32 cloves \ 1 wey in Essex. 42 ditto 1 ditto in Suffblfe 56 pounds i firkin of butter. S pounds 64 pounds 30 pounds 112 pounds 112 pounds 120 pounds 7| pounds 8 pounds 36 iMunds 60 pounds 56 pounds 36 trusses 7 pounds 56 pounds BEEP, MUTTON, ScC • 1 stone of beef, mutton, &c. of soap 1 firkin. of anchovies 1 barrel. of gunpowder 1 ditto. of raisins l ditto. of prunes i puncheon. of oil 1 gallon. of vinegar i ditta °l straw 1 truss. of new hay i ditto. of old hay i ditto. ot hay or straw i load of salt 1 gallon. or 8 gallons i busheL •nj , WOOL WEIGHT. Wool, like all other common articles, is weighed by avoirdupois, but the divisions differ : thus, 7 pounds............ 1 clove. 3.1748 2 cloves 1 stone fi.3496 AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. „ Kllofn-am. 2 stone 1 tod ia-(i992 6J tods 1 wey , 82'54.S 2 weys 1 sack 165U87 18 sacks 1 last 1981044 LONQ UE&SURE. _ . - Pr. metres. S barleycorns 1 inch ^. 0-0254 12 inches 1 foot ^ O'SOIS 3 feet „ 1 yard 0-9144 H yards 1 pole or rod „, 5'0291 40 poles 1 furlong „ 201'1632 8 furlongs 1 mile 1609-3059 3 miles 1 league 4827'9179 60 geographical, *| or 6^ Eng- V 1 degree. 11120.7442 lish miles... j Besides the above, there are the palm, which equals 3 inches; the hand, 4 inches; the span, 9 inches ; and the fathom, 6 feet. SQUARE MEASURE. Ft. Bq> metres. 144 inches 1 square foot 0'U9^9 .9 square feet 1 square yard 0*8361 30i square yards ... 1 square pole 25*2916 40 square poles ... 1 rood 1011*6662 .4 roods 1 acre 4064*6648 The inch is generally divided, on scales, into tenths, or decimal parts ; but in squaring the di- mensions of artificer's work, the duodecimal system is adopted ; — thus, the inch is divided into 12 parts or linos, each part into 12 seconds, and each second into 12 thirds. ,ln land measure there are (besides the above pole of 16| feet, which is called statute measure) the woodland pole of 18 feet, the plantation pole of 21 feet, the Cheshire pole of 24 feet, and the Sherwood Fo- rest pole of 25 feet. A rope in some kinds of mea- surement is reckoned 20 feet, SO acres is called a yard of land, 100 acres a hide of land, and 640 acres a mile of land. Land is usually measured by a chain of 4 poles, or 22 yards, which is divided into 100 links. 10 chains in length and 1 in breadth make an acre, which equals 160 square perches, or 4840 square yards. CUBIC OR SOLID MEASURE. Fr. Cubic metres. 172S cubic inches 1 cubic foot -0283 27 cubic feet 1 cubic yard ....... 7645 40 ft. of rough timber 7 . , , f 1-1326 or 50ft hewn dittoj ^ loadorton J 1.4157 42 cubic feet 1 ton of shipping 1-1892 By cubic measure marble, stone, timber, masonry, and all artificers' works of length, breadth, and thickness, are measured, and also the contents of all measures of capacity, both liquid and dry. DRY MEASURE. cub. in. 33:6 .. 67.2 .. 134.4 .. Fr. Utres. 0-55053 110107 2-20214 4-40428 8-80856 4 gills 1 pint ...<, 2 pints 1 quart..., 2 quarts 1 pottle .. 2 pottles ... 1 gallon ... iitia.ii 2 gallons... I peck 537.6 4 pecks 1 bushel ...2150.42 36*23430 4 bushs 1 coom 4.977 feet 140-93721 2 cooms.... 1 quarter.. 9.954 ditto .... 281-87443 S'QTS. {'orToad ] ^^•'^^ *^^"° "" 1409*37216 2 _weys 1 last 99.540 ditto 281874432 The Winchester bushel, which is the legal mea- sure for corn and seeds, should be 18i inches wide, and 8 inches deep. Its contents are therefore, as above, 2150'42 inches. Corn and seeds are measured in the port of London by striking the bushel IVom the brim, with a round piece of light wood, about 2 inches in diameter and of equal thickness from one end to the other. All other dry goods are heaped There are two other bushels of different shapes, but containing the same quantity ; the one, called the drum bushel, generally used for the London granaries, is 13 inches in diameter, and 16.2 inches m depth ; and the other, called the farmer*s bushel, is chiefly used in the country, its diameter is 15.S75. and depth 11-589 inches. These shapes are chosen' for the convenience of working and loading ; but the shallow vessel or standard, to avoid the effects' of pressure in filling, which depth mfght cause. The dimensions of the imperial standard bushel are as follows : — The outer diameter 19J inches, and the inner diameter ISJ. The depth is 8^, and the height of the cone, for heaped measure, is 6 inches. Hence the contents of the stricken imperial bushel are2218-192 cubic inches, and it is to weigh 801b. avoirdupois of water, llie contents of the imperial heaped bushel are 2815-4887 cubic inches. The subdivisions and multiples of this measure are of course in the same proportion. In some markets corn is sold by weight, which ia the fairest mode of dealing, but not the most conve- nient in practice. Even where measures are used, it is customary to weigh certain quantities or pro- portions, and to regulate the prices accordingly. The average bushel of wheat is generally reckoned at 60 lb. — of barley 49 lb. — of oats 38 IK — peas 64, beans 63, clover 68, rye and canary 53, and rape 481b. In some places a load of com, for a man, is reckoned five bushels, and a cart load 40 bushels. COAL MEASURE. Coals are generally sold by the chaldron, which bears a certain proportion to Winchester measurft ; 4 pecks 1 bushel 3 bushels 1 sack. 3 sacks I vat 4 vats 1 chaldron. 31 chaldron 1 score. The coal bushel holds one Winchester quart more than the Winchester bushel ; it therefore contains 2217"62 cubic inches. This bushel must be 19| inches wide from outside to outside, and 8 inches deep. In . measuring coals, it is to be heaped up in the form of a cone, at the height of at least 6 inches above the brim (according to a regulation passed at Guild- hall in 1806). The outside of the bushel must be^ the extremity of the cone, and thus the bushel should contain at least SS14-9 cubic inches, which is nearly equal to the imperial heaped bushel: Hence the chaldron should measure 58.64 cubic feet The chaldron of coals at Newcastle is not a mea sure, but a weight of 53 cwt, which is found some- , times to equal two London chaldrons ; but the common reckoning is, that the keel, which is 8 Newcastle chaldrons, equals 15^ London chaldrons. In such comparisons, however, there can be no cer. tainty, as coals not only differ in their specific gra- vity, but even those of the same quality weigh more, measure for measure, when large, than when broken into smaller parts. — (Moriimer's Commer- cial Dictionari/3 art IVeights and Measures.) UNIFORMITY OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES IN BRITAIN. The act for this purpose, which came into force in 1826, contains the following clauses which more immediately concern the agriculturist : — , Standard yard dqfmed as the measure of length. — The straight line or distance between the centres of _ the two points in the gold studs in the straight brass rod^ now in the custody of the clerk of the House of j Commons, whereon the words and figures " Standard Yard, 1760," are engraved, shall be the original and genuine standard of that measure of length or lineal extension called a yard ; and the same straight line or distance between the centres of the said two points in the saJd gold studs in the said brass rod, the brass being of the temperature of sixty-two degrees by Fahrenheit's thermometer, shall be and is hereby denominated the " Imperial Standard Yard," and shall be the unit or only standard measure of exten- sion, wherefrom or whereby all other measures of extension whatsoever, whether the same be lineal, su- perficial, or solid, shall be derived, computed, and ascertained, s. 1. Standard pound defined weight —The standard brass weight of one pound troy weighty made in the year 1758, now in the custody of the clerk of the House of Commons, shall be declared to be the original and genuine standard measure of weight, and such brass weight shall be denominated the imperial stand, ard troy pound, and shall be the unit or only stardard measure of weight from which all other weights shall be derived, computed, or ascertained, s. 4. xxiv AGRICULTURAL WEIGHTS AND -MEASURES. standard gallon to be the measure qf capacity. — The standard measure of capacity, aa well for llquida as for dry goods not measured by heaped measure, shall be the gallon, containing ten pounds avoirdu- pois of distilled water weighed in air, at the temperature of sixty-two degrees of Fahrenheit's thermo- meter, the barometer being at thirty inches; and a measure shall be forthwith made qfbrasSy qf such con- tents as qforesaidt under the directions of the commissioners of his majesty's treasury ; and such brass measure shall be the imperial standard gallon, and shall be the unit and only standard measure of capacity, from which all other measures of capacity to be used, as well for wine, beer, ale, spirits, and all sorts oi liquids, as for dry goods, not measured by heap measure, shall be derived, computed, and ascertained : and all measures shall be taken in parts or multiples or certain proportions of the said Imperial standarci gallon, and the quart shall be the fourth part of such standard gallon, and the pint shall be one eighth ot such standard gallon, and two such gallons shall be a peck, and eight such gallons shall be a bushel, and eight such bushels a quarter of corn or other dry goods not measured by heaped measure, a. 6. Standard for heaped measure. — The standard measure of capacity for coalSy culm^ limej^sh^potatoe^ orfruitj and all other goods and things commonly soldby heaped measure^ shall be the aforesaid bushel, containing eighty pounds avoirdupois of water as aforesaid, the same being made round with a plain ana even bottom, and being nineteen inches and a half from outside to outside of such standard measure as aforesaid, s. 7. In making use of such bushel, all coals and other goods and things commonly sold by heaped measure, shall be duly heaped up in such bushel, in the form of a cone, such cone to be of the height of at least six inches, and the outside of the bushel to be the extremity of the base of such cone i and that three busnew shall be a sack, and that twelve such sacks shall be a chaldron, s. 8. Measure of weight, or heaped measure^ to be used for wheat. — Trovided always that any contract^ bargains, sales, and dealings, made or had for or with respect to any coals, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and all other goods and things commonly soldby heaped measure, sold, delivered, done, or aCTced for, or to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for by weight or measure, shall and may be either according to the said standard of weight, or the said standard for heaped measure; but all con- tracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, made or had for any other goods, wares^ or merchandise, or other thing done or agreed for, or to be sold, delivered, done, or agreed for by weight or measure, shall be made and had according to the said standard of weight, or to the said gallon, or the parts, multiples, or proportions thereof; and in using the same the measures shall not be heaped, but shall be stricken with a round stick or roller, straight, and of the same diameter from end to end. s. 9. Weight in Ireland. — But nothing herein shall authorise the selling in Ireland, by measure, of any ar- ticles, matters, or things, which by any law in force in Ireland are required to be sold by weight only. s. 10. Contracts for sale, Sjc. bp weight or measure. — AH contracts, bargains, sales, and dealings, which shall bemadeor had within any part of the United Kingdom, for any work to be done, or for any goods, wares, merchandise, or other thing to he sold, delivered, done, or agreed for by weight or measure, where no spe- cial agreement shall be made to the contrary, shall be deemed to be made and had according to the standard weights and measures, ascertained by this act; and in all cases where any special agreement shall be made, with reference to any weight or measure established by local custom, the ratio or proportion which every such local weight or measure shall bear to any of the said standard weights or measures, shall be expressed, declared, and specified in such agreement, or otherwise such agreement shall be null and void. s. 15. Existing weights and measures may be used, being marked. — And as it is expedient that persons should be allowed to use the several weights and measures which they may have in their possession, although such weights and measures may not be in conformity with the standard weights and measures established by this act ; it is therefore enacted, that it shall be lawful for any person or persons to buy and sell goods and merchandise by any weights or measures established either by local custom, or founded on special agreement : provided that in order that the ratio or proportion which all such measures and weights shall bear to the standard weights and measures established by this act, shall be and become a matter of com- mon notoriety, the ratio or proportion which all such customary measures and weights shall bear to the said standard weights and measures shall be painted or marked upon all such customary weights and measures respectively; but nothing herein contained shall extend to permit any maker of weights or measures, or any person or persons whomsoever, to make any weight or measure at any time after the 1st day of May, 1S25, except in conformity with the standard weights and measures established under this act s. 16. American Weights. — The several European colonies make use of the weights of the states or kingdoms of Europe they belong ta For, as to the aroue of Peru, which weighs twenty-seven pounds, it is evi- dently no other than the Spanish arroba, with a little difference in the name. African Weights— As to the weights of Africa, there are few places that have any, except Egypt, and the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, whose weights have been already enumerated among those of the ports of the Levant The island of Madagascar, indeed, has weights, but none that exceed the drachm, nor are they used for any thing but gold and silver. The above information is taken from an elaborate quarto volumes of Dr. Kelly, and the very use. ful Commercial Dictionary of Mortimer. It is impossible to turn over the leaves of such a book as Kelly's, without lamenting the time which every commercial man must lose in acquiring, and in practising, the art of overcoming the obstacles which not only impede the intercourse of nations, but open a fertile source for deception and chicanery. How easy it would be for one nation to become acquainted with another, even if they spoke different languages, provided their weights, mea- sures, monies, and all that was done by figures, were the same ! How easy for the three leading powers of the world, France, Bntam, and America, to effect this ! Naturalists in every part of the worid use the same language, and the same names for natural objects, and they accordingly form but one familv. everymember of which, however remotely situated, holds ready communication with all the others How e^y for the great powers alluded to by prospective measures, which would occasion no inconvel nience to any one not only to render one description of weights, measures, and monies, universal, but one language ! The establishment in one nation after another of Parochial /nrf^ft/S^ soSi as S^e al ready existtng in Wirtemberg and Bavaria, and obliging some oi^ TangJTagi to b^uZ^ fn addition to that which was the native tongue, would have the completl eSct in STo eenerSii^^^ legislators, at least in Europe, have hitherto been too much occSl%^^^^^ ?"* and generation to think ot- futurity; and the policy has too generaui been tHS mea^^^^ ^e^cTafaliriS^c^^^^^^^^ *^'' ^"^^'^^^^ ^^"^'^ *^- unit.^^th'^V°n'eT^ ^T^^^ CONTENTS. Piefkce . • . . iii List of Contributors - . .. vi Indications and accentuation of Syetematic Names • ■ - . vii Rules for pronouncing Systematic Names - vii List of Books referred to . ... viii Tables of Weights and Measures . - xix list of Engravings - • xxxii PART I. AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS TO ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE AMONG DIFFERENT NATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, AND CLIMATES. BOOK I, HISTORY OP AGRICULTUBB AJtIONO ANCIENT AND MODERN NATIONS. Cbap. I. Page Of the History of Agriculture in fhe Ages of Antiquity ; or from the Deluge to the Esta. blishment of the Roman Empire, in the Cen> tury preceding the vulgar JEra - - - 4 L Of the Agriculture of Egypt - .5 IL Of the Agriculture of the Jews^ and other Nations of Antiquity - - .7 III. Of the Agriculture of the Greeks - 9 IV. Of the Agriculture of the Persians, Cartha- gi nians, and other Nations of Antiquity - 11 Chap. U. History of Agriculture among the Romans, or from the Second Century B. C. to the Fifth Century of our ^ra - - - 12 I. Of the Roman Agricultiual Writers - 12 II. Of the Proprietorship, Occupancy, and General Management of Landed Pro- perty among the Romans . .13 III. Of the Surface, Soil, Climate, and other Agricultural Circumstances of Italy, during the Time of the' Romans - - 15 IV. Of the Culture and Farm Management of the Romans - - - - 16 1. Of the Choice of a Farm, and of the Villa or Farmery - - - - 16 2. Of the Servants employed in Roman Agri- culture - - - - 18 3. Of the Beasts of Labour used by the Romans - - - - - 21 4. Of the Agricultural Implements of the Romans - - - - 22 5. Of the Agricultural Operations of the Romans . - - - - 24 6. Of the Crops cultivated, and Animals reared by the Romans - - 28 7. Of the General Maxims of Farm Manage- ment among the Romans - - S9 V. Of the Produce and Profit of Roman Agri- culture - - - - - 30 VI. Of the Roman Agriculturists, in respect to General Science, and the Advancement of the Art - - .31 VII. Of the Extent to which Agriculture was carried in the Roman Provinces, and of its Decline - . . .32 Chap. III. History of Agriculture during the Middle Ages, or from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Cen- tury - - - - - 33 I. History of Agriculture in Italy, during the Middle Ages - - - - 33 II. History of Agriculture in France, from the Fifth to t^e Seventeenth Century . 34 III. Of the Agriculture of Germany and other Northern States, from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century - . .35 IV. History of Agriculture m Britain, from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century - 35 1, History of Agriculture in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon Dynasty, or from the Fifth to the Eleventh Century . 35 % Of the State of Agriculture in Britain aftxr the Norman Conquest, or from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century - 37 3. History of Agriculture in Britain, from the Thirteenth Century to the Time of Henry VUl. - - - 39 Page 4. History of Agriculture, ftom the Time of Henry VIII. to the Revolution in 1688 . 40 V. History of Agriculture in Ultra-European Countries during the Middle Ages . 47 Chap. IV. Present State of Agriculture in Europe . 47 I. Of the present State of Agriculture in lUly - - - - 47 1. Of the Agriculture of Lombardy . 48 2. Of the Agriculture of Tuscany . - 50 3. Of the Agriculture of the Maremmes, or the District of Pestilential Air - 54 4. Of Farming in the Neapolitan Territory, or the Land of Ashes . - - ^ IT, Of the present State of Agriculture in Switzerland . - - 58 1. Of the Agriculture of the Swiss Cantons . 58 2. Of the Agriculture of the Duchy of Savoy ^ III. Of the present State of Agriculture in France - - - . 65 I, Of the Progress of French Agriculture, ftom the Sixteenth Century to the pre- sent Time - .65 Sl Of the general Circumstances of France, in respect to Agriculture - .66 5. Of the common Farming of France . 68 4. Of Farming in the warmer Climates of France - - - . 70 IV. Of the present State of Agriculture in Holland and the Netherlands - -72 1. Of the present State of Agriculture in Holland . ... 72 2. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Netherlands - -73 V. Of the present State of Agriculture in Ger- many - - . .87 1. GeneralViewof the Agricultural Circum. stances of Germany . - 87 2. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland and Iceland - 89 3. Of the Agriculture of the Kingdom of Prussiia . - - . 90 4. Of the Agriculture of the Kingdom of Hanover . . . . 92 5. Of the present State of Agriculture in Saxony . . . .94 6. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Kingdom of Bavaria - .95 7. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Empire of Austria . . • 9G VI. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Kingdom of Poland - - 100 VIL Of the present State of Agriculture in Russia - - - . 104 VIII. Of the present State of Agriculture in Sweden and Norway, . . 109 IX Of the present State of Agriculture in Spain and Portugal - - . 113. X. Of the present State of Agriculture in Eu. ropean Turkey - > - Ifit Chap. V. Modern History and present State of Agricul- ture in the British Isles . . 1S3 I. Political History of Agriculture in Britain, from the Revolution in 1688 to the pre. senfnme - . - 123 II. Professional History of Agriculture, from the Revolution to the present Time - 125 HI, Of the Literature of British Agriculture from the Revolution to the present Time 130 CONTENTS. Page IV. Of the Rise, Progress, and present State of Agriculture in Ireland - -131 Chap. VI. Of thepresent State of Agriculture in Ultra- £furopean Countries ... 137 I. Of the present State of Agriculture in Asia 138 1. 0£ the present State of Agriculture in Asiatic Turkey . . - 138 3. Of the present State of Agriculture in Persia - - - - - 138 3. Of the present State of Agriculture in In- dependent Tatary . - - 142 4. Of the present State of Agriculture in Arabia - - - - 142 5. Of the present State of Agriculture in Hindustan ... 144 6. Ofthe Agriculture of the Island of Ceylon 149 7. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Birman Empire, in Java, Malacca, Siam^ Cochin-China, Tonquin, Japan, &c. . 150 8. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Chinese Empire - - - 155 9. Of the present State of Agriculture in Chinese Tatary, Thibet, and Bootan - 162 10. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Asiatic Islands ... 163 II. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Australian Isles - - • 165 IIL Of the present State of Agriculture in Polynesia - - - 169 IV. Of the present State of Agriculture in Africa - - - - 171 1. Of the present State of Agriculture in Abyssinia - - - 171 2. Of the present State of Agriculture in Egypt - - . - 172 3. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Mohammedan States of the North of Africa 175 Page 4. Of the present State of Agriculture on the Western Coast of Aft-ica - - 177 5. Of the present State of Agriculture at the Cape of Good Hope - - 178 6. Of tlie present State of Agriculture on the Eastern Coast of Africa, and in the Afri- can Islands - - - 183 V. Of the present State of Agriculture in North America - - - - 1°* 1. Of the present State of Agriculture in the United States - - - 184 2. Of the present State of Agriculture in Mexico - - - . - 189 3. Of the present State of Agriculture in the British Possessions of North America - 191 4. Of the present State of Agriculture in the West India IsUnds . . - 192 VL Of the present State of Agriculture in South America - - - - 197 BOOK II. AGRICULTURE AS INFLUENCED BY GEOGRAPHICAL, PHYSICAL, CIVIL, AND POLITICAL CIECUMSTANCES. Chap. I. Agriculture as influenced by Geographical Circumstances . - - - 203 Chap. II. Agriculture as influenced by Physical Circum- stances - - - 204 CUAP. III. Agriculture as aflfected by Civil, Political, and Religious Circumstances - . . 206 Chap. IV. Of the Agriculture of Britain. -207 PART II. AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE. BOOK I. op the study of the vegetable kingdom with a view to agriculture. Chap, T. Of the Study of Systematic Botany - -20 Chap. II. Vegetable Anatomy, or the Structure and Or. ganisation of Plants - - . 210 T. Of the External Structure of Perfect Plants 210 II. Of ' the External Structure of Imperfect Plants - . - .211 III. Of the Internal Structure of Plants - 213 1. Decomposite Organs ... 213 2. Composite Organs _ _ _ 214 3. Elementary, or Vascular, Organs - 215 Chap. III. Vegetable Chemistry, or Primary Principles of Plants . - .216 I. Comiiound Products - - - 217 II. Simple Products ... 226 Chap. IV. Functions of Vegetables - - . 226 i. Germination of the Seed - . 227 II.' Food ofthe Vegetating Plant . . 228 I I I. Process of Vegetable Nutrition - . 233 I\^. Process of Vegetable Dcvelopement . 241 V. Anomalies of Vegetable Developement . 245 Vli Ofthe Sexuality of Vegetables . 249 VII. Impregnation of the Seed . . 250 VIII. Changes consequent upon Impregnation 251 IX. The Propagation of the Species - . 252 X.. Causes limiting the Propagation of the Species - - - . 254 XI, Evidence and Character of Vegetable Vi. tality - - - . 254 Chap. V. Vegetable Pathology, or the Diseases and Ca- sualties of Vegetable Life . . 253 1 Wounds and Accidents . . 258 II. Diseases - - - 259 III. Natural Decay - - 263 Chap. VL Vegetable Geography and History, or the Dis. tribution of Vegetables relatively to the Earth and to Man - - _ _ 264 I. Geographical Distribution of Vegetables - 265 II. Physical Distribution of Vegetables - 265 III. Civil Causes affecting the Distribution of- Plants - - - .270 IV. Characteristic or Picturesque Distribution of Vegetables - - . - 271 V. Systematic Distribution of Vegetables . 272 VI. Economical Distribution of Vegetables. . 273 VU. Arithmetical Distribution of Vegetables . 274 VIII. Distribution of theBritish Flora, indige- nous and exotic . . . 274 Chap. VIL Origin and Principles of Culture, as derived from the Study of Vegetables . - 278 BOOK II. OP THE STUDY OP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WTTH REFERENCE TO AGRICULTUEE. Chap. I. Systematic Zoology, 8cc. - . . 282 Chap. IL Animal Anatomy . / . 283 I. External Anatomy of Animals - . 283 II. Internal Anatomy of Animals - - 285 1. Osseous Structure of Animals - .286 2. Muscular Structure oi Animals - 287 3. Structure ofthe Nervous System - 289 Animal Chemistry; or the Substances which enter into the Composition of the Bodies of Animals - - - ^ CONTENTS. Chap. IV. Page Animal Physiology; the Digestive, Ciroulat- ing, and Reproductive Functions of Animals S92 I. Of the Digestive System ... Q32 II. 01' the Circulating System - - -293 II L Of the Reproductive System of Animals - S93 Chap. V. Animal Pathology ; or the Duration, Diseases, and Casualties of Animal Lifb . - 395 Chap. VI. On the Distribution of Animals - . S96 Chap. VII. Of the Economical Uses of Animals - - 299 Chap. VIII. Principles of Improving the Domestic Ani- mals used in Agriculture -• - 300 I. Objects to be kept in View in the Improve- ment of Breeds - - - . 300 n. Of the Means of Improving the Breed of Animals - - - . 300 III. Of the General Principles of rearing, ma- naging, and feeding Domestic Animals - 306 IV. Of Feeding for Extraordinary Purposes . 309 V. Of the Modes of killing Animals . - 310 BOOK III. OF THE STUDY OF THE MINERAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHERE, WITH REFERENCE TO AGRICUL- TURE. Chap. I. Of Earths and Soils " - - .312 I. Of the Geological Structure of the Globe, and the Formation of Earths and Soils - 312 n.. Classification and Nomenclature of Soils - 314 III. Ofdiscovering the Qualities of Soils - 315 1. Of discoveruig the Qualities of Soils by means of the Plants which grow on them 315 2. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils by Chemical Analysis . - - - 317 3. Of discovering the Qualities of a Soil me- chanically and empirically - - 318 IV. Of the Uses of the Soil to Vegetables - 318 V. Of the Improvement of Soils - - 322 1. Pulverisation - - - 322 2. Of the Improvement of Soils by Com- pression - - '_ _ 323 3. Of the Improvement of Soils by Aeration or Fallowing - _ - 323 4. Alteration of tjie constituent Parts of Soils - - - - 325 5. Changing the Condition of Lands in re- spect to Water - _ _ 328 6. Changing the Condition of Lands, in re- spectlo Atmospherical Influence - 331 7. Rotation of Crops - - - 331 Chap. II. Of Manures _ - .333 I. Of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin - _ - _ 333 1, Tjhe Tlieory of the Operation of Mapures of Animal and Vegetable Origin - 333 5. Of the, different Species of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin - - 334 S. Of the Fermenting, Preserving, and Ap. plying of Manures of Animal and Vege- tableOri^n - - - 341 II. Of Manures of Mineral Origin - - 343 1. Theory of the Operation of Mineral Ma- nures - . . - 343 2. Of the different, Species of Mineral Ma- nures - . . - 344 CnAp. III. Of the Agency of Heat, Light, Electricity, and Water in Vegetable Culture - - 349 I. Of Heat and Light . -' -349 II, Of Electricity . . .353 ILL Of Water . . . 353 Chap. IV. Of the Agency of the Atmosphere in Vegeta- tion - - - . . 354 I. Of the Elements of the Atmosphere . 354 Page II. Of the Means of. Prognosticating the Wea- ther - - - - 364 III. Of the Climate of Britain . . 3&1 BOOK IV. OF THE MECHANICAL AGENTS EMIXOYED IN AGRI CULTURE. Cbap. I. Of the. Implements of Manual labour used in Agriculture - . - 369 I. Tools used in Agriculture . . - 369 II. Instruments . . . . 372 1. Instruments of Labour . - 372 2. Instruments of Science . - 375 III. Utensils used in Agriculture - . 378 IV. Hand Machines used in Agriculture - 379 Chap. II. Of Agricultural Implements and Machines d^awn, by Beasts of Labour - - 389 I. Tillage Implements and lifacblnes . - 389 1. Swing Ploughs, or such as are constructed without wheels . - - 389 £. Wheel Ploughs - - -.397 3. Tillage Implements, known as Scarifiers, Scufflers, Cultivators, and Grubbers - 402 4. Tillage Implements of the Hoe Kind - 405 II. Machines for Sowing and Planting, - 408 III. Harrows or Pronged Implements for Scratching the Surface Soil, for covering the Seed, and for other Puziposes - 413 IV. Rollers - - - - 416 V. Machines for laying I^and even, and other occasional or anomalous Tillage Ma- chines - - - . . 419 VI. JUacbincs for reaping and gathering the Crop - - - - 420 L Horse, Bakes and Haymaking Machines - 420 2. Reaping Machines _ - _ 421 VII. Machines of Deportation - . 428 1. Carts - - 428 2. Waggp,us - - - - 433 Vltl; Machines for threshing and otherwise preparing Corn for Market . - 435 IX. Mechanical and other fixed Apparatus, for the Preparation of Food for Cattle, and for grinding Manure - - 440 Chap. III. Edifices in use iU' Agriculture - - 442 I. Buildings for Live Stock . - 443 II. Buildings as Repositories, and for perform- ing in-door Operations . - 449 III. The Farmer's Dwelling-house - - 453 IV. Cottages for Farm Servants - - 454 V. Stack-yard, Dung-yard, and other Enclo- sures immediately connected with Farm Buildings - - - - 459 VI. Union of the dififerent Farm Buildings and Enclosures in a Farmery . 461 Chap. IV. Fences used in. Agriculture . -473 I. Situation or Emplacement of Fences - 473 II. Diff^ent Kinds of Fences . - 474 1. Ditch or Drain Fences - - 474 2. Hedge Fences - - - 475 3; Compound Hedge Fences - - 480 4l Paling Fences . - 492 &. Wall Fences - - - 496 Chap. V. Gates and Bridges appropriate to Agriculture - 498 BOOK V. op the operations of ACRICUlTURBi' Chap. I. Page Manual Labours and [Operations - - 506 I. Mejshanical Operations common to aU Arts of Manual Labour, - - - 506 II. Agricultural Labours of the simplest Kind 507 III. Agricultural Operations with Plants - .510 IV. Mixed Opera,tions performed by Manual Labour - - - 517 CONTENTS Cutp. II.' Page Agricultural Opcrationa requiring the Aid of Labouring Cattle - - 524 I. Operations for the Care of Live Stock - S2i II. Labours with Cattle on the Soil - - 525 III. Labours and Operations with the Crop, performed with the Aid of Cattle - 530 Chap. IIL Scientific Operations, and Operations of Order and general Management 533 Page I. Scientific Operations required of the Agri- culturist - - - • 5J^ 1. Measuring relatively to Agriculture - o^ 2. Taking the Levels of Surlaces - - J;;* 3. Division and laying out of Lands - 5t>b 4. Estimating Weight, Power, and Quanti- ties - . - - - S38 5. Estimating the Value of Agricultural La. hour and Materials, Hcnts and Tillages . MM 6. Professional Routine of Land Surveyors, Appraisers and Valuators, in making up their Plans and Reports - - ?t' II. Operations of Order and Management ^o PART III. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. BOOK I. OP THE VALUATION, PURCHASE, AND TRANSFER OP LANDED PROPERTY. Chap. I. The different Kinds and Tenures of Landed Property in the British Isles - - 551 L The Kinds of Landed Property, and its dif- ferent Tenures, in England - - 651 II. The Kinds and Tenures of Landed Pro- oerty in Scotland . . - 552 III. The Kinds and Tenures of Landed Pro- perty in Ireland - - 552 Chap. IL Valuation of Landed Property - 553 Chap. IIL Purchase or Transfer of Landed Property - 567 BOOK IL OF THE LAYING OUT, OR GENERAL ARRANGBMENT, OF LANDED ESTATES. Chap. I. Consolidated detached Property - - 559 Appropriating Commonable Lands I.' Origin and different Kinds of Commonable II. General Principles of Appropriating and dividing Commonable Lands - - 562 Chap. IIL Choice of the Demesne or Site for the Proprie- tor's Residence - - - 565 Chap. IV. Formation and Management of Roads • - 5(7f I. Different Kinds of Roads - - 568 II. Line of Direction, or laying out of Roads . 570 in. Form and Materials of Roads - - 574 1. Formation of Roads, and of their Wear or Injury - - - - 574 2. M' Adam's Theory and Practice of Road- making - - . . 576 3. Road-making, as treated of and practised by various eminent Engineers and Sur- veyors - - - _ 579 I V. Paved Roads - - - 597 V. MilestoneSj Guide-posts, and Toll gates - 602 VI. Preservation and Repair of Roads . 605 VII. Railroads - - - - 613 Chap. V. Formation of Canals - . - 616 I. Utility and Rise of Navigable Canals - 616 II. Of discovering the most eligible Route for a Line of Canal - _ .617 IIL Powers granted to Canal Companies by Government - .. . 619 IV* Execution of the Works - -619 Chap. VI, linprovementof Estates by the Establishment of MillSf Manufactories, Villages, Markets^ &c. 622 Chap. VIL Of Mines, Quarries, Pits, and Metalliferous Bodies - - 624 Chap. VI IL Establishment of Fisheries - 629 I. Marine Fisheries - - - 629 II. River, Lake, and other Inland Fisheries - 630 Chap. IX. Plantations and Woodlands - - 633 I. Soils and Situations which may be most pro- fitably employed in Timber Plantations - 633 II. Trees suitable for different Soils, Situations, and Climates - - 634 III. Forming Plantations - - - 636 IV. Mixture of Trees in Plantations - 644 V. Culture of Plantations - - 645 1. General Influence of Culture on Trees - 645 2. Culture of the Soil among Trees - 647 3. Filling up of Blanks or Failures in PlanU ations - - - - 648 4. Pruning and Heading down Trees in Plantations - - 648 5. Thinning young Plantations - • 652 VI. Improvement of Neglected Plantations 654 VII. Treatment of Injured and Diseased Trees 655 VIII. Products of Trees, and their Preparation for Use or Sale - - - 657 IX. Estimating the Value of Plantations and their Products, and exposing them to Sale - - 662 Chap. X. Formation and Management of Orchards - 664 I. Soils and Situations most suitable for Or- chards . - - 664 n. Sorts of Trees and Manner of Planting - 665 III. Cultivation of Farm Orchards - 669 IV. Gathering and Keeping of Orchard Fruit - 671 V. Manufacture of Cider and Perry - 671 VI. Machinery and Utensils necessary for Cider-making . . 675 Chap. XL I^aying out of Farm and other Culturable Lands - - _ 676 I. Extent or Size of Farm and Cottage Lands 677 II. Laying out Farms and Farmeries - 677 1. Situation and Arrangement of the Farmery 677 2. Laying out Cottages - - - 685 3. Laying out the Farm Lands . - 687 BOOK ITI. OP IMPROVING THB culturable LANDS OF AN ESTATE. Chap. I. Draining Watery Lands - - 690 I. Natural Causes of Wetness in Lands, and the general Theory of Draining - 690 II. The Methods of Draining Boggy Land - G93 III. Draining Hilly Lands - - 698 IV. Methods of draining Mixed Soils - 699 V. Methods of draining of Retentive Soils -701 VI. Methods of draining Mines, Quarries. Pits, Ponds, and Lakes - - 705 CONTENTS. Page VIT. Foraution of Drains and Materials used in filling them - - - 706 VIII. Of the Implements peculiar to Pruning 712 Chap. IL Embanking and otherwise protecting Lands flrom' the Overflowing or Encroachment of Rivers or the Sea - . . 713 L Embanking Lands ftom Itivers or the Sea . 713 1. General Principles of designing Embank- ments . _ • . 714 S. Difibrent Descriptions of Banks in general Use for excluding Waters •> * 715 IL Guarding the Banlu and otherwise improv- ing the Courses of Rivers and Streams - 719 1. Guarding River Banks - - 719 S. Changing the Courses of River^ deepening their Beds, or raising their Waters to a higher Level - - - 721 Chap. IIL Irrigation, or the Improvement of Culturable Lands and Farmeries by the means of Water 732 L Irrigation, or the Preparation of the Surface of I^nds for the profitable Application of Water - - - 723 1. SoWs and Situations suitable for Watering 723 S. Implements made Use of in Watering . tAnds; and the Terms of Art peculiar to sucii Operations. ... 723 3. Preparation of Surfaces for Irrigation . 725 IL Warping, or the Improvement of Land bjr muddy Water - _ - 730 1. Irrigation of Arable Lands, and Subter- raneous Irrigation - - 731 IIL Artificial Means of Procuring Water for the Use of Live Stock . - 732 Chap. IV. bnprovement of Lands lying Waste, so as to fit them for Farm-Culture - - 741 L Mount^nous and hilly Grounds and their Improvement . - - 742 II. Rocky or Stony Surfaces - - 742 IIL Improving Woody Wastes or Wealds - 744 IV. Moors and their Improvements - - 745 V. Peat Mosses, Bogs, and Morasses, and their Improvement _ - - 746 VI. Marsnes and their Improvement - - 747 VIL Downs and other Shore Lands - •-748 Chap. V. Improvement of liands already in a, State of Culture - - - - 749 L General Principles and Modes of Procedure, Sn improving Estates already more or less improved - - - 750 IL Improvement of Farmeries and Farm Lands - - - 750 Chap. VL Execution of Improvements - - 756 I. Difitrent Modes of procuring the Execution of Improvements on Estates • - 756 II. General Cautions on theSubject of Execut. ing Improvements - - 7^ BOOK IV. UANAGEMBMT OF LANDED PBOPERTY. Chat. I. Superintendents, or Executive Establishment of sin Estate • . - - 759 L Steward or Manager of an Estate, and his Assistants - - - 759 II. Land Stewaid*s Place of Business, and what belongs to it > > - 761 Chap. II Duties of Managers of Estates - -762 I. General Principles of Business considered Relatively to Land Stewardship - - 763 II. Management of Tenants - -763 ]. Proper Treatment of Tenants . - 763 S. Business of letting Farms - - 764 a Different &iecie8 of Tenancy -764 ' 4w Rent and Covenants of a Lease - . 766 S. Receiving Rents . . - 768 III. Keeping and Auditing Accounts 769 BOOK V. BELBCTION, RIBINO, AND STTOCKING OF FARMS. Chap. I. Page Circumstanlses of a Farm necessary to be con- sidered by_ a proposed Tenant - - 771 L Climate, in respect to farming Lands - 771 II. Soil in respect to farming Lands - 773 III. Subsoil relativelyto the Choice of a Farm 774 IV. Elevation of Lands relatively to Fanning - 775 V. Character of Surface iu regard to farming Lands - - - - 775 VI. Aspect in regard to farming Lands - 776 VIL Situation of Farm Lands in regard to Markets - - - - 776 VIII. Extent of Land suitable for a Farm - 777 IX. Tenure on which Lands are held for Farm- ing ... - 777 X. Rent - - . . 777 XI. Taxes and other Burdens which afffect the Farmer - . - - 779 XIL Other Particulars requiring a Fanner's Attention, with a View to the Renting of Land - - - TIS Chap. IL Considerations respecting Himself, which a Farmer ought to keep in view in selecting and hiring a Farm ... 780 L Personal Character and Expectations of a professional Farmer . . 780 II. Capital required by the Fanner - . 781 Chap. IIL Choice of Stock for a Farm . . - 782 L Choice of Live Stock . - .. 782 1. Live Stock for the Purposes of Labour . 782 S. Choice of Live Stock lor the Purposes of breeding or feeding ^ - - 783 II. Choice of Agricultural Implements, Seeds, and Plants - . -785 IIL Choice of Servants • . - 7!:S Chap. IV. General Management of a Farm - - 789 I. Keeping Accounts - - . 789 II. Management of Servants . . 795 III. Arrangement of Farm Labour - 796 IV. Domestic Management and personal Ex- penses - - - - 797 BOOK VI. cultubb of fabm lands. Chap. L General Processes common to Farm Lands . 798 I. Rotation of Crops suitable to different De. . scriptions of Soils - - - 798 n. The working of Fallows . - 800 IIL General Management of Manures - 803 1. Management of Farm-yard Dung . 801 2. Lime, and its Management as a Manure 805 IV. Composts and other Manures . .807 Chap. IL Culture of the Cereal Grasses - -808 L Wheat . - . . 811 IL Bye - ... 821 III. Barley - - - 822 IV. The Oat ... 826 V. Cereal Grasses cultivated in Europe, some of which might be tried in Britain . 8S8 1. Maize, or Indian Com . . 829 2. Canary Com - - - 832 S. The MiUets - - - 832 4 Rice, and some other Cereal Gramina . 834 Chap. IIL Culture of Leguminous Field-Plants, the Seeds of which are used as Food for Man or Cattle - - - - 834 L-ThePea . . . . 835 II. The Bean . - - 838 in. The Tare . - . - 841 IV. Various Legumes which might be culti- vated in British Farming . - 843 CONTENTS. Chap. IV. Page Plants cultivated for their Roots or Leaves in a recent State as Food foi Man or Cattle 844 I. The Potato . . 845 II. The Turnip . . . 854 III. The Carrot . . 8S3 IV. The Paisnep . . . 865 V. The Field Beet . . -866 VI. The Cabbage Tribe . - . 867 VIl Other Plants which might be cultivated in the Felds for their Roots or Leaves, as Food for Man or Cattle, In a recent State 869 CnAP. V. Culture of Herbage Plants . . 871 I. The Clover Family . - 871 II. Lucern - - - 877 IIL Salntfoin . . .880 IV. Various Plants which are or may be culti- vated as Herbage and for Hay . 883 Chap. VI. Cultivated Grasses - - . 886 I. Tall-growing or Hay Grasses - . 887 1. Tall or Hay Grasses of temporary Dura- tion - . . - 887 S. Tall or Hay Grasses of permanent Dura- tion . - . .889 II. Grasses chiefly adapted for Pasturage 893 HI. General View of the Produce, Uses, Cha- racter, and Value of the principal Bri- tish Grasses, according to the Result of John Duke of Bedford's Experiments at Woburn . . . . 895 Chap. VIL Management of Lands permanently under Grass . . .901 I. Perennial Grass Lands fit for mowing, or Meadow Lands . . . 901 II. Permanent Pastures . . 905 1. Rich or feeding Pastures . . 905 2. Hilly and Mountainous Pastures . 908 IIL Improvement of Grass Lands, by a tern. porary Conversion to Tillage - - 909 1. Grass Lands that ought not to be broken up by the Plough - - - 909 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of break- ing up Grass Lands . - - 910 3. Breaking up Grass Lands, and afterwards restoring them to Grass . .911 Chap. VIII. Plants cultivated on a limited Scale for various Arts and Manufactures . . . 912 I. Plants grown chiefly for the Clothing Arts . 912 1. Flax . . . .913 2. Hemp . . . . 917 a The Fuller's Thistle, or Teasel . 918 4. Madder - - - 919 5. Woad . . . 920 6. Weld, or Dyer's Weed . . 921 7. Bastard Safton . . .922 8. Various Plants which have been proposed as Sul)Etitutcs for the Thread and dyeing Plants grown in Britain . . 923 II. Plants cultivated for the Brewery and Dis. tillery . . . .923 L The Hop - - - 924 2. Culture of the Coriander and Caraway - 930 3. Plants which may be substituted for "Brewery and Distillery Plants - 930 in. Oa Plants - . - 931 IV. Plants used in Domestic Economy . 933 1. Mustard . . .933 2 Buck-wheat . . .034 3. Tobacco . . - 936 4b Other Plants used in Domestic Economy, which are or may be cultivated in the Fields - - -942 V. Plants which are are or may be grown in the Fields for Medicinal Purposes - 943 Chap. IX. Marine Plants used in Agriculture . 945 Weeds or Plants injurious to those cultivated iu Agriculture - .947 BOOK vir. THE ECONO.MV OF LIVE STOCK AND THE DAIRlt Chap. I. Page The cultivated Horse . - -^ I. Varietiesof the Horse - - ^^ IL Organology or exterior Anatomy of the Horse - • - ■ SS5 III. The Bony Anatomy or Osseous Structure of the Horse - - -96* 1. Osseous Structure of the Head - - 962 2. Bony Anatomy of the Trunk - -964 3. Bony Anatomy of the Extremities - 964 4. General Functions of the Bony Skeleton - 966 IV. Anatomy and Physiology of the soft Parts 966 1. Appendages to Bonb, the Muscles, and Tendons - . - 966 2. Blood-vessels of the Horse - - 967 3. Absorbents of the Horse . - 968 4. Nerves and Glands of the Horse - 968 5. Integuments of the Horse's Body - 968 6. The Head generally . . . 969 7. The Ear . . - 969 8. The Eye and its Appendages - 970 9. The >fose and Sense of Smelling - 971 10. The Cavity of the Mouth - - ?72 11. The Neck . - 972 12. The Thorax or Chest - - - 973 13. The Abdomen - - 973 14. The Fcetal Colt . - ■ SnS 15. The Foot . - 97S V. Diseases of the Horse - - 977 1. General Remarks on the Healthy and diseased State of the Horse - - 977 2. Inflammatory Diseases of the Horse - 978 3. Diseases of the Head . - 979 4. Diseases of the Neck . 980 5. The Chest . . - 980 6. Diseases of the Skin . . . 984 7. Glanders and Farcy ... 985 8. Diseases of the Extremities . - 985 9. Diseases of the Feet - - - 987 VI. Veterinary Operations . - 989 1. Treatment of Wounds . .989 S. Balls and Drinks . . .989 3. Fomentations and Poultices . . 989 4. Setons and Rowels . . . 990 5. Blistering and Firing . . 990 6. Clystering and Physicking - . 990 7. Castration, Nicking, Docking, &c. . 991 8. Bleeding - . .991 VII. Veterinary Pharmacopoeia . .991 VIII. Shoeing of Horses . . 993 IX. Criteria of the Qualitres of Horses for various Purposes . , . 995 X. Breeding of Horses ... 997 XI. Rearing of Horses . . . 99^ XII. Training of Horses . . iooo XIII. The Art of Horsemanship . . 1003 XIV. Feeding of Horses . . 1004 XV. Stabling and Grooming of Horses . 1006 XVI. Management and Working of Horses - 1007 1. Management and Working of Race Horses . 1007 2. Management and Workingof the Hunter 1009 S. Working and Management of Riding Horses . - .1009 4. Horses m Curricles and Coaches . lolO 5. VVorking of Cart, Waggon, and Farm Horses . . . iqiq Chap. II. Chap. III. The Mule and Hinny, Hybrids of the Horse and Ass . 1013 Chap. IV. Neat or Horned Cattle I. The Ox . . 1. Varieties and Breeds of the Bull 1 2. Criteria of Cattle for various Objects and Purposes _ . . 3. Breeding of Horned Cattle 4. Rearing of Horned Cattle 5. Fattening Calves by Suckling 6. Fattening Horned Cattle 7. Management of Cows kept for the Dairy 1014 1014 1014 1019 1020 1021 1023 1024 102s CONTEMTS. xx» Page 8. Working of Horned Cattle . . 1029 9. Aniitomy and Physiology of the Bull and Cow . . . . 1031 10. Diseases of Horned Cattle ■ ■ 1032 II. The Buffalo . . . 1035 Chap. V. The Dairy and its Management - ■ 1035 I. Chemical Principles of Milk, and theProper- ties of the Milk of different Animals . 1036 IL The Dairy House, its Furniture and Uten- sils ... 1037 HI. Milking and the general Management of MUk . ... 1040 IV. Making and Curing of Butter . ■ 1041 V. Process of Cheese-making . - 1043 VI. Catalogue of the different Sorts of Cheeses and other Preparations made from Milk 1045 CHiP. VI. The Sheep . . . 1049 I. Varieties of Sheep . . ■ 1049 II. Criteria of Properties in Sheep - . 1052 III. Breeding of Sheep ■ .1053 IV. Rearing and general Management of Sheep ... 10S5 1. Rearing and Management of Sheep on rich grass and arable Lands . . 1056 2. Hearing and general Management of Sheep on Hilly and Mountainous Dis- tricts, or what is generally termed Store Sheep Husbandry . - . 1058 •V. Folding of Sheep ... 1061 VL Of Fattening Sheep and Lambs . 1062 VIL .Probable Improvemeut to be derived from Crosses of the Menno Breed of Sheep . . - . 1063 VIII. Anatomy and Physiology of Sheep . 1064 IX. Diseases of Sheep . . 1064 Chap. VIL The Swine .... 1067 L Varieties of the Common Ho^ - 1068 II. Breeding and Rearing of Swine . • 1069 HI. Fattening of Swine IV. Curing of Pork and Bacon V, Diseases of Swine Page - 1070 - 1070 - 1071 Of the Goat, Rabbit, Haue, Dormouse, Deer, and various other Animals, that are or may be subjected to British Agriculture . . 1071 Chap. IX. Animals of the Bird Kind employed in Agri- culture .... 1083 I. Poultry Houses and their Furniture and Utensils . . . 1083 II. Gallinaceous Fowls, their Kinds, Breeding, Rearing, and Management - . 1084 III. Anserine or Aquatic Fowls - . 1091 IV. Diseases of Poultry - - 1U95 V. Birds of Luxury which are or may be cul- tivated by Farmers ... 1095 Chap. X. Fish and Amphibious Animals subjected to ■ Cultivation iioo Insects and Worms which are or may be sub. jected to Culture . - - 1104 Chap. XII. Animals noxious to Agriculture - .111)8 I. Noxious MammMia - - 1108 II. Birds injurious to Agriculture - 1112 III. JnseQts injurious to Agriculture - 1112 1. physiology of Insects - - 1112 2. Arrangement or Classification of Insects 1113 3. Insects injurious to live Stock - - 1114 4. Insects injurious to Vegetables - 11J5 5. Insects injurious to Food, Clothing, &c. 1118 6. Operations for subduing Insects - 1119 IV. Worm-like Animals injurious to Agri- • culture - - - 1120 PART IV. STATISTICS or BRITISH AGRICULTURE. BOOK I. op thb present state of agriculture in the british isles. Chap. 1. Different Descriptions of Men engaged in the Practice or Pursuit of Agriculture . 1121 1. Operators, or serving A^culturists - 1121 IL Commercial Agriculturists - - 1122 III. Agricultural Counsellors, Artists, or Professors - ■ ■ 1123 IV. Patrons of Agriculture - - 1123 Chap. II, Dlfi^rent Kinds of Farms in Britain relatively to the different Classes of Society who are the Occupiers . . - - 1124 Chap. IIL Topographical Survey of the British Isles in respect to Agriculture - . . 11S5 I. Agricultural Survey of England . .1125 IL Agricultural Survey of Wales . - 1173 III. Agricultural Survey of Scotland - 1178 IV. Agricultural Survey of Ireland - 1198 Chap. IV. Literature and Bibliogaphy of Agriculture . 1206 I. Bibliography of British Agriculture - ■ 1206 ,11. Bibliography of Agriculture in Foreign Countries . . . . 1214 1. Bibliography of French Agriculture - 1214 Calendarial Index Glossarial Index General Index 2. Bibliography of German Agriculture . 1219 3. Bibliography of Italian Agriculture . 1221 4. Bibliography of the Agriculture of other Countries of Europe - - 1222 5. Agricultural Bibliography of North Ame- rica - - - 1223 Chap. V. Professional Police and Public Laws relative to Agriculturists and Agriculture - - 1223 BOOK II. OF THE FUTURE PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN BRITAIN. Chap. I. Improvement of Agriculture, by refining the Taste of the Purchasers of its Products, and creasing the Knowledge of Agricultural Patrons - - - 1225 Chap. II. Improvement of' Agriculture, by the better Education of those who are engaged in it as a Profession - - - - 1226 I. Degree of Knowledge which may be at- tained by Practical Men, and general Powers of the human Mind as to Attainments - .1236 II. Professional Education of Agriculturists . 1228 in. Conduct and Economy of an Agricul- turist's Life - - - 1229 . 1233 . 1241 - 1248 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE SUBJECTS. Those marked + are chiefly of historical interest ; those marlted » are considered the best of their liind. No. Page Picks and Mattocks. 2 1 Primeval piclc of Egypt - - 5 S5 t Pick of the ancient Britons - 38 134 t Picks or Pick hoes of Java . - 162 460 » The planter's footpick . . . 481 690 S * The planting-mattock . . . 641 590 c » The planter's adze - - .851 1115 a, b Grubbing-mattocks of Devonshire . 1170 Spades. 14 t The Roman spade - - • S4 155 t The Bushman's spade ■ - • 182 1136 t The caschrom or Highland spade • 1197 210 The Flemish spade - - -369 811 » The turf spade . ... 369 661 * Draining-spades ... 712 679, 680 * Irrigating-spadea - . . 725 469 6 ■* The hedger's spade . - .485 655 a The semicylindrical draining-spade . 710 Shovels and Scoops. 459 * The ditcher's shovel . . . 481 661 d * The drainer's shovel . . .712 680 a,b* Irrigation shovels - . . '725 1115 c The Devonshire paring-shovel . . 1170 661 a,btC* Draining-scoops . . 712 680 c * The irrigator's scoop ... 725 Forks. S5, 26, 27 t Forks of the Ancient Britons . 38 682 c • The irrigator's fork . . .725 753 * Forks for spreading dung - . 856 548 * The road-maker's fork - . . 596 Drags or Sacks, and Pronged Hoes. 752 » A light dung drag . . .856 756 * A turnip-hook, or pronged hoe . .859 215 * A three-pronged double hoe . . 370 282 * The pronged hoe and turnip chopper . 386 Rakes. 25 t Rake of the Ancient Britons . . 38 S12 * The English com-rake . - 370 213 * The East Lothian com-rake - 370 514 • The daisy rake . - . . 370 Hoes. 121 c t The hoe of Ceylon . . .149 124 i,ct The hoes of Java - . . 152 515 * The double hoe, with a pronged blade 370 516 Ducket's hoes - . . .371 469 a The conmion Dutch hoe ... 485 217 ♦ The improved Dutch hoe . .371 218 * Knight's improved thrust-hoe . .371 219 * Tbe Spanish draw-hoe . . 371 613 The Dutch wheeLhoe . . .509 590 d * Sang's plantation-hoe . . .647 760 * The best turnip hand-hoe . .858 Weeding Implements. 220 • Baker's thistle-extirpator . . 371 221 o •* The Scotch thistle-drawers - .371 221 * * The Havre weeding-pincers - . 371 BopC'twisters. 222 The common twisting-crook . .372 233 * Tbe improved twisting-crook . .372 No. ^^S" Dibbles. 91 The Swedish dibbling-board . • U? 224 • The double corn-dibble . . . 372 Scythes. 21 t Italian scythe and scythe stone of the middle ages _ _ - 33 25 1 26 t Scythes of the Ancient Britons 38 49 The Brabant cradle scythe " " S? 61 The great Brabant scythe . - Ba 60 * The Hainault scythe . . . 83 225 * The improved Hainault scythe . . 372 226 * The improved cradle scythe . . 373 SeaptTig-hooks. 6 t The reaping-hook of Egypt . . 7 25 t 27 t Ancient British reaping-hooks . 38 121 I" t The reaping-hook of Ceylon . .149 125 ► The water-hook . . .725 Level Instruments. 234 * The common road-level ... 375 233 » Parker's level . . . . 375 235 fl • The American level . . . 376 235 6 ■* The square level . . .376 235 c ■► The object sUff - . . . 376 235 d to * * The levelling staff ... .376 549 * Telford's road-level - - 506 677 a * Brown's irrigator's portable level - 725 678 * The compass-level . - .725 Hand-HunmielHrig Implements, 405 ■► The hummelling-roUer . MO 406 The hummelling-beater - ' *40 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. Na Page Miscellaneous Implements and Inatrujnents. S30 * The woodman's scorer - . . 374 231 * 232 • Potato-set scoops - - - 374 236, 237 * Hunter's odometer - - - 376 598 * Barking instruments - . - 659 599 * Broad's callipers for measuring standing timber - - . - 663 703 ♦ Callipers for raising stones - - H^ 600 * Hogers'sdendrometer . . . 663 708 * The blasting screw for rending roots of trees . - - , 744 892 * Sheep crooks _ - _ . 1057 870 * Syringe and fenema tubes for relieving horses, cattle, sheep, and swine - 1034 838 * The fleam for bleeding horses '■ . 991 866 * Uing for fastening cattle - - 1030 867 * Yoke and bow for oxen - - - 1030 Miscellaneous Utensils. 27 t The ancient British harvest-hom 38 1119 d Cornish dung panniers _ _ . 1171 1119 e Cornish faggot and sheaf corn panniers 1171 243 * The corn-screen - - - - 378 244 * The iron corn-basket - - - 378 245 * The seed-carrier - - - . 378 246 *■ Jones's corn and seed 'drier - - 379 811 Barrel for blanching endive . 942 977 * The turnip beetle-net - - - 1120 978 * Curtis's lime-duster . . 1120 * UtcTisf Is for Poultry. 926 a, A, c Poultry coops - - - - 10S4 9'i6 d Portable shelter for poultry - - 1084 9^ * The improved poultry-feeder - 1084 1145 * The pheasant-feeder . . -1282 Scientific Utensils. 203 Vessels for examining soils ... 318 208 * I^eslie's hygrometer - .366 209 *Thfr rain-gauge - - - - 366 Utensils for the Dairy. 81 t The cowherd's lure of Norway - - 110 33 f The dairy caldron of Lodi - 49 879 * The box churn - - - 1040 880 * The Derbyshire churn - - 1040 881 The Lancasliire plough-chum - 1040 877 The cheese-press - - - - 1039 878 The lactometer - . - - 1039 Wheelbarrows. 247 * Tlie earth barrow - - 379 248 * The iron barow for dung . - 379 249 * The corn barrow - - 379 250 * The hay and straw barrow - - 379 251 The package barrow . . 379 252 * The Normandv barrow - - 380 253 The French truck - - - 380 254 * The common hand-barrow 380 255 * The earth hand-barrow - - 3S0 256 The dung hand-barrow - .380 257 * The improved dressing machine - 380 258 * The hand threshing-machine - - 380 259 *The maize sheller - - - 381 260 • Marriott's improved maize separator 381 1120 The box barrow of Cornwall - 1172 Handmitis. 261 *^ A hand flour-mill for grinding maize . 381 734 The maize sheller . - -831 262 * A hand bolting-machine . 381 263 * The furze bruiser - - . 382 266 * The root breaker or bruiser - 383 267 * The com bruiser - - 383 268 * The potato ffouE-milt - - - 383 269 * The chaff-cutter - - 384 281 * The turnip-Blicer . . 386 Weighing and Draught Machines. 276 • The weighing-cage - - 385 277 * Weir's cattle weighing-machine 385 279 * Smith's potato-weighing machine - 386 278 * The sack-weighing machine - - 385 280 * Ruthvcn's farmer's stceljrard - - 386 272 * The hay- weighing machine - . 384 274 * Finlayson's draught-machine - . 385 275 * Braby'8 draught-machine - - - 385 No. Page Hand-drills, Dibbling and Sowing Machines. 284 * The common hand-drill . .387 287 * The hand turnip-drill - - - 388 286 * Coggins's corn-dibbler - - 387 283 * Plunknet's bean or potato dibbler - 387 285 * The broadcast sowing-machine - - 387 Ti-apsfor Fei-min. 290 * Field rat-trap - - - - 388 291 * Improved rat-trap - - - 388 292 Wooden mole-traps - - - 388 964. 965 * Paul's rattery - - - 1110,1111 Miscellaneous Hand Machines. 177 t The whin-bruiser of Britany 270—272 • The hay-binder 273 * The rope-twister 2S8 * The hand turnip-roller 289 Doxat's mechanical power 2'i3 * An improved grindstone • 750 Machine for washing potatoes 872 The gin-wheel potato-washer 767 Cabbage-cutter for sauerkraut 768 Newton's cabbage-chopper 4'}S A lime-pounding machine . - . 409 Low's machine for raising large stones - 705,706 Richardson'smachinefor raising large stones - - - - 987 Hill abd Bundy's flax-breaking machine - 207 . 384 - 385 388 . 388 - 389 . 853 . 1038 745 913 Ploughs qf Historical Interest 2 + 3 f 4 1 Primitive tillage implements of the greatest antiquity . . .5,6 9 f Primitive plough of Sicily . - 10 11 f Plough of the South of France - . 23 12 t Plough of Valencia - - - 23 13 OtbfCf Wheel-ploughs of the greatest antiquity ... - . 23 22 f A Saxon wheel-plough of the eighth century - - . . 36 23 + 24 + Ancient British ploughs - 37 38 t The modern plough of Rome • ^ 55 50 t The plough of Toulouse ... 70 51 f The Arabian plough - - - 70 74 t The plough of Tykochin, in Poland , 102 89 f The plough of Osterobothnia - - 112 90 f The ancient Samnjte plough * 112 97 T The Castilian plough . - - 119 100 t The Arcadian plough . - - 121 109 f The plough of Erzerum - ■ .141 113 t The plough of Yemen, in Arabia - 142 119 f Hindustanee ploughs ... 148 121 d + The plough of Ceylon . . .149 131 f Chinese ploughs . . 16ci Modern Swing Ploughs. 294 * Small's plough - . .392 295 * * Wilkie's iron swing plough - - 392 ^6 * Finlayson's crane-necked self-cleaning iron^ plough ... 392 297 * Finlayson's open beam self-cleaning iron plough .... 39^ 29S '^ Finlayson's skeleton self-cleaning turn-wrest plough . • . 393 299 * Finlayson's line plough - * 393 300 * Gray's turn-wrest plough 301 • Weatherley's movable stilt plough 302 * Ducket's skim-coulter plougn 303 * Somerville's double-furrow plough 304 Clymer's iron plough ... 305 * Mortoh'B trenching .plough 306 Gladstone's water-furrowing plough 1130 An addition to ^ plough called a ridder. Used in nfeshire . . . Modem Wheel-Ploughs. 308 • Improved Scotch wheel-plough - 398 309 The Beverstone wheel-plough' i. .398 310 The Norfolk wheel-plough - .398 311 * Wilkie's single-horse wheel-plough - 399 312 • * Wilkie's improved friction- wheel plough - . - 399 313 The paring wheel-plough - . - 400 1128 • * Wilkie's one-wheel two-horse plough, with shifting muzzle ■• . 1J86 Draining- Ploug/is 314 Clarke's draining-plotigh 315 Gray's draining-plough 394 394 394 395 396 396 397 nsa 400 400 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. No. Page 316 • Morton'B dralning-ploueh - . 400 317 * The gutter drain-plough - .401 S18 Lumbert's raole-plough ... 4ol 319 Lumbert's working power for his mcle- plough - - . - 401 320 Weir's improved working power for Lumbert's mole-plough 401 321 * Bridgewater'8 draiiiing.plough - 402 656, 657 Pearson's pipe drainiiig.plough - 710 Pronged Tillage Implements. 322 * Wilkie's parallel adjusting-brake - 403 323 Wilkie's improved prongs for brakes ex- plained - . - _ _ 403 324 * Finlayson's cultivator and harrow 403 721 • Kirkwood's grubber - - 803 325 Weir's improved cultivator - - 404 326 The Scotch cultivator or grubber - 404 327 Parkinson's cultivator - - 404 328 Hayward'B cultivator - 405 Horse-hoes and Drill-Harrows. 380 * Wilkie's horse-hoe and drill-harrow - 405 331 •* Finlayson's self-cleaning horse-hoe and drill-harrow _ - . 406 332 • Blaikie's inverted horse-hoe - 406 333 The Scotch horse-hoe - - 407 334 Henty's improved scarifier - - 407 335 Ames's horse-hoe and harrow . - 407 336 The horse-hoe and castor wheel - 407 337 The thistle hoe, or hoe scythe - - 408 982 A scuffler used in Essex - - 1129 995 A drill hoe used in Worcestershire - 1142 Horse Machines far sowing and planting. S38, 339 Cooke's corn-drill and horse-hoe 408, 409 340 The Norfolk lever-drill - - 409 341 * Morton's improved grain-drill - 409 342 • The improved bean-drill - 410 343 The horsebean dibbler - - - 410 344, 345 * The Northumberland two-row tur- nip drill - - - - 411 346 * The Northumberland one-row turnip drill 411 347 * * Weir's manuring one-row turnip drill 412 722 * * The improved broad-cast sowing. machme . . . . 809 Watering Machines. 348 * Young's drill-waterer - . 413 SfiS The watering-roller - . 418 569 • The road water-barrow ... 610 Harrows. 124 f Harrow of the Sinhalese - . 152 32:1. 349 Principles on which harrow prongs aie formed 403. 413 350 * The Berwickshire harrow . . 414 351 The angular-sided harrow - - 414 795 The grass-ground harrow . ^ . 906 352 • The grass-seed harrow - 414 353 The common brake . . - 415 354 * The grubber, or levclling-harrow - 415 355 * Morton's revolving brake-harrow ., 415 356, 357 6ray's WQt-weather harrow - 416 358 The hush harrow - . 416 518 The improved single harrow . . 528 565 ITie road-harrow - - - 608 990 Circular harrows - - _ ngg 1003 • An excellent harrow used in Derby. shire - ... nsg Rollers, Cutters^ and Scrapers. 121 ft A t Scrapers flf Ceylon - - - 149 369 * The loaded roller - - 417 'Xa The furrow roller - - 418 362 The rolier and wntcr-box - . 418 364, 365 * The pressnig-plou};h . _ 418 360 Bartlett's cutting roller or culcivator 417 Sfi6 Brown's furrf'W cross-cutter . 413 5fJG The road roller - - _ 608 SfiT, 568 * Boase's road scraper and sweeper 608,609 570 Riddle's road-maker - . - 611 709 Peat rollers - . 745 No. I'age Levelling Machines, 59 The Mouldebaert or Flemish leveller 82 367, 368 • The Scotch land-leveller 419 369 The improved Flemish leveller - 41^ Horse-Rakes, and Hay-making Machines. 370 The Norfolk horse-rake - 420 371 * Weir's improved hay or corn rake - 4SiU 372 • Salmon's hay tedder improved by Weir 421 373 The hay sweeper - - - 421 Reaping Machines. 16 t A Roman reaping machine 375 Smith's reaping machine 376, 377 * Bell's reaping-machme 378 • Gladstone's bean reaper 379 The clover-pod reaper - 26 - 422 423. 4i5 4C7 - 427 Carts. 39 + The modern Roman cart - - 55 48 T The gaimbarde, or one-horse hay and wood cart of Paris - - 69 78 t Cart of Livonia- - - 108 103 t The cart of Albania - 122 1119 t Cornish sledges - - - 1171 380—383 Principles respecting wheels and axles, as applied to one-horse carts 428,429 386. 388. 390,391, 392 Principles of adjusting draught and drags - 4.jO. 432, 433 384 The Scotch one-horse cart - - 450 385 The Scotch corn-cart - - - 430 386 The Scotch two-horse cart, with adjusting - traces - - - - 130 387 Somerville's drag cart - - 431 1008, 1009 Simple carts in use in Yorkshire - 1158 Waggons. 62 t The Flemish grand waggon - - 83 65 t The old Danish waggon - - 88 67 t The Hungarian travelling waggon 96 68 t The Hungarian agricultural waggon 97 75 t A Polish waggon - - - 102 149 t Dutch waggon of the Cape of Good Hope - - - - 180 1118 The Cornwall harvest waggon - - II7I 393, 394 Baddeley's w^gon with bent axle - 433 3Q5 * The Berkshire waggon - - 4^4 396 Rood's waggon - - - - 434 397,398 Gordon's one-horse waggon . 435 * Threshing Machines. 17 t The Roman threshing machine . 26 32 t Threshing-rollers of modem Italy - 49 399, 400 * Meikle'fi two-horse threshing machine - _ _ . 437 401 * Meikle's water threshing machine - 438 ■402 * Meikle's water and horse threshing machine _ _ . _ 458 984 * A threshing machine driven by water 1130 Smut and Hummelling Machines. 403 Hall's smut machine 404 Mitchell's hummelling machine . 439 * 440 Cider and Oil Mills spelled by Horses or Water. 602 Common cider-mill ... 675 603 * Improved cider-mill - - . 675 604 French cider-mill - . . 676 994 The cider-press - _ 1141 95 f The olive-oil mill of Spain - . 1117 128, 129 f Oil-mills of China - . 157, 1.58 133 t Water oiLmill of China - - . 160 Miscellajieotis Horse Machines. 98 The Noria, or bucVet-^rheel of the Moors 119 374 Snowden's leaf collector - 421 565 Harriott's road harrow - . _ 608 566 Beatsan's road roller or protector for common carts _ - - 608 567 * 568 * Boase's road scraper and sweeper 6('8, 609 569 The improved road-waterer - - 610 570, 571 Biddle's machine for repairing roads 611 592, 593 Steuart's machine for transplanting large tree.s - - 643 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. XXXV No. Page Miscellaneous Machines impelled hy Water. 44 fTheNoriaofthe Alps . - ^ 64 SOJ— SD6 The Persian wheel of Blalr-Drum. moud - . . * ^6 Fixed Apparatus. 407 * A cattle food-steaming machine - 441 S97 * Boiler for distilling the spray of trees - 657 934 * Bonnemaiii's apparatus for hatching eggs by hot water - - 1087 Portable Structures for Q>m or Forage, 519 * The stack guard - - - 532 520 • The stacking stage - - - 533 1136 Structures for drying hay and corn in use in Argyleahire . - _ 1197 79 f The Russian roofed frame for drying corn in the sheaf . - 108 Farmeries or Homestalls. 12S t A Singalese farmery - - - 150 175 t An Alpine farmery of Norway - - 205 55, 56 t A Flemish farmery - - ^74, 75 418 * An octagon com farmery, ground plan and isometrical \'iews, tiesigned and drawn by J. C. L. in 1820 - - 449 419 * A rectangular farmery, ground plan and isometrical view, designed and drawn.by J. C. L. in 1820 - - 450 420 * Circular farmery, ground plan and isometrical view, designed and drawn bjr J. C. Ll in 1820 . - . 450 443 * WaistelPs farmery for a grazing farm . in a hilly country ... 465 444 * Waistell's arable and grazing farmery 466 445 Marshal's octagon farmery . - 467 446 Beatson's small farmery . . . 468 447 * A Berwickshire farmery , _ 468 4i8 • A proprietor's farmery with bailiff's house - - . 469 4-19 * A very commodious farmery - - 470 430 • A very complete farmery - 471 451, 452 * Waistell's large farmery - - 472 COS • Fearn farmery with steam-power threshing machine - _ _ 679 606 * Knolwell farmery - - - 680 607, 608 * A Middlesex farmery, designed by J.C.L. - - - - 681 609, 610 Farmery for a hay farm in Middlesex, designed by J. C. L. - - . 682 611, 612 * A corn and stall feeding farmery, " designed by J. C. L. - - - 683 613 * A farmery for a meadow farm, designed byJ.C. L. . - . - 684 614, fil5 * A farmery for a turnip farm - 684, 685 11)11 A Northumberland farmery - - 1161 1112 A Cheshire farmery - - - 1154 1116,1117 A farmery in Cornwall - - -1171 Farm-houses. 35 f A farm-house in Tuscany . -51 419 (l8 to 21) * Position of the farm-house relatively to the farmery explained - 450 422, 423 Farm-houses of the lowest class . 453 424 * 425 * Small farm-houses . - - 454 986, 987 An octagonal farm-house, erected by Francis, Duke of Bedford - - 1132 988 A square farm-house, erected by Francis, Duke of Bedford - - -1133 998 * A farm-house of the Marquess of Staf- ford's in Shropshire _ . - 1145 1132 A farm-house combining an inn, erected by the Marquess of iStaflTord in Suther- land 1194 Cottages, 83 A Swedish log cottage . - - 110 104 t A Hungarian cottage - - 123 139 t Hut of the Arabs - - - 173 84 fcircular huts of the Laplanders - 111 142 t Mud huts of Nubia - - - 175 141 j Straw huts of Egypt - - - 175 146 t Weed huts of the Foulahs - - - 177 150—152 t Huts of the Hottentots - - 181 ] 60 f A nierican cottage built of logs . . 189 169 t Braailian shelter - - - gOO 431 An 'HJonoraical stair for cottages - - 457 423, 42.1 Cottages apprq^cbing to the character ^ uf famv-houecs . ^ . .453 No. Page 426 * 427 * Cottages fbr farm-servants - - 455 428 * A double cottage for farm-labourers - 456 429 * * Waistell's double cottage with cow- houses . - - - _ 456 430 * * Another double cottage by Waistell 456 432 * 4S3 * Gothic cottage^ by Holland - 458 434 * An ornamental cottage, erected by Lord Penryn - - - - 458 435 * An economical double cottage, designed byJ.CL. - - ^ - 458 616 * An economical double cottage - . 685 617 * A labourer's cottage with cow-house and piggery - - - - 686 618 * A good mechanlc*s cottage . . 686 619 A group of three cottages ... 686 620 An ornamental Gothic cottage for a la. boUrer - - - - 686 621 An Italian cottage - . .686 622 An entrance lodge to a farm . 686 981 A cottage for a small farmer . - 1129 991 A Cottage erected in Berkshire - - 1139 1002 A cottage erected in Stafibrdshire . 1148 1122 A cottage in North Wales . - 1174 1125 A cottage in Berwickshire - - 1181 1126 A cottage in Ayrshire ... IISS 1129 Two cottages in West Lothian - - 1187 1138 f A cabin in King's County, Ireland . 1200 BuilMjigs or other fixed Structures for Horses, Cattle^ and Iinplements. 410 Treviaes or partitions . - - 444 1004 * A mounted crib for hay, in use in the field in Derbyshire ... 11.52 1113 A rustic shed or shelter - - - 116^ 1121 The cow or cattle feeding house in Corn- waU 1172 421 Open cart or cattle shed - . . 45^ See the details of the Farmeries, 411 * Cattle hummels - - . . 445 412 Section of Harley*s cow-house - . 446 413 * Calf-pens 446 421 Open cattle-shed for fields - - 452 865, 866 Fastenings for cattle - . - 1030 868 A shoejng-stall ... 1030 Bmldings or other fixed Structures for Cows and the Dairy. See p. xxxix. Buildings or other fixed Structures for Sheep and Swine. 416 A sheep^house and dove-cot combined . 449 891 * ][nclosure for washmg sheep - . 1057 895—897 Rustic sheep-houses by Kraft - 1063 1138 A rustic sheej^house - . -1197 414 Harley's pigsties . , - - 447 Fined or Portable Structures for Poultry, Pigeons, Rabbits, |-c. 110 t Pigeon-houses of Persia . - . 141 415 * Section for general poultry-house - 448 416 A dove-cot and sheen-house combmed . 449 908, 909 The rabbit-hutch - - - 1074 924, 925 A complete set of poultry-houses - 1083 926 a A portable nest - - - 1084 926 b, c Ilen-coops . - - - 1084 926 d Portable shelter for tutlceys . . 10S4 927 ♦ An improved poultry-feeder - . 1084 1143 * A pheasant-feeder . . 1281 934 Bonnemain's apparatus for hatching eggs by hot water - - - 1087 940 * A decoy for wild ducks - - 1092 946. 948 Pigeon-houses ... 1097 954, 955 Bird-cages . - - - 1100 47 f Elevated hen-roost of France . . 69 Fixed or Portable Structures for Bees. 417 The bee-house - - 449 960 The chained hive . - -1106 961 * The Polish hive - 1106 Portable Structures for Cattle or Sheep. 796 Portable slielter - . . 908 894 A i*orcablc hay^rack . - 1061 983 Wbkefield's portable bridge - - - 1130 buildings or Fixed Structures for Com or Forage. 122 f A Singatese threshing-floor - - 150 436 * The common rick-stand . - 46(» 437 * The cast-iron rick-stand ... 460 b2 LIST OP ENGRAVINGS. Na Page 1 438 AV&isteTI's circular rick->tand - 44SO I 434 The liml«r and iron rirk-staiid - - 4(il 440—44:2 Oroitnd-i>laDs of barns, iilustrativo of first principles ... ^fH 99, 93 Swedish racks for drying corn - 113 7iZ8 The Hussian kiln fcv drying corn in the sheai . . . . £28 Limekilns. 579 Booker's lime-kiln - - - 626 581— 6Hr> Mciiteatli's limekilns - - 62o*,tii;7 587 Heutliorn's liine-kiln and coke oven - 628 MiscellanrjuB Buitdings or Structures, Landscnpes, and Diagrams, chiejiy qf Historical IiUerest, \ t Mount Ararat - _ - - 4 S t Raising water from the Nile - - 6 10 A Itoinan villa and its environs, accord- ing to Castnl - - - - 19 41 Arrangements in the Lake Facino for breeding oysters - - - 57 45 Map of France, showing its climate - 67 65 t A post-house, combining a farm, situ, ated on the Frische Hoff. between Memcl and Koiiigsberg in Prussia - 89 72 f A post-house and farm in Poland - 10l> 73 t A Jewish village in the south of Poland 101 7fi T A IlusKian village - _ - 106 77 t A farmery in the British style in the neighbourhood of Moscow - - 106 80 t A church and mountain scenery in Norway - - - - 110 84 t I^pland liuts - - . . Ill 102 t The plain of Thessaly - . - 122 106 -f Buschire and its territory . 139 120 A corn-mill in Penang - - 149 126 t A Chinese village - - .156 J34 f Villa of Thibet - - - 163 141 t Camps of the nomadic agriculturists of Morocco - - - - 177 157 f Small English villa or cottage ornee - 186 162 f A West Indian overseer and his maid 193 172, 173 t Stedman's cottage and sleeping- place while at Surinam - - 202 176 fThe Sunday dance of Norway - - 205 eOl t View in Mexico - - - 271 1134 t View of Dunrobin house in Sutherland 1195 1114 fThe Dartmoor dep6t for prisoners of war 1169 Live Fences. 455 The double ditch and hedge between - 475 457, 458 Pruning and repairing old hedges - 479 462—467 Diagrams illustrating the art of planting hedges - - 482, 483 468 Hedge drains - - . - 484 470 — 473 Illustrative diagrams . - 486, 487 476 Protecting young hedges - - 488 477 Cutting down an old hedge - . 489 482, 483 The poplar or willow fence - - 494 589 Fences for plantations . . - 6:^6 Dead Fences. 453 * Medium between a sunk and raised fence _ _ - _ 474 454 The double ditch with bank between - 47.> 456 The dead hedge - - 475 474 A hedge paling - - 437 475 A stake and rice fence - . - 487 478 — tSl Wooden and iron hurdles, 13 sorts 49* 484 The wattled fence - 495 485 Primitive paling fence - 495 82 Swedish paling fence - 110 486 Iron park fence - 495 487, 488 1 jght iron pasture fences 496 489 The field wall - - , 496 490 'I'hc Galloway wall - - - _ 496 491 Mould for stamped-earth walls - . 498 Gates. 53 t Field gate of Holland - - - 72 492. 494 First principles . . 499, 500 49-J * Waistelf's gate - - . . 499 495 * Parker's compensation hinge - , no; 496 Iron gates - - - - - 501 497—500 Improved fastenings for gates - 502 501 * 502 * Field gates, by Parker - SQs 503 * Menteath's gate - - 503 504 * Hunter's field gate - - 503 505 * The improved park gate . . - 503 Ko. . . 506 The Florence barrier 507 The double or folding gate 608, 509 Clarke's window-sash gate TiO The sympathetic park gate 511 The stile gate - " ,. tv,„„ yy; An iron t!^vfenafatua, the wild oat . - 252 199 Specimens of genufi CoralTina or CoraL lines - - - - 258 200 C&scuta europee^a, the dodder . . 269 Botanical Figures qf Trees and Shrubs, of . His~ torical Interest, or belojiging to Foreign Agri~ culture. 31 Palitirus austrMis, southern Christ's thorn 48 37 P^nus /"ineaji^onepine - - 54 46 C&pparis spin&sa, common spiny caper tree - - - - 67 96 Cistus ladanfferus, labdanum-bcaring rock rose - - - 117 99 Qu^rcus SCiber, cork tree oak . 120 101 ONea europsB^a, European olive - 121 117 Cdcos nucffera, common nut-bearing cocoa-nut tree _ _ - 146 127 a Camellia Bohka, bohea tree camellia . 157 127 b Cam^llJrz Sasdnqua, sasanqua camellia 157 135 i'lper nigrum, black pepper . - 164 136 Milsa paradislaca, the plantain . 169 137 Arica olericea, the cabbage tree - 170 147 Mimusa nil6tica, the gum arable tree 177 148 Pentad^sma butyrkcea, the butter tree - 178 161 Swietfenz'rt Mahdgoni, the mahogany tree 192 16* CofT^a arfibica, the coffee tree - - 1P6 167 Theobrbma, the chocolate plant - - 198 166 Bixa Orellana, the annottoplant - 198 145 Cerat^nia siliqua, carob tree, or St John's bread - ... 177 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. No. Page Botanical Figures qf Herbaceous and Culmi/erous Plants qf Historical Interest, or belonging to Foreign Agriculture. 94 a A'\oQ soccotot^na, the pita, or aloe - 1 Ifi 91 b C&ctusOpfintta, thehina, or Indian fig 116 18 S^samum orientMe, the oily grain - 28 30 Conv6lvulus Bn/d^fM, the sweet potato - 44 40 Gossfpium herb?iceum, the cotton plant 57 45 Jl^elilotus officinalis, the common melUot 61 59 Clcer arietinura, the chick pea . . 70 54 itfelamp^rum pratiJnse, the meadow cow- weed _ _ - 73 58 Sp^rgula arv^nsia, the field spurry - 80 69 a Cyphtus esculdntua, the eatable cyperus 98 69 b JstrSgalus boe'ticus. Beetle milk vetch 98 86 Lycopbdium complaniltum, the flattened club moss - - - 112 87 Rbbus Chamffimfirus, the cloud berry - 112 105 .Rfcinus commilniB, the common castor oil nut _ - - 138 116 Indig-'fera tincturia, the dyer*8 indigo - 145 140 Cdrthamus tinctoriue, the dyer's saf- fiower - - - 174 154 7%mu4 eleph6.ntipes, the elephant's foot 182 ir)6 b Salsbla Kali^ kali saltwort - 183 16.5 Dioscbrea satlva, the cultivaied yam 196 J96 Vallisnferia spiriilia, spiral vallisneria 249 200 C&scuta europffl''a, the common dodder 269 Cereal Grasses^ or Bread Corns. 723 a Trfticurii sestlvulh, summer wheat, or spring whtfat _ _ - 812 723 6 TYiticum hybernum, Lammas wheat - 812 723 c rriticum Compd&itum, Egyptian wheat 812 723 d TViticum tfirgidum, turgid wheat - 812 723 e TVlticum polfinicum, Polish wheat 812 723 / Triticum Sp^Un^ spelt wheat - - 812 723 g TViticum monococcum, one-grained wheat - - - . 812 725 Sec^le cere&le, rye - - 821 726 a HtvAeum vulgire, spring barley 823 726 b //6rdeum hexAstichon, winter barley 823 726 c //6rdeum distichon, commoner long- eared barley ■ . - 823 726 d 06rdeum Zeocrlton, sprat or battledore barley - - - 823 727 a Avhx\a. satlva v. vulgaris, the white or common" oat _ _ _ 826 727 b .4vfena safiva v. sibirica, the Siberian or Tartarian oat ... 826 729—733 Z^a Md.ys, maize or Indian corn 829, 735 Ph&laris canarl^nsis, Canary corn 736 a Set?Lria germ&nica, the German millet 736 b Setkvia mi]ia.ceum,the common or cul- tivated millet _ . . 736 c Setkria it6,]ica, the Italian millet 739 Or^za satlva, the rice 740 Ziz^niaaquitica, water Canada rice Tall-growing or Hay Grasses. 789 a it)lium perenne, the perennial rye- grass - ... 888 789 b i)actj'lis glomerMa, the cock's-foot grass 889 789 c JTi'jlcus lan^tus, the woolly soft grass . 889 790 a FestiicaptatkrisiSf the meadow fescue- grass - - - - 890 790 b FestUca eliitior, the tall fescue-grass - 890 790 c FestUca ^oliSicea, the spiked fescue- grass . - _ 890 790 d ^lopectirus prat^nsis, the meadow fox- tail grass - . _ 890 790 e Pba. pratensis, the great or smooth- stalked meadow grass . 89 ) 790 /Pba trivi&lis, the rough-stalked mea- dow grass - - - . 891 791 a Phl^um prat^nse, the cat's.tail or limothy grass - . .891 791 b Festitca nUitans, the floating fescue- grass - - - - 892 791 c Pba aqu&tica, the water meadow-grass 892 791 d ijigrdstis stolonifera, the fiorin-grass . 892 Pasture Grasses. 79S a Anthox&nthum odorktum, the sweet- scented vemaUgrass - - 893 792 b Avkna. pub^scens, the downy oat-grass 893 792 c P6a &nnua, the annual meadow-grass 893 792 d ^gr6stis vulgaris, the fine bent-grass - 893 792 eJ*oa angustifWia, the narrow-leaved meadow-grass - - 8M 830 832 833 833 833 834 834 793 a CynosOrus cristitus, the dng»s-taU grass 894 l^bFhtUca duriAscula. the hard fescue- ^^^ 793 c FefilZ glibra,"the smooth fescue-WMS 8.94 793 d Festitca Xordeifdrmis, the barley-spiked fescue-grass - - " ^^ 7'>4 a Festitca ovlna, sheep's fescue-grass - 894 794 b Pba. alplna, alpine meadow-grass 894 794 c^iracsspitbsa, the tufted air-gras8 - 894 794 d Bilza. mfedia, the common quaking- grass - - . - 09* Grasses for fixing Drift Sands. 710 AtitnAo arenAria, the sand reed, or Mar- ram grass - - - 711 a ^lymus arenkriuB, the sand or sea-side Lyme-grass - T - * j" 711 b £ lymus genicul^tus, the knee-jointed Lyme-grass - - _ - 711 c E lymus siblricus, the Siberian Lyme- grass - - • " Leguminous Field Plants. 741 Plsum sativum, the pea - ^ - 742 f'icia satlva, the tare, vetch, or fitch 743 £'rvum Lfens, the lentil - 744 Lathyrus satlvus, the Spanish lentil 745 Ficia. pisiformis, the lentil of Canada 746 Zupinus aibus, the white lupine 749 749 749 749 835 841 843 844 844 844 Clovers and other Herbage Plants. 769 Cichurium /'ntybus, the chiccory - - 870 770 Symphytum asperrimum, the rough com- {xey - - - 870 771 flemerocillis f61va,the day lily - - 8/0 772 a TYiP.lium pratSnse, the red clover - 872 772 6 3VifJ>liumrfepens, the white or creeping Dutch clover _ - - - 872 772 c Trifbliumproctimbens, the yellow clover 872 772 rf lYifi'lium mfedium, the meadow clover 872 773 Medic^go lupiilina, the hop medick - 872 774 Trifaiium incarn&tum, the flesh-coloured clover - - - 872 775 Medicigo satlva, lucern - - - 877 776 MedicSigo falcJlta, yellow lucem - 878 777 Hedjsarum OnobrJ^chis, saintfoin - 880 778 Potferium Sanguis6rba, the burnet - 883 779 Planta.go lanceolkta, the ribwort plantain 833 780 Z7Mex europse^a, the whin, furze, or gorse 884 781 5pfergula arvfensis, the spurry - - 885 782 Spfirtium scopirium, the common broom 885 783 Sp&rtium^6nceum, the Spanish broom - 885 784 ^pium Fetroselinum, the parsley - 8S5 786 Z-btus corniculatus, the bird's-foot trefoil 886 786 ibtus tetragon61obus,the four- wing podded trefoil - - - - 886 787 TiigonfeUa Poe'*num-grffi'*cum, the fenu- greek - . - 886 788 a Sbnias orient^Iis, the oriental bunias 886 788 fr^chill^ J^fillefbUum, the yarrow - 886 Plants used in variotts Arts and Manufactures. 797 a lAnum usitatlssimum, the common flax S13 797 b I.lnum perenne, the perennial flax . 913 799 Dipsacus fulI6num, the fuller's thistle or teasel . - - - 913 800 ^iibia tinctbrum, the madder - - 919 801 Iskt\s tinct^ria, the woad - - 920 802 ^esfeda Luttola, weld or dyer's weed - 922 803 Hiimulus Ltipulus, the hop - 924 804 a Coriftndrum sativum, the coriander . 930 104 b Ckrum Cfcrui, the caraway - w 930 805 a Sin&pis &lba, the white mustard - 933 805 b Sin&pis nigra, the black or common mustard .... 933 806 Polygonum Fagop^rum, the buck wheat 934 807 a Polygonum tat&ricum, Tatarian buck wheat - - - _ _ 935 807 b Pol:?ponum emarginiLtum, emarginated buck wheat - _ _ . 935 808 Nicotidrao TabUcumt the Virginian tobacco - - _ _ 937 809 Nicotfdrert rlistica, the common green tobacco . . . „ 937 810 a Nicotidna rep^nda, the scolloped to- bacco - ■ . SOT 810 b Nicotidna quadnvMvis,the four-valved tobacco - - _ - 937 810 c Nicotrdna n&na, the dwarf tobacco - 937 812 >Jstr&galu8 boe'ticus. Beetle milk vetch - 942 813 a Crhcus satlvus, the saflVon or autumn crocus - - - 943 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. xxxix Na Page 813 b Glycyrrhlza Kl&bra, the liquorice - 9iS 813 c ifh^um palmHtum, the rhubarb - 943 813 d Lavandula Spica, the lavender . • 943 814 JRh^um austritfe, southern rhubarb - 9^ 815 a FiuMM vesiculbsus, bladdered fucus . 946 815 b i^ous nodbsus, knotty i\icus . . 946 815 c .Fi:icu8 aerr&tus, serrated fucus . 946 815 d Lainin^ria digitkta, digitate laminaria 946 Weeds. 816 a Aren^rla, sandwort - - - 947 816 b Auraex Acet&^a, sorrel . - 947 816 c 7^lSsilitgo Parfara, coltsfoot . -947 817 a Polygonum amphibium - . 948 817 b £quU^tum, the horse-tail ■ - 918 917 c 5err&tula arv^nsis, the corn thistle . 948 AnhnaiM of Historical Interest, or belonging la Foreign Agriculture. 8 t The camel ... 4^ The goat as harnessed in Switzerland 70 + 0\ia 5trepsicer08, the original Hun- garian sheep . _ - 107 f Persian camels and horse 112 f Sis grAnniens, the ox of Thibet 114 f The dromedary 118 t The jackal ... 138 f Abyssinian oxen 141 f The dromedary in Egypt 143 -f-The zebu or humped ox 168 -f The wild swine of Paraguay 174 f The true Amazonian parrot 71 Hfelix pomiLtia, edible snail 171 a, d U The Curcillio palm&rum of Suri- nam .... 201 ¥?quus CabdUus, the horse. 818 The Arabian horse . . - 950 819 The race horse . . .951 830 The hunter . . . . 952 821 The improved hackney - .952 822 The old English road horse . . 952 823 The black horse - . . .953 824 * The Cleveland bays . . -953 825 » The Suftblk punch . - - 954 826 1127 The Clydesdale or Lanarkshire horse 954. 1186 827 a The Welsh horse - .954 827 b The Galloway horse - - - 954 8^ c Horse of the highlands and isles of Scotland . - - - 954 828 Exterior anatomy of the horse . . 956 830 Anatomical skeleton of the horse ■ 963 831. 833 Interior anatomy of the horse . 969. 974 832 Eye of the horse 970 Eyi 834 The ccecum, or first large Intestine of the horse • - - - 975 8^5—837 Anatomy of the foot of the horse 976 838 A fleam for bleeding the horse . - 991 839—843 Horse shoes ofdifTerent kinds 993—995 829. 844, 845 Teeth of the horse - 957. 996, 997 846 A horse as in the act of trotting - 1001 847 Position of the reins of the bridle in the hands of the rider ... 1003 848,849 Position of the rider's feet in the stirrup .... 1003, 1004 850 Russian carriage horses . - 1010 ^quus \'sinuSt the Ass. 851 Female ass and foal ... 1012 &'>21heuseoftheassinSyria . .1012 853 f'quus ..i'sinus y JIf Uus, the mule - 1014 112 143 854 855 856 8.57 858 859 860, 861 862 863 86.';, 867 Eris Ta&rus, Honied Cattle. f The ox of Thibet . . . . t The zebu or humped ox of Africa The long.homed or Lancashire breed . • The improved Leicestershire breed The short-horned or Dutch breed The Devonshire breed . . . The Sussex and * Herefordshire breed . The polled or hornless breed 864 • The Ayrshire breed . 1017, The Argyleshire breed The Welsh breed . . The wild breed 866 Fastenings for cattle A yoke and bow for draught oxen Shoeing.stall for cattle Ox shoe for cattle 142 175 1015 1015 1015 1016 1016 1016 102!> lOlS 1018 1019 1030 1030 1030 1030 Na Page 870 Syringe and enema tubes for relieving cattle . ... 1034 Tie Dairy, as connected with Horn Cattle. 871 * A dairy and cow.house ... 1037 873 * A dairy for a private family . . 1038 874—876 * A dairy on a large scale . . 1038 877 The cheese press ... 1039 878 A lactometer ... 1039 879 * 880 • 881 Churns . . 1038. 10.40 989 The Chinese dairy at Woburn Abbey . 1133 993 The milk tankard (or cart) of Berkshire 1140 1006 The milk tankard of Derbyshire . 1153 0*w*5 AVie*. The Sheep. 70 t The Hungarian sheep . - .99 882 The Teeswater sheep . . - 1050 883 The Dishley sheep ... 10.60 884 The Devonshire Hots sheep - - 10.^0 885 The Dorsetshire sheep . . 10.51 886 The Herefordshire sheep . . lOSl 992 The Berkshire polled sheep . . 1140 887 * The South Down sheep . . 1051 888 The Hetdwick sheep . . . iOSl 889, 890 The Spanish or Merino . . 1052 891 Arrangements for washing sheep . 1057 892 Crooks for catching sheep . . 1057 893 A store sheep farm in Scotland . . 1059 895—897 Sheep houses ... 1063 SCs Scrqfa, the Swine. 168 t The wild swine of Paraguay . . 198 898 t The wild boar of the continent of Eu- rope ... . 10S7 899 The common European hog . . 1068 900 The Chinese hog . . . 10B8 901 * The Berkshire swine - 1068 902 The Hampshire swine . . 1063 903 The Herefordshire swine . - 1068 904 The Suffolk swine . . . 1069 CApra Mgagrvs, the Goat. 42 + The goat of Switzerland, as harnessed 60 905 The common goat - . 1071 906 The Syrian goat .... 1072 C&nis/amilictris, the Dog. 917 The English sheep dog . - 1079 918, 919 * Sheep dogs of Scotland . . 1079 920 The mastiff, or guard dog . - 1079 921 The terrier . ... 10?9 922 The pointer, setter, and spaniel . . 1080 The Hare, Rabbit, S[C. 907 X^pus runfculus, the rabbit . . 1073 910 X^pus tlmidus, the hare ... 1()75 911 CAvia Coh&ya, the guinea pig . 107.5 923 JIf ust&la Fiiro, the ferret . ■ . 1083 Deer, 912 a Cdrvus £'lephas, the stag . . 1076 912 b C^rvus Caprfeolus, the roe - - 1076 912 c Ckiwas DSma, the fallow deer . . 1076 913 C^rvus T^r&ndus, the rein deer . 1077 Antelopes. 914 a Antelhpe iZupfcapra, the chamois . 1077 914 b Antelope picta, the nilgau . . 1077 Camel Family. 915 Camfelus bactriSmus, the dromedary . 1078 916 Camfelus Gtima, the lama . . 1078 Poultry or Birds which are or may he cultivated in British Agricultwre. 928 Cillus SonnerJitiY, the jungle cock . 1084 929 The game cock and hen . . . 1084 930 • The Dorking cock and hen . . 1085 931 a * The Poland cock and hen . . 1085 931 i The golden Poland fowl . . 1085 932 The bantam cock and hen . . 1085 933 The Chittagong or Malay hen . . 1085 936 ilfeUagris Gallipitvo, the turkey . 1090 937 Numidia Jl/el^gris, the guinea ben - 1091 9.'38 Cr&x >41i?ctor, the crested curassow . 1091 939 /4*nas S6schas, the duck - - 1091 941 ./J*nas //'nser, the goose . . 10£>3 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. No. Page &12 C$gnus tnansufetus, the muto or tame swan - _ . . 1094 S43 O^tis t^rda, the bustard - - - 109+ 944 The grey pigeon - . . 1095 945 a The carrier pigeon . - . 1096 945 b The tumbler pigeon - - - 1096 945 c The pouter pigeon ... lODfi 949 rfetrao P(^rdi%, the partridge - - 1()99 950 Tetrao Cotiirnix, the quail - - 1099 951 Tetrao sc6ticus, the red grouse or moor cock - ■ . . _ 1099 952 Tetrao I^trix, the black grouse or black cock - . - . 1099 953 Tetrao Urog&llus, the wood grouse - 1099 108 Hunting the quail . _ 140 924, 925 A complete set of poultry-houses - 1083 926 Portable nests, coops, and shelters - 108 !■ 927 An improved poultry-feeder - - 1084 1143 An improved pheasant- feeder - . 12S1 934 Bonnemain's apparatus for the incubation of chickens by hot water - - 10R7 935 Pinioning fowls - _ - lOMO 940 A decoy for wild ducks or wild fowl - 1092 946—948 Pigeon-houses - - . _ 1097 ^53, 955 Bird-cages - - - - 1100 Fishes 956 a C5^prinus Carpio, the carp . - 1101 956 b Cyprinus rinca, the tenc-h . - 1101 956 c rj^prinus Gubio, the gudgeon - - 1101 956 d Phca. fluvi&tilis, the perch - - 1101 956 e iTsox Z,hcius, the pike - . - 1101 956 / cyprinus Phfixinus, the minnow - 1101 Miscellaneous cultivated Animals. 957 a Rkna escul^nta, the esculent frog - 1103 957 b Jtkna arbbrea, the tree frog - - 1103 958 a JTestfido grie'^ca, the common tortoise 1103 958 b Tcsttdo lutJiria, the mud tortoise - 1103 962 C&ncer A stacus, the craw or cray fish - 1108 71 H&lix pomatia, the edible snail - 99 959 i;6mbyx muri, the silk-worm - - 1104 Quadruped Vermin. 963 Mus Rittus, the domestic rat - - 1109 966 a Af^s sylvitjcus. the long-tailed field- mouse - . . _ 1111 966 b The short-tailed field mouse - - 1111 964 *, 965 * Paul's rattery - - 1110, 1111 Insects, Worms, and Moll&sca, 63 B6strichus pinip^rdus . - . 86 7S4 a CecidomS^ia trftici - - _ 820 794 b CecidomJ^ia destr6ctor, the Hessian fly 820 9R7 a A^grion v5rgo, the green dragon-fly J113 Na Page - 1113 9ff7 b Fphgmera vulg^ta, the day fly 967 c Phrygiinea rhdmbica, the spring fly - 1113 968 Papilio urtlcae, the small tortoiseshell butterfly . - - - 1113 969 a ffi'strus iTqui, the horse bee, male - 111* 969 b flS'strus JS^qui, the horse bee, female - 111* 969 c ffi'strus ^'qui, the larva of, commonly called " the bots " - . - 1114 969 d, e,/, m ffistrus i^bvis, the ox fly - 1114 969 g. A, i (E strus OVis, the sheep fly - - 1114 J^9 >, I Jab&ni, horse flies - - .1114 970 a Scarabae'^us A/eloldntha, the cock-chafer or midsummer dor - - -1116 970 b 5rarabai\is J»/elol6ntha, the larva of - 1116 970 c, d Curctilio nilcum, the nut maggot, the larva of - - - - lllo 970 e, e CurcEiUo nCicum, perfect insects of - 1116 971 a Caterpillar of Pierii br&ssica, or white cabbage butterfly - - - 1116 971 b Caterpillar of Pieri*, in thechrysalis state 1 1 16 971 c Fieri* br&ssicse, perfect insect of - 1116 971 d Green caterpillar of another species of white butterfly - - .1116 971 e Green caterpillar, chrysalis of - - 1116 971 / Green caterpillar, periect insect or but- terfly - - - - 1116 972 a Coccus persicbrum, natural size - 1117 972 b Coccus persicbrum, magnified - - 1117 972 c C6ccus persicbrum, turned on its back 1117 972 d, e, e C6ccus fftlii qu^rcus - - 1117 972 g Excrescences on beech twigs - - 1117 972/ TTirips Pbjsapus, natural size - - 1117 972 h TTirjps Ph^sapus, magnified - - 1117 972 I The gall apples of the oak - - 1117 972 k Ctnips quercus f 61ii, the oak gall fly - 1117 972 / A phis in the winged state, magnified 1117 972 m A phis in the larva or apterous state, magnified - - _ _ 1117 973 d Sc6Iytus destrllictor, female, natural size 1117 973 b Passages made in the bark by the " winged SciMytus destrdctor - - 1117 973 c Passages made in the bark by the larvse of Sc61ytus destructor - - 1117 973 d Scolytus destructor, magnified - 1 1 17 974 a, b Coccin^Ua, the lady-bird or lady-cow 1118 974 c SJrphus, the larva of, - - _ 1118 975 a ?ipula croc&ta, safiron-coloured crane fly 1118 975 b^dyCyf^g^h TYpula tritici, the wheat fly 1118 975 c npula rivbsa, the river crane fly - 1118 976 ff, b, c, ^l&tta orientKlis, the cock-roach 1 ] 19 977 Net for capturing the turnip beetle - 1120 978 Curtis'^ lime duster - _ _ 1120 979 a, b ilmax agr^stis, the common slug - 1121 979 c, rf TestactUus MaCgei, shell slug -1121 979 e HMix ncmor&Iis, the variegated wood snail . . . . 1121 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. THE first want of man is food, and his first resource for it the ground. Whether herbs or fruits were resorted to, must have depended on their relative abundance in the country where man found himself; but the latter would probably be preferred, till the use of fire was discovered in the preparation of the former. The first care and labour of man would thus be bestowed on fruit trees, and hence gardening may be said to be the art of earliest invention. But man is also a carnivorous animal, and this pro- pensity of his nature would soon induce him to attempt domesticating such beasts of the earth as he found most useful in affording milk, clodiing, or food, or in performing labour. Hence the origin of pasturage, and the management of live stock. The in- vention of tillage would be coeval with the discovery of the use of the cereal grasses, and may be considered as the last grand step in the invention of husbandry, and the most important, as leading to the establishment of property in territorial surface. In the earlier stages of civilisation, these branches of economy, in common with all the arts of life, would be practised by every family for itself; but the advantages of separating occupations would soon present themselves, and the result of this principle in regard to rural culture and management, the res rustica of the Romans and hus- bandry of old English authors, is, that all their operations are now classed under the two designations of agriculture and gardening. Agriculture, the art to which we here confine ourselves, as compared to gardening, IS the culture and management of certain plants and animals for the food and service of man ; but, relatively to the present improved state of the art, it may be defined, the cultiva- tion and management of territorial surface on an extended scale, by manual and animal labour, for the production of objects and materials used for the food and service of man, and for various important purposes in arts, manufactures, and civilised life. The importance of agriculture is obvious, not only by its affording the direct supply of our greatest wants, but as the parent of manufactures and commerce. Without ^riculture there can be neither civilisation nor population. Hence it is not only the most universal of arts, but that which requires the greatest number of operators : the main body of the population in every country is employed in the pursuit of agriculture ; and the most powerful individuals, in almost all nations, derive their wealth and conse- quence from their property in land. In the earliest ages of mankind, before tillage was invented, the surface of the earth would be common to all the inhabitants, and every family would pasture its flock, and pitch its tent, or erect its hut, where it thought fit : but when tillage came in use, it became necessary to assign to each family a portion of territory, and of this portion that family became the proprietor and cultivator, and the consumer of tlie product. c ^ 1 Hence the invention of property in land, and progressively of purchased cultivators, or slaves; of hired cultivators, or labourers; of commercial agriculturists, or farmers; and of the various laws and customs in regard to the proprietorsliip and occupation of landed property. . .^. The practice of agriculture, however rude in early times or in countries still com- paratively uncivilised, assumes a very different character among the most advanced nations. Not to mention the peculiarities of implements, machines, and domestic ani- mals, and the different kinds of culture and management requisite for die different countries and climates of tlie world, the local variations requisite even in Britain are so considerable, that an agriculturist whose experience and observation had been confined to one district, may be comparatively unfit to exercise his jirofession in another. The sheep farming of the North Highlands, the dairy farming of Gloucestershire, the hop culture of Kent, the woodlands of Buckinghamshire, and the hay management of Middlesex, have given rise to commercial agriculturists of very distinct varieties from the common corn farmer. The previous preparation of land for culture, by enclosure, drainage, embanking, road-making, &c., demands considerable science ; and has given rise to artist agricul- turists, known as land-surveyors and land-engineers. The relative changes as to rent and occupancy which take place between land-owners and farmers, and the valuation and transfer of landed property among monied men, have produced land-valuators and land- agents ; from the direction of extensive estates, and the management of small concerns and farms, have originated the serving agriculturists, known as land-stewards and bailiffs ; and the operators are shepherds, herdsmen, ploughmen, carters, spadesmen, and hands of all work. The practice of agriculture, from having been chiefly confined to men of humble station, who pursued it as a matter of business or profit, has of late years been engaged in by men of rank, and other opulent or amateur practitioners, as matter of taste and recreation. The contrast between the simple and healthy pursuits of the country, and such as require intense application, and confine men chiefly to towns and cities, gives them a pecuUar charm to the industrious and active citizen, while the idle and the opu- lent find relief in it from the weariness of inaction or a frivolous waste of time. Some magnificent displays of the art have thus been made by great landed proprietors cm their demesne or home farms ; and very neat and tasteful specimens of culture, by retired citizens and other possessors of villas, farms, anifermes omSes. These circumstances may be said to have raised the pursuit of agriculture to a comparatively dignified state, with reference to that in wliich it was formerly held ; while the political advantages which are enjoyed by all classes in a free and commercial country, have improved the circum- stances of agriculturists of every grade, and tended to raise them in the scale of society. The recent discoveries in chemistry and physiology, have led to the. most important improvements in the culture of plants, and tlie breeding and rearing of animals ; agri- culture is, in consequence, no longer an art of labour, but of science ; hence the advantage of scientific knowledge to agriculturists, and the susceptibility, in the art, of progressive advancement. " Agriculture," Marshall observes, " is a subject, which, ™wed in all its branches and to their fullest extent, is not only the most important and the most difficult in rural economies, but in -the circle of human arts and sciences." For the purpose of agricultural improvement, societies have been established in every country of Europe, and in almost every county of Britain. Most of these, as well as se- veral eminent individuals, have stimulated cultivators and breeders to exertion, by the offer of premiums, and other honorary rewards. Professorships of rural economy have also been instituted in some colleges ; and otiier independent georgical institutions have been established for public instruction, especially on the Continent : to which we may add, the publication of numerous books on the subject of agriculture and territorial im- provement. Such are the origin, the extent, the importance, and the interest of the subject of agriculture ; from which it cannot be surprising that a varied and voluminous mass of knowledge has been nccumulated on the subject, and is consequently more or less necessary to every one who would practise the art with success himself, or understand when it is well practised for him by others. To combine as far as practicable the whole of this knowledge, and arrange it in a systematic form, aSapted both for study and reference, are the objects of the present work. The sources from which we have selected, are the modem British authors of decided reputation and merit ; sometimes we have recurred to ancient and to Continental authors, and occasionally, though rarely, to our own observation and experience: observation chiefly in Britain, but partly also on the Continent ; and exjterience in Scotland, under the paternal roof, during our early years, — during some years' occupancy of two extensive farms in England, —and, in the engineenng and surveying departments, during our practice for upwards of twenty years as a landsc^e-gardener. Part I. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. With tikis purpose in view, Agriculture is here considered, in Part Book As to its origin, progress, and lire^ent state> IL As a science founded on III. As an art comprehending IV. St^itisttcally in Britain, i. Among ancient and modern nations. .2. Under difTerent geographical, physical, and political circumstances. '1. The study of the vegetable kingdom. 2. Thestudy of the animal kingdom. 3. The study of the mineral kingdom and the atmosphere. 4l The study of the mechanical agents employed in agriculture. .5. The study of the operations of agriculture. '1. The valuation, purchase, and transfer of landed property. S. The laying out, or general arrangement, of landed i>roperty. 3. The improvement of cuUurablc lands, 4. The management of landed estates. 5. Tlie selection, hiring, and stocking of farms. 6. The culture of farm lands. .7. The economy of live stock, and the dairy. As to its present state. As to its future progress. A Calendarial Index to those parts of the work which treat of culture and manage- ment, points out the operations as they are to be performed, in the order of time and of season : and A General Index explains the technical terms of agriculture, Hie abbreviations here made use of, and presents an analysis of the whole work in alphabetical, as tlie Table of Contents does in systematic, order. PART I. AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS TO ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE AMONG DIFFERENT NATIONS, GOVERN. MENTS, AND CLIMATES. 1. The history of agriculture may be considered chronologically, or in connection with that of the different nations who have successively flourished in various parts of the world ; politically, as influenced by the different forms of government which have prevailed; geographically, asaflectedby different climates; and physically, as influenced by the characters of the earth's surface. The first kind of history is useful, by displaying the relative situation of different countries as to agriculture ; instructive, as enabling us to contrast our present situation with that of other nations and former times ; and curious, as discovering the route by which agriculture has passed from primitive ages and countries to our own. The political and geographical histories of the art, derive their value from pointing out causes favourable and unfavourable to improvement, and countries and climates favourable or unfavourable to particular kinds of cultivation and management. BOOK 1. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE AMONG ANCIENT AND MODERN NATIONS. 2. Traditional history traces man back to the time of the deluge. After tliat catastrophe, of which the greater part of the earth's surface bears evidence, man seems to have recovered Mmself (in our hemisphere at least) in the central parts of Asia, and to have first attained to eminence in arts and government on the alluvial plains of the Nile. Egypt colonised Greece, Carthage, and some other places on the Mediterranean sea ; and thus the Greeks received their arts from the Egyptians, afterwards the Romans from the Greeks, and finally the rest of Europe from the Romans. Such is the route by which agriculture is traced to our part of the world : how it may have reached the eastern countries of India and China is less certain ; though, from the great antiquity of their inhabitants and governments, it appears highly probable that arts and civilisation were either coeval there, or, if not, that they travelled to the east much more rapidly than they did to the west. B 2 4 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. S. r/« earl;, histarj, of man in America rests oa very indistinct 'Jifj^^tica^^eyTe and civiUsationdo notiem of such antiquity as in Asia ; ""..^."^^ ^/^^^,„^ZeZ of very recent introduction; but of the agriculture of either d'v's'on of tot co^tm^^^^^ and of India and Cliina, we shaU attempt Uttle more than some sketches oi the moaer is involved in impenetrable obscurity. Very few facts are [^^'-'^'^.^ °" ^"^"Xed ^e viously to the time' of the Romans. That enterprising P/^P^^.^Tlf nf h^ emXe^rt art, and extended its practice with their conquests After ''^^^^^'^^^^'^ZZ declined throughout Europe ; and, during the dark ages, was chiefly P™^^"*^^°"i^3 estates jf the dmrch. With the general revival of arts ''P^ letters, winch took place during L sixteenth century, agriculture also revived ; first in Italy, ""roprietor cultivated his oum lands, however extensive ; and that agriculture was held in high esteem even by their princes. The crown-lands in King David's time, were managed by seven officers : one was over the storehouses, one over the work of the field and tillage of the ground, one over the vineyards and wine- cellars, one over the olive and oil-stores and sycamore (i^lcus j^comorusXmn.) plant- ations, one over the herds, one over the camels and asses, and one over the flocks. (1 Chron., xxvii. 25.) King Uzziah " built towers in the desert, and digged many wells ; for he had much cattle both in the low country and in the plains ; husbandmen also and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel, for he loved husbandry." (2 Chron., xxvi. 10.) Even private individuals cultivated to a great extent, and attended to the practical part of the business themselves. Elijah found Elisha in the field, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and himself with the twelfth. Job had five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels. Both asses and oxen were used in ploughing ; for Moses forbade the Jews to yoke an ass with an ox, their step or progress being different, and of course their labours unequal. 20. Among the aperatiotis rf agriculture are mentioned watering by machinery, plough- ing, digging, reaping, threshing, &c. " Doth the ploughman jjlough all day to sow ? doth he open and break the clods of his ground ? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin [Cumjnum Cyminum Linn.], and cast in the principal wheat, and the appointed barley, and the rye, in their place?" (/saja/i, xxviii. 24,25.) The plough was probably a clumsy instrument, re- quiring the most vigilant attention from the ploughman ; for Luke (ch. ix. 62.) uses the figure of a man at the plough looking back, as one of utter wortlilessness. Covered thresh- ing-floors were in use ; and, as appears from the case of Boaz and Ruth, it was no uncommon thing to sleep in them during the harvest. Com was threshed in different ways. " The fitches," says Isaiah, " are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff", and the cummin with a rod [flail]. Bread corn is bruised, because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horse- men." (Ch. xxviii. 27, 28.) The bread corn here mentioned was probably the far of the Romans (maize, Zea. Mays L.), which was commonly separated by hand-mills or hand-picking, or beating, as is still the case in Italy and other countries where 'this com IS grown. Corn was " winnowed with the shovel and vrith the fan " [Id xxx 24 ) Sieves were also in use, for Amos says, " I wUI sift the house of Israel, as corn is sifted in a sieve" (Ch. ix. 9.); and Christ is re- „ presented by St. Luke as saying, " Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Isaiah men- tions (vii. 25.) the " dig^ng of hills with the mattock :" to which implement the original '' ?'<='' Cfe- 2.) would gradually arrive, first, by having the head put on at right angles, and pointed (fg. 7. a) ; next, by having it flattened, sharpened, and shod with iron (6 c) ; Q and lastly, by forming the head entirely of metol, and forked [d). such probably as we see it in use in Judea, and the landtf Canaan at the present day. V'^tuda.n, 21 . Vin^ards were planted on rising grounds, fenced round, the soil well prepared and a vintage-house and watch-tower built in a central situation (Isaiah v 2 1 =>7^;.' Trill done in European IVrkey and Italy. Moses gives directionrrl Je2's for cuW vati.,g the vine and other frmt trees ; the three first years after plantinc the fru^t f.,^, to be eaten ; the fourth it is to be given to the Lord; and it is ^ot rill ^. fifth that they are " to eat of the fruit Thereof." (Levit xix 25^ 1^ '• ^ A^h year precepts was, to prevent the trees from being^ eXistS fy' be^„V"wnr.h T^ acauired sufficient strength and estaW;»h,^»„ti„.i,„"r, "^ "eanng, before they had .... , -till the fifthyear (Lemt., XIX. 25.) The intention of these g exhausted t^" ^"■ acquired sufficient strength and establishment in the soil. 22. Of other agricultural ojieratimis and customs, it mky be observed with Dr. Brown, Book I. AGRICULTURE OF ANTIQUITY. 9 {^ntiq. of the Jews, vol. ii. partxii. sect. S, 6.) that tliey differed very little from tfle existing practices in the same countries, as described by modern travellers. 23. The agricultural produce of the Jews was the same as among the Egyptians ; corn, tvine, oil, fruits, milk, honey, sheep, and cattle, but not swine. The camel then, as now, was the beast of burden and long journeys (Jig, 8.) ; and the horse, the animal of war and luxury. The fruit of the sycamore-fig was abundant, and in general use ; and grapes attained an astonishing size, both of berry and bunch ; the melon and gourd tribes were common. The returns of com were in general good ; but as neither public stores, nor com monopolisers, seem to have existed, dearths, and their attendant miseries, happened occasionally. A number of these ai'e mentioned in Scripture, and some of extraordinary severity. Sect. III. Of the Agriculture of the Greeks. 24. The Aboriginal Greeks, or Pelasgi, were civilised by colonies from Egypt, and received from that country their agriculture, in common with other arts and customs. Some of the ancient Greeks pretend that the culture of com was taught them by Ceres ; but Herodotus, and most of the ancients, concur in considering this divinity as the same with the Egyptian Isis. There is no particular evidence tliat the Greeks were much attached to, or greatly improved, agriculture ; though Homer gives us a picture of old King Laertes, divested of wealth, power, and grandeur, and living happy on a little farm, the fields of which were well cultivated. (Orfyss^^, lib. xxiv.) On another occa- sion, he represents a king standing amongst the reapers, and giving them directions by pointing with his sceptre, (/fiid., v. 550.) Xenophon highly commends the art; but the practical instances he refers to, as examples, are of Persian kings. 25. What we know of the agriculture of Greece is chiefly derived from the poem of Hesiod, entitled Works and Hays* Some incidental remarks on the subject may be found in the vraitings of Herodotus, Xenophon, Theophrastus, and others. Varro, a Roman, writing in the century preceding the commencement of our aera, informs us, that there were more than fifty authors, who migl^t at that time be consulted on the subject of agriculture, all of whom were ancient Greeks, except Mago the Carthaginian. Among them he includes Democritus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Hesiod. The works of the other writers he enumerates have been lost ; and indeed all that remain of Democritus are only a few extracts preserved in the Geoponika, an agricultural treatise published at Constantinople by the Greeks of the fourth or fifth centuries of our Kra. Xenophon, Aristotle, Homer, and others, touch on our subject but very slightly. Xenophon, after his barushment to Scillus, is said to have spent his time in literary pur- suits, and in improving and decorating his estate ; he vreote a treatise expressly on rural and domestic affairs, the third book of which is devoted to agriculture, entitled CEcono- Tnics, in the form of a dialogue, and he is even said to have given lessons on tlie subject. Of his treatise, Harte (Essays, p. 201.) says, " I take it to be one of the plainest and most sensible performannes amongat the writings of the ancients." Theophrastus, a disciple of Aristotle, wrote" on natural history, and his history of plants possesses an astonishing degree of merit, for the age in which it was written. He is justly considered the father of botany, and his work contains some curious observations on soils and manures, and on various parts of agriculture and gardening. 26. But tlie writings of Hesiod are the chief resource for details as to Grecian agri- culture. This author flourished in the tenth century B. C, and was therefore contem- porary with Homer. He lived at Askra, a village at the foot of Mount Helicon, in Boeotia. There he kept a flock, and cultivated a soil which he describes as " bad in winter, hard in summer, and never good," probably a stiff clay. As a poet who had written on various subjects, Hesiod was held in great veneration ; and Aristotle states, that when the Thesprotians destroyed the village of Askra, and the Orchomenians re- ceived the fugitives who escaped, the oracle ordered them to send for the remains of the poet who had given celebrity to the place. 27. The Works, which constitute the first parts of his Poem, are not merely details of agricultural labours, but comprise directions for the whole business of family economy in the country. The poem sets out by describing tlie state of the world, past and present, for the purpose of exemplifying the condition of human nature. This con- dition entails on man the necessity of exertion to preserve the goods of life, and leaves him no alternative but honest industry or unjust violence ; of wliich the good and evil 10 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. consequences are respectively illustrated. Dissension and emulation are represented as two principles actively at work ; much is said of the corruption oi judges, and tne cviis of Utigation ; contentment is apostrophised as the true secret of hapi.iness ; virtue ana industry strongly recommended. The poet now proceeds to describe the prognostics oi the seasons of agricultural labour, and gives directions for providing a house, wue, slaves, and two steers ; how and when to cut down timber ; to construct carts and plougns, ana make clothes and shoes ; when to sow, reap, dress the vine, and make wine, tie men treats of navigation, and gives cautions against risking everything in one voyage . ne describes the fit seasons for the coasting trade, and advises taking great care oi tne vessel at such time as she is not in use, and hanging up the rudder and other tacKie in the smoke of the chimney. He concludes the Works with some desultory precepts ot religion, personal propriety, and decorum ; and enjoins some cunous superstitious ob- servances relative to family matters. The Dat/s contain a division of the lunar montti into holy, auspicious, and inauspicious, mixed and inteimediary days, the latter being such as are entitled to no particular observance. 28. Property in land, among the Greeks, seems- to have been absolute in the owner, or what we would term freehold. The manner of inheritance seems to have been that ot gavelkind; the sons dividing the patrimony in equal portions. One of Solon's laws forbade that men should purchase as much land as they desired. An estate contaimng water, either in springs or otherwise, was highly valued, especially in Attica : and there a law existed relating to the depth of wells ; the distance they were to be dug from other men's grounds ; what was to be done when no water was found ; and other matters to prevent contentions as to water. Lands were enclosed, probably with » ring-fence, or boundary-mark ; or, most likely, the enclosed lands were such as surrounded the vil- lages, and were in constant cultivation ; the great breadth of country being, it may be presumed, in common pasture. Solon decrees, that " he who digs a ditch, or makes a trench, nigh another's land, shall leave so much distance from his neighbour, as the ditch or trench is deep. If any one makes a hedge near his neighbour's ground, let him not pass his neighbour's landmark : if he builds a wall, he is to leave one foot between Iiira and his neighbour ; if a house, two feet. A man building a house in his field, must place it a bowshot from liis neighbour's." {Potter s Antuj.) 29. Tlie surface of Greece was, and is, irregular and hilly, with rich vales, and some rocky places and mountains : the soil is various ; clayey in some places, but most gene- rally light and sandy, on a calcareous subsoil. 30. The operations of culture, as appears by Hesiod, required to be adapted to the season : summer fallows were in use, and the ground received three ploughings, one in autumn, another in spring, and a third immediately before sowing the seed. Manures were applied ; in Homer, an old king is found manuring liis fields with his own hands ; and the invention of manures is ascribed by Pliny to the Grecian king Augeas. The- ophrastus enumerates six different species of manures ; and adds, that a mixture of soils produces the same effects as manure. Clay, he says, should be mixed with sand, and sand with clay. The seed was sown by hand, and covered with a rake. Corn was reaped with a sickle ; bound in sheaves ; carted to a well-prepared threshing-floor, in an airy situation, where it might be tlireshed and fanned by the wind, as is still practised in modern Greece, Italy, and other countries of the Continent. Afterwards it was laid up in bins, chests, or granaries, and taken out as wanted by the family, to be pounded in mortars or quern-mills, into meal. Thorns and other plants for hedges were procured from the woods, as we find from a passage in Homer, in which he represents Ulysses as finding Laertes digging and preparing to plant a row of quicksets. {Odyss., lib. xxiv.) 31. The implements enumerated by Hesiod are, a plough, of which he recommends two to be provided in case of accident ; and a cart ten spans (seven feet six inches) in width, with two low wheels. The plough consisted of three parts ; the share-beam, the draught-pole, and the plough-tail. Tlie share-beam is to be made of oak, and the other parts of- elm or bay : tliey are to be joined firmly with nails. Antiquarians are not agreed as to the exact form of this implement. Gouguet conjectures it may not have been unlike one still in use in the same countries, and in the south of France ; others, -with greater probability, refer to the more simple plough still in use in Magna Graecia and Sicily {fig. 9. ), originally Greek colonies. The rake, sickle, and ox-goad are men- _ tioned ; but nothing said of their construction, or of spades or other manual implements. 32. Thebeastsoflaiour mentioned are oxen and mules : the former were more common • and It would appear, from a passage in Homer {II., lib. xiii. v. 704.), were yoked by the Book I. • AGRICULTURE OF ANTIQUITY. 11 horns. Oxen of four years and a half old are recommended to he purchased, as most serviceahle. In winter, both oxen and mules were fed under cover, on hay and straw, mast, and the leaves of vines and various trees. 33. Tlie most desirable age for a ploughman is forty. He must be well fed, go naked in summer, rise and go to work very early, and have a sort of annual feast, proper rest, good food, and clothing consisting of coats of kid skins, worsted socks, and half boots oi ox hides in winter. He must not let his eye wander about while at the plough, but cut a straight furrow ; nor be absent in mind when sowing the seed, lest he sow the same furrow twice. The vine is to be pruned and stalked in due season ; the vintage made in fine weather, and the grapes left a few days to dry, and then carried to the press, 34. The products of Grecian agriculture were, the grains and legumes at present in cultivation, with the vine, fig, olive, apple, date, and other fruits : the live stock con- sisted of sheep, goats, swine, cattle, mules, asses, and horses. It does not appear that artificial grasses or herbage plants were in use ; but recourse was had, in times of scarcity, to the mistletoe and the cytisus : what plant is meant by tlie latter designation is not agreed on; some consider it the Medicago arborea X., and others the common lucerne. Hay was, in all probability, obtained from the meadows and pastures, which were used in common; flax, and probably hemp, were grown. Wood for fuel, and timber for construction, were obtained from the natural forests, which, in Solon's time, abounded with wolves. Notliing is said of the olive or fig by Hesiod ; but they were cultivated in the fields for oil and food, as well as the vine for wine. One of Solon's laws directs that olive and fig trees must be planted nine feet from a neighbour's ground, on account of their spreading roots ; other trees might be planted within five feet. 35. In Hesiod's time almost every citizen was a husbandman, and had a portion of land which he cultivated himself, with tfie aid of his family, and perhaps of one or two slaves ; and the produce, whether for food or clothing, appears to have been manufactured at home. The progress of society would, no doubt, introduce the usual division of labour and of arts ; and commercial cultivators, or such as raised produce for the purpose of exchange, would in consequence arise ; but when this state of things occurred, and to what extent it was carried at the time Greece became a Roman province (B. C. 100), the ancient writers afford us no means of ascertaining. Sect. IV. Of the Agriculture cf the Persians, Carthaginians, and oUterNatums ff Antiquity, 36. Of the agriculture of the other civilised and stationary nations of this period, scarcely any thing is known. According to Herodotus, the soil of Babylon was rich, well cul- tivated, and yielded two or three hundred for one. Xenophon, in his book of (Eco- nomics, bestows due encomiums on a Persian king, who examined, with his own eyes, the state of agiiculture throughout his dominions ; and in all such excursions, as occasion required, bountifully rewarded the industrious, and severely discountenanced the slothful. In another place he obsei-ves, tliat when Cyrus distributed premiums with his own hand to diligent cultivators, it was his custom to say, " My friends, I have a like title with yourselves to the same honours and remuneration from the public ; I give y«u no more than I have deserved in my own person ; having made the selfsame attempts with equal diligence and success." ((Econom., c. iv. sect. 16.) The same author else- where remarks, that a truly great prince ought to hold the arts of war and agriculture in the highest esteem ; for by such means he will be enabled to cultivate his territorie_s efiPectually, and protect them when cultivated, (^ffarte's Essays, p. 19.) 37. Pliomicia, a country of Asia, at the east of the Mediterranean, has the reputation of having been cultivated at an early period, and of having colonised and introduced agriculture at Carthage, Marseilles, and other places. The Phoenicians are said to have been the original occupiers of the adjoining country of Canaan ; and when driven out by the Jews, to have settled in Tyre and Sidon (now Sur and Saida), in the fifteenth century B. C. They were naturally industrious ; and their manufactures acquired such a superiority over those of other nations, that, among the ancients, whatever was elegant, great, or pleasing, either in apparel or domestic utensils, was called Sidonian ; but of their agriculture it can only be conjectured that it was Egyptian, as far as local circumstances would permit. 38. The republic of Cartilage included Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia, and flourished for upwards of seven centuries previous to the second century B. C. Agriculture was practised at an early period in Sicily ; and, according to some, Greece received that art from this island. It must have been also considerably advanced in Spain, and in the Carthaginian territory, since they had books on the subject. In 147 B. C, when Car- thage was destroyed by Scipio, and the contents of the libraries were given in presents to the princes, allies of the Romans, the senate only reserved the twenty-eight books on agriculture of the Carthaginian general Magon, which Decius Syllanus was directed to translate, and of which the Romans preserved, for a long time, the original and the translation. (^Encyc- Methodique, art. Agriculture,') 12 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 39. Ital!/, and a part of the south of France, would probably be partially cultivated, from tlie influence of tlie Cartliaginians in Sicily and Marseilles; but the nortl. of France, and the rest of Europe, appear to have been chiefly, if not entirely, in a wild state, and Uie scene of the pastoral and hunting employments of the nomadic nations, the Kelts or Celts, tlie Goths, and the Slaves. . . , , -c 40. TAe Imlian and Chinese nations appear to be of equal antiquity with the l-pptians. Joseph de Guignes, an eminent French Oriental scholar, who died in the hrst year oi tlie present century, has written a memoir (in 1759, 12mo), to prove that the Chinese were a colony from Egypt; and M. de Guignes, a French resident in China, who pub- lished at Paris a Chinese dictionary in 1813, is of the same opinion. Ihe histories ot the Oriental nations, however, are not yet sufficiently developed from the original sources, to enable us to avail ourselves of the information they may contain, as to the agnculture of so remote a period as that now under consideration. 41. With respect to the American nations, during this period, tliere are no facte on record to prove either their existence or their civilisation, though Bishop Huet and the Abb6 jQlavigero think tliat tliey also are descendants of Noah, who, while in a nomadic state, arrived in the western world, through the northern parts of the eastern continent. Chap. II. History of Agriculture among the Romans, or from the Second Century ]}. C. to the Fifth Century of our jSra. 42. We have now arrived at a period of our history where certainty supplies the place of conjecture, and which may be considered as not only entertaining but instructive. The attention of the Romans to agriculture is well known. The greatest men amongst them applied themselves to the study and practice of it, not only in the first ages of the state, but after they had carried their arms into every country of Europe, and into many countries of Asia and Africa. Some of their most learned men and one of their greatest poets wrote on it ; and all were attached to tlie things of the country. Varro, speaking of the farms of C. Tremellius Sciofa, says, " they are to many, on account of their culture, a more agreeable spectacle than the royally ornamented edifices of others." (^Var. de R. JR., lib. i. cap. 2.) In ancient times, Pliny observes, the lands were culti- vated by the hands even of generals, and the earth delighted to be ploughed with a share adorned with laurels, and by a ploughman who had been honoured with a triumph. (^JVat- Hist., lib. xviii. t. 3.) The Romans spread their arts with their conquests; and their agriculture becaime that of all Europe at an early period of our ibio. 43. The sources from which we have drawn our information being first related, we shall review, in succession, tlie proprietorship, occupancy, soil, culture, and produce of Roman agriculture. Sect. I. Of the Roman Agricultural Writers. 44. The Roman authors on agriculture, whose works have reached the present age, are Cato, Varro, Virgil, Columella, Pliny, and Palladius ; there were many more, whose writings are lost. The compilation of Constantine Poligonat, or, as others consider, of Cassius Bassus, entitled Geoponika, already mentioned (18.), is also to be considered as a Roman production, though publiihed in the Greek language at Constan- tinople, after the removal thither of the seat of government. 45. M. Porcius Cato, called the Censor, and the father of the Roman rustic writers, lived in the seventh century of the republic, and died at an extreme old age, B. C. ISO. He recommended himself, at tlie age of seventeen, by his valour in a battle against Annibal ; and afterwards rose to all the honours of the state. He particularly distinguished himself as a censor, by his impartiality and opposition to all luxury and dissipation ; and was remarkably strict in his morals. He wrote several works, of which only some fragments remain, under the titles of Origines and De Re Rustica. The latter is the oldest Roman work on agriculture : it is much mutilated, and more curious for the account it contains of Roman customs and sacrifices, than valuable for its georgicaj information. 46. M. Terentius Varro died B. C. 28, in the 88th year of his age. He was a learned writer, a distinguished soldier both by sea and land, and a consul. He was a grammarian, a philosopher, a historian, and an astronomer ; and is thought to have written five hundred volumes on different subjects, all of which are lost, except his treatise De Re Bv.stica. Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROWANS. 13 This is a complete system of directions in three books, on the times proper for, and the different kinds of, rural labour ; it tieats also of live stock, and of the villa and offices. As Varro was for some time lieutenant-genei-al in Spain and Africa, and afterwards retired and cultivated his own estate in Italy, his experience and observation must have been very considerable. 47. Publius Virgilius Maro, called the prince of the Latin poets, was bom at a village near Mantua in Lombardy about 70 B. C, and died B. C. 19, aged 51. He culti- vated Ms own estate till he was thirty years old, and spent the rest of his life chiefly at the court of Augustus. His works are the Bucolics, Georgics, and jEneid. The Georgics is to be considered as a poetical compendium of agriculture, taken from llie Greek and Roman writers then extant, but especially from Varro. 48. Luc. Jun. Moderatus Columella was a native of Gades, now Cadiz, in Spain, but passed most of his time in Italy. Tlie time of his birth and death are not known, but he is supposed to have lived under Claudius in the first century. His work De Re Rustica, in twelve books, of which the tenth is still extant, was a complete treatise on rural affairs, including field operations, timber trees, and gardens. 49. C Plmius Secundus, sumamed the elder, was born at Verona in Lombardy, and suffocated at the destruction of Pompeii in his 56th year, A.D. 79. He was of a noble family ; distinguished himself in the field and in the fleet ; was governor of Spain ; and was a great naturalist, and an extensive writer. Of the works which he composed none are extant but his Natural History in thirty-seven books ; a work full of the erudition of the time, accompanied with much erroneous, useless, and frivolous matter. It treats of the stars and the heavens, of wind, rain, hail, minerals, trees, flowers, and plants ; gives an account of all living animals ; a geographical description of every place on the globe ; and a history of commerce and navigation, and of every art and science, with their rise, progress, and several improvements. His work may be considered as a compendium of all preceding writers on these subjects, with considerable additions from his personal experience and observation; 50. Rutilius Taurus Emilianus PaUadius is by some supposed to have lived under Antoninus Pius, in the second century, though others place him in the fourth. His work Z)e Re Rustica is a poem in fourteen books, and is little more than a compendium of those works which preceded it on the same subject. The editor of the article Agri- culture, in the Encyclojddie MModiqve, says it is too dull to be read as a poem, and too concise to be useful as a didactic work. 51. These works have been rendered accessible to all by translations ; and a judicious and instructive treatise composed from them by Adam Dickson, a Scotch clergyman, was published in 1788, under the title of Tlt£ Husbandry of the Ancients. To this latter work we are indebted for the greater part of what we have to submit on Roman agriculture. .52. Tlie Roman authors, as Rozier has observed (Diet, de I'Agr., art. Hist.), do not enable us to trace the rise and progress of agriculture, either in Italy or in any other country under their dominion. What Siey contain is a picture of their rural economy in its most perfect state, delivered in precepts, generally founded on experience, though some- times on superstition ; never, however, on theory or hypothesis. For, as the Rev. Adam Dickson states, '* instead of schemes produced by a lively imagination, which we receive but too frequently from authors of genius unacquainted with the practice of agriculture, we have good reason to believe that they deliver, in tlieir writings, a genuine account of the most approved practices ', practices, too, the goodness of which they had themselves experienced." (Htisb. of tlie Anc, p. 16.) He adds, that if in the knowledge of the theory of agriculture, the Roman cultivators are inferior to our modern improvers ; yet in attention to circumstances' and exactness of execution, and in economical management, they are greatly superior. Sect. II. Of tlie Frojrrietorshi}), Occupancy, and General Management of Landed Property amoTig the Romans. 53. The Roman nation originated from a company of robbers and runaway slaves, who placed themselves under their leader Romulus. This chief having conquered a small part of Italy divided the land among his followers, and by what is called tiie Agrarian Law, allowed 2 jugera or 1| acre to every citizen. A fter tlie expulsion of the kings in the 6th century B. C., 7 yoke, or 3| acres were allotted. The custom of distributing the conquered lands, by giving 7 jugera to every citizen, continued to be observed in latter times ; but when each soldier had received his share, the remainder was sold in lots of various sizes, even to 50 jugera ; and no person was prevented from acquiring as large a landed estate as he could, till a law passed by Stolo, die second plebeian consul, B. C. 377, that no one should possess more than 500 jugera. This law appears to have remained in force during the greater period of the Roman power. Whatever might be the size of the estate, it was held by the proprietor as an absolute right, without acknowledgment to 14 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. any superior power ; and passed to his successors, agreeably to testament, if he made one ; or if not, by common law to his nearest relations. 54. In tite first ages of the commonwealth, the lands were occupied and cultivated by tlie proprietors themselves; and as this state of things continued for four or five centuries, it was probably the chief cause of the agricultural eminence of the Romans. When a person has only a small portion of land assigned to him, and the maintenance of his family depends entirely upon its productions, it is natural to suppose that the culture of it employs liis whole attention. A person who has been accustomed to regular and systematic habits of action, such as those of a military life, will naturally carry those habits into whatever he undertakes. Hence, it is probable, a degree of industrious appli- cation, exactness, and order in performing operations, in a soldier-agricultunst, which would not be displayed by men who had never been trained to any regular habits of action. The observation of Pliny confirms this supposition : lie asserts that the K,oman citizens, in early times, " ploughed their fields with the same diligence that they pitched their camps, and sowed their com with the same care tliat tliey formed their armies for battle." (^Nat. ifist., lib. xviu. c. 3.) Com, he says, was then both abundant and cheap. 55. Afterwards, when Rome extended her conquests, and acquired large territories, rich individuals purchased large estates j the culture of these fell into difl'ercnt hands, and was carried on by bailiffs and farmers much in the same way as in modern times. Columella informs us that it was so in his time, stating, that " the men employed in agriculture are either farmers or servants ; the last being divided into free servants and slaves." (^Col., lib. i. cap. 7.) It was a common practice to cultivate land by slaves during the time of the elder Pliny ; but his nephew and successor let his estates to farmers. 56. In the time qf Calo the Censor, the author of The Husliandry qf the Ancients observes, though the operations of agriculture were generally performed by servants, yet the great men among the Romans continued to give particular attention to it, studied its improvement, and were very careful and exact in the management of all their country affiiirs. This appears from the directions given them by this most attentive farmer. Those great men had both houses in town, and villas in the country ; and, as they resided frequently in town, the management of their country affairs was committed to a bailiff or over- seer. Now their attention to the culture of their lands and to every other br.inch of husbandry, appears, from the directions given them how to behave upon thoir arrival from the city at their villas. " After the landlord," says Cato, " has come to the villa, and performed his devotions, he ought that very day, if pos- sible, to go through his farm; if not that day, at least the next. When he has considered in what manner his fields should be cultivated, what work should be done, and what not ; next day he ought to call the baililtj and enquire what of the work is done, and what remains ; whether the labouring is far enough advanced for the season, and whether the things that remain might have been finished ; and what is done about the wine, com, and all other things. When he has made himself acquainted with all these, he ought to take an account of the workmen and working days. If a sufficiency of work does not appear, the bailiff will say that he was very diligent, but that the servants were not well ; that there were violent storms ; that the slaves had run away ; and that they were employed in some public work. When he has given these and many other excuses, call him again to the account of the work and the workmen. When there have been storms, enquire for how many days, and consider what work might be done in rain ; casks ought to have been washed and mended, the villa cleaned, com carried away, dung carried out, a dunghill made, seed cleaned, old ropes mended, new ones made, and the servant's clothes mended. On holidays, old ditches may have been scoured, a highway repaired, briars cut, the garden digged, meadows cleared from weeds, twigs bound up, thorns pulled, far (bread-corn, maize) pounded, all things made clean. When the servants have been sick, the ordinary quantity of meat ought not to have been given them. When he is fully satisfied in all these things, and has given orders that the work that remains be finished, he should inspect the bailiff's accounts, his account of money, of corn, fodder, wine, oil, what has been sold, what exacted, what remains, what of this may be sold, whether there is good security for what is owing. He should inspect the things that remain, buy what is wanting for the year, and let out what is necessary to be employed in this manner. He should give orders concerning the works he would have executed, and the things he is Inclined to let out, and leave his orders in writing. He should uispect his flocks, make a sale, sell the superfiuous oil, wine, and com ; if they are giving a proper price, sell the old oxen, the refuse of the cattle and sheep, wool, hides, the old carts, old iron tools, and old and diseased slaves. Whatever is superfluous he ought to sell ; a farmer should be a seller, not a buyer." (Coi., cap. ii.) 57. The landlord is thus srujtposed by Cato to be perfectly acquainted with every kind of work projter on his farm, and the seasons for performing it, and also to be a perfect judge how much work, both without and within doors, ought to be perfoi-med by any number of servants and cattle in a given time ; the knowledge of which is highly useful to a farmer, and what very few perfectly acquire. It may be observed, likewise, that the landlord is here supposed to enquire into all circumstances, with a minuteness of which there is scarcely even an actual farmer in this age who has any conception. 58. Varro complains that, in his time, the same attention to agriculture was not given as in former times ; that the great men resided too much within the walls of the city and employed themselves more in the theatre and circus, than in the com fields and vineyards. [Var. de Jt. R., lib. i. prjcf.) 59. Columella complains that, in his time, agriculture was almost entirely neglected. However, from the directions which he gives to the proprietors of land, it appears that there were still a few who continued to pay a regard to it ; for, after mentioning some things, which he says, by the justice and care of the landlord, contribute much to im- prove his estate, he adds, " But he should likewise remember, when he returns from the city, immediately after paying his devotions, if he has time, if not, next day, to view his Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. . IS marches, inspect every part of his farm, and observe whether in his absence any part of discipline or watchfulness has been dispensed with ; and whether any vine, any otlier tree, or any fruits are missing. Then likewise he ought to review the cattle and servants, all the instruments of husbandry, and the household furniture. If he continue to do all these things for some years, he will find a habit of discipline established when he is old ; and at no age will he be so much impaired with years as to be despised by his servants." (Col., lib. i. cap. 9.) 60. Tlie earliest farmers among the RoTnans seem not to have been upon the same footing as in Britain. The stock on the farm belonged to the landlord, and the farmer received a certain proportion of the produce for his labour. The farmer, who possessed a farm upon these terms, was called politor or polintor, from his business, being the dresser of the land; and partuarius, from his being in a kind of copartnership with his landlord, and his receiving a part of the produce of the farm for his labour. Cato takes notice of this kind of farmers only, and it is probable that there were no others in his time. ** The terms," says he, " upon wliich land ought to be let to a poUtor : in the good land of Casinum and Venafrum, he receives the eighth basket ; in the second kind of land he receives the seventh ; in the third kind he receives the sixth. In this last kind, when the grain is divided by the modius, he receives tlie fifth part ; in the very best kind of land about Venafrum, when divided by the basket, he receives only the ninth. ...If the land- lord and politor husk the far in common, the politor receives the same proportion after as before; of barley and beans divided by the modius, he receives a fifth." (Ch. xl, xli.) The small proportion of the produce that the politor received, makes it evident that he was at no expense in cultivating the land, and that he received his proportion clear of all deductions. 61. The coloni or farmers menJAoned by Columella, seem to have paid rent for their farms in the same manner as is done by the farmers in Britain. ITie directions given by this author to landlords, concerning the mode of treating them, are curious as well as important. A landlord, he says, " ought to treat his tenants with gentleness, should show himself not difficult to please, and be more vigorous in exacting culture than rent, because tliis is less severe, and upon the whole more advantageous. For, where a field is care- fully cultivated, it for the most part brings profit, never loss, except when assaulted by a storm or pillagers ; and therefore the farmer cannot liave th^ assurance to ask any ease of his rent. Neither should the landlord be very tenacious of his right in every thing to which the farmer is bound, particularly as to days of payment, and demanding the wood and other small things which he is obliged to, besides paying his rent, the care of wliich is a greater trouble than expense to the rustics. Nor is every penalty in our power to be exacted, for our ancestors were of opinion, that the rigour of the law is the greatest oppres^on. On the other, the landlord ought not to be entirely negligent in this matter ; because it is certainly true, what Alpheus the usurer used to say, that good debts become bad ones, by being not called for," &c. I^Col., lib. i. cap. 7.) 62. These directions are valuable even with r^erence to tlie present times ; and they instruct us respecting the general management of landed property among tlie Romans. It appears tliat the landlord was considered as understanding every thing respecting the husbandry of his estate himself ; and that there was no agent, or intermediate person, between him and the farmer, lie farmers paid rent for the use of their farms, and were bound to a particular kind of culture, according to the conditions of their lease ; but they were perfectly free and independent of their landlords ; so much so, as sometimes to enter into lawsuits with them. On the whole, they seem to have been upon the same footing as the farmers of Britain in modem times. Sect. III. Of the Surface, Soil, Climate, and other Agricultural Circumstances of Italy, during the Time of the' JRoTnans. 63. Tlie agriculture of any country must necessarily talce its character from the nature of that country. The extent and manner of cultivating the soil, and the kind of plants cultivated, or animals reared, must necessarily be regulated by the surface of the soil, the natural productions, the climate, the artificial state, and the habits of the people. 64. The climate of Italy is regular, dry, clear, and considerably warmer than that of Britain. At the bottoms of the mountains, it is subject to severe storms of hail in summer, and snow in winter, which often do considerable damage ; but these are only accidental disadvantages ; and in the champaign lands and gentle declivities, the vine, the fig, and the olive, ripened anciently, as now, in open plantations, from one extremity of It^y to the other. 65. The mrface of Italy is very irregular. A ridge of hills, and mountains passes through its whole length, forming numerous valleys of different degrees of extent; some elevated and narrow, others low and watered by a river, a stream, or by lakes. The immense plain of the Po constitutes a capital feature towards the north-east ; the sandy plain of Calabria towards the south ; and the marshy plain of Terracino, and 16 _ HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pahi L the rocky coast of Genoa, towards the western shore. Columella and Palladius agree in stating, tliat the best situation for lands is, not so much on a level as to make tlie water stagnate, nor so steep as to make it run off with violence ; nor so low as to be buned in the bottom of a valley, nor so exposed as to feel the violence of storms and heats ; for in these a mediocrity is always best: but champaign lands exposed, and whose declivity affords the rain a free passage ; or a hill whose sides gently decline ; or a valley not too much confined, and into which the air has easy access; or a mountain defended by a higher top, and thereby secured from the winds that are most pernicious, or, if high and rugged, at the same time covered witli trees and grass. {Col., lib. ii. cap. 2. ; Pallad., lib. i. cap. 5.) Tlie situation of lands which Cato reckons the best, is at the foot of a mountain with a south exposure. Varro and Pliny concur in this opinion, and the latter states that the best lands in Italy are so situated. 66. T/ie soil of Italy is as varied as the surface. About Genoa a yellow marly clay forms a base to schistous cliffs and hilly slopes ; a blue clay containing sulphur and alum on the west coast between Florence and Venice ; volcanic earth about Rome and Naples ; sand about Florence, and at the estuaries of most of the rivers ; rich black loam in the central parts of Tuscany ; and rich, deep, soft, moist earth, and mild marly clay, in Lombardy. Columella divides the soils of Italy into six kinds ; fat and lean, free and stiff, wet and dry : these mixed with one another, he says, make great varieties. In common with all the other writers, he prefers a free soil. 67. Tlie native productions of Italy, in an agricultural point of view, are, timber on the mountains, pastures on the hill sides, and meadow or very luxuriant grass-lands in the alluvial plains. The rich, low, and yet dry lands do not produce a close peisture, but a rough herbage, unless they are covered with trees ; the sandy soils produce little of any thing ; and the fens and marshes reeds and other coarse aquatics. Such were the pro- ductions of Italy antecedent to culture. 68. Tlie artifidal state of the country, in respect to agriculture, during the time of the Romans, seems to have differed less from its present state than will be imagined. The cultivated lands were open, and enclosures only to be seen near the villas. These were of small size, and chiefly gardens and orchards, except in the case of parks for game, formed by the wealthy, which never were very numerous. With the exception of part of Tuscany and Lombardy, this is still the case ; and the landscape, as Daniel Malthus has observed {jTntrod. to Girardins Essay), which Pliny observes as seen from his villas, does not appear to have been different two thousand years ago, from what it is at this day. But the roads, canals, markets, and artificial water-courses for the irrigation both of arable and grass-lands, are undoubtedly greatly increased since the time of the Ro- mans : though they also practised irrigation. 69. The habits of a people take their rise, in a great degree, from the climate in which they live, and the native or cultivated productions with which the country abounds. As respects agriculture, it may be sufficient to mention, that the great heat of the climate, by relaxing the frame, naturally produces indolence in many, and leads to a life of plunder in some. Hence then, as now, the danger from thieves and robbers in that country ; and hence, also, the custom of performing field labours early in the morning, and in the evening, and resting during the mid-day heat. The general use of oil and wine as food and drink, and also of the fig as an article of nourishment, are habits which arise immediately from the circumstance of these articles being the artificial produce of the country ; but are ultimately, like most other habits, to be referred to the climate. 70. These hints respecting the natural and agricultural geography of Italy, during the time of the Romans, are confessedly too scanty to be of more use than to recal to tlie reader's recollection the information on the same subject with which his mind is already stored ; and by this means to enable liim to form a due estimate of the nature and merits of the agriculture which we are about to describe. Sect. IV. Of tlie Culture and Farm Management of the Romans. 11. Tlie Roman autlwrs are much more cojmus in describing farm culture and economy, than in relating the state of landed property as to extent and proprietorship. Their directions, being founded on experience, are in great part applicable at the present day • they are remarkable for their minuteness ; but we can only give a very brief compenl dium, beginning with some account of the farm and the villa, or farmery, and taking in succession the servants, beasts of labour, implements, operations, crops cultivated, animals reared, and profit produced. SuBSECT. 1. Of the Choice of a Farm, and of the VUla or Farmery. 72. In the cAoice of a farm, Cato recommends a situation where there are plenty of artificers and good water ; which has a fortified town in its neighbourhood ; is near the sea or a navigable nver, or where tlie roads are easy and good. (Cat., cap. 1.) To these requisites Varro adds, a proper market for buying and selUng, security from thieves and Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 17 robbers, and the boundaries planted with useful trees. The interior of the fann was not subdivided by enclosures, which were seldom used but for their gardens, and to form parks in tile villas of the wealthy. 73. The soil preferred by Columella and all the Roman autliors is the fat and free, as producing the greatest crops, and requiring the least culture ; next, fat stiff" soil ; then stiff" and lean soil, that can be watered ; and, last of all, lean dry soil. 74. Trie state of a farm preferred by Cato and some other writers is that of pasture, meadow, and watered grass-lands, as yielding produce at least expense ; and lands under vines and olives, as producing the greatest profit according to the expense. The opinions of the Roman agriculturalists, however, seem to disagree on the subject of meadows, apparently from confounding a profitable way of management, with a capacity of yielding great profit with superior management, and none without. 75. The word VUla OTi^nally deifioted a farm-house and its appurtenances. In the first age of the commonwealth, these were very plain and small, suitable to the plain manners of the people, and adapted to the small size of their farms : but, when the Romans had extended their empire, when they had become rich and luxurious, and particular persons were possessed of large landed estates, tlien the villas became large and magnificent. In the time of Valerius Maximus, there were villas that covered more ground than was in tlie estates of some of the ancient nobles. " Now," says he, " those think themselves very much confined, whose houses are not more extensive than the fields of Cincinnatus." {Val. Max., lib. iv. cap. 4. sect. 7.) In die days of Cato, it is probable that they had begun to extend their villas considerably, which makes liim give a caution to the proprie- tors of land not to be rash in building. He recommends to them to sow and plant in their youth, but not to build till somewhat advanced in years. His words are remark- able : " A landliolder," says he, " should apply himself to the planting of his fields early in his youth ; but he ought to think long before he builds. He ought not to think about planting ; but he ought to do it. When he is about tliirty-six years of age, he may build, provided his fields are planted." (Ca^, cap. 3.) 76. Men should playtt in their youth, and not build till their felds are planted ; and even then ought " not to be in a hurry, but take time to consider. It is best, according to the yroverb, to profit by the folly of others." (Pfe. Nat. Huit., lib. xviii. cap. 5.) The rea- son why these authors recommend greater attention to planting than building is, that the labouring oxen in Italy, in the time of the Romans, were fed, for several months in. the year, witfi leaves and mast ; and the vine, the fig, the olive, and other trees, were cid- tivated for their fruit. 77. Suild in such a manner that your villa may not he too small for your farm, nor your farm ton small for your villa. (Ca<., cap. 3.) Varro assigns proper reasons for this. "In not attendiilg," says he, " to the measure of the farm, many have gone wrong. Some have made the villa much smaller, and others much larger than the fann required. One of these is contrary to a man's interest, and the other hurtful to the produce of his lands. For we both build and repair the larger buildings at a greater expense than is necessary ; and, when the buildings are less than what the farm r^uires, the fruits are in danger of being destroyed." (Tar. de E. M., lib. i. cap. 11.) Columella expresses himself to the same purpose, and mentions two persons in particular who had fallen into each of the extremes. " I remember," says he, " that many have erred in this point, as these most excellent men did, L. LucuUus and Q, Scsevola, one of whom built a villa much larger, and the other much less than the farm required." (Col., lib. i. cap. 4.) 7S. Plinff, noticing the above remark qf Cato^s, observes that LucuUus had thereby rendered himself liable to the chastisement of the censors, having less occasion to plough his lands than to clean his house. " In-this case," says he, '* to plough less than to sweep, was a foundation for the chastisement of the censors." {Ptin. Nat. Hist., lib. xvlii. cap. 6.) 79. Projiortvm the erj^ense of tlie building to the rent, or the profits arising from the farm. " An edifice should be built according to the value of flie farm and fortune of the master, which, immoderately undertaken, it is commonly more difficult to support than to build. 'The largeness of it should be so estimated, that, if any thing shall happen to destroy it, it may be rebuilt by one, or at most by two years' rent or profits of the farm in which it is placed." (^Pal., lib. i. tit. 8.) 80. The position of the villa, and the situation qf its different parts, are also noticed by some of these authors. " Some art," says Pliny, " is required in this. C. Marius, of a very mean family, seven times consul, placed a villa in the lands of Misenum, with such skill in the contrivance, that Sylla Felix said, that all others, in this respect were blind, when compared to him." (PSn. Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 7.) All of them advise that it shall not be placed near a marsh, nor fronting a river. Pliny cites the authority of Homer for this. Varo says, that such a. situation is cold in winter and unhealthful in summer ; that, in such a place, there are many small insects which, though invisible, enter the body at the mouth and nostrils, and occasion diseases. (Var. de R. R., lib. i. tit. 12.) Palladius gives reasons of the same kind. (Pai.,lib. i. tit. 7.) Besides this, Varro C 18 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. directs, that, if possible, it shall be placed at tlie foot of a mountain covered with woods, in such a manner as to be exposed to the most healthful winds, and to enjoy the sun m winter and tlie shade in summer. An east exposure, he thinks, is the best for this pur- pose, ( Far. deR. R., lib. i. cap. 12.) Palladius proposes that, for the same purpose, the villa shall front the soutli-east; that the pratorium, or master's house, shall be a bttle higher than the rest of the villa, both to secure the foundations, and to have a more agreeable prospect. {Pal., lib. i. tit. 8.) It is probable that both these authors have Italy particu- cularly in view. But Pliny extends his views further ; for he says, that the villa in warm climates ought to front the north, in cold climates the south, and in temperate cli- mates the east. (Plin. Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 7.) Columella is more particular than any of tlje other authors, both in giving directions as to the situation of the villa, and giving reasons for the situation he recommends. (^Col., lib. i. cap. 5.) 8 1 . Tlie villa a divided into three parts, tlie urbana, tlie ruslica, and tlie fructuaria. All the particulars of these, Columella says, ought to be properly placed with respect to each other. The urbana contained the apartments of the landlord ; the rustica con- tained the kitchen, the houses of the labouring servants, the stables, piggeries, and poultry houses, ponds for water, dunghills, on which, says Varro, some persons place necessary conveniences for tlie family. (§ xii. ) Adjoining the villa rustica, in the residence of opulent Romans, were placed the aviary, apiary, a place for dormice, a warren for hares and rabbits, a place for snails, and a large enclosure or park of fifty acres or more for retaining live deer and wild beasts taken in the chase. The fructuaria contained the oil and wine cellars, the places for the oil and wine presses, the corn-yards, barns, granaries, store-houses, repositories for roots and fruits, &c. 82. Both Columella and Palladius give directions liow all these parts should be situated and constructed; but, though minute, they are not so explicit as to enable any one to delineate their ground plan. Tlie same may be said as to the directions given by these author , and by Pliny (Nat. Hist., lib. xviii.), respecting the laying out of the villa urbana, and the apartments for summer and winter. ' The subject of designing villas for the opulent belongs no doubt more to architecture than to agriculture ; and therefore we shall refer, for details, to the plans given by Castel (Jig. 10. ) and other modern authors, who have attempted to embody the descriptions of the ancient writers. 83. Castel's general an'angement of a grand Roman villa and its environs, is as follows : — 1, FrjEtorium. U , Omlthon of Varro. 20, Mill driven by water. 2, Farm-house and offices. 12, Vivarium, or park for wild beasts. 21 , Temple of Ceres. 3, Canal, parting tile farm fifom the 13, Small woody Islands for peacocks. 22, Corn-fields. priEtonum. 14, Placeforturkeys(!! ),rather swans, 23, Vineyards. 4, Stone-banks to the canal. and their keepers: turkeys being 24, Olive grounds. 6, nndges. natives of America, antl conse- 25, Meadows. 6, Maseum. _ quently unknown to the Romans. 26, Orchard. 7, River Vmius. 15, For geese and their keeper. 27, (larden. 8, Fart of the island surrounded by 16j Cochlearium. 28, Osier ground, o T.?"'."?™'- 17, Dormice. 20, Woods, &o. 9, The other river. 18, Apiary. 30 Connicea 10, Walk on the bank of that river. 19, Threshing floor and bam. 84. It is remarkable that no directions are given as to the materials of which the villa should be built. 'ITiese would, in all probability, depend on local circumstances; rammed earth, timber, brick burned or only dried in the sun, or stone, would be taken according to convenience. The remains of villas which have reached modern times, are chiefly of brick stuccoed over. Pliny mentions walls in Africa and Spain, called formacii, tlie formation of which, by cramming the earth between two boards, exactly agrees with the Fireneh mode of building mud walls, called en jiise. He also mentions walls of unbumt bnck, of mud, of turf, and frames filled up with bricks and mud. (Nat. Hist lib xxxv cap. 14.) ^ •) • • SuBSECT. 2. Of the Servants employed in Roman uigriculture. 85. Tlie servants employed in Roman agriculture were of two sorts, freemen and slaves When tlie proprietor or farmer lived on the farm and directed its culture, these were directly under his management; in other cases there was a bailiff or oversek to whom all the other servants were subordinate. This was the case so eariy as Cato's time who IS very p^cular in his directions respecting the care a baiUff ought to take of tiie servants, the cattle, the labouring utensils, and in executing his master's orders 86. The bailif was generally a person who had received some education, md could wnte and keep accounts; and it was expected that he should be careful, apt to learn :[iir^'nt" c^irii^^o^v^s;'^^^^^^^^ though he is illiterate.'' CorneUus CeLs says Slt't^^^^^^^^ his master oftener than his book ; because, bemg ignorant of letters, he is tiie less Zable to contrive accounts, and is afraid to trust another, being conscious of fraud." (Col., Ub r?i-|"\., ?""■' "' """' J f""^- ™™'i'"'«'i by this author, «1th re.spect to th^ baihff, that are very proper, and show particularly the attention of tiie Romans. " H^ Book i. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 19 ought not," says he, " to trade on his own account, nor employ his master's money in purchaang catde or any otiier goods ; fur this trading taltSs off liis attention, and prevents 10 !y't'y,*t*t' ' KS^ § X him from keeping square accounts wftli his master. But when be is required to settle them, he shows his goods in the place of money. This, above all, he should be careful of, not to think he knows any thing be does not know ; and always to be ready to learn what he is ignorant of. For as it is of great advantage to do a tiling well, so it is most hurtful to have it ill done. This one thing holds true in all rustic work, to do but once what the manner of culture requires ; because, when imprudence or negligence in work- ing is to be set to rights, the time for the work is already wasted ; nor are the effects of the amendment such as to make up the lost labour, and balance the advantages that might have been gained by improving the season that is past." (Col., lib i. cap. 8,) 87. The gvAtlitKS of the other vUla, servants are represented by the same author in this manner : " The careful and industrious," s^s be, *' should be appointed masters of the works ; these qualities are more necessary for ibis business than stature or strength of body, for this service requires diligent care and art." Of the ploughman he says, 88. In the ploughman, though a degree of genius is necessary, yet it is not enough. " There siiould be joined to it a iiarshncss of voice and manner, to terrify tlie cattle: but he'siiould temper strength with clemency ; because he ought to be more terrible than cruel, that so the oxen may obey his commands, and continue the longer at their work, not being spent, at the same time, both with the severity of labour and stripes. But what the ofiices of masters of works and of ploughman are, 1 shall mention in C 2 20 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pa»t ^■ their proper places. It is sufficicm at present to observe, that tallness and f 'f B;l;^"t''''^°f„«'f,J|J^^|;?„'';,t one, and of vi-ry little in the other ; lor we slioulil m;ike, as 1 have said, the tinest "J"? i^/j.^^'f^^,, jj both for the reason 1 have already mentioned, and because there is no rustic Y°„,, ',,riaht he may lean less fatigued than by ploughing ; beeause, wlien employed in l'''«.„";» ,''„"'8 ''™°''tabourcr 'may be of any upon the handle of the plough." Of the common labourer hesavs, '"f.SJ™"™ ^X, „ot require such size, provided he is able to endure fatigue." And of the vine-drosser, ^ , ™X"™° J'"„;„,„.r ,i^ diseinK. tall .... 'prui other the eve o£ a oireccor. uommoniy wicneo men are ui n ^n,,.",-. e,- -, „inovards are rom'inuiiiv and, as it requires not only a stout servant, but one of an active •^""'""""f.'/S ™s labourers were cultivated by slaves in chains." (Co/., lib. i. cap 9.) Thus we see, th»t, "™°"/ '''J^^JJi""' '''"''"'^''" " appointed to the different works of husbandry, according to their strength, s.ze. and genius. ^ 89. With respect to the wages of agricultural labour among the Romas, very little benefit can be derived from knowin| the absolute sum of money paid for any article, unless it can be compared with tlie price of other commodities. Tli£ price of a slave in Catos time, was about 501. ; in the time of Columella it had risen to 60/. ; or to the price of eight acres of good land. A good vine-dresser cost 661. 1 3s. 4d. , and a good ploughman or labourer nqt less than 60/. The interest of money at this time was 61. per cent per annum ; therefore, in stating the expense of farm labour, a slave must be rated at not less than 121. per cent, as being .a perishable commodity ; so that one who cost 60/. would fall to be charged at the rate of 71. 4s. per annum, besides his maintenance and clothing. This may give some idea of the wages that would be paid to a free servant who hired him- self by the year ; of wliich, however, there appears to have been no great number, their wages not being stated. 90. ^11 the servants were maintained and clothed by the farmer or proprietor ; and as may be supposed, it was the interest of the latter that this should be done in a good and suffi- cient manner. Columella mentions what he calls an old maxim, concerning the bailiff: " That he should not eat but in the sight of all the servants, nor of any other thing but what was given for tlie rest." He mentions the reason of this : " For thus," says he, " shall he take care that both the bread be well baked, and the other things prepared in a wholesome manner." Co/., lib. i. cap. 8.) The same author mentions the treatment that masters ought to give their slaves : " So much the more attentive," says he, " ought tlie master to be in his enquiry concerning this kind of servants, that they may not be injured in tlieir clothes and other things afforded them, inasmuch as they are subject to many, such as bailiffs, masters of works, and gaolers ; and the more they are liable to receive injuries, and the more they are hurt through cruelty or avarice, the more they are to be feared. Therefore a diligent master ought to enquire, both at tliemselves, and likewise the free servants in whom he may put greater confidence, whether they receive the full of what is allowed them ; he himself ought likewise to try, by tasting the good- ness of the bread and drink, and examine their clothes, mittens, and shoes." \Col., lib. i. cap. 8.) In another place, he says, "That the bailiff should have the family dressed and clothed rather usefully than nicely, and carefully fortified against the wind, cold, and rain ; all which they will be secured from, by sleeved leathern coats, old centimes (thick patchwork as bed-quilts) for defending their heads ; or cloaks with hoods. If the labourers are clothed witli these, no day is so stormy as to prevent them from working without doors: (Co/., lib. i. cap. 8.) Cato likewise makes particular mention of the clothes of the slaves : " The vestments of the family," says he, " a coat and a gown three feet and a half long should be given once in two years ; whenever you give a coat or a gown, first receive the old one; of these make cere(o?!es. Good shoes should be given once in two years." (J^at., cap. 59.) 91. Cato informs us vifiat quaUtv Qf bread and wine, and what other Icinds of meat, were given to la. bourers. Of bread, he says, each labourer was allowed at the rate of three pounds avoirdupois, or of three pounds twelve ounces avoirdupois in the day, according to the severity of his labour. " During the winter," says he, *' the bailiff she "dd have four modii of wheat each month, and during the summer four mofiii and a half; and the housekeeper, or the bailiff's wife, and the shepherd, should have three During the winter, the slaves should have four pounds of bread each in the day ; from the time that they iiegin to dig the vineyard, to the ripening of the figs, they should have five pounds each • after which, they should return again to four." {Cat., cap. ij6.) To this bread, there was a daily allowance of wine ■ during the three months that immediately followed the vintage, the servants drank a weak kind of wine called lora. The manner m which this liquor was made, is described both by Pliny and Columella • and from the description given by them, it may well be supposed to be as good as the small beer given to servants in Britain. {.Plin. Nat. Hist., lib. xiv. cap. 10.) It does not appear that the Roman slaves were much restricted in the quantity ; Cato mentions no measure ; he only says, that they have this to drink for three months after the vintage j he proceeds in this manner : " In the fourth month, each should Bet a henuna of wine in the day, which is at the rate of two and a half cmgii in the month ■ in the fifth sixth, seventh, and eighth months, each a sextary in the day, which is five conaii in the month • in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh, each three hemiruB in the day, which is an amphora in the month' More than this, at the saturnalia and compitalia, to each man was given a coneiva. The quantity of wine flir each man in the year is eight quadrantals j however, as addition must be made accordinE to the work in which the slaves are employed, it is not too much for each of them to drink ten quadrantals in the vear " This allowance of wine, it must be acknowledged, was not inconsiderable, being at least seventv four gallons in the year, or at an average 1-62 parts of a pint in the day. ^ seventy.iour 92. Besides bread and wine, tlie slaves got lohat was called pvlmentariuvi, which an- swers to what in some parts of the country is called kitchen dripping or fat. (P/w^ Xat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 8.) For this purpose Cato recommends the laying up as Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 21 many fallen olives as can be gathered ; afterwards the early olives from which the smallest quantity of oil is expected ; at the same time observing that these must be given sparingly, tliat they may last the longer. When the olives are finished, he desires salt fish and vinegar to be given, and besides, to each man a sextarhis of oil in the month, and a modius of salt in the year. (Cot., cap. 18.) Columella, for this purpose, directs apples, pears, and figs, to be laid up : he adds, if there is a great quantity of these, the rustics are secured in no small part of their meat during the winter, for they serve for dripping or fat. (Co/., lib. xU. cap. 14.) SuBSECT. 3. Of the Beasts of Labour used by the Romans. 93. The labouring cattle used by the Romans, as well as by all tlie ancient nations, were cliiefly the ox, the ass sometimes, the mule for burdens, and but very rarely the horse. The horse, however, was reared ; but almost exclusively for tlie saddle, the chase, or for war. The respect for the ox which existed among the Egyptians, Jews, and Greeks, was continued among the Romans, so much so that Varro, and after him Columella and Pliny, adduce an instance of a man having been indicted and condemned, for killing one to please a boy who longed for a dish of tripe. 94. The breeding, breaking, feeding, and working of tlie ox are very particularly treated of by the ancient authors. 95. Butts, says Palladlus, " should be tall, with hupe members, of a middle age, rather young than old, of a stem countenance, small horns, a brawny anil vast nock, and a confined belly." {Fal., lib. iv. sect. 11.) 9li. The cotus Columella ** most approves of, are of a tall make, long, with very large belly, very broad forehead, eyes black and open, horns graceful, smooth, and black, nairy ears, strait jaws, very large dewlap and tail, and moderate hoofs and legs." (Col., lib. vi. cap. 21.) 97. Breeders both of horses and cows, Virgil observes, should attend principally to llie make of the female. " If any one," says he, " fond of the prize at the Olympic games, breeds horses ; or if any one breeds stout bullocks for the plough, he chiefly attends to the make of the mother, who ought to be large in all her parts. " ( Georg. , ii i. v. 49. ) llie same maxim is enforced scientifically by Cline. (^Comrmin. to Board of Ag., vol. iv.) 98. For breaking and training cattle to the yoke, Varro and Columella give very parti- cular directions. ** To break bullocks," says Varro, ** put tlieir necks between forked stakes ; set up one for each bullock, andgive them meat from the hand ; they will become tractable in a few days : then, in order that by degrees they may become accustomed to the yoke, let an unbroken one be joined with h veteran, whom he will imitate ; then let them go upon even ground without a plough j then yoked to a light plough in a sandy soil. That they may be trained for carriages, they should first be put to empty carts, and driven, if convenient, through a village or town ; the habit of hearing frequent noise, and seeing a variety of objects, will soon make them fit for use. ( Yar., lib. i. cap. 20.) 99. Training commences with the calf state ; and " calves," says Virgil, " which you intend for country labour, should be instructed while their youthful minds are tractable, and their age manageable : first bind round their necks wide wreaths of tender twigs ; then, when their free necks have been accustomed to servitude, put real collars 11 1 ton them ; join bullocks of equal strength, and make them step together ; at first let them frequently be employed in drawing along the ground wheels without any carriage upon them, so that they may print their steps only upon the top of rhe dust ; afterwards let the beechen axle groan under the heavy load, and the pole draw the wheels joined to the weighty carriage." (^Georg., iii. v. 163.) 100. Labouring oxen were fed with the mast or nuts of the beech or sweet chestnut, grape stones and husks after being pressed, hay, wheat and barley straw, bean vetch and lupine chaff, all parts of com and pulse, grass, green forage, and leaves. 'ITie leaves used were those of the holm oak, ivy, elm (considered the best), the vine, the poplar, &c. The poplar leaves were mixed with the elm leaves to make them hold out, and when there were no elm leaves, then oak and fig leaves were used. {Cat., cap. 54.) 'J'he food pre ferred before all others by Columella, is good pasturage in summer, and hay and corn in winter ; but he says the food and manner of feeding differ in different countries. 101. Oxen were worked in pairs abreast both with the cart and plough, and stood in the stables also in pairs, in bubilia or stalls formed on purpose. They were carefully matched, in order that the stronger might not wear out the weaker. They were yoked either by the horn or neck ; but the latter mode was greatly preferred. 102. Yoking by the horns. Columella observes, " is condemned by almost all who have written on hus- bandry ; because cattle can exert more strength from the neck and breast, than the horns ; as in the one way, they press with the whole weight and bulk of their bodies ; whereas in the other way, they are tor- mented with having their heads drawn back and turned up, and with difficulty stir the surface of the earth with a light plough." (Col, lib, ii. cap. 11. 22.) 103. Oxen^ wfien in tlie plough, were not allowed to go a great way without turning ; one hundred and twenty feet was the length fixed upon, and further than this it was tlioughi improper for them to pull hard without stopping. The Reverend A. Dickson thinks it probable, that " the breaks or plats for the different kinds of com and pulse C 3 22 «ISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pai't I. were laid out nearly of this length and breadth " (^Husb. of the Anc, a. 452.) ; and there appear grounds for concluding that the case was the same among the Jews and Greeks. It was thought proper that oxen, in ploughing, should be allowed to stop a little at the turning, and when they stopped, that the plougliman should put the yoke a litt e torward, that so their necks might cool. " Unless their necks are carefully and regularly cooled, says Columella, " they will soon become inflamed, and sweUings and ulcers will arise. The same author directs that " the ploughman, when he has unyoked his oxen, must rub tliem after they are tied up, press their backs with liis hands, pull up their hides, and not suffer them to stick to their bodies ; for this is a disease that is very destructive to working cattle." No food must be given them till they have ceased from sweating and high breathing, and then by degrees, in portions as eaten ; and afterwards they are to be led to the water, and encouraged by whistling. " (Co^., lib. ii. cap. 3.) 104. In purchasing working oxen, Varro directs to choose such as have " spacious horns, rather black than otherwise, a broad forehead, wide nostrils, a broad chest, and thick dewlap." (Lib. i. cap. 20.) All the Roman authors agree that the best colour of the body is red or dark brown ; that the black are hardier, but not so valuable ; that the hair should be short and thick, and the whole skin very soft to the touch ; the body in general very long and deep, or, as Columella and Palljidius express it, compact and square. The particular parts they also describe at length in terms such as would for the most part be approved by experienced breeders of cattle ; making due allowance for the difference be- tween choice for working, and choice for fatting. They all concur in recommending fanners to rear at home what oxen they want, as those brought from a distance often disagree with the cliange of soil and climate. 105. The ass was the animal next in general use. Varro says they were chiefly used for carrying burdens, or for the mill, or for ploughing where the land was light, and that they were most common in the south of Italy, especially in Campania. (Lib. ii. cap. 6.) He gives directions for breeding and rearing them ; and states that the female should not be allowed to work when in an advanced state of pregnancy, but that the male does not improve by indulgence in labour. The foal is removed from the dam a year after being foaled, and broken for labour in the third year. 106. Mules, Columella says, " are very proper both for the road and the plough, provided they are not too dear, and the stiff lands do not require the strength of the ox." " Mules and hinni," Varro observes, " are of two kinds ; the first being the offspring of a mare and an ass, and the second of a horse and an ass. A hinnus is less than an ass in the body, com- monly of a brighter colour ; his ears, mane, and tail like those of the horse. The mule is larger than the ass, but has more of the character of that animal in its parts than the hinnus. To breed mules, a joung jackass is put under a mare when he is foaled, and being reared with her is admitted to her the third year ; nor does he despise the mare on account of former habits. If you admit him younger he soon gets old, and his offspring is less valuable. Persons who have not an ass which they have brought up under a mare, and who wish to have an ass for admission, choose the largest and the handsomest they can find, from a good breed." {Varro, lib. ii. cap. 8.) Mules are fed like the ass, on spray, leaves, herbage, hay, chaff, and com. 107. The horse was scarcely, if at all, used in Roman agriculture, but was reared for tlie saddle and the army, by some farmers. Varro and Columella are particular in their directions as to the choice of mares, and breeding and rearing their young ; but as these contain nothing very remarkable, we shall merely remark that the signs of 'future merit in a colt are said to be a small head, well formed limbs, and contending with other colts or horses for superiority in running, or in any other thing. 108. The dog is a valuable animal in every unenclosed country, and was kept by the Roman farmers for its use m assisting the shepherd, and also for watching. Varro men- tions two kinds : one for hunting, which belongs to fierce and savage beasts • and one for aie shepherd and the watch-box. Tlie latter are not to be bought from hunters or butchers, because these are either lazy, or will follow a staa rather than a sheep The best colour is white, because it is most discernible in the dark. They must be fed in the kitchen with bread and milk ; or broth with bruised bones, but never with animal food ^ u ^ ii. ■ 1 TI7 .^ leather, that the hardness of the iron may not hurt their necks. If a wolf or any other beast is wounded by these it makes other dogs that have not the collar remain secure. ( Varr., lib. ii. cap. 9.) """^«=» SiTBSECT. 4. Of the Agricultural Implements of tlie Romans. ^°.^' J'^ ^■^^'•■■^ y^^ ".Sreat many instruments in their culture and farm manaex, or irpex, seems to have been a plank with several teeth, usea as our brake or cultivator, to break rough ground, and tear out roots and weeds. 1 15. The crates seems to have been a kind of harrow ; 1 16. The rostrum, a rake used in manual labour ; 117. The sarcidum, a hand hoe, similar to our draw hoe; and 118. The marra, a hand hoe of smaller size. 119. The bidens (bi-dens) seems to have been a two-pronged hoe of large size, with a hammer at the other end used to break clods. These were used chiefly in cultivating vineyards. , 120 The ligo seems to have been a spade (^. 14.), and the pala a shovel or sort of spade, or probably a synonym. The ligo and pala were made of wood only, of oak shod with iron, or with the blade entirely of iron. 121. The securis seems to have been an axe, and the same term was applied to the blade of the pruning knife, which was formed like a crescent. 122. The dolabra was a kind of adze for cutting roots in tree culture. 1 23. TIte reaping hook seems to have been the same as that in modern use : some were used for cutting off the ears of far or maize, and these, it may be presumed, were not serrated like our sickles ; others for cutting wheat and barley near the ground, like our reaping hooks. In the south of Gaul, Pliny informs us, they had invented a reap- ing machine : from his description this machine must have borne a considerable resemblance to that used in Suffolk, for cropping the heads off' clover left for seed, and not unlike other modem attempts at an engine of this descrip- tion. {See. Jig. 16.) 1 24. There were threshing implements for manual labour, and for being drawn by horses ; and some for striking off the ears of corn (Jig. IS.), Uke what are called rippling combs, for combing off' the capsules of newly pulled fljix. , 125. A variety of other instruments for cleaning corn, and for the wine and oil press, are mentioned ; but too obscurely to admit of exact description. SuBSECT. 5. Of the Agricultural Operations of the Romans. 126. Of simple agricultural operations, the most important are ploughing, sowing, and reaping ; and of such as are compound, or involve various simple operations, fallow- ing, manuring, weeding, and field-watering. 127. Ploughing is universally allowed to be the most important operation of agri- culture. " What," says Cato, " is the best culture of land? Good ploughing. ■What is the second? Ploughing in the ordinary way. 'What is the third? Laying on manure." (Cap. Ixi.) The season for ploughing was any time whei. land was not wet : in the performance, the furrow is directed to be kept equal in breadth throughout, one furrow equal to another ; and straight furrows. The usual depth is not mentioned, but it was probably considerable, as Cato says corn land should be of good quality for two feet in depth. No scamni or balks (hard unmoved soil) were to be left, and to ascertain that this was properly attended to; the farmer is directed, when inspecting the work done, to push a pole into the ploughed land in a variety of places. The plough was generally drawn by one pair of oxen, which were guided by the ploughman without the aid of a dnver. In breaking up stiff' land he was expected to plough half an acre, in free land an acre, and in light land an acre and a half, each day. Land, as ab-eady noticed (103.), was ploughed m square plots of 120 feet to the side, two of wHch made a iugerum or acre. A similar practice seems to have existed among the Eastern nations and is probably alluded to in the book of Samuel (chap. xiv. 5. 14.), where Jonathan 'and his armour-bearer are said to have slain about twenty men within half an acre, or literally " half a furrow of an acre of land." •' 128. Fallowing was a universal practice among the Romans. In most cases a crop and a year's fallow succeeded each other ; though, when manure could be got two croDS or more were taken in succession ; and on certain rich soils, which PUny describes as favourable for barley, a crop was taken every year. In fallowing, the lands were first ploughed after the crop was removed, generally in August; they were again cross- pioughed in spring, and at least a third time before sowing, whether spring corn or mnter corn was the crop. There was, however, no limit to the number of ploughings and sarchngs, and, when occasioned required, manual operations ; the object being, as Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 25 Theophrastus observes, ** to let the earth feel tlie cold of winter, and the sun of summer, to invert the soil, and render it free, light, and clear of weeds, so that it can most easily afford nourishment." (TAeo. de Caus. Plant., lib. iii. cap. 25.) 129. Manuring was held in such liigh esteem by tlie Romans, that immortality was given to Sterculius for the invention. They collected it from eveiy source wliich has been thought of by the moderns, vegetable, animal, and mineral, territorial, aquatic, and marine. Animal dung was divided into three kinds, that produced by birds, that by men, and that by cattle. Figeon-dung was preferred to all, and next human ordure and urine. Pigeon-dung was used as a top-dressing ; and human dung, mixed with clean- ings of the villa, and with urine, was applied to tlie roots of the vine and the olive. " M. Varro," says Pliny, •* extols the dung of thrushes from the aviaries, as food for swine and oxen, and asserts that there is no food that fattens them more quickly." Varro pre- fers it also as a manure ; on which Pliny observes, " we may have a good opinion of the manners of our times, if our ancestors had such large aviaries, as to procure from tliem dung to their fields." (iVa«. Hist., lib. xvii. cap. 9.) Dunghills were directed to be placed near the villa, their bottoms hollowed out to retain the moisture, and their sides and top defended from the sun by twigs and leaves. Dung usually remained in the heap a year, and was laid on in autumn and spring, the two sowing seasons. No more was to be spread than could be ploughed in the same day. Crops that were sickly were revived by sowing over them the dust of dung, especially that of birds, that is, by what is now called a top-dressing. Frequent and moderate dungings are recommended as pre- ferable to occasional and very abundant supplies. Green crops, especially lupines, were sown, and before they came into pod ploughed in as manures : they were also cut and buried at the roots of fruit trees for the same purpose. Trees, twigs, stubble, &c., were burned for manure. Cato says, " If you cannot sell wood and twigs, and have no stune that will bum into lime, make charcoal of the wood, and bum in the com fields the twigs and small branches that remain." Palladius says that " lands which have been manured by ashes of trees will not require manure for five years." (Lib. i. 6.) Stubble was very generally burned, as it was also among the Jews. Lime was used as a manure, especially for vines and olives. Cato gives particular directions how to form the kiln and bum it. He prefers a truncated cone, ten feet in diameter at the bottom, twenty feet high, and three feet in diameter at the top. The grate covers tlie whole bottom ; there is a pit below for the ashes, and two furnace-doors, one for drawing out the burnt stone, and the otlier for admitting air to the fire. The fuel used was wood or charcoal. (Cap. 38.) 1 30. Marl was known to the earlier Roman authors, but not used in Italy. It is men- tioned by Pliny as having been " found out in Britain and Gaul It is a certain rich- ness of earth," he says, " like the kernels in animal bodies that are increased by fatness." Marl, he says, was known to the Greeks, " for is there any thing," he adds, " that has not been tried by them ? They call the marl-like white clay leucargillon, which they use in the lands of Megara, but only where they are moist and cold." (iVai. Hist., lib. xvii. cap. 5. 8.) But Siough the Romans did not use marl, because they had not dis- covered it in Italy, they were aware, as Varro and others inform us, of its use. " When I marched an army," says Varro, " to the Rhine, in Transalpine Gaul, I passed through some countries where I saw the fields manured with white fossil clay." (Lib. i. cap. 7.) This must have been either marl or chalk. 131. Sowing was performed by hand from a basket, as in modem times ; the hand, as Pliny observes, moving with the step, and always with the right foot. The corns and leguminous seeds were covered with the plough, and sometimes so as to rise in drills ; the smaller seeds witli the hoe and rake. 132. In reaping com, it was a maxim, that it is " better to reap two days too soon than two days too late." Varro mentions three modes of performing the operation : cutting close to the ground with hooks, a handful at a time ; cutting ofi" their ears with a curved stick, and a saw attached ; and cutting the stalks in the middle, leaving the lower part or stubble to be cut afterwards. Columella says, " Many cut the stalks by the middle, with drag-hooks, and these either beaked or toothed : many gather the ears with merga, and others with combs. This method does very well where the crop is thin ; but it is very troublesome where the com is thick. If, in reaping with hooks, a part of the straw is cut off with the ears, it is immediately gathered into a heap, or into the nubilarium, and after being dried, by being exposed to the sun, is threshed. But if the ears only are cut off, they are carried directly to the granary, and threshed during the winter." {Col., lib. ii. cap. 21.) To these modes Pliny adds that -of pulling up by the roots ; and remarks, generally, that, " where they cover their houses with stubble, they cut high, to preserve this of as great a length as possible ; when there is a scarcity of hay, they cut low, that straw may be added to the chaff." {Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 30.) 133. A reaping machine used in the plains of Gaul, is mentioned bolli by Pliny and Palladius, which « thus described by the latter : — " In the plains of Gaul, they use this quick way of reaping, and, without 26 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I*. reapers, cut large fields with an ox in one day. For this purpose a ^^'^hme .« made camed upon^^^ whSa the square surface has boards erected at the side, which, sloping outwards, inake a wider 8^ce above J the board on the fore part i& lower than the others ; upon it there '^^f-Sreat many small teeth, wide set in a row, answering to the height of the ears of the corn, and turned upwards at the ends. 16 on the back part of this macnine two short shafts are fixed, like the poles of a litter ; to these an ox is yoked, with his head to the machine, and the yoke and traces likewise turned the contrary way: he is well trained^ and does not go faster than he is driven. When this machine is pushed through the standing corn, all the ears are comprehended by the teeth, and heaped up in the hollow part of it, being cut offf^om the straw, which is left behind ; the driver setting it higher or lower, as he finds it neces- sary ; and thus, by a few goings and returnings, the whole field is reaped. This machine does very well in plain and smooth fields, and in places where there is no necessity for feed- ing with straw." (PaL, lib. vii. tit, 2.) A conjectural delineation of this ma- chine (fig. 16.) is given by Lasteyrie, in his Collection des Machims, ^c. 134. The Romans did not bind their corn into sheaves, as is customary in northern cli- mates. When cut it was in general sent directly to the area to be threshed ; or, if the ears only were cropped, sent in baskets to the barn. Among the Jews, Egyptians, and Greeks, the corn was bound in sheaves j or at least some kinds were so treated, as appears from the story of Ruth " gleaning among the sheaves ;" of Joseph's dream, in which his " sheaf arose ;" and from the harvest represented by Homer, on one of the compartments of Achilles's shield. (iZ., lib. xviii. 550.) Reapers were set in bands on the opposite sides of the field or plot, and worked towards the centre. As the land was ploughed in the same manner from the sides to the middle, there was an open furrow left there, to which the reapers hastened in the way of competition. A reaper was expected to cut down a jugerum of wheat in a day and u half ; of barley, legumes, and medica or clover, in one day ; and of flax In three days. 135. Threshing was performed in the area or threshing floor, a circular space of from 40 to 60 feet in diameter, in the open air, with a smooth hard surface. The floor was generally made of well wrought clay mixed with amurca or the lees of oil ; sometimes it was paved. It was generally placed near Ihe nubilarium or bam, in order that when a sudden shower happened, during the process of threshing, the ears might be carried in there out of the rain. Sometimes also the ears or unthreshed com of the whole farm were first put in this barn and carried out to the area afterwards. Varro and Columella recommended that the situation of the area should be liigh and airy, and within sight of the fanner or bailiff' 's house, to prevent fraud ; distant from gardens and orchards^ because, though dung and straw are beneficial to the roots of vegetables, they are de- structive when they fall on their leaves." "(Far., lib. i. cap. 51.) 136. The corn being spread over the area a foot or two in thickness, was threshed or beaten out by the hoofs of cattle, or horses driven round it, or dragging a ma- chine over it. This machine, Varro informs us, was ** made of a board, rough with stones or iron, with a driver or great weight placed on it." A machine com- posed of rollers studded with iron knobs, and furnished with a seat for the driver (fig. 17.), was used in the Carthaginian territory. Sometimes also they threshed with rods or flails. Far, or Indian corn (Zha. Mays L.), was generally hand-picked, or passed through a handmilL 137. Com was cleansed or winnowed by throwing it from one part of the floor to another (in the wind when there was any), with a kind of shovel called venmabrumj another im- plement, called a van, probably a kind of sieve, was used when there was no wind. After being dressed, the corn was laid in the granary, and the straw either laid aside for litter or, what is not a little remarkable, " sprinkled with brine ; then, when dried, rolled up in bundles, and so given to the oxen for hay." (^JPlin. Nat, Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 30.) 138. ffaj/-making among the Romans was performed much in the same way as in modem times. The meadows were mown when the flowers of the grass began to fade • « as it dries," says Varro, " it is turned with forks ; it is then tied up in bundles of four pounds each, and carried home, and what is left strewed upon the meadow is raked together, and added to the crop." « A good mower," Columella informs us, " cuts a jugerum of meadow, and binds twelve hundred bundles of hay." It is probable that this quantity, which is nearly two tons, was the produce per acre of a good crop. A second crop was cut, called cordum, and was chiefly used for feeding sheep in winter. Hay Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 27 was also made of leafy twigs for the same purpose. Cato directs the bailiff to " cut down poplar, elm, and oak spray, and put them up in time, not over dry, for fodder for the sheep." (Cap. 5.) 139. Weeding and stirring tite soil were performed, the first by cutting with a hook, or pulling the weeds up with titie hand ; and the second by sarcling or hoeing. Beans were hoed three times, and corn twice : the first time^hey were earthed up, but not the second or third ; " for," says Columella, " when the corn ceases to tiller, it rots if covered with earth." Lupines were not sarcled at all, " because so far from being infested with weeds, they destroy them." Horse-hoeing was also practised, the origin of which is thus given by Pliny : — " We must not omit," says he, "a particular method of ploughing, at this time practised in Italy beyond the Po, and introduced by tlie injuries of war. The Salassi, when they ravaged the lands lying under the Alps, tried likewise to destroy the panic and millet that had just come above ground. Finding that the situation of the crop prevented them from destroying it in the ordinary way, they ploughed the fields; but the crop at harvest being double what it used to be, taught the farmer to plough amongst the com." This operation, he informs us, waspoformed, either when the stalk was beginning to appear, or when the plant had put forth two or three leaves. The com being generally sown in drills, or covered with the plough, so as to come up in rows, readily admitted this practice. 140. Fasturing and harrowing com, when too luxuriant, were practised. Virgil says, " What Oimmendation shall I give to him, who, lest his corn should lodge, pastures it while young, as soon as the blade equals the furrow." (Ge(w.,i. 111.) Pliny directs to comb the com with a harrow before it is pastured, and sarcle it afterwards. 141. Watering OTH a,\aige scale was applied both to arable and grass lands. Virgil advises to " bring down the waters of a river upon the sown corn, and when the field is parched, and the plants dying, convey it from the brow of a hill in channels. {Gear., i. 106.) Pliny mentions the practice, and observes that the water destroys the weeds, nourishes the com, and serves in place of sarcling. Watering grass lands was practised wherever an opportunity offered. " As much as in your power," says Cato, " make wa- tered meadows." Land that is naturally rich and in good heart, says Columella, " does not need to have water set over it, because the bay produced in a juicy soil is better than - that excited by water ; when the poverty of the soH requires it, however, water may be set over it." The same author likewise describes, very particularly, the position of the land most proper for water meadows. " Neither a low field," says he, " with hollows, nor a field broken with steep rising grounds, are proper. Hie first, because it contains too long the water collected in the hollows ; the last, because it makes the water to run too quickly over it. A field, however, that has a moderate descent, may be made a meadow, whether it is rich or poor, if so situated as to be watered. But the best situation is, where the surface is smooth, and the descent so gentle, as to prevent either showers, or the rivers that overflow it, from remaining long ; and, on the other hand, to allow the water that comes over it gently to glide off. Therefore, if in any part of a field intended for a meadow, a pool of water should stand, it must be let off by drains ; for the loss is equal, either from too much water or too little grass." (CoZ., lib. ii. cap. 17.) 142. Old water meadows were renewed by breaking up and sowing them with cam for three years ; the third year they were laid dovra with vetches and grass seeds, and then watered again, but " not with a great force of water, till the ground had become firm and bound together with turf." (^Col., lib. ii. cap. 18.) Watering, Pliny informs us, was commenced immediately after the equinox, and restrained when the grass sent up flower stalks ; it was recommenced in mowing grounds, after the hay season, and in pasture lands at intervals. 143. Draining, though an operation of an opposite nature to watering, is yet essentia) to its success. It was particularly attended to by the Romans, both to remove surface water, and to intercept and carry off under the surface the water of springs. Cato gives directions for opening the furrows of sown fields, and clearing them so as 5ie water might find its way readily to the ditches : and for wet-bottomed lands he directs to make drains three feet broad at top, four feet deep, and a foot and a quarter wide at the bottom ; to lay them with stones, or, if these cannot be got, with vrillow rods placed contrariwise, or twigs tied together. (Cap. 43.) Columella directs both open and covered drains to be made sloping at the sides, and in addition to what Cato says respecting the water-ways of covered drains, directs to make the bottom narrow, and fit a rope made of twigs to it, pressing the rope firmly down, and putting some leaves or pine branches over it before throwing in the earth. Pliny says the ropes may be made of straw, and that flint or gravel may be used to form the water-way, filling the excavation half full, or to within eighteen inches of the top. 144. Fendng was performed by the Romans, but only to a limited extent. Varro says " the limits of a farm should be fenced (rendered obvious) by planting trees, that families may not quarrel with their neighbours, and that the limits may not want the 28 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. decision of a judge." (Lib. i. 15.) PaJladius directs to enclose meadows, and gardens, and orchards. Columella mentions folds for enclosing the cattle in the night-time ; but the chief fences of his time were tlie enclosures called parks for preserving wild beasts, and forming agreeable prospects from the villas of the wealthy. Pliny mentions these, and says tliey were the invention of Fulvius Lupinus. {Nat. Hisl., lib. viii.; Varro describes fences raised by planting briars or tliorns, and training them into a hedge ; and these, he says, have the advantage of not being in danger from the burning torch oi the wanton passenger ; fences of stalks, interwoven witli twigs, ditches with earthen dykes, and walls of stone or brick, or rammed earth and gravel. (Lib. i. cap. 14.) 145. Trees were pruned and felled at different times, according to the object in view. The olive was little cut; the vine had a winter dressing, and one or two summer dressings. Green branches or spray, of which the leaves were used as food for oxen and sheep, were cut at the end of summer ; copse wood for fuel, in winter ; and timber trees generally in that season. Cato, however, directs that trees wliich are to be felled for timber should be cut down at different times, according to their natures : such as ripen seeds, when the seed is ripe ; such as do not produce seeds, when the leaves drop ; such as produce both flowers and seeds at tlie same time, also when the leaves drop ; but if they are evergreens, such as the cypress and pine, they may be felled at any time. 146. Fruits were gathered by hand. The ripest grapes were cut first ; such as were selected for eating were carried home and hung up ; and those for the press w^ere put in baskets, and carried to the wine-press to be picked and then pressed. Olives were plucked by hand, and some selected for eating ; the rest were laid up in lofts for future bruising, or they were immediately pressed. Such as could not be reached by ladders, Varro directs to be " struck with a reed rather than with a rod, for a deep wound requires a physician." It does not appear that green olives were pickled and used as food as in modern times. 147. Such lire the chief agricultural operations of the Somans, of which it cannot fail to be observed as most remarkable, that they differ little from what we know of the rural operations of the Jews and Greeks on the one hand, and from the practices of modem times on the otlier. SuBSECT. 6. Of the Crops cultivated, and Animals reared by tlie Romans. 148. The cereal grasses cultivated by the Romans were chiefly die triticwm or wheat, the far, or Indian corn (Zea.), and the hordeum or barley : but they sowed also the sUigo or rye, the Iwlcus Or millet, the panic grass (i'anicum wiiliaceum), and tlie avena or oat. 149. Of legumes they cultivated the faba or bean, the jtisum or pea, the lu^iinus or lupine, the ervum or tare, the lens or flat tare (iAthyrus Cicera), the chickling vetch (ia- thyrus sativus), the chick or mouse pea (dcerarietinura), andthekidneybean (i%as6olus). The bean was used as food for the servants or slaves, tiie others were grown principally for food to the labouring cattle. 18 150. Tiie sesamum, or oily grain (jSesamum orientale X.) {fig. 18.), was cultivated for the seeds, from which an oil was expressed, and used as a substitute for that of olives, as it still is in India and China, and as the oil of the poppy is in Holland, that of the walnut in Savoy, and that of tlie hemp in Russia. 151. Tlie herbage plants were chiefly the trifolium or clover, the medic or lucem, and the cytisus. What the latter plant is, has not been distinctly ascertained, lliey cultivated also the ocymum and fomum grcecum, with several others, which from the descriptions left of them cannot now be identified. The najms or turnip, and rapa or rape, were much esteemed and carefully cultivated. Pliny says " tiiey require a dry '^S soil ; that the rapa will grow almost any where ; that it is ^^^-^^ nourished by mists, hoar-frosts, and cold ; and that he has seen some of them upwards of forty pounds' weight. The napus " he says, " delights equally in colds, which make it both sweeter and larger, while by heat they grow to leaves " He r|i adds, "the more diligent husbandmen plough five times for the napus, foiu- times for the rapa, and apply dung to both." {Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 13 ) PallJ?,,^^? A soot and oil as a remedy against flies and snails, in tile cS ture of the tn •^'='=°""^'"1^ Whiletiie turnips were growing,it appears, persons were no^^^^^^^^^^^ them. Columella observes fliat, in hs time, the morp r»i;„;™, ,"-"*" "°™ PUJ^ng served an ancient custom, mentioned by Varro aJbei^"' '"rid h 'j^ ■™'" 'I^" °^- THs was, tiiat while sowing them they%rayedlerm'igM°^ot b^o^rrrrivl^^ni neighbours. Phny says the sower was naked. a b " """' lor uiemseives ana fJnif ."/x'Zirf 'V'1 '"'1 T^ *" mentioned the flax, die sesamum already men- tioned, and the poppy ; the two latter were grown for their seeds, which were bruised for oil. Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 29 153. The ligneous crojis were willows, both for basketmaking, and ab tics and poles for olives and vines. Copse wood was grown in some places for fuel ; but chiefly in natural woods, which were periodically cut. Timber was also pro- cured from tlie natural forests, which were abundant in oak, elm, beech, pine, and larix. 154. The fruit trees cultivated extensively were tlie vine and ( the olive. The fig was grown in gardens and orchards, and i also the pear ; and in the gardens of the wealthy were found ' most fruits in present use, with the exception of the pine- apple, the gooseberry, and perhaps the orange, though the/ lemon seems to have been known in Palladius's time. The vine ' was supported by elms or poplars (fg. 19.), or tied to differ- 20 ent sorts of trellises (Jig. 20.), as in Italy at the present day. 155. Such are the principal field a-ops of Roman agricultvre [ from which, and from the list of cultivated vegetables given by Pliny, it appears that they had most plants and trees now in use, with the exception of the potato, and one or two otheis of less consequence. 156. Of animals reared, the quadrupeds were of the same kinds ' as at present ; and to the common sorts of poultry they added thrushes, larks, peacocks, and turtle doves ; they also reared snails, dormice, bees, and fish. The care of the poultry was diiefly committed to the wife of the farmer or bailifi'; and it was principally near Rome and Naples that the more delicate birds were ex- tensively reared. When Rome was at her greatest height, in the time of the Caesars, the minor articles of farm produce bore a very high price. Varro informs us that " fat birds, such as thrushes, blackbirds, &c., were sold at two shillings, and sometimes 5000 of them were sold in a year from one farm. ( Far., lib. iii. cap. 2.) Pea-fowls were sold at i;. ISs. 4d. ; an egg was sold at 3s. Id. A farm produced solmetimes as many of these fowls as to sell at 500/. (Tar., lib. iii. cap. 6.) A pair of fine doves were commonly of the same price with a peacock, \l. 13s. 4d. If very pretty, they were much higher in the price, no less than 81. 6s. Sd. L. Anius, a Roman knight, refused to sell a pair under 131. 6s. Sd." ( Var., lib. iii. cap. 7.) Some kinds of fishes were very highly valued' among the Romans in the time of Varro. Hortensius, whom Varro used frequently t» visit, would sooner have parted with a pair of his best coach-mules, than with a bearded mullet. ( Var., lib. iii. cap. 17.) Herrius's fishponds, on account of the quantity of fish, were sold for 33,333/. 6s. Sd. (Plin. Nat. Hist., lib. ix. cap. 5S.) ; LucuUus's, likewise, for the same price. {Id., lib. ix. cap. 54.) SuBSECT. 7. Of the general Maxims of Farm, MaTiagemeni among the Romans. 157. In every art which has been long jtractised, there are maxims of management •which have been handed down from one generatimi to an,otlier ; and in no art are.there more of these than in agriculture. Maxims of this sort were held among the Romans in the greatest estimation, and their writers have recorded a number derived from the lost Greek writers, and from their own traditionary or experimental knowledge. A few of these shall be noticed, as characteristic of Roman economy, and not without their use in modem times. > 158. To sow less and plough better v^as a maxim indicating that the extent of farms ought to be kept in their proper bounds. Pliny and Virgil consider large farms as pre- judicial, and Columella says, one of the seven wise men has pronounced that there should be limits and measures in all things. " You may admire a large farm, but cul- tivate a small one ; " and the Carthaginian saying, that " the land ought to be weaker than the husbandman," were maxims to the same effect. 159. The importance of tlie master's jrresence in every operation of farming, was in- culcated by many maxims. '* Whoever would buy a field ought to sell his house, lest he delight more in the town than in the country," was a saying of Mago. " Wherever the eyes of the master most frequently approach," says Columella, '* there is' the greatest increase." It is justly remarked by the Rev. A. Dickson, that though " every person knows that the presence and attention of the master is of great importance in every business ; yet every person does not know, that in no business are thev so important as in farming." (Hvsb. of the An., i. 206.) 1 60. 2'hat more is to be gained by cultivating a smail spot well than a large ipace indif- ferently, is illustrated by many sayings and stories. ** A vine-dresser had two daughters • and a vineyard ; when his eldest daughter was married, he gave her a third of his vine- yard for a portion ; notwitlistanding which, he had the same quantity of fruit as formerly. When his younger daughter was married he gave her the half of what remained, and still the produce of his vineyard was not diminished." (Col., lib. iv. cap. 3.) Pliny mentions a freedman, who having much larger crops than his neighbours, was accused of witchcraft 30 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ?*■"■ ^• and brought to trial. He produced in the forum a stout daughter, and his excellently constructed iron sijades, shears, and other tools, witli his oxen, and said, " These, Romans, are my charms." He was acquitted. (JVii*. jffis*., lib. xviii. cap. 6.) 161. Ostentatious or profuse culture is not less condemned than imperfect culture. " The ancients," says Pliny, " assert that nothing turns to less account than to give land o great deal of culture. To cultivate well is necessary, to cultivate in an extraordi- nary manner is hurtful. In what manner, then," he asks, " are lands to be culti- vated to the best advantage ?" To this he answers, " In the cheapest manner, it it is good j" or " by good bad things," which, he says, were the words in which the ancients used to express this maxim. . , 162. Industry is recommended by numerous maxims. " The ancients, ■ says Pliny, " considered liim a bad husbandman who buys what his farm can produce to him ; a bad master of a family, who does in the day-time what he may do at night, except m the time of a storm ; a worse, who does on common days what is lawful on holidays ; the worst of all, who on a good day is employed more witliin doors than in tlie fields." {Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 6.) 163. Kindness and humanity to servants and slaves is strongly recommended. " Slaves," says Varro, " must not be timid nor petulant. They who preside must have some de ree of learning and education ; tliey must be frugal, older than the workmen, for the latter are more attentive to the directions of these, than they are to those of younger men. Besides, it must be most eligible that they should preside, who are experienced in agriculture ; for they ought not only to give orders, but to work, that they may imitate him, and that they may consider that he presides over them with reason, because he is superior in knowledge and experience : nor is he to be suffered to be so imperious to use coercion with stripes rather than words, if this can be done. Nor are many to be procured of the same country, for domestic animosities very often arise from this source. You must en- courage them who preside, by rewarding tliem, and you must endeavour to let them have some privilege, and maid servants wedded to them, by whom they may have a family ; for by tliese means they become more steady and more attached to the farm. On account of these connections, the Epirotic families are so distinguished and attached. To give the persons who preside some degree of pleasure, you must hold them in some estimation ; and you must consult with some of the superior workmen concerning the work that is to be done : when you behave thus, they think that they are less despicable, and that they are held in some degree of esteem by their master. They become more eager for work by liberal treatment, by giving them victuals, or a large garment, or by granting them some recreation or favour, as the privilege of feeding something on the farm, or some such thing. In relation to them, who are commanded to do work of greater drudgery, or who are punished, let somebody restore their good vrill and affection to their master by afford- ing them the benefit of consolation." 164. Knowledge in Tnatters relative to agriculture is inculcated by all the rustic authors. " Whoever," says Columella, " would be perfect in this science, must be well acquainted vrith the qualities of soils and plants ; must not be ignorant of the various climates, tliat so he may know what is agreeable, and what is repugnant, to each ; he must know exactly the succession of the seasons, and the nature of each, lest, beginning his work when showers and wind are just at hand, his labour shall be lost. He must be capable to observe exactly the present temper of the sky and seasons; for these are not always re- gular, nor in every year does the summer and winter bring the same kind of weather, nor is the spring always rainy, and the autumn wet. To know these things before they hap. :i pen, without a very good capacity, and the greatest care to acquire knowledge, is, in mv ' opimon, in the power of no man." {Col., lib. i. prsef.) To these things mentioned by Columella, Virgil adds several others. " Before we plough a field to which we are stranger^, says he, "we must be careful to attain a knowledge of the winds, from what points they blow at the particular seasons, and when and from whence they are most violent; die nature of the climate, which in different places is very different; the cus- toms of our forefathers ; the customs of the country ; the qualities of the different soils ■ and what are the crops that each country and climate produces and reiects " IVirn' Georg.,1. \.) J V' "&■ 165. The maMng of experimmts is a thing very strongly recommended to the farmer bv some of our authors. "Nature," says Varro, " has pointed out to us two paths which ead to the knowledge of agriculture, viz. experience and imitation. The ancienrhu^ bandmen, by making experiments, have established many maxims. Their oosteritv fm^ tlie most part^ imitate them; we ought to do both, imitate others and make experiments ourselves, not directed by chance, but reason." ( Var., lib. i. can. 18 1 >=i""«:"u> Sect. V. Of the Produce and Profit of Roman Agriculture. 166. The topics of produce and profits in agriculture, are very difficult to be discussed sattsfactortly. In manufactures the raw material is purchased foi- a ^m certain, and tlie Book I AGRICULTURE OF THE ROMANS. 3! manipulation given by the manufiicturer can be accurately calculated ; but in fanning, though we know the rent of the land and price of seed-corn, which may be considered the raw materials ; yet the quantity of labour required to bring fortli the produce, depends so much on seasons, accidents, and other circumstances, to which agriculture is more liable than any oilier art, that its value or cost price cannot easily be determined. It is a common mode to estimate the profits of farming by the numerical returns of tlie seed sown. But this is a most fallacious ground of judgment, since the quantity of seed given to lands of different qualities, and of different conditions, is very diiferent ; and the acre, which, being highly cultivated and sown with only a bushel of seed, returns forty for one, may yield no more profit than that which, being in ■> middling condition, requires four bushels of seed, and yields only ten for one. 167. The returns of seed sovm, mentioned by the ancients, are very remai*kable. We have noticed Isaac's sowing and reapmg at Gerar (7. ), where he received a hundred for one. In Mark's gospel, " good seed sown upon good ground, is said to bring forth in some places thirty, in others forty, in others sixty, and in others even an hundred fold." (Mark, iv. 8.) A hundred fold, Varro informs us, was reaped about Garada in Syria, and Byzacium in Africa. Pliny adds, that from the last place, there were sent to Augustus by his factor nearly 400 "stalks, all from one grain ; and to Nero, 340 stalks. He says he has seen the sou of this field, " which when dry the stoutest oxen cannot plough ; but after rain I have seen it opened up by a share, drawn by a wretched ass on the one side, and an old woman on the other." (Nat. Hist., lib. xviii. cap. 5.) The returns in Italy were much less extraordinary. Varro says, there are sown on a jugerum, four modii (pecks) of beans, five of wheat, six of barley, and ten of far (maize) ; more or less as the soil is rich or poor. The produce is in some places ten after one, but in others, as in Tuscany, fifteen afler one." (Lib. i. cap. 44.) This, in round numbers, is at the rate of twenty-one and thirty-two bushels an English acre. On the excellent lands of Leon- tinum in Sicily, the produce, according to Cicero, was no more than from eight to ten for one. In Columella's time, when agriculture had declined, it was slill less. 168. The farmer s profit cannot be correctly ascertained ; but, according to a calculation made by the Rev. A. Dickson, the surplus produce of good land in the time of Varro, was about fifteen pecks of wheat per acre ; and in the time of Columella, lands being worse cultivated, it did not exceed three and one third pecks per acre. "What proportion of this went to the landlord cannot be ascertained. Corn, in Varro's time, was from Ad. to Sid. per peck ; seventy years afterwards, in the time of Columella, it had risen to ls..9d. per peck. Vineyards were so neglected in the time of this author, that they did not yield more to the landlord as rent, than 14s. or 15s. per acre. 169. The price of land, in the time of Columella and Pliny, was twenty-five years' purchase. It was common, both these writers inform us, to receive 4 per cent for capital so invested. The interest of money was then 6 per cent ; but this 6 per cent was not what we would call legal interest ; money among the Romans being left to find its value, like other commodities, of course the interest was always fluctuating. — Such is the essence of what is known as to the produce, rent, and price of lands among the Romans. Sect. VI. Of the Roman Agriculturists, in respect to general Science, and the Advancement of the Art, 170. The sciences cultivated by the Greeks and Romans were chiefly cf the mental and Tnathematical Hnd. They knew nothing of chemistry or physiology, and very little of other brandies of natural philosophy ; and hence their progress in the practical arts was entirely the result of observation, experience, or accident. In none of tlieir agricultural writers is there any attempt made to give the rationale of the practices described : abso- lute directions are either given, as is frequently the case in Virgil and Columella ; or the historical relation is adopted, and the reader is informed what is done by certain persons, or in certain places, as is generally the case with Varro and Pliny. 171. Wherever the phenomena of nature are not accounted for scientificalli/, recourse is had to supernatural causes; and the idea of this kind of agency once admitted, there is no limit that can be set to its influence over the mind. In the early and ignorant ages, good and evil spirits were supposed to take a concern in every thing ; and hence the endless and absurd superstitions of the Egyptians, some of which have been already noticed, and the equally numerous though perhaps less absurd rites and ceremonies of tlie Greeks, to procure their favour, or avert their evil influence. Hesiod considered it of not more importance to describe what works were to be done, than to describe the lucky and unlucky days for their performance. Homer, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and all the Greek authors, are more or less tinctured with this religion, or superstition as we are pleased to call it, of their age. 172. As the Romans made few advances in science, consequently they made equally few in divesting themselves of the superstitions of their ancestors. These, as most readers know, entered into every action and art of that people, and into none more than agri- 32 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE P*"'' '■ culture. In some cases it is of importance for the general reader to be aware o ijs before perusing their rustic authors ; as in tlie case of heterogeneous gral ting, anc ^^^ spontaneous generation and transmutation of plants, which, though stated by g Pliny, and others, as facts, are known to every physiologist to be impossible : u 1 - . - , 1 V rkf thpup we may mention relations are too gross to be entertained as trutlis by any one. ^^ 1^^:^^ _ / the lunar days, tJie impregnation of animals by particular winds, &c. It is i P ■ not heartily to concur with Lord Kaimes in congratulating the present age on us aeovery from such " heavy fetters." It is curious to observe the religious economy ot Uato. After recommending tlie master of the family to be regular in performing his devotions, ne expressly forbids the rest of the family to perform any, either by themselves or otliers, telling them that they were to consider that the master performed sufficient devotions for the family. (Cat., cap. 43.) This was probably intended not only to save time but also to prevent such slaves as had naturally more susceptible imaginations than the others, from becoming religious enthusiasts. 173. ir/mt degree of improve inerU agriculture received from tlie Romans, is a question we have no means of answering. Agriculture appears obviously to have declined from the time of Cato and Varro to Pliny ; and therefore any improvement it received must have taken place antecedently to their era. As these authors, however, generally refer to the Greeks as their masters in this art, it appears veiy doubtful whether they did any thing more tlian imitate their practice. As a more luxurious people, they introduced new fruits, and probably improved the treatment of birds, and other minor products ; but these belong more to gardening and domestic economy, than to field cultivation. In the culture of corn, herbage, plants, and fruit trees, and in the breeding and rearing of cattle, Noah and his sons, tlie Jews, the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Greeks, may have been as far advanced as the Romans, for any thing that appears to the contrary. The great agricultural advantage which mankind have derived from tlie Romans, is the diffusion of the art by their almost universal conquests. Sect. VII. Of the Extent to which Agriculture was carried in the Roman Provinces, and of its Decline. 174. The art qf agriculture was not ordi/faTnUiar to, but held in estimation by, every Ro- man soldier. It was practised by him in every foreign country where he was stationary ; and he taught it to tlie inhabitants of such as were uncultivated. In some countries, as in Carthaginia, great part of Spain, and a part of the south-east of France, agriculture was as far advanced as in Italy; because at Carthage and Marseilles the Greeks had planted colonies, which flourished anterior to the Romans, or at least long before they extended their conquests to these countries : but in Helvetia, Germany, and Britain, it was in a very rude state or unknown. 175 In Germany, except on the borders of the Rhine, agriculture was never generally practised. The greater part of the country was covered with forests; and hunting and pasturage were the chief occupations of the people when not engaged in war. The decline of the Roman power in that country, therefore, could make very little dif- ference a& to its agriculture. 176. In Britain, according to Cajsar, agriculture was introduced by colonies from Relgium, which took shelter there from the encroachments of the Belgae from Germany, about B. C. 150. These colonies began to cultivate the sea coasts ; but the natives of the inland parts lived on roots, berries, flesh, and milk, and it appears from Dionysius that they never tasted fish. Pliny mentions the use of marl as being known to the Britons; and Diodorus Siculus describes their method of preserving com, by laying it up in the ear in caves or granaries. 177. But the general spread of agriculture in Britain was no doubt effected by the Romans. Tlie tribute of a certain quantity of corn, which they imposed on every part of the country, as it fell under their dominion, obliged the inhabitants to practise tillage ; and from the example of the conquerors, and the richness of tlie soil, they soon not only produced a sufficient quantity of corn for their own use and that of the Roman troops but afforded every year a very great surplus for exportation. The Emperor Julian, in tlie fourth century, built granaries to receive this com, and on one occasion sent a fleet of eight hundred ships, " larger tlian common barks," to convey it to the mouth of the Rhine, where it was sent up the country for the support of the plundered inhabitants 178. Agricult,vre among the Ronmns themselves had begun to decline in Varro's time, and was at « low ebb m the days of Phny. Many of the great men in Rome, trusting to their revenues from the provinces, neglected the culture of their estates in Italy • others, m want of money to answer the demands of luxury, raised all they could upon credit or mortgage, and raised the rents of their tenants to an oppressive height to enable tliem to pay the interest. Hie farmer was m this manner deprived of his cTpital • his spirits were broken, and he ceased to exert himself, or became idle and rapacious like his lanfJlord. The civil wars in the end of the second century, the tyrannic conduct of Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 33 tlie emperors in the third ; and the removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople in the middle of that which followed, prepared tlie way for tlie entrance of the Goths in the beginning of the fifth century, which completed the downfal of agriculture and every peaceful art. It declined at the same time in all the western provinces : in Africa and Spain, from the inciirsions of the Moors ; in France, from the inroads of tlie Germans ; in Germany and Helvetia, from the inhabitants leaving theii; country and preferring a predatory life in other states ; and in Britain, from the invasion of the Saxons, and the inroads of the Scots and Picts. Chap. IIL History of Agriculture during the Middle Ages, or from the Fifth to the Seventeenth Century. 179. In the ages of anarchy and barharism which succeeded the fall of the Roman power in Europe, agriculture appears to have been abandoned, or at least extremely neglected. Pasturage, in "troublesome times, is always preferred to tillage, because sheep or cattle may be concealed from an enemy, or driven away on his approach ; but who would sow without a certainty of being able to reap ? Happily, the weaknesses of mankind sometimes serve to mitigate the effects of their vices. ITius, the credulity of the bar- barians of those times led them to respect the religious establishments, and in these were preserved such remains of letters and of arts as had escaped from utter destruction. These institutions were at first very limited, both in their buildings and possessions, and the inhabitants frugal and virtuous in their habits ; but in a very few years, by the grants of the rich warriore, they acquired extensive possessions ; erected the most magnificent buildings, and lived in abundance and luxury. Their lands were cultivated by servants under fhe direction of the priests, who would have recourse for information to the Roman agricultural writers, which, in common with such other books as then existed, were almost exclusively to be found in their libraries. We know little of the progress of agriculture under these circumstances for nearly ten centuries, when it began to revive throughout Europe among the lay proprietors. We shall notice some particulars relative to this revival, first in Italy, and next in Germany, France, and England. So little is knoivn of the husbandry of Spain and the Netherlands during this period, that we shall defer what we have to say of those countries till we treat of their modern state. Sect. I. History of Agriculture in Italy, during the Middle Ages, 180. Little is known cf the agriculture of Italy from the time of Pliny till that of Crescenzio, a senator of Bologna, whose work In Commodum Ruralium, written in 1300, was first printed at Florence in 1478. He was soon followed by several of his countrymen, among whom Tatti, Stefano, Augustine Gallo, Sansovino, ■ Lauro, and Torello deserve to be mentioned with honour. From some records, however, it appears that irrigation had been practised in Italy previously to 1037. The monks of Chiarevalle had formed extensive works of this kind, and had become so celebrated as to be consulted and employed as hydraulic engineers, by the Emperor Frederic I., in the thirteenth century. Silkworms were imported from Greece into Sicily by Roger, the first king of that island, in 1146 ; but they did not extend to the Continental states for many years afterwards. 181 . In the early part of the fourteenth century, the inhabitants of the south of Italy were strangers to many of the conveniences of life ; they were ignorant of the proper cultivation of the vine, and the common people were just beginning to wear shirts. The Florentines were the only people of Italy who, at that time, traded with England and France. The work of Crescenzio is, in great part, a compilation from the Roman authors ; but an edition published at Basil in 1548, and illustrated with figures, may probably be considered as indicating the implements then in use. The plough is drawn by only one ox : but different kinds to be diawn by two and four oxen are described in the text. A driver is also mentioned, which shows that the ploughmen in those days were less expert than during the time of the Romans, who did not use drivers. A waggon is described with a wooden axle and low wooden wheels ; each whed formed either of one piece or of four pieces joined together. Knives, scythes (^fig. 21.), and grafting tools, as well as the mode of performing the operation, are figured. Sowing was then performed exactly as it was among the Romans, and is still in most parts of Europe, where a sowing machine is not employed. The various hand tools for stirring and turning the soil are described and exhibited; and the Roman bidens shown as in use for cultivating the vine. All the agricultural and horti- .. cultural plants described by Pliny are treated of, but no others. D 34 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P*"' ^* 182. Toumrds the end of the sixteenth century, Torello's Ricordo <^';ff*"'ffj'f° tTw published. In 1584, Pope Sixtus, according to Harte (^Essay i.), forfed '"^^"^"^Jj^jg^gj work, that they might pay the heavy taxes imposed on tliem ; and '^y ""^™^ s„nt i„ them happy and contented, and himself rich and powerful. He roun The landlord pays the taxes, and repairs the btuldings ; the tenant provides cattle, implements, and seed ; and the produce is di- vided. In some cases the landlord's half is delivered to him in kind ; in others it is valued annually at har- vest, and paid in money, or partly in money and partly in produce. There are some farmers who have ' leases, generally for short periods, not exceeding nine J years, and pay fixed rents. The size of farms is from ^ ten to sixty acres ; but there are a few of two or three hundred acres. 'Tlie latter, however, are chiefly cul- ' tivated by the proprietors. Farm-houses are of brick, sometunes stuccoed, and covered with tiles. They are not always detached ; but two, three, or more, farmeries are often grouped together, and their united buildings might be mistaken for those of one large farm. One side of a square contains the houses of the farmers, the stables, and cattle-sheds ; and the three others are sheds, supported by columns, and open on all sides, for implements and produce. The metayers never get rich, and are seldom totally ruined ; they are not often changed ; the same farm passes from father to son, like a patrimonial estate. 266. Landed property is generally managed by a steward or factor (fattore), whose business it is to inspect the cultivation of the lands, to direct repairs, pay taxes and tithes, and see that the landlord has his proper share of the produce. Tithes have been greatly lessened by the sale of a great part of the church lands at the revolution ; but are still taken in kind, or commuted for, in order to support the parish clergy. 267. Tlie irrigaiimi of Lombardy is its most remarkable feature. The antiquity of the practice has been already noticed (180). In most states of Italy, the right and property of all rivers, and in some, as Venice, even of springs and rain, are considered as vested in the king or government. All canals taken from rivers are, therefore, purchased from the state, and may be carried through any person's lands, provided they do not pass through a garden, or within a certain distance of a mansion, on paying the value of the ground occupied. Such canals, indeed, are generaUy considered as enhancing the value of the property they pass through, by enabUng them to purchase water, which is sold by the hour, half hour, or quarter, or by so many days' run, at certain fixed times, in tlie year. The nght to water from such canals may even be purchased ; and Arthur Young Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 49 mentions that the fee-simple for an hour's run per week, through a sluice of a certain dimension, near Turin, was, in 1788, 1500 livres. The water is not only used for grass. lands, which, when fully watered, are mown four, and sometimes five, times a year, and in some cases (e. g. Prato Marcita) as early as March ; but is conducted between the narrow ridges of corn-lands, in the hollows between drilled crops, among vines, or to flood, a foot or more in depth, lands which are sown with rice. It is also used for combles, or depositing a surface of mud, in some places where the water is charged with that mate- rial ; smd this is done somewhat in the manner of what we call warping. The details of watering, for these and other purposes, are given in various works ; and collected in those of Professor Re. In general, watered lands let at one third higher than lands unwatered. 268. The implemeTUs and iterations of agrieulture in Lombardy are very imper. feet. The plough is of very rude contrivance, with a handle thirteen or fourteen feet long. It is drawn by two oxen vrithout a driver or reins, the ploughman using a long light rod or goad. The names given to the different parts 32 of the plough are corruptions or variations of the Roman ™ terms sJready mentioned. (111.) Com is generally beaten out by a wheel or large fluted cylinder {Jig, 32.), which is turned in a circular track, somewhat in the manner of a bark-mill in England. 269. The cattle of Piedmont are, in some cases, fed with extraordinary care. They are tied up in stalls ; then bled once or twice ; cleaned and rubbed wifli oil ; afterwards combed and brushed twice a day : their food in summer is clover, or other green herbage ; in winter a mixture ■ of elm leaves, clover-hay, and pulverised walnut-cake, over which boiling water is poured, and bran and salt added. Where grains (pouture) can be procured, they are also given. In a short time, the cattle cast their hair, grow smooth^ round, fat; and so improved as to double their value to the butcher. {Mem. della Soc. Agr., vol. i. p. 73.) 270. The dairies on the plain of the Fo, near Lodi, produce the Parmesan cheese. Tlie peculiar qualities of this cheese depend more on the manner of making than on any thing else. 'Die cows are a mixed breed, between the red Hungarian or Swiss cow, and those of Lombardy. The chief peculiarity in their feeding is, fiiat they are allowed to cat four or five hours in flie twenty -four ; all the rest of the time they are stalled, and get hay. Both their pasture and hay are chiefly from irri- gated lands. The cheeses are made entirely of skimmed milk ; half of that which has stood sixteen or seventeen hours, and half of that which has stood only six. The milk is heated and coagulated in a caldron (Jig. SS.), placed in a very ingenious fire-place, being an inverted ?- semi-cone in brickwork, well adapted for preserving heat and for the use of wood as fuel. Without being taken out of the caldron, the curd is broken very small :!xi3^3i by an implement, consisting of a stick with cross wires ; '^' 1 "^ it is again heated, or rather scalded, till the curd, now a deposition from the whey, has attained a considerable degree of firmness ; it is then taken out, drained, salted, and pressed, and in forty days is fit to put in tlie cheese- loft. The peculiar properties of this cheese seem to . depend on- the mode of scalding the curd ; though the dairyists pretend that it also depends on the mode of feeding the cows^ Where one farmer has not enough of cows to carry on the process himseU^ it is common for two or more to join and keep a partnership account, as in Switzerland. More minute details will be found in Book IV. Part VII. 271. Sheep are not common in Lomhardy: there are flocks on the mountains, but in the plains only a few are kept, in the manner pigs are in England, to eat refuse vegetables. The Merino breed was introduced, and found not to succeed. 272. The rotations of crops ace not so remarkable for preserving the fertility of the soil, aa for an immediate return of profit. The produce however being seldom bulky, the object is defeated. As examples, we may mention, 1. maize drilled; 2, 3, and 4. wheat; 5. maize drilled; 6, 7, and 8. wheat. Another is, 1. fallow ; 2, 3, and 4. rice ; S. fallow ; 6. wheat and clover, &c. Hemp, flax, lupines, rape, millet, jjanic, rye, and sometimes oats, with other crops, enter into the rotations. Rice is reckoned the most profitable crop ; the next, wheat and millet. The rice-grounds receive but one plough- ing, which is given in the middle of March, and the seed is sown at the end of the same month ; sometimes in water up to the seedsman's knees, but more frpqueritly the water is not let on till the rice is come up. '1 he water is then admitted, and left on the ground till the beginning of June, when the crop is weeded by hand, by women half naked, with their petticoats tucked to their waists, wading in the water ; and thSy make so droll a E 80 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P*"'' figure, that parties are often made at that season to go and view the rice-grounds. Whe the weeding is finished, the water is drawn off for eight days ; it is again drawn o; when the ear begins to form, but after its formation is let in again till the rice is nearl ripe, which is about the end of August or beginning of September. The produce is froi: ten to twenty fold. 273. Among the herbage crops cultivated, may be mentioned chiccory, very common i the watered meadows, rib-grass, also very common, oat-grass, and some other grasses but not near the variety of grasses found in the English meadows and pastures ; fenu greek (Trigon^lla L.), clovers, lucerne, saintfoin, and in some places burnet and spurry •274. Among tlie trees grown by the farmer, the mulberry predominates, and is poUardei once or oftener every year for the silltworm. The tree is common in the hedge-rows, an( in rows along with vines parallel to broad ridges. The vine is generally cultivated trained or rather hung on mulberry, maple, or flowering ash pollards, or climbing up tal elms, or in the hedges, or against vidllow poles or rude espalier rails. The olive is no very common, but is planted in schistous declivities in warm situations ; the apple, peai and green gage plum are common. 275. Though tlie agriculture of Lomhardy appears to be practised more for suisistence than for the employment of capital and tlie acquisition of riches, yet, from the effect o irrigation in producing large crops of grass, the profits of rearing silk, and the rigii economy of the farmers, it is thought by Chateauvieux that it sends more produce t< market than any district of Italy. {Italy, let. iv.) SuBSECT. 2. Of the Agriculture of Tuscany. 276. The picture of the agriculture of Tuscany given by Sismondi, a. distinguished literar character of Geneva, who resided five years as a cultivatorin that country, is well known Sismondi arranges the rural economy of this district into that of the plains, ' tlie slopes and the mountains ; and we shall here state the most interesting or characteristic circum stances which occur in his work, or that of Chateauvieux, under these heads. According to Forsyth, one half of Tuscany consists of mountains which produce nothing but timber one sixth of olive and vine hills ; and the remaining third is plain. The whole is distri' buted into eighty thousand fattorie, or stewardships. Each fattoria includes, on an average seven farms. This property is divided among forty thousand families or corporations The Riccardi, the Strozzi, tiie Feroni, and the Benedictines rank first in the number The clergy keep tlie farmers well disciplined in faith, and tlirough the terror of bad crops they begin to extort the abolished tithes. This was in 1802: tithes are again fulh established under the Austrian power. 277. TJie climate of Tuscany is esteemed the best in Italy, with the exception of tha of its maremme, or pestilential region on the sea-coast. The great heats commence a the end of June, and diminish in the middle of September ; the rest of the year is ; perpetual spring, and vegetation in the plains is only interrupted for two or three week; in the middle of winter. On the mountains there is snow all the year ; and the hilh districts enjoy a temperate but irregular weather in summer, and a winter of from one U three months. 278. The soil of the plains is either sand or mud of " inexpressible fertility ;" som< parts were marshy, but the surface is now comparatively elevated and enriched (as wa tliat of the Delta) by combles (colmata), or warping, a process ably described b] Sismondi. {Agr. Tuscan., § ii.) 279. Irrigation in the jylains is practised in all the different modes as in Lomhardy, bu on a smaller scale, correspondent with their extent. 280. Tlie plain is every where enclosed. The fields are parallelograms, generally on< hundred feet broad, and four or five hundred feet long, surrounded by a ditch plantec with Lombardy poplars and vines, with rows, lengthwise, of mulberries, maple, or th< flowering or manna ash, also interspersed with vines ; and 34 often, by the way-sides, these hang in festoons, from tall elms. (fg. 34.) The poplars supply leaves for feeding heifers, rods which are sold for making espaliers for vines, and spray for fuel. Every now and then a few are cut down for timber, as at twenty years they are found to be too large for the situation. Tlie top of the ash and maple is used for fuel ; the timber for implements of husbandry. Tlie mulberi-y is pollarded every otlier year for the leaves, which are stripped off for the silk- worms, and the spray used as fuel. The produce of raw silk -. is one of the most important in Tuscany, and is almost the only article the farmer of th< plains has to exchange for money. He has wine also, it is true, but that, though pro- duced in abundance, is of so wretched a quality, compared with that of the hills, that ii brings but little. Hedges are only planted on the road sides to keep off beggars anc thieves, who are very numerous, and who steal the grapes and the ears of maize. Some- Book I- AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 51 35 n /Q\<^ Miiltew times the grapes next the road are sprinkled with mud or lime-water to deter them ; at other times a temporary dead fence of thorns is used during the ripening season and taken down aftenvards. The hedge plants are tlie hawthorn, sloe, bramble, briar, evergreen rose, ilex, service, myrtle, pomegranate, bay, laurel, &c, 281. In the arable lands of the plains, the row and mostly the raised drill culture are generally followed, or tlie land is ploughed into beds of three or four feet broad, between which water is introduced in the furrows. Every year a third of the farm is turned over with a spade to double the depth of the plough, so as to bring a new soil to the surface. The sort of trenching which effects this is performed differently from that of any other country ; the spade being thrust in horizontally or obliquely, and the trench formed by taking off successive layers from tlie top of the firm side, and turning them regularly over in the trench. In this way the surface is completely reversed. 282. The rotation of crops in the plain includes a period of three or five years, and five or seven crops. There are, for a three-yeais' course ; I. wheat or other grain, and lupines in the autumn ; 2. corn of some sort, and turnips or clover in tlie autumn ; 3. maize, panic, or common millet, and Indian or black millet (H61cus S6rgkum). Com is cut about the end of June close to the earth, left to dry a day or two, and then tied in bundles (bottes), and put in cocks for a week or two. At the end of this period the ears are cut off, and beaten out on a smooth prepared piece of ground in the farm-yard. The straw is stacked, and the com cleaned by throwing it witii shovels, &c. The com is laid up till wanted in oval excavations in dry ground, which are covered with tiled roofs. The excavations are lined with straw ; one holds from twenty to a hundred sacks, and being covered with straw, is heaped over with earth. In this way it is kept in perfect pre- servation a year or longer, and untouched by insects. The lupines sown after wheat are often ploughed in for manure ; sometimes French beans are substituted, and the ripe seeds used as food ; or turnips are sovm for cattle. They have few sorts of turnips that are good ; and Sismondi complains that half of them never bulb. Maize is sown in drills, and forms a superb crop in appearance, and no less important, constituting the principal food of the lower classes in every part of Italy where the chestnut does not abound. When the male flowers of the maize be- gin to fade, they are cut off by degrees, so as not to injure the swelling grain ; the leaves are also cut off about that time, cattle being remarkably fond of tliem. In the plain of Bologna, hemp, flax, and beans enter into the rotation. 283. Cattle in the plains are kept con- . stantly in close warm houses, and fed'^ with weeds, leaves, or whatever can be got. The oxen in Tuscany are all dove- coloured ; even those which are im- ported from other states, are said to change their coat here. They are guided in the team by reins fixed to rings which are inserted in their nostrils ; sometimes two hooks, jointed like pincers, are used for the same purpose. In general, only one crop in four is raised for the food of cattle, so that tliese are not numerous ; it may thus appear that manure would be scarce, but the Tuscan farmers are as assiduous in preserving every particle both of himian and animal manure as the Flemings. 284. The Jarm-houses of the plain of Tuscany, according to Lasteyrie {^CoU. de Mack,), are constructed with more taste, solidity, and convenience, than in any other country on the Continent. They are built of stones generally, in rubble work, with good lime and sand, which become as hard as stucco, and they are covered with red pantiles. The elevation (Jig. 35.) presents two deep recesses, the one a porch or com- mon hall to the ground floor, or bus- d n ) E 2 52 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ^*'"' *• bandiy part of the edifice (a) ; and the other above it to the dwelling family apartments. The ground floor consists of this porch, wliich is arched over (o), a workshop (A), a "^''"^^ and tool-room (c), pigsty (d), poultry-house (e), a stove (/), staircase (g), stable (/«;, cow or ox house (t), and sheep-house {k). The dwelling floor consists of the upper gallery or open hall (/), wliicli serves as a sort of kitchen, work-room, or scullery, a kitcnen (m), a master and mistress's room (n), a girls' room (o), a boys' room {p), a store room (fl), and silkworm room (r). , . « 285. The peasants, or farmers, of the plains are for the most part metayers ; tiieir fai-ms are from five to ten acres, each having a house and offices, like that just described, towards its centre. Some pay a fixed rent on short leases ; and some hold farms on improving leases which extend to four generations. They are more than economical ; never tasting butcher's meat but on Sunday. The three repasts of the other days are eiUier of porndge of maize and a salad ; porridge of bread and French beans, seasoned with ohve oil ; or of some sort of soup. In general the whole family remain at home, and aid their parents in performing the labours of tlie farm. Seldom any but the oldest son marries ; and when tlie father dies he succeeds in his turn, and his brothers and sisters serve him as they did their father till they die off, and are replaced by their nephews and nieces. Such is the state of things wliich, as Chateauvieux has observed, is the result of early civilisation and excessive population. 286. r/ie adture of the hills and declivities, Chateauvieux supposes to have been intro- duced from Canaan at the time of the crusades : but, though that culture, and also tlie irrigation system, have, no doubt, been originally copied from that country and Egypt, yet some think it more likely to have been imported by the Romans or the priests, than by the chivalric adventurers of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. 287. The soil of the hills is in general either schistous or calcareous, on a pliable rocky or gravelly bottom. ]t is cut into horizontal terraces, of different widths according to the steepness of the declivity, and each terrace is supported by a wall or sloping bank of turf or stones. Intercepting gutters are formed every sixty or seventy feet, in the direction of the slope, to carry off the waters which do not sink in the rainy season. Sismondi con- siders the turfed terraces of the hills of Nievole the most elegant. On the tenaces of the most rapid and least favourably exposed slopes, olives are planted ; on the best exposure, vines. Where the terrace is broad, two rows of mulbenies, and sometimes of fig trees, are planted, and between these, where tlie soil is not too dry, early crops of grain or legumes are taken. The walls of turf are mown. *288. Tlie olive being an evergreen, and in a state of growth all the year, requires a more equable climate than the vine; but it will grow on any dry soil, and in an inferior exposure, because the fruit never ripens till the hoar frosts have commenced. The young plants are raised from cuttings or suckers in a nursery, and in the same manner in wliich it was during the time of the Romans. " An old tree is hewn down, and the ceppo, or stock (that is, the collar or neck between the root and the trunk, where in all plants the principle of life more eminently resides), is cut into pieces of nearly the size and shape of a mushroom, and which from that circumstance are called novali ; care at the same time is taken tliat a small portion of bark shall belong to each novalo ; these, after having been dipped in manure, are put into the earth, soon throw up shoots, are transplanted at tlie end of one year, and in three years are fit to form an olive yard." {Blunt' s Vestiges, 216.) They are planted generally fifteen feet apart in rows, with the same distance between the rows. 289. Tlie olive is of very slow growth but of great duration. Some plantations exist, which are supposed to be those mentioned by PUny, and therefore must have existed nearly two thousand years, if not more. In one of these, which we have seen in tlie vale of Marmora, near Temi, the trunks of many trees have rotted at the core, and the circumference has split open and formed several distinct stems. Though in ruins, these trees still bear abundant crops. The olive requires little pruning, and is seldom otherwise manured tlian by sowing lupines under it, and digging them in. The fruit becomes black in November ; is gathered in Ihe course of that and the three following months ; and ground in a stone trough by a stone turned by a water-wheel. Tlie paste formed by the fruit, and its kernels, is then put in a hair cloth and pressed, and the oil drops in a tub of water somewhat warm, from which it is skimmed and put in glass bottles for sale, or glazed jars for home consumption. The paste is moistened and pressed a second and third time for oils of inferior quality. The crop of olives is very uncertain ; sometimes one that yields a profit does not occur for six or eight years together, as in the culture of wine and cider : and these departments of culture on the Continent are considered as injurious to the peasant, because in the year of plenty he consumes his superfluous profits, without laying any thing aside to meet the years of loss. Hence the remark common in France and Italy, that wine and oil farming is less beneficial than that of corn. 290. 2'Ae vine on the Mils is generally raised where it is to remain, by planting cuttings; but it is also planted with roots procured by layering : in either case, it seldom bears fruit Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 5S till the fifth year after planting. It is trained on trees, poles, and trellised rooft, over paths, and different kinds of espalier rails. The poles are of barked chestnut, and the lesser rods used are generally of reeds ; the latter forms a profitable article of culture on tile brink of water-coui-ses for this purpose. These reeds last from one to four years, according to their size. The lies used in binding the vine both on the hills and plains are of willow, often the yellow or golden sort. The general maxim, in pruning the vine is to leave as much wood to one stool as possible, in order to prevent two shoots from proceeding from one eye, in wliich case both are generally barren. They give no summer pruning ; but, when the fruit is nearly ripe, tliey cut off the extremities of the shoots for the sake of the leaves as forage, and to admit the sun and air more directly to the fruit. The pruning-hook they use (Jig. 36.) is not unlike a hand hedge-bill. The fruit is gathered by women, and put into baskets and hampers ; then carried to a tub or cistern of masonry, where itlies and ferments, being frequently stirred, but not pressed as in France and other parts of Italy. Tlie management of the vidne is not considered good ; and there are but few sorts of Tuscan wine that will keep above a year. 291. The jfotato, little known in Lombardy, was introduced in the hills of Tuscany by Sismondi, but was little cultivated or esteemed. It is only known, he says, to the gardeners of Florence and Leghorn. If not taken up about the middle of July, the tubers are either burned and rotted by the heat, or they germinate at every bud. An early sort, he thinks, might be introduced both in the plain and hill culture with great advantage. 292. The hill farmers, like those of the plains, are generally metayers, and rent their farms, which seldom exceed seven or eight acres ; and the most general conditions of their lease (bail), according to M. Sismondi, are the following ; — 1. The farmer engages to cultivate the lands, and find the requisite props for the vines. 2. To advance the half of tlie seed, and the half of the dung that is obliged to be purchased. 3. To deliver to the proprietor half the crop, or sell it for his account. 4. To divide with tlie proprietor the profit made on cattle, and to deliver a certain number of eggs, chickens, and capons in lieu of that on poultry. 5. To wash the whole or a part of the proprietor's linen, he finding soap. The proprietor on his part engages to advance the other half of the seed, and of the manure which must be purchased ; to be at the expense of making up new grounds and other radical improvements, to effect repairs, &c., and to find the first props for newly planted vines. This contract goes on from year to year, and can only be dissolved by a year's notice ; changes, however, very seldom take place. The conditions in some places are more severe for the fanner ; and on oil and certain other articles he only receives a third of the profits. 293. The culture of the mountains of Tuscany consists of the harvesting of chestnuts, and the management of live stock and of forests.- - The chestnut trees, Sismondi is of opinion, have been originally planted, but they now receive no other care than that of replacing a worn out tree by a young one, and cutting out dead wood, which is done more for the sake of fuel than any thing else. The fruit is gathered in November, after it drops on the turf: it is eaten either in its natural state, or it is ground into meal and prepared as flour. Such as are to be ground, are first kilndned ; next, they are put into small bags, which hold half a bushel each, and these are beat against the groimd till the outer husk is removed ; they are then taken out, the outer husks separated, and the chestnuts replaced, and beat as before till the inner husk comes off'; they are then cleaned in the wind, and sent to a com-mill to be ground. The flour tliey produce has no bran, and is mild and sweet, and keeps well. Lands covered witli chestnuts are valued, not by their extent, but by the number of sacks of fruit annually produced. Chestnut flour is chiefly used in the form of porridge or pudding. In the coffee-houses of Lucca, Fesda, and Pistoja, pat^s, mufiins, tarts, and other articles are made of it, and are considered delicate. 294. The management of sheep in the mountains is rude and unprofitable, and so little is mutton esteemed in Tuscany that it always sells at two or three sous a pound under every other meat. The sheep are pastured all the summer under the chestnut trees ; but in October, when the fruit begins to fall, they are sent to the maremmes, where they remsdn till the May or June following, at the cost of not more than a penny a head. A wretched cheese is made from tlie milk ; but, bad as it is, it is better than what is made from the milk of goats or cows. The Tuscans, indeed, are so unwilling to believe that good cheese can be produced from the latter animals, that they consider the Dutch and other excellent foreign cheeses which they purchase at Leghorn, as all made from the milk of sheep, 295. Forests of timber trees cover the highest parts of the mountains. These form sources of profit to the peasantry, independently of the sale of timber, which is very limited, ovring to the difiiculty of carriage. Hogs are pastured there, left to themselves tlie whole year, and only sought for when wanted for the butcher. Their flesli is excellent, E 3 S"! HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. and, being very abundant in the markets of most parts of Italy, is not dear. Acorns are collected in some places, and sold to the farmers of the plains, for feeding swine. The cones of the J^nus Pinea (Jig. 37.) are -v k % collected, and the seeds taken out : these are _ OvT^\ (l I \ ^^ much esteemed, and bear a high price. Hie , same tiling is, in some places, done with the cones of the wild pine, commonly but erro- neously called the Scotch fir (7'inus sylv^s- tris L.), whose seeds are equally good, though smaller. Strawberries, bramble-berries, goose- berries, currants, raspberries, and other wild fruits, are collected, and either sold publicly in the markets of the pliuns, or privately to the confectioners for flavouring ices; an article in great demand throughout all Italy. Slsmondi seems to have been the first who noticed that the black mulberry was grown in the mountains for its leaves, being considered as hardier than the wliite. The fruitwas only eaten by children. In the plains and gardens of Italy the mulberry is scarcely known as a fruit tree, though the white species is every where grown for the silkworm. 296. The mountain farmers are generally proprietors of their farms. They live togetlier in villages, which are very numerous ; many of them hire themselves to the farmers of the maremmes, where there is a scarcity of population, to assist in their harvests ; and with the money saved in this way, and by sending fruits, collected by their wives and children, to the towns in the plains, they are generally better off than the farmers of the lulls, or of the low country. 297. The agricultural establishment of JRossore may be mentioned as belonging to Tuscany. It is situated at the gate of Pisa, and was founded by tlie family of Medici, in the time of the ci*usades, and now belongs to government. A league square of ground,' wliich was so poor and sandy as to be unfit for culture, was surroimded by a fence, and, having been left to itself, has now the appearance of a neglected pai'k. A building was erected in its centre as a lodge, and the grounds were interspersed witli stables and sheep houses. The park was stocked with an Arabian stallion and a few mares, and some Asiatic camels ; and these were left to breed and live in a state of nature. About the beginning of the present century a flock of Merino sheep was added. The horses have formed themselves into distinct tribes or troops, each of fifteen or twenty mares governed by a stallion. These tribes never mix together, each has its quarter of pasture wliicli they divide among themselves witliout the interference of shepherds. TTie shape of these horses is wretched, and the spare or superfluous ones are sold only to fuel-drivers (coalmen, carbonari) and the post. There are more than two hundred camels wliich associate together, and multiply at pleasure. They are worked in the plough and cart, and the spare stock supplies all the mountebanks of Europe, who buy them at the low price of six or seven louis each. The next feature of this establishment is a herd of 1800 wild bulls and cows, fierce and dangerous : the superfluous stock of these is either hunted and killed for their hides and flesh, or sold alive to the farmers to be fed or worked. The flock of Merinos are but lately introduced. Such are the cliief features of this establish- ment, which Chateauvieux terms a specimen of Tatar culture. It is evident it has no other art or merit than tliat of allowing the powers and instincts of nature to operate in their own way ; and it forms a very singular contrast to the highly artificial state of rural economy in Tuscany. SuBSECT. 8. Of the Agriculture of the Maremmes, or the District of Pestilential Air. 298. The extent of this district is from Leghorn to Terracina in length; and its widest part is in the states of the church ; it includes Rome, and extends to the base of the Apennines. *299. The climate if the maremmes is so mild that vegetation goes on during the whole of the winter ; but so pestilential that there are scarcely any fixed inhabitants in tliis immense tract of country, with the exception of those of the towns or cities on its borders. 300. The surface is flat or gently varied ; and the soil in most places deep and rich. In the maremmes of Tuscany it is in some places a blue clay abounding in sulphur and alum, and produces almost nothing but coltsfoot ( TussilSlgo). 301. The estates are generally extensive, and let in large farms, at fixed rents, to men of capital. The maremmes of Rome, forty leagues in extent, are divided into a few hundred estates only, and let to not more than eighty farmers. These farmers grow com, and pasture oxen of their own ; and in winter they graze the wandering flocks of the mountains of Tuscany and other states at so much a head. The corn grown is chiefly wheat, wliich is reaped by peasants from the mountains, some of whom also stay Book I, AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 55 'bti^ybb-. and assist in sowing the succeeding crop ; after which the whole disappear, and the maremmes remain a desert with a few men, whom Chateauvieux designates as « half savages, who run over these solitudes like Tatars, armed with long lances, and covered with coarse woollens and untanned skins." The lance they use in hunting down the oxen when they are to be caught for the butcher, or to be broken in for labour j and the clothing alluded to has been recommended by tlie medical men of Rome, as the most likely to resist the attacks of the-malaria (bad air), or pestilence. 302. The agricultural implements and operations differ little from those of other parts of Italy. The plough, or araire, of Rome (^> 38.) is a rude implement, with a broad flat share, on the hinder end of which tlie ' ploughman stands ; and thus drawn along, his weight makes a deeper furrow. Two strips of wood (the bintB aures of Virgil), about eighteen inches long, are often attached to the share, diverging a little from each other, and these serve to lay open the furrow like our mould-board. In the operation of propagating the vine, cuttings are planted in trenches four feet S9 J[_ n ! 1! _n I II || I] (I deep, into which stones "^ " ~ have been previously ' thrown, for the alleged purpose of encouraging moisture about the roots. The same mode was practised in Vir- gil's time. (Georg., ii. 346.) The common Roman cart (Jig. 39.) is supposed to have been originally de- igned by the celebrated Michael Angelo, in his quality of engineer and wheeler. (See Lasteyrie, Col. des Mack.) 303. The farm ofCampo Morto (field of death) includes the whole property of St. Peter's church in Rome, which is supported from its sole revenue. This vast estate is situated in. the Pontine marshes, and the following outline of its management is taken from a letter of Chdteauvieux, written in July 1813 ■ — 30*. The farmery^ the only building on an estate of many thousand acres, consists of a central building and two wings, the ground-floor of the central part consists of an immense kitchen and five large rooms, the latter without windows, and unfurnished. The first story consists of six rooms, used as corn-chambers, with the exception of one, which was furnished, and served to lodge the principal officers. ' The two wings contained large vaulted stables, with hay-lofts over. One female lived in the nouse, in order to cook for the officers or upper servants, whose wives and families live in the towns as do those of the shepherds. There was no garden, nor any appearance* of neatness or cleanliness, and not a fence or a hedge, and scarcely a tree on the whole farm. S05. The fatUyrCy or steward, was an educated man, and a citizen of Rome, where his family lived ; he and all the other officers, and even shepherds, always went out mounted and armed. 306. T%e reapers were at work in a distant part of the estate, when Chateauvieux went over it : they were an immense band, ranged as in the order of battle, and guarded by twelve chiefs or overseers on horseback, with lances in their hands. These reapers had lately arrived from the mountains; half were men and the rest women. ** They were bathed in sweat ; the sun was intolerable ; the men were good figures, but the women were frightful. They had been some days from the mountains, and the fbul air had begun to attack them. - Two only had yet taken the fever; but they told me, from that time a great number would be seized every day, and that by the end of harvest the troop would be reduced at least one half. . What then, I said, becomes of these unhappy creatures P They give them a morsel of bread, and send them back. But whither do they go ? They take the way to the mountains ; some remain on the road, some die, but others arrive, suf&xiag under, misery and inanition, to come again the following year." 307. Tfte cam is threshed fifteen days after being cut : the grain is trodden out under the feet of horses, cleaned, and carried to Rome. The straw was formerly suffered to be dispersed by the wind ; but it is now collected in heaps at regular distances over the country, and always on eminences : there it lies ready to be burned on the approach of " those clouds of grashoppers which often devastate the whole pf this country,'* 308. The live stock qf the farm consisted of a hundred working oxen ; several hundreds of wild cows and bulls, kept for maintaining the stock, and for the sale of their calves and heifers ; two thousand swine, which are fktted upon nuts and acorns in thelforests belonging to the estate; and a hundred horses for the use of the herdsmen. There were four thousand sheep on the low grounds, and six hundred and eighty thou- sand on the mountains belonging to the estate. Of the latter, eighty thousand were of the Negretti breed, whose wool it was intended to have manufactured into the dresses of all the mendicant monks in Italy, and' into the great coats of the shepherds ; the rest were of the Fouille breed, which produces a white wool, but only on the upper part of.tne body. As mutton is not good in Italy, and but little eaten, they kill most of the tup-lambs as soon as they are bom, and milk the ewes to make cheese. The temporary flocks had not arrived when Chateauvieux was at Campo Morto, the fields not being then cleared of their crops. 309. The farmjer of this extensive domain is M. Trucci, who pays a, rent for it of 22,000 piastres (4950/.). This, said M. Trucci to Chateauvieux, ** supposes an extent of three thousand rubbi, or six thousand acres, of culturable land. I have nearly as E 4 56 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. I"*"^ ^' much that is not fit for the plough, and it is there my pigs and my cows P""'^'P^'^j "?„ j My three thousand rubbi are divided into nearly nine equal parts of three hundrea thirty rubbi each : one of these is in faUow, another in corn, and the seven °"'^'^° pasture. On the two thousand three hundred rubbi, wliich remain in grass, i *"PI. four thousand sheep, four hundred horses, and two hundred oxen, and I reserve * PO for hay. In the macchie (bushy places, woody wastes) I have seven hundred cows, and sometimes nearly two tliousand pigs. • , . , „ j /. ^ SIO. My ey,enses " are limited to paying the rent of the fanrn, to P"-"*^'"? ^^^^ the workmen, and to the entire maintenance of my army of shepherds, superintendents, and the fattore ; to paying for the work of the day-labourers, of the harvest-men, &c. and, in short, t^ the ekpense of moving the flocks, and to what, m large farms, are cal cd the extra-aarges, the amount of which is always very high. There must also be deducted from the gross profits of the flock about one tenth, which belongs, m different proportions, to my chirfs and to my shepherds, because I support this tenth at my expense. We have also, in this mode of culture, to sustain great losses on our cattle, notwithstanding which I must acknowledge that our farming is profitable. , .■■ « 311. Of annual profit " I average above five thousand piastres, besides five per cent on the capital of my flocks. You see, then, that the lands in the Campagna of Rome, so despised, and in such a state of wildness, let at the rate of eighteen francs (fifteen shilhngs) the Paris acre : there is an immense quantity in France which does not let for so much. They would, doubtlessly, let for more if they were divided and peopled, but not m the proportion supposed : for the secret in large farms consists in their economy ; and nothing on the subject of agricultural profit is so deceptive as the appearance tliey present to our view, for the profit depends solely on the amount of the economical combinations, and not on the richness of the productions displayed to the eye." (^Letters on Italy.) SuBSECT. 4. Of Farming in the Neapolitan Territory, or the Land of Ashes. 312. The farming on the volcanic soil, in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius, belongs to the valley farming of Tuscany ; but, as it varies a little, and as tlie farmers are much more wretched, we shall give the following relation, as received by Chateauvieux from a Neapolitan metayer : — 313. We, poor metayers, he said, « occupy only so much land as we can cultivate by our own families, that is to say, four or five acres. Our condition is not a good one, since we get for our trouble only a third of the produce, two thirds belonging to the, owner, which we pay in kind into the hands of the steward. We have no ploughs, and the whole is cultivated by the spade. It is true that the soil, being mixed with ashes, , is easily stirred ; and even our children assist us in this work. At times the mountain, hence named Vesuvius, pours forth showers of ashes, which spread over our fields and fertilise them. 314. The trees which you see on the land, " are not without their use ; they support the vine, and give us fruit ; we also carefully gatiier their leaves : it is the last autumnal crop, and serves to feed our cattle in the winter. We cultivate, in succession, melons, between the rows of elms, which we carry to the city to sell ; after which we sow wheat. When the wheat crop is taken off, we dig in the stubble, which is done by our families, to sow beans or purple clover. During six months, our children go every morning to cut a quantity of it with the sickle, to feed the cows. We prefer the females of the buiBiloes, as they give most milk. We have also goats, and sometimes an ass, or a small' horse, to go to the city and carry our burthens ; but this advantage belongs only to the richer metayers. 315. We plant the maixe " the following spring, after clover or beans. We manure the land at this time, because this plant is to support our families ; this crop, therefore^ interests us more than all the others, and the day in which it is harvested is <* day of festivity in our country. All the villagers assemble together, the young women dance, and the rest of us walk slowly, being laden with our tools : arrived at our dwellings, each family goes into its own ; but they are so near each other, that we can still converse together. 316. We often gather seven ears from one stalk of maixe, " and many of them are three palms long. When the sun is high, the father of the family goes into the adjoining field to get some melons, while the children gather fi-uit from the surrounding fig trees. The fruit is brought under an elm tree, round which the whole family sits ; after this repast the work begins again, and does not cease until the close of day. Each family then visits its neighbours, and tells of the rich crop the season has bestowed upon them, 3 1 7. We have no sooner gotten in the maize than the earth is again dug, to be sown oncd more with wheat ; after this second crop, we grow in the fields only vegetables of different kinds. Our lands thus produce wine and fruit, corn and vegetables, and leaves and grass for the cattle. We have no reason to complain of their fertility ; ' but our conditions are Book I, AGRICULTURE IN ITALY. 57 hard, little being left for our pains ; and if tlie season is not propitious, the metayer has much to complain of." (^Letters on Italy.) 318. The cotton plant (Gossypium herbaceum) {Jig. 40.) is beginning to be cultivated in the neighbourhood of Vesuvius, and in Sicily. It is sown in March, in lines three feet distant, and the plants two feet apart in the lines. TKe earth is stirred by a one-horse plough, or by hoes, and carefully weeded. As soon as the flowering season is over, about the middle of September, the ends of the shoots are nipped off, to determine the sap to the fruit. The capsules are collected as tliey ripen ; a tedious process, lasting two months : the cotton and the seeds are then separated ; an operation still more tedious. The most ex- tensive cotton farmers are in the vale of Sorento. There the rotation is, 1. maize; 2. wheat, followed by beans, which ripen next March ; 3. cotton ; 4. whiat, followed by clover ; S. melons, followed by French or common beans. Thus, in five years, are produced eight crops. In this district, wherever water can be commanded, it is distributed, as in Tuscany and Lombardy, among every kind of crop. 319 Tlie tomatOi or love apple (i^olanum Lycop^rsicum i.), so extensively used in Italian cookery, forms also an article of field culture near Pompeii, and especially in Sicily, whence they are sent to Naples, Rome, and several towns on the Mediterranean sea. It is treated much in the same way as the cotton plant. 320. Tlie orange, lemon, peach. Jig, and various other fruits, are grown in the Nea- politan territory, both for home use and exportation : but their culture we consider to belong to gardening. 321. Tlie Neapolitan maremmes, near Salerno, to the evils of those of Rome, add that of a wretched soil. They are pastured by a few herds of buffaloes and oxen ; the herdsmen of which have no other shelter during the night than reed huts ; these desert tracts being without either houses or ruins. The plough of this ancient Greek colony is thought to be the nearest to that of Greece, and has been already adverted to (31.). 322. Tlie manna, a concrete juice, forms an article of cultivation in Calabria. This, substance is nothing more than the exsiccated juice of the flowering ash tree (O'mus rotundifolia), which grows there wild in abundance. In April or May, the peasants make one or two incisions in the trunk of the tree with a hatchet, a few inches deep ; and insert a reed in each, round which the sap trickles down : afler a month or two they return, and find this reed sheathed with manna. The use of manna, in medicine, is on the decline. 323. TlieJUberts and chestnuts of the Calabrian Apennines are collected by the farmers, and sold in Naples for exportation or consumption. 324. T/ie culture of indigo and sugar was attempted in the Neapolitan territory, under the reign of Murat. The indigo succeeded ; but sufficient time had not elapsed to judge of the sugar culture when it was abandoned. The plants, however, grew vigorously, and tJieir remains may still (1819) be seen in the fields near Terradna. *525 Oysters have been bred and reared in the Jdngdom of Naples from the time of the Romans. The subject is mentioned by Nonnius {Be Reb. Gb., 1. iii. t. 37.) ; and by Pliny {Nat. Hist., b. xviii. u. 54.). Count Lasteyrie {Col. desMach.) describes the place mentioned by the latter author, as it now exists in the Lake. Facino, at Baia. Tliis lake ( fio- ^^') communicates with tlie sea by a narrow passage. On the water near its margin, 68 HISTORY OP AGUICULTURE. P^""^ ^• a bouse (c) is constructed for those who take care of the oysters, and who sell them to tlie dealers in Naples, or to those who come and eat them on the spot ; and adjoining the house is a covered enclosure (6), where the oysters are kept till wanted. Along the margin of the lake, and in most parts of it, are placed circles of reeds (o), with tlieir sum- mits above the water. The spawn of the oysters attaches itself to tliese reeds, and grows tliere till of an edible size : tlie oysters are then removed to the reserve (b), and kept there till wanted. In removing them the reeds are pulled up one by one, examined, and the full-grown oysters removed and put in baskets, while the small-sized and spawn are suBercd to remain, and the reed is replaced as it was. The baskets are then placed m the reserve, and not emptied till sold. In two years from the spawn, Lasteyrie observes, tlie oyster is fully grown. Sect. II. Of the present State of Agriculture m Switzerland. 326. The agriculture of Switzerland is necessarily of a peculiar nature, and on a very confined scale. The country is strictly pastoral ; little corn is produced, and the crops are scanty and precarious. Cattle, sheep, and goats constitute the chief riches and dependence of tlie inhabitants. Each proprietor farms his own small portion of land ; or tlie mountainous tracts belonging to tlie communities are pastured in common. But, whether private or common property, it is evident that mountainous pastures are little susceptible of improvement. (For. Quart, and Continent- Miscell,, Jan. 1828.) 327. Though of a very primitive kind, this agriculture is not witliout interest, from the nice attention required in some parts of its operations. The surface, soil, and climate of the country, are so extraordinarily irregular and diversified, that in some places grapes ripen, and in many others corn will not arrive at maturity ; on one side of a hill tlie inhabitants are often reaping, while they are sowing on the other ; or they are obliged to feed the cattle on its summits with leaves of evergreens while they are making hay at its base. A season often happens in which rains during harvest prevent the corn from being dried, and it germinates, rots, and becomes useless ; in others it is destroyed by frost. In some cases there is no com to reap, from the effect of summer storms. In no country is so much skill required in harvesting com and hay as Switzerland ; and no better school could be found for the study of that part of Scotch and Irish farming. After noticing some leading features of the culture of the cantons which form the republic, we shall cast our eye on the mountains of Savoy. SuBSECT. 1. Of the Agriculture of tlie Swiss Cantons. 328. Agriculture began to attract public attention in Switzerland about the middle of the eighteentli century. In 1759, a society for the promotion of rural economy esta- blished itself at Berne : they offered premiums, and have published some useful papers in several volumes. Long before that period, however, the Swiss farmers were considered the most exact in Europe. {^Stanyan^s Account of Switzerland in 1714.) Chateauvieux attributes the progress which agriculture has made, near Vevay, on the Lake of Geneva, to the settlement of the protestants, who emigrated thither from France, at the end of the seventeenth century. They cut tlie hills into terraces, and planted vines, which has so much increased the value of the land, that what was before worth little, now sells at 10,000 francs per acre. (£ef. xxi.) Improvement in Switzerland is not likely to be rapid ; because agriculture there is limited almost entirely to procuring the means of subsistence, and not to the employment of capital for profit. 329. Landed jwojierty in Switzerland is minutely divided, and almost always farmed by the proprietors and their families : or it is in immense tracts of mountain belonging to the bailiwicks, and pastured in common : every proprietor and burgess having a right according to the extent of liis property. These men are, perhaps, the most frugal cultivators in Europe : they rear numerous families, a part of which is obliged to emigrate, because there are few manufactures ; and land is excessively dear, and seldom in the market. 330. The valleys of the Aljrine regions of Switzerland are subject to very peculiar injuries from the rivers, mountain rocks, and glaciers. As the rivers are subject to vast and sudden inundations, from the thawing of the snow on the mountains, they bring down at such times an immense quantity of stones, and spread them over the bottoms of the valleys. Many a stream, which appears in ordinary times inconsiderable, has a stony bed of half a mile in breadth, in various parts of its course ; thus a portion of the finest land is rendered useless. The cultivated slopes, at the bases of the mountains, are subject to be buried under iboulemens, when the rocks above fall down, and sometimes cover many square miles with their ruins. 331. E'bmlement (Fr) denotes a falling down of a mountain or mass of rock, and consequent covering of the lower grounds with its fragments ; when an immense quantity of stones are suddenly brought dowS from, the mountains by the breaking or thawing of a glacier, it is also called an ibmilement. (Bakewel/, vol. 1. p. II.) Vast ebouleTiimsaie every year falling from the enormous precipices that overhang the valley of the Rlione : many of these are recorded which have destroyed entire villages. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND. 59 332. One of Uie most extraardinaty Eboulemens ever Imawn was that of Mont Grenier, five inilei south of Chambery. A part of this mountain fell down in the year 1248, and entirely buried five imri&hes, and the town and church of St Andr^. The ruins spread over an extent of about nine square miles, and are called J^s Abymes des Myans, After a lapse of so many centuries, they still present a singular scene of desolation. The catastrophe must have been most awful when seen fi-om the vicinity ; for Mont Grenjer is almost isolated, advancing into a narrow plain, which extends to the valley of the Isere. 333. Moiit Grenier rises very abruptly apwards of 4000 feet above the plain. Like the mountains of T..es Echelles, with which it is connected, it is capped with an immense mass of limestone strata, not less than GOO feet in thickness, which presents on every side the appearance of a wall. The strata dip gently to the side which fell into the plain. This mass of limestone rests on a foundation of softer strata, probably molasse. Under this molasse are distinctly seen thin strata, probably of limestone, alternating with sort strata. There can be little doubt that the catastrophe was caused by the gradual erosion of the sort strata which undermined the mass of limestone above, and projected it into the plain ; it is also pro- bable that the part which fell had for some time been nearly detached f^om the mountain by a shrinking of the southern side, as there is at present a rent at this end, upwards of two thousand feet deep, which seems to have cut offa large section from the eastern end, and that now " Hangs in doubtful ruins o'er its base,*' as if prepared to renew the catastrophe of 124S. 334. AvafanclteSj or falls of immense masses of snow from the mountains, often occasion dreadful cITccts. Villages are overwhelmed by them: and rivers, stopped in their course by them, inundate narrow valleys to a ruinous extent. In February 1820, the village of Obergestelen, with eighty-eight of its inha- bitants, was overwhelmed by an avalanche. 355. The Eiaciersi or ice-hills, or ice-heapa, slide down into the mountain valleys, and form dams across them, which produce large lakes ; by the breaking up of the glacier, these lakes are sometimes suddenly poured into the lower valleys, and do immense mischief. Man, in such a country, as Bakewell has observed, is in a constant state of warfare with the elements, and compelled to he incessantly on his guard against the powers that threaten his destruction. This constant exposure to superhuman dangers is supposed to have given the aged inhabitants, especlallyof theVallais, an air of uncommon seriousness and melancholy. 3S6. T/ie Siviss cottages are generally formed of wood, with projecting roofs, covered with slates, tiles, or shingles, A few small enclosures surround or are contiguous to them, some of which are watered meadows, others dry pasture ; and one or more always devoted to the raising of oats, some barley, and rye or wheat, for the femily con- sumption. In the garden, which is large in proportion to the farm, are grown hemp, flax, tobacco, potatoes, white beet to be used as spinach and asparagus, French beans, cabbages, and turnips. The whole has every appearance of neatness and comfort. There are, however, some farmers who hire lands from the corporate bodies and others at a fixed rent, or on the metayer system ; and in some cases both land and stock are hired ; and peasants are found who lure so many cows and their keep, during a certain number of months, either for a third or more of the produce, or for a fixed sum. S."??. The villages of Stoitzerland are often built in lofty situations, and some so high as 5000 feet above the level of the sea, " In a country where land is much divided, and small proprietors cultivate their own property on the mountains, it is absolutely necessary that they should reside near it, otherwise a great part of their time and strength would be exhausted in ascending and descending, as it would take a mountaineer four hours in each day, to ascend to many of these villages and return to the valley. In building theii houses on the mountains, they place them together in villages, when it can be done, and at a moderate distance from their property, to have the comforts of society, and be more secure from the attack of wolves and other wild animals. Potatoes and barley can be cultivated at tlie height of 4500 feet in Savoy, and these, with cheese and milk, and a little maize for porridge, form the principal part of the food of the peasantry. The harvest is over in the plains by the end of June, and in the mountains by the end of September. Several of the mountain villages, with the white spires of their churches, form pleasing objects in the landscape, but on entering them the charm vanishes, and nothing can exceed the dirtiness and want of comfort which they present, except the cabins of the Irish." (^Bakewell's Travels, vol. i. 270.) Yet habit, and a feeling of independence, which the mountain peasant enjoys under almost every form of government, make him disregard the inconveniences of his situation and abode. Damsels and their flocks form pleasing groups at a distance ; but the former, viewed near, bear no more resemblance to les bergeres des ALpes of the poets, than a feiliale Hottentot to the Venus de Medicis, 338. Tlie vine is cultivated in several of the Swiss cantons on a small scale ; and either against trellises, or kept low and tied to short stakes as in France. The grapes, which seldom ripen well, produce a very inferior wine. Tlie best in Switzerland are grown in the Pays de Vaud round Vevay, They are white, and, Bakewell says, " as large and fine-flavoured as our best hot-house grapes." The physicians at Geneva send some of their patients here during the vintage, to take what is called a regular course of grapes ; that is, to subsist for three weeks entirely on this fruit, without taking any other food or drink. In a few days a grape diet becomes agreeable, and weak persons, and also the insane, have found great relief from subsisting on it for three or four weeks. (SalcewelCs Travels, ii. 206.) 339. Of fruit trees, the apple, pear, cherry, plum, and walnut, surround the small field or fields of every peasant. The widnut tree also lines the public roads in many places, and its dropping fruit is often the only food of the mendicant traveller. 340. The management of woods and forests forms a part of Swiss culture. . The herbage is pastured with sheep and swine as in Italy ; the copse wpod and lop are used 60 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt I. for fuel, as in all countries ; and when a mode of conveyance and a market can be found tlie timber is sold, but in many places neitlier is Uie case. A singular construction was erected for the purpose of bringing down to tlie Lake of^ Lucerne the fine pine trees which grow upon Mount Pilatus, by the engineer Rupp. • The wood was purchasea Oy a company for SOOOi., and 9000Z. were expended in constructing tlie shde. Ihe lengtu of the slide is about 44,000 English feet, or about eight miles and two furlongs; ana the difference of level of its two extremities is about 2600 feet. It .s a wooden trough, about five feet broad and four deep, the bottom of which consists of three trees, the middle one being a little hollowed ; and small rills of water are conducted into it, tor the pur- pose of diminishing the friction. The declivity, at its commencement, is about 22^ . Tlie large pines, with their branches and boughs cutoff, are placed in tlie slide, and descendTng by their own gravity, they acquire such an impetus by theu- descent through the first part of the slide, that they perform tlieir journey of eight miles and a quarter in the short space of six minutes ; and, under favourable circumstances, that is, in wet weather, in tlirce minutes. Only one tree descends at a time, but, by means of signals placed along tlie slide, another tree is launched as soon as its predecessor has plunged into tlie lake. Sometimes the moving trees spring or bolt out of the trough, and when this happens, they have been known to cut through trees in the neighbourhood, as if it had been done by an axe. When the trees reach the lake, they are formed into rafts, and floated down the Reuss into the Rhine. 341. Timber is also floated down mountain torrents from a great height. Tlie trees are cut down during summer and laid in the then dry bed of the stream : witli the first heavy rains in autumn they are set in motion, and go thundering down among the rocks to the valleys, where what arrives sound is laid aside for construction, and the rest is used as fuel. 342. T/ie chamois goats abound in some of the 42 S^C*^ forests, and are hunted for their fat and flesh, and \\l\ for their skins, which are valuable as glove and r^=*=i^!t:^^B^ breeches leather. They herd in flocks, led by a ^'X^^ --.^^^ ' " M^^EsK'f female ; live on lichens, and on the young shoots wS^fM S~ /TjW^vf^r' \ and bark of pines ; are remarkably fond of salt ; and '' |m / iB'?^'~?i(l 4(HSe» 'jf^ require great caution in hunting. {Simon^s Sunt- Vw^^^^^^^^^S^^^i-^wH wii xerland, vol. i. p. 245.) The common goat is fre- mf^^t t)W iMm' quently domesticated for the sake of its milk, and ^|w MnK^vSt/kAW may be seen near cottages, curiously harnessed ir/^^ ''t|u W^ (Jig. 42.) to prevent its breaking through, or W ^. jM iumpinff over, fences. -li -Aw'r,*'0'tf^ft»jtiii^ 'ir — . 343. The care of pastures and mowing grounds ~=::^. . ,-5-v-.SiJ§~f^"""."^=^^fej>5» forms an important part of the agricultural economy '^^^ .*3i_;;s5^irCi:Bai3£^ of Switzerland. In places inaccessible to cattle, the peasant sometimes makes hay' with cramps on his feet. Grass, not three inches high, is cut in some places three times a year ; and, in the valleys, the fields are seen shaven as close as a bowling-green, and all inequalities cropped as with a pair of scissors. In Switzerland, as in Norway, and for the same reasons, the arts of mowing and hay-making seem to be carried to tlie highest degree of perfection. Harvesting com is not less perfect ; and the art of pro- curing fodder for cattle, from the trees, shrubs, and wild plants, and applying this fodder with economy, is pushed as far as it will go. In some parts, very minute attention is paid to forming and collecting manure, especially that liquid manure, which, in the German cantons, is known under the name of Jauclie or mist-wasser, and in the Canton de Vaud, o{ sissier. (For. Quart. Rev. and Cont. Mis., Jan. 1828.) 344. Cowff,^ooijf,flnrfsA?e;> constitute the wealth of the Swiss fanners, and their principal means of sup- port ; or, to discriminate more accurately, the goats, in a great measure, support the poorer class ; and the cows supply the cheese from which the richer derive their little wealth. The extent of a pasture is esti- mated by the number of cows it maintains : six or eight goats are deemed cqualto a cow, as are four calves, four sheep, or four hogs ; but a horse is reckoned equal to Ave or six cows, because he roots up the grass. Throughout the high Alps, they are of opinion that sheep arc destructive to the pastures, in proportion to their elevation, because the herbage, which they eat down to the roots, cannot, in such a cold climate, regain its strength and luxuriance. The mountain pastures are rented at so much per cow's feed, from the 15th of May to the 18th of October ; and the cows are hired from the peasants for the same period : at the end of it, both are restored to their owners. In other parts, the proprietors of the pastures hire the mountains by herdsmen ; when the weather is tempestuous they are up all night calling to them other- wise they would take fright and run into danger. Chalets are built for the use of the herdsmen ■ these are log-houses of the rudest construction, without a chimney, having a pit or trench dug for the fire the earth thrown up forming a mound around it, by way of a seat To those chalets, the persons whose employment it is to milk the cows, and to make cheese and butter, ascend in the summer time. When they go out to milk the cows, a portable seat with a single leg, is strapped to their backs ; at the hour of mdking, the cows are attracted home from the most distant pastures by a handful of salt, which the shep. herd takes from a leathern pouch hanging over his shoulder. During the milking, the Ran^c des VaclS^s is flrequently sung. (For. Quart. Itev. and Cont. Misc.) Si5. The Swiss corns yield more milk th.™ those of Lombardy, where they are in great demand : hut after the thud generation their mUk falls offi In soiie oarts of Switzerland they yield, on an average Book T. AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND. 61 twelve !&ig1isli quarts a day; and with forty cows, a cheese of forty-five pounds can be made daily. In the vicinity of Altdorf they make, in the course of a hundred days, Arom the SOth of June, two cheeses daily, of twenty-five pounds each, from the milk of eighteen cows. On the high pastures of Scarta^ a cow during the best season, supi>lies near sixty pounds of skim-milk cheese, and forty pounds of butter. Reckoning twenty pounds of milk, ol)serves our author, equivalent to one of butter, the produce in milk will be' eight hundred pounds for ninety days, or less than nine pounds a day. This small supply he ascribes to the great elevation of the pastures, and the bad keep of the cows in the winter. {For. Quart. Reu. and Cont. Misc.) 346. Great variety of cheese is made in Switxerland. The most celebrated are the Schabzieger and Gruyfere j the former made by the mountaineers of the canton of Glarus, and the latter in the valley of Gruyfere. The cheese of Switzerland must have been for a long period a great article of commerce ; for, Myconius, of Lucerne, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, in a commentary on a poem of his friend Glariauus, expatiates on the large quantities of butter and cheese which his fellow-citizens sent into Burgundy, Suabia, and Ital^ : he adds, that twenty cows would bring in, annually, a net sum of 100 crowns. In I5f>3, a law was passed in the Upper Engadine to guard against fraud in the manufacture of ( Upper Engadine to guard against fraud in the manufacture of cheese meant for sale. Formerly, the depots of ricli cheese werepriflcipally near Lake Como; it was supposed that the exhalations, at once warm and moist, ripened the cheese, without drying it too much ; at present, however, these depots are not near so numerous. In the Upper Engadine, cheese loses, by drying, a twentieth part of its weight in the first ten weeks; andskim-milkcheese the half of its welghtin two years. Of the quantity of cheeses exported from Switzerland we liave no information that can be relied upon ; but it is computed that thirty-thousand hundred-weight of Gruy^re cheese alone, fit for exportation, is annually made: and that, flrom the middle of July to October, three hundred horses, weekly, are employed in trans- porting Swiss cheese over Mount Grias. (For. Rev. and Cont. Misc.) 34-7. The Schabzieger cheese is made by the mountaineers of the Can- ton of Glarus alone ; and, in its greatest perfection, in the valley of Kloen. It is readily distinguished by its marbled appearance and aromatic flavour, both produced by the bruised leaves of the melilot ^ Tlie dairy is built near a stream of water; the vessels containing the ^ milk are placed on gravel or stone in the dairy, and the water con- ducted into it in such a manner as to reach their brim. The milk is exposed to this temperature, about six degrees of Reaumur (forty-six degrees of Fahrenheit), for five or six days, and in that time the cream is completely formed. After this it is drained off^ the caseous particles are separated, by the addition of some sour milk, and not by rennet. The curd thus obtained is pressed strongly in bags, on which stones are laid ; ;; when sufficiently pressed and dried, it is ground to powder in autumn, salted, and mixed with either the pressed flowers or the bruised seeds of the melilot trefoil (MelilMus officinMis). (Jig. 43.) The practice of mixing the flowers or the seeds of plants with cheese was common among the Romans, who used those of the thyme for that purpose. The entire sepa- ration of the cream or unctuous portion of the milk is indispensable in the manufacture of Schabzieger. The unprepared curd never sells for more than three halft^ence a pound ; whereas, prepared as Schabzieger, it sells for sixpence or seven-pence. {For. Reu. and Cont. Misc.) 34R. The Gruyh-e cheese of Switzerland is so named after a valley, where the best of that kind is made. Its merit depends chiefly on the herbage of the mountain pastures, and partly on the custom of mixing the flowers or bruised seeds of itfelilotus officinalis with the curd, before it is pressed. The mountain pastures are rented at so much ]>er cow's feed from the 15th of May to the 18th of October ; and the cows are hired froi; the peasants, at so much, for the same period. On the precise day both land and cows return to their owners. It is estimated that 15,000 cows are so grazed, and 30,000 cwt. of cheese made tit for exportation, besides what is reserved for home use. 349. Ewe-milk cheese of Sivitzerland. One measure of ewe*s milk is added to three measures of cow's milk ; little rennet is used, and no acid. The best Swiss cheese of this kind is made by the Bergauiesc sheep-masters, on Mount Splugen, {For. Rev. and Cont. Misc.) 350. The establishTnent at Hofwyl, near Berne, may be considered as in great part belonging to agriculture, and deserves to be noticed in tliis outline. It was projected by, , and is conducted at the sole expense of, M. Fellenberg, a proprietor and agriculturist. His object was to apply a sounder system of education for the great body of the people, in order to stop the progress of misery and crime. Upwards of twelve years ago he undertook to systematise domestic education, and to show, on a large scale, how the children of the poor might be best taught, and their labour at the same time most pro- fitably applied ; in short, how the first twenty yeare of a poor man's life might be so employed as to provide both for his support and liis education. The peasants in his neighbourhood were at first rather shy of trusting their children for a new experiment ; and being thus obliged to take his pupils where he could find them, many of the earliest were the sons of vagrants, and literally picked up on the highways : this is the case with one or two of tlie most distinguished pupils. 351. Their treatment is nearly that of children under the paternal roof. They go out every morning to their work soon after sunrise, having first breakfasted, and received a lesson of about an hour : they return at noon. Dinner takes tliem half an hour, a lesson of one hour follows ; then to work again till six in the evening. On Sunday the different lessons take six hours instead of two ; and they have butcher's meat on tliat day otdy. They are divided into three classes, according to age and strength ; an entry is made in a book every night of the number of hours each class has worked, specifying the sort of labour done, in order tliat it may be charged to the proper account, each par- ticular crop having an account opened for it, as well as every new building, the live stock, the macliir£s, the schools themselves, &c. &c. In winter, and whenever there is not out- 62 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P*" !• of-doors work, the boys plait straw for chairs, make baskets, saw logs with the cross-saw and split them, thrash and winnow corn, grind colours, knit stockings, or assist the wheel- wright and other artificers, of whom tliere are many employed in the establishment. For all which different sorts of labour an adequate salary is credited to each boy's class. S52. Tlu boys neiier see a nemprtper, and scarcely a book ; they are taught, viva voce, a few ™j",f." ?' fact, and rules of practical application : the rest of their education consists chiefly In inculcating naoits oi industry, frugality, veracity, docility, and mutual kindness, by means of good example, rather than pre- cepts ; and, above all, by the absence of bad example. It has been said of the Bell and Lancaster schools, that the good tliey do is mostly negative : they take children out of the streets, employ theni in a barni . less sort of mental sport two or three hours in the day, exercise their understanding gently and pleasantly, and accustom them to order and rule, without compulsion. Now, what these schools undertake to do for a few hours of each week, during one or two years of a boy's life, the School qf InAuslry at Holwvl does incessantly, during the whole course of his youth j providing, at the same time, for his whole physical maintenance, at a rate which must be deemed excessively cheap for any but the very lowest of the people. 353. The pracHcabUiti/ of this scheme for inculcating individual prudence and practical morality, not only in the agricultural, but in all the operative, classes of society, M. Simond considers as demonstrated ; and it only remains to ascertain the extent of its application. Two only of the pupils have left Hofwyl, for a place, before the end of their time ; and one, with M. de Fellenberg's leave, is become chief manager of the immense estates of Comte Abaffy, in Hungary, and has, it is said, doubled its proceeds by the improved method of husbandry he has introduced. This young man, whose name is Madorly, was originally a beggar boy, and not particularly distinguished at school. Another directs a school established near Zurich, and acquits himself to the entire satisfaction of his employers. M. Fellenberg has besides a number of pupils of the liigher classes, some of whom belong to the first families of Germany, Russia, and Swit- zerland. They live eiifamille with tlieir master, and are instructed by the different tutors in the theory and practice of agriculture, and in the arts and sciences on which it i.s founded. (See Simond's Account of Switzerland, vol. i. ; JSd. Rev. 1819, No. 64. ; Det Institutes de Hofwyl de par Cte. L. de V. Paris, 1821.) SuBSECT. 2. Of the Agriculture of the Duchy of Savoy. 354. Of the agriculture of Savoy, which naturally belongs to Switzerland, a general view, with some interesting details, is given by Bakewell. (^Travels in the Tarantaise, &c., 1820—22.) Landed property there is divided into three qualities, and rated for a land- tax accordingly. There is an ofiSce for registering estates, to which a per centage is paid on each transfer or additional registering. There is also an office for registering all mortgages, with the particulars ; both are found of great benefit to the landed interest and the public, by the certainty which they give to titles, and the safety both to borrowers and lenders on land. 355. Land in Savoy is divided into very small farms, and is occupied by the proprietors or paysans, who live in an exceedingly frugal manner, and cultivate the ground with the assistance of their wives and children ; for in Savoy, as in many other parts of Europe, the women do nearly as much field labour as the men. 25Q. The lands beloneing to tlie monasteries were sold during the French revolution, when Savoy was annexed to France, 'fhe gradual abolition of the monasteries had been begun by the old government of Sardinia before the revolution, for the monks were prohibited from receiving any new brethren into their establishments, in order that the estates might devolve to the crown, on the extinction of the difiiBrent fraternities. This measure, though wise in the abstract, was not unattended with inconvenience and perhaps we may add, injustice. The poor, who had been accustomed to fly to the monasteries for relief in cases of distress, were left without any support, except the casual charity of their neighbours, who had little to spare from their own absolute necessities. The situation of the iioor is therefore much worse in Savoy, than before the abolition of the monasteries. The poor in England suffered in the same manner on the abolition of the monasteries in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, before the noor's rales were enacted. The charity of the monks of Savoy lost much of its usefulness by the indiscriminate manner in which It was generally bestowed : certain days and hours were appointed at each monastery for the distribution of provisions, and the indolent were thereby enabled to support themselves durine the whole week, by walking to the difliirent monasteries on the days of donation. Ihis was offering a uremium to idleness, and was the means of increasing the number of mendicants, which will, in everv country be proportionate to the facility of obtaining food without labour. ' country, ue 357. The peasantry in Savoy are very poor, Imt they cannot be called miserable. In the neighbourhood of towns, their situation is worse than at a distance; and not far from Chambery may be seen a few families that might almost vie in squalid misery, rags, and filth, with the poor of Ireland : but the eeneral appearance of tHe peasantry is respectable. Having learnt the price of labour in various parts of Savoy Bakewell proposed the following question: Is it possible for a labourer, with a family, to procure a sufficient quantity of wholesome food for their consumption ? One of the answers was, " Ccfi est tris facile (It IS very easy)", the other was, " The labourer lives very frugally (/ra-soSr™™«" "In eeneral he eats very coarse, but wholesome, bread, and, except in the mountains, he eats very little meft and rarely drinks wine, but he has a great resource in potatoes " "ledi, ana 358 ft>«rfa»'sj«4oB';ofafarmiiigmanwillpurchaseabouttwelvepoundsavoirdupoi60fwheat or from four to five pounds of beef, veal, or mutton ; but these are dainties which he rarely taftes- potatoes r?? bread^ chestnuts and milk, form the principal part of the food of the poor. The day-labourer?n Savov hS to deduct, from the amount of his labour aboutseventy days in the year, including saini-davs and Sundays on which he receives no wages. (Bal^juelt's Travels, voL i. 314.) ounuays, 359. There are four modes of occupying land for cultivation in Savoy : by the pro- prietors ; by fanners ; by grangers ; and by tacheurs. ^ ' f 3fi0. Land very near to towns is generally cultivated by the proprietors, who cither keep cattle, or take them m to graze at so much per head, • «^ ^-rtme, or lane Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SWITZERLAND. 63 361. By famdng land^ is understood, letting it at a fixed rent, to be paid according to the value of the produce, taken at an average of ten years. 3t)3. Bygrangers^ or renting land h inoitid fruity is understood, that the proprietor takes half of alt the grain and tVuit, half the produce or increase of the cows, half the eggs, and, in short, half of every thing which is productive. 363. By tachetirSy is another mode of cultivating land, in the immediate vicinity of towns. The pro- prietors, to avoid keeping too many servants in their own houses, place a father of a ftimily in the house upon the farm. This man is called le tacheur. He takes care of the cows, for half their produce: he ploughs the ground, receiving for every pair of oxen employed, or for three horses, from seventy to eighty francs per annum : he has half the wine : the share he receives of the wheat and grain is in the proportion of two parts for every nine taken by the proprietor. The latter pays all the taxes, and keeps the accounts, llie tacheur may be changed every year. When he is employed in repairing fences, &c., he is paid by the day ; this is always undertaken when he enters the farm. 364. The leases granted to the farmers and grangers are on terms of three, six, or nine years ; but when the leases are for six or nine years, a reservation is always made, that at the expiration of every three years the proprietor may revoke the lease, by giving three months* notice, if he be not satisfied with the tenant. The proprietor always supplies the farmer or granger with a sum of money without interest, called chaptal (capital), to aid him in buying oxen ; for a farm of two oxen it is generally about twenty louis ; for a farm of four oxen, forty louis ; and so on. The proprietor, for this sum, has an exclusive right to seize the cattle of the farmer, should he sell them clandestinely. 365. T/ie mode of pasturage in Chamouny will apply, with little variation, to all the Alpine communes in Savoy. Tlie rich peasants in the Alps possess meadows, and even habitations, at different heights. In winter they live in the bottom of the valley, but they quit it in spring, and ascend gradually, as the heat pushes out vegetation. In autumn they descend by the same gradation. Those who are less rich have a resource in the common pastures, to which they send a number of cows, proportionate to their resources, and their means of keeping them during the winter. The poor, who have no meadows to supply fodder for the winter, cannot avail themselves of this advantage. Eight days after the cows have been driven up into the common pasture, all the owners assemble, and the quantity of milk j5'om each cow is weighed. The same operation is repeated one day in the middle of the summer, and at the end of the season, the quantity of cheese and butter is divided, according to the quantity of milk each cow yielded on the days of trial. (^BakeweU. ) S6& There are chalets, or public dairies, near the mountain pastures in Savoy, as well as in Switzerland \ persons reside in these chalets during the summer months, to make cheese and butter. In many situations it is the labour of a day to ascend to these chalets, and return to the valleys immediately below them. There are also pubUc dairies in some of the villages, where the poorer peasants may bring all the milk they can spare, from the daily consumption of their families. The milk is measured, and an account kept of it ; and at the end of the season the due portion of cheese is allotted to each, after a small deduc- tion for the expense of making. {Id.) 367. No large Jlocks qf sheep are kept in Savoy, as it is necessary to house them during the.winter, at which time they are prmcipally fed with dried leaves of trees, collected during the autumn. Many jKior families keep a few sheep to supply them with wool for their domestic use. These little flocks are driven home every evening, and are almost always accompanied by a goat, a cow, a pig, or an ass, and followed by a young girl spinning with a distafi! As they wind down the lower slopes of the mountains, they form the most picturesque groups for the pencil of the painter ; and, seen at adistance, carry back the imagination to the ages of pastor^ simplicity, sung by Theocritus and Virgil. (Id.) 368. The vinei/ards in Savoy are cultivated for half the produce of the wine. Tlie cultivator pays the whole expense, except the taxes, which are paid by the proprietor. 369. Walnut trees, of immense size and great beauty, enrich the scenery of Savoy, aiul supply sufficient oil for the consumption of the inhabitants, and for the adjoining canton of Geneva. The walnut has been called the olive of the country. The trees belong principally to the larger proprietors. They are planted by nature, being scattered over the fields, and in the woods and hedge-rows, intermixed with chestnuts and forest trees of various kinds. (^BakewelU) 370. The walnut harvest at Chateau Duing commences in September. " They are beaten off the trees with long poles ; the green husks are taken ofi* as soon as they begin to decay ; the walnuts are then laid in a chamber to dry, where they remain till November, when the process of making the oil commences. The first operation is to crack the nuts, and take out the kernel. For this purpose several of the neighbouring peasants, with their wives and elder children, assembled at the chateau of an evening, after their work was done. The party generally consisted of about thirty persons, who were placed around a long table in the kitchen. One man sat at each end of the table, with a small mallet to crack the nuts by hitting them on the point : as fast as they are cracked? they are distributed to the other persons around the table, who take the kernels out of the shell, and remove the inner part ; but they are not peeled. The peasants of Savoy are naturally lively and loquacious ; and they enliven their labour with facetious stories, jokes, and noisy mirth. About ten o'clock the table is cleared to make room for the goutSj or sup- per, consisting of dried finit, vegetables, and wine ; and tlie remainder of the evening is spent in singing and dancing, which is sometimes continued till midnight. In a favourable season, 5ie number of walnuts from the Duing estate is so great, that the party assemble in this manner every evening for a fortnight, before ail the walnuts are cracked ; and the poor people look forward to thes€ meetings, from year to year, as a kind of 64 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. festival. Tliey do not receive any pay ; tlie gouti and tlie amusement of the evening are their only revcard." {Bakewell.) Sn. The walnut kernels are laid on cloths to dry, and in about a fortnight arc carried to the cnishins- mill, where they are ground into a paste : this is put into cloths, and undergoes the operation of pressing to extract the oil. The best oil, which is used for salads and cooking, is pressed cold j but an inferior oil for lamps is extracted by heating the paste. Thirty people in one evening will crack as many walnuts as will produce sixty pounds of pastej this yields about fifteen wine-ouarts of oil. The walnut-shells are not lost among so frugal a people as the Savoyards, but are burned for the ashes, which are used for washing. Two pounds of these ashes are equal in strength to three of wood-ashes ; but the alkali is so caustic, that it frequently injures the linen. The paste, after it is pressed, is dried in cakes, called pain amer i this is eaten oy children and poor people, and it is sold in the shops in Savoy and Geneva. 372. The txst walnut ait, pressed cold, has but very little of the kernelly taste j but it may be easily distinguished from the best olive oil, which it resembles in colour. If the peel were taken off the walnuts, the oil would probably be quite free from any peculiar flavour; but this operation would be too tedious. {Id.) 373. Tobacco, which is much used in Savoy, was cultivated with success in the neighbourhood of Ramilly ; but on the restoration of the old despotism, its culture was prohibited, and the implements of manufacture seized. 374. The culture of artificial grasses is spreading in Savoy, but is not yet very general. In the neighbourhood of Aix, Ramilly, and Annecy, wheat is succeeded by rye. The rye-harvest being over in June, they immediately sow the land with buck-wheat (sarrasin), which is cut iu September ; the following year the land is sown with spring corn. 375. T/ie grass-lands are always mown twice, and the latter mowing is sufficiently early to allow a good pasturage in the autumn. Water-meadows are occasionally found near towns. The water is generally let down from mountain sti-eams ; but sometimes it is raised from rivers by a sort of bucket-wheel (Jig. 44.), which is called the Noria of the yilps. This wheel is raised or lowered by means of a loaded lever (o), which turns on a fulcrum (i), formed by a piece of wood with its end inserted in the river's bank. 376. Agricultural improvement in Savoy must be in a very low state, if the answers Bakewell received respecting tlie average quantity of the produce are correct. One of the answers stated the average increase of wheat to be from three to five on the quantity sown, and near the towns from five to seven. Another agriculturist stated the average increase on the best lands to be nine, and, in the neighbourhood of Annecy, thirteen, fold. One part of Savoy is, perhaps, the finest corn-land in Europe ; and the very heavy crops Bakewell saw in the neighbourhood of Aix and Annecy, made him doubt the accuracy of the above statements ; but, on referring to Arthur Young's account of the agriculture of France before the revolution, it appears that four and a half was regarded as the average increase in that country, which is very similar in climate to Savoy. (Travels, i. 328.) 377. The salt-works of Moutiers, in the valley of the Isere, in tlie Tarantaise, are parti- cularly deserving attention, being perhaps the best conducted of any in Europe, with respect to economy. Nearly three million pounds of salt are extracted annually from a source of water which would scarcely be noticed, except for medical purposes, in any otlier countryl K8. The springs that supply the salt-mrksat Moutiers, rise at the bottom of a nearly perpendicular rock of limestone, situated on the south side of a deep valley or gorge. The temperature of the stronBMt spring is ninety-nine Fahrenheit, it contains 1-83 per cent of saline matter. Kay seem extraoJSy that the waters at Moutiers, which have only half the strength of sea- water, should repay the expense of evaporation ; but the process by which it is effected is both simple and ingenious, ind might be Book I. AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. 65 introduced with gteax advantage on many parts of our own coast, more particularly in Ireland. It is obvious that water, so wealtly impregnated with salt as to contain only one pound and a half in every thirteen gallons, could not repay the expense of evaporating by fuel in any country. The water of the North Sea contains two and a quarter per cent of salt, and yet it has never been attempted to make salt Orom it by evaporation with coal.fircs, even on the coast of Northumberland or Durham, where refuse coal, suited to the purpose, might be purchased for one shilling and sixpence per ton. In order .to make salt from the saline water at Mout>ers, it w:ls necessary tu concentrate it by natural evaporation ; and to efitct this speedily, it was required-to spread the surface of the tluid over as large a space as possible, the ratio ot evaporation being, ceeteris paribus, in proportion to the extent of the surface exposed to the action of the atmosphere. The Hrst attempt at iMoutiers was made in 1550, by arranging pyramids of rye straw in open galleries, and letting the water trickle through the straw gradually and repeatedly. This was abandoned, and faggots of thorns were sulwtituted : these faggots are suspended on frames, the water is raised to their height, and spread by channels so as to trickle through them : it passes through three separate sets or frames of thorns, and has then become so concentrated as to contain nearly 22 2)er cent of salt : it is then boiled in pans in the usual manner. 379. Evaporating on vertical cords, erected in a house open on all sides, is a third method, which succeeds even better than the mode by thorns. The water, by repeatedly passing over the cords, is found in forty-five days to deposit all its salt on them, and the saline cylinder is then broken off. The cords are renewed once in twenty or thirty years, and the faggots once in seven years. Minute details of these simple but very ingenious processes will be found in the very .scientific Travels of Bakewell (vol. i. S30,). Sect. III. Of tke present State of Agriculture in France. *380. The Jirst agricultural survey of France was made in 1787, 8, and g. by the celebrated Arthur Young. Since that period no similar account has been published either in France or England : but several French writers have given the statistics and Culture ot different districts, as the Baron de la Peyrouse, Sinetti, Cordier, &c. ; and others have given general views of tlie whole kingdom, as La Statistique G^n^-rale de la France, by Penchet ; De V Industrie Fran^oise, by Chaptal ; and Les Forces Productes et Commer- dales de la France, &c., by Dupin. From these works, some recent tours of Englishmen, and our own observations in 1815, 1819, and 1828, we have drawn tlie following outline of the progress of French agriculture since tlie middle of the sixteentli century, and more especially since the time of Louis XIV. ; including the general circumstances of France as to agriculture, its common culture, its culture of vines scad maize, and its culture of olives and oranges. SuBSECT. 1. Of tlie Progress of French Agrictillure, from the Sixteenth Century to tlie ^rresent Time. *381. That France is the most favourable country in Europe for agriculture, is tlie opinion both of its own and foreign writers on the subject. For, though the country " suffered deeply from the wars in which she was engaged, first by a hateful conspiracy of kings, and next, by the mad ambition of Bonaparte, the purifying effects of the revolution have indemnified her ten fold for all the losses she has sustained. She has come out of the contest with a debt comparatively light, with laws greatly amended, many old abuses destroyed, and with a population more industrious, moral, enlightened, and happy, than she ever had before. The fortunate change which peace has made in her situation, has filled her with a healthy activity, which is carrying her forward with rapid strides ; she has the most popular, and therefore the most rational, liberal, and beneficial, system of govern- ment of any state in Europe, Britain not excepted; and, altogether, she is perhaps in a condition of more sound prosperity than any other state in the old world." (Scotsman, vol. xH. No. 861.) 382. The agriculture of France at present, as Mr. Jacob has observed (Report, ^c, 1828), occupies one of the lowest ranks in that of the Northern States of Europe; but the fertility of the soil, the suitableness of the subsoil and of the surface for aration, and, above all, the excellence of tlie climate, are such as are not united to an equal extent in any other European State. When we consider these circumstances in connection with the extraordinary exertions now making for the education of the laborious classes, and the no less extraordinary progress that has been made within these few years in manufactures {For. Rev., Jan. 1829, art. 1.), it is easy to see that in a few years the territorial riches of France will be augmented to an extraordinary extent. 383. Of the agriculture of France, previous to the mirtiUe of the sixteenth century, scarcely any thing is known. Chopin, who it appears resided in the neighbourhood of Paris, wrote -, treatise on the Privileges of Labourers, in 1574, which, M. Gr^goire remarks fUist. of Jgr prefixed to edit, of Olivier de Serres, pub. in. 1804), is calculated rather for the advantage of the proprietor than of the farmer. A Code Rural, published some time after, is characterised by the same writer as a Manual of Tyranny. 384. French agriculture began to flourish in the beginning of the seventeenth centurj-, under Henry IV., and its precepts at that time were published by Olivier de Serres, and Charles Estienne. In 1621, great quantities of corn were exported to England, in con- sequence of a wise ordinance of Sully, passed some years before, permitting a free commerce in corn. In 1641, the draining of fens and bogs was encouraged; and, in 1756, the land-tax taken off newly broken up lands for the space of twenty years. Mazarin, during the minority of I^ouis XIV., prohibited the exportation of corn, and checked the progress of its culture. This circumstance, and the wars of that king, greatly 66 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I- discouraged agriculture, and produced several dearths. Fleury, under Louis XV., vyas not favourable to agriculture ; but, in 1754, an act was passed for a free corn trade, which effected its revival. Tlie economists of tliis time, however mistaken in their views, inspired a taste for the art ; and agricultural societies were first established in France under tlie patronage and at the expense of government. In 1761, there were thirteen such societies in France, and nineteen cooperating societies, lliose of Paris, Lyons, Amiens, and Bourdeaux, have distinguished themselves by their published Memoirs. At Toui-s a georgical society was established and directed by the Marquis of Tourbili, a patriot and agricultural writer. Du Hamel and BufFon gave eclat to tlie study of rural economy, and many other writers might be mentioned as having contributed to its im- provement. M. de Trudaine introduced the Merino breed of sheep in 1776, and Comte Lasteyrie has studied that breed in Spain, and written a valuable work on tlie subject ; as has the Baron de Mortemart on the English breeds, some of which he has introduced. 385. T/ie agriculture of France in 1819, as compared imth what it was in 1789, presents, Chaptal observes, astonishing improvements. Crops of every kind cover the soil ; numerous and robust animals are employed in labouring it, and tliey also enrich it by their manure. The country population are lodged in commodious habitations, decently clothed, and abundantly nourished with wholesome food. The misery wliich existed in France in former times, when properties of immense extent supported little more than a single family, is banished, and its place supplied by ease and liberty. We are not to suppose, however, the same author observes, that the agriculture of France has anived at perfection ; much still remains to be done : new plans of im- provement should be more generally introduced ; and a greater quantity of live stock is wanted for every province of France, except two or three which abound in natural meadows. Few domains have more than half the requisite number of labouring cattle ; the necessary result of which is a deficiency of labour, of manure, and of crop. The only mode of remedying these evils is to multiply the artificial pastures, and increase the cultivation of plants of forage. Abundance of forage is indeed the foundation of every good system of agriculture, as a proper succession of crops is the foundation of abundance of forage. 'I'he rich inhabitants of France have already adopted these principles ; but they have not yet found their way among the lowest class of cultivators. According to M. Dupin, four fifths of the peasantry of France are proprietors of land, which they cultivate them- selves ; and though they are at present very ignorant, yet knowledge of every kind is rapidly advancing. The wages of labourers in France, compared with the price of corn, are calculated to be higher than the wages paid to labourers in England. SuBSECT. 2. Of the gene^'al Circumstances of France, in respect to Agriculture. 386. The surface of France has been divided by geographers into what are called basins, or great plains, tlirough which flow the principal rivers, and which basins are separated by original or secondary ridges of mountains. The chief basins are those of the Loire {fg. 45. a), of the Seine (6), of the Garonne (<•), and of the Rhone and Saone {d). {^Journal de Physique, torn. xxx. ) 387. Tlie soil of France has been divided by Arthur Young into the mountainous district of Languedoc and Provence (e) ; the loamy district of Limosin (f) ; the chalky districts of Champagne and Poitiers (g) ; tlie gravelly district of Bourbonnois (A) ; the stony district of Lorraine and Franche Comte (i) ; the rich loam of Picardy and Guienne (Jc) ; and the heathy surface on gravel, or gravelly sand, of Bretagne and Gascoigne (J). (^Agr. France, chap, ii.) 388. The climate of France has been ingeniously divided by the same author into that of corn and common British agriculture, including Picardy, Normandy, French Flanders, Artois, Hainault, &c. (^fg. 45. I, b, k) ; that of vines, mulberries, and common culture (y, a, h, g, i) ; that of vines, mulberries, maize, and common culture (c,f, d, i) ; that of olives, vines, mulberries, maize, oranges, and common culture (o, e). It is singular that these zones (m m, n n, and o o) do not run parallel to the degrees of latitude, but obliquely to them to such an extent that the climate for the vines leaves off at 46° on the west coast (y m), but extends to 49J° on the east (g m). The cause is to be found chiefly in the soil and surface producing a more favourable climate in one place than in another ; but partly also in the wants of cultivators. The vine is cultivated in Germany in situations where it would not be cultivated in France, because wine is of more value in the former country than in the latter. The northern boundary of the vine culture has even extended in France since tlie revolution, from the natural wish of small proprietors to supply them- selves with wine of their own growth. In Germany the vine is cultivated as far north as latitude 52°, on the warm sides of dry rocky hills. S8p. The central climate, which admits vines without being hot enough for maize (^, a, h,g, i), Young considers as the finest in the world, and the most eligible part of France or of Europe as to soil. " Here," he says, " you are exempt from the extreme humidity which gives verdure to Normandy and England ; and yet equally free from the Book I. AGRICULTURE IN FRANCE. 45 67 burning heats which turn verdure itself into a russet brown : no ardent rays that oppress with their fervour in summer, nor pinching tedious frosts that chill with their severity in vnnter, but a light, pure, elastic air, admirable for every constitution except consumptive ones." This climate, however, has its drawbacks ; and is so subject to violent storms of rain and hail, that " no year ever passes without whole parishes suffering to a degree of which we in Britain have no conception." It has been calculated, that in some provinces the damage from h^l amounts, on an average of years, to one tenth of the whole produce. Spring frosts are sometimes so severe as to kill the broom : few years pass that they do not blacken the first leaves of the walnut trees ; the fig trees are protected with straw, *S90. Of the vine and make climate (c,f, d, i) some account is ^ven by M. Picot, Baron de la Peyrouse, an extensive and spirited cultivator. He kept an'accurate account of tlie crops and seasons in his district for twenty years from 1 800 ; and the result is, twelve years of fair average crops, four years most abundant, and four years attended with total ioss. *391. In the olive climate (o, e) insects are incredibly numerous and troublesome, and the locust is injurious to com crops ; but both the olive and maize districts have this advantage, that two crops a year, or at least three in two years, may be obtained. The orange is cultivated in so small a proportion of the olive climate as scarcely to deserve notice. The caper (Capparis spinosa) {fig. 46. ) and the fig are also articles of field culture in this climate. 392. Tlie climate of Picardy and Normandy is the nearest to that of England, and is rather superior. The great agricultural advantage which France possesses over Britain, in regard to climate, is, that, by means of the vine and olive, as valuable produce may be raised on rocky wastes as on rich soils ; and that in all soils what- ever, root weeds may be easily and eflfectually destroyed without a naked fallow. (Young's France, ch. iii.) 393. The lands of France are not generally enclosed and subdivided by hedges or other fences. Some fences are to be seen near towns, and in the northern parts of the kingdom more especially : but, in general, the whole country is open ; tlie boundaries of estates being marked by slight ditches or ridges, with occasional stones or heaps of earth, rows of trees, or occasional trees. Depredations from passengers on the highways are prevented by gardes champSlres, which are established throughout all France. Farms are sometimes compact and distinct, but generally scattered, and often alternating in the common field manner of England, or run-rig of Scotland. The farm-houses of large farms are gene- rally placed on the lands ; those of smaller ones in villages, often at some distance. F 2 68 HISTORY OF AGRICULTCRK. Pam' I- 394. Tlie value o/lmuled jrroperti/ is in general lower than in England, being at present (1829) sold at from twenty-two to twenty-six years' purcluise. 395. The farming HoRgery. 18, Poultry-yard. 19, 20, Stables for cows and calves. ill. Necessaries for the servants, connected with the cis- terns. 22j 23, Sheep-folds. 24, 25, Sheds for carts. 26, Bam. 27, Area. 28, Flax bam. 29, 30, Sheep-houses Rl,32j Stables for Uie horses and foals. S3, 34, 35, 36, Places for the hogs. 37 and 38, Cisterns destined to receive the urine of the cattle. 39, Well. 40, Dung-pit, concave in the middle. 41, Pool serving to receive the superabundant waters of the dune-pit, the weedings of the gardens, &c. 42, 42, lleservoirs to receive the waters of tlie farm-yard. 43, Entrance gateway with dovecot over. 44, Small trenches, or gutters. 46, 45, Sheds destined for clover, cnit green in summer, or dry in winter. 46, Cistern for the wash-houses. 47, 47, Situations of the com stackE, in jears of abundance. T f ) - i(;?J l" If ) 1 ^i* 1 2 \ Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 75 Four elevations (Jig. 56.) represent the four internal sides of the quadrangle ; the north side {fit) | tlie bam, or west side (o) \ the south side (c) j and the house, or east side {<£\, 36 a a c^ a IE) 1 ED '^m ■1 a £=) Q X iWI°i a a a HI. El e im J e B Ck o a e i m m d. / \ 13 ti m 1 ED 1 III i E) [g E" B SI 441. JJrvne cisterns are formed in the fields, to receive purcliased liquid manure ; but, for that made in the farm-yard, generally in the yard, or under the stables. In the latter case, the urine is conducted from each stall to a common grating, through which it descends into the vault, whence it is talcen up by a pump : in the best-regulated farmeries there is a partition in the cistern, with a valve to admit the con- tents of the first space into the second, to be preserved there free from the more recent additions, age rendering it considerably more ellicacious. This species of manure is relied on beyond any other, upon all the light soils throughout Flanders ; and, even upon the strong lands (originally so rich as to preclude the necessity of manure), it is now coming into great esteem, being considered appUcable to most crops, and to all the varieties of soil, 442. The arable lands of Flanders include by far the greater part of the surface of the country. The crops raised are the same as those in Britain ; but, from local circumstances, flax, hemp, chiccory, rape, spurry, madder, woad, tobacco, and some others, enter more generally into rotations. 443. Fallows, according to Sir John Sinclair, are in a great measure abolished, even on strong land ; by means of which, produce is increased, and the expense of cultivation, on the crops raised in the course of a rotation, necessarily diminished ; and by the great profit they derive from their flax and rape, or colsat, they can afford to sell all their crops of grain at a lower rate. The Flemish farmers, however, understand their interest too well, to aboUsh naked fallows on strong clayey soils in a humid climate. 444. In regard to sml and culture, Radcliff arranges Flanders into eleven agricultural divisions, and of the principal of these we shall notice the soil and rotations, and some other features of culture. 445. The first division extends along the North Sea, and includes Ostend. This district consists of the strongest and heaviest soil which Flanders possesses, and a similarity of quality prevails generally throughout, with some occasional exceptions. It may be represented as a day loam of a greyish colour, and yields the various produce to be expected from a strong soil ; rich pasture, wheat, beans, barley, and rape, considered as primary crops ; and, as secondary (or such as are not so generally cultivated), oats, carrots, potatoes, flax, and tares. In this division, however, though the nature of the soil may be stated under the general description of a clay loam, yet there are of this three degrees of quality, not to be marked by regular limits, but to be found throughout the whole, in distinct situations. It becomes Ihe more necessary to remark this, as the succession of crops depends on the quality of the soil ; and as there are here three different degrees of quality, so are there three different systems of rotation. 446. Upon the first quality of soil, the succession is as follows : first year, barley ; second, beans ; thu-d, wheat ; fourth, oats ; fifth, fallow. For tlie second quality of soil, the succession is as follows : first year, wheat ; second, beans or tares ; third, wheat or oats ; fourth, fallow. For the third quality of soil, the succession is as follows :' first year, wheat; second, fallow; third, wheat; fourtli, fallow. Besides these three qualities of strong soil, another of still superior fertility prevails in this district in considerable extent^ known by the denomination of Polders. 447. Tlie polders, m embanked lands of Flanders, are certain areas of land reclaimed from the sea by embankment, whose surface, once secured from the influx of the tide, becomes the most productive soil, vrithout requiring the assistance of any description of manure. They owe their origin partly to the collection of sand, in the small branches of rivers, gradually increasing, so as naturally to embank a portion of land, and convert it into an arable and fertile soil. They also have proceeded from the contraction of the river itself, which, by the effect of the tides, is diminished in one place, whilst an alluvial soil is formed in another by its overflow. Hence it is, that, within a century, entire polders in certain situations have been inundated, wliilst, in others, new and fertile land has appeared, as if from the bosom of the water. These operations of nature pointed out facilities many centuries back, which excited the industry of the Low Countries, an industry 76 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. ■which has been rewarded by the acquisition of their richest soil. These newly -fomied lands, before their embankment, are called schorres. They are flooded at every tide by Uie water of tlie sea, and are augmented by mire, bits of wood, rushes, sea-weeds, and other marine plants decayed and putrid, also by shells and fishy particles which the ebb always leaves behind in considerable quantity. This growing soil soon produces various plants and grasses, and improves daily. When such lands have acquired a crust or surface of black earth, three or four inches deep, they may be embanked and fallowed. Those are always the most productive which have been deepened in their soil by the augmentations of the sea ; and experience proves that in the comers and hollows, where, from an obstructing boundary, the greatest quantity of mire has been deposited, the soil is doubly rich and good, and cannot be impoverished by the crops of many years. In some instances, the embankments are made on the part of government ; in others, by companies or individuals, under a grant of a specific tenure (generally twenty-one years), rent free, or, according to circumstances, at some moderate annual payment. 448. The polder of Snaerskirke, near Ostend, contains about 1300 acres. It is of late formation, and was overflowed by a creek with its minor branches every spring tide. By constructing two banks and a flood-gate at the creek, the sea is excluded, and tlie space subdivided by roads, and laid out in fields of thirteen acres each, surrounded by ditches. The bank is fifteen feet in height, tliirty feet in the base, and ten feet across tlie top ; the land which has been reclaimed by it, was let for a sheep pasturage at 600 francs (2Si.) per annum, and was thrown up by tlie farmer as untenable. Upon being dried by this sum- mary improvement, the lots, of which there are one hundi-ed of thirteen acres each, were sold by auction at an average of 7000 francs (291^. 13s. 4rf.) a lot, and would now bring nearly double that rate. They are let to the occupying farmers at 36 guilders the m6sure, or about 21. I5s. the English acre, and are now producing superior crops of rape, of sucrion (winter barley), and beans, which constitute the usual rotation ; this, however, is varied according to circumstances, as follows : — 1 . oats, or rape ; 2. winter barley, or rape ; 3. winter barley ; 4. beans, pease, or tares. 449. Other examples of reclaimed lands are given. One called tlie Great Moor, recovered through the spirited exertions of M. Hyrwein, contains 2400 acres. Attempts had been made to recover it by the Spaniards, in 1610, but vrithout success. This marsh was seven feet below the level of the surrounding land ; therefore, to drain it, the following operations became necessary : — 450. To surround tite whole with a bank of eight feet in height, above the level of the enclosed ground, formed by the excavation of a fossi, fifteen feet wide and ten feet deep, which serves to. conduct the water to the navigable canal — To construct mills to tlirow the water over the bank into the foss4. — To intersect tlie interior by numerous drains from eight to twelve feet wide, with a fall to the respective mills, to which they conduct all the rain water, and all the soakage water which oozes through the banks. 45) . The mills in use for raising the water, are of a simple but effectual construction, and are driven by wind. The horizontal shaft above works an upright shaft, at tlie bottom of which a screw bucket, twenty-four feet in length, is put in motion by a bevil wheel, at such an angle as to give a perpendicular height of eight feet from the level of the interior drain to the point of disgorgement, whence the water is emptied with great force into the exterior canal. With full wind, each mill can discharge 150 tonneavx of water every minute. The height of the building from the foundation is about fifty feet, one half of it above the level of the bank. The whole is executed in brickwork, and the entire coat 36,000 francs, about 15001. British. It is judiciously contrived that the drains, which conduct the water to the mills, constitute the divisions and subdivisions of the land, forming it into regular oblong fields of considerable extent, marked out by the lines of osiers which ornament their banks. Roads of thirty feet wide lead through the whole in parallel directions. 452. The sail of this tract, which has been formed by the alluvial deposit of ages, is a, clay loam, strong and rich, but not of the extraordinary fertility of some polders, which are cropped independent of manure for many years. The first course of crops, commencing witii rape, is obtained without manure, and the return for six years is abundant ; the second commences and proceeds as follows : — 1. Fallow, with manure from farm-yard. 5. Clover. 2. Sucrion (winter barley). 6. Beans and Peas mixed. 3. Beans. 7. Oats. 4. Wheat. 453. The second division adjoins French Flanders, but does not extend to the sea. The soil may be described as a good loam of a yellowish colour, mixed witli some sand ■ but is not in its nature as strong as that of the foi-mer division. Its chief produce is wheat barley, oats, hops, tobacco, meadow, rape-seed and flax, as primary crops; and, as secondary, buckwheat, beans, turnips, potatoes, carrots, and clover. This division, unlike the former in this respect, is richly wooded. 454. The general course of crops in this division is as follows : — \: SSvTjXTS'wig'Shi. 1- ^i-^f"' """^ ^'^ '^' "■■' '"■' -■". 7 J Fallow, manure*. 4:Tu!SiF=, ]"'-«>•«''»'««»" "•"'"« life:; manured, > ^^'"'«"- Book 1. AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 77 9. Mlisat. 14. Wheat. 10. OaU. 15. Hops, with abundnnt manure. 11. Turnips. This laNt crop remniiis f^nerallj- live jears, and the ffraniA Is. Rve. |3 afterwards (it for any kind of produce. 13. Tobacco, three times ploughed, and richly manured. 465. In another part of this division, where hops ^e not grown, the following rotation is observed : — 1. Potatoes, with manure. 9. Wheat. 2. Wheat. 10- Oats, iBamevPar 3. Beans, with manure. 11. Turnips, J ^*"^y^"' 4. Rve. IS. Fallow, without manure. 5. Wheat, with manure. 13. Kye. 6. Clover, top-dressed with ashes. 14. Tobacco, richly manured. 7. Turnips, with manure. 15. Wheat. 8. Flax, highly manured with urine and rape cake. « 456. In addition to these crops in some parts of the district, particularly in the line between Woomen and Ypres, magnificent crops of rape are cultivated, and are relied on as a sure and profitable return. Flax is also a crop upon wliich their best industry is bestowed, and their careful preparation of the soil is scarcely to be surpassed by that of the neatest garden. 457. In the third division the soil is a good sandy loam, of a light colour, and is in a superior state of cultivation; it yields a produce similar to that of the foregoing division, with the same qu^ty of hay ; but plantations are here more numerous. The succession is as follows : — 1. Wheat, with dun^. 20. Clorer, with ashes, seeds sometimes saved. S. Clover, with a^hes, seed sometimes saved. 11. Oats, without manure. 3. Flax, with urine and rape cake. IS. Flax, with urine and rape cake. 4. Wheat,withcompostofshortdungandvarioiisaweepiDgs. 13. Wheat, with dung. 5. Potatoes, with fitrm-yard dung ornight soil. CBeans, with dung. 6. Ave, with urine. 14.< Beet root, with rape cake, or 7. R^«e seed, with rape cake and urine. ( Tobacco, with rape sake In great qoandtieR. S. Potatoes, with dung. Turnips are also grown* bat are takea as a second cmp after 9. Wheat, with manure of diVCTs kinds. rape^ flax, wheat, or lye. 458. Passing over the other divisions to the eighth and ninth, we find the reporter describes them as of considerable extent, and, in the poverty of their soil and abundance of their produce, bearing ample testimony to the skill and perseverance of the Flemish farmers. "Hie soil consists of a poor light sand, in the fifteenth century exhibiting barren gravel and heaths. The chief produce here consists of rye, fiax, potatoes, oats, buckwheat, rape- seed, and wheat, in a few favourable spots ; clover, carrots, and turnips generally. 459. On the 7uestem side of these districts, and where the soil is capable of yielding wheat, there are two modes of rotation : one comprising a nine years* course, in which wheat is but once introduced ; and the other a ten years' course, in which they contrive to produce that crop a second time ; but in neitlier instance without manure, which, indeed, is never omitted in these divisions, except for buckwheat, and occasionally for rye. The first course alluded to above is as follows : — 1. potatoes or Cairots, with four ploughings, and twelve tons 5. Oats with Clover, wi^h two ploughines, and ten tons and a of farm-yard dung per English acre. halfof farm-yard dung per English acre. S. Flax, with two ploughines, and 105 Winchester bushels 6. Clover, top-dressed, with 105 Winchester bushels of peat or of ashes, and 48 nogsheads, beer measure, of urine Dutch ashes per English acre. per English acre. 7. Rye, with one ploughing, and 5'i hogsheads, beer measure, 3. Wheat, wilh two plou^ings, and ten tons and a half of of ni^ht soil and^urine. &rro-yard dung per English acre. o. Oats, with two ploughings, and 52 hogsheads, beer measure, 4. Rye and Turnips, with two ploughings, and ten tons and of night soil and urine. a half of f^rm-yard dung per J&gliiJi acre. 9. Buckwheat, with four ploughings, and without any manure, 460. Of the Flemish mode of cultivating some particular crops we shall give a few examples. The drill husbandry has never been generally introduced in the Low Countries. It has been tried in the neighbourhood of Ostend, forty acres of beans against forty acres of drilled crop, and the result was considered to be in favour of the system. But the row culture, as distinguished from the raised diill manner, has been long known in the case of tobacco, cabbages, and some other crops. 46 1 . WJieat is not often diseased in Inlanders. Most farmers change their seed, and others in several places steep it in salt water or urine, and copperas or verdigrise. The proportion of verdigrise is half a pound to every six bushels of seed ; and the time in which the latter remains in the mixture is three hours, or one hour if cows' urine be used, because of its ammonia, which is considered injurious. The ripest and plumpest seed is always preferred. 462. Rye is grown both as a bread com, and for the distillery. In Flanders frequently, and in Brabant very generally, the farmer upon the scale of from one hundred to two hundred acres of light soil is also a distiller, purely for the improvement of the land by the manure of the beasts, which he can feed upon the straw of the rye, and liie grains of the distilleiy. 463. Buckwheat enters into the rotations on the poorest soils, and is sown on lands not got ready in time for other grain. The chief application of buckwheat i? to the feeding of svnne and poultry, for which it is preeminent ; it is also used in flour as a constituent in the liquid nourishment prepared for cattle and horses ; and bears no incon- siderable share in the diet of the peasant. Formed into a cake, without yeast, it is a very wholesome, and not a disagreeable, species of bread ; but it is necessary to use it while 78 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pabx I fresh, as, if kept, it would turn sour sooner than bread made of barley, i-ye, or wheateii flour. Its blossom is considered to afford the best food for bees. If cut green, it yields good forage, and if ploughed in when in flower, it is thought one of the best vegetable manures in use. It is also said to be used in distillation ; but this is not generally admitted to be the case. 464. Rape {colza, colsat, or cole seed; not the 5r^ssica JVJlpus of Linnaeus, but the B. camp^stris of DecandoUe) is considered an important article of Flemish agriculture. It is sometimes sown broad-cast, but the general and improved method is by transplanting, which they allege, and apparently with great justice, to have many advantages : one is, tliat tlie seed-bed occupies but a small space, whilst the land which is to carry the general crop is bearing com. By having the plants growing, they have time to harvest their corn, to plough and manure the stubble intended for the rape, which they put in with the dibble or the plough, from the latter end of September to the second week of November, without apprehending any miscarriage. 455. The seed-bed is sown in August, and even to the middle of September. In October, or sooner, the stubble is ploughed over, manured, and ploughed again. The plants are dibbled in the seams ot the ploughing (each furrow slice being twelve inches broad), and are set out at twelve inches' distance in the rows. Instead of dibbling upon the second ploughing, in many cases they lay the plants at the proper distances across the ftirrow, and as the plough goes forward, the roots are covered, and a woman follows to set them a little up, and to give them a firmness in the ground where necessary. Immediately after . the frost, and again m the month of April, the intervals are weeded and hand-hoed, and the earth drawn up to the plants, which is the last operation till the harvest It is pulled rather green, but ripens in the stack ; and is threshed without any particular management : but the application of the haulm, or straw, is a matter of new and profitable discovery ; it is burned for ashes, as manure, which are found to be so highly valuable beyond all other sorts which have been tried, that they bear a price as three to one above the other kinds, and it is considered that, upon clover, a dressing of one third less of these is amply sufiicient 466. The seed is sold for crushing ; or, as is frequently the case, it is crushed by the farmer himself ; an oil mill being a very common appendage to a farmery. 467. Theoilette, or pop]iy (Papaver somnifenim), is cultivated in some parts, and yields a very fine oil ; in many instances, of so good a quality as to be used for salad oil. The seed requires a rich and well manured soil. The crop is generally taken after rape, for which the ground has been plentifully manured ; and for the oilettes it receives a dressing not less abundant. The seed is sown at the rate of one gallon to the English acre, and is lightly covered by shovelling the furrows. The average produce is about thirty Winchester bushels to the English acre. "J'he seed is not so productive as rape, in point of quantity, but exceeds it in price, both as grain and as oil, by at least one sixth. The measure of oil produced from rape, is as one to four of the seed ; that produced from the seed of the oilettes, is as one to five. 468. Poppy seed is sown both in spring and autumn, but the latter is considered the best season ; great attention is given to the pulverisation of the soil, by frequently harrowing, and (if the weather and st^te of the soil permit) sufiicient rolling to reduce ^11 the clods. 469. The harvesting qf the poppy is performed in a particular m.inner, and requires a great number of hands. The labourers work in a row, and sheets are laid along the line of the standing crop, upon which, bending the plants gently forward, they shake out the seed. When it ceases to fall from the capsules, that row of the plants is pulled up, and placed upright in small sheaves, in the same, or an adjoining field, in order to ripen such as refused to yield their seed at the first operation. The_ sheets are then again drawn forward to the standing crop, and the same pro- 57 cess'is repeated, till all the plants are shaken, pulled up, and removed. In two or three days, if the weather has been very fine, the sheets are placed before the rows of the sheaves, which are shaken upon them, as the plants were before ; if any seed remains, it is extracted in the barn by the flail : and, if the weather is unpromising, the plants are not left in the field after the first operation, but are placed at once under some cover to ripen ; and yield the remainder of their seed, either by being threshed or shaken. 470. The red clover is an important and frequent article in the Flemish rotations. The quantity of seed sown does not exceed six pounds and a quarter to the English acre. The soil is ploughed deep and well prepared, and the crop kept very clear of weeds. Their great attention to prevent weeds, is marked by the perseverance prac- tised to get rid of one, wliich occasionally infests the clover crop, and is indeed most difficult to be exterminated. The OrobAnche, or broom rape (Orobanche major) {fg. 57.), is a parasitical plant which attaches itself to the pea tribe. In land where clover has been too fre- quently sown, it stations itself at its root, and, if suffered to arrive at its wonted vigour, will spread and destroy an entire crop. The farmer considers the mischief half done, if this dangerous plant is permitted to appear above the surface ; and he takes the precaution to inspect his clover in the early spring. The moment the Orobanche establishes itself at the root, the stem and leaf of the clover, deprived of their circulating juices, fade to a sickly hue, which the farmer recoo-nises, and, with true Flemish industry, roots up and destroys the°latent enemy. If this is done "in time, and with great care, the crop is saved • if not, the infected soil refuses to yield clover again for many years. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 79 471. The turnip is not in general cultivated as a main crop, but usually after rye or rape, or some crop early removed. Ilie turnip is sowii broad-cast, thinned, and hoed with great care ; but it aifords a very scanty crop of green food, generally eat off with sheep in September or later. The Swedish turnip is unknown ; and indeed the turnip husbandry, as practised in Britain, cannot be considered as known in Flanders, 472. The potato was introduced early in the seventeenth century, but attracted little notice till the beginning of the eighteenth. It is cultivated witli great care. The ground is trenched to the depth of nearly two feet ; and small square holes having been formed at about eighteen inches from each otlier, a set is deposited in each, the hole nearly filled with dung, and the earth thrown back over all. As tlie stalks rise they are earthed up from tlie intervals, and manured with liquid manure ; and, as tliey continue to rise, they receive a second earthing round each distinct plant, which, with a suitable weeding, terminates the labour. Notwithstanding the distance between the plants, the whole surface is closely covered by the luxuriance of the stems, and the return is abundant. If tlie seed is large, it is cut ; if small, it is planted whole. In some parts of the Pays de Waes they drop the potato sets in the furrow as the plough works, and cross-hoe them as they rise ; but the metliod first mentioned is the most usual, and tlie produce in many cases amounts to ten tons and one sixth, by the English acre. 473. Potatoes are the chief food of tlie lower classes. They are prized in Flanders, as being both wholesome and economical, and are considered there so essential to the subsistence of a dense population, that at one time it was in serious contemplation to erect a statue, or some other monument of the country's gratitude, to the person who first introduced amongst them so valuable a production. They are also very much used in feeding cattle and swine ; but, for this purpose, a particul^' sort, much resembling our ox-noble, or cattle potato, is made use of, and the produce is in Flanders, as witli us, considerably greater than that of the other kinds intended for the table. 474. T/ie carrot is a much valued crop in sandy loam. The culture is as follows : — After harvest they give the land a moderate ploughing, which buries the stubble, and clearing up the furrows to drain off the waters, they let the field lie so for the winter ; early in spring tliey give it a second ploughing very deep (from eleven to twelve inches), and shortly after they harrow the surface well, and spread on it ninety-six carts of manure to the bonnier, about twenty-one tons to the English acre. This manure is in general half from the dunglrill, and half of what is termed Tnerde, or a collection from the privies, which being ploughed in, and the surface made smooth, they sow the seed in the month of April, broad-C£Kt, and cover it with a harrow. The quantity sown is estimated at eleven pounds to the bonnier, or about three ]jounds to the English acre. The average produce, about one hundred and sixty bushels to the English acre. 475. The carrot, as nutritive food both for cattle and horses, is a crop extremely valuable. In Flanders it is generally substituted in the room of hay, and a moderate quantity of oats is also given. To each horse, in twenty-four hours, a measure is allotted, which weighs about twenty-five pounds. This appears a great quantity, but it makes hay-feeding altogether unnecessary. To each of the milch cows, a similar measure is given, including the tops, and this is relied on for good butter, both as to quantity and quality, 476. The white beet, or mangold-wiirzel, is not in use in Flanders as food for cattle, but was once cultivated very extensively for the production of sugar. At the time the French government encouraged the manufacture of sugar from this root, experiments were made on a considerable scale, and with great success, in the town of Bruges. The machinery was unexpensive, and the remaining cost was merely that of the manual labour, and a moderate consumption of fuel. The material itself came at a very low rate, about ten shillings British by the ton ; and to tliis circumstance may be chiefly attributed the cessation of the manufacture. Instead of encouraging the cultivator, tlie government leaned altogether to the manufacturer, and made it imperative on every farmer to give up a certain proportion of his land to this root, without securing to him a fair remuneration. The consequence was, that the manufacturers, thus supported, and taking advantage of the constrained supply, have in many instances been known to refuse payment even of the carriage of a parcel, in other respects sent in gratuitously ; and a consequence still more natural was, that the farmers, wherever they had the opportunity of shaking off so profitless a crop, converted the space it occupied to better purposes. 477. To the manvfactwrer cfbeet root sugar the profit was ample. An equal quantity of sugar with that of the West Tnd=es, which at that time sold for five shillings a pound, coufd be produced on the spot from mangold-wflrzel, at less than one shilling by the pound ; and to such perfection had the sugar thus made arrived, that the prefect, mayor, and some of the chief persons of Bruges, who were invited by a manu- facturer to witness the result of his experiments, allowed the specimens which he produced to exceed those of the foreign sugar, 478. The process qf manztfactwi-ing beet root sugar, as then in use, was simple. A cylindrical grater of sheet-iron was made to work in a trough, prepared at one side in the hopper form, to receive the clean- washed roots of the beet, which, by the rotation of this rough cylinder, were reduced to a pulp. This pulp, when placed in bags of unen or hair-cloth, and submitted to a pressure resembling that of a cider press, yielded its liquor in considerable quantity j which being boiled and subjected to a proportion of lime, the saccharine matter was precipitated. The liquor being then got rid of, a solution of sulphuric acid was 80 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Paut I. added to the precipitate, which being boiled again, the lime was disengaged ; the saccharine matter, being tlien freed IVom tlie liqnor, granulated, and was ready for tile refiner. The pulp has been found to yield, upon distillation, a wholesome spirit, very inferior, but not very unlike, to geneva, and has been proved excellent as a manure, but not valuable as food for cattle, beyond the first or second day from the press. The foregoing process required but a fortnight to complete it 479. Flax is cultivated with the utmost care. The field intended for this crop, after two or three ploughings and harrowings, is again ploughed, commencing in the centre, and ploughing round and round to the circumference, so as to leave it without atiy furrow. The heavy roller is drawn across the ploughing by three horses; the liquid manure is tlien spread equally over tlie entire surface, and when well harrowed in by eight or nine strokes of the harrow, the seed is sown, which is also harrowed in by a light harrow, with wooden pins of less than three inches; and the surface, to conclude the operation, is again carefully rolled. Nothing can exceed tie smoothness and cultivated appearance of fields thus accurately prepared. 480. The manure universnlli) used for the Jlax crop, demands particular notice : it is termed liquid manure, and consists of the urine of cattle, in which rape-cake has been dissolved, and in which the vidanges conveyed from the privies of the adjoining towns and villages have also been blended. This manure is gradually collected in subter- raneous vaults of brickwork, at the verge of the farm next to the main road. Those receptacles are generally forty feet long, by fourteen vride, and seven or eight feet deep, and in some cases are contrived with the crown of the arch so much below the surface of the ground, as to admit the plough to work over it. An aperture is left in the side, through which the manure is received from the cart by means of a shoot or trough, and at one end an opening is left to bring it up again, by means of a temporary pump, which delivers it either into carts or tonneaus. 481. The liquid is carried to the field in sheets or barrels, according to the distance. "Where the cart plies, the manure is carried in a great sheet called a voile, closed at the comers by running strings, and secured to the four uprights of the carts ; and two men, standing one on each side of the cart, scatter it with hollow shovels upon the rolled ground. Where the tonneaus are made use of, each is carried by two men with poles, and set down at equal intervals across the field in the line of the rolling. There are two sets of vessels, which enable the men, who deposit the loaded ones, to bring back the others empty. One man to each vessel, witli a scoop, or ratlier a kind of bowl with a long handle, spreads the manure, so as to cover a certain space ; and thus, by preserving the intervals correctly, they can precisely gauge the quantity for a given extent of surface. For the flax crop they are profuse ; and of this liquid mixture, in this part of the country, they usually allow at the rate of 2480 gallons, beer measure, to the English acre. 482. Spurry (Spfe'gula arv^nsis) (^fig. 58.) is cultivated on the poorest soils. It is so quick of growtli and short of duration, that it -is often made to take an intermediate place between the harvest and the spring sowing, without any strict adherence to the regularity of succession. It is sown sometimes in tlie spring, but in general in the autumn, immediately after harvesting the corn crops. One light ploughing is sufficient; and as the grain is very small, it is but very lightly covered. About twenty-four pounds of seed to the acre is the usual quantity. Its growth is so rapid that in five or six weeks it acquires its full ' height, which seldom exceeds twelve or fourteen inches. The crop is of course a light one, but is considered of great 1^M^^^^^^^^^=^ i?% value, both as supplying a certain quantum of provender ^3^^ "^^ | f * *S^ at very little cost, and as being the best food for milch cows, to improve the quality of the butter. It lasts till the frost sets in, and is usually fed off by milch cows tethered on it, but is sometimes cut and carried to the stalls. 483. Wliere s)mrry is sown in spring the crop is occasionally made into hay ; but fi-om the watery nature of the plant, it shrinks very much in bulk, and upon the whole is much more advantageously consumed in the other manner. It is indigenous in Flanders • and, except when cultivated, is looked on as a weed, as in this country. 484. The hop is culiivated on good soils, and generally after wheat. Tlie land being four times ploughed, the plants are put in, in the month of Hay, in rows with intervals of six feet, and six feet distant in the row. In the month of October they raise the earth round each plant, in little mounds about two feet and a half high, for the purpose of encouraging a number of shoots, and of preserving them from the frost. When all harsh weatlier has disappeared, about the begiiming of April in the second year, they level those little heaps, and take away all superfluous shoots at the root, leaving but four or five of the strongest. They then spread over the entire surface, at the rate of twelve caits of 1500 lbs. each, by the English acre, of dung, either of cows, or of cows Book L AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 81 and swine mixed; but they avoid the heat and fermentation of horse-dung. This dress- ing is given when the shoots begin to appear ; at which time also, they fix in the cai-th, close to each Mil, a pole of dry wood, about eighteen feet in length, for the vines to cling by. In the montli of July, tliey give the surface another dressing with urine, at the rate of 1000 gallons the English acre. In the month of August, the crop has nearly arrived at its full growdi, and flourishes in all its beauty. *RS. The crop is ready to gather in the month qf September, when they cut the runners at about three feet from the ground, and in November they cut them to the earth ; they then heap up the soil about each plant as before, to the height of two feet and a half, and follow precisely the same course as above- mentioned each year, during five, which is the usual time they suiffer the plantation to continue, and at the expiration of which the land is in the highest condition, and suited to the reception of any other crop, 486. Madder is sometimes cultivated, but only on land of the best quality, and with plenty of manure. At the end of April or May, accordingly as the young plants are large enough to be transplanted, the land must be ploughed in beds of two feet and two feet and a half wide ; the beds are then to be harrowed and raked, and the young suckers of the roots or plants are to be put down in rows, at intervals of a foot or a foot and a half, and six or eight inches distant in the row. 487. During the entire summer the land should he frequently stirred, and kept free from weeds. In the month of November, when the leaves are faded, the plants are covered with two inches of earth by a plough, having the point of the coulter a little raised or rounded, so as not to injure the young plants. 488. In the following spring, when the young shoots are four or five inches long, they are gathered or torn off, and planted in new beds, in the same manner as has been pointed out above; and then in the month of September or October, after the faded leaves have been removed, the old roots are taken up. 4S9. Tfie madder thus taken up should be deposited under cover, to protect it from the rain ; and, after ten or twelve days, placed in an oven moderately heated. When dried sufficiently, it is gently beaten with a flail, to get rid of any clay that may adhere to the plants ; and, by means of a small windmill, is ground and sifted, to separate it from any remaining earth or dirt It is then replaced in the oven for a short time, and when taken out is spread upon a hair-cloth to cool ; after \^ich it is ground and cleaned once more. It is then carried to a bruising-mill, and reduced to a fine powder, after which it is packed in casks or barrels for market. 490. The culture of woad, though not general, ha.s been practised in Flanders. It was an object with the French government to spread the cultivation of it, and a con- siderable quantity of seed was sent gratis into the country for that purpose. 491. Woad thrives only on gravelly and san/ly soils, which must be well pulverised, manured, and formed into beds, as in the case of madder culture. It is sown in March or April in rows, or broad-ca-st, and harrowed or covered witli a rake. All weeds are cleared away, and the plants thinned, if a careful culture is followed. The leaves are tlie part of the plant which is used by the indigo manufacturer. They should be gathered singly, like those of spinach, as soon as they begin to show signs of maturity, and the mature leaves taken olF from time to time as tiiey grow. Tliis operation goes on from June to September in the first year, and from June to August in the second ; when the plant being a biennial, shoots into flower stems. Tlie leaves are fermented, and the dye precipitated froBi the liquor and dried, &c., in a mp-nner analogous to what is practised in India with indigo ; but with great improvements, made at the instance of the French government, which, in 1810, called forth the process described in a French work, and translated in the appendix to RadcIiiF's report. At present it is to be considered more as matter of curious historical information, or of local adoption, than of general utility ; because no mode of cultivating or preparing woad could bring it into competition, either in the European or American market, with indigo. 492. With culinary vegetables the Flemish markets are abundantly supplied. Most of these are grown by the small farmers, and are of excellent quality. To every cottage in Flanders a garden of some description is attached ; and according to tlie means, the leisure, and the skill of the possessor, is rendered more or less productive. The general principles of management with all are, frequent digging, caieful weeding, ample ma- nuring, and immediate succession. The rotation depends on circumstances. The chief vegetables in common use are, parsnep, carrot, turnip, scorzonera, savoy, jettechou cabbage (Brussels sprouts), onions, leeks, peas, beans, and all kinds of salading, with another vegetable called f^ve haricot, a large species of French bean, which has a placa in the field or garden of almost every farmer, and being sliced down, pod and seed, is made a chief ingredient in all farm-house cookery. 493. 7Vie treatment of asparagus here, and generally in Flanders, differs considerably from our method. In fonning their beds, they are not by any means particular as to very deep trenching, or a profusion of manure ; nor, as they grow up, do they cover the beds with litter for the winter, nor fork and dress them in the spring. In the furrows they form a rich and mellow compost of earth and dung, with which, before winter sets in, they dress up the beds to the height of nearly eighteen inches from the level of the crowns ; and, without any further operation (except supplying the furrows again for the ensuing year), as soon as the buds appear, they cut them nine inches under the surface, by which means, having but just reached the light, tlie whole of the stock is blanched. G 82 HISTORY OF AfiUICULTURE. Part I. 494. Tlie frequent manunngs given, by the Flemish farmer astonish a stranger ; the sources whence it is obtained in sufficient quantity form the difficulty, and tJiis can only be resolved by referring to tlie practice oi soiling ; to the numerous towns and villages ; and io the care with which every particle of vegetable or animal refuse is saved for this purpose. Manure in Flanders, as in China, is an article of trade. The selling price of each description is easily ascertained ; tlie towns let the cleansing of the streets and public retiring places at great rents. Chaptal says tliere are in every town sworn brokers, expressly for the purpose of valuing night soil ; and that these brokers know the exact de- gree of fermentation in that manure which suits every kind of vegetable, at the different periods of its growth, {Chimie appliqu^e a l*u4griculture, 1. 137.) 495- JEvery substance that constitutes, or is convertible to, manure, is sought after with avidity, which accounts for the extreme cleanliness of the Flemish towns and pavements, hourly resorted to, with brooms and barrows, as a source of profit. Even the chips which accumulate in the formation of the wooden shoes worn by the peasantry, are made to constitute a part of the compost dung-heap ; and trees are frequently cultivated in barren lands, merely to remain till their deciduous leaves shall, in course of time, have formed an artificial surface for the purpose of cultivation. The manures hi general use are, — 496. TJie farm-yard dwngt which is a mixture of every matter that the farm-yard produces, formed into a compost, which consists of dung and litter from the stables, chaff, sweeijings, straw, sludge, and rubbish, all collected in a hollow part of the yard, so prepared as to prevent the juices from being wasted ; and the value of this, by the cart-load of 1500 lbs. of Ghent, is estimated at five francs. ■197. The dung of sheep^ pigeons^ or poultry^ by the same cart-load, five francs and a half. 498. Sweepings of streets and roads, same quantity, three francs. 499. Ashes qf peat and wood mixed^ same quantity, eight francs. 500. Privy manure and urine, same quantity, seven francs. 501. LiinCt same quantity, twenty-four francs. 503. Rape-cake, per hundred cakes, fifteen francs. 503. Gmisum, sea mud, and the sediment qf the canals, have been all tried experimentally, and with fair results : but the two former have been merely tried ; the latter is used successfully in the vicinity of Bruges. 504. BoTie manure was altogether unknown in Flanders ; but, at the suggestion of Radcliff, is now under experiment in that country. 505- The agricultural impleynents of Flanders are by no means such as the excellence of the Flemish culture would lead us to suspect. They are in general of rude work- manship, but constructed with attention to strength, durability, and cheapness. 506. The plough has a rude appearance, but works easily, and makes excellent work in loose friable soil ; though it would not make a sliarp angled furrow-slice in breaking up pastures. It is never drawn by more tlian two horses, and on light sands often by one, or by a single ass, 507. The binot, or Walloon plough, used in Brabant, described by Sir John Sinclair, is a plough with a double or scuffler share, two mould-boards, but no coulter. It is chiefly used for breaking up lands. If the soil is foul, they employ it two or three times, for the purpose of cleaning it thoroughly. The land is not turned over, as by the plough, and the weeds buried, but the soil is elevated ijjto small ridges, by means of which the couch and other root-weeds are not only cut, but they are exposed to the frost in winter, and to the drought of spring ; and when the land becomes dry, which it does quickly when thus elevated, these weeds are collected by the harrow, by a trident (or large pitchfork), by a rake, or by the hand. After the binot, the land is always ploughed for the seed furrow. This implement and its appli- cation are strongly recommended to the British farmer, by Sir J. Sinclair, as improvements ; but, as the editor of the Farmer's Magazine observes, the implement is nothing more than a double mould-board plough, and the operation of ridging with it is the justly exploded practice of " ribbing." The late machinist Weir informed us, that he had orders for several binots from Sir J. Sinclair and others, and that he used exactly the same form, as when a double mould-board plough was ordered. 508, 7%e mouldebaert (fig, 59.) is a curious and useful implement. It resembles a large square malt or cinder shovel, strongly prepared with iron on the cutting edge, and Bo AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. 89 is di-awn by a pair of horses with swingle-trees. It is used to lessen Inequalities of surface, by removing a part of the soil from the heights to the hollows, which it does in an easy and expeditious manner. The driver, who uses long reins, by pressing moderately on the handle (a) as the horses go forward, collects and transports about five hmidred weight of earth to the place where it is to be deposited ; which is effected in the most summaiy manner by his letting go the handle : this causes the front, or edge of the machine, (6) to dip, and catch against the ground, whereby it is at once inverted and emptied of its load. The extremity of the handle, to which a rope (c) is affixed, by this inversion strikes against, and rests upon the swingle-tree bar, and in this manner the mouldebaert is drawn along towards the accumulated earth, when, by taking up the rope, the driver draws back the handle, collects his load as before, ^^ gy proceeds to the spot which is to receive it, and the horses are never for a moment delayed. The saving of time and labour, in fiUing and emptying, gives this implement a decided superiority over the cart; nor is the ground so much injured by this, as by wheels. 509. The Hainmdt scythe {J^. 60.) is the general reaping instrument both in the Netherlands and in French Flanders. The handle is fourteen inches, with a shield for the hand of four and a half inches, in all eighteen and a half ^ inches ; the blade is two feet three inches in length, the point a little raised,^ and the entire edge bevelled upwards so as to avoid the surface of the ground, and the frequent use of the sharpening stone. The handle of the crook being of hard wood, is used as a scythe board. A farther account of the mode of using this instrument, and ot a series of trials which have been made with it in Scotland, will be found in a succeeding part of this work. 510. The great Brabtmt scytJie {Jig. 61.) differs little from the British implement, and is in general use for mowing clover, _. 511. 2%e Aytewderie, to which Radcliff seems to attach unmerited importance, is "i nothing more than a screen for freeing grain from vermin, dust, or smaU seeds. It resembles a gravel screen, and is used m the same manner. 513. The trenching spade consists of a blade of iron fifteen inches long, and a han. die of two feet The labourer standing in the last formed trench, with his left hand at the bottom of the handle, and his right near the top, by the weight of his body, and without the assistance of his foot^ sinks the spade about eighteen inches, and standing sideways, throws off the soil with a peculiar sleight and turn of the wrist, so as to lodge it in an oblique position in the trench, and against the preceding line of work, retiring as he casts it from the spade, and thereby effecting some little mix- ture of the two strata, though the upper surface is at the same time placed below the other. 513. The pronged hoe has a pronged blade on one side, and a common plate on the other ^ it is exceedingly useful ; one side may be used for cutting weeds where they ^prevail, and the other for stirring a surface already clean. ~ } 514. The chariot^ or great cart (Jig. 62.), is the only machine of the Flemish farmer which appears to transgress the bounds of a rigid economy. This, as it is not only to be used for the transport of grain, but of the farmer and his family occasionally, to the market-town, is more ornamentally finished than any other, and is painted in showy colours, chiefly green and red ; an awning also is very ingeniously contrived, as an occasional defence ag^nst the rain and sim. From the natural spring of so long a perch, the centre part of this machine is by no means an uneasy conveyance ; and there the farmer sits in all solemnity, whilst a well appointed boor acts as a postilion, and his fine and spirited pair of weU-trained horses bring him home from market at a rapid trot. 515. Agriculturcd operations of every kind are performed with particular care in Flandere. The most remarkable feature in the operations of culture consists in the fre- quent ploughings given on all soils ; in strong soils for the sake of pulverisation as well as cleanliness ; in the lighter, chiefly for the destruction of weeds, and blending the manure with the soil. But, considering that but one pair of horses is in general allowed to about thirty acres, it is surprising how (with the execution of all the other farming work) time can be found for the number of ploughings which is universally given. Veiy generally, the number, for the various crops, respectively, is as follows : — G 2 84 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE Part I. Far Wheat, two plouehlngs, with tvo hHirowInRS. ForOUdfca, two or three plouRbinRSi wltK two harrowing*. R}je, twootthreedit.o. ditto. Tobacco, four ditto, ditto. Oais, three ditto, ditto. Hetnp, four ditto, diUo. Polaioei, four ditto, ditto. ™ , ■ ftlirt* as a first crop, ditto, ditto. CamU, four ditto, ditto. urmp, \ ^^^ ^ ^ second crop, di'.lo, ditto. Flax, two ditto, ditto. c ..«.., f three as a first crop, ditto, ditto. Bucktvheat, four ditto, ditto. ^P«".'A ]^ one as a second crop, ditto, ditto. Rape, three ditto, ditto. Beang, two ditto, li'^*** narliy, three ditto, ditto. FuIIowm, four or five ditto, ditto. 516. Trenching is a feature almost peculiar to Flemisli fanning, and that of Tuscany. This remarkable practice is confined to tlie lighter soils, and is not used where tiie strong clay prevails. In the districts in which it is adopted, the depth of the operation varies with tliat of the soil ; but till this has arrived at nearly two feet of mellow surface, a little is added to it at each trenching, by bringing to the top a certain proportion of the under stratum ; which, being exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and minutely mixed with a soil already fertilised, gradually augments the staple till the sought-for depth be required. 517. The management of live stock in Flanders, though good, is not so eminently ex- emplary as their tillage culture. The cattle are tlie short-horned Dutch breed; the colour generally black, or black and white. Little attention is given to the improvement of the form by selection. Tlie sheep are long-wooUed and long-legged, and afford a coarse fleece and very indilferent mutton. They are housed at night, and, in the daytime, follow the shep- herd and liis dog through pathways and along tlie verges of the fields and roads, picking up a mere subsistence, and never enjoying the range of a sweet and wholesome pasture. In winter they are let out but once a day, and are fed in the sheep houses on rye and hay, &c. A cross with the Merino breed has been tried ; but, as might have been predicted from the incongruous parentage, with no benefit. "Die swine are long-legged, narrow- backed, and flat-ribbed ; not easily fatted, but, when well fed and long kept, making excellent pork and bacon. 5 1 8. The horse is the animal for which Flanders has long been noted, with regard to the excellence of its working breed ; and that of England has been considerably improved by the frequent importation thence of stallions and mares, previous to the French revolution. ITie Suffolk punch horse comes nearest to the most prevalent variety in Flanders ; the resemblance is strong, not only in colour^ but in some of the essential points of fonn : however, though the prevailing colour is chestnut in all its shades, yet otlier colours are likewise to be met with ; and, with very few exceptions, the Flemish horses are of superior strength, and of the true working character. The chief, indeed almost the only, defects to be observed in any are, a want of depth in the girth, and a dip behind the withers ; for symmetry, perhaps the shoulder also, at the top, should be a little finer ; but in all other respects they possess the best shapes. 519. Evei-y farmer breeds his own work-horses, and disposes of the redundance. Even the total absence of pasture is not suffered to prevent it ; and the foals are found to thrive remarkably well in a close house. For this purpose, as well as for the general keep of the stock, a regular dietary is observed. The manger is formed of well cemented brickwork. In summer clover, and in winter carrots, are usually given ; hay in very small quantities, but in all cases chopped straw mixed with corn or beans, or both, and water aired by keeping in the stable, and whitened with a pretty strong proportion of barley-meal. With every symjptom of sufficient spirit, they are extremely docile ; and, besides being obedient to the word, are guided in Intricate cases, in a manner surprising to a stranger, by a single cord ; this rein is never thick, and, in some instances, is as small as a stout whipcord, and yet in the deeper soils three powerful horses abreast (the bridles of the middle and oft-side horses being connected with that upon the near-side horse, to which this rein is affixed) are guided by it at all the turnings, the ploughman holding the rein in one hand, and his single-handed plough in the other, and performing his work with the most accurate straightness and precision. Of corn to market, a pair of horses generally draw two tons ; of manure to the field, one ton and half j and on the pavement in the towns, three tons, without appearing to be overloaded. 520. The shoeing o^ horses in Flanders is attended to with particular care, and in that country has long been practised tlie mode of preserving the bars of the hoof, and of letting the frog come in contact with the ground, recommended in England by Freeman and Professor Colman, The use of cockers, or turned heels, is, except in part, entirely abandoned. In two respects, however, the shoeing in Flanders differs from any of the methods in use with us. In ojie, that to prevent ripping, the hoofs of the fore- feet are pared away towards the toe, and the shoes so fitted, that the fore part shall not touch (within three fourths of an inch) the same level surface, upon which the heel and middle of the shoe shall rest. 521. This preparation qfthefooi is in general use; the horses are not thereby in any detrree iniured and are particularly sure-footed. The other point of difference is, that the shoe is nailed on flat and close to the foot, which, mdepnvmg the iron of all spring, and aU unequal pressure against the nails, may be m part the cause of the durability of the shoeing. , <»7 uc 522. For shoeing vicious hm-ses every precaution is taken by the use of the forge machine, a common appendage to the smithies in Flanders. If the horse is not altogether unmanageable, his hind foot is tied to a cross bar, or his fore leg to a stilt and bracket ; but if he is extremely vicious indeed, he can be raised from the ground m a minute, by means of a cradle-sling of strong girth web, hooked to the upper side- rails, which, with a shght handspike are turned in the blocks that support them (the extremities of the wirhl'' ^^ ^° ^^^^ ^^ elevated to the proper height, and rendered whoUy 523. The Flemish and Dutch dairies are more remarkable for the abundance than the excellence of their products ; owing to the inferiority of their pastures, and the cows Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS. es being kept the greater part of the winter in the house. In summer the principal article of food in Flandei-s is clover, cut and carried to the stall. On a small scale, when pasturage is to be had, tliey are left at liberty ; when tliis is not the case, each cow is led by a rope, and permitted to feed round the corn fields, tlie grassy borders of which are left about ten feet wide for this purpose. 524. The Jbodfor one cow in winter j for twenty-four hours, is straw, eighteen pounds ; turnips, sixty pounds. Some fanners boil the turnips for them j others give them raw, chopping them with the spade : °*v S^- '^'^ operation is necessary to obviate the risit of the animal being choked, where the turnips, which IS usually the case i.i Flanders, are of too small a size. In lieu of turnips, potatoes, carrots, and gr2uns are occasionally used. Bean-straw is likewise given, and uniformli^ a white drink, prepared both for cows and horses, consisting of water in which some oilcake has been dissolved, whitened with ryemeal. oatmeal, or the flour of buckwheat 525. In tile dairies the summer feed is pasturage day and night; in winter, hay, turnips, carrots, grains from tlie breweries, cakes of linseed, rapeseed, bean and other meals, and the white drink before mentioned. For the sake of cleanliness, the tails of the cows are tied to the roof of the cow-house with a cord during the time of milking. The cow-houses, both in Flanders aiid Holland, are kept remarkably clean and warm ; so much so, that a gentleman " spoke (to RadcUff) of having drunk coffee with a cow- keeper, in the general stable, in winter, without the annoyance of cold, of dirt, or of any offensive smell." The Dutch are particularly averse from unfolding the secrets of their dairy management ; and, notwitlistanding the pointed queries of Sir John Sinclair on the subject, no satisfactory idea was given him of their mode of manufacturing butter or dieese. 526. Tlie wooiUands of Flanders are of considerable extent ; but more remarkable for the care bestowed on them, than for the bulk of limber grown. To this purpose, in, deed, the soil is inadequate ; most of these woods having been planted or sown on land considered too poor for tillage. 527. Injbrming artificiae plantations, the general mode is to plough the ground three or four times, and take a crop of buckwheat ; afterwards the plants or seeds are inserted and hoed for a year or two, till they cover the surface. For the Scotch pine, which is sometimes sown alone on the poorest soils, the most common and the simplest mode is that of burning the surface, for which process its heathy quality gives great facility. The ashes being spread,the ground is formed into beds from six to fiiteen feet wide, accord- mg to circumstances ; the seed sown at the rate of six pounds to the English acre, and covered by a light shoveling from thefnrrows, which are sunk about two feet, not only to supply covering to thebeds, but as drains to carry off the surface water. 528. ExtenHve artifidal woods have been created in this manner, converting a barren soil into a state of productiveness, the least expensive, very profitable, and highly orna- mental. Of six years' growth, there exist flourishing plantations (treated in this manner), from five to nine feet in height. At about ten years from its formation, they begin to thin the wood, and continue to do so annually, with such profit by the sale, as at the end of thirty years to have it clear of every charge ; a specific property being thus acquired, by industry and attention merely, without the loss of any capital. 529. Pine woods, are often sown, and with great success, without the labour of burning the surface ; as at Vladsloo, in the neighbourhood of Dixmude, where a luxuriant crop, seven feet high, though of but five years' growth, had been cultivated by Madame de Cleir, by merely ploughing the heatliy surface into beds of fifteen feet, harrowing, sowing at the rate of six pounds to the EngU.sh acre, raking in the seed, and covering the beds lightly from the furrows, which are sunk about eighteen inches deep. .530. Another mode ofsowing, practised by the Baron de Serret, in the vicinity of Bruges, was productive of a growth not less luxuriant, merely by sowing the seed upon sand (taken from the excavation for a building) which was spread over the heathy surface, the seed raked in, and the furrows shoveled up, fibl. The sowing qf pine seed in many cases is adopted for the purpose of bringing waste land into an arable state, which, when the timber has been disposed of, is found to yield admirable crops, from a surface soil formed by the accumulation of the leaves which have fallen for so many years. For this purpose also, the broom is frequently sown upon waste lands of a similar description, and at the end of four or five years is pulled away, leaving the soil capable of yielding crops of com. 532. The preservation qf trees is attended to in tlie strictest manner, not only by proprietors, but by the government. As an example of this, Radcliff mentions that at a certain season of the year, when the caterpillars commence tlieir attack upon the trees, every farmer is obliged to destroy those upon his own premises, to the satisfaction of the mayor of his particular commune, or to pay the cost of having it done for him. As a. proof of the strictness with which this is enforced, the governor sends round a circular letter annually, reminding the sub-intendants and mayors of the obligations and penalties for nonperformance. ' 533. There are a number qf royal forests in Flanders ; and, besides these, all the trees on the sides of the public roads belong to the government. In West Flanders there are five, amounting together to nearly 10,000 acres. They are superintended by eighteen persons : an inspector, resident at Bruges ; a deputy inspector, resident at Ypres ; two gardes g^nA-aux, and fourteen particuliers, or privates. TTie inspector is answerable for all : from him the garde g^itrai takes his instructions, and sees that they are enforced by the privates, to whom is committed the regulation of the necessary labour. G 3 86 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 534. The cuttings take place periodically with respect to Gmall trees and fire-wood, so as to secure an annual produce j out reserves are always left to become, eventually, large and valuable timber. 535. Tfie cutting of the taillis or coppice, chiefly used as fire-wood, takes place every eleventh year ; that of the high and grosser coppice, every twenty-fifth year ; the felling of tlie half-grown forest trees, every sixtieth year; and that of the ftiU-grown forest trees, once in a hundred years. 536. hi the management of coppices, it is considered essential to preserve the roots from stagnant water ; the trenches originally formed for that purpose are from time to time cleared out; and the sediment and manure from the falling leaves, which have accumulated in tliem, are carefully spread upon the ridge, or rounded set, wliich the wood occupies, A second branch of regular attention is to remove all brambles and briars; a third, to replace the old and fading stocks by new plantations ; a fourth, to thin tlie stems with regularity and care. ;J37. The sorts qf trees are birch, oak, service, ash, maple, elm, beech, poplar, aspen, wild pine, Wey- mouth pine, plane, lime, larch, Spanish chestnut, and alder. A variety of pine, called the T'inus marU tima, but not the plant of that name which is known on the coast of Italy and Greece, has been tried on the sea-coast, and found to resist the sea-breeze. It is said extensive plantations have been made of this tree on the coast of France, at Bourdeaux, and that it produces excellent timber; but whether it is a distinct species, or a variety possessing any particular qualities, or merely the common wild or Scotch pine, in a favourable situation, does not appear. Most probably the last circumstance is the case. The ^^ pine is liable to tlie attacks of the B6strichus joinip^rdus (fig. 63.1, o ■-' \Ar/ on the wood of the old branches, and of the larva of a species of motn on the leading young slioots. The moth deposits its eggs among the buds at their extremities : the turpentine or resin which oozes from the buds, protects the eggs till tne insect is brought out by the warmth of the atmosphere, when vegetation commences j it then inserts itself into one of the young shoots, about five or six inches below the end {fig. 64. a), and works upwards till it finds its way out at the extremity (6), wliich at this time begins to shoot, and lodging itself in the centre of it, perforates the young shoot up and down, till it either breaks off*, or withers. 538. The domestic circumstances of the Flemish fanner and his servants are depicted by BadclifF in a favourable point of view. ** Nothing," he says, " tends more to the uniform advancement of good ' ■ ' farming, than a certain degree of ease and comfort in those who occupy the soil, and in the labouring classes whom they employ. Without it, an irregular, speculative, and anticipatory extraction of produce, always followed by eventual loss, is resorted to, in order to meet the emergen- cies and difficulties of the moment ; whereas, under different circum- stances, the successive returns of a well regulated course become the farmer's object, rather than the forced profit of a single year ; and whilst he himself is thus intrinsically served, his landlord is secured, and liis ground ameliorated, 539. The laborious industry of the Flemish farmer is recruited by intervals of decent and comfortable refreshment; and the farm -servants are treated witli kindness and respect. They uniformly dine with the farmer and his family, at a clean tablecloth, well supplied with spoons, with four-pronged forks, and every thing necessary for their convenience. In Flanders, the gentlemen are all farmers ; but the farmers do not aspire to be gentlemen, and their servants feel the benefit. They partake with them of a plen- tiful and orderly meal, which varies according to circumstances. One standing dish, however, is universal, a soup, composed of buttermilk, boiled and thickened with flour or rye-bread. Potatoes, salt pork, salt fish, various vegetables, and eggs are common ; fresh meat and fresh fish occur occasionally, though not for daily consumption : add to these> a plentiful supply of butter, or rendered lard, which is sometinies substituted ; and when it is recollected iJiat these articles of provision are always made palatable by very tolerable cookery, it will be allowed that the farmer's table is comfortably supplied. The potatoes are always peeled, and are generally stewed in milk ; a particular kind of kidneybean, as m.entioned before, the feve haricot, sliced and stewed in milk also, is a frequent dish. No farmer is without a well cultivated garden, full of the best vegetables, which all appear at his own table ; and apples are also introduced into their cookery. The great fruit and vegetable markets of the towns are supplied by gardeners who make it their means of subsistence ; but the gardens of the farmers, unless in case of redundance, aie cultivated wholly for their own consumption." 540. The fwrm-servants partake of their master's fare, except in his refreshments of tea, coffee, and beer. 541. The dai/-labowrers are not so well provided : they have, however, rye-bread, potatoes, buttermilk, and occasionally some salt pork. The labourer is, in general, very well able to support himself by his work : in a country where so much manual labour is required in weeding, the labourer's family is occupied pretty constantly in summer ; and in winter they spin. Each day-labourer has, in most cases, a small quantity of land, from a rood to half an acre, for his own cultivation. 542. Beggars in common times are scarcely to be seen, except in the towns, and but few there. In the country, habits of industry are kept up till health fails ; and to meet the infirmities of age, the poor possess a revenue from pious donations, regulated by the government, andvestedby themin commissions, of which the mayors of the different communes are presidents, respectively, in right of their office. 543. The clothing qf the peasantry is warm and comfortable, good shoes, stockings, and frequently gaiters of leather or strong linen, which are sold very cheap ; their innate frugality leads them, however, to economise in those articles, substituting on many occasions coarse flannel socks and wooden sabots, both of which are supplied in all the public markets at about eightpence cost. Their comfortable supply Book I, AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 87 of linen is remarkable ; there are few of the labouring classes without many changes. In riding with a landed proprietor through a part of the country in which his property was situated, a neat cottage pre- sented itself : the clipped hedge which surrounded the garden, covered with linen very white, suggested an enquiry, " whether it ^d not belong to a washerwoman ? *' The answer was, " That it was occupied by a labourer and his family, and that the linen was ail their own." It must, however, be observed, that universally in proportion to the supply is the postponement of the washing, which causes the greater display, and particularly at the beginning of May, which is a chosen season for this purpose. Any circumstance connected with the cleanliness, health, and comfort of the lower classes is interesting ; and to this of which we have been speaking, a peculiar degree of decency is attached. If the labourer is com- fortable in point of apparel, the farmer is still more so. In home-work, the farmer generally protects his clothes by a smock-frock of blue linen j and great attention to cleanliness prevails throughout his operations. 544. With respect to the fnrw/-house, the exterior is for the most part ornamented with creepers, or fruit trees trained against the walls ; and witliin, the neatness which prevails is quite fascinating. Every article of furniture is polished; the service of pewter dis- plays a peculiar biightness ; and the tiled floor is purified by frequent ablutions. 545. The cottage of the labourer, though not so well furnished, is, however, as clean ; a frequent and periodical use of water and the broom pervades every house, great and small, in the country and in towns; originating, perhaps, in the necessity of cleanliness, and the public enforcement of it, when Flanders was visited by the plague. *546. The Flemish ftirmer seldom nmasses riches, but is rarely afflicted by poverty : in- dustry and frugality are his characteristics ; he never looks beyond the enjoyment of moderate comforts ; abstains from spirituous liquors, however easily to be procured ; never exceeds his means ; pays his rent punctually ; and, in case of emergency, has always something to command, beyond his necessary disbursements. Sect. V. Of the present State of Agriculture in German;/. 547. The agriculture of Germany is, in many respects, less different from that of Britain than is the agriculture of France or Italy. It is, however, but very imperfectly known in this country ; partly from tlie numerous petty states into which the German empire is divided, which greatly increases the variety of political circumstances affecting agricul- ture ; but principally from the German language being less generally cultivated by Britons, than that of France or of Italy. The outline which we submit is drawn chiefly from the published journals of recent travellers, especially Jacob, Hodgson, and Bright, and from our own observations made in 1813, 1814, and 1828. Those who desire more copious details may consult Thaer's Annals der Lnndwirtsckaft, Hassel's Erdebesckreibung, and the agricultural writings of Hazzi, Schwartz, and Krunitz. Sdbsect. 1 . General View of the Agricultural Circumstances of Germany* 548. A great variety of soil, surface, climnte, and culture must necessarily exist in a country so extensive as Germany. From the south of Hungary to the north of Den- mark are included upwards of twelve degrees of latitude, which alone is calculated to produce a difference of temperature of twenty degrees : and the effect of this difference of geographical position is greatly increased by 3ie variations of surface ; the immense ridges of mountains, inlets of the sea, lakes and rivers, and extensive plains. The winters in Denmark and Prussia are very severe, and last from six to eight months ; the winters in the south of Hungary are from one to three months. The south and south- east of Germany, comprising part of Bohemia, Silesia, and Hungary, are the most mountainous: and the north- east, including Prussia and part of Holstein and Hoover, presents the most level surface. The richest soil is included in the interior and south- western parts ; in the immense plain of the Danube, from Presburg to Belgrade, an extent of three hundred miles ; and great part of Swabia, Franconia, and Westphalia. The most barren parts are the mountains and sandy plains and heaths of the nordi, and especially of Prussia ; and that country, and part of Denmark and Holstein, abound also in swamps, marshes, and stagnant lakes. 549. Landed property, throughout Germany, is almost universally held on feudal tenure, and stricdy entailed on the eldest son. It is generally in estates from one hun- dred acres upwards, which cannot be divided or increased. Most of the sovereigns have large domains, and also the religious and civil corporations. 550. Tlie farmers cf Germany are still in many instances metayers ; but the variety of this mode of holding is much greater there than in France and Italy. In some cases the fanner does not even find stock ; and in others, more particularly in Hungary, he and his family are little better off than the cultivators of Russia. In Brandenburg, Saxony, and part of Hanover, the farmers hold on the metayer tenure, or that of paying a fixed rent of com or money, unalterable either by landlord or tenant. In Mecklenburg, Fries- land, Holstein, Bavaria, &c., most of the property is free, as in Britain, and there agriculture is carried to great perfection. Tithes are almost universal in Germany ; but are not felt as any great grievance. Poor-rates are unknown. 551. The consequence oftliese arrangements of landed property in Germany is a com- paratively fixed state of society. The regulations wliich have forbid an augmentation G 4 88 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. of rent, or a union of fiirms, and wliich have secured to the ov/ner the full enjoyment of the use of the land, have prevuntcd any person, except the sovereign, from amassing an enormous quantity, and have preserved among the inhabitants a species of equality as to property. Tliere are, comparatively, few absolutely destitute labourers. The mass of the people do not live in such affluence as Englishmen; but this is more than com- pensated to tliem by all being in some measure alike. In civilised society, it is not destitution, but the craving wants wliich the splendour of other persons excites, which are the true evils of poverty. The metayer regulations have hindered improvement ; but they have also hindered absolute destitution and enormous accumulation. (Hodgson.) 552. From the regulation concerning landed property in Germmy, it has resulted that fewer paupers are found there than in our country. Some other regulations are known, whicli have probably assisted in protecting Germany from the evil of pauperism to tlie same extent in wliich it exists with us. There is no legal provision for paupers A law of the guilds, wliich extended to most ti-ades, forbade, and still forbids, where guilds^ are not abolished, journeying mechanics from marrying; and, in most countries of Germany, people are obliged to have the permission of the civil magistrate, before it is legal for the clergyman to celebrate a marriage. The permission seems to be given or withheld, as the parties soliciting it are thought by the magistrates to be capable of main- taining a family. At least, it is to prevent the land from being overrun with paupers, that the law on this subject has been made. 553. Tlie agricultural produce of Germany is for the greater part consumed there; but excellent wines are exported from Hungary and the Rhine ; and also wool, flax, timber, bark, hams salted and smoked, geese, goosequills, the canaiy, goldfinch, and other singing birds, silk, &c. 554. Tlie culture of the mulberry and rearing of the dtkworm, in Germany, are carried on as far north as Berlin ; that of the vine, as Dresden ; and that of the peach, as a standard in tlie fields, as Vienna. The maize is little cultivated in Germany ; but patches of it are to be found as far north as Augsburg, in Swabia. Rice is cultivated in a few places in Westphalia. The olive is not planted, because to it, even in the warmest part of Germany, the winters would prove fatal. 555. Tlie common cultivation includes all the diflPerent corns, and many or most of tlie legumes, roots, herbage, and grasses, grown in Britain. They grow excellent hemp, flax, and oats ; and rye is the bread-coni of all Germany. They also cultivate turnips, rapeseed, madder, woad, tobacco, hops, saffron, teasel, cai'away ; many garden vegetables, such as white beet, French beans, cabbage, carrots, parsneps, &c. ; and some medicinal plants, as rhubarb, lavender, mint, &c. ; independently of tlieir garden culture of fruits, culinary vegetables, and herbs for apothecaries. The most common rotation in Ger- many is two corn crops and a fallow ; or, in poor lands, one or two corn crops, and two or tliree years' rest ; but in rich lands, in the soulh-westem districts, green crops or legumes intervene with those of corn. 556. The best pastures and meadows are in Holstein, and along the margin of the Ger- man Ocean ; and for the same reasons as in Holland and Britain, viz. the mildness and moisture of tlie winters. There are also good pastures and meadows on the Danube, in Hungary; but the great heats of summer stimulate the plants too much to send up flowers ; and the culture there is not so perfected as to regulate this tendency by irrigation. Irrigation, however, is very scientifically conducted in some parts of Holstein, and on the Rhine and Oder. 557. The operations and implements of German agriculture vary exceedingly. They are wretched in Hungary, and some parts of Bohemia, where six or more oxen may be seen drawing a clumsy ploui^h, entirely of wood, and without a mould-board. In Denmark, Hanover, and in Prussia, they use much better ploughs, some of wliich have iron mould-boards ; and in many places they are drawn by a pair of oxen or horses. The plough, in the more improved distiiots, has a straight beam, two low wheels, a share, which cuts nearly horizontally, and a wooden mould-board sometimes partially shod with iron : it is drawn by two horses. In Friesland, and some parts of Holstein, the Dutch swing-plough is used. The common waggon is a heavy clumsy machine on low wheels. (Jig- 65.) The theoretical agriculturists are well acquainted with all the improved im- plements of Britain, and some of them have been introduced, especially in Holstein, ; Hanover, and Westphalia ; but these are nothing in a general view. Horses are the most common animals of labour in the north and west of Germany, and oxen in the south. Fallows are rarely well cultivated ; and nothing can be worse than the mode of resting lands, and leaving them to be covered with weeds during two or three years in succession. Book I, AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 89 558. Of ike live stock of Germany^ tlie best breeds of working horses and of oxen are in Holstein, and some districts between Hamburg and Hanover. The best saddle horses are reared in Hungary. Tliere are also excellent oxen and cows reared in that countiy, and exported to Italy and Turkey. The best sheep are in Saxony and Prussia, where tlie Spanish breed has been naturalised. Swine are common ; but tlie breed is every where veiy indifferent. Goats are reared in the mountains ; and also asses and mules. The forests are stocked with wild deer, boars, stags, hares, and other game. Fish are carefully bred and fattened in some places, especially in Prussia'; and poultry is every where attended to, and carried to a high degree of luxury at Vienna. Bees are attended to in the neighbour- hood of the forests ; and silj^worms in the southern districts, as far as Presburg. Canary and other singing birds are reared in Westphalia, and exported to most parts of Europe. 559. T/ie culture of forests is particularly attended to in Germany, for the same reasons as in France, and the details in both countries are nearly tlie same. Tlie number of German books on Forst-wissenschaft is astonislung, and most of the writers seem to consider woodlands in that country as a more eligible source of income than any other. 560. The commmi agriculture of German^/ may be considered as every where in a state of gradual improvement. Both governments and individuals have formed institutions for its promotion, by the instruction of youth in its piinciples and most enlightened practices ; or for the union of men of talent. The Imperial Society of Vienna, the Georgical Institu- tion of Presburg, and that of the late Professor Thaer, in Prussia, may be mentioned as recent efibrts. The farmers in Germany are particularly deficient in the breeding and rearing of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. Of the latter two, they require new breeds from judicious crosses ; and the former require selection, and much more care in rearing. The implements of husbandry also require to be improved, and the importance of working fallows in a very different manner from what is now done should be inculcated. If peace continue, there can be no doubt that these, and all other ameliorations will go rapidly forward ; for the spirit of agricultural improvement is at present, perliaps, more alive in Germany than in any other country of Europe. 561. In noticing some traits of agriculture in the d^erent states of Germany, we shall begin with Denmark at the most northerly extremity, and proceed, in the order of geographical position, to Hungary in the south. SuBSECT. 2. Agriculture of the Kingdom of Denmark^ including Greenland and Iceland' 562. The improvement of the agriculture of Denmark maybe dated from 1660, when the king became despotic, and was enabled to carry measures of national benefit into execution without the jaqing interference of councils. The slaves of the crown were immediately made free, and 5ie example followed by several wealthy proprietors. Acts were passed for uniting and consolidating landed property by equitable exchanges, and for preventing the nght of free way ; both which led to enclosures, draining, and irrigation. There are now better meadows, and more hedges and walls, in Denmark, than in any country of Germany of the same extent. Various institutions for instruction and reward were formed, and among others, in 1686, the first veterinary school founded in Germany. Artifici^ grasses and herbage plants enter into most rotations, and rye-grass is perhaps more sown in Holstein than any where, except in England. In a word, considering the disadvantages of climate, the agriculture of Denmark is in a more advanced state than that of any other kingdom of Germany. 563. The Danish farm-houses are described by Dr. Neale, in 1805, as " generally built i«)on the same plan, haviDg externally the appearance of large bams, with folding doors at each end, and of sutHcient size to admit loaded waggons ; on one hand are the apartments occupied by the farmer and his family ; on the other, the stable, cow-house, dairy, and piggery ; in the centre, a large space, set apart for the waggons, ploughs, harrows, and other implements of husbandry ; and overhead, the granary and hay-loft" As the postmasters are generally farmers, it is customary to drive in at one end; change horses, and then drive out at the other, which is the case in the north of Germany and in Poland, and more or less so in every part of the north of Europe. S&t. Of the farmer's family, the same accomplished traveller observes, " we were often agreeably surprised at finding the living-apartments furnished with a degree of comfort and neatness bordering upon luxury ; every article was substantially good in itself, and was preserved in the greatest order and cleanliness. Thus, white muslin curtams, with fringes and draperies, covered the windows j looking- glasses and chests of drawers were placed around ; excellent large feather beds, and a profusion of the best well-bleached linen displayed the industry of the good housewives, while their dinner tables were equally well supplied with damask cloths, and snow-white napkins ; and near the doors of the dairies were ranged quantities of large, singularly shaped, brass and copper vessels, bright as mirrors." 565. Tht dimensioTis qf some of their buildingSt he says, *S'*^_ ® ^ " is surprising ; one measured 110 yards long, resembling in extent the area of Westminster Hall. On the tops of their roofs are generally displayed a set of antlers, ^/^^"i"'^^^?^'^ -^^^i*^^ ^^^^^^ pfl and a weathercock ; on others, two horses' heads ^ -^ ^^ '•■• "^-'^^ •^"siK.^v v^»^ff»— =t- are carved out in wood, and announce the rank of the inhabitants ; the antlers, or rather bulls' horns, denot- ing the house of a tenant; and the horses' heads, that I 111 of a landed proprietor. This form of building {Ji^. 66.)^^= seems to have been adopted from the earliest ages"" — amongst the inhabitants of northern Germany," as similar ones are described by Joannes Lasicius in the middle of the sixteenth century. {Travels through Gerwanyy Poland, ^c. 13.) 90 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 566. The rural economy of Greenland and Iceland has been given, the former by Crantz, and the latter by Sir G. Mackenzie. Only a small part of Greenland produces pasture, and a still smaller part grain. The culture of the last, however, is now given up. Cabbages and turnips grow well in tlie gardens, and there are some oak trees, brambles, and junipers between the 60° and 65° N. lat. Sir G. Mackenzie thinks potatoes and barley might succeed in some places. There are considerable pasture farms, a good and hardy breed of horses, and herds and flocks of cattle and sheep. Farmers have no leases, but pay rent in kind, and cannot be removed from the land unless it can be proved that they have neglected its culture ; that is, they hold on the metayer system. The stock of cattle and sheep is considered as belonging to the soil of the landlord. A tenant may quit his farm whenever he chooses, but must leave the proper amount of stock to be taken by his successor. Shbsect. 3. Of the Agriculture of the Kingdxm, of Prussia. *567. The agriculture of Prussia was considerably advanced by its second king, Frederic William, who is said to have imported lfi,000 men from Saltzburg, and expended 25 millions of francs in building villages and distributing lands among them. His successor, Frederick the Great, after having procured a peace, made exertions in agriculture as extraordinary as in war and architecture. He drained and brought into cultivation the borders of the lakes of the Netz and the Wasta, and established 3600 families on what before was a marsh. He diained the marsh of Fridburg, and established on it 400 families. He made extensive drainages, enclosures, and other improvements in Brandenburg, and in Pomerania, and built the extensive embankments of Dallast, in Friesland, by which, by degrees, a large tract of land was recovered, which the sea sub- merged in 1 724. He formed a Council of Woods and Waters for managing the national forests, and regulating rivers and lakes. He established the Royal Economical Society of Potsdam, and other societies, and cultivated a farm. He created a market for agri- cultural produce, by the establishment of manufactures ; and, in short, he left notliing unattempted that might benefit his kingdom. The successors of the great Frederic have not distinguished themselves as encoui'agers of agriculture, with the exception of the present king, Frederic William I. 568. The surface and soil of a country so extensive as Prussia are necessarily various; but, nevertheless, there are few or no mountainous or hilly districts, or fertile plains. The prevailing soil is sand, and almost tlie whole of the country is in aration. 569. The soil of tlie ynaritime provinces of Prussia is in general so light, that it may be easily ploughed with two oxen, and those of diminished size, and no great strength. Jacobs not unfrequently saw, on the smaller portions of land, a single cow drawing the plough, and whilst the plough was guided-by the owner, the cow was led by his wife. The more tenacious soils, on the banks of the streams, are commonly but of small extent. There is, indeed, a large portion of land in the delta, formed by the separation of the Nogat from the Vistula, between Derschau and Marienburg, which, under a good system of management, would be highly productive, and which requires greater strength to plough ; there are some others, especially near Tilsit, of less extent ; but the whole of them, if compared with tlie great extent of the surface of the country, are merely suffi- cient to form exceptions to tJie general classification which may be made of the soil. {Jacob on the Trade in Com. and on the Agriculture of Northern. Europe,) 570. The landed estates in Prussia, previously to the year 1807, were large, and could only be held by such as were of noble birth, or by merchants, manufacturers, or artisans, who had obtained a patent of nobility. When the French had overrun the country, in 1807, these restrictions were removed; and, by successive measures, personal services have been abolished, and the whole of the enslaved peasants have become converted into freemen and freeholders. These small and numerous freeholders are the occupiers and principal cultivators of the soil ; rent-paying farmers being seldom to be met with, except in the vicinity of large towns, and on the domains of the crown. (Ibid. ) 571. The general course of cultivation in Prussia is to fallow every third year, by ploughing three times when designed for rye, or five times if intended for wheat, and allowing the land to rest without any crop during the whole of the year, from one autumn to the next. Most of the land is deemed to be unfit for the growth of wheat, under any circumstances. Where it is deemed adapted to that grain, as much as can be manured, from their scanty supply of that article, is sown with wheat, and the remainder of the fallow.ground with rye. The portion which is destined for wheat, even in the best farms, is tlius very small ; and, as on many none is sown, the whole of the land devoted to wheat does not amount to one tenth of that on which rye is grown. (Ibid.) 572. The live stock, in proportion to the surface, is very deficient. According to a calculation by Mr. Jacob, the proportion of animals to an acre, over the whole of East Prussia, West Prussia, and Pomerania, is less than one third of what it is in England. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 91 *573. The implements of husbandry are quite of as low a description as tlie working cattle. The ploughs are ill-constructed, with very little iron on tliem. I'he harrows are made of wood, without any iron, even for tlie tines or teetli. The waggons are mere planks, laid on the frame loose, and resting against upright stakes fixed into its sides. The cattle are attached to these implements by ropes, without leather in any part of the harness. The use of the roller is scarcely known, and the clods, in preparing the fallow- ground, are commonly broken to pieces by hand with wooden mallets. In sowing, the seed is carried in the apron or the skirts of the frock of the man who scatters it on the ground. {Ibid.) 574, The produce o^ tlie soUf whether in com or cattle, is of an inferior quality, and bears a low money price. The scale of living of all classes, is influenced by this state of things. The working classes, including both those who work for daily wages, and those who cultivate their own little portions of land, live in dwellings provided witli few con- veniences, on the lowest and coarsest food ; potatoes, rye, and buckwheat form their chief, and frequently their only, food ; linen, from flax of their own growth, and cloth from wool spun by their own hands, both coarse, and both worn as long as they will hold together, furnish their dress ; whilst an earthen pot that will bear fire, forms one of the most valuable aiticles of their furniture. {lOid. ) 575. The improvement of the agriculture of Prussia is ardently desired by the present government, and in consequence, about twenty-four years ago, the Agricultural Institution of Moegelin on the Oder, conducted by the late Von Thaer, justly celebrated in Ger- many as an agricultural writer, was founded, Tliis institution was visited by Jacob in 1819 ; and from his Travels we shall give a short account of it, 576. T/te Agricultural Institution of Moegelin is situated in the country or march of Brandenburg, about forty-five mfles from Berlin. The chief professor. Von Tiiaer, was formerly a medical practitioner at Celle, near Luneburg, in the kingdom of Hanover ; and bad distinguished himself by the translation of various agricultural works from the French and English, and by editing a Magazine qf Rural Economy. About 1804, the King of Prussia invited him to settle in his dominions, and gave him the estate of Moegelin to improve and manage as a pattern farm. 577. This estate consists qf 1200 acres. Thaer began by erecting extensive buildings for himself, three professors, a variety of tradesmen, the requisite agricultural buildmgs, and a distillery. The three pro^ lessors are, one for mathematics, chemistry, and geology ; one for veterinary knowledge ; and a third for botany and the use of the diflferent vegetable productions in the Materia Medica, a& well as for entomology. Besides these, an experienced agriculturist is engaged, whose oflice it is to point out to the pupils the mode of applying the sciences to the practical business of husbandrj^. The course com- mences in September. During the winter months, the time is occupied in mathematics, and tlie first six books of Euclid are studied j and in the summer, the geometrical knowledge is practically applied to the measurement of land, timber, buildings, and other objects. The first principles of chemistry are unfolded. By a good but economical apparatus, various experiments are made, both on a large and small scale. For the larger experiments, the brew-house and still-house with their respective fixtures are found highly usefiiL 578. Much attention is paid to the analysalion qf various soils^ and the different kinds, with the relative quantity of their component parts, are arranged with great order and regularity. The classifica- tion is made with neatness, by having the specimens of soil arranged in order, and distinguished by different colours. Thus, for instance, if the basis of the soil is sandy, the glass has a cover of yellow paper ; if the next predominating earth is calcareous, the glass has a white ticket on its side : if it is red clay, it has a red ticket : if blue clay, a blue one. Over these tickets, others, of a smaller size, indicate by their colour the third greatest quantity of the particular substance contained in the soiL This matter may appear to many more ingenious than useful, and savouring too much of the German habit of generalising. The classification of Von Thaer is, however, as much adopted, and as commonly used on the large estates in Germany, where exact statistical accounts are kept, as the classification of Linnaeus in natural history is throughout the civilised world. 579. There is a large botanic garden^ arranged on the system of the Swedish naturalist, kept in excellent order, with all the plants labelled, and the Latin as well as German names, A herbarium, with a good collection of dried plants which is constantly increasing, is open to the examination of the pupils, as well as skeletons of the different animals, and casts of their several parts, which must be of great use in veterinary pursuits. Models of agricultural implements, especially of ploughs, are preserved in a museum, which is stored as well with such as are common in Germany, as with those used in England, or other countries. 580. The various implements used on the farm are all made by smiths, wheelers, and carpenters, residing round the institution; the workshops are open to the pupils, and they are encouraged by attentive inspection, to become masters of the more minute branches of the economy of an estate. 581. The sum paid by each pupil is four hundred rix-dollars annually, besides which they provide their own beds and breakfasts. In this country, such an expense precludes the admission of all but youths of good fortune. Each has a separate apartment They are very well behaved young men, and their conduct to each other, and to the professors, was polite, even to punctilio. 582. Jacob's opinion of this institution is, that an attempt is made to crowd too much instruction into too short a compass, for many of the pupils spend but one year in the institution; and thus only the foundation, and that a very slight one, can be laid in so short a space of time. It is, however, to be presumed, that the young men come here prepared with a considerable previous knowledge, as they are mostly between the ages of twenty and twenty-four, and some few appeared to be still older. 58:i. The farm at Mjegelin was examined by Jacob in the autumn. The soil is light and sandy, and the climate cold. The wheat was put in the ground with a drill of Thaer's invention, which sows and covers nine rows at once, and is drawn by two horses. The saving of seed Thaer considers the only circumstance which makes drilling preferable to sowing broad-cast, as far as respects wheat, rye, barley, and oats. The average produce of wheat is sixteen bushels per acre : not much is sown in Prussia, as rye is the bread corn of that country; it produces, with Thaer, twenty-two bushels and a half to the acre. The usual rotation of crops is, potatoes or peas, rye, clover, and wheat. Winter tares are killed lay the frost, and the summer species come to nothing, owing to the dry soil and drought The spurry (Sjiergula) is therefore grown for the winter food of sheep : it is sown on the stubbles immediately after harvest, and in six weeks furnishes an herbage of which the sheep are very fond, and which is said to be very nutritious. Potatoes are a favourite crop ; and the small-tubered and rather glutinous ill-flavoured sort common in France and Germany is preferred, as containing more starch in proportion to bulk, than the large kinds. Thaer maintains that, beyond a certain size, the increase of the potato is only water and 92 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part L not nutriment The produce per acre Is 300 bushels or five tons, whichj Thaer rontontls, contain more nutriment than twenty tons of turnips, because the proportion of starch in potatoes to that in turnips is more than four to one. The soil is excellent tor turnips, but the long scries of dry weather, common on the Continent in the beginning of summer, renders them one of the most uncertain of crops. 584. A brewery and distillery are the necessary accomi>animents of every large farming establishment in Germany. The result of many experiments in the latter proved that the same quantity of alcohol is produced from 100 bushels of potatoes as from twenty-four bushels of wheat, or thirty-three of barley. As the products of grain or of potatoes are relatively greater, the distillery is regulated by that propor- tion. During the enforcement of the Continental system, many experiments were tried in making sugar from native plants. Von Thaer found, after many trials, that the most profitable vegetable from which sugar could be made was the common garden turnip (of which variety Jacob did not ascertain), and that whilst sugar was sold at a rix-dollar the pound, it was very profitable to extract it from that root. The samples of sugar made during that period from diftercnt roots, the processes, and their results, are carefully preserved in the museum, but would now be tedious to describe. They are certainly equal in strength of sweetness, and those refined, in colour and hardness, to any produced from the sugar-cane of of the tropics. 585. The improvement qf the breed of sheep, which has been an important object of this establishment, as far as the fineness of the wool is regarded, has admirably succeeded. By various crosses from select Merinos, by sedulously excluding from the flock every ewe that had coarse wool, and, still more, by keeping them in a warm house during the winter. Von Thaer has brought the wool of his sheep to great fineness, far greater than any that is clipped in Spain ; but the improvement of the carcass has been neglected, so that his, like all other German mutton, is very indifferent 586. The various kinds of wool have been arranged by Von Thaer, with the assistance of the professors of the institution, on cards ; and the fineness of that produced from dift'erent races of sheep, is dis- criminated wnh geometrical exactness. The finest are some specimens from Saxony, his own are the next The fiKe Spanish wool from Leon is inferior to his, in the proportion of eleven to sixteen. The wool from Borany Bay, of which he had specimens, is inferior to the Spanish. He had arranged, by a similar mode,ahe relative fineness of the wools produced on the ditlerent parts of the body of the sheep, so as to bring inder the eye, at one view, the comparative value of the diUerent parts of the fleeces; and he had, aflp, ascertained the proportionate weight of those different parts. The application of optics and geometry ,*by which the scales that accompany the specimens are constructed, is such as to leave no doubts on any mind of the accuracy of the results. The scales, indeed, show only the fineness, and not the length of th'fe fibre : which is, I believe, of considerable importance in the process of spinning. The celebrity of the Moegelin sheep is so widely difiUsed, that the ewes and rams are sold at enormous prices to the agriculturkts in East Prussia, Poland, and as far as Russia. 587. The breeding qf cows and the 9nanaffe7nent qf a dairy are secondary objects, as far as the mere farming is regarded ; but it is attended to with care, for the sake of the pupils, who thus have before their eyes that branch of agricultural practice, which may be beneficial on some soils though not adapted to this. The cows are in good order, of an excellent breed ; and, considering that they are, like the sheep, fed only on potatoes and chopped straw, are in good condition. They yield, when in full milk, from five to six pounds of butter weekly. The custom of killing the calves, when only a fortnight or three weeks old, prevails here as well as elsewhere in Germany. There is no disputing about taste ; but though veal is a favourite food in Germany at the tables of the rich, it always Seems very unpleasant to an Englishman. 588. The ploughs at Moegelin are better constructed than in most parts of Germany. They resemble our common swmg-plough, but with a broader fin at the point of tlie share. The mould-board is con- structed on a very good principle and with great skill ; the convexity of its fore-part so gradually changing into concavity at the hinder-part as to turn the soil completely upside down. The land is cleanly and straightly ploughed, to the depth of six and a half or seven inches, with a pair of oxen, whose usual work is about an acre and a quarter each day. 589. A threshiTig-machine is rarely used, and only to show the pupils the principle on which it is con- structed, and the effect it produces j but having neither wind nor water machinery to work it, the flail is almost exclusively used, the threshers receive the sixteenth bushel for their labour. The rate of wages to the labourers is four groschen a day, winter and summer, besides which, they are provided with habitations and fueL The women receive from two to three groschen, according to their strength and skill. They live on rye-bread or potatoes, thin soup, and scarcely any animal food but bacon, and a very small portion even of that ; yet they look strong and healthy, and tolerably clean. 590. The culture qf the vi7ie and the rearing of the silkwrn-m are carried on in the more southerly of the recent territorial accessions which have been made by Prussia. The culture of culinary vegetables is carried on round Erfurth, and other towns furnished with them whose neighbourhoods are less tavourable for their growth. Garden seeds are also raised at Erfurth, and most of the seedsmen of Germany supplied, with them. Anise, canary, coriander, mustard, and poppy seeds are grown for distillers and others, and woad, madder, teasel, saffron, rhubarb, &c., for dyers and druggists. 591. The present king of Prussia has done much for agriculture, and is said to design more, by lessen- ing the feudal claims of the lords ; by permitting estates even of knightly tenure to be purchased by burghers and non-nobles ; by simplifying the modes of conveyance and investiture ; by setting an example of renouncing most of the feudal dues on his vast patrimonial estates ; and by making good communications by roads, rivers, and canals, through his extensive territories, (Jacob's Travels 189.) SuESECT. 4. OftJie Agriculture of the Kingdom of Hanover, 592, The agriculture of the kingdom of Hanover has been depicted by Hodgson as it appeared in 1817. The territoiy attached to the free town of Hanover, previously to its elector being made king of Britain, was very trifling ; but so many dukedoms and other provinces have been since added, that it now contains upwards of 11,045 square geo- graphical miles, and 1,314,104 inhabitants. 593, An agricziltural society was founded in Hanover in 1751, by Geo. II. and about the same time one at Celle in Luneburg. The principal business of the'latter was to superintend and conduct a general enclosure of all the common lands ; it was conducted by Meyer, who wrote a large work on the subject. The present Hanove- rian ministry are following up the plans of Meyer, and, according to Hodgson are " extremely solicitous to promote agriculture." ' 594, The landed property of Hanov&r may be thus arranged : — One sixth belongs to the sovereign, possibly three sixths to the nobles, one sixth to the corporations of towns and religious bodies, and less than one sixth to persons not noble. The crown lands are let to noblemen, or rather favoured persons, at very moderate rents, who either farm them or sublet them to farmers. There are six hundred and forty-four noble properties, but few of them with mansions, the proprietors living in towns. For a nobleman to live ii. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 93 the country without heing a magistrate, or without holding some office, is looked on as degrading. Hodgson met with only three instances of nobles cultivating their own estates, and then they lived in towns. The farmers of these estates are bauers or peasants, who hold from ten to eighty acres each, at old fixed rente and services long since established, whicli 'the landlord has no power to alter. " It may be from tliis cause that so few nobles reside in tlie country. They have in trutli no land, but what is occu- pied by other people. The use of these small portions of land on certain conditions, is the property of the occupier, wliich he can sell, as the stipulated rent and services are the property of tlie landlord. The bauer has a hereditary right to the use ; tlie landlord a hereditary right to be paid for that use." 595. The Itmd of reli^ous corporations is let in the same manner as the crown lands. That of towns is generally divided into very small lots of twelve or ten acres, and let to the townsmen as gardens, or for growing potatoes and corn for their own consumption. Almost every family of the middling and poorer classes in towns, as well as in the country, has a small poition of land. Most of the towns and villages have large commons, and tiie inhabitante have certain rights of grazing cows, &c. 596. The occupiers qflnnd may be divided into two classes, metayers and leibeigeners. The first occupy from eighty to twenty acres, and pay a fixed corn or money rent, which tlie landlord cannot alter ; nor can he refuse to renew the lease, on the death of tlie occupier. The money rent paid by such farmers varies from seven to - twelve shillings per acre. The term leibeigener signifies a slave, or a person who owns his own body and no more. He also holds Ws land on fixed terms independently of tlie will of his lord. His conditions are a certain number of days' labour at the different seasons of sowing, reaping, &c., bringing home his lord's fuel, supplying coach or cart horses when wanted, and various other feudal services. The stock of the leibeigener is generally the property of the landlord, who is obliged to make good all accidents or deatlis in cattle, and to supply the family with food when the crops fail. This wretched tenure the governments of Hanover, Prussia, and Bavaria are endeavouring to mitigate, or do away altogether ; and so much has already been done that the condition of the peasants is said to be greatly superior to what it was a century back. 597. The free landed property of the kingdom of Hanover lies principally in Fries- land and the marsh lands. There it is cultivated in large, middling, and small farms, as in England, and the agriculture is evidently superior to that of the other provinces. 598. Tlie large farmers of Hanover have in general extensive rights of pasturage ; keep large flocks of sheep, grow artificial grasses, turnips, and even fiorin ; and have permanent pastures or meadows. Sometimes a brewery, distillery, or public house, is united with the farm. 599. The farm of Coldingen, within eight miles of Hanover, was visited by Hodgson. It contained two thousand six hundred acres, with extensive rights of pasturage: it belonged to the crown, and was rented by an amptman or magistrate. The soil was a free brown loam, and partly in meadow, liable to be overflowed by a river. The rota- tion on one part of the arable lands was, 1. drilled green crop ; 2. wheat or rye ; 3. clover ; 4. wheat or rye ; 5. barley or peas ; and 6. oats or rye. On another portion, fallow, rape, beans, the cabbage turnip or hohl-rabi, flax, and oats were introduced. Seven pair of horses and eight pair of oxen were kept as working cattle. No cattle were fattened ; but a portion of tlie land was sublet for feeding cows 600. Of sheep there were two thousand two hundred, of a cro.ss between the Rhenish or Saxon breed and the Merino. No attention was paid to the carcass, but only to the wool The " shepherds were" all dressed in long white linen coats, and white linen smallclothes, and wore large hats cocked up behind, and ornamented by a large steel buckle. They all looked respectable and clean. They were paid in pro- portion to the success of the flock, and had thus a considerable interest in watching over its improve- ment. They received a ninth of the profits, but also contributed on extraordinary occasions ; such as buying oilcake for winter food, when it was necessary, and on buying new stock, a ninth of the expenses. The head shepherd had two ninths of the profits." 601. Of the workmen on this farm, some were paid in proportion to their labour. The threshers, for example, were paid with the sixteenth part of what they threshed. Other labourers were hired by the day, and they received about sevenpence. In harvest-time they may make eightpence. Some are paid by the piece, and then receive at the rate of two shillings for cutting and binding an acre of corn. 602. The farming of tlie cuUivatirrs of free lands resembles that of England, and is best exemplified on the Elbe, in the neighbourhood of Hamburg. A distinguishing characteristic is, that the farm-houses are not collected in villages ; but each is built on the ground its owner cultivates. " Tills," Hodgson observes, " is a most reasonable plan, and marks a state of society which, in ite early stages, was different from that of the rest of Germany, when all the vassals crowded round the castle of their lord. It is an emblem of security, and is of itself almost a proof of a different origin in the people, and of an origin the same as our own. So far as I am acquainted, this mode is fol- lowed only In Britain, and in Holland, on the sea-coast, from the Ems to the Elbe, to which Holstein may be added, and the vale of Amo in Italy. It is now followed in America ; and we may judge tliat tliis reasonable practice is the result of men thinking for them- selves, and following their individual interest." {Travels, ^o\.i. p. 247.) We may 94 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. add that it is also followed in great part of the mountainous regions of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. (See Clarke's ScMndinada and BakeweWs Tarentaise.) 60.S. Many proin-ietors of free lands near Hamburg also farm them. Speaking of these fanners, Hodgson observes, " compared with the otiier farmers of Germany, they live in affluence and splendour. They eat meat three or four times a day, and instead of being clad in coarse woollen, which has been made by tlieir wives, they wear fine English clothes, and look like gentleman. Their sons go for soldier officers, and their daughters are said to study the Journal des Modes. The proprietors ride into town to take their coffee and play at billiards, and hear and tell the news, and at home they drink their wine out of cut glass, or tea out of china. Their houses are all surrounded by lofty trees and handsomely laid-out gardens ; the floors are carpeted, and the windows of plate glass. The dwelling-apai-tments, the barns, and the places for the cattle, are all covered witli one immense roof, and every house looks something like a palace surrounded with a little park. The proprietors direct the agriculture, without working a great deal them- selves, and resemble much in their hearty manners English farmers," 604. In Priesland they use a swing -plough, known in England as the Dutch plough, tlie mediate origin of the Rotherham plough, and remotely of Small's Scotch plough. Even the cottagers who rent free lands are totally different from the bauers. Their cot- tages are white- washed ; and they have gardens neatly enclosed, planted with fruit tiees, and carefully cultivated. Such is the influence of liberty and security. 605. I'lie farming of the bauers, like that of the metayers, is prescribed by the lease, and consists of two crops of corn and a fallow. " Sometimes," Hodgson observes, " they may sow a little clover, lucerne, or spergel (spurry) ; but they seldom have meadows, and keep no more cattle than is necessary for their work, and those the common lands can feed : sheep are only kept where there are extensive heaths ; one or two long-legged swine are common ; and poultry. The large farmers sometimes plough with two oxen ; but the bauers, except in the sandy districts, invariably use horses. When they are very poor, and have no horses, they employ their cows. Two or more join their stock, and, with a team of four cows, they plough very well. Sometimes they work their land with the spade. The houses of the 'bauers in Hanover, as in most parts of Gennany, are built of whatever materials are most readily come at, put together in the coarsest manner. They are seldom either painted or white-washed, and are unaccompanied by either yards, rails, gates, gardens, or other enclosures. They seem to be so much employed in providing the mere necessaries of life, that they have no time to attend to its luxuries. A savage curiously carves the head of his war spear, or the handle of his hatchet, or he cuts his own face and head into pretty devices ; but no German bauer ever paints his carts or his ploughs, or ornaments his agricultural implements." (Vol. i. 246.) 606. To improve the agriculture of Hanover, Hodgson justly observes, " the simplest and most efi'ectual way would be for government to sell all the domains by auction in good-sized farms, as the Prussian government has done in its newly acquired dominions." This would end in introducing the Northumberland husbandry, to which, according both to Jacobs and Hodgson, the soil and climate are well adapted, and double the present produce would be produced. To these improvements we may suggest anotlier, that of limiting the rank of noble to the eldest son, so that the rest might without disgrace engage in agriculture or commerce. This last improvement is equally wanted for the whole of Germany, SuBSECT. 5. Of tlie present State of .Agriculture in Saxony, 607. The husbandry and state of landed property in Saxony have so much in common with that of Hanover and Pi-ussia, that it will only be requisite to notice tlie few features in which they differ. 608. The culture of the vine and the silkworm are carried on in Saxony, and the latter to some extent. The vine is chiefly cultivated in the margravate, or county, of Theissen, and entirely in the French manner. (414.) The mulberry is more generally planted, and chiefly to separate properties or fields, or to fill up odd corners, or along roads, as in the southern provinces of Prussia and Hanover, and in France. 609. The wool of Saxony is reckoned the finest in Germany. There are three sorts, that from the native short-wooUed Saxon sheep ; that from the produce of a cross between this breed and the Merino ; and that from the pure Merino. In 1819, Jacob inspected a flock of pure Merinos, which produced wool that he was told was surpassed by none in fineness, and the price it brought at market. It was the property of the lord of tlie soil, and managed by the amptman, or farmer of the manorial and other rights. Till the year 1813, it consisted of 1000 sheep ; but so many were consumed in that year, first by the French, and next by the Swedes, that they have not been able to replace them further tlian to 650. The land over which they range is extensive and dry ; not good enough to grow flax ; but a course of 1, fallow, 2. potatoes, 3. rye or barley, was followed. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 95 and the straw of the rye and barley, with the potatoes, constituted the winter food of the sheep. (Traiie/s, p. 265.) 610. The general rotation of crops in Saxony, according to Jacob, is two corn crops, and a fallow, or two corn crops and pease. There are some exceptions ; and cabbages, turnips, and kohl-rabi are occasionally to be seen. The plough has two wheels, and is drawn by two oxen ; " and sometimes, notwithstanding the Mosaic prohibition, with a horse ajjd a cow." There are some fine meadows on the borders of the brooks near the villages; but they are in general much neglected, and for want of draining yield but coarse and rushy grass. The houses of the farmers are in villages, the largest for the amptman, and the next for the metayers and leibeigeners, ** The whole tract of land, from Meissen to within two English miles of Leipsic, is a sandy loam, admirably calculated for our Norfolk four-course system, by which it would be enabled to maintain a great quantity of live-stock, and produce double or treble the quantity of corn it now yields. In the whole distance from Wurzen, about fifteen miles, I saw but three ilocks of sheep ; two were small, the other, which I examined, consisting of about one thousand ewes, wedders, and tags, belonged to a count, whose name I did not ascertain. As he is lord of a considerable tract of country, the flock has the range of many tliousand acres in the summer, and in the winter is fed with chopped straw and potatoes. Upon our system, which might be advantageously introduced, the same quantity of land would maintain ten times as many slieep, and still produce much more com than it does at present." (7Wd. 301.) 611. The cows near the villages, between Meissen and Leipsic, were numerous compared with tlie sheep, but generally looked poor. " As' I saw," continues Jacob, no hay or com stacks in the whole distance, 1 had been puzzled to conceive in what manner their cows could be supported through the winter. Upon enquiring, I learnt a mode of keeping them, which was quite new to me, but which I cannot condemn. The land is favourable to the growth of cabbages, and abundant quantities are raised, and form a material article of human sustenance; the surplus, which this year is considerable, is made into sour-krout, with a less portion of salt than is applied when it is prepared as food for man. This is found to be very good for cows, and favourable to the increase of their milk, when no green food, nor any thing but straw can be obtained." (.Travels, 303.) 612, The land within two miles of Leipsic is almost wholly in garden-culture, and is vastly productive of every kind of culinary vegetable. The fruit trees and orchards, notwithstanding many of them showed vestiges of the war, surprised Jacob by their abundance. The inhabitants subsist much less on animal food than we do, but a larger quantity of fruit and vegetables is consumed ; and hence they have greater inducements to improve their quality, and to increase their quantity, than exist in those rural districts of Great Britain which are removed from the great towns. 613. Jacobus opimon of the agriculture of Saxony is, that it is equal to that of Prussia. In one respect he thinks it superior, as no portion of the soil is wholly without some cultivatioi^ but that cultivation is far below what the land requires, and the produce . much less than die inliabitants must need for their subsistence. SuBSECT, 6. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Kingdom of Bavaria. 614. Bavaria, till lately, was one of the most backward countries of Germany, in regard to every kind of improvement. A bigoted and ignorant priesthood, not content with possess- ing a valuable portion of the lands of the country, had insisted on the expulsion of the Protestants, and on the strict obsei-vance of the endless holidays and absurd usages which impede the progress of industry among their followers. " Hence a general habit of indolence and miserable backwardness in all arts, and especially in agriculture ; and in point of learning, a complete contrast to the north of Germany." During the electorate of Bavaria, one of its electors, contemporary with Joseph II. of Austria, desirous of introducing improvements, abolished monastic orders in some parts of his dominions ; but tlie people were not ripe for such , ,,^ ^present their ends, in i^^=^==^^^i^ others their sides, to the road ; but there is sel- dom this variety in the same village. The in- terior of the cottage is in general divided into three small rooms on tlie ground floor, and a little space in the roof ■destined for lumber. The roof is commonly covered with a very thick thatch ; the walls are whitewashed, and. pierced towards the road by two small windows. The cottages are usually placed a few yards distant from each other. The intervening space, defended by a rail and gate, or a hedge of wicker-work towards the road, forms the farm-yard, which runs back some way, and contains a shed or outhouse for the cattle. Such is the outward appearance of the peasant and his habitation. The door opens in the side of the house into the middle room, t>r kitchen, in which is an oven, constructed of clay, well calculated for baking bread, and various implements for household purposes, which "generally occupy this apartment fully. On each side of the room is a door, communicating on one hand with the family dormitory, in which are the two windows that look into the road. This chamber is usually small, but well Pranged ; the beds in good order, piled upon each other, to be spread out on the iloor at night; and the walls covered with a multiplicity of pictures and images of our Saviour, together with dishes, plates, and vessels of coarse earthenware. The other door from the Htchen leads to the store-room, the repository of the greater part of the peasant's riches, consisting of bags of grain of various kinds, both for consumption and for seed, bladders of tallow, sausages, and other articles of provision, in quantities which it would astonish us to find in an English cottage. We must, however, keep in mind, that the harvest of the Hungarian peasant anticipates the income of the whole year ; and, from thS circumstances in which he is placed, he should rather be compared with our farmer thaij our labourer. The yards or folds between the houses are usually much neglected, and Tare the dirty receptacles of a thousand uncleanly objects. Light carts and ploughs (J!g'. 68.), with which the owner performs his stated labour, his meagre cattle, a loose rudely formed heap of hay, and half a dozen ragged children, stand there in mixed confusion ; over which three or four noble dog^, of a peculiar breed, resembling in some degree the Newfoundland dog, keep faithfiil watch." (Trav. in Hung., 19.) *62S. rAeogrioti/tera? ^odi/ce of Austria ismore varied than that of anyother part of Ger- many. Excellent wheat is cultivated in Gallicia, where the soil is chiefly on limestone, arid in the adjoining province of Buckowine ; and, from both, immense quantities are sent down the Vistula to Dantzic. Wheat, rye, and all the other corns, are grown alike in every district, and the quantity might be greatly increased if there were a sufficient demand. 'MaiTe- is cultivated in Hungary arid Transylvania ; millet in Hungary, Sclavonia, and Carinthia ; and rice in the marshy jdistricts 'of Temeswar. Tobacco is extensively cultivated in Hungary, and excellent hops ire produced in Moravia and Bohemia.. It-is H 98 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. estimated that about a sixth part of the Austrian dominions is under tillage. The most common rotation is two com crops, and fallow or rest. 626". The Austrian jirovince of Moravia is very fertile ; and, with the exception of some districts of the Netherlands, scarcely any part of the Continent is so well cultivated. It bears too, a larger proportion of wheat than any other district in the east of Europe. Of the winter corn, wheat is estimated at one fourth, and rye at three fourths ; whereas, in the adjoining province of Silesia, the land sown with rye is nearly ten times that sown with wheat. Moravia is defended by tlie Carpathian mountains from the east winds ; and the harvest, the whole way from Teschen to Olmutz, and indeed to Brunn, is nearly six weeks earlier than in Silesia. This better state of things arose from the circumstance of Moravian agriculture finding domestic consumers. It is the chief manufacturing province of the Austrian empire. A greater proportion of the population can afford to live on meat, and to use wheaten flour ; and hence the agriculturists find a market near home for their productions. The demand for animal food, too, being greater, a greater stock of cattle is kept, and more of the land is destined to clover and other green crops ; and it may thence be inferred, that the growth of corn does not exhaust tlie land, so much as the cattle, by their manure, renew its prolific qualities. {Jacob on ilie Trade in Com, and on the Agriculture of northern Euro^ye.) 627. The vine is cultivated to the greatest extent in Hungary. The well known Tokay is raised on the last chain of the Carpathian hills, in the neighbourhood of the town of Tokay. The district extends over a space of about twenty English miles. " Throughout the whole of this country it is the custom to collect the grapes which have become dry and sweet, like raisins, whilst hanging on the trees. They are gathered one by one ; and it is from them alone that tlie prime Tokay, or, as it is termed, Tokay Ausbruch, is prepared, which, in 1807, sold for 100 florins the cask of 180 halbes on the spot. They are first put together in a cask, in the bottom of which holes are bored to let that portion of the juice escape which will run from them without any pressure. This, which is called Tokay essence, is generally in very small quantity, and very highly prized. ■ The grapes are then put into a vat, and trampled with the bare feet, no greater pressure being permitted. To the squeezed mass is next added an equal quantity of good wine, which is allowed to stand for twenty-four hours, and is then strained. Tliis juice, without fuither preparation, becomes the far-famed wine of Tokay, which is difficult to be obtained, and sells in Vienna at the rate of 1 2/. sterling per dozen. Tlie greater part of these vineyards is the property of the emperor ; several, however, are in the hands of nobles." {Uright's Travels.) 628. Another species of Hungarian wine, called M^neser, is said to equal Tokay ; next to that in value come the wines of (Edenburg, Rusth, St. Gyorgy, and Ofen, followed by a great variety, whose names are as various as the hills which produce them. The grape which is preferred for making the Tokay and otlier Hungarian wines of that character, is a small black or blue grape, figured and described by Sickler in his Garten Magami oif 1804, as the Hungarian Blue. 629. Plums are cultivated, or rather planted and left to themselves ; and an excellent brandy is distilled from the fermented fruit. 630. Ttie culture of silk is in the least fiourishing state in Hungary ; but succeeds well in Austria and Moravia ; that of cotton was tried, but left off chiefly on account of the unfavourableness of the autumns for ripening the capsules. The mountain rice (Oryza miltica), from the north of China, was cultivated with success, but neglected during the late wars. " Tlie greatest advantages which it promised arose from tlie situations in which it would flourish, and the fact of its not requiring \ marshy lands, which are so destructive to the > health of those who are engaged in the cultiva- ' rion of common rice." The 22hus Cotinus is extensively collected from the wastes, and used as a tanning plant, especially in the preparation of morocco leather. Woad is cultivated as a i substitute for indigo ; die Cyperus escul^ntus J (Jig. 69. a), and the .Astragalus boe'ticus (6), ; as substitutes for coffee ; the seeds of the latter, ^ and the tubers of the former, being the parts ' used. The ^cer camp^stre, jilatanoldes, and Pseudo-plAtanus have been tapped for sugar, and the A. saccharinum extensively cultivated for the same purpose, but without any useful result; it was found cheaper to make sugar from the grape. Tlie culture of coffee, olives, indigo, and other exotics, has been tried, but failed. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN GERMANY. 99 631. Tte rearing and care of bees were much attended to during the latter part of tlie eighteenth century ; with a view to which a public school was opened at Vienna, and some in the provinces ; and great encouragement was given to such as kept hives. Some proprietors in Hungary possessed 300 stock hives. It is customary there to transport them from place to place, prefemng sites where buckwheat or the lime tree abounds. The honey, when procured, is greatly increased in value by exposure to the open air for some weeks during winter ; it then becomes hard and as white as snow, and is sold to the ma- nufacturers of liquors at a high price. The noted Italian liqueur, rosoglio, made also in Dantzic, is nothing more tlian tliis honey blanched by exposure to die frost, mixed with a spirituous liquor : though the honey used is said to be that of the lime tree, which is produced only in the forests of that tree near Kowno on the Niemen, and sells at more than three times the price of common honey. 632. Tlie live stock of Austria consists of sheep, cattle, liorses, pigs, and poultry. Considerable attention has lately been paid to tlie breeding of sheep, and the Merino breed has been introduced on the government estates and those of the great pro- prietors. TheoriginalHun- garian sheep (OVis strepsi- ceros) (Jig. 70. ;bears upright spiral horns, and is covered with a very coarse wool. " Im provement on this stock by crosses," Dr. Bright in- foi-ms us, " is become so general, that a flock of the native race is seldom to be met with, except on the estates of religious establish - raents." Baron Giesler has long cultivated the Merino breed in Moravia. In Hun- gary, Graf Hunyadi has paid great and successful attention to them for upwards of twenty years. His flock, when Dr. Bright saw it in 1814, amounted to 17,000, not one of which whose family he could not trace back for several generations by reference to his registers. 633. T/ie homed cattle of the Austrian dominions are of various breeds, chiefly Danish and Swiss. The native Hungarian breed arc of a dirty white colour, large, vigorous, and active, with horns of a prodigious length. The cow is deficient in milk ; but where dairies are established, as in some parts near Vienna, tlie Swiss breed is adopted. 634. 77ie Hungarian horses have long been celebrated, and considerable attempts made from time to time to improve them by crosses with Arabian, English, and Spanish breeds ; and, lately, races have been established for this purpose. The imperial breeding shed, or huras, of Mezohegyes, established in 1783, upon four commons, is the most extensive thing of the kind in Europe. It extends over nearly 50,000 acres ; employs 300 persons; and contains nearly 1000 breeding mares of Bessarabian, Moldavian, Spanish, or English extraction. 635. The breed of swine in some parts of Hungary is excellent. 636. Poultry are extensively reared near Vienna, and also frogs and snails. Townson has described at length the method of treating these, and "of feeding geese for their livers, (,Travelsin Hungary in 1796.) 637. The land tortoise likewise occurs in great numbers in various parts of Hungary, more particularly about Fuzes-Gyarmath, and the marshes of the river Theiss ^ and, being deemed a delicacy for the table, is caught and kept in preserves. The preserve of Keszthele^ encloses about an acre of land, intersected by trenches and ponds, in which the animals feed and enjoy themselves. In one corner was a space separated from the rest by boards two feet high, forming a pen for snails. The upper edge of the boards was spiked with nails an inch in height, and at intervals of half an inch, over which these animals never attempt to make their way. Tliis snail (H61ix pomatia) (^Jlg. 71. a) is in H 2 100 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt V. great demand in Vienna, where sacks of them are regularly exposed to Sale in the market, alternating with sacks of beans, lentils, kidneybeans, and truffles, {fig. 71. *■) 638. The implements and operations of the agriculture of Austria differ little from those of Saxony. Dr. Bright has given figures of the Hungarian plough and cart {fig. 68.), and blames the mode of depositing the corn in holes in the ground, lined with straw, by which it acquires a strong mouldy smell. Vineyards are carefully dug and hoed, and the shoots of the vines, in places where the winter is severe, laid down and covered with eartli to protect them from the frost. Many of tlie great proprietors are introducing the most improved British implements on their estates, and some have taken ploughmen from tliis country to instruct the natives in their use. Prince Esterhazy has English gardeners, 'bailiffs, grooms, and other servants. 639. The forests of the .Austrian dominions are chiefly in Hungary, and on the borders of Gallicia, on the Carpathian mountains. They contain all the varieties of needle ■or pine-leaved, and broad-leaved trees, which are indigenous north of the Rhine. The oaks of Hungary are perhaps the finest in £urope. The forest of Belevar on the Drave was visited by Dr. Bright. It consists chiefly of different species of oak, the most luxuriant he ever beheld. Thousands measured, at several feet above the root, more than seven feet in diameter ; continue almost of the sarhe size, without throwing out a branch, to the height of thirty, forty, and fifty feet, and are still in the most flourishing and healthy condition. Timber there is of little value, except for the buildings wanted on an estate, or for hoops and wine barrels. In some cases the bark is not even t.iken from oak trees ; but in others the leaf galls, and the knoppern, or smaller galls, -which grow on the calyx of the acorn, are collected and exported for the use of tanners. 640. The improvement of the agriculture of Austria seems anxiously desired both by ■ the government and the great proprietors. Various legislative measures are accordingly adopted from time to time, societies formed, and premiums offered. These will no doubt have a certain quantum of effect ; but the radical wants, in our opinion, are inform- ation and taste for comfortable living among the lower classes; and these can only be . remedied by the general diffusion of village schools ; and by establishing easy rates, at which every peasant might purchase his personal liberty, or freedom from the whole or a certain part of the services he is now bound to render his lord. Sect. VI. Of the present State of AgricvXture in ilie Kingdom of Poland, 641. Poland was formerly called the granary of Europe: but this was when its boundaries extended from the Baltic to the Black Sea ; and when the Ukraine an.d Lithuania were included. At present its limits are so circumscribed, and' its arable ■ surface so indifferently cultivated, or naturally so infertile, that the kingdom of Poland strictly speaking, or what is called Vice-regal Poland, furnishes little more corn than supplies its own population. The immense supplies of vvheat sent to Dantzic are chiefly from the republic of Cracow, the province both of the kingdom and republic of Gallicia, , united to Austria, and from Volhynia and Podolia, now belonging to Russia. 642. The landed estates are almost every where large, and either belong to the crown, to the nobles, or to religious corporations. One third of the surface of Vice-regal Poland belongs to the crown. Estates are farmed by the proprietors, by means of stewards ; or : let out in small portions on the metayer or leibeigener tenure. There .ire scarcely any ^rent-paying, fanners. Tlie nobles have generally houses on their estates, which they, occupy, at least, part of the year ; at other periods they are taken care of by the stewards, who are always admitted at the table of their lords, being themselves what is called of noble de- scent. The estates of religious houses are of gieat extent : they are sometimes let to nobles .or others on a corn rent, who generally sublet them ; and in a few cases they are farmed by tlie corporation. The postmasters on the different main roads invariably rent a con- siderable portion of land for the support of their horses. Many of these are metayers, but some pay a money rent ; and there are one or two instances of nobles farming the post. 643. The lumses ami qgiees qf thete rwhU postmasters (fig. 72.) afford the only distant resemblance tr > ritish farm-yard, that is to be met with in Poland. The farm-hojse and farmery of the peasant pott. Book I. -AGRICULTURE IN POLAND. 101 mastel are both included in an immense shed or barn, with a small apartment at one end for the master'^, dwoUing J the remaining space divided for live stock and implements of every description, and for the cattle, carriages, and lodging-place of travellers who may stop during night. Most of these places are suihciently wretched as inns i but in the present state of things they answer very well for the other pur- poses to which they are applied, and are superior to the hovels of the farmers who are not postmasters,, and who are clustered together in villages, or in the outskirts of towns. Some villages, however, in the south of Poland are almost entirely composed of Jews. There the houses are generally of a superior con- struction {Jig. 73.), but still on the same general plan of a living-room at one end of a large barn, the main area of which serves for all the purposes of a complete farmery. The buildings in Poland, except^ those of the principal towns, are constructed of timber and covered with shingles, The sheds and other agricultural buildings are boarded on the sides ; but the cottages are formed of logs joined by moss or clay, of frames filled up with wickerwork and clay, or in modes and of materials stIU more rude. The commonest kind have no chimneys or glass windows. 644. The climate of Poland, tliough severe, is much less precarious than that of the south of Germany or of France. A winter of from five to seven months, during the greater part of which time the soil is covered with snow, is succeeded by a rapid spring and warm summer ; and these are followed by a short cold wet autumn. Under such a climate good meadows and pastures cannot be expected ; but arable culture is singularly easy on free soils, which the frost has rendered at once clear from most sorts of weeds and. soft and mouldy on the surface. , 645. 2'Ae surface of the vice-regal Jnngdom of Poland is almost every where level,, with scarcely an ascent or descent, except where the courses of the rivers have formed channels below the general level of the coimtry. As these rivers, though in summer they appear small streams, are swollen by the rains of autumn, and the melting of the snow on the Carpathian mountains in tiie spring, they form large chan- nels, extending over both sides to a great distance ; and their deposit, in many parts, enriches the land, which presents, in the summer, the aspect of verdant and luxuriant^ meadows. In other parts the periodical swellings of the streams have formed morasses, which, in their present state, are not applicable to any agricultural purposes. The plainS]^ which extend from the borders of one river to another, are open iields with scarcely any. perceptible division of the land, and showing scarcely any trees even around the villages., The portion of woodjand on these plains is very extensive ; but they are in large masses, with great intervals of arable land between them. (Jacob*s Report on the Trade in Com^ and on the Agriculture of Northern Europe, 1826, p. 25.) 646* T/te soil of Vice-regal Poland is mostly sandy, with an occasional mixture of asandy loam ; it is very thin, resting chiefly on a bed of granite, tlirough which the heavy rains gradually percolate. Such a soil is easily ploughed j sometimes two horses or two oxen, and not unfre^uently two cows, perform this and the other operations of husbandry., {Ibid.) C47. The sout/tem part of the ancient kingdom of Poland, now forming the republic of Cracow, presents a comparatively varied surface, and a more tenacious and fruitful soil, which produces excellent wheat, oats, and clover. The best wheat of the Dantzic market comes from this district. 648. The province of GaUicia, a part of the ancient kingdom of Poland, but now added to the dominions of tlie Austrian empire, in surface, soil, and products, resembles the republic of Cracow. 649. Tlie landed estates oC Vice-regal Poland and the republic, belonging to the nobility of the highest rank, are of enormous extent ; but, owing to the system of dividing the land among all the children, unless a special entail secures a majorat to the eldest son (which is, in some few instances, the case), much of it is possessed in allotments, which we should deem large ; but which, on account of their low valuej and when compared with those of a few others, are not so. Of these secondary classes of estates, 5 or 6,000 acres would be deemed small, and 30 or 40,000 acres large. There are, besides these, nume- rous small properties, some of a few acres, which, by frequent subdivisions , have descended to younger branches of noble families. The present owners are commonly poor, but too proud to follow any profession but that of a soldier, and prefer to labour in the iields with their own hands, rather than to engage in trade of any kind. As titles descended 10 every son, and are continued through all the successors, the nobility have' naturally H 3 102 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. become very numerous ; hut since tlie Emperor of Russia has gained the dominion over Poland, the use of titles has been restricted. The whole of the lands being made alien- able may now be purchased by persons of any rank, and are actually held by some who are burghers or peasants ; the Jews alone are proliibited from becoming proprietors of tlie soil, though they have very numerous mortgages upon it. When they foreclose, the lands must consequently be sold ; and as these Jews, the monied capitalists, cannot become purchasers, the prices they yield are very tiifling. (Ibid.) 650. Tlie cidHvaiors are cliiepj peasants. They have a Umited property in the lands which they occupy, and the cottages in which they live, under the condition of working a stipulated number of days in each week, on their lord's demesne, and paying specified quantities of produce, such as poultry, eggs, yarn, and otlier things, in conformity with ancient usage. The extent of tliese holdings varies, according to the quality of the land, and the quantity of duty-work, or of payments in kind, which are to be fulfilled. The peasantry of Poland were declared free in 1791, and this privilege was confirmed to them in 1815 ; and though their ignorance and poverty have hitherto prevented the prac- tical effects of liberty from being very obvious among them, yet they are so far elevated in sentiment, at least, as to feel their superiority to the peasantry of Russia. {Ibid.) 651. The arable culture of Poland is abundantly "simple: the coui-se of crops is, in most places, 1st, wheat, barley, or rye ; 2d, oats ; .Sd, fallow, or several years' rest to commence with fallow. In a very few places clover is sown, and also beans or peas, but only in small quantities. The Digitaria sanguinalis is sown as a plant of luxury in a few places, and tlie seeds used as rice ; the buckwheat is al^o sown, and the seeds ground and used as meal. Almost every farmer sows linseed or hemp, to the extent required for home use, and some for sale. Rye is tlie bread corn of the country. Potatoes are now becoming general, and succeed well. The mangold, or white beet, was cultivated in many places in 1811 and 1812, by order of Bonaparte, in order that the natives might grow their own sugar ; but that is now left off, and the peasants have not even learned its value as a garden plant, producing chard and spinach. Turnips or cabbages are rarely seen even in gardens ; few of tlie cottagers, indeed, have any garden ; tliose who have, cultivate chiefly potatoes, and kohl riibe. Many species of mushrooms grow wild in the woods and wastes, and most of tliese are carefully ga- thered, and cooked in a variety of ways as in Russia. The wastes or common jiastures are left entirely to nature. There are some tracts of indiflTerent meadow on the Vistula, at Warsaw, Thorn, and Cracovie, and some on the tributary streams, which afford a tolerable hay in summer, and would be greatly improved by draining. 652. The implements and operatiims are incredibly rude. We have seen lands ploughed (after their manner) by one cow, tied by tlie horns to the trunk of a young fir tree, one of the roots sharpened and acting as a share, and the other serving the ploughman as a handle. In otlier instances we have seen a pair of oxen dragging a wretched imple- ment (Ji^. 74. ) formed by the peasant, who is in all cases his own plough and wheel wright, as well as house carpenter and builder. Their best or usual plough has no mould-board ; and the crop is in many cases more indebted to the excellence of the soil, and the preceding winter's frost, than to tlie farmer. Horses are their general beasts of labour ; their harness is very rude, often of straw ropes, and twisted willow shoots. The body of their best market carts, 75 in which even the lesser nobles visit each ■ other, are of wicker-work {Jig. 75.), and \ the axle and wheels are made without any iron. 653. The live stock of Poland is very small in proportion to the land. Poultry -. are abundant, and swine ; but the latter of the yellow long-legged breed. The . , , , horses are very hardy animals, and of better shapes than might be expected from their treatment. The best-shaped are in the province of LubUn, but they are far inferior to the breed of Saxony. The cows are a small race, and generally kept in bad condition both as to food and cleanliness. Warsaw and Cracow are supphed with beef and veal, chiefly from the Ukraine. Mutton is little used. 654. Tli£ extensive forests of Poland are little attended to, except on the banks of the prmcipal nvers, and where oak abounds, from which bark and wheel spokes may be Book I. AGRICULTURE IN POLAND. 103 procured. Tliese are cut over regulaily at intervals, and standards left in the usual way. 'llie wild or Scotch pine forests are tlie most extensive ; these perpetuate tliem- selves by semination ; and tlie trees are often so crowded as to be of little use but as fuel. The chief proprietors of these forests are the crown and tlie religious coi'porations, who, whenever they can find purchasers, are glad to let them thin out tlie best trees at a certain rate, and float them, down the nearest stream, to the Vistula, Pregel, or Niemen. A good deal has been ssud about the importance of felling timber at particular seasons. In Poljind, the operation generally takes place in summer, but not, as far as we could learn, from any regard to tlie effect on the timber. The trees are often notched half through a year or two before, in order to obtain rosin. The other products of forests, as fuel, cliarcoal, ^hes, hoops, poles, &c., are obtained in the usual manner. Game is abundant in tliem ; and bears, polecats, &c., are to be seen in some places. The woods belonging to the crown consist of upwards of two millions of acres, and are felled in portions annually, so as to cut them eveiy fifty years, 655. The management of bees is a material article in the forest culture of Poland. The lioney is divided into three classes, namely lipiec, leszny, and stepowey prasznymird, thus described by How. {Gen. Bep. Scot, app.) 656, Lipiec is gathered by the bees from the lime tree alone, and is considered on the Continent most valuable, not only for the superiority of its flavour, but also for the estimation in which it is held as an arcanum in pulmonary complaints, containing very little wax, and being, consequently, less heating in its nature ; it is as white as milk, and is only to be met with in the lime forests in the neighbourhood of the town or Kowno, in Lithuania. The great demand for this honey occasions it to bear a high price, inso- much, that a small barrel, containing hardly one pound's weight, has been known to sell for two ducats on the spot. This species of the lime-tree is peculiar to the provmce of Lithuania : and is ^uite different from all the rest of the genus TYlia, and is called Kamienna lipsa, or stone lime. The inhabitants have no regular bee-hives about Kowno ; every peasant who is desirous of rearing bees, goes into the forest and district belonging to his master, without even his leave, makes a longitudinal hollow aperture or apertures in the trunk of a tree, or in the collateral branches, about three feet in length, one foot broad, and about a foot deep, where he deposits his bees, leaves them some food, but pays very little further attention to them, until late in the autumn ; when, after cutting out some of their honey, and leaving some for their maintenance, he secures the aperture properly witli clay and straw against the frost and inclemency of the approaching season : these tenements (if they may be so called), with their inhabitants and the pro- duce of their labour, are then become his indisputable property ; he may sell them, transfer them ; in . short, he may do whatever he pleases with them ; and never is it heard that any depredation is com- mitted on them (those of the bear excepted). In Foland, the laws are particularly severe against robbors or destroyers of this property, punishing the offender, when detected, by cutting out the navel and drawing out his intestines round and round the very tree which he has robbed. 657. When spring an-iveSf the proprietor goes agfun to the forest, examines the bees, and ascertains whether there is sufficient food left, till they are able to maintain themselves ; should there not be a sufficient quantity, he deposits with them as much as he judges necessary till the spring blossom appears. If he observes that his stock has not decreased by mortality, he makes more of these a^perturefi in the collateral branches, or in the trunk of the tree, that in case the bees should swarm in his absence, they may have a ready asylum. In the autumn he visits them again, carries the June and July work away wiui him, which is the lipiec, and leaves only that part for their food which was gathered by them before the commencement and after the decay of the flowering of the lime tree. 668. The leszny, the next class qf h(mey^ which is inferior in a great degree to the lipiec, being only for the common mead, is that of the pine forests ; the inhabitants of which make apertures in the pine trees, similar to those near Kowno, and pay the same attention, in regard to the security of the bees, and their maintenance. The wax is also much inferior in quality ; it requires more trouble in the bleaching, and is only made use of in the churches. 659, Tl^ third class qf honey is the stepowey prasxaymird, or the honey from meadows or places where there is an abundance of perennial plants, and hardly any wood. The province of Ukraine produces the very best, and also the very best wax. In that province the peasants pay particular attention to this branch of economy, as it is the only resource they have to enable them to defray the taxes levied by Russia ; and they consider the produce of bees equal to ready money ; wheat, and other species of corn, being so very fluctuating in price, some years it being of so little value that it is not worth the peasant's trouble to gather it in (this nas happened in the Ukraine, four times in twelve years) : but honey and wax having always a great demand all over Europe, and even Turkey, some of the peasants have f^om four to five hundred ule, or logs of wood in their bee-gardens, which are called pasieha, or bee-hives j these logs are about six feet high, commonly of birch wood (the bees prefer the birch to an^ other wood), hollowed out in the middle tor about five feet ; several lamina of thin boards arc nailed before the aperture, and but a small hole left in the middle of one of them for the entrance of the bees. As the bees are often capricious at the beginning of their work, frequently commencing it at the front rather than the back, the peasants cover the aperture with a number of these thin boards, instead of one entire board, for fear of disturbing them, should the^ have begun their work at the front. It may appear extraordinary, but it is nevertheless true, that in some favourable seasons, this aperture of five feet in length, and a foot wide, is full before August ; and the peasants are obliged to take the produce long before the usual time, with the view of giving room to the bees to continue their work, so favourable is the harvest some summers. 660. The process qf brewing mead in Poland is very simple : the proportion is three parts of water to one of honey, and 50 lb. of mfld hops to 163 gallons, which is called a waar, or a brewing. When the water is boiling, both the honey and nops are thrown into it, and it is kept stirring until it becomes milk* warm ; it is then put into a large cask, and allowed to ferment for a few days j it is then drawn off into another cask, wherein there has been aqua-vitffi, or whisky, bunged quite close, and afterwards taken to the cellars, which in this country are excellent and cool. This mead becomes good in three years' time ; and, by keeping, it improves, like many sorts of wine. The mead for immediate drink is made from malt, hops, and honey, in the same proportion, and undergoes a similar process. In Hungary, it is usual to put ginger in mead. There are other sorts of mead in Poland, as wisniak, dereniak, mafiniafc ; they are made of honey, wild cherries, berries of the Curnus macula, and raspberries ; they all undergo the same process, and are most excellent and wholesome after a few years' keeping. The lipiec is made in the same way, but it contains the honey and pure water only. The honey gathered by the bees from the Azklea puntica, at Oczakow, and in Fotesia in Poland, is of an intoxicating nature ; it produces nausea, and is used only for medical purposes, chiefly in rheumatism, scrophula, and eruption of the skin, in which com- plaints it has been attended with great success. In a disease among the hogs called vjeiiery (a sort of plague among these animals) a decoction of the leaves and buds of Azalea is given with tl)^gr«itcst 104 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Paut I. eRfect, and produces almost insbint-ineous relief. The disease attaclis tlic tioRs with a swelling of their throat, and terminates in large hard knots, not unlike the plague, on which the decoctjon acts as a digestive, abates the fever directly in the iirst stage, and suppurates the knots. It is used in 1 urkey, witn the same view, in the cure of the plague. 661. Such is the present slate of agricvUvre in. Poland, as it appeared to us during a residence of four months in Wareaw and its neighbourhood in ISl.'J, and tlie details in Mr. Jacob's Report of 1826 (p. 25. to 37.) afford us but little reason for altering our opinion. But it must always be rcjcollected, that the above view docs not include either Lithuania or Gallicia, the agriculture of wliich districts is of a much superior descri|)tion. Since the middle of tlie 1 8tli century some of the principal Polish nobles have occa- sionally made efforts for the improvement of the agriculture of tlieir country ; but they have not been designed and directed in the best manner, and what is much worse, not steadily pursued. Splendid wooden houses and villages have been built, and foreign farmers induced to settle and cultivate the lands. In the first heat of the business, all went on well ; but the proprietors soon began to cool, to neglect their new tenants, and leave them to the mercy of their stewards, who, in Italy and Poland, are known to be the most corrupt set of men that can be met with. The oppression of these stewards, and the total disregard of their masters to their promises and agreements made to and' with these strangers, have either forced the latter to return home, or reduced them to the necessity of becoming servants in the towns, or in Germany; and we know of instances where it has ruined men of some property. There are one or two exceptions ; but we could produce names and dates in proof of the general truth of what we have asserted. The failure of a dairy establishment, and of a brewery, both established before the com- mencement of tlie French revolution, is attributable to this sort of conduct in the proprietors . *662. T/ie efforts to introduce a better culture into Poland, since the peace of 1814, have been more general, and conducted on more moderate and rational principles. British implements have been imported in considerable numbers, and an iron-foundery and manufactory of machinery of most kinds and agricultural implements is now established in Warsaw. Improved breeds of cattle and sheep have been procured from Prussia and Saxony ; scientific managers are obtained from the German agricultural schools ; and what will contribute essentially to improvement, encouragement is given to foreigners to settle, by letting or selling the crown lands at moderate rates, and not only free from alt feudal services for ever, but for a certain ]jeriod exempted from government taxes. Add to this, that the leibeigeners and metayers of every description may buy up the services which they now render their lords, at very ea.syrates established by law ; and tlius, according to their ambition and means, render themselves partially or wiiolly independent men. In short, the most judicious measures have been taken, by the new government of Poland, for the improvement of the country ; and they have been followed up with con- siderable vigour by the proprietors. These proprietors are now a different and very superior class of men to what they were fifty or sixty years ago. They have mostly been officers in the French arniy, and witli it traversed the greater part of Europe ; better educated tlian many of the French, and more engaging in their manners than the Germans, they may be considered among tlie first gentlemen of tlie Continent. The Polish peasantry are naturally a much more lively and ingenious race tlian those of Russia, and since they have been rendered free, tliey have learned to feel their superiority, and they will gradually participate in the improvement of their masters. Sect. VII. Of t/ie present State of Agriculture in Mussia^ 663. The rural economy of the Russian empire was first described by Professor Pallas in his travels to exploie that country, made by order of the Empress Catherine. It has also been incidentally noticed by various travellers, as Tooke, Coxe, Clarke, and several French and German autiiors. From these and other works, and a personal residence wliich occupied nearly a year in 1813 and 1814, we shall present a very concise state- ment of the agricultural circumstances of that semibarbarous country. 664. The territirry of Russia which may be subjected to aration commences at the 43° and ends at the 65° of north latitude. Farther north, tlie summers are too short for /ipening even barley, and the climate too severe for the growth of pasture or trees. It is a black waste, productive of little more than lichens, and supporting a few reindeer. The southern extremity of Asiatic Russia, on the other hand, admits the culture of Italy, and even the southern parts in Europe, that of the maize district of France. 665. Tlie climate of Russia has been divided into four regions, the very cold, cold, temperate, and hot. The very cold extends from 60° to 78° of N. latitude, and includes Archangel. In many of its districts there is scarcely any summer ; the spring has in general much frost, snow, and rain ; and the winter is always severe. In this region there is no agriculture. 666^Tlie cold climate extends from 55"^ to 60° N. latitude and includes Cazau Mos- Book I. AGRICULTURE IN RUSSIA. 105 cow, Petersburg, and Riga ; the summer is short, yet in many districts so warm and the days so long, that agricultural crops usually come to perfect maturity in a mucli shorter space of time than elsewhere. The winters are long and severe, even in tlie southern parts of the region. The ground round Moscow is generally covered with snow for six months in the year, and we have seen it covered to the depth of several inches in the first week of June. 667. The moderate region extends from 50° to 55° and includes Kioff, SaratoCf, Wilna, and Sraolensko. The Siberian part of this region being very mountainous, the winters are long and cold ; but in the European part the winter is short and tolerably temperate, and the summer warm and agreeable. The snow, however, generally lies from one to three months, even at Kioff and Saratoff. 668. The hot region reaches from 43* to 50°, and includes the Taurida, Odessa, Astracan, and the greater part of Caucasus and the district of KioiF. Here the winter Is short and the summer warm, hot, and very dry. The atmosphere in all the different climates is in general salubrious, both during the intense colds of the no/th, and the excessive heats of the southerly regions. The most remarkable circumstance is tlie shortness of the seasons of spring and autumn, even in the southern regions ; while' in the very cold and cold regions they can be hardly said to exist. About Moscow the ter- mination of winter and tlie commencement of summer generally take place about the end of April. There the rivers, covered a yard in thickness wili ice, break up at once and overflow their banks to a great extent ; in a fortnight the snow has disappeared, the rotten-like blocks of ice dissolved, and the rivers are confined to their limits. A crackling from the bursting of buds is heard in the birch forests ; in two days afterwards, they are in leaf; corn which was sown as soon as the lands were sufficiently dry to plough is now sprung up, and wheat and rye luxuriant. Reaping commences in tlie government of Moscow in September, and is finished by tlie middle of October. Heavy rains and sleet then come on, and by the beginning of November the ground is covered with snow, which accumulates generally to two or three feet in thickness before the middle of January, and remains vidth little addition till it dissolves in the following April and May. The climate of Russia, therefore, though severe, is not so uncertain as that of some otlier countries. From the middle of November till April it scarcely ever snows or rains ; and if the cold is severe, it is dry, enlivening, and at least foreseen and provided for. Its greatest evils are violent summer rains, boisterous winds, and continued autumnal fogs. Late frosts are more injurious than long droughts ; tliough there are instances of such hot and dry summers, that fields of standing com and forests take fire and fill whole provinces with smoke^ (^Toofce*s Vi^w of the Russian ^m^ire.) 669. The surface of Russia is almost every where flat, like that of Poland, with the exception of certain ridges of mountains which separate Siberia from the other provinces, and which also occur in Siberian Russia. In travelling from Riga, Petersburg, Wilna, or Brody, to Odessa, the traveller scarcely meets with an inequality sufficiently great to be termed a hill ; but he will meet with a greater proportion of forests, steppes or immense plains of pasture, sandy wastes, marshy surfaces, and guUeys or temporary water-courses, than in any other country of Europe. 670. Tlie soU of Russia is almost every where a soft black mould of great depth, and generally on a sandy bottom. In some places it inclines to sand or gravel ; in many it is peaty or boggy from not being drained : but only in Livonia and some parts of Lithu- ania was it inclined to clay, and no where to chalk. The most fertile provinces are those of Vladimir and Riazane, east of Moscow, and the whole country of the Ukraine on the Black Sea, and of the Cossacks on the Don. In Vladimir thirty-fold is often pro- duced, and still more in Riazane. In many parts of the Ukraine no manure is used ; the straw is burned ; successive crops of wheat are taken from the same soil, and after a single ploughing each time, the stalks of which are so tall and thick that they resemble reeds, and the leaves are like those of Indian com. 671. Landed property in Russia is almost everywhere in large tracts, and is either the property of the emperor, the religious or civil corporations, or the nobles. There are a few free natives who have purchased their liberty, and some foreigners, especially Germans, who have landed estates ; but these are comparatively of no account. In the Ukraine, within the last thirty years, have been introduced on the government estates a number of foreigners from most countries of Europe, who may be considered as pro- prietors. These occupy the lands on leases of a hundred years or upwards, at little or no rent, on condition of peopling and cultivating them and residing there. In the country parts of Russia, there is no middle class between the nobles, including the priests, and the slaves. Estates are, therefore, either cultivated directly by the proprietors, acting as their own stewards ; at indirectly, by letting them to agents or factors, as in Poland and Ireland, or by dividing them in small portions among the peasantry. In general, tlie proprietor is ius own agent and farmer for a great part of his estate ; and the rest he lets 106 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. to his slaves at certain rates of labour, corn, personal services, and sometinnes a tittle money. These slaves, it is to be observed, are as much his property as the soil ; and in seasons of scarcity, or in the event of any disaster, the lord is bound to provide for them, and indeed deeply interested in doing so, in order at least to maintain tlie population; and, if p fections and defects. The fallows are not well attended to ; tliree ploughings are usually deemed suflncient, and, from tlie imperfection of the plough, the ground at tlie end is generally full of weeds. Ti'enching land is very general ; they form it into beds, and shovel out a deep trench between them, tlirowing up the eartli. 'Hie expense of tliis operation is about eight shillings an acre. Wliea^ as will be seen from lie preceding details, is not by any means generally cultivated. It is unknown in Monaghan, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Leitrim, and Cavan, though it is grown to a consider- able extent in Kilkenny, Carlow, Dublin, Meatli, Louth, and parts of Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, and Cork. It is generally sown after potatoes or fallow. The Irish wheat is, for tire most part, coarse and of inferior quality, and does not yield so much saccharine matter by twenty per cent, as the English. (iSjd., i. 429. 442.) 837. Barhy is more generaUi/ cultivated in Ireland than wheat, and it is generally sown after potatoes. Oats, however, constitute the species of grain most extensively raised ; it is calculated that, throughout the whole kingdom, there are ten acres of oats sown for one of any other species of com. The Irish oats, however, are decidedly inferior to the English, 838. The potatoes of Ireland have long been celebrated, both on account of their quantity and excellent qualities : they are cultivated on every species of soil, either in drills or lazy beds. Potato land lets from six pounds six shillings to ten pounds ten shillings per acre ; and the expense of culture, including rent, varies from thirteen pounds tQ sixteen pounds per acre. The produce is from eight hundred stone to one thousand stone the acre, at twenty-one pounds to the stone ; that is, from sixteen thousand eight hundred to twenty-one thousand pounds, (Ibid., i. 450.) 839. Tfte indigenous grasses of Trelan/l are not of any peculiar excellence. Notwith- standing all that has been said of the iiorin grass, its excellence and utility may be called in question. Their hay is seldom from sown grasses, generally consisting of the spon- taneous produce of the soil. Clover is almost unknown. Newenham calculates that there are not live thousand acres under this crop in the whole island, (NewejiAam, 314. ; Walcefield, i. 467.) 840. There are few live hedges in Ireland ; in the level stone districts, stone walls, and in other places turf banks, are the usual fences. 841. The dairy is the most extensive and the best Tnanaged part of Irish husbandry, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Carlow, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, and Fermanagh, as well as the mountains of Leitrim and Sligo, are principally occupied by dairy farms. Butter is the chief produce. The average number of cows on a daily farm amounts to thirty or forty ; three acres of land, of middling quality, are deemed necessai-y for the sub- sistence of each cow. A cow produces on an average eight quarts in twenty-four hours in summer, and five in winter ; four good milkers will yield a quarter of a cwt. of butter in a week. The best butter is made in Carlow ; the worst in Limerick and IWeath. -Generally speaking, the Irish are very cleanly in making this article ; and it is exported to England, the East and West Indies, and Portugal. (Wakefield, i. 325. et seq.) The art of salting bulter, Chaptal observes, is better known in Ireland than in any other country. (^Cliimie oppliqui d I' Agriculture.) The grazing of Ireland is not, as in England, a part of the regular rotation of crops, but is carried on in a country exclusively devoted to the breeding of cattle, like the highlands of Scotland. Great tracts of the country also are devoted to the grazing of sheep. Roscommon, Galway, Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary are the chief breeding coimties for sheep ; and Galway, Clare, Roscom- mon, Tipperary, and Meath are the places where they are fattened. The sheep are of the long-woolled kind, and very large : they are never kept in sheepfolds, and hardly ever fed on turnips ; which is chiefly owing to tlie very limited demand for mutton among the labouring people. (Ibid., i, 341.) 842. The dejn-essed slate of tlie agriculture of Ireland is considered as proceeding from the depressed state of the people. The main cause of tlieir sufferings is traced by most writers (Young, Dewar, Newenham, Wakefield, Curwen, &c.) to the redundancy of population. In 1791, the population of the whole kingdom amounted to 4,200,000 per- sons, and it increases at the rate of one forty-sixth part per annum ; or, in other words, it doubles itself every forty-six years. As might be expected in a country where the increase in the number of mankind has so far outstripped the progress of its wealth, and the increase of its industry, the condition of the people is in every department marked by extreme indigence. (Dewar, 91. ; Young, ii. 123.) The houses in wliich they dwell, the furniture in their interior, their clothing, food, and general way of life, all equally K 4 136 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. indicate the poverty of t}ie country. The dress of the people is so wretched, tliat, to a person who has not visited tlie country, it is almost inconceivable. The Irish poor, indeed, have no conception of the comforts of life ; and, if they felt tlieir full value, tliey could not afford them, for though necessaries are cheap, conveniences of all sorts are very dear. 843. But while the Irish poor are in general destitute of all tlie accommodations, lliey hardly ever, except in years of extraordinary distress, know what it is to want tlie absolvle necessaries, of life. The unsparing meal of potatoes, at which the beggar, the pig, the dog, the poultry, and the children seem equally welcome, seldom fails the Irisli labourer. 844. Hence the ladness of the lower Irish. Limited as their wants are to the mere sup- port of animal life, they do not engage in labour with that persevering industry which artificial desires inspire ; and the mode in which they are often paid, that is, giving tliem a piece of potato land by the year, at once furnishes the means of subsistence, and takes away every stimulus to farther exertion. The farm -servants of the English or Scotch farmers, who carry on agriculture upon tlie improved system, are constantly em- l)loyed in some species of labour ; but, after the potatoes of the Irish cottier are planted, there is hardly any tiling to be done about his little croft till the season of digging ar- rives. During a great portion of the year he is doomed to idleness, and the habits he acquires during the long periods of almost total inaction, are too strong to be overcome when he is tiansferred to a more regular occupation. Such is the condition of the labouring classes. 845. Ireland exhibits an assemblage of the most contradictory circumstances. It is a country in wliich, under the most distressing circumstances, population has advanced with the most rapid pace, in which cultivation has advanced without wealth, and education without diffusing knowledge ; where the peasantry are more depressed, and yet can ob- tain subsistence with greater facility, than in any other country of Europe. Their miserable condition will not appear surprising, when the numerous oppressions to which tliey are subject are taken into consideration. 846. In the foremost rank of their many grievances, the general prevalence of middle- men must be placed. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the misery which the system of letting and subletting land has brought upon the Irish cultivators. Middlemen have, in every country, been the inseparable attendants of absent proprietors : and in such a country as Ireland, where there are numbers of disaffected persons in every quarter, the vigilant eye of a superior inspector is more particularly required. 847. The system if under-letting lands often proves a great evil m Ireland. By the law of England, the landlord is entitled to cHstrain for payment of rent, not only the stock which belongs to his immediate tenant, but the crop or stock of a subtenant ; on the principle that whatever grows on the soil ought to be a security to the landlord for his rent: and in Scotland the same rule holds where the landlord has not authorised the subtack ; but if he has, the subtenant is free when he has paid to the principal tenant. There is little hardship in such a rule in England, where the practice of subletting is, generally speaking, rare ; but when applied to Ireland, where middlemen are universal, it becomes the source of infinite injustice ; for the cultivator being liable to have his crop and stock distrained on account of the tenant from whom he holds, and there being often many tenants interposed between him and the landlord, he is thus perpetually liable to be dis- trained for arrears not his own. The tenant, in a word, can never be secure, though he has faithfully paid his rent to his immediate superior ; because he is still hable to have every thing which he has in the world swept off" by an execution for arrears due by any of the many leaseholders, who may be interposed between him and the landlord. It is obvious that such a system must prevent the growth of agricultural capital : this, joined to the exactions of the middlemen, has been the true cause of the universal prevalence of the cottage system, and the minute subdivision of farms. 848. T/te tithes in Ireland have long been collected with a severity of which hardly any European state furnishes an example. This has arisen from the wealth and influence of the clergy, joined to the destitute situation of their parishioners. They fall, by the law of that country, only on the tillage land ; the greater part of which is held by cottier tenants ; and thus the rich are exempted from bearing their share of the burden. 849. Another grievance, though not so extensive, is the fine imposed upon a township, for having had the misfortune to have a seizure for illicit distillation made vidthin its bounds. 850. These evils have been attended with tlie usual depressing effects of oppression. They have prevented the growth of any artificial wants, or any desire of bettering their con- dition, among the mass of the people. Despised by their superiors, and oppressed by all to whom they might naturally have looked for protection, the Irish have felt only the natural instincts of their being. Among the Presbyterians of the north, and the pea- santry in tlie vicinity of manufacturing towns, who are to a certain extent educated, liigher notions of comfort may have imposed some restraint on the principle of popu- lation ; but the humiliated poor of other parts, enjoying no respectability or consideration Book I. AGRICULTURE IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 13'; in society, have sought only the means of subsistence ; and finding, witliout difficulty, potatoes, milk, and a hovel, have overspread the land with a wretched offspring. 851. To these causes of a redundant population, of which the government of the country is, directly or indirectly, the source, are to be added otliers of a different kind. 852. The Jirst is the infiuence of the parish priests, who encourage marriage, in order to increase their own emoluments, and tlie superstition of the people, who regard it as a religious duty. 853. Tfte second cause is, the general ignorance of the people, 854. On the influence of education, in restraining the tendency to early and imprudent marriage, it would be superfluous in this place to enlarge. 855. Various other drcumstances have combined to multiply to a great degree the facilities of population, and to expand, in this country, beyond almost any othei', tlie means of subsistence. 856. - The fertUHy of the country may be mentioned as one of the most obvious of these circumstances. The soil of Ireland is in general so rich, that it will yield an alternate crop of wheat and potatoes for ever, without any very great labour, and with little manure. The introduction of the potato, and its singular adaptation to the soil and climate of Ireland, are other concurring causes. An acre of potatoes, according to Newenham, will yield four times as much nourishment as one of wheat. By thus expanding the means of human subsistence, the potato has greatly promoted the population of Ireland ; but as the able writer, from whom we have selected the above remarks, observes, " unless the people are predisposed, from other causes, to press upon the means of subsistence, it has no tendency to augment their redundance. Under the government and political institutions of the Irish, the population of tlie country would have been equally redundant, though much smaller that it now is, if they had lived on oats or wheaten bread. The introduction of the potato may be tlie cause why the population is now six in place of three milhons : but it is not the cause why, during the whole period of this increase, the numbers of the people have been greater than, under existing circumstances, could be comfortably maintained." (&ep. Enct/c. Brit-, art Ireland.) 857. That agriculture has made considerable progress in Ireland since the above was written, nearly twenty years ago, is obvious from the increased exports of wheat and other grain from her ports ; but it may be questioned whether during this period any advance has taken place in the comforts of the general mass of her population. It is a remarkable fact, that in the year 1823, when great numbers of the labouring class in Ireland were starving from a failure in the potato crop, and when large subscriptions were raising in England, and even on the Continent, for their relief, the exportation of grain was going on from Cork and other Irish ports, as if nothing had happened. Be- fore much improvement can take place in the condition of the mass of Irish population, it is necessary that they should possess such a taste for the comforts of life as will restrain the principle of population, by lessening the number of early marriages, or inducing that degree of restraint rendered expedient by a prudent foresight. At present nothing more is necessary for the happiness of an Irish country labourer and his family than straw and potatoes : if these fail him he is lost, because he can fall no lower ; if any tiling is su- peradded to his means, it only increases the desire for these necessaries, produces a greater number of children, and creates an additional demand for straw and potatoes. It is gratify- ing, however, to be able to state that the time seems arrived for the introduction of domestic improvement among the peasantry of Ireland. At no former period has the British government manifested so much anxiety to discover the real causes of the miseries which afflict that country; and in every session of parliament some enactments are made for its amelioration. The enlightened principles of political economy which are now acted on by ministers, and the knowledge of this science which within these few years has spread among all classes, cannot fail to bring Ireland rapidly forward in civilisation and refine- ment ; and we wish it may be to such a degree, as in a very few years to render the account which we have above given mere matter of history. No one can desire this result more ardently than we do. Chap. VL Of the present State of -Agriculture in Ultra-European Countries, 858. In this department of our history the reader will not expect more than a very slight outline ; not only from our limited space and the comparative scarcity of materials, but because the subject is less interesting to general readers. We shall notice in succession the principal countries of Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. 188 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I, Sect. I. Of'tlie present State of Agriculture in Asia. 859. Tlie agrictiUure of Asia is of a very different character from that of Europe, owing chiefly to the great difference of climate, and partly to the difference of civili- sation. The culture of this division of the globe is chiefly of two kinds, water culture and pasturage. Very little can be done without artificial watering, except in the northern and mountainous parts, where the climate resembles that of Europe. Even the palm and other fruit trees are watered in some parts of Persia and Arabia, and several fruit trees are regularly irrigated in India. The grand bread corn of Asia is rice, a watered grain ; and the most valuable fruits, those of the palm family ; the most useful agriculturaJ labourer is the ox, and his species are also the most valuable as pastur- age animals. SuBSECT. 1. Of the present State of Agriculture in Asiatic Turkey. 860. Asiatic Turkey extends from the Archipelago 1050 miles to Ararat in Persia on the east, and from the Euphrates 1100 miles to the Caucasian mountains on the north. It contains a number of provinces differing materially from each other in natural circum- stances, and artificial culture ; but, unfortunately for us, very little is known of their agriculture. In general, the Asiatic Turks are to be considered as a wandering and pas- toral people, cultivating no more corn than what is sufficient for their own maintenance ; and scarcely half civilised. *861. Tlie climate of Asia Minor has been always considered excellent. The heat of the summer is tempered by numerous chains of high mountains, some of which are covered constantly with snow. The aspect of Asiatic Turkey is mountainous, intermingled with spacious and beautiful plains, which afford pasture to the numerous flocks and herds of tile Turkomans. The soil is varied; but the chief agricultural products are wheat, barley, and doura (millet). It abounds also with grapes, olives, and dates. In Syria, tlie agriculture is deplorable, and the peasants are in a wretched condition, being sold, as in Poland, with the soil, and tlieir constant fare being barley bread, onions, and water. 862. The numerous mountains if Asiatic Turkey are frequently clothed with immense forests of pines, oaks, beeches, elms, and other trees ; and the southern shores of tlie Black Sea present many gloomy forests of great extent. The inhabitants are hence supplied with abundance of fuel, in defect of pit-coal, which has not been explored in any part of Asiatic Turkey. Sudden conflagrations arise from the heed- less waste of the caravans, which, instead of cutting off a few branches, often set fire to a standing tree. The extensive provinces of Natolia, Syria, and Mesopotamia have been little accessible to European curiosity, since their reduction under the Turkish yoke. In Pinkerton's Geography we have a catalogue of those plants and trees that have been found wild in the Asiatic part of the Ottoman territory. Several dyeing drugs and articles of the materia medica are imported from , the Levant, among which are madder, and a variety called ■ alizan, which grows about Smyrna, and affords a much finer red dye than the European kind ; jalap, scammony, sebesten, the ricinus (iiicinus communis, _^. 105.) yielding by expres- /^'^il'^iii'^iUg^^^^Iji sion castor oil, squirting cucumber, coloquintida, opium poppy, and spikenard. The best horses in Asiatic Turkey are of Arabian extraction ; but mules and asses are more gene- rally used. The beef is scarce and bad, the mutton superior, and the kid a favourite repast. Other animals are the bear, tiger, hyaena, wild boar, jackal, and dogs in great abundance. On the summits of Cau- casus is found the ibex, or rock-goat ; at Angora, singular goats and cats ; the gazel, deer, and hares in great abundance, are found in Asia Minor. The partridges are gene- rally of the red-legged kind, larger than the European ; fish is plentiful and excellent. SnBSECT. 2. Of the jrresent State of Agriculture in Persia. 863. The climate of Persia is various in different parts ; depending less on difference of latitude than on the natnre and elevation of the country, so that it is said to be the country of three climates. The northern provinces on the Caspian are comparatively cold and moist : in the centre of the kingdom, as Chardin observes, the winter begins in November and continues till March, commonly severe, with ice and snow, the latter falling chiefly on the mountains, and remaining on those three days' journey west of Ispahan for eight montlis in the year. From March to May high winds are frequent ; but from May to September the air is serene, refreshed by breezes in the night. The heat, Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 139 however, is during this period excessive in the low countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, in Chusistan, the deserts of Kerman,~and also in some parts or the interior, particulaily at Tehraun, the capital. Fkom September to November the winds again prevail. In the centre and south the air is generally diy ; thunder and lightning are uncommon, and a rainbow is seldom seen ; eartliquakes are almost unknown ; but heat is often destructive in the spring. Near the Persian Gidf the hot wind, called ** samiel," sometimes sufibcates the unwary traveller. The summers are, in general, very mild, after ascending the mountains. To the nortli of Shiraz the winters are severe, insomuch that, in the vicinity of Tehraun and Tabreez, all communication is cut off for several successive weeks between these cities and the adjoining villages. The climate, notwithstanding this sudden transition from heat to cold, is singularly healthy, with the exception of the provinces of Ghilan, and Mazanderam. The air is dry ; the dews not insalubrious. The atmosphere is always clear, and at night die planets shine with a, degree of lustre unknown in Europe ; and as it seldom rains, here are none of those damps or pestiferous exhalations so common in the woody parts of Hindustan. *864. The surface of Persia is distinguished by a deficiency of rivers and a multitude of mountains ; its plains, where tliey occur, are generally desert. So that Persia may be divided into two parts by deserts and mountains ; and this division, it is said, has generally influenced its history and destinies in all ages. It is every where open, and no where presents a thriving populous appearance. Even the cities and their environs have some- thing of desolation and decay in their aspect, and many of them are actually ruined or neglected, of wliich Buschire and its territory (Jig, 106.) is an example. The most fer- tile and thriving provinces are those on the nortii. 865. The soil may be regarded as unfertile, and, according to Chardin, not more than one tenth part was cultivated in his time. The mountains of this country, which are for the most part rocky, without wood or plants, are interspersed witli valleys, some of which are stony and sandy, and some consisting of a hard dry clay, which requires continual watering ; and hence the Persian cultivator is much employed in irrigation. In general the soil of Persia is light and sandy in the south and east ; hard and gravelly in the west, and rich and loamy on the borders of the Caspian Sea. 866. Tlie landed property of Persia, like that of other despotic countries, is considered as wholly the property of the sovereign ; and held by the proprietors and occupiei;^ on certain conditions of military service, and supplies of men and provisions in time of war. 867. The agricultural products of Persia are as various as the climate and soils. The wheat is excellent, and is the common grain used in bread-making. Rice, which is in more universal use, is produced in great perfection in the northern provinces, which are well watered. Barley and millet are sown, but oats are little cultivated : in Armenia there is some rye. TTie vine is generally cultivated ; but in the north-west countries they are obliged to bury the shoots to protect them from the frost. The silkworm is culti- vated in most parts of the country ; cotton and indigo are also grown ; and no country in the world equsils Persia in the number and excellence of its fruits. 868. TJie date tree is grown in plantations in the proportion of iifly females to two males. The natives begin to impregnate the females with the blossoms of the male in March and April, alleging that their proximity is not suihcient to insure the produce of . fruit ; this practice has been carried on among them from the earliest ages. (Scot Waring's Persia, chap, xxix.) 869. The most esteemed of the cvllivated fruits of Europe are indigenous in Persia, and have probably been hence diffused over the western world. These are the fig, the pome- granate, the mulberry, the almond, peach, and apricot. Orange trees of an enormous size are found in the sheltered recesses of the mountains, and the deep warm sand on tile shore of the Caspian is peculiarly favourable to the culture of the citron and the leguminous fruits. Apples, pears, cherries, walnuts, melons, besides the fruits already mentioned, are every where to be procured at very low prices ; the quinces of Ispahan are 140 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. the finest in the East ; and no gvape is more delicious than that of Shiraz. In the pro- vinces bordering on the Caspian Sea and Mount Caucasus, the air is perfumed with roses and other sweet-scented flowers. Aftong the vegetable productions we may enumerate cabbages, cucumbei-s, turnips, carrots, peas, and beans ; and the potato, which has been lately introduced, thrives remarkably well. Poppies, from which an excellent opium is extracted, senna, rhubarb, saffron, and a-ssafcetida are produced in many parts of the king- dom. Tlie vine grows here luxuriantly, and further to the south cotton and sugar are articles of common cultivation. Poplars, large and beautiful, and the weeping willow, border the courses of the streams, and the marshy tracts abound with the kind of rush that serves for the Persian matting. Ornamental shrubs or herbaceous plants are little known ; but the jasmine and the blue and scarlet anemone in the thickets, and tlie tulip and ra- nunculus in tlie pastures, are abundant and beautiful, and give an air of elegance to the country. 870. Tke saline deserts of Persia are for the most part destitute of trees, and support hardly any plants except such as are also found on the sea-shore. On the high moun- tains they are much the same as those observed on the alps of Switzerland and Italy. The plants on the hills and plains adjoining the Caspian are better known. 871. Tlie live stock of Persia is the same as in European countries with some addi- tions. According to Chardin, the Persian horses are the most beautiful in the East ; but they yield in speed, and, as some say, in beauty also, to the Arabian ; however, they are larger, more powerful, and, all things considered, better calculated for cavalry tlian those of Arabia. There are several breeds of horses, but the most valuable is that called the Turkoram ; these are so hardy that they have been known to travel nine hundred miles in eleven successive days. The Arabian blood has been introduced into tliis country. Their usual food is chopped straw and barley ; their bed is made of dung, dried and pulverised, and every morning regularly exposed to the sun. They are clothed with the greatest attention, according to the climate and season of the year ; and during the warm weather are kept in the stable all day, and taken out at night. 872. Mules are also here in considerable request, and the ass resembles the Euro- pean ; but a breed of this animal has been brought from Arabia, of an excellent kind, the hair being smooth, the head high, and the motion spirited and agile. Although the mules are small, they are fairly proportioned, carry a great weight, and those that aie intended for the saddle are taught a fine amble, which carries tlie rider at the rate of five or six miles an hour. The camel (_^^. 107.) is also common ; and the animals which are exported from Iq.^ Persia to Tiarkey have, as Chardin says, only one hunch, while those of India and Ara- bia have two. The Persian cattle in general resemble - the European. - Swine are scarce, ; except in • the north-west pro- vinces. The flocks of sheep, among which are those with large tails, are most nume- rous in the northern provinces of Erivan, or the Persian part of Armenia and Balk. The few forests abound with deer and antelopes ; and the mountains supply wild goats, and probably the ibex, or rock goat. Hares are common. The ferocious animals are chiefly concealed in the forests, such as the bear and boar, the lion in the western parts, the leopard, and, as some say, the small or common tiger. Seals occur on the rocks of the Caspian. The hyaena and jackal belong to the southern provinces. The sea« abound with fish of various descriptions ; the Caspian affords sturgeon and delicious carp. The most common river fish is the barbel. The same sorts of wild and tame- fowl are common in Persia and in Europe, with the exception of the turkey, whose nature does not seem Jo be congenial to this climate. Pigeons are numerous, and par- tridges are large and excellent. The bul-bul, or Oriental ' nightingale, enlivens the spring with Ms varied song. The Persians have been long accustomed to tame beasts of prey and even to hunt with lions, tigers, leopards, = panthers, and ounces. f r^^' Pf Persians hunt the quail in a curious manner. (Me. 1080 • They stick two poles in their girdle, upon which they plade either __^,,^_^^___ ^, j *f' .""t" «>a^ or " Pa'"^ of trowsers, and these at i distance are ' - -:^^^^^r-~iS:ji .J.S2S*' • intended to look like the horns of an animal: they then with a hand-net prowl about the fields, and the quail, seeing a form more like a beast than a man, permits it to Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. I-II ai^proach bo near as to allow the hunter to throw his net over it. In this manner they catch these birds with astonishing rapidity. 874. Of the implements and operations of Persian agricul- ture little is known with precision. The plough is said to be small, and drawn by lean cattle, so tliat it merely scratches the ground. The plough of Erzerum (Jig. 109) is a clumsy implement, on the share of which the driver stands, both for the sake of being carried along and of pressing down the k. "'"''"" After the plough and harrow the spade is used for 109 forming the ground into squares, with ledges or little banks to retain the water. The dung used is chiefly human, and that of pigeons, mingled with earth and preserved for two years to diminish its heat. no 87.'). Tliedungaf pigeons is so highly prized in Persia that many pigeou-houses (fg. 110.) are erect- ed at a distance from habitations, for the sole purpose of col- lecting their ma- nure. They are large round towers, rather broader at the bottom than at the top,and crowned by conical spiracles through which the pigeons descend. Their interior resembles a honeycomb, forming thousands of holes for nests ; and the outsides are painted and ornamented. The dung is applied almost enthely to the rearing of melons, a fruit indis- pensable to the natives of warm countries during the great heats of summer, and also the most rapidly raised in seasons of scarcity ; and hence the reason that during the famine of Samaria a cab of dove's dung was sold for five pieces of silver. (2 Kings, vi. 25.) In Persia are grown the finest melons in Asia. The nobles pride tliemselves in excelling in this fruit, and some are said to keep pigeons to the extent of 10,000, and upwards, solely for their dung, as a manure for this fruit, the pigeon not being eaten by Persians, (Morier^s- Second Journey, 141.) 876. ^0 arable culture is carried on in Persia without artificial watering ; and various modes are adopted for raising the element from wells and rivers for this purpose. The Persian wheel is .well known. The deficiency of rivers in Persia has obliged the natives to turn all their ingenuity to the discovery of springs, and to the bringing of their streams to the surface of the earth. To effect this, when a spring has been discovered, they dig a well until they meet with the water ; and if they find that its quantity is sufficient to repay them for proceeding with the work, they and cattle. There they have horses, camels, oxen, sheep, and goats, which some individuals reckon by tliousands, and make large sales, especially of horses, to tlie Persians and Turks. They have also dromedaries, which furnish a considerable quantity of woolly hair, which they clip off periodically and sell to the Russians. The lambskins are celebrated, being damasked, as it were, by clothing the little animal in coarse linen ; but the wool of the sheep is coarse, and only used in domestic consumption for felts and thick cloths. The- steppes, which are of immense extent, supply tliem with objects of the 1 1 2 J^T^" •. chace, wolves, foxes, badgers, antelopes, ermines, wea- ^ -t^. ^^wvX sels, marmots, &c. In the southern and eastern "r* ^ mountains are found wild sheep (0\is Jlfusiraon), the "^ ox of Thibet (J?6s grunniens, ^. 112.) which seems \ i \ Kv. A to delight in snowy alps, chamois, tigers, and wild *» » *■ *H ' ■" asses. There seems throughout the whole of Tatary .,,„^.^^^ ^Sf to be a deficiency of wood ; and the botany of this im- -?^^^^3^35s^5;:=jrs=^?^ mense region is as little known as its agriculture. SuBSECT. 4. Of tlie present State of Agriculture in Arabia, 883. The extent of Arabia is somewhat greater than that of Independent Tatary. The climate is hot, but there is a regular rainy season, from tlie middle of June to the end of September, in some mountainous districts, and from November till February in others. The remaining months are perfectly dry ; so that the year in Arabia consists only of two seasons, the dry and the rainy. In the plains, rain is sometimes unknown for a whole year. It sometimes freezes in the mountains, while tlie thermometer is at 86" in the plains, and hence at a small distance are found fruits and animals which might indicate remote countries. 884. The general surface presents a central desert of great extent, with a few fertile oases or isles, and some ridges of mountains, chiefly barren and unwooded. The flou- rishing provinces are those situated on the shores of the Red and Persian Seas, the interior of the country being sterile for want of rivers, lakes, and perennial streams. The soil is in general sandy, and in the deserts is blown about by the winds. 885. The agricultural products are wheat, maize, doura or millet, barley, beans, lentils, and rape, with the sugar-cane, tobacco, and cotton. Rice seems unknown in Yemen, and oats throughout Arabia; the horses being fed witli barley, and the asses with beans. They also cultivate " uars," a plant which dyes yellow, and is exported in great quantities from Mocha to Oman ; and " fua," used in dyeing red ; likevrfse indigo. The wheat, in the environs of Maskat, yields little more than ten for one ; and in the best cultivated districts of Yemen, fifty for one ; but the doura sometimes much exceeds this ratio, ' ' 8 yielding in the highlands 140, and in the Te- hama, or plain, from 200 to 400. By their mode of sowing and watering this grain, the inhabitants of Tehama reap tliree successive crops from the same field in the same year. The plough ifg. 113.) is simple, and the pick is used instead of the spade. BookI. agriculture IN ASIA. 143 886. The indigcnmis, or partially cultivated, plants and trees of Arabia are numerous, and several of them furnish impoitant articles of commerce. The vegetables of the dry barren districts, exposed to Ae vertical sun, and refreshed merely by nightly dews, belong for the most part to the genera of .^'loe, Mesembryanthemum, £uph6rb«a, Stapelm, and Salsola. On the western side of the Arabian desert, numerous rivulets, descending into the Red Sea, dilluse verdure ; and on tlie mountains from wliich they run vegetation is more abundant. Hither many Indian and Persian plants, distinguished for their beauty or use, have been transported in former ages, and are now found in a truly indigenous state : such is the case probably witli the tamarind, tlie cotton tree (inferior to the Indian), the pomegranate, tlie banyan tree or Indian fig, the sugar-cane, and many species of melons and gourds. Arabia Felix may peculiarly boast of two valuable trees, namely, the coffee (^Coffea arjlbica), found botli cultivated and wild ; and the .^myris Opobdlsamum, which yields the balm of Mecca. Of the palms, Aifebia possesses the date, the cocoa-nut, and the great fan-palm. It has also the sycamore fig, the plantain, the almond, the apricot, the peach, the papaw, the bead tree, ihe Mimosa nilotica and sensitiva, and the orange. Among its shrubs and herbaceous plants may be enumerated the ricinus, the liquorice, and the senna, used in medicine ; and the balsam, the globe amaranth, the white lily, and the greater pancratium, distinguished for their beauty and fragrance. 887. The live stock of Arabia is what constitutes its principal riches, and the most valuable are those species of animals tliat require only succulent herbs for their nourish- ment. The cow here yields but little milk ; and the flesh of the ox is insipid and juice- less. Tlie wool and mutton of tlie sheep are coarse. The bezoar goat is found in the mountains. The buffalo 114 is unknown ; but the camel and dromedary {Jig- 114.)arebothinuse as beasts of burden. The civet cat, musk rat, and otlier mountain animals, are valuable in commerce. Pheasants,partridgcs,and common poultry abound . in Yemen; and there are numerous ferocious animals, birds of prey, and pestiferous insects. 888. Sut tlie korse is of all the animals of Arabia the most valuable. This animal is said to he found wild in the extensive deserts on the north of Hadramant : this might have been the case in ancient times, unless it should be thought more probable, tliat the wild horse of Tatary has passed through Persia, and has been only perfected in Arabia. The horses here are distributed into two classes, viz. the kadisclii, or common kind, whose genealogy has not been preserved, and the kochlani, or noble horses, whose breed has been ascertained for 2000 years, proceeding, as their fables assert, from the stud of Solomon. Tliey are reared by the Bedouins, in the northern deserts between Bassora, Merdin, and tlie frontiers of Syria ; and though they are neither large nor beautiful, their race and here- ditary qualities being the only objects of estimation, the preservation of their breed is carefully and authentically vritnessed, and the offspring of a kochlani stallion with an ignoble race is reputed kadischi. These will bear the greatest fatigues, and pass whole days without food, living, according to the Arabian metaphor, on air. They are said to rush on a foe with impetuosity ; and it is asserted that some of them, when wounded in battle, vidll withdraw to a spot where their master may be secure ; and if he fall, they will neigh for assistance ; accordingly, their value is derived from their singular agility, extreme docility, and uncommon attachment to their master. The Arabian steeds are sometimes bought at excessive rates by the English at Mocha. The Duke of Newcastle asserts that the ordinary price of an Arabian horse is lOOOi., 20001., or even 3000^. ; and that the Arabs are as careful in preserving the genealogy of their horses, as princes in re- cording that of their families. The grooms are very exact in registering the names of tlie sires and dams of these animals ; and some of these pedigrees are of very ancient date. It is affirmed that Arabian colts are brought up with camels' milk. 889. Of the agricultural implements and operations of Arabia almost nothing is known. Their plough, as we have seen, is a poor implement, and instead of a spade they use the pick. The principal exertion of the husbandman's industry is to water the lands from -the rivulets and wells, or by conducting the rains. Barley is reaped near Sana in the middle of July ; but the season depends on the situation. At Maskat, wheat and barley are sown in December, and reaped in March ; but doura (the great millet) is sown in August, and reaped in the end of November. The Arabians pull up their ripe com by the roots; but the green com and grass, as forage for their cattle, are cut witli the sickle. In threshing their com, they lay the sheaves down in a certain order, and then lead over them two oxen dragging a large stone. 144 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I- SoBSECT. 5. Of tlie jrresent State of Agriculture in Hindustan. 890. The climate and seasons of this extensive region are considerably diversified hj difference of latitude and local situation ; nevertheless, tliroughout the wide regions of Hindustan there is some similarity of climate. Although in Thibet the winter nearly corresponds with that of Switzerland and other parts of Europe, in the whole extent of Hindustan, except in Cashmere, there can hardly be said to be a vestige of winter, except the thick fogs similar to those of our November ; and excessive rains, or excessive heats, form the chief varieties of tlie year. 891. T/ie suiface of tite country/ is much diversified; but there are no mountains of any very great height ; the ghauts not being estimated at above three thousand feet. The vast extent of Hindustan consists chiefly of large plains, fertilised by numerous rivers and streams, and interspersed with a few ranges of hills. The periodical rains and intense heats produce a luxuriance of vegetation almost unknown to any other countiy on tlie globe ; and the variety and richness of the vegetable creation delight the eye of e\ery spec- tator. Bengal is a low, flat country, like Lower Egypt, watered and fertilised by the Ganges, as the latter country is by the Nile ; and, like the Nile, the Ganges forms an immense delta before it falls into the sea. The interior of the country is so flat, that the water runs only at the rate of three miles an hour ; and the ground rises from tlie sea towards the interior, at not more than four inches in a mile. 892. T/ie soil varies, but is in most places light and rich : that of Bengal is a stratum of black vegetable mould, rich and loamy, extending to the depth of six feet, and in some places fourteen, and even twenty feet ; lying on a deep sand, and interspersed with shells and rotten wood, which indicate the land to have been overflowed, and to have been formed of materials deposited by the rivers. It is easily cultivated without manure, and bad harvests seldom occur. In this country they have two harvests ; one in April, called the " little harvest," which consists of tlie smaller grains, as millet; and the second, called the " grand harvest," is only of rice. *S93. Landed property in Hindustan, as in all the countries of Asia, is held to be the absolute right of the king. The Hindu laws declare the king to be the lord and pro- prietor of tlie soil. All proprietors, therefore, paid a quitrent or military services to the king or rajah, except some few, to whom it would appear absolute grants were made. In general, the tenure was military ; but some lands were appropriated to the church and to charitable purposes, and in many places commons were attached to villages as in Europe. Lands in Hindustan, and in Bengal more especially, are very much divided, and culti- vated in small portions by the ryots, or peasants, who pay rent to subordinate proprietors, who hold of others who hold of the rajah. The actual cultivators have hardly any secure leases ; they are allowed a certain portion of the crop for the maintenance of their families and their cattle ; but they are not entrusted with the seed, which is furnished by the proprietor or superior holder. The ryot, or cultivator, is universally poor ; his house, clothing, and implements of every kind, do not amount to the value of a pound sterling ; and he is considered as a sort of appendage to the land, and sold along with it, like his cattle. So little attention is paid to any agreement made with him, that in a good season, Dr. Tennant informs us, the zemindar, or superior holder, raises his demands to a fourtli more tlian the rent agreed on. Custom has rendered this evil so common, that the miserable ryot has no more idea of obtaining redress from it than from the ravages of the elements. Since Bengal was conquered by the British, the government is, properly speaking, tlie proprietor of all the lands ; and Tennant accordingly observes, that ** nine tenths of all the rent of Bengal and the provinces constitute the revenue of tfie company, who are, in room of the Mogul emperor, the true proprietors of the soil." (Seer. ii. 1 84.) 894. T/te agricultural jyroducts of Hindustan are very various. Rice, wheat, and maize are the common grains ; but barley, peas, a species of tare or cytisus called dohl, and millet, are also cultivated. Next to tliem the cotton plant and the sugar-cane are most extensively grown. To these may be added, indigo, silk, hemp, poppy for opium, palma Christi, sesamum, mustard ; the cocoa-nut, which supplies a manufacture of cordage, and also a liquor called toddy; guavas, plantains, bananas, pompelos, limes, oranges, and a great variety of otlier fruits, besides what are cultivated in gardens, where the settlers have all the vegetables of Eu- ropean horticulture. The potato has been introduced, and tliough it does not attain the same size as in Europe, is yet of good quality. It is not disliked by the natives, but cannot be brought to market at so low a price as rice. 895. The sugar-cane {Saccharum qfficinnrum) {fi/r 115.) is cultivated in low grounds that may be flooded. Thegrouud beingdeaiiedand pulverised by one or two yeara' Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. fallow is planted with cuttings of two or three buds, in rows four feet fipnrt and eighteen inchr^a wide in the row ; as they grow, each stool, consisting of three shoots or more, is tied to a. bamboo reed eight or ten feet long, the lower leaves of each cane being firet carefully wrapt round it, so as to cover every i>art, and prevent the sun IVom cracking it, or side shoots from breaking out. Watering and flooding in the dry season, and keeping open the surface drains during the periodical rains, are carefully attended to. Nine months from the time of planting, the canes are ten feet high, and ready to cut. The process of sugar-making, like all others in this country, is exceedingly simple. A stone mortar and wooden pestle turned by two small bullocks express the juice, which is boiled in pots of earthenware sunk in the ground, and heated by a flue which passes beneath and around them, and by which no heat is lost. 896. The indigo (Indigofera tinct()na,Jig, 116.) is one of the most profitable articles of culture in Hindustan ; because an immense extent of land is required to produce but a moderate bulk of the dye ; because labour and land here are cheaper tlian any where else; and because the raising of tlie plant and its manufacture may be carried on witliout even the aid of a house. The first step in the culture of tlie plant is to render the ground, which sliould be friable and rich, perfectly free from weeds and dry, if naturally moist. The seeds are then sown in shallow drills about a. foot apart. The rainy season must be chosen for sowing, otherwise, if the seed is deposited in dry soil, it heats, corrupts, and is lost. Ilie crop being kept clear of weeds is fit for cutting in two or three months, and this may be re- peated in rainy seasons every six weeks. The plants must not be allowed to come iitto flower, as the leaves in lliat case become dry and hard, and the indigo produced is of less value; nor must they be cut in dry weather, as they would ^^om , not spring again. A crop generally lasts two years. Being ^^^ cut, the herb is first steeped in a vat till it has become mace- rated, and has parted with its colouring matter; then the liquor is let ofiT into another, in which it undergoes the peculiar process of beating, to cause the fecula to separate from tlie water. This fecula is let off into a third vat, where it remains some time, and is then strained through clotli bags, and evaporated in shallow wooden boxes placed in the shade. Before it is perfectly dry it is cut in small pieces of an inch square ; it is then packed in barrels, or sowed up in sacks, for sale. Indigo was not extensively cultivated in India before the British settlements were formed there ; its profits were at first so considerable, that/ as in similar cases, its culture was carried too far, and the market glutted with the commodity. The indigo is one of the most precarious of Oriental crops ; being liable to be destroyed by hail storms, wliich do comparatively little injury to the sug^r-cane and other plants. 897. T/te mulberry is cultivated in a different manner firom what it is in Europe. It Is raised ftoxa cut- tings, eight or ten of which are planted together in one pit, and the pits are distributed over the field at the distance of two or three feet every way. These cuttings being well firmed at the lower ends soon form stools about the height of a raspberry bush, and from these the leaves are gathered. The stools are cut over once a year to encourage t)ie production of vigorous shoots from the roots. 898. The poppy {Vapaver somniferum) is cultivated on the best soil, well manured. The land sometimes receives as many as fifteen stirrings, and the seed is then dropped into shallow drills about two feet apart. During the growth of the plants the soil Is stirred, well watered^ and sometimes top-dressed. In two months firom the time of sowing,, the capsules are ready for incision, which process goes on for two or three weeks ; several horizontal cuts being made in the capsule on one day, on ihe next the milky juice which had oozed out, being congealed, is scraped off! This operation is generally repeated three times on each capsule, and then the capsules are collected for their seed. The raw juice is kneaded with water, evaporated in the sun, mixed with a little poppy oil, and, lastly, formed into cakes, which are covered with leaves of poppy, and packed in chests with poppy husks and leaves. 899. Tobacco in Hindustan is cultivated in the same manner as in Europe. The soil must be rich and well pulverised, the plants transplanted, and the earth stirred during their growth ; the main stems are broken off, and the leaves are dried by being suspended on beds of withered grass by means of ropes, and shaded from the sun and protected from nightly dews. The leaves afford a much weaker odour than those of the tobacco of Europe or America. 900. The mustard, SdsaTnum orientale, JlnXi pahna Ckristi, and* some other plants, are grown for their seeds, which are crushed for oil. The use of the fiax, as a clothing plant, is not understood in India, hemp supplying its place. The mustard and sesamum are sown on the sand left by the overflowings of the rivers, without any other preparation or culture than that of drawing a bush over the seeds to cover tliem^ The palma Christi is sown in patches three or four feet apart, grows to the size of a little tree, and is cut down with an axe when the seeds are to be gathered. The mill for bruising the seeds of these plants is simply a thick trunk of a tree hollowed into a mortal*, in which is placed the pestle, turned by oxen. 901. Pabn trees of several species are in general cultivation in Hindustan. The most useful is the cocoa-nut tree (Cocas nucifera, Jig. 117.), which grows almost per- fectly straight to the height of forty or fifty feet, and is nearly one foot in diameter. It has no branches, but about a dozen leaves spring immediately from the top : these are about ten feet long, and nearly a yard in breadth towards the bottom. The leaves are employed to cover the houses of the natives ; and to make mats either for sitting oi Xj 146 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt I. lying upon. Tlie leaf when reduced to fine fibres is the material of which a beautiful and costly carpeting is fabricated for those in tlie higher ranks ; tlie coarser fibres . are made into brooms. After these useful mate- rials are taken from tlie leaf, the stalk still remains, which is about the thickness of the ancle, and fur- nishes firewood. 902. The wood of this palm, when fresh cut, is spongy j but becomes hard, after being seasoned, and assumes a dark- brown colour. On the top of the tree a large shoot is pro- duced, which when boiled resembles broccoli, but is said to be of a more delicate taste j and, though much liked, is seldom used by the natives ; because on cutting it off the pith is exposed, and the tree dies. Between this cab- bage-like snoot and the leaves spring several buds, from which, on making an incision, distils a juice differing little from water, either in colour or consistence It is the employment of a certain class of men to climb to tlie tops of the trees in the evening, with earthen pots tied to their waists, these they fix at the top to receive the juice, which is regularly carried away before the sun has any influence upon it This liauor is sold at the bazaars by the natives, under the namb of toddy. It is used for yest, and forms an excellent substitute. In this state it is drank with avidity, both by the low Europeans and the natives ; and it is reckoned a cooling and agreeable beverage. After being kept a few hours, it begins to femient, acquires a sharp taste, and a sUghtly intoxicating quality. By boiling it, a coarse kind of sugar is obtained^ and by distil- lation it yields a strong ardent spirit, which being every where sold, and at a low price, constitutes one of the most destructive beverages to our soldiers. The name ^ven to this pernicious drink by Europeans is pariah arrack, from the supposition that it is only drank by the pariahs, or outcasts that have no rank. TO3. The h-eesfrom which the toddy is drawn do not bear any fruit, on account of the destruction of the buds ; but if the buds be left entire, they produce clusters of the cocoa-nut. This nut, in the husk, is as large as a man's head : and when ripe falls with the least wind. If gathered fresh, it is green on the outside ; the husk and the shell are tender. The shell, when divested of the husk, may be about the size of an ostrich's egg, and is lined with a white pulpy substance, which contains about a pint and a half of liquor like water ; and, though the taste be sweet and agreeable, it is difl'erent from that of the toddy. 904. In propm-tion as the fruit grows old, the shell hardens, and the liquor diminishes, till it is at last entirely absorbed by the white milky substance ; which gradually acquires the hardness of the kernel of the almond, and is almost as easily detached from the shelL The natives use this nut in their victuals ; and from it they also express a considerable quantity of the purest and best lamp oil. The substance which remains after this operation supplies an excellent food for poultry and hogs. Cups and a variety of excellent utensils are made of the shell. 905. T/te husk of the cocoa-nut is nearly an inch thick, and is, perhaps, the most valuable part of the tree ; for it consists of a number of strong fibres, easily separable, which furnish the material for the gre-atest part of the Indian cordage ; but is by no means the only substitute which the country affords for hemp. This the natives work up with much skiU. 906. Tlie palmyra, a species of Corypha, is taller than the cocoa tree ; and affords still greater supplies of toddy ; because its fruit is in little request, from the smallness of its size; the produce of the tree is therefore generally drawn off in the liquid state. Tliis tree, like the cocoa, has no branches ; and, like it too, sends forth from the top a number of large leaves, which are employed in tliatching houses, and in the manufacture of mats and umbrellas. The timber of the tree is much used in building. 907. The date tree {'Plice'^nix dactylifera), being smaller, does not make so conspicuous a figure in the Indian forest as the two last described. Its fruit never arrives at maturity in India, owing to the heat : toddy is drawn from it, but not in such quantity, nor of so good a quality, as that which is produced by the other species of the same genus. 908. Tlie bamboo (Bambusa &rundmd.cea) is, perhaps, one of the most universally useful trees in the world ; at all events it is so in the tropical regions. There are above fifty vaiieties, all of which are of the most rapid growth, rising from fifty to eighty feet the first year, and the second perfecting its timber in hardness and elasticity. It grows in stools, which are cut over every two years, and thus the quantity of timber furnished by an acre of bamboos is immense. Its uses are almost without end. In building it forms entire houses for the lower orders, and enters both into the construction and furniture of those of the higher classes. Bridges, boats, masts, rigging, agricultural and other implements, and machinery, carts, baskets, ropes, nets, sailcloth, cups, pitchers, troughs, pipes for conveying water, pumps, fences for gardens and fields, &c., are made of it. Macerated in water it forms paper ; the leaves are generally put round the tea sent to Europe ; the thick inspissated juice is a favourite medicine, is said to be indestructible by fire, to resist acids, and by fusion with alkali to form a transparent permanent glass. 909. The fruits of Hindustan may be said to include all those in cultivation ; since the hardier fruits of Europe, as the strawberry, gooseberry, apple, &c., are not only grown by the European settlers in cool situations, but even by tlie native shalis. The bdigenous sorts include the mango, the mangostan, and the durion, the noblest of known fruits next to the pine-apple. 910. Th£ natural pastures of Hindustan are every where bad, thin, and coarse, and tnere is no such thing as aitificial herbage plants. In Bengal, where the soil is loamy to the depth of nine and ten feet, a coarse bent, or species of Jiincus, springs up both in Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 147 tlie pasture and arable lands, wliich greatly deteriorates the former as food for cattle, and unfits the latter for being ploughed. This Juncus, Tennant observes, pushes up a single seed stem, which is as hard as a reed, and is never touched by cattle so long as any otlier vegetable can be had. Other grasses of a better quality are sometimes inter- mixed with this unpalatable food ; but, during the rain, their growth is so rapid that tlieir juices must be ill fitted for nutrition. In Upper Hindustan, during the dry season, and more pai'ticularly during the prevalence of the hot winds, every thing like verdure disap- pears ; so tliat on examining a herd of cattle, and their pasture, you are not so much sur- prised at their leanness as that they are alive. The grass-cutters, a class of servants kept by Europeans for procuring food for their horses, will bring provender from a field where grass is hardly visible. They use a sharp insti'ument, like a trowel, with which they cut the roots below the surface. These roots, when cleared of earth by washing, afford the only green food which it is here possible to procure. 9U. 2'/ie live stock of Hindustan consists chiefly of beasts of labour, as the natives are by their religion prohibited the use of animal food. The horses are chiefly of Persian or Arabian extraction. The Bengal native hoi-se is thin and ill-shaped, and never equals the Welch or Highland pony, either in figure or usefulness. The buffalo is common, both tame and wild, and generally jet black, with semicircular horns laid backwards upon the neck. They are preferred to the ox for carrying goods, and kept in herds for ihe sake of their milk, from which ghee, a universal ai-ticle of Hindoo diet, is made. 91ii. T/ie common ox of Hindustan is white, and distinguished by a protuberance on the shoulder, on which the yoke rests. Those kept for travelling- coaches are capable of performing long journeys nearly in the same time as horses ; those kept by the poor ryots work patiently in the yoke, beneath the vertical sun, for many hours, and upon the most wretched food, chaff or dried straw, Cow*s milk is used pretty generally in India ; but buffalo's milk, or goat's milk, is reckoned sweeter and finer than cow's milk, and preferred at the breakfast table even by the English. Goat's milk is decidedly the best for tea. 913. T/ie sheep is small, lank, and thin ; and tlie wool chiefly black or dark grey. The fleece is harsh, thin, and hairy, and only used for a kind of coarse wrappers or blanketing. A somewhat better breed is found in the province of Bengal. The mut ton of India is generally good ; at Foona, and in the Mahratta country, and in Bengal, it is OS fine as any in the world. 914. Tlie goat is kept for its milk, which is commonly used at the breakfast table; and also for the flesh of the kids, which is by some preferred to the mutton, 915. Swine are pretty common except among Mohammedans, They might be reared in abundance ; but only Eiu'opeans and the low Hindoos eat pork. Wild hogs are abundant, and do so much injury to the rice fields that it is a material part of tlie ryot's business to watch them, which he does night and day, on a raised platfoim of bamboos. 916. The elephant is used as a beast of burden, but is also kept by a few European gentlemen, for hunting or show. He is taken by stratagem, and by feeding and gentle usage soon becomes tame, docile, and even attached to his keeper ; but does not breed freely in a domesticated state. The leaves and smaller branches of trees, and an allow- ance of grain, constitute his food. It is a singular deviation from general nature, that an old elephant is easier tamed than one taken young, 917. Th£ camel is used chiefly as a beast of burden, and is valued for his uncommon power of abstinence from drink. He is also patient of fatigue, hunger, and watching, to an incredible degree. These qualities have recommended the camel, as an auxiliary to British officers for carrying their baggage ; and from time immemorial, he has been used by merchants for conveying goods over extensive tracts of country, 918. The predatory animus are numerous. Of these the jackal {Jig. 118.) is the most remarkable. He enters at night every farmyard, village, and town, and traverses even the whole of Calcutta, His voracity is indiscriminate, and he acts as a sca- venger in the towns ; but, in tlie farmyards he is destructive to poultry, if he can get at their roosts ; and in the flelds the hare and the wild pig some- dmes become his prey. The numerous village dogs, which in general are mangy, are almost as troublesome as the jackal. Apes of different kinds haunt houses, and pilfer food and fruits. The crow, kite, mino, and sparrow hop about the dwellings of man with a familiarity unknown in Europe, and pilfer from the dishes of meat, even as they are carried from the kitchen to the eating-room. The stork is common ; and toads, serpents, lizards, and other reptiles and insects, are greatly kept under by him and other birds. L 2 148 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pam I- 919. The implements and operations of Hindustan^e agriculture arc as simple as can well be imagined. The i \ »>v,^ 1 1 y ^'^ 11 plQugh, of which General Vi ^^^i^v^ ^^^^^'''^ I Beatson has given several Vv ^*v;\^^ ^.^^^^^"^ // forms (/^j. 119.), is little V\>;^ \\ J^-^^v'>^'^ / / fs^ / sandy uplands, or the mud A V V-jSb^ .^^^^ ^1 ' Z/ / /^'^ ~ -\i left by the rivers, in a to- lj\\ ^^^^^^^_ J^^...7.. ^jj lerable manner; but the (-A| ^^^^''^^' J^ strong lands of Bengal, ^l \ y^^^ tliat send up the Juncus ^s\ h'^ already mentioned, ap- ■ ~ ' pear as green after one ploughing as before ; " only a few scratches are perceptible Iicre and there, more resembling the digging of a mole than tlie work of the plough." To accomplish tlie work of pulverisation, the ploughman repeats tlie operation from five to fifteen times, and at last succeeds in raising mould enough to cover the seed : one plough and pair is allowed to five acres. From this mode of repeatedly going over the same surface and effecting a little each time, General Beatson has drawn some inge- nious arguments in favour of the use of the cultivator in this country, which will be afterwards noticed. 920. The cart, or hackery, has two wheels, and is drawn by two bullocks. The wheels are under three feet in diameter, and the body of the carriage consists of two bamboos, united by a few cross-bars, also of bamboo, and approaching each other the whole length of the machine, till they meet at a point between the necks of the cattle, where they are supported by a bar projecting sideways over the shoulders of both. By tliis the oxen or buffaloes are often galled in a shocking manner, and the suppuration which takes place in consequence is, perhaps, not perfectly cured during the whole life of the animal ; tlie evil being aggravated by the crows, which set upon him as soon as he is relieved from the yoke. 921. ^s no department of oration can be carried on uithout arti/icial watering, that operation becomes very expensive and troublesome in elevated districts. In the Mon- gheer district of Bengal, a deep well is dug in the liighest part of the field. The fields, after being ploughed, are divided into little s<5uare plots, resembling the checkers of a backgammon table. Each square is surrounded with a shelving border, about four inches liigh, capable of containing water. Between tlie square checkers thus constructed small dykes are formed for conveying a rivulet over the whole field. As soon as the water has stood a sufficient time in one square for that portion to imbibe moisture, it is let off into the adjoining one, by opening a small outlet through the surrounding dyke. Thus one square after another is saturated, till the whole field, of whatever extent, is gone over. 922. The water is raised in large leathern bags, pulled up by two bullocks yoked to a rope. The cattle are not driven in a gin as ours, but retire away from the well, and re- turn to its mouth, accordingly as the bag is meant to be raised or to descend. When raising the filled skin they walk down hill away from the well, and they ascend back- wards as the emptied skin redescends into tlie water. The earth is artificially raised to suit this process. The rope is kept perpendicular in the pit, by a pulley, over which it runs. From the mouth of the well thus placed, the rivulets are formed to every part of a field 923. In the district of Palna the wells are not so deep. Here the leathern bags are raised by long bamboo levers, as buckets are in several parts of this country. In a few places rice is transplanted, which is done with pointed sticks, and the crop is found to be better than what is sown broadcast. 924. In the hilly districts they neither plough nor sow; what grain they raise is introduced into small holes, made with a peg and mallet, in a soil untouched by the plough. The only preparation given to it is the turning away of the jungle. In the vicinity of Rajamahl there are many tribes of peasants, who subsist partly by digging . '■oots, and by killing birds and noisome reptiles. In these savage districts ninety villages have been taxed for two hundred rupees ; and yet this paltry sum could only be made up by fruits peculiar to the situation. The wretched state of these peasants. Dr. Tennant observes, outdoes every thing which a European can imagine. 925. Harvests are gathered in at different seasons of the year ; and as often as a particular crop is collected, tiie ryot sends for the brahmin, or parish priest, who burns ghee and says prayers over the collected heap, and receives one measure of grain for his trouble. 926. The selections we have now submitted will give some idea of the aboriginal agri- Book I. AGIIICULTURE IN ASIA. 149 culture of Hindustan ; not in its details, but as to its peculiar features. It is evidently wretched, and calculated for little more than the bare sustenance of an extensive popular tion : for though the revenue of tlie state is in fact the land rent, that revenue, notwith- standing the immense tract of country from which it is collected, is known to be very small. The state of agriculture, however, both politically and professionally, is capable of great improvement ; and it is believed that the present government has already effected material benefits, botlt for the natives and for itself. Wherever the British influence is preeminent, tliere Europeans settle and introduce improvements ; and even the more in- dustrious Asiatics find tliemselves in greater security. The Chinese are known to be a remarkably industrious people, and many of tliem have established tliemselves in British- Indian seaports. Wathen (^Voyage, ^c, 1814) mentions a com- mill, combining a bake- house, both on a large scale and driven by a powerful stream of water, as having been es- tablished at Penang, in the island of that name, by Amee, a Chinese miller. The building is ^ in tile Chinese taste, and foi-ms a very pic- turesque group in a romantic spot. (^g. 120.) : About sixty people are einployed; thought great part of tiie labour is done by machinery, ' and among other things the kneading of tlie dough, consumption. SuBSECT. 6. Of the Agriculture of the Island of Ceylon. 927. Tlie agriculture of Ceylon is noticed at some length by Dr. Davy, who says the art is much respected by the Singalese. The climate of that country is without seasons, and differs little tliroughout the year in any tiling but in the direction of the wind, or the presence or absence of rain. Sowing and reaping go on in every month. 928. The soil of Ceylon is generally silicious, seldom with more tlian from one to three per cent of vegetable matter. Dr. Davy (AccoutU, j;c.) found the cinnamon tree in a state of successful culture in quartz sand, as white as snow on the surface, somewhat grey below ; containing one part in one hundred of vegetable matter, five tenths of water, and tlie remainder silicious sand. He supposes tlie growth of the trees may be owing in a considerable degree to the situation being low and moist. 929. Tlie ciMiation in the interior of Ceylon is almost exclusively of two kinds ; the /Iry and wet. jfrhe former consists of grubbing up woods on the sides of hills, and sow- ing a particular variety of rice and Indian corn ; the latter is carried on in low flat sur- faces, wliich may be flooded with water. Rice is the only grain sown. Thelground is flooded preyioiisly to commencing the operation of ploughing, and is kept imder water Tlie shipping is the chief source of while two furrows are given ; the water is then let off, and the rice, being previously stiepcd in water till it begins to germinate, is sown bioadcast. When the seed has taken L 3 150 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. root, and before the mud has had time to dry, the water is readmitted : when *e P'""*^ are two or three inches liigh, the ground is weeded, and any thin parte made gooa uy transplanting from such as are too thick. The water remains on the held till ">e "ce begins to ripen, which is commonly in seven months : it is then let off and the crop cut down with reaping hooks, and carried to tl.e Uireshing floor, where it is trod ou. Oy """s-so!^ Tte agricultural implements of the Singaleseare few and simple ; *ey consist of jungle hooks (Jig. 121 a), for cutting-^down trees and underwood ; an axe (^ 5 a^ort of French spade or 6&Ae (c) ; a plough^ the lightest kind . ), which the ploughman hold with one hahd, the beiti being attached to a pair of buffaloes, by a yoke («), and wiU, the otlier, he cai-ries a long goad (/), with which, and his voice, he directs and stimu- lates the animals. A sort of level (g) is used for levelling the ground after ploughing, which, like the plough, is drawn by a pair of buffaloes, the driver sitting on it to give it momentum. For smootliing the surface of the mud pre- paratory to sowing, a sort of light scraper (A) is employed. The reaping hook (i) is similar to ours ; Uieir winnow (i) is composed of strong matting, and a frame of rough twigs. The threshing floor is made of beaten clay ; and previously to commencing the operation of treading out, a charm {Jig. 122. i) is diawn on the middle of the floor. A forked stick (m) is ;-^^25? used to gather and stir up the straw under the buffaloes' feet. [Davy's Ceylon, 278.) 931. A Singalese farmyard bears some resemblance to one of this country {Jig- 123.) ; but fewer buildings are required, and no barn. 9:i2. An emlianlcTnent, or retaining mound, by which an artificial lake of three or four miles in circumference is dammed up, is described by Dr. Davy. It is nearly a straight line across the valley, twenty feet high, and ISO or 200 feet wide ; the side next the water forming an angle of 45°, and faced with large stones, in the manner of steps. This must have been a work of great labour to so rude and simple a people. SuBSECT. 7. Of the present Stale of Agriculture in the Birman Empire, in Java, Malacca, Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, Japan, ^c, 9.33. The agriculture of these countries, and of others of minor note adjoining them, differs little, as far as it is known, from that of Hindustan. In all of them the sovereign is the lord of the soil ; the operative occupier is wretchedly poor and oppressed. The chief pro- duct is rice ; the cliief animal of labour the buffalo or ox ; the chief manure, water ; and the cliief material for buildings and impleinente, the bamboo. 934. The Birman empire is distinguished for the salubrity of its climate, and the health and vigour of the natives. In this respect they possess a decided preeminence over the enervated natives of the Isast ; nor are the inhabitants of any country capable of greater bodily exertions than tlie Birmans. 935. The seasons of this country are regular, and the extremes of heat and cold are seldom experienced ; at least, the duration of that intense heat, which immediately pre- cedes the commencement of the rainy season, is so short that its inconvenience is vei-y little felt. The forests, however, like some other woody and uncultivated parts of India, are extremely pestiferous; and an inhabitant of the champaign country considers a journey thither as inevitable destruction. The wood-cutters, who are a particular class of men, born and bred in the hills, arc said to be unhealthy, and seldom attain longevity. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 151 936. The soil of the soutliern provinces of the Bimian empire -is remarkably fertile, and produces as luxuriant crops of rice as arc to be found in ihe finest parts of Bengal. Towards tlie north, the face of the country is irregular and mountainous, with headlong torrents and rivers in yawning chasms, crossed by astonishing bridges ; but the plains and valleys are exceedingly fruitful ; tliey yield good wheat and various kinds of small grain which grow in Hindustan, together with most of the esculent legumes and vegetables of India. Sugar-canes, tobacco of a superior quality, indigo, cotton, and the different ti-opical fruits in perfection, are all indigenous products of this counti'y. Besides the teak tree (2'ifctoreo grindis), which grows in many parts of the Birman empire, as well to the north of Ummerapoora, as in tlie southern country, there is almost every description of timber that is known in India. 937. The cattle used in some parts of the country for tillage and draught are remarkably good ; they put only a pair of them to the plough, which is little different from the plough of India, and turns up the soil very superficially. In their large carts they yoke four stout oxen, which proceed with the speed of a hand gallop, and are driven by a country girl, standing up in her vehicle, who manages the reins and a long whip with ease and dexterity. Many of the rising grounds are planted with indigo ; but the natives suffer tlie hills for the most part to remain uncultivated, and only plough the rich levels. They every where burn the i-ank grass once a year to improve the pasture. Tlie Birmans will not take much pains ; they leave half the work to nature, wliich has been very bountiful to them. In the neighbourhood of Loonghe many fields are planted with cotton, which thrives well ; sesamum is also cultivated in this soil, and is found to answer better than rice, which is most productive in low and moist grounds. In ttie suburbs of Pagahm, there are at least two hundred mills employed in expressing oil from the sesamum seed. In this operation the grain is put into a deep wooden trough, and pressed by an upright timber fixed in a frame ; the force is increased by a long lever, on the extremity of which a man sits and guides a bullock that moves in a circle ; thus turning and pressing the seed at the same time. The machine is simple, and yet effectually answers the purpose. 938. Among the vegetable productions of this country, we may enumerate the white sandal-tree, and tlie Aloexylon verum, producing the true jet-black ebony wood ; the sycamore fig, Indian fig, and banyan tree ; the Bignonta indica, Nauclea orientalis ; Corypha rotundifolia, one of the loftiest of the palin trees ; and Excsecaria cochinchin^nsis, remarkable for the crimson uiider-surface of its leaves. To the class of plants used in medicine and the arts, we may refer the ginger and cardamom, found wild on the sides of rivers, and cultivated in great abundance ; the turmeric, used by the natives of the coast to tinge and flavour their rice and other food ; the betel pepper, Pagd^ra Piperita, and three or four kinds of CApsicum ; the Justicia tinctoria, yielding a beautiful green tinge ; Morinda umbellitta, gamboge, and Carthumus, furnishing yellow dyes ; the red wood of the Lawsonjn spinosa and Cffisalpinia Sdppan ; and the indigo. The bark of the Ninum antidysent^rica called codagapala, and that of the /,a(arus Culilaban ; the fruit of tlie 5ti"ychnos ntix vomica, the C^sia fistula, the tamarind, and the Croton Tiglium ; the inspissated juice of the aloe, the resin of the camphor tree, and the oil of the Bi- cinus, are occasionally imported from this country for the European dispensaiies. The cinnamon laurel, sometimes accompanied by die nutmeg, sugar cane, bamboo, and spikenard, is found throughout tlie whole country ; the last on dry hills, and tlie bamboo and sugar cane in rich swamps. The sweet potato, Ipomoe'a tuberosa, mad apple and love-apple Solknum Melongena and Lycopirsicon), iVyropha;'a, Nelumbium, gourds, melons, water melons, and various other esculent plants, enrich this country by cultivation ; and the plantain, cocoa-nut, and sago palm, are produced spontaneously. The vine grows wild in the forests, but its fruit is inferior, from want of cultivation and through excess of heat, to tliat of the south of Europe ; tmt this country is amply supplied with the mango, pine- apple, Sapjndus edi^lis, mangostan plum, Averrhoa Cammbola, custard- apple, papaw-fig, orange, lemon, lime, and many other exquisite fruits, 939. The animals of*tlie Birman empire correspond to those of Hindustan. The wild elephants of Pegu are very numerous; and, allured by the early crops of rice, commit great devastation among the plantations that are exposed to their ravages. The king is the proprietor of these animals ; and one of his Birman majesty's titles is " lord of l^be white elephants and of all the elephants in the world." The forests abound with tigers. The horses are small, but handsome and spirited, hardy and active ; and are frequently exported in timber-ships bound for Madras and other parts of the coast, where they are disposed of to considerable advantage. Their cows are diminutive, resembling the breed on the coast of Coromandel ; but their buffaloes are ppble animals, much superior to those of India, and are used for draught and agriculture : some of them are of a light cream colour, and are almost as fierce as tigers, who dare not molest them. The ichneumon, or rat of Pharaoh, called by the natives ounbaii, is found in this country : but there is no such animal as the jackal in the Ava dominions, though they are very L 4 152 HISTORY OF AGRfCULTURE. Part I. iinmcrous in the adjoining country. Among the birds, which are the same with those of otlier parts of India, is one called the henza, the symbol of the Birman nation, as the eagle was of the Roman empire. It is a species of wild fowl, called in India the 13ramin goose ; but the natives of Ava do not deify this bird. 940. The ngricutture of Java has been noticed by Thunberg, and more fully described by Sir Stamford Raffles. The cHniate, like that of other countries situated within about ten degrees of tlie equator, presents a perpetual spring, summer, and harvest. Tlie distinction of weather is into wet and dry, never hot and cold, and rain depends on the winds The surface of the country is low towards the coast, but hilly in the interior ; unhealthy about Batavia, but in most other parts as salubrious as any other tropical country. The soU is for the most part rich, and remarkable for its depth ; probably, as Governor Raffles conjectures, owing to its volcanic origin. 941. Landed property in Java is almost exclusively vested in the king, between whom and the cultivator there are no intermediate holders ; and the cultivator is without lease or right beyond the will of the sovereign. Tlie manner in which the king draws his income from the whole surface of the country is by burdening certain '* villages or estates with the salaries of particular officers, allotting others for the support of his relatives or favourites, or granting them for the use of particular charitable institutions ; in the same manner as before the consolidation act in Britain, the interest of particular loans was paid upon the produce of specific imports." Tradesmen, government officers, priests, and the government, are all alike paid in kind. 942. The crops raised by the farmer fur home coitsumption are chiefly rice and maize, some wheat is also grown ; but the staple article is rice, of which one pound and a half per day are considered sufficient nourishment for an adult. 943. The crops raised by tlie colonists are coffee, sugar, Cotton, tobacco, and a variety of other productions of the East. One of the principal articles is coffee. The coffee plants are first raised in seed-beds, then transplanted under an open shed for the sake of shade, and then in about eighteen months removed into the garden or plantation, where they are destined to yield their fruit. A plantation is laid out in squares, the distance of plant from plant being commonly about six feet, and in the centre cf each four trees is placed a dadap tree^ for the purpose of aflfbrdihg shade, which in Java seems necessai-y to the health of the plants. They are never pruned, grow to the heiglit of sixteen feet, and will bear for twenty years ; but a plantation in Java is seldom continued more than ten years. In general three crops of berries are produced in a season. 944. The live stock of the Java farmer consists of the ox and buffalo, used in plough- ing, and the horse for burden : they have a few sheep, and goats and poultry. 945. The implements are the plough, of wliich they have a common or rice ground sort, a dry-soil plough, and a garden or plantation plough, all of which are yoked to a pair of bufTalocs, or oxen, in the same manner. The harrow (^fg, 124, a), on which the 124 driver sits, is a sort of rake ; and they have a sort of strong hoe, which they use as a substitute for a spade (6J, and a lighter one, used as a draw hoe (c). Their knives for weeding, pruning, and reaping '^ {fS' ' 2^' " ^^f)3^^^ very curious ; one of tliem {g) is used both as an axe and bill, and another (A) as a thrust hoe and prun- ing hook. It is observed by Go- vernor Raffles, that in reaping they crop off " each separate ear along with a few inches of the straw ; "an " operose process' ' which he was informed had its origin in some religious notions. Crops are generally dibbled or Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 153 transplanted ; no manure is even required or given in Java except v/ater. , In ploughing for rice, ihe land is converted into a semifluid mire, in which tlie plants are inserted. A curious mode is made use of to scare tlie birds from ripening crops. An elevated shed is raised in the middle of the plantation or field, within which a child on the watch touches from time to time a series of cords, extending from the shed to the extremities of tlie field like tlie radii of a circle, and thus prevents the ravages of birds. Tlie native cart of Java is a clumsy conjunction of boards, running on two solid wheels from five to six feet in diameter, and only from one inch to two inches broad, on a reVolving axle. It is drawn by two buffaloes. 946. Tlie upas, or poison tree (^Antuiris toxiciiria), has been said to be a native of, and peculiar to, Java ; but Dr. Horsfield and other botanists have ascertained that there is no tree in the island answering its description ; there are two trees used for poisoning war. like instruments, but neither is so powerful as to be used alone ; and, indeed, they are in no way remarkable eitlier as poison plants or trees. The RafHesta Arnoldi, the most extraordinary parasitic plant known to botanists, is believed to be a native of this island as well as of Sumatra, where it was originally found. 947. TIte roiids of Java, Sir Stamford Raffles observes, are of a greater extent and of a better description tlian in most countries. A high road, passable for carriages at all seasons of the year, runs from the western to the eastern extremity of the island, a distance of not less than eight hundred Knglish miles, with post stations and relays of horses every five miles. The greater part of it is so level that a canal might be cut along its side. There is another high road which crosses the island from north to south, and many intersecting cross roads. Tlie main roads were chiefly formed by the Dutch as military roads, and ** so far," Governor Raffles continues, •* from contributing to the assistance of the agriculture or trade of Java, their construction has, on the contrary, in many instances been destructive to whole districts. The peasant who completed them by his own labour, or the sacrifice of the lives of his cattle, was debarred from their use, and not permitted to drive his cattle along them, while he saw the advantages they were capable of yielding reserved for ills European masters, who thus, became enabled to hold a more secure possession of his country." {^History of Java, i. 198.) 948. Of the peninsula of Malacca very little is known. Agriculture is carried on in the marginal districts of tlie country ; but the central parts are covered with unexplored forests, which swarm witli lemurs, monkeys, tigers, wild boars, elephants, and other animals. The chief grain cultivated is rice ; and the chief exports are, pepper, ginger, gum, and other spices, raisins, and woods. Game and fruits abound. " The lands," Le Pouvre observes, ** are of a superior quality ; and covered with odoriferous woods ; but the culture of the soil abandoned to slaves is fallen into contempt. These wretched labourers, dragged incessantly from their rustic employments by their restless masters wlio delight in war and maritime enterprises, have rarely time, and never resolution, to give tlie necessary attention to the labouring of their grounds." 949. The kingdom of Siam may be described as a wide vale between two high ridges of mountains ; but compared with tlie Birman empire, the cultivated land is not above half the extent either in breadth or length. 950. The agriculture of ihe Siamese does not extend far from the banks of the river or its branches ; so that towards the mountains there are vast aboriginal forests filled with wild animals, whence they obtain the skins which are exported. The rocky and varie- gated shores of the noble Gulf of Siam, and the size and inundations of the Meinam, conspire vrith the rich and picturesque vegetation of the forests, illumined at night by crowds of brilliant fire-flies, to impress strangers with admiration and delight. 951 . The soil towards the mountains is parched and infertile ; but, on the shores of the river, consists, like that of Egypt, of a very rich and pure mould, in which a pebble can scarcely be found ; and the country would be a terrestrial paradise if its government were not so despotic as to be justly reckoned far inferior to that of their neighbours the Birmans. Rice of excellent quality is the chief product of their agriculture ; wheat is not unknown ; peas and other vegetables abound ; and maize is confined to their gardens. The fertility of Siam depends in a great degree, like that of Egypt on the Nile, on its grand river Meinam and its tributary streams. 952. The kingdom of Laos borders on China, and is surrounded by forests and deserts, so as to be of difficult access to strangers. The climate is so temperate, and the air so pure, that men arc said to retain their health and vigour, in some instances, to the age ef one hundred years. The flat part of the country resembles Siam. The soil on the east bank of the river is more fertile than that on the west. The rice is preferred to that of other Oriental countries. Excellent wax and honey are piwduced in abundance, and the poppy, ginger, pepper, and other useful plants are cultivated, and their products exchanged vrith the Chinese for cloths. 953. Cambodia, like Siam, is enclosed by mountains on the east and west ; and fertilised by an overflowing river. The climate is so hot that the inhabitants are under 154 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Paut I. the necessity of residing on the banks of the rivere and lakes, wlieie they are tormenti.d by musquitos. The soil is fertile, and produces abundance of corn, rice, excellent legumes, sugar, indigo, opium, camplior and various medicinal drugs. The most pecu- liar product is the gamboge gum (Stalagmitis cambogibldes), which yields a fine yellow tint. Ivory, also, and silk are very plentiful, and of little value. Cattle, particularly of the cow kind, are numerous and cheap. Elephants, lions, tigers, and almost all tlie animals of tlic deserts of Africa are fbund in Cambodia. It has several precious woods, among which are the sandal and eagle wood, and a particular tree, in the juice of winch they dip their arrows ; and it is said, that though a wound from one of the arrows proves fatal, the juice itself may be drank without danger. The countiy, though fertile, is very tliinly peopled. 954. Cochin-china presents an extensive range of coast, but few marks of till^e. Besides rice and otlier grains, sugar, silk, cotton, tobacco, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, melons, and other culinary vegetables, are cultivated ; and cinnamon, pepper, ginger, cardamom, silk, cotton, sugar, aula wood, Japan wood, Columbo, and otlier woods and spice plants, abound in the forests and copses. The horses are small but active ; and tliey have the ox, buffalo, mules, asses, sheep, swine, and goats. Tigers, elephants, and monkeys abound in the forests, and on the shores are found the edible swallows' nests, esteemed a luxury in the East and especially in China. These nests, according to some, are formed of the i^'ucus lichenoides ; according to others, of the spawn of fish. A good account of tliem will be found in tlie Farmer's Magnxine (vol. xx.), written by a gentleman who had resided some years on Prince of Wales's Island. Almost every kind of domestic animal, except sheep, appears to be very plentiful. In Cochin-Cliina they have bullocks, goats, swine, buffaloes, elephants, camels, and horses. In the woods are found the wild boar, tiger, rhinoceros, and plenty of deer. They account the flesh of the elephant a great dainty, and their poultry is excellent. They pay little attention to the breeding of bullocks, as the tillage is performed by buffaloes, and bullock's flesh is not esteemed as food. The sea, as well as the land, is a never-failing source of sus- tenance to those who dwell on the coast. Most of the marine worms distinguished by the name of MoUusca, are used as articles of food by the Cochin-Chinese. All the gelatinous substances derived from the sea, whether animal or vegetable, are considered by them the most nutritious of all aliments ; and on this principle various kinds of sea-weeds, particularly the i^iici and ^Igae, are included in their list of edible plants. They likewise collect many of the small succulent, or fleshy, plants, which are usually produced on salt and sandy marshes ; these they either boil in their soups, or eat in a raw state, to give sapidity to their rice, which with them is the grand support of existence. In Cochin-China they are almost certain of two plentiful crops of rice every year, one of which is reaped in April, the other in October. Fruits of various kinds, as oranges, bananas, figs, pine-apples, pomegranates, and others of inferior note, are abundantly produced in all parts of the country. They have very fine yams, and plenty of sweet potatoes. Their small breed of cattle does not appear to furnish them with much milk ; but of this article they make a sparing use, even with regard to their young children. 955. Tonquin, in regard to surface, may be divided into two portions, the moun- tainous and the plain. The mountains are neither rocky nor precipitous, and are partly covered with forests. The plain is flat like Holland, being intersected by canals and dykes, and varied by lakes and rivers. The chief agricultural product is rice, of which there are two harvests annually in the low country, but in the high lands only one. Wheat and wine are unknown. The mulberry tree is common ; and the sugar cane is indigenous ; but the art of refining the juice is unknown. The live stock are chiefly oxen, buffaloes, and horses ; swine abound, and there are a few goats, but asses and sheep are unknown. Dogs, cats, and rats are eaten. Poultry, ducks, and geese abound, and are found wild in the forests. The eggs of ducks are heated in ovens, and produce young, which swarm on the canals and ponds. The forests contain deer, boars, peacocks, a peculiar kind of partridge, and quails. The tigers are large and destructive ; one of them is said to have entered a town, and to have destroyed eighty-five people. "The wild elephants are also very dangerous. Apes are found in these forests, and some of them of large size: these and the parrots are not a little destructive to the rice and fruits. The Tonquin plough consists of three pieces of wood, a pole, a handle, and a third piece, almost at right angles with the last, for opening tlie ground ; and they are simply fixed with straps of leather : this plough is drawn by oxen or buffaloes. 956. The agriculture of Japan is superior to that of most Eastern countries. The climate is variable. In summer the heat is violent ; and, if it were not moderated by sea breezes, would be intolerable. The cold in winter is severe. The falls of rain com- mence at midsummer, and to these Japan owes its fertility, and also its high state of population. Thunder is not unfrequent : tempests, hurricanes, and earthquakes are very common, From Thunbcrg's thei-mometncal observations it appears that the greatest Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 155 degree of heat at Negasaki was 98° in August, and tlie severest cold in January, S5°- The face of the country presents some extensive plains, but more generally mountains, hills, and valleys ; the coast being mostly rocky and precipitous, and invested with a turbulent sea. It is also diversified with rivers and rivulets, and many species of vegetables. 957. Tlie soU of Japan, though barren, is rendered productive by fertilising showers, by manure, and by tlie operation of agricultural industry. 958. AgricvUure, Tkunberg iinforms us, is here well understood, and the whole country, even to the tops of the hills, is cultivated. Free from all feudal and ecclesiastical im^ pediments, the fanner applies himself to the culture of tlie soil wltli diligence and vigour. Here are no commons ; and it is a singular circumstance, tliat, if any portion be left uncultivated, it may be seized by a more industrious neighbour. The Japanese mode of manuring is to form a mixture of all kinds of excrements with kitchen refuse, wKich is carried in pails into the field, and poured with a ladle upon the plants, when they have attained the height of about six inches ; so that they tlius instantly receive the whole benefit. They are also very attentive to weeding. The sides of the hills are culti- vated by means of stone walls, supporting broad plots, sown with rice or esculent roots. Rice is the chief grain ; buckwheat, rye, barley, and wheat being little used. A kind of root, used as the potato (Convolvulus edulis), is abundant, with several sorts of beans, peas, turnips, cabbages, &c. From the seed of a kind of cabbage, lamp oil is expressed ; and several plants are cultivated for dyeing, with the cotton shrubs, and mulberry trees for the food of silkworms. The varnish and camphire ti'ees, tile vine, tlie cedar, the tea tree, and the bamboo reed, not oidy grow wild but are planted for numerous uses. 959. In resided to live stock, there are neither sheep nor goats in the whole empire of Japan ; and, in general, there are but few quadrupeds. The food of the Japanese con- sists almost entirely of fish and fowl with vegetables. Some few dogs are kept from motives of superstition ; and cats are favourites with the ladies. Hens and commoc ducks are domesticated for the sake of their eggs. SuBSECT. 8. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Chinese Empire. 960. Agrictiltural imjrrovement in China has, in all ages, been encouraged and honoured. The husbandman is considered an honourable, as well as a useful, member of society ; he ranks next to men of letters or oflScers of state, of whom he is frequently the progenitor. The soldier, in China, cultivates the ground. The priests also are agriculturists, whenever their convents are endowed with land. Notwithstanding all these advantages, however, the Chinese empire is by no means so generally cultivated as Du Halde and other eai-ly travellers asserted. Some districts are almost entirely under cultivation ; but in many there are extensive wastes. 961. X)r. Abel is of opinion that in that part of China passed through by Lord Am- herst's embassy, the land " very feebly productive in food for man fully equalled that which afforded it in abundant quantity." He never found extensive tracts of land in general cultivation, but often great industry and ingenuity on small "spots ; and concludes tliat " as horticulturists the Chinese may perhaps be allowed a considerable share of merit ; but, on the great scale of agriculture, they are not to be mentioned with any Eu- ropean nation." (Narrative, 127.) 962. tivingstoTU, an intelligent resident in Cliina, observes, " Tiie statement in the Encyclopeedia JBriiannica, that * Chinese agriculture is distinguished and encouraged by the court beyond all other sciences,* is incorrect, since it is unquestionably subordinate to literature ; and it may be well doubted whether it ought to be considered as holding among the Chinese the rank of a science ; for, inde. pendently of that routine which has been followed, with little variation, from a very high antiquity, they seem to be entirely ignorant of all the principles by which it could have been placed on a scientific found, ation." (Hort. Tram., v. 49.) 963. The climate of China is in general reckoned moderate, though it extends from the 50th to the 21st degree of south latitude, and includes three climates. The northern parts are liable to all the rigours of a European winter. Even at Pekin, at that season, the average of the thermometer is under 20° during the night, and in the day consi- derably below the freezing point. The heat of those parts which lie under the tropics is moderated by the winds from the mountains of Tatary. In the southern parts there is neither frost nor snow, but storms are very frequent, especially about the time of the equinoxes ; all the rest of the year the sky is serene, and the earth covered with verdure. 964. The surface nfthe country, though in general flat, is much diversified by chains of granite mountains, hills, rivers, canals, and savage and uncultivated districts, towns innumerable, villages, and cottages covered witli thatch, reed, or palm leaves, and in some places with their gardens, or fore-courts, fenced with rude pales, as in England. 1S6 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. ( fig. 126.) China, Dr. Abel observes, from the great extent of latitude contained in its boundaries, and from its extensive plains and lofty mountains, partakes of the advan- tages and defects of many climates, and displays » country of features infinitely varied by nature. Every thing artificial, however, has nearly the same characters m every province. ^ 196 '-I .^.t...- ■Jly happens in from six to ten years. They are then cut-in to encourage the production of fresh shoots. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN ASIA. 157 970. The gathenng of the leaves is performed with care and selection. Tlie leaves are plucked off one by one : at the first gathering only the unexpanded and tender are taken ; at tlie second, those that aie full grown ; and at tlie tliird, the coarsest. The first forms what is called in Europe imperial tea ; but of this and other names by which tea is designated, tlie Chinese know notliing ; and the compounds and names are sup- posed to be made and given by tlie merchants at Canton, who, from the great number of varieties brought to them, have an ample opportunity of doing so. These varieties, tliough numerous, and some of tliem very different, are yet not more so than tlie dif- ferent varieties of tlie grape; tliey are now generally considered as belonging to one species ; the T/ten Sohea, now Camellia Bohea (Jig. 1 27. o), of botanists. Formerly it was thought tliat green tea was gathered exclu- sively from Camellia viridis ; but that is now doubtful, though it is certain there is what is called the green tea district, arid tlie black tea district ; and tlie varieties grown in the ^ one district differ from those grown in the other. Dr. Abel could not satisfy him- self as to there being two species or one ; but thinks there are two species. He was told by competent persons that either of the two plants will afford the black or green tea .< of the shops, but tliat tlie broad thin-leaved plant (C. viridis) is preferred for making tlie green tea. 971. The ten leaves being gathered are cured in houses which contain from five to ten or twenty small furnaces, about three feet high, each having at the top a large flat iron pan. There is also a long low table covered with mats, on which the leaves are laid, and rolled by workmen, who sit round it : the iron pan being heated to a certain degree by a little fire made in the furnace underneath, a few pounds of the fresh-gathered leaves are put upon the pan ; the fresli and juicy leaves crack when they touch tlie pan, and it is the business of the operator to shift them as quickly as possible with his bare hands, till tliey become too hot to be easily endured. At this instant he takes off the leaves with a kind of shovel resembling a fan, and pours tliem on the mats before the rollers, who, taking small quantities at a time, roll them in the palms of their hands in one direction, while others are fanning them, tliat they may cool tfie more speedily and retain tlieir curl tlie longer. Tliis process is repeated two or three times or oftener, before the tea is put into the stores, in order that all the moisture of the leaves may be thoroughly dissipated, and their curl more com- pletely preserved. On every repetition the pan is less heated, and the operation perfoimed more slowly and cautiously. The tea is then separated into the different kinds, and deposited in the store for domestic use or exportation. 972. The different sorts of black and green are not merely from soil, situation, and age of the leaf: but, after winnowing the tea, tlie leaves are taken up in succession as they full ; those nearest the machine, being tlie heaviest, form the gunpowder tea ; the light dust the worst, being chiefly used by tlie lower classes. That which is brought down to Canton undergoes there a second roasting, winnowing, packing, fie, and many hundred women are employed for these purposes. 973. As more select sorts of tea, the blossoms of the Camellia Snsantpta {fg. 127. h) appear to be collected ; since they are brought over land to Russia, and sold by Chinese and Armenians in Mosi^w at a great price. The buds also appear to be gathered ill some cases. By far the strongest tea which Dr. Abel tasted in China, was that called Yu-tien, used on occasions of ceremony. It scarcely coloured the water, and on examination was found to consist of the half-expanded leaves of the plant 974. As substitutes for tea, used by the Chinese, may be mentioned a species ot moss common to the mountains of Shan-tung ; an infusion of ferns of different sorts, and. Dr. Abel thinks, the leaves of the common camellia and oil camellia mav be added, Du Halde observes that all the plants called tea by the Chinese are not to be considered as the true tea plant ; and Kzempfer asserts that in Japan a species ot Camell/a, as well as the OMea fr&grans, is used t(» give it a high flavour. 975. The oil-bearing tea plant (CamSlCw. oleifera) is cultivated for its seeds, from which an oil is expressed, in very general use in the domestic economy of China. It grows best in a red sandy soil ; attaining the height of six or eight feet, and producing a pro- fusion of white blossoms and seeds. These seeds are reduced to a coarse powder, either in a mortar by a pestle acted on by the cogs of a water-wheel (jig. 128.), or by a horizontal wheel, 128 having small perpendicular wheels, shod with iron, fixed to its circumference, and acting in a groove lined with the same metal. The seeds, when ground, are stewed or boiled in bags, and then pressed, when the oil is yielded. The press is a hollow cylinder, with a piston pressed 153 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. against one end, by driving wedges at the side; it is very simple and yet powerful. {Dr. Abets Nar.y 176.) An oil used as a varnish is extracted from another variety of the Camm'ia, or tea plant (the Dryandra cordata of Thunb.), which is used as a varnish for their boats, and coarser articles of furniture. ■976. The tallow tree {Crblon sebifemm) resembles the oak in the height of its stem and the spread of its brandies, and its foliage has the green and lustre of the laurel ; its flowers are small and yellow, and its seeds white. The latter are crushed either as the camellia seeds, or in a hollow trunk of a tree, lined with iron, by means of a wheel laden with a heavy weight {jig. 129.)» and suspended from a beam. The bruised matter next undergoes nearly the same process as the camellia seeds, and the oily matter is found to have all the properties of animal tallow. It is mixed with vegetable oil and wax, to give it consistence, and then made into candles, which burn with great flame, emit much smoke, and quickly consume. 977. The wax treet or Pe-la^ is a term which IS not applicable to any one species of tree, but to such as are attacked by a small worm, which runs up, and fastens to their leaves, covering them with combs. When these worms are once used to the trees of any district, they never leave them, unless something extraordinary drives them away. The wax pro- duced is hard, shining, and considerably dearer than tliat of bees. 978. The S4samum orientdle and the Ricinus communis^ or castor-oil plant, are cultivated for the esculent oils extracted from their seeds. They appear to have some method of depriving the castor oil of its purgative qualities, but Dr. Abel thinks not completely. 979. The camphire tree ['Lawtts Cantphbra) grows to the size of our elms or oaks. The camphire is procured by boiling the fresh-gathered branches of the tree, and stirring the whole with a stick, till the gum begins to adhere to it in the form of a white jelly. The fluid is then poured off into a glazed vessel, and left to concrete. " The crude camphire is then purified in the following manner. A quantity of the finely powdered materials of some old wall, built of earth, is put as a first layer at the bottom of a copper basin j on this is placed a layer of camphire, and then another of earth, and so on till the vessel is nearly filled ; the series being terminated with a layer of earth : over this is laid a covering of the leaves of the plant Po-tio, perhaps a species of Jl/i.'nthresent State of Agriculture in the Australian Isles. 1034. Tlie Islands of Australia form a most extensive part of the territorial surface of our globe, and the more interesting to Britons as they are likely one day to be over- spread by their descendants and language. The importemt colonies of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land are increasing in a ratio which, if it continue, will at no very distant period spread civilisation over the whole of the islands composing this large di- vision of the earth. The immense population, territorial riches and beauty, commerce, naval power, intellect and refinement, which may then exist in these scarcely known regions are too vast and various for the grasp of the imagination. Their rapid progress to this state, however, is unquestionable ; being founded on those grand requisites, tem- perate climate, culturable soil, ample water intercommunication ; and, to take advan- tage of all these, an advanced state of civilisation in the settlers. 1035. The principal Australian Isles are New Holland, Van Diemen's Land, New Guinea, New Britain, and New Zealand. 1036. New Holland and Van Diernens Land are not rich in mines, sugar canes, cochineal, or cottons ; but they are blessed with a climate which, though different in different places, is yet, on the whole, favourable to the health, comfort, and industry of Europeans ; they exhibit an almost endless extent of surface, various as to aspect and capability, but, taken together, suited in an extraordinary degree to the numerous purposes of rural economy, the plough and spade, the dairy and sheep-walk. The emigrant has not to wage hopeless and ruinous war with interminable forests and impregnable jungle, as he finds extensive plains prepared by the hand of nature, ready for the ploughshare, and capable of repaying manifold in the first season. He is not poisoned by pestiferous swamps, nor frightened from his purpose by beasts of prey and loathsome reptiles ; be is not chilled by hyperborean cold, nor scorched and enfeebled by M 3 166 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I- tropical heat; and he is not separated from his Itind, nor hardened in his heart, by the debasing influence of open or concealed slavery. It is true, that he is surrounded by those who have the brand of crime and punishment upon tliem, and who are, therefore, to a certain extent infamous ; but he has the satisfaction of knowing that it is his duty and interest to improve, not contribute to the farther degr.idation of, these fallen beings. (Widowson s Present State of Van Diemen s Land. 1829.) ,. • •1037. New Holland, Notasia, or what may he called the continent of Austraha, is of a size nearly equal to the whole of Europe. So extended a surface naturally presents different characters of climate, elevation, and soil. But the climate is said to be every where temperate and salubrious ; to the nortli it may be considered semitropical, to the south not materially different from tliat of England. The whole country being south of the equator, the seasons are like those of the southern parts of Africa and America, and consequently the reverse of those of Europe. The surface of the country is in general low and level ; far northward it is hilly, and a chain of mountains is said to run north and south, very lofty and irregular. Hills and mountains, however, form but a small part of this extensive country. Lakes and rivers are not very frequent ; but in the interior there are extensive marshes and savannas, covered with luxuriant grasses. In some places the country is highly beautiful. Mr. Kvans, who made a journey of 300 miles into the interior, in 1818, states that "the farther he advanced the more beautiful tlie scenery became ; both hill and dale were clothed with fine grass, the whole appear- ing at a little distance as if laid out into fields divided by hedge rows. Through every valley meandered trickliuff itrpams of fine water. Many of the hills are capped with forest trees, chiefly of the eucalyptus; and clumps of these, mixed with mimosas and the cassuarina, wexe interspersed along the declivities of the hills, and in the valleys, so as to wear tiie appearance of a succession of gentlemen's parks." *10?*!. The imneral productions include coal, limestone, slate, granite, quartz, sand- stone, freestone, and iron, the last in great abundance. The coal is of the best quality, ul ten found in hills, and worked from the side like a stone quarry without expensive drainage. 1039. The soil towards the south is frequently sandy, and many of the lawns or savannas are rocky and barren. In general the soil towards the sea coast is naturally more fertile than in the interior; but almost every where it may be brought into cultiva- tion with little labour and abundant suc(!hss. The colony of New South Wales possesses every variety of soil, from tlie sandy heath and the cold hungry clay, to the fertile loam, and the deep vegetable mould. The prevailing soil hitlierto subjected to agriculture is n thin black earth resting on a stratum of yellow clay, which is again supported by a deep bed of schistus. "1040. The jrroduclioiis of nature in New Holland present a remarkable sameness among themselves, and a no less remarkable difference from those of the rest of the world. This applies more particularly to the animal and vegetable kingdoms. The rocks, mountains, and earths, resemljle nearly the inorganic substances which are met with in other parts of the world ; but the animals and plants are decidedly peculiar. The natives are copper-coloured savages of the very lowest description. The quadru- peds are all of the kangaroo or opossum tribe, or resemble these, with one or two exceptions, among which is the Omithorhynchus parad6xus, a quadruped with the beak of a bird. The fish are for the most part like sharks. Among the birds are black swans and white eagles, and the emu, supposed to be the tallest and loftiest bird that exists ; many of them standing full seven feet high. Every one acquainted in the slightest degree with the plants in our green-houses is aware of the very peculiar appearance of those of Australia, and there is scarcely a gardener who cannot tell their native country at first sight. Mr. Brown, who is better acquainted with these plants than any other botanist, observes that the Acacia and Eucalyptus, of each of which genera there are upwards of one hundred species, when taken together, and considered with respect to the mass of vegetable matter which they contain, calculated from the size as well as from the number of individuals, are, perhaps, nearly equal to all the other plants of that country. (App. to Flvnderss Voyage.') *1041. There is no indigenous agriculture in any part of New Holland ; but the colony of New South Wales, which was established in 1788, has appropriated extensive tracts of country in that quarter of the island, and subjected them to the field and garden cul- tivation of Europe. Every thing that can be cultivated in the open air in England can be cultivated in New South Wales ; the fruits of Italy and Spain come to greater per- fection there than here, with the single exception of the orange, which requires a slight protection in winter. Pine-apples will grow under glass without artificial heat; the apple and the gooseberry are the only fruits which are found somewhat inferior to those produced in Britain. But the great advantage of this colony to the agriculturist is, that it is particularly suited to maize and sheep : maize, it is well known, produces a greater retuin in proportion to the seed and labour tlian any other bread-corn ; and the wool of Book I. AjGRICULTURE IN AUSTRALIA. 167 tliu sheep of New South Wales is equal to tlie best of that produced in Saxony, and can be sent to the Biitisli market for about tlie same expense of transport. This wool forms the grand article of agricultural export from New Holland. According to a calculation made by Mr. Kingdom in lS20{BritiihColonies, p.282.), "makingthemost liberalallowancefor all kind of expenses, casualties, and deteriorations, money sunk in the rearing of sheep in tliis colony will, in the course of three years, double itself besides paying an interest of 75 per cent." *1042. As a country for an agrkvltuiist to eimj'rate to. New Soutli Wales is perhaps one of tlie best in the world, and its advantages are yearly increasing by the great num- ber of independent settlers who arrive there &om Britain. Settlers, on arrival at New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, have a grant of land allotted to them pro- portionate to tlieir powers of making proper use of it, witli a certain number of convicts as labourers, who with their families are victualed from the public stores for six months. (^J^Tigdom, p. 311.) The country seems fully adequate to support itself with every necessary, and almost every luxury, requisite to the present state of human refinement ; in this respect it has tlie advantage over France, in being able to bring to perfection the cotton plant. " As a criterion of the luxuries enjoyed by the inhabitants in fruit, one garden, belonging to a gentleman a few miles from Sydney, contains the following extensive variety : — viz. oranges, citrons, lemons, pomegi'anates, loquatts, guavas, the olive, grapes of every variety, pine-apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, apples, pears, plums, figs ; English, Cape, and China mulberries ; walnuts, Spanish chestnuts, almonds, medlars, raspberries, strawberries, melons, quinces and the caper, with others of minor value ; and such is the abundance of peaches, that the swine of the settlers are fed willi tliem." (^Kingdom, p. 308. J In the Gardener's Magazine, vol. v. p. 280., Mr. Fraser, (he Colonial botanist, has given a catalogue of upwards of 100 species and varieties of fruit under liis care in the open garden at Sydney, including the pine-apple, the date, the plantain, the cocoa, and tlie mango. 1 043. An Australian Agricultural Society was established, in the year 1 823, for " the promotion both of field and garden cultivation ; " and, besides newspapers, there is a quarterly publication entitled the Australasian MagaziTie of Agricultural and Commercial IiifarnuUion. In June 1824, an Act of Parliament was passed creating an " Australian Agricultural Company, for the Cultivation and Improvement of waste Land, in the Colony of New South Wales." This company have an establishment in London, for tlie purpose of raising a capital of one million of pounds sterling, in shares of 100/. each. *1044. F'an Diemen's Island is about as large as Ireland, and it enjoys a temperate climate resembling that of England, but less subject to violent changes. According to Evans, the deputy surveyor of the colony, the climate is more congenial to the European constitution than any other on tlie globe. That of New Holland has been commended for its salubrity, but the north-west winds which prevail .there are unknown at Van Diemen*s Land. Neither the summers nor winters are subject to any great extremes ot heat or cold ; for tliough the summits of the mountains are covered during the greater part of the year with snow, yet in the valleys it never remains on the ground more than a few hours. The mean difference of temperature between Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales is ten degrees, the mean temperature of the whole island may be reckoned at about 60°, and the extremes at from 36° to 80°. The spring commences early in September ; the summer in December ; the autumn in April ; and the winter, the severity of which continues about seven weeks, in June. 1045. The surface of the country is richly variegated, diversified by ranges of moderate hills and broad valleys, and towards the western part of the island tliere is a range of mountains, in height 3500 feet ; on their summit is a large lake, the source of several rivers. But though there are hills in various other parts of the island, tliere are not above tliree or four of them that can be considered mountains. The hills, the ridges or sky outlines of which form irregular curves, are for the greater part wooded ; and from their summits are to be seen levels of good pasture land, thinly interspersed with trees, below which is a luxuriant grassy surface. These beautiful plains are generally of the extent of 8000 or 10,000 acres, and, Evans observes, are common throughout the whole island. 1046. The sail, as in New Holland, is greatly diversified ; but in proportion to the surface of the two countries, this one contains comparatively much less of an indifferent quality. Many fine tracts of land are found upon the very borders of the sea ; and the plains and valleys in the interior are composed of rich loamy clay and vegetable mould. 1047. Tlie animal and vegetable kingdoms are the same as those of New Holland. The native dog, the agriculturist's great enemy in that country, is unknown here ; but there is an animal of the panther family in its stead, which commits as great havoc among the flocks, as the wolf did formerly in Britain. It is very cowardly, and by no means formidable to man. The native savages are, if possible, more uncivilised than those of New Holland ; they subsist entirely by hunting, and though the country has the finest rivers, tliey have no knowledge whatever of the art of fishing. XUey bear great animosity M 4 168 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P*aT I- to the colonists, having been fired upon by tliem soon after tlieir first settlement, by which numbers were killed. Fortunately, however, the natives seldom act on the offensive, and two persons with muskets may travei-se tlie island from one end to the otiier in perfect safety, 104S. Tlie agricultural facilities of Van Diemens Land are still greater than those of New South Wales. Large tracts of land, perfectly free from timber or underwood, and covered with the most luxuriant herbage, are to be found in all directions, but more particularly in the environs of Port Dalrymple. These tracts of land are invariably of the very best description, and millions of acres, whicli are capable of being instantly con- verted to all the purposes of husbandry, still remain unappropriated. Here the colonist has no expense to incur in clearing his farm : he is not compelled to a great preliminary outlay of capital, before he can expect a considerable return. He has only to set fire to the grass to prepare his land for the immediate reception of the ploughshare ; insomuch that, if he but possesses a good team of horses or oxen, with a set of harness and a couple of substantial ploughs, he has the main requisites for commencing an agricultural estab- lishment, and for insuring a comfortable subsistence for himself and family. 1049. To this great superiority viMch tliese southern settlements may claim over the parent colony, may be superadded two advantages, which are perhaps of equal magnitude and importance. In the first place, the rivers here have a sufficient fall to prevent any excessive accumulation of water from violent or continued rains, and are, consequently, free from tliose awful and destructive inundations to which tlie rivers of New South Wales are perpetually subject. Here, therefore, the industrious colonist may settle on the bank of a navigable river, and enjoy all tile advantages of sending his produce to market by water, without running the constant hazard of having the fruits of his labour, the golden promise of the year, swept awiay in an hour by a capricious and domineering element. Secondly, the seasons are more regular and defined, and those great droughts, which have been so frequent in Port Jackson, are altogether unknown. In tlie years 18 1», 1814, and 1 815, when the whole face of the country was there literally burnt up, and vegetation completely at a stand still from the want of rain, an abundant supply of it fell here, and the harvests, in consequence, were never more productive. Indeed, since these settlements were first established, the crops have never sustained any serious detriment from an insufficiency of rain ; whereas, in the parent colony, there have been, since its foundation, I may venture to say, half a dozen dearths occasioned by droughts, and at least as many arising from Hoods. 1050. I'lw system of farming in Van Diemens Land consists principally of growing one crop year after year. There are a few enterprising individuals who grow the various descriptions of grain ; but wheat is what the old settler grew first, and from that he can- not depart. It is not many years since, when the plough might be said to be unknown in the island, the ground was then broken up with a hoe, similar to those used in the West Indies, and the com brushed in with thorns. This rude system is now abolished, a pair of bullocks and a plough being within the reach of the smallest landholder. New and old land are generally broken up at the same season of the year. Once ploughed, it is sown and harrowed, and never again interfered with until the crop is cut down. Wheat, barley, and oats may be sown at the same season, namely, about the beginning of August, although wheat is sometimes sown late in November, and a good crop reaped in the early part of March. There is no fear of injuring the grain by sowing early ; I have seen seed sown in the beginning of winter, and flourish surprisingly. From ten to fifteen crops of wheat have been taken in succession, until the land has been com- pletely exhausted. It is then abandoned, and a new piece broken up. The exhausted land generally becomes covered with young mimosas (acacias). ( Widowson.) 1051. As a country to emigrate tOt the circumstance of Van Diemen's Land being exempt from those calamitous consequences which are so frequent in New Holland, from a superabundance of rain on the one hand, and a deficiency of it on the other, is a most important point of consideration for all such as hesitate in their choice between the two countries. In the system of agriculture pursued in the two colonies there is not any difference, save that the Indian corn, or maize, is not cultivated here, because the climate is too cold to bring that grain to maturity. Barley and oats, however, arrive at much greater perfection, and aBord the inhabitants a substitute, although by no means an equivalent, for this highly valuable product. The wheat, also, which is raised here is of a much superior description to the wheat grown in any of the districts of Port Jack- son, and will always command, in the Sydney market, a difference of price sufliciently great to pay for the additional cost of transport. The average produce, also, of the land is greater, although it does not exceed, nor perhaps equal, that of the rich flooded lands on the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean. The produce of both colonies, it is stated, would be double what it is, if the operations of agriculture were as well performed as in Britain. At present, however, this can only be the case when a settler is so fortunate as to get wliat are called country convicts, that is. Irishmen who have been employed as Book I. AGRICULTURE IN POLYNESIA. 169 agricultural labourers at home. The system of rearing and fattening cattle is perfectly analogous to that which is pursued at Fort Jackson. The natural grasses afford an abundance of pasturage at all seasons of the year, and no provision of winter provender, in the shape eltlier of hay or artificial food, is made by the settler for tiis cattle ; yet, notwithstanding tliis palpable omission, and the greater length and severity of the winters, all desciiptions of stock attain here a much larger size than at Fort Jackson. Wool has every promise of becoming a staple commodity of Van Diemen's Land. It was at first thought that the climate was more favourable for the production of carcass than of fleece ; but it has been found since the introduction of merinos, tliat wool can be produced in every respect as good as that of New South Wales. In 1 822, upwards of 300,000 lbs. of wool were consigned to London, which sold there at prices equal to those given for the wool of New South Wales and Saxony. Those who are desirous of more ample information respecting this colony, which certainly ranks as the first in the world for a British emigrant, may consult Kingdom's British Colonies, 1820; Evans's Van Diemen's Land, 1824; Godwin's Emigrants Guide to Van Diemen's Land, 1823; Wtdowson'n Van Diemen's Land, 1829. 1052. Neto Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon Isles, New n:^ || '■'"> Caledonia, and the New Hebrides, are little known. They are mountainous and woody, with fertile vales and beautiful streams. The nutmeg, cocoa, yam, ginger, pepper, plantains (Jig. 136.), sugar canes, and other fruit and spice trees, abound. loss. Papua, or New Guinea, partakes of the opidence of the Moluccas (1033.), and their singular varieties of plants and animals. The coasts are lofty, and abound with cocoa trees. In the interior, mountain rises above mountain, richly clothed with woods of great Variety of species, and abounding in wild swine. Birds of paradise and elegant parrots abound : they are shot with blunt arrows, or caught with birdlime or nooses. The ' bowels and breast being extracted, they are dried with smoke and sulphur, and sold for nails or bits of iron to such navigators as touch at the island. *1054. New Zealand has scarcely any agriculture, except plantations of yam, cocoa, and sweet potato. There is only one shrub or tree in this country which produces fruit, and that is a kind of a berry almost tasteless ; but they have a plant (Phormium t^nax) which answers all the uses of hemp and flax. There are two kinds of this plant, the leaves of one of which are yellow, those of the other deep red, and both resembling the leaves of flags. Of these leaves they make lines and cordage much stronger than any tiling of the kind in Europe ; they likewise split them into breadths, and tying the slips together form their fishing-nets. Their common apparel, by a simple process, is made from these leaves ; and their finer, by another preparation, is made from the fibres. This plant is found both on high and low ground, in dry mould and deep bogs ; but as it grows largest in the latter, that seems to be its proper soil. It has lately been found to prosper in the south o£ Ireland, but not to such an extent as to determine its value. Sect. III. Of the present State of Agriculture in Polynesiiu 1055. This sixth great division of the earth's surface consists of a number of islands in the northern and southern hemispheres, which, ijhough at present chiefiy inhabited by savages, are yet, from their climate and other circumstances, singularly adapted for cul- ture and civilisation. The principal are the Fellew Isles, the Ladrone Isles, the Sand- vrich Isles, in the northern hemisphere ; and the Friendly Isles, the Navigator's Isles, the Society Isles, the Georgian Isles, and the Marquesas, in the southern hemisphere. 1056. The PeUew Isles Bxe covered with wood, and encircled by a coral reef. None of these islands has any sort of grain or quadruped ; but they are rich in the most valuable fruit and spice trees, including the cabbage tree (Areca oler&cea) (Jtg. 137.), cocoa, plantain, and orange; and abound with wild cocks and hens, and many other birds. The culture of the natives only extends to yams and cocoa-nuts. 1057. The Ladrones are a numerous collection of rocky fragments, little adapted to agriculture. The isles of Guam and Tinian are exceptions. The latter abounds in cattle and fruits, the bread-fruit, and orange, but is without agriculture. 1058. The Marquesas are in general rocky and mountainous, and include very few spots fit for cultivation. The inhabitants are savages, but rudely cultivate the yam in some places. They have, however, the ava, or intoxicating pepper (1029.) ; and procure also a strong liquor from the root of ginger, for the same general purpose of accumulating enjoyment, forgetting care, and sinking into profound ^eep. 1059. The Sandwich Isles resemble those of the West Indies in climate, and the rest of the South Sea islands in vegetable productions. Tlie bread-fruit tree attains 170 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. great perfection. Sugar canes grow to an unusual size, one being brought to Captain Cook eleven inches and » quarter in circumference, and having fourteen feet eatable. Dogs, hogs, and rats are the only native qua- drupeds of these islands, in common with all others that have been discovered in the South Sea. The king of these islands visited Eng- land in the time of Geo. II., and again in 1824. 1060. The Friendly Islands are in most respects similar to Otaheite (1061.). Tongataboo appears to be a flat country, with a fine climate, and universally cultivated. The whole of this island is said to consist of enclosures, with reed fences about six feet high, intersected with innumer- able roads. The articles cultivated are bread- fruit, plantains, cocoa-nuts, and yams. In the other islands, plantains and yams engage most of their attention ; the cocoa-nut and bread- fruit trees are dispersed about in less order than the former, and seem to give them no trouble. Their implements of culture consist of pointed sticks of different lengths and degrees of strength. 1061. Tlie island of Otaheile is the principal of the Georgian Islands. It is surrounded by a reef of coral rocks. The surface of the country, except that part of it which borders upon the sea, is very uneven ; it rises in ridges that run up into the middle of the island, and there form mountains which may be seen at the distance of sixty miles. Between the foot of these ridges and die sea is a border of low land, surrounding the whole island, except in a few places where the ridges rise directly from the sea. This border is of different breadths in different parts, but no where more than a mile and a half. 1062. Tlie soil of Olcdieite, except on the very tops of the ridges, is extremely rich and fertile, watered by a great number of rivulets of excellent water, and covered with fruit trees of various kinds. The low land that lies between the foot of the ridges and the sea, and some of the valleys, are the only parts of the island that are inhabited, and here it is populous : the houses do not form villages or towns, but are ranged along the whole border, at the distance of about fifty yards from each other, with little plantations of plantains, the tree which furnishes them with cloth. 1063. The produce of Otaheite is the bread-fruit ( ArtocArpus integrifolia), cocoa-nuts, bananas of thirteen sorts, plantains; a fruit not unlike an apple, which, when ripe, is very pleasant; sweet potatoes, yams, cocoas (^'rum Colocasia, and Caladium esculentum, both propagated by the leaves) ; a fruit known here by the name of jambu, and reckoned most delicious ; sugar cane, which the inhabitants eat raw ; a root of the saloop kind, which the inhabitants call pea ; a plant called ethee, of which the root only is eaten ; a fruit that grows in « pod, like that of a large kidneybean, which, when it is roasted, eats very much like a chestnut, by the natives called whee ; a tree here called wharra, but in the East Indies pandanus, wluch produces fruit something like the pine-apple ; a shrub called nono ; the morinda, which also produces fruit ; a species of fern, of which the root is eaten, and sometimes the leaves ; and a plant called theve, of which the root also is eaten : but the fruits of the nono, the fern, and the theve, are eaten only by the inferior people, and in times of scarcity. AU these, which serve the inhabitants for food, the earth produces spontaneously, or with little culture. They had no European fruit, garden stuff, pulse, or legumes, nor grain of any kind, till some seeds of melons and other vegetables were given them by Captain Cook. 1064. Of tame animals, the Otaheitans have only hogs, dogs, and poultry; neither is there a wild animal on the island, except ducks, pigeons, parroquets, with a few other birds, and rats, there being no other quadruped, nor any serpent. But the sea supplies them with great variety of most excellent fish, to eat which is their chief luxury, and to catch it their principal labour. 1065. The remaining Polynesian Islands of the southern liemisphere are, for the most part, inhabited by savages, and are without agriculture. Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 171 Sect. IV. Of the present Stale of Agriculture in Africa, 1066. The continent of Africa, in point of agricultural as of political and ethical es- timation, is the meanest of the great divisions of the eartli ; though in one corner of it (Egypt) agriculture is supposed to have originated. The climate is every where hot, and intensely so in the nor^ern parts. The central parts, as far as known, consist of ridges of mountains and immense deserts of red sand. There are very few rivers, inland liikes, or seas, and indeed fully one half of this continent may be considered as cither desert or unknown. Some of the African islands are fertile and important, especially Madagascar, Bourbon, Mauritius, &c. We shall take tlie countries of Africa in tlie order of Abyssinia, Egypt, Mohammedan states of the north, western coast, Cape of Good Hope, eastern coast, Madagascar and oHier isles. Sdssect. I. Of the present State of Agriculture in Abyssinia, 1067. Tlie climate of Abyssinia, though exceedingly various in different parts, is in general temperate and healthy. The surface of the country is generally rugged and mountainous ; it abounds with forests and morasses ; and it is also interspersed with many fertile valleys and plains adapted both to pasture and tillage. The rivers are numerous and lai'ge, and contribute much to general fertility. The soil is not natu- rally good, being in general thin and sandy ; but it is rendered fertile and productive by irrigation and the periodical rains. I06S. Tlie agricultural products are wheat, barley, millet, and other grains. They cultivate the vine, peach, pomegranate, sugar cane, almonds, lemons, citrons, and oranges ; and they have many roots and herbs which grow spontaneously, and their soil, if properly managed, would produce many more. However, they make little wine, but content iiiemselves with the liquor which they draw from the sugar cane, and their honey, which is excellent and abundant. They have the coffee tree, and a plant called ensete, wliich produces an eatable nourishing fruit. The country also produces many other plants and fruits adapted both for domestic and medicinal uses. Here is plenty of cotton, which grows on shrubs like that of India. The forests abound with trees of various descriptions, particularly the rock, baobob, cedar, sycamore, &c. 1069. The line stock of Abyssinia includes horses, some of which are of a very fine breed, mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, oxen of different kinds {Jig. 138.), cows, sheep, and goats ; and these constitute the principal wealth of the inhabitants. Amongst the wild animals, we may reckon the ante- lope, the buffalo, the wild boar, the jackal, the elephant, the rhinoceros, tlie lion, the I leopard, the hyzena, the lynx ; the ape and baboon which, as well as the common rat, are very destructive to the fields of millet; the zecora, or wild mule, and the wild ass ; the jerboa, the fennic, ashkoko, hare, &c. The hare, as well as the wild boar, is deemed unclean, and not used as food. Bruce saw no sparrows, magpies, nor bats ; nor many water-fowl, nor any geese, except the golden goose, or goose of the Nile, which is com- mon in every part of Africa ; but there are snipes in the marshes. The locusts of this country are very destructive; they have also species of ants that are injurious; but from their bees they derive a rich supply. 1070. The agriculture of Abyssinia is of far less use to the inhabitants than it might'be, for want of application and exertion. There are two, and often three, harvests in the year ; and where they have a supply of water, they may sow in all seasons ; many of their trees and plants retain their verdure, and yield fruit or flowers throughout the year ; the west side of the tree blossoms first and bears fruit, then the south side, next the north side, and last of all the east side goes through the same process towards the beginning of the rainy seasons. Their pastures are covered with flocks and herds. They have grass in abundance, but they neglect to make hay of it ; and therefore they are obliged to supply this defect by feeding their cattle with barley, or some other grain. Notwithstanding the plenty and frequent return of their crops, they are sometimes reduced almost to famine, either by the devastations of the locusts or grasshoppers which infest the country, or by die more destructive ravages of their own armies, and those of their enemies. 172 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ?*"» I. SuBSECT. 2. Of the present Stnte of Agriculture in Egypt. 1 07 1. The climate of Egypt has a pecuUar character from the circumstance of rain being very uncommon, 'llie heat is also extreme, particularly from March to November ; vpliile the cool season, or a kind of spring, extends through the other months. 1072. Tlie surface of the country is varied in some regions, but is otherwise flat and uniform. Far the greater part presents a narrow fertile vale, pervaded by the Nile, and bounded on either side by barren rocks and mountains. The soil of Egypt has been variously described by different travellers, some representing it as barren sand, only rendered fertile by watering, and others as " a pure black mould, free from stones, of a very tenacious and unctuous nature, and so rich as to require no manure." The latter appears to prevail only in the Delta. _ 1073. The fertility of Egypt has been generally ascribed to the inundations of the Nile, but this is applicable in a strict sense only to parts of the Delta ; whereas, in other dis- tricts there are canals, and the adjacent lands are generally watered by machines. Gray's description of Egypt, as immersed under tlie influx of the Nile, though exquisitely poetical, is far from being just. In Upper Egypt tlie river is confined by high banks, which prevent any inundation into tlie adjacent country. This is also the case in Lower Egypt, except at the extremities of the Delta, where the Nile is never more than a few feet below tlie surface of the ground, and where of course inundation takes place. But the country, as we may imagine, is without habitations. The fertility of Egypt, ac- cording to Browne, an intelligent traveller, arises from human art. The lands near the river are watered by machines ; and if they extend to any width, canals have been cut. The soil in general is so rich as to require no manure ; it is a pure black mould, free from stones, and of a very tenacious unctuous nature. When left uncultivated, fissures have been observed, arising from extreme heat, of such depth that a spear of six feet could not reach the bottom. 1074. The limits of cultivated Egypt are encroached upon annually, and barren sand is accumulating from all parts. In 1517, the era of the Turkish conquest, Lake Mareotis was at no distance from the walls of Alexandria, and the canal which conveyed the waters into tlie city was still navigable. At this day, the lake has disappeared, and the lands watered by it, which, according to historians, produced abundance of com, wine, and various fruits, are changed into deserts, in which are found neither shrub, nor plant, nor verdure. The canal itself, the work of Alexander, necessary to the subsistence of the inhabitants of the city which he built, is nearly choked up, and preserves the waters only when the inundation is at its greatest height, and for a short time. About half a century ago, part of the mud deposited by the river was cleared out of it, and it ret^ned the water three months longer. Schemes have lately been adopted for opening and per- fecting this canal. The Pelusiac branch, which discharges itself into the eastern part of the Lake of Tanais, or Menzal^, is utterly destroyed. With it perished the beautiful province which it fertilised, and the famous canal begun by Necos, and finished by Ptolemy Philadelphus. The famous works, executed by kings who sought their glory and happiness in the prosperity of the people, have not been able to resist the ravages of conquerors, and that despotism which destroys every thing, till it buries itself under the wreck of the kingdoms whose foundations it has sapped. The last of the great works of Egypt, the canal of Amrou, which formed a communication between Fostat and Colzoum, reaches at present no farther than about four leagues beyond Cairo, and loses itself in the Lake of Pilgrims. Upon the whole, it may be confidently afiirmed that upwards of one third of the lands formerly in cultivation is metamorphosed into dreary deserts. 1075. Landed property in Egypt is for the most part to be considered as divided between the government and the religious bodies who perform the service of the mosques, and have obtained possession of what they hold by the munificence of princes and rich men, or by the measures taken by individuals for the benefit of their posterity. Hence, a large proportion of the tenants and cultivators hold either of the government or the procurators of the mosques. But there is one circumstance common to both, viz. that their lands, when they become unoccupied, are never let but upon terms ruinous to the tenants. Besides the property and influence of the beys, of the Mamelukes, and of the professors of the law, are so extensive, and so absolute, as to enable them to engross into their own hands a very consi- derable part: the number of the other proprietors is extremely small, and their property liable to a thousand impositions. Every moment some contribution is to be paid, or some damage repaired ; there is no right of succession or inheritance for real property, except for that called " wakf," which is the property of the mosques ; every thing returns to government, from which every thing must be repurchased. According to Volney, the peasants are hired labourers, to whom no more is left than what is barely sufficient to Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. I7J sustain life ; but Browne says, tliat these terms can be properly applied to very few of them. 1076. TJte occupier of the land, assisted by his family, is the cultivator ; and in the operations of husbandry scarcely requires any otlier Eud. He commonly holds no more than he and they can cultivate, and gather the produce of. When, indeed, the Nile rises, those who are employed to water the fields are commonly hired labourers. The rice and corn they gather are carried to their masters, and nothing is reserved for them but dourra, or Indian millet, of which they make a coarse and taste^ less bread without leaven ; this, with water and raw onions, is their only food through- out the year ; and they think themselves happy if they can sometimes procure a little honey, cheese, sour milk, and dates. Their whole clothing consists of a shirt of coarse blue linen and a black cloak. Their head-dress is a sort of cloth bonnet, over which they roll a long handkerchief of red woollen. Their - arms, legs, and breasts are naked, and sume of them do **^ not even wear drawers. Their habitations (^. 139.) are mud-walled huts, in which they are suffocated with heat and smoke, and in which, besides the experience of otlier inconveniences, they are perpetually distressed with the dread of the robberies of the Arabs, and the extortions of the Mamelukes, family feuds, and all Uie < calamities of a perpetual civil war. *1077. The t^ricultural products of Egypt consist of grain of most sorts, and particularly rice. Barley is grown for the horses, but no oats are seen. In the Delta a crop of rice and a crop of barley are obtained within the year on tlie same ground. Sometimes, instead of barley, a fine variety of clover ( Trifolium alexandtinum Forshaht) is sown witiiout ploughing or harrowing. The seed sinks to a sufficient depth in the moist soil, and pro- duces three cuttings before the time for again sowing the rice. 1078. Rice is sown from the month of March to that of May ; and is generally six months in coming to maturity. In reaping, it is most common! y pulled up by the roots. As the use of the flail is unknown in f^ypt, the rice plants are spread in thick layers on floors formed of earth and pigeon's dung, which are well beaten and very clean - and then, in order to separate the grain from the straw, they make use of a sort of carts, constructed like our sledges with two pieces of wood joined together by two cross bars. Between the longer sides of this sledge are fixed, transversely, three rows of small wheels, made of solid iron, and narrowed off towards their circumference ; and on uie fore part is fixed a high seat, on which a man sits, for the purpose of driving two oxen that are harnessed to the machine, thus moving it in a circular direction over every part of the heap of rice, till the grain is completely separated from the straw ; the grain is then spread in the air to be dried. The dried rice is carried to the mill, where it is stripped of its chaflf or husk. This mill consists of a wheel turned by oxen, which sets several levers in motion ; and at their extremity i^ an iron cylinder, about a foot long, and hollow underneath ; these cylinders turn in troughs which contain the grain ; and at the side of each trough there stands a man, whose bu- siness it is to place the rice under the cylinders. The next operation is to sift the rice in the open air, by filling a small sieve, which a man lifts over his head, and thus lets fall, with his face turned to the wind, which blows away the small chaff or dust This cleaned rice is put a second time into the mill, in order to bleach it ; it is afterwards mixed up in troughs with some salt, which contributes very much to its whiteuess and also to its preservation, and in this state it is sold. Rice is furnished in great quantities in the Delta ; and that which is grown in the environs of Rosetta is more esteemed, on account of its pre- paration, than that which is produced in the vicinity of Damietta. The produce of the one and the other IS equally wonderful In a good season, that is, when the rise of the Nile occasions a great expansion of its waters, the profit of the proprietors of rice fields is estimated at fifty per cent, clear of all expenses. Savary says that it produces eighty bushels for one. 1079. Wheat is sown as soon as the waters of the Nile have retired from the lands appropriated to it ; the seed time varies with the latitude, and also the harvest, which is earlier in Upper than in Lower Egypt Near to Syene they sow the barley and the corn in October, and reap it in January. Towards Girge they cut in February ; and in the month of March, in the vicinity of Cairo. This is the usual pro- gress of the harvest in the Said. There is also a number of partial harvests, as the lands are nearer to,, or at a greater distance from, the river, lower or more elevated. In Lower Egypt they are sowing and reaping all the year. Where the waters of the river can be procured the earth is never idle, and fur- nishes three crops annually. In descending from the cataracts in January, the corn is seen almost ripe ; lower down it i^ in ear : and, advancing further, the plains are covered with verdure. The cultivator, in general, merely casts the seed upon the moistened earth ; the corn soon springs up from the mud ; its vegetation is rapid, and four months after it is sown it is fit to be reaped. In performing this operation, the sickle not being used, the stalks are pulled uj} by the roots, and carried to large floors, like those which are used for treading out. rice; and by a similar operation the corn is separated from the ear. Unripe ears of corn are dried and slackly baked in an oven ; and being afterwards bruised and boiled with meat, form a common dish in Lower Egypt, called " ferik." 1080. Flax has been cultivated in Egypt from the most remote period, and is still grown in considerable quantities. Indigo is also grown for dyeing it, the colour of the shirt in this country being universally blue. 1081. From the hempi which is abundantly cultivated in this country, the inhabitants prepare intoxicating liquors ; and also by pounding the fruit into a paste, which when fermented answers a similar purpose ; and they mix the capsules with tobacco for smoking. 1082. The sugar cane is also one of the valuable productions of Egypt, The common people do not wait for the extraction of the sugar, but cut the canes green, which are sold in bundles in all the towns. They begin to ripen in October, but are not, in general, fit to be cut till November or December. The skill of the sugar-refiners is in a very imperfect state. 174 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P*"'' ^• 1083. Fruil trm qfvarmts sprdes abound in this country Among these wo may reclton the "]JTf '™> fig trees wliich yield figs of an exquisite flavour, and the date tree which is to be found every w"«™ '" the Thebais and in the Delta, in the sands as well as in the cultivated districts, requiring little or no cui- turc, and yielding a very considerable profit, on account of the immense consumiition ot its iruii. ino species of palm tree that furnishes dates produces also a bark which, together with its leaves ana ine rind of its fruit, affbrds Hlaments ft-om which are manufactured ropes and sails for bo.its. ine leaves are also used for making baskets and other articles. The very lohg rib of the branches is employal, on ac- and the small tubercles are sent to Constantinople and other towns of the Levant, where they are much valued. The Egyptians express from them a milky juice, which they deem pectoral and emollient ; and give them to nu?ses, in order to increase the quantity of their milk. The banana trees, though not na- tives of the soil of Egypt, are nevertheless cultivated in the northern parts of that country, fhe papaw, or custard-apple tree &na), is also transplanted into the gardens of Egypt, and yields a fnjit equally gratifying to the taste and smelL In the shade of the orchards are cultivated various plants, the roots of which are refVeshed by the water that is conveyed to them by little trenches ; each enclosure having its well or reservoir, from which the water is distributed by a wheel turned , a by oxen. The mallow (Milva rotundlRilia) grows here m abundance : it 140 , M Is dressed with meat, and is one of those herbs that are most generally "^^ consumed in the kitchens of Lower Egypt. 'JlVo other plants used as food, arc the garden Jew's mallow, and the esculent hibiscus. Another tree, which appears to be indigenous in this country, is the " atle," a species of larger tamarisk (TUraarix orientKlis Fvrs/ca/il). The wood of this tree serves for various purposes ; and, among others, for charcoal. It is the only wood that is common in Egypt, either for fuel or for manu- factures. Fenu-greek is cultivated for fodder, though for this use a plant called barsim is preferred. The plant called " helbe " is cried about for sale, in November, in the streets of the towns : and it is purchased and eaten with incredible avidity, without any kind of seasoning. It is pre- tended that it is an excellent stomachic, a specific against worms and tne dysentery, and, in short, a preservative against a great number ot disorders. Lentils form a considerable article of food to the inhabitants of Upper Egypt, who rarely enjoy the luxury of rice. The Egyptian onions are remarkably mild, more so than the Spanish, but not so large. They are of the purest white, and the laminie are of a softer and looser contexture than those of any other species. They deteriorate by trans- plantation ; so that much must depend on the soil and climate. They remain a favourite article of food with all classes ; and it is usual to put a layer or two of them, and of meat, on a spit or skewer, and th us roast them over a charcoal fire. We need not wonder at the desire of the Israelites for the onions of Egypt Leeks are also cultivated and eaten in this country ; and almost all the species of European vegetables abound in the gardens of Rosetta, Millet and Turkey corn, the vine, the hennfi or Egyptian privet, and the water-melon are cultivated in Egypt ; and the country furnishes a variety of medicinal plants, as Carthamus tinctbrius {Jig. 140,), senna, coloquintida, &c. Of late years the cotton has been grown on an extensive scale under the care of European and American cultivators, and the raw produce in part manufactured by machinery sent fVom Britain, and in part exported to Europe. 1084. The live stock of Egyptian agriculture principally consists of the ox, buffalo, lioise, ass, mule, and camel. The oxen of Egypt are employed in'tillage, and in giving motion to a variety of hydraulic machines ; and as they are harnessed so as to draw from the pitch of the shoulder, their withers are higher than those of our country ; and, indeed, they have naturally some resemblance to the bison (Bos f^rus), or hunched ox. It has been said that the cows of Egypt bring forth two calves at a time ; an instance of fe- cundity which sometimes happens, but is not reckoned very common. Their calves are reared to maturity, veal, which is forbidden by the law of the Mohammedans, and from which the Copts also abstain, not being eaten In Egypt. 1085. The bvffalo is more abundant than the ox, and is equally domestic. It is easily distinguishable by the constantly uniform colour of the hair, and still more by a remnant of ferocity and intractability of disposition, and a wild lowering aspect, tlie characteristics of all half-tamed am'mals. The females are reared for the sake of the milk, and the males to be slaughtered and eaten. The flesh is somewhat red, hard, and dry ; and has also a musky smell, which is rather unpleasant. 1086. The horses of Egt/pt rank next to those of tlie Arabians, and are remarkable for their valuable qualities. Here, as in most countries of the East, they are not castrated either for domestic use or for the cavalry. 1087. The asses of Egypt have no less a claim to distinction than the horses ; and these, as well as those of Arabia, are esteemed for vigour and beauty the finest in the world. They are sometimes sold for a higher price than even the horses, as tliey are more hardy, less difficult as to the quality and quantity of their food, and therefore preferred in traversing the deserts. The handsomest asses seen at Cairo are brought from Upper Egypt and Nubia. On ascending the Nile, the influence of climate is per- ceptible in these animals, which are most beautiful in the Said, but are in every respect inferior towards the Delta. With the most distinguished race of horses and asses, Egypt possesses also the finest mules ; some of which, at Cairo, exceed in price the most beautiful horses. 1088. The camel and droTnedary, as every body knows, are the beasts of burden in Egypt, and not only answer all the purposes of our waggons and public convevances, but bear the vehicles {fig. 141.) in which the females of the higher classes pay their visits on extraordinary occasions. Hook I, AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 175 1089. The agricultural implements of Egypt are simple ; but some of them, particularly the contrivances for raising water, very ingenious. The plough is of the rudest kind, as are the cart and spade. 1090. Tlie aperaticms of threshing and sowing have been already described (1078, 1079.) ; that of irrigation is performed as in other countries. At present tliere are eighty canals in use for tliis purpose, some of them twenty, thirty, and forty leagues in lenglh. Tlie lands near the river, as the Delta, are watered directly from it : the water is raised by wheels in the dry season ; and, when the inundation takes place, it is retained on the ^42 fields for a certain time by small embankments made round them. 1091. JV«6io, the Ethiopia of the ancients, is amiserable country or desert, thinly in- habited by a wretched people, who live chiefly on millet, and dwell in groups of mud huts. (Jig. 142.) SuESECT. 3. Present State of Agriculture in the Mohammedan States of the North'qf Africa. 1092. Tliese are Tripoli, Turns, Algiers, and Morocco, territories chiefly on the southern shore of the Mediterranean ; rich and celebrated in the ages of antiquity, but at present depressed by the barbarism and fanaticism -of their rulers, who are in general tributary to the Porte. 1093. Tripoli is generally distinguished into maritime and inland. In neither is there much agriculture ; for the inhabitants of countries on the coast live chiefly by commerce and piracy, and those of the inland parts on plunder and robbery, TTiere are a few fields of grain, chiefly rice, round the capital, date palms, olives, and what is called the lotus tree (ifizyphus Xotus), whose- fruit is reckoned superior to the date, and makes excellent vrine. 1094. The kingdom of Tunis was formerly the chief seat of Carthaginian power. The soil is in general impregnated with marine salt and nitre, and springs of fresh water are more rare than those of salt. But the Tunisians are much more agriculturists than their neighbours either of Tripoli or Algiers. The southern parts of the country are sandy, barren, and parched by a burning sun ; the northern parts enjoy a better soil and tem- perature,' and are more under cultivation : near the sea, the country is rich in olive trees : the western part abounds in mountains and hills, and is watered by numerous rivulets ; it is extremely fertile, and produces the finest and most abundant crops. The first rains commonly fall in September, and then the farmers break up the ground, sow their grain, and plant beans, lentils, and garvancos. By May following harvest com- mences ; and we may judge of its productiveness by what the Carthaginians experienced of old. The ox and the buffalo are the principal beasts of labour, and next the ass, mule, and horse. The zebu, or humped ox (fig. 143.), considered by many naturalists as a distinct species, is common both in this and other kingdoms of northern Africa. 1095. The territory o/" Algiers, in an agricultural point of view, is chiefly distinguished by the fertile plain of Mettijiah, a vast country which stretches fifly miles in length, and twenty in breadth, to the foot of one of the branches of Mount Atlas. This plain is watered by several streams, the soil is light and fertile, and it is better cultivated tlian any other district of the Hi 176 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pait '• kingdom. The country-seats and masharcas, as the call the farms of the principal inha- tants of Algiers, are found in tliis plain ; and it is chiefly from it that the metropolis is supplied with provisions. Flax, alhenna, roots, potherbs, rice, fruit, and grain ot all kinds are produced here to such perfection, that the Mettijiah may be justly reckoned the garden of the whole kingdom. • i, i • j 1096. In the hdimd provinces are immense tracts of country wholly uninhabited and uncultivated. There are also extensive tracts of brushwood, and some timber forests. The fertility of the soil decreases in approaching Sahara or the Desert, although in its borders, and even in the desert itself there are some districts which are capable of culti- vation, and which produce corn, figs, and dates. These regions are inhabited by no- madical tribes, who, valuing themselves on their independence, endure with fortitude and resignation tlie inconveniences attending their condition, and scarcely regret the want of those advantages and comforts that pertain to a civilised state of society. 1097. The seed-time here, as in Tunis, is during the months of October and November, when wheat, bailey, rice, Indian com, millet, and various kinds of pulse, are sown. In six months the crops are harvested, trodden out by oxen or horses, winnowed by throwing with a shovel against the wind, and then lodged in subterraneous magazines. *1098. The empire of Morocco is an extensive territory of mountains and plains, and chiefly an agricultural country. The mountains consist of limestone or clay, or a mix- ture of both, and no vestiges appear of granite, on which they are supposed to rest. The climate is temperate and salubrious, and not so hot as the situation would lead us to suppose. The rains are regular in November, though the atmosphere is not loaded with clouds : January is summer ; and in March barley harvest commences. The soil consists either of pure sand often passing into quicksand, or of pure clay ; and is often so abundantly mixed with iron ochre, that agricultural productions, such as wax, gum, wool, &c., are distinguished by a reddish tint, which, in the wool, cannot be removed by washing or bleaching. Cultivation, in this country, requires little labour, and, in general, no manure ; all weeds and herbaceous plants, not irrigated, are, at a certain season, burnt up by the sun, as in some parts of Spain (745. ) ; the ground, being then perfectly clean and dry, is rendered friable and easily pulverised by the rains ; and one rude stirring suffices both for preparing the soil and covering the seed. The pro- duce in wheat, rice, millet, maize, barley, and chick-peas (Cicer ariednum), is often sixty fold ; thirly fold is held to be an indifferent harvest. 1099. In general they make use of no manure except that which is left on the fields by their flocks and herds. But the people who inhabit places near forests and woods avail themselves of another method to render the soil productive. A month or two before the rains commence, the farmer sets fire to the underwood, and by this confla- gration clears as much land as he intends to cultivate. The soil, immediately after this treatment, if carefully ploughed, acquires considerable fertility, but is liable soon to be- come barren, unless annually assisted by proper manure. This system of burning down the woods for the sake of obtaining arable land, though not generally permitted in states differently regulated from this, is allowable in a country, the population of which bears so small a proportion to the fertility of the soil, and in which the most beautiful tracts are suffered to remain unproductive from want of hands to cultivate them. In this manner the nomadic Arab proceeds in his conflagrations, till the whole neighbourhood around him is exhausted ; he then packs up his tents and travels in search of another fertile place where to fix his abode, till hunger again obliges him to continue his migra- tion. Thus it is computed, that at one and the same time no more than a third part of the whole country is in a state of cultivation. 1100. The live stock of Morocco consists of numerous flocks and herds. Oxen of a small breed are plentiful, and also camels; the latter animal being used in agriculture, for travelling, and for food. ITie horses are formed for fleetness and activity, and taught to endure fatigue, heat, cold, hunger, and thirst. Mules are much used, and the breed is encouraged. Poultry is abundant in Morocco ; pigeons are excellent ; par- tridges are plentiful ; woodcocks are scarce, but snipes are numerous in the season ; the ostrich is hunted both for sport and for profit, as its feathers are a considerable article of traffic ; hares are good, but rabbits are confined to the northern part of the empire, from Saracha to Tetuan. Fallow deer, the roebuck, the antelope, foxes, and other animals of Europe, are not very abundant in Morocco; lions and tigers are not uncommon in some parts of the empire ; of all the species of ferocious animals found in tiiis empire, the wild boar is the most common : the sow has several litters in the year, and her young, which are numerous, serve as food for the lion. 1101. The nomadic agriculturists form themselves into encampments, called douhats (^Jig. 144.), composed of numerous tents, which form a circle or crescent, and their flocks and herds returning from pasture occupy the centre. Each douhar has a chief, who is invested with authority for superintending and governing a number of these en- campments ; and many of the lesser subdivisions are again reunited under the govern- Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA, 144 177 ment of a bashaw; some of whom have 1000 douhars under theif command. Their tents, of a conical fonn, about eight or ten feet high in the centre, and from twenty to twenty-five in length, are made of twine composed of goats' hair, camels' wool, and the leaves of the wild palm, so that they keep out water ; but, being black, their appear- ance at a distance is not agreeable. In camp the Moors live in the utmost simplicity, and pre^nt a faithful picture of the earth's inhabitants in the first ages. In the milk and wool of their flocks, they find every tMng necessary for their food and clothing. It is their custom to have several wives, who are employed in all domestic aiFairs. Beneath their ill-secured tents they milk their cows and make butter ; they sort and sift their wheat and barley ; prepare vegetables ; and grind fiour with a mill composed of two round stones, eighteen inches in diameter, in the upper one of which is fixed a handle by which it is made to turn upon an axle. They daily make bread, which they bake between two earthen plates, and very often on the ground heated by fire. 1 102. No alteration in the agriculture of Morocco seems to have taken place for several centuries, owing to the insecurity of its. government ; every thing being despotic ; and property in land, as well as the person and life, being subject to tlie caprice of tlie sovereign, and to the laws of the moment. SuBSECT. 4. Of the present Stale of Agriculture on the Western Coast of Africa. 1 103. Of the innumerable tribes which occupy the western coast of Africa, the principal are the Jalefs and Foulahs, and of the former little' is known. The remaining part of the country consists of the territories of Benin, Loango, and Congo. 1 104. The soil of the FoiUah country is fertile. The inhabitants are said to be diligent as fanners and graziers, and to raise millet, rice, to- bacco, cotton, peas, carob beans (Ceratuniasiliqua) \Jig, 145.), roots, and fruits in abundance. Their live stock, however, constitutes their chief wealth, and, accordingly, pursuing a kind of wandering life, they roam, firom field to field and flrom country to country, with large droves of cows, sheep, goats, and horses ; removing, as the wet and dry seasons require, irom the low to the high lands, and continue no longer in one place than the pasture for their cattle will allow. The inconvenience and labour of this roving life are augmented by the defence they are obliged to provide against the depredations of the fierce animals with which the country abounds ; as they are molested by lions, tigers, and elephants, from the land, and crocodiles from the rivers. At night they collect their herds and flocks within a circle of huts and tents in which they live, and where they light fires in order to deter these animals from approaching them. During the day they often place their children on elevated platforms of reeds {Jig. 146.) for security from wild beasts, wjiile they are nunting or pursuing other labours. Tne elephants are so nu- merous, that they appear in droves of 200 together, plucking up the small trees, and destroying whole fields of corn ; so that they have recourse to hunting, not merely as a pastime, but as the means of self- preservation. 1105. The English settlement of Sierra Leone is situated to the west of the country of the Foulalis, on the liver Senegal. It was formed in 1787, for the benevolent purpose of promoting African civil- isation. A tract of land was purchased from the prince of the country, and a plantation established, in which are cultivated rice, cotton, sugar, pep- per, tobacco, and other products. Gum arable (Mimosa nilotica) (Jig. 147.) and other valuable articles are procured from the native woods. In these woods the pine-apple grows wild in the greatest abundance and luxuriance. The fruit is large and highly flavoured, and, when in season, may be pur., chased -by strangers at -less than a halfpenny each.' A meal in common use by the natives is made from N 178 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part L the pounded roots of the manioca (J^tropha MdnVtot), This meal, after being first ground from the root, is made into a pulp and pressed to get rid of a poisonous juice. It is then redried and constitutes -a. wholesome farina, which forms almost the entire food of the slaves. 147 1106. Benfn is an extensive country, very productive of Aruits, trees, and plants, including the orange, cocoa, cotton, &C. ; and abounding In animals, among which are enumerated civet cats, and a sort of hairy sheep. Agri- culture, however, is httle attended to, the chief object being the commerce of slaves. 1107. The inhabitants^/ Loan^o, instead of cultivating the land, content themselves with bread and fish, and such fruits, greens, and pulse, as the soil naturally pro- duces. Cocoas, oranges, or lemons are not much cul- tivated ; but sugar-canes, cassia, and tobacco, as well as the palm, banana, cotton, and pimento trees, grow here plentifully. They have also a great variety of roots, herbs, fVuits, grain, and other vegetables, of which they make bread, or which they use for food. They have few quadrupeds for domestic use, except goats and hogs ; but poultry and various sorts of game are abundant. Among the wild beasts they have the zebra, and a great number of elephants, whose teeth they exchange with the Europeans for iron. 1 108. Congo is an extensive and very fertile country j but the inhabitants are indolent, and neglect its culture. The operations of digging, sowing, reaping, cutting wood, grinding corn, and fetching water, they leave to their wives and slaves. Under their management, several sorts of grain and pulse are culti- vated, especially maize, of which they have two crops in a year : but such is the heat of the climate, that wheat will not produce plump seeds; it shoots rapidly up into the straw and ear, the former high enough to hide a man on horseback, and the latter unfilled. Grass grows to a great height, and affords sheltering places for a number of wild animals and noisome reptiles and insects. The Portuguese have introduced a variety of palm and other fruit trees, which are adapted for producing human food in such a climate. i 1109. The baobab {Adansbnia, di^itata) is a native of Congo. This tree, discovered by the celebrated French botanist, Adanson, is considered the largest in the world : several, measured by this gentleman, were from sixty-five to seventy-eight feet in circumference, but not extraordinarily high. The trunks; at the height of from twelve to fifteen feet, divided into many horizontal branches, which touched the ground at their extremities ; the^e were from forty-five to fifty-five feet long, and were so large that each branch was equal to a monstrous tree ; and where the water of a neighbouring, river had washed away the earth so as to leave the roots of one of these trees bare and open to the sight, they measured one iiundred and ten feet long, without including those parts of the roots which remained covered. It yields a fruit which resembles a gourd, and which serves for vessels of various uses ; the bark furnishes then^ with a coarse thread which they form into ropes, and into a cloth with which tlie natives cover their middle from the girdle to the knees : and the small leaves supply them with food in a time of scarcity, while the large ones are used for cover- ing their houses, or are by burning manufactured into good soap. At Sierra Leone, this tree does not grow larger than an orchard apple- tree. HIO. Of the bark qf the infanda treCy and also of the mulemba, re- aerabling in many respects our laurel, they form a kind of stuff or cloth, which is fine, and used for cloaks and girdles by persons of the highest rank. The butter tree (Jig. 148.) affbrds an excellent substitu^te for that European luxury. With the moss that grows about the trunk, the rich commonly stuff their pillows ; and the Giagas apply it to their wounds with good effect: with the leaves the Moors cover their houses, and they draw from these trees, by incision, a pleasant liquor like wine, vhich, however, turns sour in five or six days. 1111. Among other fruits and rooto, they have the vine, which was brought thither from Candia, and yields grapes twice a year. 1112. r^f ^/vej>'2ocA common to other agricultural countries are here much neglected ; but the Portuguese settlers have directed their atten- tion to cows, sheep, and goats, chiefly on account of their milk. Like most parts of Africa, this country swarms with wild animals. Among these, the zebra, buffalo, and wild ass are hunted, and made useful as food or in commerce. The dante, a kind of ox, the skin of which is sent into Germany to be tanned and made into targets called dantes, abounds, and also the cameleon, a great variety of monkeys, and all the sorts of domestic poultry and game. SuBSECT. 5. Of the jyresent State of ylgriculture at the Cape of Good Hope, 1113. Tfie Dutch colonised the Cape of Good Hope in 1660, and the English obtained possession of it in 1795. 1114. The climate of this Cape is not unfriendly to vegetation ; but it is so situated, within the influence of periodical winds, that the rains ai« very unequal, descending in torrents during the cold season, though hardly a shower falls to refresh the earth in the hot summer months, when the dry south-east winds prevail. These winds blast the foliage, blossom, and fruit, of all those trees that are not well sheltered ; nor is the human constitution secure against their injurious influence. As a protection from these winds, the colonists who inhabit the nearest side of the first chain of mountains, beyond which their effect does not very sensibly extend, divide that portion of their ground which is appropriated to fruit groves, vineyards, and gardens, by oak screens; but they leave their com lands altogether open. The temperature of the climate at the Cape is re- markably affected by local circumstances. In summer the thermometer is generally Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 179 between 70° and 80°, and sometimes between SO'' and 90°, but scarcely ever eTiceeds 95°. Ills. The surface of the country consists of some mountains and extensive barren- looking plains. The upper regions of all tlie chains of mountains are naked masses of sand-stone ; the valleys beneath them are clothed with grass, with tliickets, and in some cases with impenetrable forests. The inferior hills or knolls, whose surfaces are generally composed of loose fragments of sandstone, as well as the wide sandy plains that connect them, are thinly strewed over with heaths and other shrubby plants, exhibiting to tlie eye a uniform and dreary appearance. In the lowest part of these plains, where the waters subside, and, filtering through the sand, break out in springs upon the surface, vegetation is somewhat more luxuriant. In such situations the farm-houses are generally placed ; and the patches of cultivated ground contiguous to them, like the oases in die sandy deserts, may be considered as so many verdant islands in the midst of a bound- less waste. 1116. Soils, in this tract of country, are generally either a stiflFclay, impenetrable by the plough till they are soaked by much rain ; or light and sandy, tinged with red, and 'ibounding with small round quartzose pebbles. A black vegetable mould seldom ap- pears, except in patches of garden-ground, vineyards, and orchards, that surround the habitations, where, by long culture, manure, and the fertilising influence of springs or ritis of water, the soil is so far mellowed as to admit the spade at all seasons of tlie year.. The extensive plains, known in the colony by the Hottentot name of karroo, which are interspersed between the great chains of mountains, exhibit a more dismal appearance than the lower plains, which are chequered with patches of cultivated ground ; and their hard surfaces of clay, glistening with small crystals of quartz, and condemned to per- petual drought and aridity, are ill adapted to vegetation. The hills that break these barren plains are chiefly composed of fragments of blue slate, or masses of felspar, and argillaceous limestone. However, in those karroo plains that are tinged with iron, and .ve capable of being watered, the soil is extremely productive. In such situations, more especially in the vicinity of the Cape, they have the best grapes, and the best fruit of every sort. The great scarcity of water in summer is much more unfavourable to an extended cultivation than either the soil or the climate. 1117. Landed property was held by the original Dutch from the government of tlie Cape on four different tenures. The flrst tenure was that of a yearly lease renewable for ever, on condition of payment of a certain rent, not in general exceeding eiglit tenths of a farthing per acre ; the second tenure, a sort of perpetual holding subject to a small rent ; the third, a holding on flfceen years* leases at a quit-rent, renewable ; and the last W.1S that of real estate or freehold, the settler having purchased his farm at once for a certain sum. The second tenure is th€ most common in tlie colony. The lands were originally measured out and allotted in the following manner : a stake was stuck as near the centre of the future estate as could be guessed, and a man, starting thence, walked for half an hour in a straight line, to each of the four points of the compass ; giving thus the radii of a circle that comprised a 9|)ace of about 6000 acres. 1118. Of tliese extensive farms, the greater part is, of course, mere sheep and cattle walks. They break up for tillage, patches here and there, where the plough can be directed with the least difficulty, or tiie soil is most inviting for the purpose. A slight scattering of manure is sometimes used, but more frequently none at all ; and it is astonishing to see the crops this soil, and even the lightest sands, will produce with so little artificial stimulus. Seventeen successive crops of wheat without any manure have been taken. When the land is somewhat exhausted by a succession of crops, they break up fresh ground, and the old is suffered to lie fallow, as they term it, for many years ;' that is, it is permitted to throw up plentiful crops of huge bushes and heath till its turn comes round again, which may be in about seven years, when tliere is the trouble of breaking it up anew. The sheep and cattle are permitted to stray at pleasure, or are, perhaps, intrusted to the care of a Hottentot. 1119. The agricultural products of the Cape farmers are chiefly wheat and other grains, pulse, wine, and brandy, wool, hides, and skins, dried fruits, aloes, and tobacco. The returns of grain and pulse are from ten to seventy, according to the nature of the soil and the supply of water. Barley, i. e. bere or bigg, is very productive, and is used only for feeding horses. Rye and oats run much to straw, and are chiefly used as green fodder. Indian com thrives well, and is very productive ; and various kinds of millet, kidneybeans, and other pulse, are extensively cultivated. The wheat is generally heavier^ and yields a finer flour, than that of England. It is all spring wheat, being sown fnim the month of April to June. The returns are very various in the different soils ; some farmers declare that they have reaped sixty and eighty for one ; the average may be from twenty to thirty ; but it is impossible to come to a true estimate upon this point, as no- farmers can tell you the exact quantity sown upon a given quantity of acres. The crops seem to be remarkably precarious, failing sometimes for three or four years in succession. N 2 180 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part L and the fruit, though small, is of excellent quality. Dried peaches, apricots, pears, and apples are only plentiful, but iood of their kind ; dried grapes, or ra.sins, are not so weU managt-4 Potash is i cured from a species of SalsMa which grows on the deserts; and with this and the fat of sheeps' tails 112a rfa vine, howerer, ia the most profitable, and what may be considered the staple "''<='« "'"'''"'l; Better grapes are not produced in any part of the world ; but the art of making wine »"° """"y''"? them admits of much improvement. Ten or twelve different kinds of wine are at PJ™ent manuiacturea, having a distinct davour and quality, according to the farms on which they are producM. „„„_,,,„, 1121. The celebrated Comtantia wine is made on two farms of that name, close under the mountaini between Table Bay and False Bay. The white wine of that name is made on the farm called Little con. stantia, and the other produces the red. The grape is the muscadel, and the rich quality of the wine w owing partly to the situation and soil of the vineyards, and partlylo the care uken in manufacturing the wine.* ^0 Stalks, nor any berries but such as are 'fully ripe, are suffered to go under the pras ; precautions rarely taken by the other farmers of the Cape. The muscadel grape grows on every farm ; and on some farms in Drakenstein the wine pressed from it is as good as the Constantia^if not superior to ilj though Jold, on account of the name of the latter, at one sixth part of the price. When they find that the wmc is ti be sent abroad, they adulterate it with some other wine : f"'. SJ':°"'^'"8 '.° '''^'^ ™" '^*"™> 't° quantity exported and consumed in Cape Town, as in the case of Madeira wine, greatly exceeds the 'Tlili'^T^B ™OTon"5 a very productive tree at the Cape ; the tree thrives in the driest and worst soil, n is pro- cured ti-om a species of saisoia wnicn grows on me ueeciLOi «"« «.».«..» «.-« ...^ — -I sheepB' tails the farmers make their soap. The berries of the candleberry myrtle (Jl/yrlca cerffera) supply a vegetable wax sold at Cape Town in large green cakes, from which odoriferous candles are made. 1123. The A'loe soccotrlna and perfoliata cover large tracts of ground, and these afford the inspissated juice or resin of the apothecaries. The leaves of the plant are cut off one by one, and, as they are cut, thrown into tubs. In a day or two after they are thrown in, the juice will have run out of itself, when the leaves are taken out and used as manure. The juice is then either clarified in the sun or by boiling,, and when dry, cut into cakes and packed up for sale. 1124. The tobacco grown at the Cape is said to be as good as that of Virginia. Enough is grown for home consumption, which is considerable, but none for exportation. 1125. 1 lie live stock of the Cape farmers chiefly consists of oxen, horses, sheep, swine, and poultry. There are only some districts adapted to grazing ; and the farmers who follow^ this department are in a much less civilised state than the others. The flocks and herds: wander over immense tracts, for the use of which a rent or tax according to the numbei of beasts is paid. At night they are brought home to folds or kraals, which are close to, the huts of the farmers, and are represented as places of intolerable filth and stench. 1126. The native cattle of the Cape are hardy, long-legged, bony animals, more in the,, coach-horse line than fitted for the shambles. They are bad milkers, probably from the bad quality and scanty supplies of forage. 1 127. The she^ are wretched beasts, more resembling goats, with wool that might be taken for fVizzly . hair, and is in fact only used for stutling chairs, or for like pur^ses ; the other parts of the body seem drained to supply the accumulation of fat upon the tail which weighs fVom six to twelve pounds. , 1128. The MerinoSt of which there are a few fiocks, do very well: they are much degenerated for want of changing, and a proper selection of rams. 1129. The Ryeland, or Southdown sheep, would be a great acquisition here; for the Cape mutton forms, a detestable food. 1130. The Cope Aorse, which is not indigenous, but was introduced originally from Java, is a small,' active, spirited animal ; a mixture of the Spanish and Arabian, capable of undergoing great fatigue; and,' as a saddle-horse, excellently adapted to the country. As a draught-horse for the farmer he is too small ; and the introduction of a few of the Suffolk punch breed would be a real benefit to the colony, as well as a source of profit to the importer. 1131. Pigs are scarce in the colony amongst the farmers ; it is difficult to say why, except that there; is more trouble in feeding them, and they cannot be turned to graze like sheep. Poultry is, for the same reason, neglected. Indeed, bad mutton may be said to be the only food of the colonists. 1132. The agricultural implements and operations of the Cape farmers are said to be performed in the rudest manner, and their crops are thought to depend principally on the goodness of the soil and climate. The plough of rfie Dutch farmers is a couple of heavy boards nailed together, and armed with a clumsy share, which it requires a dozen oxen to work. Their harrow, if they use any at all, is composed of a few brambles. Their waggons (which will carry about thirty Winchester bushels, or a ton-weight, and are generally drawn by sixteen and sometimes twenty oxen) are well constructed to go tilting up and down the precipitous passes of the kloofs with» safety ; but they have no variety for the difiPerent roads. Burchell has given a portrait of one of these imposing machines. (^. 149.) Their method of beating out the com is well known ; the rfieaves 4V'17Sigil|li|il{ are spread on a circular floor, surrounded by a low wall, with which every farm is supplied. The farmer's^ whole stock of brood marcs and colts are then turned in, and a black man, standing in the centre, with a long wliip to enforce his authority, the whole herd are compelled to frisk and canter round till the com is trampled out of Book I. AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 18< the ear. This is termed tramping out. The winnowing is performed by tossing the trampled grain and dung in the air with shovels, or by exposing it to the wind in a sieve. *1133. The agriciiUure of the Cnpe appears capable of much improvement, were tlie farmers less indolent, and more ambitious of enjoying the comforts and luxuries of exist- ence. Barrow is of opinion that there might be produced an abundance of corn, cattle, and wine, for exportation ; but tliat, to effect this, " it will be necessary to procure a new race of inhabitants, or to change the nature of the old ones." At the suggestion of this writer, an attempt was recently made by government to settle a number of British families in the district of the Albany, an immense plain 60 or 70 miles long, by about 80 broad ; but after remaining there a year, the greater number of them were obliged to leave that district on account of its unsuitableness for arable culture. A considerable part returned to England, others remained and became servants in the colony, and a few who had some property left, took land in more favourable situations, Pringle, who has given an account of this settlement (1824), describes the deplorable situation of the greater number of 5000 individuals who had fixed themselves there, and ascribes their calamities more to the nature of their situation than to any other cause. Other districts, he contends, might have been chosen much better adapted for the plough and the spade, while the low and fertile region of Albany might have been usefully occupied as a sheep pasture. With all the deficiencies of the country and climate, he says, if things are properly managed, the Cape is not a worse land to live in than any other English colony. Comparing his own account, however, with the description of other colonies, especially Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, we should be disposed to differ from him in opinion, and to prefer the latter settlements. (Pringle's Present State of ^tbam/. South ^JHca, 12mo, 1S24.) 1134. lit the interior of the country are many tribes of whom little or nothing is known ; but some of which are every now and then ' brought into notice by modern travellers. Some have been visited, for the first time, by the missionary Campbell j and the account he gives of their agriculture, manufactures, and customs id often very curious. It is astonishing how J^\ Ki ^^ ingenious he found some tribes in cutlery and pottery ; and die neatness and regularity of the houses of others are equally re- markable. In one place the I l^o'iises were even tasteful ; they were conical, and enclosed by large circular fences (Jig.XSO.) ; and he found them threshing out the corn on raised circular threshing-floors (a), with flails, much in the same manner as we do. 1 1 35. Tlie unimproved Hotten- tots form their huts {Jig< 151.) of mats bound on a skeleton of poles or strong hoops. (Jig. 152.) Their form is hemispherical ; they are entered by a low door, which has a mat shutter, and they are sur- rounded by a reed or mat fence to exclude wild animals and re- tain fuel and cattle. Attempts to introduce European forms of cottages have been made by the missionaries, which, with a know- ledge of the more useful arts, will no doubt in time humanise and refine them. The missionary Kiishe conducted Burchell along the valley of Genadendal, to exliibit the progress which the Hotten- tots, under his instruction, had made in horticulture and domestic order. The val- ley is a. continued maze of gardens and fruit trees. " The huts {fg. 153.), un- like those of Hottentot construction, are a rude imitation of the quadrangular build- ings of the colonist. They are generally from ten to fifteen feet long, and from eight to ten wide, having an earthen floor and walls white-washed on their inside, composed of rough unhewn poles, filled up N 3 isa HISTORY QF AGRICULTURE. Part I: 154 between with reeds and rushes plastered with mud, and the whole covered with a ■ - - _^,^ , J Kg roof of thatch. The eaves being in ge- leral not higher I from the ground han four or six . feet, the doors could lot be entered with- )ut stooping. A imall ungJazed win- dow admitted light, but there was nei* ther chimney nor any other opening in the roof by which the smoke might escape. {Burchell's Travels, i. 112.) 1136. T/ie cattle of all the Hottentot and other tribes are kept in circular folds during night ; and it is remarkable that these folds are the only burial places known to be in use among that people. " Com is preserved in what may be termed large jars, of various dimensions, but most commonly between four and five feet high and three wide. The shape of these corn jars is nearly that of an egg shell, having its upper end cut off: sometimes their mouth is contracted in a manner which gives them a great resemblance to a European oil-jar. They are formed vrith stakes and branches fixed into the ground and interwoven with twigs ; this frame-work being afterwards plastered vrithin and without with loam and Cow-dung. Frequently, the bottoms of these jars are raised about six inches or a foot above the ground ; and the lower part of the stakes, being then uncovered, gives them the appearance of standing on short legs. Their contents are usually protected by a covering of skin or straw." This mode of keeping their corn and beans, Burchell observes, shows a degree of ingenuity equal to that which is dis- played in the construction of their houses, and is to be admired for its simplicity and perfect adequateness to the purpose. . In the dwellings of the richer inhabitants, the back part of the houses is completely filled with jars of this kind. (^Travels, ii. 520.) 1137. The natives of the South of Africa live much on bulbous roots, of which their country is naturally more productive -than any other. Burchell has enumerated a considerable number which he saw them use. One of the most remarkable grows on the mountains of Graf- reynet, and is called Hottentot's bread ( Tamus ele- phantipes fieri*., Testudinariaeleph4ntipeSjBMTO/i.). {fig- 154.) Its bulb stands entirely above ground, and grows to an enormous size, frequently three feet in height and diameter. It is closely studded with angular ligneous protuberances, which give it some resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. The inside is a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a turnip, both in substance and colour. From the top of this bulb arise several annual stems, the branches of which have a disposition to tvnne round any shrub within reach. The taste of this bulb is thought to resemble that of the yam of the East Indies, the plant being closely allied to the genus Dioscorea. {Burchell's Travels, ii. 147.) 1138. TAe £acAajDiws are a people of the interior of South Africa, who were visited by Burchell. Their agriculture, he says, is extremely simple and artless. It is performed entirely "by women. To prepare the ground for sowing, they pick it up to the depth of about four inches, with a kind of hoe or mattock, which differs in nothing from a carpenter's adze but in being twice or thrice as large. The com they sow is the Caffre corn or Guinea com, a variety of millet (flolcus Sorghum Caffrorum). They cultivate also a kind of kidneybean, and eat the ripe seeds ; they likewise raise water-melons, pumpkins, and the calabash gourd for the use of its shell as a domestic vessel for drinking and other purposes. They are in- ordinate smokers of tobacco, but they do not cultivate the plant. Burchell gave them some potatoes and peach stones to cultivate, which pleased them exceedingly, and for which they were very thankful. {Travels, ii. 518.) 1139. ne Bushman spade {fie. 15S.) is a pointed stick about three feet long, to which there is affixed, about the middle, a stone to increase its power in digging up bulbous roots. This stone is about five inches in diameter, and is cut or ground very regularly to a round form,-and perforated with a liole large enough to receive the stick and a wedge by which it is fixed to its place. {Burchell s Travels, ii. oO.) ■» J . Book I, AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA. 183 SuBSECT. 6. Of the present State of ^gncvUure on the Eastern Coitst of Africa, and in the ytjncan Islands^ 1140. Of the various countries on the eastern const of Africa the chief is Mocaranga, the agriculture of which may be considered as a specimen of that of the savage tribes of the other states. The climate is temperate, though the mountains called Supata, or the spine of tlie world, forming a, great chain from north to south, are perpetually covered with snow j the air clear and salubrious ; and the soil fertile and well watered, so that its pastures feed a great number of cattle, more valued by the inhabitants than their gold. The inland parts of tlie country, however, are sandy, dry, and barren. The products of the country on the coast, are rice, millet, and maize, but no wheat ; sugar canes and cotton are found both wild and cultivated. They are without the ox and horse, but elephants, ostriches, and a great variety of wild animals abound in the forests. Accord- ing to the doubtful accounts of this country, the king, on days of ceremony, wears a little spade hanging by his side as an emblem of cultivation. 1141. The Island of Madagascar is celebrated for its fertility, and the variety of its productionsi Its climate is mild and agreeable; and the surface of the country is divided into the eastern and western provinces by a range of mount^l^^^_ a two-horse and his axa out another cent in hi waggon, containing his mea-nsof bbt^ning a supply of flour, he depe-nd-ed"o'„^'hrsTunfoSsisrc4?^ 'iS i^Sl^^^Z^li 5ooK I. AGRICULTUKE IN NORTH AMERICA. 187 was compelled, after hia ^ay*8 work, to wade through the evening dews, up to the waist in long grass or bushes i and, returning, found nothing to lie on but a bear's skin on the cold ground, exposed to every blast through the sides, and every shower through the open roof of his wretched dwelling, which he did not even attempt to close, till the approach of winter, and often not then. Under such distresses of extreme toil and exposure, debarred from every comfort, many valuable lives have sunk, which have been charged to the climate. The individual whose case is here included had to carry the little grain he could procure twelve miles to be ground, and remembers once seeing at the mill a man who had brought his corn sixty miles, and was compelled to wait three days for his turn. Such are the difficulties which these pioneers nave to encounter j but they diminish as settlements approach each other, and are only heard of by their successors, 1167. The political circumstances of the United States affect the agriculturist both as to the cost of production and the value of produce. It is evident that the want of popula- tion must render the price of labour high, and the produce of land low. In this Parkinson, Birkbeck, Cobbett, and all who have written on the agriculture of America, agree. ** The simple produce of the soil," Birkbeck observes, ** that is to say, grain, is cheap in America ; but every other article of necessity and convenience is dear in comparison. Every service performed for one man by another must be purchased at a high rate, much higher than in England.'* The cheapness of land affords the posses- sion of independence and comfort at so easy a rate, that strong inducements of profit are required to detain men in tlie condition of servitude. Hence the high price of all com- modities, not simply agricultural ; of the labour of mechanics of every description ; and hence also the want of local markets for grain, because where three fourths of the population raise their own grain (which is the calculation), the remaining fourth will- use but a moderate proportion of the spare produce. The low rate of land and taxes and this want of home markets form the reason why the American farmer, notwith- standing the price of labour, affords his grain so cheap for exportation. Although the rate of produce is low, the profits of the American farmers are high, on account of the small capital required. With 20002. Birkbeck calculates that a farm of 640 acres, in the Illinois, may be purchased, stocked, and cultivated, so as to return, after deducting all expenses, twenty-two per cent, besides the value of the improvements made on the land, that is, its increased value, which, as has already been stated (1164.), is incredible, in a very short time. 1168. The agricultural jyroducts of the United Stales include all those' of Britain and France. The British grains, herbage, plants, and fruits are grown in every district. What appears at first sight very remarkable is, that in America the native pastures (except- on the banks of the rivers) consist entirely of annuals ; and that is the reason why thei country is generally bare and black in winter ; but perennial grasses, when sown in the uplands, are found to thrive in many situations. The greatest quantity of wheat is' grown in Pennsylvania and New England. Maize- ripens in all the districts, except- some of the most northerly. Rice is cultivated in Virginia, and on the Ohio ; and the vine is indigenous in these and other provinces, though its culture has not yet been much attempted. Some French cultivators are of opinion that the American soil and climate are unfavourable ; this, however, is not likely to be the case, it being a native df the country. The government have established a Swiss colony for its culture, at- Veyay, in Indiana ; and another in Louisiana, for the culture of the olive. The mul- berry, the cotton, and the sugar-cane are cultivated in Virginia, but not extensively. Sugar is procured plentifully in the woody districts, by tapping different species of .s "ot the case, from want of stock ; and by-the native American farmers, from indolence, which, according to all accounts. Is their general defect. An American labourer is most expert, at the use of the axe and the scythe ; the spade he handles in a very awkward manner, and has no idea of banking, hedging, clipping or cutting hedges, and many other oper- ations known to every labourer in a highly cultivated and enclosed country bke Britain. But the versatility of talent of an American labourer amply compensates «"• his inex- perience in these operations, and is more useful in bis circumstances. In handling the saw, the hammer, and even the trowel, the British labourer has no chance with him. Most of them can build a house, mend a plough or waggon and even the harness, and kill and dress sheep and pigs. 1171. Field labours in America require to be performed with much greater expedition than in England. The winter is long and severe, and the transition to spring is sudden ; this season in many provinces only lasts a few weeks, when summer commences, and the ground becomes too hard and dry for the operations of tillage. The operations of seed- time must therefore be performed with the greatest rapidity. The climate of New York may be reckoned one of the best in Korth America. There the ground is covered with snow, or rendered black by frost, in the beginning of December, and continues without a speck of green till May. Ploughing generally begins in the last week of April ; oats are sown in that month ; and maize and potatoes aboul the middle of May. By the end of May the wheat and rye which has stood the winter, the spring-sown com, the grass, and the fruit trees appear as forward as they are. at the same period in England. There is very little rain during June, July, and August. Cherries ripen in the last week of June; by the middle of July the harvest of wheat, rye, oats, and barleyj is half over ; ' pears ripen in the beginning of August ; maize {Jig. 159.), rye, and wheat are sown during the whole of October ; com is cut in the first week of September ; peaches and apples are ripe by the end of the monft ; the general crop of potatoes is dug up in the beginning of November ; and also turnips and other roots taken up and housed ; a good deal of rain falls in September, October, and November, and severe frosts commence in the first week of December, and, as above stated, ; continue till the last week of April. Such is the I agricultural year in the country of New York. • Live stock require particular attention during the long winter ; and unless a good stock of Swedish turnip, carrot, or other roots, has been laid up for them, they will generally be found in a very wretched state m April and May. 1172. Tlw civil circumstances of the United States are unfavourable to the domestic enjoyments of a British farmer emigrating thither. Many privations must be suffered at first, and some, probably, for one or two generations to come. The want of society seems an obvious drawback ; but this Birkbecjt has shown not to be so great as might be imagined. When an emigrant settles among American farmers, he will generally find them a lazy ignorant people, priding themselves in their freedom, and making little use of their privileges ; but, when he settles among other emigrants, he meets at least with people who have seen a good deal of the world and of life ; and who display often great energy of character. These cannot be considered as uninteresting, whatever may be their circum- stances as to fortune ; and, when there is something like a parity in this respect and in intellectual circumstances, the social bond will be complete. It must be considered that one powerfully operating circumstance must exist, whatever be the difference of circumstances or intellect ; and that is, an agreement in politics both as to the country left and that adopted. For the rest, the want of society may be, to a certain degree, supplied by the press ; there being a regular post in every part of the United States, and numerous American and European newspapers and periodical works circulated there. Birkbeck mentions that the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, the Monthly and other Magazines, and the London newspapers are as regularly read by him at the prairie in Illinois, as they were at his farm of Wanborough in Suffolk ; and that all the difference is, that they arrive at the prairie three months later than they did at his British residence. We have seen sketches of the houses erected by this gentleman, and by some others who have settled around him, and we consider them as by no mean? deficient either in apparent commodiousness or effect. They remind us of some of the best houses of Switzerland and Norway. (Jig. 160.) Birkbeck and part of his family were drowned in crossing the Wabash in 1825, an event which must be deeply Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 189 ISO lamented by all who knew any thing of this intelligent, enterprising, and benevolent character. 11 73. The want of domestic ser- vants is a considerable drawback in most parts of the United States ; but especially in the new settle- ments. Families who remove into Western America, Birkbeck ob- serves, should bring with them the power and the inclination to dis- pense, in a great degree, with ser- vants. To be easy and comfort- able there, a man should know how to wait upon himself, and practise it. In other respects, this gentle- man and his friends hope to live on their estates at the prairie, " much as they were accustomed to live in England.'' An. interesting account of the house, garden, and domestic economy of Mr. Hall of Wanborough, a neighbour of Mr. Birkbeck's, will be found in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. i. p. 327. and vol. iv. p. 1 53. 1 174. ^s a country for a British farmer to emigrate to, we consider the United States as superior to every other, in two respects : — first, on account of its form of government ; by which property is secure, and personal liberty greater than any where else, consistently witli public safely, and both maintained at less expense than under any government in the world : secondly, on account of the stock of people being generally British, and speaking the English language. The only objection we have to America is the climate — the long and severe winter, and the rapid and hot spring and summer. Land equally good, and nearly as cheap, may be had in the south of Russia and in Poland ; but who that knows any thing of the governments of these countries, would voluntarily put himself in their power while the United States were accessible ? SoBSECT. 2. Of the present State of Agriculture in Mexico. 1175. The climate of this extensive and recently revolutionised country is singidarly diversified, between the tropical seasons and rains, and the temperature of the southern and even middle countries of Europe. The maritime districts of Mexico are hot and unhealthy, so as to occasion much perspiration even in January ; the inland nfountains, on the other 'hand, present snow and ice in the dog-days. In other inland regions, however, the climate is mild and benign, with some snow of short duration in vrinter ; but no artificial warmth is necessary, and animals sleep all the year under the open sky. From April to September there are plentiful rains, generally after nuon ; hail storms are not unknown ; thunder is frequent ; and earthquakes and vulcauoes occa- sionally occur. The climate of the capital, in lat. 19° 35', differs much ficm that of die parts of Asia and Africa imder the same parallel ; which difference seems to arise chiefly from the superior height of the ground. Humboldt found that the vale of Mexico is about 6960 feet above the level of the sea, and that even the inland plains are generally as high as Mount Vesuvius, or about 3600 feet. This superior elevation tempers the climate with a, greater degree of cold ; upon the whole, therefore, it cannot be regarded as unhealthy. 1176. The surface of the country is diversified by grand ridges of mountains, nume- rous volcanoes some of which are covered with perpetual snow, cataracts worthy of the pencil of Rosa, delicious vales, fertile plains, picturesque lakes and rivers, romantic cities and villages, and a union of the trees and vegetables of Europe and America. 1 1 77. Tlie soil is often deep clay, surprisingly fertile and requiring no stimulus except irrigation. In some places it is boggy or composed of a soft black earth, and there are barren sands and stony soils in the elevated regions. 1178. Of the agriculture ^Mexico some account is given by the Abb^ Clavigero and the Baron de Humboldt. According to the first author, agriculture was from time immemorial exercised by the Mexicans, and almost all the people of Anahuac. The Toltecan nation employed themselves diligently in it, and taught it to the Thechemecan hunters. With respect to the Mexicans, during the whole of their peregrination, from their native country Atzlan, unto the lake where they founded Mexico, they are said to have cultivated the earth in all the places where they made any considerable stop, and to have lived upon the produce of their labour. When they were brought under subjec- tion to the Colhuan and Tepanecan nations, and confined to the miserable littie islands on the lake, they ceased for some years to cultivate the land, because they had none, until necessity and industry together taught them to form movable fields and gardens, which floated on the waters of the lake. T90 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. - Paut I. 1179. The method qf forming floating fields^ which they still practise, » extremely simple. They plait and twist together willows and roots of marsh plants, or other matenais which are light, hut capable of supporting the earth of the field firmly united. Upon this foundation they lay the light. bushes which float on the lake, and, over all, the mud and dirt which they draw up from the bottmn of the same laka Their regular figure is quadrangular ; their length and breadth various ; but in general, they are about eight perches long, and not more than three in breadth, and have less than a foot of elevation above the surface of the water. There were the first fields which the Mexicans ownt-d after the foundation of Mexico ; there they first cultivated the maize, great pepper, and other plants, necessary for their support. In progress of time as those fields grew numerous trora the industry of those people, there were among them gardens of flowers and odoriferous plants, which were employed in the worship of their gods, and served for the recreation of the nobles. At present they cultivate flowers, and every sort of garden herbs upon them. Every day of the year, at sun-rise, mnumerable vessels loaded with various kinds of flowers and herbs, which are cultivated in those fields and gardens, are seen arriving by the canal, at the great market-place of that capital. All plants thrive there surprisingly j the mud of the lake is an extremely fertile soil, and requires no water from the clouds. In the largest islands there is commonly a little tree, and even a little hut to shelter the cultivator, and defend him from rain or the sun. When the owner of an island, or the chinampa, as he is usually called, wishes to change his situa- tion, to remove fVom a disagreeable neighbour, or to come nearer to his own family, he gets into his little vessel, and by his own strength alone, if the garden is small, or with the assistance of others, if it is large, he tows it after him, and conducts it wherever he pleases with the little tree and hut upon it. That part of the lake where those floating fields are is a place of infinite recreation, where the senses receive the highest possible gratification. These floating fields, Humboldt inlbrms us, still exist : they are of two sorts : the one mobile and blown here and there by the winds, and the others fixed and united to the shore. The former alone merit the appellation of floating, and they are diminishing day by day. He assigns to them the same origin as the Abbe Clavigero ; but thinks it probable that nature also may have suggested the first idea, and gives instances of small pieces of the surface, netted with roots and covered with plants, being detached from the marshy shores of other American lakes, and floating about- in the water. The bean, pea, apple, artichoke, cauliflower, and a great variety of other culinary plants, are cultivated on them. 1180. A floating islandt in a small lake in Haverhill^ in New England, is mentioned by Dr. Dwight. It has, he was informal, immemorially floated from, one shore to another, whenever it was impelled by a violent wind. Lately it has adhered for a considerable time to a single spot ; and may perhaps be so firmly fixed on the shelving bottom, as to move no more hereafter. Several trees and shrubs grow on its surface, and it is covered by a fresh verdure. {Travels^ vol. i. p. 371.) 1181. Having neither ploughs nor oxen, nor any other animals proper to be employed in the culture of the earth, the Mexicans, when they had shaken off the Tepanecan yoke, supplied the want of them by labour, and other more simple instruments. To hoe and dig the ground they made use of the coatty or coa, which is an instrument made of copper, with a wooden handle, but difl'erent fVom a spade or mattock. They made use of an axe to cut trees, which was also made of copper, and was of the same form with those of modem times, except that we put the handle in the eye of the axe, whereas they put the axe into an eye in the handle. They had several other instruments of agriculture ; but the negligence of ancient writers on this subject has not left in our power to attempt their description. 1182. Thei/ irrigated their fields with the water of rivers and small torrents which came from the moun- tains, raising dams to collect them, and forming canals to conduct them Lands which were high, or on the declivity of mountains, were not sown every year, but allowed to lie fallow until they were over-run with bushes, which they burned, to repair by their ashes the salt which rains had washed away. They surrounded their fields with stone enclosures, or hedges made of the penguin, which makes an excelient fence ; and in the month Panquetzaliztli, which began on the third of December, they were repaired if necessary. 1183. In the sowing qf tnaixe, the method they observed, and which they still practise in some places, is this : the sower makes a small hole in the earth with a stick, or drill probably, the point of which is hardened by fire; into this hole he dropsoneor two of the grains of maize from a basket which hangs from his shoulder, and covers them with a little earth by means of his foot; he then passes forward to a cer- tain distance, which is greater or less according to the quality of the soil, opens another hole, and con. tinues so in a straight line to the end of the field ; thence he returns, forming another line parallel to the first. The rows of plants by these means are as straight as if a line were made use of, and at as equal distances from each other as if the spaces between were measured. This method of sowing, which is now used by a few of the Indians only, though more slow, is, however, of some advantage, as they can more exactly proportion the quantity of seed to the strength of the soil ; besides that there is almost none of the seed lost which is sown : in consequence of this, the crops of the fields which are thus cultivated are usually more plentiful. When the maize springs up to a certain height, they cover the foot of the plant round with earth, that it may be better nourished, and more able to withstand sudden gusts of wind. 1184-. In the labours qf the field men were assisted by the women. It was the business of the men to dig and hoe the ground, to sow, to heap the earth about the plants, and to reap : to the women it belonged to strip off the leaves from the ears, and to clear the grain ; to weed and to shell it formed the employment ofbotli. 1185. They had places like farmyards ^ where they stripped ofi' the leaves and shelled the ears, and granaries to preserve the grain. Their granaries were built in a square form, and generally of wood. They made use of the ojameth for this purpose, which is a very lofty tree, with but a few and slender branches, and a thin smooth bark ; the wood is extremely pliant, difficult to break and slow to rot These granaries were formed by placing the round and equal trunks of the ojameth in a square, one upon the other, without any labour except that of making a small notch towards their extremities, to adjust and unite them so perfectly as not to allow any passage to the light. When the structure was raised to a sufficient height, they covered it with another get of cross-beams, and over these the roof was laid to defend the grain from rains. These granaries had no other door or outlet than two windows ; one below, which was small, and another above somewhat wider. Some of them were so large as to contain five or six thousand, or sometimes more, fanegas of maize. There are some of this sort of granaries to be met with in a few places at a distance from the capital, and amongst them some so very ancient, that they appear to have been built before the conquest ; and, according to information had from persons of intelli- gence, they preserve the gram better than those which are constructed by the Europeans 1186. A little tower of wood, branches, and mats, they commonly erected close to fields which were sown, in which a man, defended from the sun and rain, kept watch, and drove away the birds which came in flocks to consume the young grain. These Uttle towers are still made use of, even in the fields of the Spaniards, on account of the excessive number of birds. 1187. The woods which supplied them with fuel to bum, timber to build, and game for the diversion of the king, were carefuUy preserved. The woods of King Montezuma were extensive, and the laws of King Nezahualcojotl concerning the cutting of them particular and severe in their penalties. It would be ot advantage to that kingdom, says Clavigero, that those laws were still in force, or at least that there was not so much liberty granted in cuttmg without an obligation to plant a certain number of trees • as many people, preferrmg their private mterest and convenience to the public welfare, destroy the wood in order to enlarge their possessions. ' ^ Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 191 1 188. Tfvs hreeMng of ammals was not neglected by the Mexicans ; though there were no sheep, they bred up innumerable species of animals unknown in Europe. Bullock {Travels, 1824) informs us, that tliey are very curious in rearing and feeding swine ; and that an essential requisite in a Mexican swineherd is an agreeable voice ; in order that he may sing or charm the animals into peace when they quarrel and fight, and lull them to sleep at proper times to promote their fatting. Wind and sounds of every kind have been long known to have a powerful effect on tliis genus of animals. Private persons brought up techichis (quadrupeds similar to little dogs), turkeys, quails, geese, ducks, and other kinds of fowl ; in the territories of the lords were bred fish, deer, rabbits, and a variety of birds ; and at the royal residences, almost all the species of quadrupeds and winged animals of those countries, and a prodigious nimiber of water animals and reptiles. We may say that in this kind of magnificence Montezuma II. surpassed all che kings of the world, and that there never has been a nation equal in skill to the Mexicans in the care of so many different species of animals, which had so much know- ledge of their dispositions, of the food which was most proper for each, and of all the means necessary for tlieir preservation and increase. 1189. The Mexican cochineal^ so greatly valued in Europe on account of its dyes of scarlet and crimson, demands a great deal more care from the breeder than is necessary for the silkworm. Raiii^ cold, and strong winds destroy it j birds, mice, and worms persecute it furiously, and devour it : hence it is neces- sary to keep the rows of Op6ntia, or nopal, where those insects are bred, always clean j to attend constantly to drive away the birds, which are destructive to them ; to make nests of hay for them among the. OpCintia, by the juice of which thev are nourished ; and when the season of rain approaches, to raise them with a part of the plants, and guard them in houses. Before the females are delivered they cast their skin, to obtain which spoil, the breeders make use of the tail of the rabbit, brushing most gently with it that they may not detach the insects fi:om the plants, or do them any hurt On every lobe they make three nests, and in every nest they lay about fifteen cochineals. Every year they make three gatherings, reserv- ing, fiowever, each time, a certain number for the future generation ; but the last gathering is least valued, the cochineals being smaller then, and mixed with the prickles of the Op6ntia. They kill the 'cochineal most commonly with hot water. On the manner of drying it afterwards the quality of the colour whicii is obtained from it chiefly depends. The best is that which is dried in the sun. Some dry it in the comnilit or pan, in which they bake their bread of maize ; and others in the temaxcitUt\ a sort of oven. i,Ctai}igero, voL L p. 357. to 3S1.) 1190. The fruits of Memco are \ery nwaieToua. The banana and granadilla are very common ; the bread-fruit and cocoa are extensively cultivated ; and a number of sorts of anona, or custard apple, and especially the cherimoyer (X Clierimolia), which is much esteemed. In short, all the fruits of Europe, and most of those of both Indies, are to be found in the gardens of the nobles and the priests. Sdbsect.' 3. Present State of Agriculture in tlte British Possessions of North America. 1 191. T/te principal British provinces in America are Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and the adjacent islands of Newfoundland and the Bermudas. *1192. Canada is an extensive country, and the only British province in which agri- culture is generally pursued. The climate of this country is extremely irregular ; in July and August, the heat is oflen 96°, while in winter the mercury A*eezes. The ground is covered with snow from November till May, when it thaws suddenly, and vegetation is instantaneous. The surface of the country is generally mountainous and woody ; but there are savannas and plains of great beauty towards Upper Canada. lig.'i. The soil consists principally of a loose dark-coloured earth, ten or twelve inches deep, lying on a bed of cold clay. This thin mould, however, is very fertile, and yields plentiful crops, although it is worked every year by the French Canadians, without being ever manured. The manures chiefly used, since the practice of manuring has been introduced, by those who are the best farmers, are marl and gypsum, the former is found in great quantities in many places along the shores of the river St. Lawrence. 1 1 94. WUh respect to the products of Canada, the low country is peculiarly adapted to the growth of small grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it, but the culture is neglected, except for private use ; and more than half of what is used is imported. The snuff pro- duced from the Canadian tobacco is held in gi-eat estimation. Culinary vegetables anive at great perfection in Canada, which is also the case with most of the European fruits. The currants, gooseberries, and raspberries are very fine ; the latter are indigenous, and are found very abundantly in the woods. A kind of vine is also indigenous ; but the grapes produced by it in its uncultivated state are very poor and sour, and not much larger than fine currants. In the forest there is a great variety of trees ; such as beecli, oak, elm, ash, pine, sycamore, chestnut, and walnut ; and the sugar-maple tree is found in almost every part of the country. Of this tree there are two kinds ; the one called the swamp maple, being generally found on low lands ; and the other, the mountain or curled maple, from its growing upon high dry ground, and from the grain of its wood being beautifully variegated with little stripes and curls. The former yields more sap than the latter, but its sap affords less sugar. A pound of sugar is frequently procured from two or three gallons of the sap of the curled maple, whereas no more than the same quantity can be had from six or seven gallons of that of the swamp tree. The maple 192 HISTORY' OF AGRICULTURE. Part I, sugar is the only sort of raw sugar used in the country parts of Canada, and it is also very generally used in the towns, •1195. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are intensely cold countries, and only parbally civilised. The vale of St. John's river is the principal scene of cultivation in New Brunswick. The upland parts of the country are chiefly covered with forests of pines, hemlock and spruce fir, beech, birch, maple, and some oak. The pines of St. John's river are the largest in British America, and afford a considerable supply of masts for the royal navy. Nova Scotia produces little grain ; supplies being sent from England. The soil is thin and barren, except on the banks of the river, where it produces grass, hemp, and flax. A great improvement, however, in the agriculture of Nova Scotia is said to have taken place, in consequence of certain letters written on the subject, which first appeared under the name of Agricola, in the Acadian Recorder, a Halifax news- paper. These letters are by John Young, secretary to the provincial agricultural board, and have since been collected and published in a separate volume. Some account of them, accompanied by extracts, will be found in the Farmer's Magazine, vol. xxiv. p. 81. 1196. In the island of Cape Breton the soil is mere moss, and has been found unfit for agriculture. Newfoundland seems to be rather hilly than mountainous, with woods of birch, pine, and fir, numerous ponds and morasses, and some dry barrens. The chief produce of these islands, as well as of the other British possessions in America, consists of furs and skins ; and the same remark will apply to the Bermudas and the unconquered countries, which need not be further noticed. SiiBSECT. 4. Of the present State of Agriculture in the West India Islands. •1197. Tlie principal West India Islands are Cuba, St. Domingo, Jamaica, and Porto Rico ; and, next, the Windward Islands, Trinidad, the Leeward Islands of the Spanish, and the Bahamas. 1198. Cuba is an extensive and naturally fertile island; but, from the indolence of the Spaniards, not above a hundredth part of it is cleared and cultivated. Like most islands in the West Indies it is subject to storms, but the climate is, upon the whole, healthy, and even temperate ; for, though in this latitude there is no winter, the air is refreshed with rains and cooling breezes. The rainy months are July and August ; the rest of the year is hot. A chain of mountains extends the whole length of the island from east to west, and divides it into two parts ; but the land near the sea is in general level, and flooded in the rainy season. The soil is equal in fertility to any in America, producing ginger, long pepper, and other spices ; aloes, mastich, cassia fistula, manioc, , maize, cocoa, &C. 'Tobacco is one of its principal productions, and it is supposed to have the most delicate flavour of any pro- duced in the new world. The cultivation of sugar has lately « been introduced ; but the indolence of the inhabitants renders it in every respect much less productive than it otherwise might be. The quantity of coffee is inconsiderable ; the chief plantations are in the plains, and are cultivated by about i 25,000 slaves. Among the trees are oaks, firs, palms, cotton trees, ebony, and mahogany (Swietenia Mahagnni), j (Jig. 161.) In 1763 bees were introduced by some emigrants ' from Florida, and they multiplied so much in the hollows of old trees, that they soon obtained honey enough for their annual consumption. In 1777 they exported honey to the ^ amount of 715,000 pounds. The island abounds with mules, horses, sheep, wild boars, hogs, and fine black cattle. The homed cattle have increased so much that the forests are filled vrith droves of them, which run wild, and are hunted and killed for their hides and tallow. The chief birds are paroquets, turtle doves, and partridges ; water-fowl are numerous ; and on the coast turtles are abun- dant ; mullets and shads are the principal fish. 1 199. Jamaica has been in possession of the English since the middle of the seventeenth century. The climate is extremely hot throughout the year, though mitigated by various causes. The surface of the country is very irregular : a ridge of mountains from east to west divides it into two parts. At a small distance from the shore it rises into hills with gentle acclivity, which are separated from each other by spacious vales and romantic in- equalities. On the southern side of the island there are precipices and inaccessible cliffs, amidst which are vast plains covered with extensive cane fields. To the inequalities of surface that distinguish this island it is owing, that, although the soil in many parts of the island is deep and very fertile, yet the productive land is but of small extent in pro- portion to the whole. That which is actually cultivated is of » middling quality, and requires labour and manure to make it yield liberally. Book T. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. 193 1200. Landed property in Jamaica is in general freehold without manorial rights, and is chiefly in the enjoyment of individuals, though there is some government and corporation territory. Estates are generally small, few exceeding lUUO acres: formerly they were managed by resident proprietors ; but at present, and for some time past, by far the greater number have been managed by agents or attorneys, who are represented by Roiighley as a selUsh, grasping, unprincipled set of men, " too ignorant to be planters, and too ostentatious, proud, and supine, to contribute to the good of their constituents." \I*lanter*s Guide, p. 8.) They often contrive, by getting estates in debt and mortgaging them, ultimately to become the proprietors themselves. Some proprietors are so over-careful as to have what is called a planting attorney, and a mercantile attorney, tne latter for the sale of produce, and the purchase of im- ported stores for the slaves. Besides these there are travelling agents who visit diiferent estates, and make annual or biennial voyages to Europe to the proprietors j an overseer for each estate, who has both free white men and slaves under him ; a head driver, a slave ; the head cattle and mule man ; the head boiler or manufacturer of sugar ; head carpenters, coopers, masons, coppersmiths, and watchmen ; a hot-house or hospital doctor or doctress midwife ; the great gang of able men and women ; the second gang of rather weakly habits j and Uie third, or weeding gang, composed of children ; cattle and mule boys, watchmen, invalids, and superannuated, and young children and infants. The qualifications, duties, and treatment of all these classes are discussed at length by Uoughley, who gives a picture ot culture and management very diffferent from any thing belonging to the management of landed property, or the culture of farm lands, in Britain. 1201. The overseer, who is generally known by his hat and pipe {fig. 162.), should be a man of intelli- gence, tempered with exj^erience, naturally humane, steadfast in well-devised pursuits, of settled sober habits, not given to keepmg indiscriminate company, or, suffering his subor- dinate white people to do so, thereby vitiating their manners ; presenting a gen- tleman-like appearance ; keeping a regular, well-supplied, comfortable table, without [tTofusion, not only for himself and the white people under him, but for the benefit of such sick and convalescent slaves as require salutary and restor- ing nourishment His business hours will be fully occupied by the concerns of the estate, liis leisure ones in the Innocent enjoyment of some domestic amuse- ment. He must be kind and courteous to the young men under him, but giving or allowing them no opportunity to treat him with disrespect ; attentive and hospitable to respectable strangers; cautious and wary how he suffers strollers to tempt his benevolence. He must not capriciously or suddenly discharge his white people (as is very often the case), taking care that no envious or jealous sentiment or idea arises in his mind, if his young men have merit on their side, or are caressed by their superiors. He must keep the slaves strictly to their work, yet not imposing on them unusual hours, or inflicting punishment for - every trifling offence ; but, when punishment for crimes is necessary, tempering it with prudent mercy. He must be attentive to their real wants, not suffering j them to tease him with their tritiing complaints, or tamper with him by their ~ arts, but promptly satisfying them, by enquiring into their serious grievances. Above all things, he must not encourage the spirit of Obea in them (which is horrible), nor dishearten them by cohabiting with their wives, annulling thereby their domestic felicities. He must not suffer their provision-grounds to be neglected, trespassed on, or ruined, nor their houses to be out of repair or uncomfortable ; for it very otlen happens, that well-disposed slaves, by such freedoms taken with their wives, their well-established grounds ruined by thieves or cattle, their domestic quiet and comfort intruded upon, or their houses ren- dered uninhabitable by storm or other casualty, become runaways. Their conduct influences others, till at last the strength of the estate vanishes, the evil bectimes notorious, and the plantation, of course, be- comes neglected. The magistrates are then obliged to take this growing evil into serious consideration. Hunting parties are sent out (perhaps with little success) to bring in the fugitives ; martial law is at last proclaimed throughout the diseased district ; all sorts of people are harassed ; public trials are instituted ; some of the runaways are never caught ; others who are brought in undergo trial, and are convicted and sentenced to death or transportation for life. {Rouskley, 40. 43.) 1202. The head driver is seen carrying with him the emblems of his rank and dignity, a polished stafT or wand, vrith prongy hooks on it to lean on, ami a short-handled flexible whip; his oflice combining within itself a power, derived principally from the overseer, of directing all conditions of slaves, relative to the precise work he wishes each gang or mechanic to undergo or execute. The great gang is comprised of the most powerful field negroes, and is always under his charge. These form the strength with which principally to carry into effect the main work in the field, and to manufacture the sugar and rum. There are so many points to turn to, so many occasions for his skill, vigilance, steadiness, and trust-worthiness, that the selection of a man, fit for such a place, requires circumspection, and an intimate knowledge of his talents and capacity. A bad or indifferent head driver sets almost every thing at variance ; injures the negroes, and the culture of the land. He is like a cruel blast that pervades every thing, and spares ' nothing ; but when he is well-disposed, intelligent, clever, and active, he is the life and soul of an estate. He very often is an elderly or middle-aged negro, who has long been so employed. If it should be so ordered, that a new head driver is requisite to be put in commission, I must beg leave to lay before my readers my opinion of the proper choice of one. I may err, but 1 hope not irretrievably. He should, in iny Judgment, be an athletic man ; sound and hardy in constitution ; of well-earned and reputed good character ; of an age, and, if possible, an appearance, to carry respect ; perhaps about thirty-five years old ; clean in his jieraon and apparel ; if possible, a native or Creole of the island, long used to field work, and marked for his sobriety, readiness, and putting his work well out of his hands. His civility should be predominant, his patience apparent, his mode of inflicting punishment mild. He should be respectful to white people ; suffering no freedoms from those under him, by conversation or trifling puerile conduct. It is rare, indeed, to find this mass of perfection in a negro ; but you may obtain a combination of most of these virtues ; and, as to petty vices, always inherent in some measure in human nature, they must be looked over, when not too full of evil. The junior drivers likewise, if possible, should be men of this description ; but having a good master over them in the head driver, they will be induced to behave tolerably. {lb., 79. 82.) 1203. The labourers on a Jamaica sugar estate consist almost entirely of slaves, Creoles, natives, or Africans, with some free blacks and men of colour or mixed progeny. The overseers are almost always whites, and sometimes also the head drivers. 1204. The buildings required for a sugar plantalion are numerous and extensive. In a central situation, by a stream or other sui)ply of water, an extensive set of works, including an overseer's house, hospital or hot-house, mill-house, large mill-yard, mule stable, trash or fUel house, cooper and carpenter's shops, boiling and curing houses, a distilling house, tanks, cisterns, &c., should be built, and so arranged as all to be seen from the overseer's house. 1205. The overseer's house, it would appear, must be both a comfortable and elegant building. It should be built compact arid convenient, not over roomy ; and raised sufficiently high from the fotindation, with good masonry work, to admit of suitable stores underneath, to keep all the plantation stores and supplies in. It should be so placed that all the works can be seen fVom it, and not far from the boiling-house. The rooms should be all on the same floor, and closely boarded with seasoned stuff Each white man should have a small bed-room to himself, with a glazed sash window on hinges, and a shutter to it. The bed-rooms should be eleven feet by nine each, of which five should be in every overseer's house on a sugar estate, leaving the overseer's room somewhat largei than the book-keeper's. A large well-covered 194 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. piazza, with comfbrtaWe Rlazcd windows (to rise and fall occasionally), will answer all the purposes of a dining and breakfast hall, and for walking in. Large centre halls in sneh houses are of very little use, take up a great deal of room, are very expensive, and make the house large, without any real convenience. A small baok piazza, made comfortable by moving blinds with stops, would be proper lor tne servants. I think every dwelling-house on a plantation should have a sm-ill flre-place in it, with a weil-raisea chimney, for Arc to be made in occasionally in damp weather ; it will be wholesome and preservative, l ne flre-place should be in an extreme angle of the dining piazza, and tlie overseer's cooking.room, wasliing- room, &0., should be apart from the house, though not far off, conveniently fitted up, and ol moderate size. The little appendages of a hog-sty, fowUhouse, &c., to raise small stock m, are easily bunt at a small expense. (ilou^A/ev, 184, 185.) , ... p.. ,. . ^ . 1206. ^ lime-kiln is an essential building for a sugar estate, a considerable quantity of lime bemg wanted to neutralise the acid of the expressed juice of the cane. A fixed kiln at the works is best, as what lime is wanted can then be burnt at any time ; but it often happens that temporary kilns, composed ot layers of stones and wood, with a fUnnel in the centre, are made in the woods, lighted and burnt, and the pro. duce carried home. Such a kiln, twenty feet in diameter, and ten or twelve feet high, will produce lime enough to make sixteen hogsheads of sugar. (75., 314.) j . j. «. ^ , 1207. ne houses qfthe slaves are grouped together on some estates, and scattered in different places in others, generally on the outskirts ot the estate. They are low cottages of one or two apartments, with open sheds, and pieces of garden ground of from one eighth to one quarter of an acre attached to each, and some of them are kept neat, and have a clean, not uncomfortable, appearance ; they are generally built with stone, and covered with shingles. , ., ,. 1208 Every building composing the works of a sugar estate should be formed of the most substantial materials, durable, hard, well.seasoned timber, well put together, and supported by the best mason work. They should be shingled instead of being thatched, and kept free from the hungry destructive ant, who by his mighty though diminutive efforts, will level a substantial building to the ground in a short time. Poisoning by arsenic is the most expedient mode of getting rid of them, as the living will feed on the dead, so that the whole nest (by devouring one another) are tnus killed. (/A., 194.) 1209. The live stock of a sugar estate consists chiefly of oxen, spayed heifers, and mules, as beasts of labour ; the overseer generally keeps a riding horse, as does the resident agent or proprietor, if there are such ; and there are pigs and poultry, with some sheep for consumption. The cattle and mules are kept on the savannas or open waste pastures, and on Guinea grass (T'^nicum) and Scotch grass (Piinicum hirtellum) {Jig. 162. o), on which they are folded, tethered, or soiled. Mares and Spanish or Maltese jackasses are kept for breeding the mules j and the cattle are in general reared on the estate. A jack should be from ten to twelve hands high, and either stubbled or put into a close pasture, with high firm walls and gates to it. He should be regularly corned once a day at least ; should havepurewatertodrink, andshouldnot be suffered to cover more than one mare daily. The mares should be put to him in season, and attended by an experienced groom. A proper covering pit should be made for the mare to stand in, with a sur- mounting stage for the jack to stand on. They should be daily led out to exercise, kept well cleaned, and by no means allowed to stay out in bad weather, but be comfortably stabled, foddered, and littered, (iJ., 141, 142.) 1210. The agricultural operations of Jamaica are for the most part performed by the manual labour of indigenous slaves ; but tliere are also free servants, and the period, it is to be hoped, is rapidly approaching when the whole population will be emancipated. The soil is seldom either ploughed or dug, but generally worked with the hoe-pick. The spade the negroes are awkward at using ; and they are not more expert at the plough. White ploughmen have been imported by some cultivators ; but the prejudices of the overseers, the awkwardness of the oxen and negro drivers, and the effects of the climate in wearing out the spirits of the ploughman, are said to have discouraged its use. Long, in 1774, Dr. Stokes (Young's Annals of Agr., xviii. 148.), and others, have tried the plough, and strongly recommend it, as doing the work better and lessening the necessity of having so many slaves. Roughley, however, '" '" who was ** nearly twenty years a sugar planter in Jamaica " (Jamaica Planter's Gvide, 1823), is decidedly against it, whether drawn by negroes or cattle ; both because it does not do the work so well as the hoe, and because of the difficulty of getting ploughmen and properly trained beasts. It is probable, however, that necessity may ulti- mately lead to the use of the plough drawn byV oxen, and that the operative man in the West In- \ dia Islands will in time assume the same attitude as in Europe. 1211. The agricvltural productions of Jamaica of the greatest importance are sugar, indigo, coffee, and cotton. The several species of grain cultivated in this island are maize, or Guinea com, yielding from thirty to sixty bushels an acre ; various kinds of calavances, a species of pea ; and rice, but in no great quantity. The island abounds also with different kinds of grass of excellent quality : the artificial grass, called " Scots grass" (PAnicum hirtellum) (fig. 163. a), grows spontaneously in most of the swamps and morasses of the West Indies ; and it is so productive, that a single acre of it will main- tain five horses for a whole year. The " Guinea- grass" (P. polygamum) (fig. 163. b) is next in importance to the sugar-cane, as the grazing and bree'Sing fan^a^^eflyTipported Book I. AGRICULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA. J95 by it. Hence arises the plenty of homed cattle, both for the butcher and planter ; which is such, that few markets in Europe furnish beef of better quality, and at a cheaj>er rate, than that of Jamaica. Mutton also is cheap and good. The seeds of the Guinea grass were brought from the coast of Guinea, as food for some birds which were pre- sented to Ellis, chief justice of the islands. The several kinds of kitchen-garden pro- ductions, that are known in Europe, thrive in the mountains of tliis island ; and the markets of Kingston and Spanish Town are supplied with cabbages, lettuces, carrots, turnips, parsneps, artichokes, kidneybeans, green peas, asparagus, and various sorts of European herbs, in the greatest abundance. O^er indigenous productions, that may be classed among tlie esculent vegetables, are plantains, bananas, yams of several varieties, coUaloo (a species of ,^um used as spinach), eddoes (^rum and Calddium), cassavi, and sweet potatoes. Among the more elegant fruits of the island we may reckon the ananas, or pine-apple, tamarind, papaw, guava, sweet sop, cashew apple, custard apple, Akee tree, cocoa nut, star apple, grenadilla, avocado pear, hog plum, naesberry, mammee sapota, Spanish gooseberry, prickly pear, anchovy pear, and some others, for which Jamaica is probably indebted to the bounty of nature. For the orange, the lemon, lime, shaddock, vine, melon, fig, and pomegranate, the West India Islands are perhaps obliged to their Spanish invaders. The cinnamon has been lately introduced, and the mango is become almost as common as tlie orange. The mountains are generally covered with extensive woods, containing excellent timber ; such as the lignum vitse, logwood, iron wood, pigeon wood, green-heart brazUetto, and bully trees ; all of which are to a great degree heavy, as well as compact and impene- trable. Of softer kinds, for boards and shingles, the species are innumerable ; and there are many beautiful varieties for cabinet-work ; and among these we may enumerate the bread nut, the wild lemon, and the well-known mahogany. 1212. The culture qf the siigar-cane in Jamaica in some respects resembles that of the hop in this country. The ground being cleared and worked a foot or more in depth, the sets or cuttings of cane, which are the tops of the shoots cut ofiF about a foot long, are planted in rows, generally five feet distant, and from two to five feet apart in the row, according to the quality of the soil ; more plants being allowed for poor soil than rich. The ground is kept clear of weeds, frequently stirred, and some earth drawn up to the plants. From each hill a number of shoots are produced : in six months or more these will generally be from seven to ten feet high ; the skin smooth, dry, and brittle, heavy with a grey or brown pith, and sweet glutinous juice. In this state the canes are cut, tied in bun- dles or sheaves, and taken to the mill to be divestcid of their leaves and decayed parts, and then passed through rollers to express their juice, &c. Cane plantations are made either in May and June, or in December and January, these being the rainy seasons. The first cutting of the canes often does not take place till a year after planting ; but an established plantation is cut over every six months. In good soil the plants will last twenty years : in inferior soils not more than half the time. (Letter to a Youjig Planter^ London, 1785 ; Martinis Essay on PlantersAip, in Young's Annals, xviii. p. S236. ; Bottghley^s Jamaica Planier''s Guide, 1823.) 1213w The cotton plant cultivated in Jamaica is a different species from that grown in Italy, Malta, and the Levant It is the Gossypium barbadgnse Linn., a sufftuticose biennial, growing from six to fifteen feet in height, with lobed leaves and yellow flowers. It is propagated by the seed, which is set in rows, about five feet asunder, at the end of September or beginnmg of October ; at first but slightly covered, but, after it is grown up, the root is well moulded. The seed is subject to decay, when it is set too deep, especially in wet weather. The soil should not be stiff nor shallow, as this plant has a tap-root. The ground is hoed frequently, and kept very clean about the young plants, until they rise to a moderate height ; otherwise they are apt to be destroyed by caterpillars. It grows from four to six feet high, and produces two crops annually ; the first in eight months from the time of sowing the seed ; the second within four months aiter the first ; and the produce of each plant is reckoned about one pound's weight. The branches are pruned and trimmed after the first gathering ; and if the growth is over-luxuriant, this should be done sooner. When great part of the pods are expanded, the wool is picked, and afterwards cleared from the seeds by a machine called agin, composed of two or three smooth wooden rollers of about one inch in diameter, ranged horizontally, close and parallel to each other, in a frame ; at each extremity they are toothed or channelled longitudinally, corresponding one with the other; and the central roller, being moved with a treadle or foot-iathe, resembling that of a knife-grinder, makes the two others revolve in contrary directions. The cotton is laid, in small quantities at a time, upon these rollers, whilst they are in motion, and, readily passing between them, drops into a sack placed underneath to receive it, leav- ing the seeds, which are too large to pass with it, behind, llie cotton thus discharged from the seeds, is afterwards hand-picked, and cleansed thoroughly from any little particles of the pods or other substances which may be adhering to it It is then stowed in large bags, in which it is well trod down, that it may lie close and compact ; and the better to answer this purpose, some water is every now and then sprinkled upon the outside of the bag, the marketable weight of which is usually three hundred pounds. An acre may be expected to produce from two hundred and forty pounds to that quantity, or two hundred and seventy pounds on an average. {Loners Jain., vol. iii. p. 686, et seq, ; and Browne.) 1214. The indigo cultivated in the West Indies is the same species as that ^own in the East Indies and other places (Indig6fera tinctbria), though there are various species and varieties which afford a similar dye. Indigo thrives best in a free rich soil, and a warm situation, frequently refreshed with moisture. Having first chosen a pfoiier piece of ground, and cleared it, hoe it into little trenches, not above two inches, or two inches and a half, in depth, nor more than fourteen or fifteen inches asunder. In the bottom of these, at any season of the year, strew the seeds pretty thick, and immediately cover them. As the plants shoot, they should be frequently weeded, and kept constantly clean, until they spread sufficiently to cover the ground. Those who cultivate great quantities, only strew the seeds pretty thick in little shallow pits, hoed up irregularly, but generally within four, five, or six inches of one another, and covered as before. Plants raised in this manner are observed to answer as well as the others, or rather better ; but they requiremorecarein the weeding. They grow to full perfection in two or three months, and are observed to answer best when cut in full blossom. The plants are cut with reaping hooks, a few inches above the root, tied in loads, carried to the works, and laid by strata in the steeper. Seventeen negroes are sufficient to manage twenty acres of indigo ; and one acre of rich land, well planted, will, with good seasons and proper management, yield five hundred pounds of indigo in twelve months ; for the plant ratoons (stools, stoles, or tillers, i. e. it sends out stolones, or new growths), and gives four or five crops a year, but must be replanted allerwards. (Browne.) O 2 196 . HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. 1215. Tfie coffee tree {fig. 164.) ia less cultivated in Jamaica than in Bar- badoes, Domingo, and some other islands : the richness of the soil ib found to lessen the flavour of the berry, when compared with those produced in the sandy, dry, hot soil, and arid climate of Arabia. In a rich soil and cool situation m Jamaica, Browne informs us that it produces so great a quantity of fruit, that the branches can hardly sustaui the weight: the fruit large and succulent, and the berries lax and cHmmy. Some amrm, that by keeping these, and other West India berries, for ten or fourteen years, they will become equal to the best now brought from Turkey. Small-grained cofltee, or that which is produced in a dry soil and warm situation, will in about three years be as good as that in general use in 1216. In cuUivating the cqffee^ the berries are sown immediately after being gathered, as they are found to retain their vegetative quality only a few weeks. In three months they are fit to transplant, either to a nursery or to a final plantation. In the low lands they are planted tive feet apart, and in the mountains ten feet or more. In three years the plants will produce a crop, and continue bearing for a number ol years. The berries are gathered when they are just about to drop ; and are imme- diately carried to sheds, where they are dried upon cloths or mats, till the , husk shrivels. They are then passed through between wooden rollers | turned by a mule, which separates the husk, after which they are win- nowed, sifted, cleaned, exposed to the sun for a few days, and then bar- relled up for sale. The produce of a good tree is from one pound and a halfto two pounds' weight. (Srovme's Hist, rif Jam., ^.161.) . ^ „ ,, 1217 The cQcoa-root or eddoe {A^rum escul^ntum) and also-a species of CalMmm produce a root some, thing like the Indian yam CDioscbrea safiva) {fig. 165.), but differ from them in lasting for several years. ft ^ .-.ay .; Both the cocoa-root, and yam are cultivated much in the same way as our potato. They have what they call Bourbon cocoas and country cocoas, and Negro and white yams ; the yams have a stake driven in at each iiill for the vines to twine on after the manner of hops. 1218. The plantain {Musn paradisiaca) is cultivated in rows ten feet apart, and the plants seven feet asunder in the row. The following account of the manner of planting and managing will give some idea of the mode in which agricul. tural operations are carried on by a slave population, and how they arc described by a writer who has been " nearly twenty years " at the business. " The ground being all cleared from grass, bushes, and weeds, and lined out and pegged every seven feet, the great gang should Iw put in with hoes to dig the plantain holes at every peg, a Negro to each row. The holes should be dug deep, two feet long by sixteen inches broad, to give room for the large ponderous plantain sucker to be placed in them. The mould must be hauled up to the edge of the hole, and broken if too large. The plantain suckers being ready and trimmed, each negio should take some, and place one good sucker at eveiy hole in the piece, and begin to plant them, by taking a sucker, and E lacing it with the but, or rooty end, in the bottom of the ole; make the sucker lie in a leaning, reclining, or half- horizontal position in the hole, with the small, or sucker, end of the plant a little above the ground ; and when thus placed, draw the mould from the bank, and cover the plant well with it, leaving a little of the plant above the ground. In this manner the plantain walk should be formed. In a fewweeks(if the weather is favourable) the young plantain shoot will be seen rearing its perpendicular head, perhaps three or four growing from the same stock. They should then be carefully moulded, and cleared of grass and weeds when they are a few inches high. No cavities, or water-logging holes, should be near them. The banks must be levelled about them, the holes filled and properly closed up, and some fine mould given them to encourage their growth. There will be no occasion to give them more than two mouldings till they are established ; but they must be care- fully kept clear from weeds or grass; and when any dry trash happens to be hanging about them, it should be gently cut off with a knife, and placed about their roots, to keep them free from either too much sun or chill. A plantain walk well taken care of will be in bearing in twelve- months after It is planted, amply repaying fur the labour and trouble of planting it, and giving an almost inexhaustible supply of fine provisions, if the vicissitudes of hurricanes or storms (which this climate is unhappily subject to) do not destroy it, which no human foresight or care can prevent. "When a plantain walk is made, there may be a row of cocoas (1217.) in the middle of the ten feet spaces, which will yield a crop by the time the plantain walk bears fruit, but they must then be pulled up. A few banana (MCisa sapi^ntum) suckers can be planted in the plantain row, instead of plantain suckers; sometimes they are much in request, as a luscious wholesome fruit, and for the strong fine- flavoured vinegar which is produced from them. After this piece of ground is thus planted, the whole of It may be sown with corn (maize), which will not injure the plantain suckers or trees, if it be not too close or thick. " {Roughleyy p. 413, 416.) 1219. The Indian arrow^root [Mardnta, arundin^cea) is cultivated, and yields an annual supply of roots, which, being washed, bruised, and compressed, yield a starch esteemed as a very light whdesome food for invalids. 1220. Other plants, in great variety, are cultivated both for culinary and medicinal purposes, and in the gardens of the overseers and agents almost every fruit in the world may be raised. 1221. Thepinguin {BromeliB. Pinguin) is grown on the tops of ditches, and forms an impenetrable fence. 1222. Maize is grown among the canes, and in fields by itself in rows four feet and a half apart, and the corn dibbled or set in patches of four seeds in a space of six inches square. 1223. Guinea grass {Vdnicum polyga7num) {fig. 163. b) and Scotch grass ijig. 163. a) are the clovers or artificial herbage plants of Jam^ca, They are perennial, and grow in small enclosures, which are either eaten down or mown. Cane tops, the leaves of maize, millet, and a variety of other herbage, are given to the mules and cattle. 1224. RatSi ants, and other vermin, greatly injure the canes; ticks (Icarus) of dif- ferent kinds and flies very much annoy tlie cattle ; and a great variety of evil propensities and diseases assail tlie negroes and their children, among others Obea, and what Rough- ley calls " eating dirt," which he thus characterises : — " Too much tenderness gives the child a fretful longing for the mother, and her scanty milk engendering disease, and, what is worse than all, often (though secretly) giving it a growing liking for the hateful BookT: agriculture in south AMERICA. 197 fatal habit of eating dirt, than which nothing is more horribly disgusting, notliing more to be dreaded ; notliing exhibiting a more heart-rending ghastly spectacle, than a negro child possessed of tliis malady. Such is the craving appetite for this abominable cus- tom, that few, eltlier children or adults, can be broken of it, when once they begin to taste and swallow its insidious slow poison. For, if by incessant care, watchfulness, or keeping them about the dwelling-house, giving them abundance of the best nou- rishing food, stomachic medicines, and kind treatment, it is possible to counteract the effects and habit of it for some time, tlie creature will be found wistfully and irresistibly to steal an opportunity of procuring and swallowing the deadly substance. The symp- toms arising from it are a shortness of breatlung, almost perpetual languor, irregular throbbing, weak pulse, a horrid cadaverous aspect, tlie lips and whites of the eyes a deadly pale (tlie siu-e signs of malady in the Negro), the tongue thickly covered with scurf, violent palpitation of the heart, inordinately swelled belly, tlie legs and arms reduced in size and muscle, the whole appearance of the body becoming a dirty yellow, the flesh a quivering pellucid jelly. The creature sinks into total indifference, insensible to every thing around him, till deatli at last declares his ™tory in his dissolution. This is no exaggerated account of the effects and termination of this vile propensity. (7i., 118. 1 20.) 1 225. The ai^riculture of the other West India Islands may be considered as similar to that of Jamaica. So many different kinds of East India fruits have not yet been intro- duced in them ; but the great articles of sugar, coffee, cotton, indigo, pepper, &c., are every where cultivated One of the richest of these islands is St. Domingo, now inde^ pendent, and known by its original name of Hayti, Sect. VI. Of the present State of jlgrieulture m South America. 1226. The cUmate of South America combines the most opposite extremes. The southern parts are subject to all the horrors of the antarctic frosts ; Terra del Fuego being subject to the almost perpetual winter of Greenland. Even under the torrid zone the cold is extreme on the Andes, and the heat and moisture equally extraordinary in the plains. The surface of the country is remarkably irregular : there are immense chains of mountains which stretch along the western coast from the one extremity of the country to the other. Many parts of the interior are still obscure ; wide regions on the great river Maragnon being covered witli impenetrable forests, and others flooded by the inundations. In the south there are vast saline plains, and small sandy deserts and savan- nas. This country being, or having been, almost entirely under the Spaniards and Portuguese, the cultivated parts display a slovenly agriculture, something like that of Sp^n ; the varied and abundant products of the soil depending more on nature than on man. Indeed minerals have always been more the objects of European nations in South America than vegetables. — After this general outline we shall, without regard to the recent political changes, offer such slight notices of South American agriculture as we have been able to collect, under the divisions of Terra Firma, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Cayenne, Colombia, Surinam, Amazonia, and Patagonia. 1 227. 7'lie climate of Terra Firma is extremely hot throughout the year. Frqm the month of May to the end of November, the season called winter by the inhabitants, is almost a continual succession of thunder, rain, and tempests ; the clouds precipitating the rain with such impetuosity, that the low lands exhibit the appearance of an ocean. Great part of the country is in consequence almost continually flooded ; and this, toge- ther with the excessive heat, so impregnates the air with vapours, that in many of the pro- vinces, particularly about Papayan and Portobello, it is extremely unwholesome. The soil of this country is very different, the inland parts being exceedingly rich and fertile, while the coasts are sandy and barren. It is impossible to view, without admiration, the perpetual verdure of the woods, the luxuriance of the plains, and the towering height of the mountains. This country produces com, sugar, tobacco, and fruits of all kinds ; the most remarkable is that of the manzanillo tree ; it bears a fruit resembling an apple, but which, under this appearance, contains a most subtile poison. The bean of Carthagena is about the bigness of a common bean, and is an excellent remedy for the bite of the most venomous serpents, which are very frequent all over this country. 1 228. In Peru the soil is dry and has no rain, vegetation being supported by immense dews. The only spots capable of cultivation are the banks of the rivers, and other places susceptible of being artificially irrigated. The improvement of the mines is, or ought to be, the first object of attention in this singular country. 1 229. Chile is an extensive, rich, and fertile country. The climate is the most deli- cious in the new world, and is hardly equalled by that of any region on the face of the earth. Though bordering on the torrid zone, it never feels extreme heat, being screened on the east by the Andes, and refreshed on the west by cooling sea-breezes. The tem- perature of the air is so mild and equable, that the Spaniards give it the preference to that of the southern provinces of their native country. The fertility of the soil corresponds with the benignity of the climate, and it is wonderfully accommodated to European 03 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Paki I. productions. The most valuable of these, corn, wine, and oil, abound in Chile, as it they had been native to the country. The soil, even that part of it which has been long in tillage, is so little degenerated by producing successive crops, that no manure is neces- sary. The grain, as some say, yields from 100 to ISO ; but by a more moderate and just estimate, as it is stated both by Molina and in Peyrouse's Foyage, from 60 to 70 in the midland country, and in the maritime 40 or 50. 1230. Afony qf the plants of Chile are the same with those qf Europe, and almost all the potherbs and fruits of our Continent flourish there. The northern provinces produce the sugar-cane, the sweet potato, and other tropical plants. Maize is common and abundant ; the magu is a kind of rice, and the tuca a species of barley, both of which were cultivated before the arrival of the Spaniards. Peas and potatoes were also well known to the Chilese. Of the latter they have thirty different kinds: and It is even conjectured that this valuable root was first brought into Europe from this country. The large white strawberry of Chile is well known in English gardens. Many of its plants are valuable as dyes, and others as medicinal The vira-vira expels the ague ; the payco is excellent for indigestion. Wild tobacco abounds in Chile, and also the annotto{Stra Orcllana). (Jig. 166.) The beautiful flowers and shrubs are infinite. In. cense, not inferior to that of Arabia, is produced by a shrub, distilling tears of a whitish yellow, and of a bitter aromatic taste. The trunk of the puvi supplies excellent cork ; the SalsMa Kail is plentiful on the shores ; and Chile produces seven kinds of beautiful myrtles, one of which yields an excellent stomachic wine, preferred by strangers to any muscatel The crelon furnishes a tea, which is known as a vermifuge. An acacia of the province of QuiUota yields a balsam, which is used in the cure of wounds ; and the palqui is esteemed, as a febrifuge, superior to the Peruvian bark. The C&ssia Sdnna grows on the banks of the rivers Maypo and Salvia. Of ninety-seven kinds of trees that diversify the beautiful forests of Chile, only thirteen lose their leaves in winter. Cypresses, pines, and red and white cedars grow in the valleys of the Andes ; the red cedars, particularly in the Isle of Chiloe, are of an enormous size, so that from 700 to 800 planks, twenty feet long, may be cut from one tree. The cinnamon tree, which yields what is called Winter's bark, is regarded as sacred by the Araucans, who pre- sent it as a token of peace. Beautiful woods of various colours are supplied by the Chilese forests. Vines, though none appear to be natives, flourish admirably well : they are found in the forests, arising fi*om seeds deposited by the birds ; on the confines of the river Mauli they are three or four feet high, and supported by stakes ; but further to the south they are left loose on the sides of the hills. The best wine is that which is obtained from the banks of the river Itati, and is commonly called wine of Conception ; it is red, generous, of an excellent flavour, and equal to the best in Europe. Muscatel wines are also excellent The vintage is in April and May. All the other European fruits attain the greatest perfection. Most of the European animals have improved in this delicious climate and fertile country. The cele. brated Spanish sheep have not lost any of their distinguished qualities ; the horned cattle are larger than those of Spain ; and the breed of horses surpasses both in beauty and spirit the famous Andalusian race from which they spring. 1231. Paraguay is a fertile province, and singularly prolific in native vegetables. The climate is extremely hot : the surface of the country consists generally of extensive plains ; but some tracts are very mountainous. The soil is every where rich and deep ; and the native pastures so excellent, that the immense herds of wild oxen which feed on them are only valued for their skins ; the flesh being left to be consumed by ravenous beasts and birds. Among the agricultural products may be mentioned the potato, of which they have several sorts of a large size ; red, white, and yellow cotton ; maize, wheat, and the 167 vine. The last is greatly injured by the ants ; but where that insect is kept under, the wine of Paraguay is excellent. The bean, pea, melon, cucumber, lettuce, 'turnip, mustard, cress, leek, onion, asparagus, and other European vegetables, are found wild in the plains. The forests abound in the most valuable trees, among which is the Cinchona, or Jesuits' bark, so called because the Society of Jesus settled there bad originally the monopoly of this medicine ; the sarsaparilla, sassafras, guaiacum, dragon's blood, nux vomica, vanilla ; Theobroma, or chocolate plant {fig. 167.) ; and several species of the 6''erat6nia, the seeds of which are ground and made into bread. Palms, figs, peaches, pome- granates, lemons, and oranges are cultivated; and the jujube, mul- berry, granadilla, banana, pine-apple, and a great variety of other fruits, are found in a wild state. Of the live stock, the most abundant are the ox and the camel ; but there are horses, asses, sheep, many wild swine {fig. 1^8.), and poultry. The bear, elk, deer, ostrich, and others, are in a wild state. 1232. Brazil is the most extensive empire in South America, rivalling Europe in size, while its provinces may be compared to the territories of European sovereigns. It enjoys a climate but little inferior in salubrity to that of Chile, but less variaHe, as the interior is not traversed by chains of lofty mountains. The climate of the Sertoens (a general name for the inland country) is colder in winter, and warmer in summer, than that of the maritime parts. The first of these peculiarities is caused by its greater elevation ; and the second, by its sandy arid nature, and by the air not being cooled by Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA. 199 the delicious sea breezes of the coast. During the rainy season (which is the tropical winter) the nights are sometimes chilly ; and, although the thermometer is seldom lower than 68° or 65°, the warmth of a fire is found desirable. This coldness is principally felt in Minas Geraes (the most mountainous part in Brazil), and in tlie other provinces beyond llio de Janeiro. In comparison of the extent of the country, tlie rivers are very few ; and nearly throughout the interior there is a general deficiency of water, even for tlie purposes of life. During the dry or summer season the heat is excessive, yet it is neither unhealthy nor very oppressive, being mitigated by the sea breeze, which usually sets in about half past seven or eight o'clock in the morning, and continues until sunset. 1233. The vegetable productions of Sraxii are numerous and important. The extensive cultivation of Uie sugar-cane and cotton plant has, of late years, given an importance to its commerce far greater than that of any otlier neighbouring state. The sugar plantations are confined to a short distance from the coast, on account of the superior quality of tlie soil (a red clayey loam), and the difficulty of conveyance in a country where regular carriage roads do not exist. Cotton thrives best on those poor, sandy, and dry lands, which are met vnth at a distance from the sea ; it is, there- fore, cultivated only in the interior, and is brought to the coast on the backs of mules and horses, frequently from a distance of 150 miles. Cofiee has not yet been cultivated very extensively, although it thrives remarkably well, particularly near Rio de Janeiro ; wheat is only produced in the milder provinces of the South, and even there but spar- ingly. Indeed, the " staff' of life," throughout the greatest part of Brazil is the man- diocca, known in the West Indies by the name of cassava ; the root, being divested of its poisonous juices by pressure, is rasped or groimd so as to resemble sago ; and, being boiled, forms the principal sustenance of the great mass of the people. The cultivation of the plant is easy ; it will thrive both in the richest and poorest soil, and vast quantities are grown in the sandy (or tabulara) tracts of Faraiba, Maranham, and Pemambuco. As we approach the southern provinces, the mandiocca in some measure gives place to the maize or Indian corn, which, although less nutritious, is much esteemed both by man and beast : its culture however is more confined, as it requires a good soil and frequent moisture. Kice is grown but sparingly, and not in sufficient quantities to make it an article of commerce. Besides these esculent vegetables, there are many others, either indigenous, or introduced by the Portuguese from their African posses- sions ; among these may be reckoned the ochro, the different species of Capsicum, yams, and love apples. I believe the potato is unknown in Brazil ; several attempts were made in 1817 by the English residents of Pernambuco and Bahia, to cultivate this root from the English stock ; but they were completely unsuccessful. The tobacco of Brazil is well known : very extensive tracts in the vicinity of Bahia are entirely covered with this plant, which flourishes best in a light sandy soil ; although great attention is paid to its cultivation, the leaves are dried in a careless way, and the subsequent operations conducted in a most slovenly manner. The fruits are in great variety : besides those common to the West India Islands, and other parts of tropical America, as tlie cocoa nut, pine-apple, plantain, banana, mango, jack, custard apple, orange, and citron, there are several others peculiar to this country, and only known by Indian names. Those above enumerated are only to be rhet with near the coast ; but the cashew tree, so valu- able for the astringent qualities of its fruit, covers extensive tracts in the interior of Pernambuco and Paraiba, where the soil is loose, sandy, and arid. In similar situations are also to be seen many kinds of guava. While the fruit of the larger species of passion flower (Passiflora) is much esteemed for the coolness and delicacy of Its pulp, the European fruits, which thrive so well on the table land of Mexico, and on the sides of the Cordilleras of Chile, wither and die beneath the fervour of a Brazilian sun. The vine, indeed, is sometimes seen in the gardens of the rich ; and there is no doubt but that it might be cultivated with complete success in the southern provinces ; but this has been hitherto prevented by that short-sighted policy of the motiier country, which prohibited both the vine and the olive from being plant'ed in any of the colonies. Agriculture and gardening, in short, are here in their infancy. There is, indeed, a botanical garden both at Bio de Janeiro and Pemambuco ; but the first is neglected, and the last, existing (in 1816) only in name, is a wilderness. The private gardens of the higher classes usually consist of orange, citron, and lime trees, planted in rows, intermixed vrith a few heavy earthen pots of China-asters, pinks, and other common plants of Europe, here esteemed because they are exotic ; while, as in other countries, the most lovely creepers and flowering shrubs grow in the thickets and fences, totally disregarded. The woods and forests abound with innumerable medicinal plants, as the castor, two species of contrayerva (Dorst^niu rotundifolia and pernam- bucana of Arruda), the pinao , the angelim {Skotemora pernambuc^nsis Arru.)^ and many others, the names and qualities of which, the Brazilians, from some unaccountable fancy, studiously conceal from Europeans, although they willingly administer them as pre- pared medicaments when applied to. The most valuable dyeing wood is, that hearing tlie O 4 200 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. name of the country : the monopoly wliich the crown assumed, of cutting and export- ing it, was so arbitrary and vexatious, that it has been used as fire-wood by many of the planters, to conceal from the revenue officers that it was found on their lands. Its produce has long been gradually diminishing, and unless some judicious measures are adopted, this valuable wood will be totally lost in a few years. There are many other beautiful woods fit for ornamental furniture, but none are so well known as the rose wood (said to be a species of Jacardnda), wliich of late years has become so fasliionabie in this country. Numerous species of laurel and myrtle abound in the forests ; tl)e Mimosa sensitiva, or sensitive plant, will sometimes form impenetrable thickets on the sides of the ponds and rivers ; while the various species of Amaryllis, as also the crimson passion flower, are more particularly natives of the southern provinces. 1234. The butanists qf Europe have long been uvacguainted with the plant which produces the true Ipecncuana ; and even those who have recently travelled in Brazil appear to have fallen into some mistakes on this subject. In fact, there ave two plants essentially very different, but which, from possessing the same medicinal qualities, have long passed under the same name, even in BraziL The opmion ot the accurate Arruda, whose name as a botanist may rank with the first in Europe, but who lived and died in Brazil, maybe considered, on this question, as decisive. He considers the true ipecacuana^ or Ipecacuanha preta of the natives, as belonging to a new genus. This plant he calls Jpecacuana otticiniilis {Cent. Plant.); it grows in the southern provinces, and requires shade. The other, called by the Bra- zilians the white sort (/. Brdnca)^ is the PombaWa Ipecacuanha of Vandel : this is found in considerable abundance in the sandy tracts of Pernambuco and Paralba, and its root, when dried and pounded, is much used in these provinces as a gentle purgative; it likewise promotes perspiration, and possesses stimulant qualities. {Swainson's MSS^ 12,35. The pot tree {Lecpthis olHiria) is one of the greatest ornaments of the woods ; its immense stem is above a hundred feet high, and spreads into a majestic and vaulted crown, which is extremely beauti- ful in the spring when the rose-coloured leaves shoot out, and in the flowering season from the large white blossoms. The nuts, which have a thick shell, are of the size of a child's head, with a lid which is loose all round, and which at length, when the weight of the fruit turns it downwards, separates, and lets the seed fall out. In a high wind it is dangerous to remain in the woods on account of the^e heavy nuts falling from so great a height. The seeds are collected in great quantities by the Indians, who are extremely fond of them, and either eat them raw, or preserve them roasted and pounded, in pots, and the shells themselves are used as drinking cups. {SpiXy vol, ii p. 222.) 1 236. Dr. Arruda has described several of the most valuable of those indigenous plants whose fibres are adapted for economic purposes. The most important o\' these are, — 1. The carok (Brom^h'a variegiita Ar.)y found in great abundance in the Sertoens of Paraiba and of the northern provinces : the fibres of the leaves are of two kinds; from one, a very strong cordage is made, while the other is manufactured by the fishermen into nets, and sometimes into a coarse cloth, whpn care is taken in preparing the thread. 2. The Crauata de Rede tBromfek'ct sagen&ria Ar.") is confined to the maritime parts of Pernambuco and Paraiba ; the leaves are from six to nine feet long, and the fibres so strong, and at the &ame time so fine, that cables made from them are much superior in strength to those of Europe, while they are equally well adapted for sail-cloth or stockings. The most delicate fibres, however, are those procured from the leaves of the ananas (BromMi'a An&nas), as they are capable of being manufacturecf into cloth of a superior quality. Other plants possess the same qualities, though in an inferior degree. The Bra- zilian government has hitherto paid little attention to these matters. {Swainson's MSS.) 1237. Brazillikewise produces a species of crotout the leaves of which are sometimes used as a substitute for the tea of China. Some years ago, the government evinced a great desire to introduce and cultivate the genuine tea plant, and actually induced several Chinese to settle near Rio de Janeiro, for the purpose of superintending its culture : the plan, however, from some jealousy or mismanagement, was abandoned before it had received a fair trial. A similar project was formed for introducing the cochineal insect, but which, from similar causes, proved equally abortive. There is every reason to believe, however, that both would have succeeded under proper management. {Swainson's MSS) 1 238. The live stock of Brazil chiefly consists of horned cattle, which are pastured in great numbers in the interior of the southern provinces. The hides are sent to Europe : and the flesh, after being cut into long stripes and dried in the sun, becomes mi article of considerable internal commerce. Paraiba and Rio Grande are particularly celebrated for this traffic. Fresh meat, even in maritime towns, cannot always be had, and is at all times dear. Swine are good, but sheep and goats are almost unknown. 1239. Cntdes of different spedes, porcupines, armadillos, and other wild animals, abound in some of the forests ; most, if not all, are eaten by the native Indians and the Bra- zilians : the former do not even reject the monkeys. In some parts 1G9 of the interior are small ounces, but they seldom show themselves by day. Hammiocks made of net- work are universally preferred to beds ; and from being of little va- lue, they are generally possessed by the poorest natives, w^ho suspend them between beams in the house, or trees in the open air. {Jig. 169.) (76.) Z240. Cayanne or French Guiana, is a fertile country, and has been long well cultivated by the colonists. The climate is salubrious ; the surface of the country is not mountainous, but abounds in hills and forests ; the soil is in general tincommonly fertile, and the productions it yields are of excellent quality. The Cayenne pepper (C4psicum annuum, and other species) is a noted produce of this country, and, witli sugar, cocoa, coffee, mdigo, maize, cassia, and vanilla, forms the chief article of its Book I. AGRICULTURE IN SOUTH AMERICA. 201 commerce. The interior parts, though much neglected, and remaining obstructed by tliick forests and underwood, feed, nevertheless, a great number of horses, sheep, goats, and cattle, which roam at pleasure : the beef and mutton are reckoned excellent, {Maison Rustiqxie de Ca^nne, Paris, 1763.) 1^41. CoUmtMa is a fertile tract of country, with aij irregular surface and warm climate. An association was formed in London some years ago to send emigrants thither. A million of acres were granted to it, besides several important exemptions, by the Colombian government. A hundred and ninety-one persons left Scotland to settle there in 1825 ; but, according to the superintendent, they were such a set of people, with a very few exceptions, as could not have been procured in any country. They had every advantage, but acted as if resolved to avail themselves of none. Yet, by the surgeon's report, the most sickly months in the year were passed over by a population of drunken adults, and a large proportion of children, with a mortality of about one fifth less than that of the most healthy parts of Europe. Mr. Powles is perfectly justified in his declaration, that the defaulters in this transaction are the settlers them- selves. They are the parties who have not performed their agreement ; and who, by their own misconduct, have brought a very heavy loss upon the association ; and what is more to be regretted, have greatly retarded the progress of an undertaking calculated to produce the most extensive advantages both to Colombia and Great Britain. We trust the success of this wise and benevolent experiment is retarded only. The million of acres granted to tliis company present a very different prospect and security from those golden bubbles which the Reports of Messrs. Head, Andrews, and Beaumont have by Siis time blown away. (^Ed. Rev., Jan. 1828.) 1242. Surinam is a low moist country, which has been in part studded with wooden houses {Jig. 170.}, _ and well cultivated if, J^ by the Dutch. The .-^— a«. climate is hot, and is the most un- healthy and pesti- lential in South America, although the heat in some measure is tem- pered by the sea breeze. The surface of the country is little varied by inequalities. The uncultivated parts are covered with immense forests, rocks, and mountains, some of the latter enriched with a great variety of mineral substances ; and the whole country is intei-sected by very deep marshes or swamps, and by extensive heaths or savannas. The soil is, in general, very fertile ; and its fertility may be ascribed, not only to the rains and warmth of tliis climate, but also to the low and marshy situation of the country, which prevents the intense heats from destroying vegetation, and to the extreme richness of the soil, particularly in those parts that are cultivated by European industry. 1243. The principal products of Surimam are tobacco, sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, and indigo. The quassia tree, or bitter drug, used by the porter brewers, grows wild in the woods, and was first exposed for sale by a native called 271 Quassi, after whom the tree is named. The cabbage i tree is abundant ; and under the rind of the palms is ] found the Curculio ^ImSlrum Lin. (Jig. 171. a), the ' larva of which (b) is eaten by the natives as a luxury. A very interesting account of this colony is given by Captain Stedman (Joktoo/, 2 vols. 4to, 1794), who filled j an important military situation there for several years. _ This gendeman, in the midst of the most arduous duties, ' contrived to make himself tolerably comfortable. He built a country house there (Jig. 172.) ; kept a wife, pigs, bees, sheep, and cattle, and had children and slaves. He lived by turns with his family in a house, and with strange women in the woods, where he ' slept in hammocks (Jig. 173.) and adopted many of the practices of the natives. He made many sketches) and kept a journal ; and after many years full of interesting adventures with the rebellious natives, and of endearing scenes with Joanna his local wife, he came home and wrote a very entertaining account of what he had seen and done. (See Stedman's Surinam, 2 vols. 4to, 1794.) 1244. Amawnia is an extensive, unconquered, or at least uncivilised, country. In so far as it is known, its climate is more temperate than might be expected from its geogra- pliical position. The surface of the country is clothed, in most places, by inter- 202 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. minable forests, and its immense river is well known. The soil of a small settlement formed by the Portuguese is very fertile, and pro- duces corn, grain,' and all kinds of tropical _ fruits ; besides a va'riety --^ of timber, as cedar, brazil '^ wood, oak, ebony, iron \^rf wood, logwood, and other dyeing woods ; «f^ and also cocoa, tobacco, • • i_ i <■ sugar-canes, cotton, cassava root, potatoes, yams, sarsapanlla, gums, raisms, balsams of various sorts, pine-apples, guavas, bananas, &c. The forests abound with wild honey, 173 n ' 174 and also with tigers, wild boars, buffaloes, and cavies ; while the true Amazonian parrot, with a green plumage and pale yellow front (fg. 174.), is found in vast flocks, and annually exported to all parts of Europe. The rivers and lakes afford an ample supply of fish, manattas, and mud- tortoises-; but the alligators and water serpents render fishing a dangerous employment. The trees, fields, and plants are verdant throughout the year. 1245. Patagonia consists mostly of open deserts and savannas, with a few willows on the rivers. It seems to enjoy a tem- perate but rather cool climate ; but, separated in the middle by the vast mountains of the Andes, one part of it differs widely from the other. Northward of La Plata, this part of South America is covered with wood, and stored with an inexhaustible fund of large timber: but, southward of that river, there is scarcely a tree or shrub fit for any mechanical purpose ; yet even this seemingly barren country has some good pastures. There are numerous droves of wild horned cattle, and abun- dance of horses, both originally introduced by the Spaniards. 1 246. Of the South American islands, that of Juan Femandes abounds in pasture, cattle, and woods ; and Terra del Fuego, amidst its horrible snows, exhibits a variety of plants. The Falkland Islands contain number of fowls and plants, somewhat resembling those of Canada. Georgia is a field of ice, in which, or in any of the other islands, there is no cultivation whatever. BOOK IL AGRICULTURE AS INFLUENCED BY GEOGRAPHICAL, PHYSICAL, CIVIL, AND POLITICAL CIRCUMSTAXCES. 1 247. Agriculture, considered with regard to climate, territorial surface, and society, presents some features which it may be instructive to contemplate. Whoever has perused vrith attention the outline which we have now concluded of the field culture of the different nations of the world, must have a general and enlarged view of that art ; and must ne- cessarily have observed that there are different species of territorial culture, founded on difference of geographical position or climate, difference of physical circumstances or surface, and difference of civilisation or human wants. The object of the present Book is to characterise these different species, and to refer to them the proper districts through- out the world. Book II. AGRICULTURE UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 203 Chaf. I. Agriculture as influenced by Geographical Circumstances, 1248. The influence of climate extends not only to tlie kind of plants and animals to be reared, but also to the mode of rearing. A few useful plants are universal, and but a few. Of those belonging to agriculture, we may enumerate most of the annual pasture or hay grasses, and, of the cereal grasses, the wheat, rye, and barley. The oat, the pea, bean, turnip, potato, and the perennial pasture grasses, will neither thrive in very hot nor in very cold climates ; the maize, millet, and rice can only be grown in warm countries, and the oat in temperate regions. The roots and fruits of what are denominated hot climates, as the yam, plantain, bread-iruit, &c., are limited to them ; and equally so the timber trees of temperate and torrid regions, as the oak and pine, the mahogany and teak tree. 1 249. Animah as well as plants are affected by climate. Some animals are univer- sal, as the ox and swine, which are found in every latitude ; others are limited in their range, as the rein-deer, camel, elephant, and, considered as a domesticated animal, the sheep. The horse and ass are nearly universal, but cannot be substituted for the rein- deer. The sheep will exist in India and also in Greenland, but loses its useful charac- ter in both countries ; in Greenland it requires protection dining nine months of the year, and in India the wool is changed to hair, and the carcass is too lean for the butcher. 1 250. Tlie management required for both plants and animals depends materially on cli- mate. It is not easy for a person who has never been out of Britain to conceive a just idea of the aquatic culture even of Italy or Spain. In these countries though most crops, whether of grain or roots, require watering, yet some in the rainy season may be obtained in the usual way, as melons in Italy and onions in Spain. But in Arabia, Persia, and India no culture can be undertaken without water, except in the upper regions of mountains. The fimdamental process of culture in these countries is to prepare the surface for the reception of water, and its circulation in trenches and gutters, and to procure the water by raising it from wells or rivers by machinery. Wherever the surface cannot be irrigated, no regular culture need be attempted nor com crop expected. Nature in such situations produces periodical crops of annual succulents or bulbous-rooted plants j and man might, perhaps, to a certain extent, turn this circumstance of climate to account, by changing the sorts of annual bulbs, &c., from such as are useless, to such as are useful. The onion or edible crocus or cyperus might, perhaps, be substituted for the ixia of the Cape ; the sesamum, or some rapid annual, furnishing useful seeds or herbage, for numerous annual weeds ; and the cochineal cactus for the showy but useless mesembryanthemums and stapelias of the African wastes. These, however, are only suggestions. 1251. Culture in the north of Europe depends for the most part more on draining lands of their superfluous water, than on artificial supplies of that element. When irrigation is applied it is limited entirely to grass lands ; and that not for the purpose of supplying such lands with moisture, but for stimulating by manure held in solution by the water, and for increasing or maintaining heat. The greatest care is requisite to prevent this mode of watering from proving more injurious than useful ; but little danger results from the application of water in hot countries, and there it is valuable by moderating rather than increasing the temperature of the soil. Water in the north of Europe is generally supplied in more than sufficient quantity by the atmosphere ; and, tiierefore, one great object of the cultivator is to keep tiie soil thoroughly drained by surface gutters and subterraneous conductors ; to keep it pulverised for the moisture to pass through, and for the roots to extend themselves ; well stocked with manure to supply nourishment ; freed from weeds, to prevent any of this nourishment from being wasted ; and to admit the light, air, and weather to the useful plants. In the hot countries keeping the soil free from weeds is generally a duty easily performed, and often rendered un- necessary ; for whenever water is withheld, even in the south of Spain (745.), every living plant is burned up with drought. It is remarkable that in the most northerly parts of Europe and America the same effect, especially as to fibrous-rooted perennials, is produced by cold ; and in Russia and New England, whore there is scarcely any spring, the agriculturist has only to plough once, and sow in the same way as in the hot valleys of the south of Spain, and in South America, where vegetation is as rapid from the accession of moisture, as it is in the cold plains of Russia from the influence of the sun during the long days of a northern summer. In hot countries, putrescent maniu-es are not altogether neglected, but they are raucli less necessary than in cold countries, and can be done without where there is abundance of water ; there, water. 204 HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. P**'' ^• intense heat, and light, a consequently moist atmosphere, and a soil well pulverised by art, supply every thing necessary for luxuriant vegetation. , j- ■ ■ 1 252. Hence it is that agrictillure considered neographicall!/ admits of two grand divisions .- that of the cold climates, wliich may be called agriculture by drammg and manures; and that of the liot climates, which may be called agriculture by irrigation. lo the former belong the greater part of Europe, the north of Asia, the north of America, and part of the Australian isles; to the latter, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Atrica, great part of the south of America, and part of Australia. As intermediate between agricvUure by watering, and asrix:ulture by draining, maybe mentioned that mi^ed culture by watering and manuring which prevails in the south of France, Spam, and Italy ; and as opposed to the aquatic culture of the torrid zone, may be placed the rural economy of the arctic circle, which, from the prevalence of cold and ice, precludes all culture of the soil, admits little else than the growth of mosses and lichens, and is therefore limited to fishery and the chase. 1253. These leading dimsions of culture are by no means so absolute as to be determinable by degrees of latitude, so much depending on physical circumstances, as elevation, soil, aspect, island or continent, &c. ; but as an approximation which may impress some general ideas on the mind of the practical agriculturist, we submit the following : — 1254. The agriculture of irrigation may he considered as extending tliirty-five degrees on each side of the equator. 1255. IVie agriculture of manures and irrigation from the thirty-fifth to the forty-fifth degree north and south of the equator. 1256. Tlie agriculture of draining and manures from the forty-fifth degree, north and south of the equator, to the sixty-seventh degree or polar circle. 1257. Tlie arts of fishing and hunting, as the only means of subsistence, from the sixty- seventh degree, or polar circle, to the pole. Chap. II. Agriculture as influenced by Physical Circumstances- 1 258. The physical circumstances which prinapally affect agriculture are temperature, light, elevation, moisture, and soil. 1259. Temperature and light have the most powerful influence both on the culture of plants and rearing of animals. Elevation, when not considerable, admits of being ren- dered subservient to the processes of culture, and to the habits of diiferent plants and animals ; moisture may be moderated or increased, soil improved, but temperature and light are in a great measure beyond human control. Hence it is that the plants and ani- mals under the management of the husbandman do not altogether depend on his skill or choice, but on his local situation. Not only the maize, rice and millet, which are such valuable crops in Asia and Africa, are incapable of cultivation in the north of Europe ; but even within the extent of the British isles, some kinds of grain, pulse, and roots can- not be grown to such perfection in certain districts as in others. Thus the Angus variety of oat will not come to the same perfection, south of London, that it does north of York ; and, of different varieties, the Dutch, Polish, and potato oat will succeed better in a warm climate, than the Angus, black, or moorland oat, which answer best for cold, moist, and elevated districts. The turnip arrives at a greater size in Lancashire, Berwickshire, and Ayrshire, than it does in Kent, Surrey, or Sussex, even admitting the best possible manage- ment in both districts. The pea requires a dry soil and climate, and more heat than the bean, and consequently thrives much better in the south of England, in Kent, and Hamp- shire, than in Scotland or Ireland. Hops cannot be cultivated advantageously in Scotland, nor clover seeds, except, perhaps, in a few very favourable situations. Even wheat does not come to maturity in many parts of that country in ordinary seasons. It is certain that the perennial grasses thrive best where the temperature and light are moderate through- out the year, as on the sea-coast in various countries, where mildness is obtained from the influence of the sea, and light from the absence of a covering of snow ; and also in the south of England, where the snow seldom lies, and where the temperature is moderate, and the nights not so long as they are farther north. It is equally certain that in America and Russia, where the cold is intense during winter, and the plants on the sur- face of the ground are deprived of light for six or seven months together by a coverin-r of snow, all herbaceous vegetation is destroyed. Contrasted with these facts may be mentioned, as equally well ascertained, tliat annual plants in g€ineral attain a greater size, and a higher degree of perfection, where the wintei-s arc long, and the summers hot Book ir. AGRICULTURE UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 205 and light ; the reason of wliich seems to be that the alternate action of heat and cold, rain and ice, meliorates the soil and prepares it better for the nourishment of annuals than It can well be in countries where the soil is not only harder naturally (for all coun- tries that have long winters have soft soils), but more or less occupied by perennial weeds, insects, and vermin. In cold countries the insects aie generally of that kind whose eggs go through the processes of the larva and chrysalis state under water, and land reptiles are generally rare. 1 260. Elevatiom, when considerable, has an absolute influence on agriculture. The most obvious effect is that of obliging the agriculturist to isolate his dwelling from those of other cultivators or villagers in the plains, and to reside on his farm. This is well exemplified in Switzerland and Norway. We have already noticed the judicious reflections of Bakewell on the subject as referable to the former country (337.), and have also referred to those of Dr. Clarke respecting Norway (602.). The latter author has depicted these alpine farms, both with his elegant pen and skUful pencil (Jig. 175). The farmeries are generally built with fir planks, and covered with birch bark and turf. The inhabitants chiefly live by the dairy, and seldom see their neighbours or any human being beyond their own fire-side, except on the Sunday mornings when they go to church, and on the Sunday afternoons in summer when they meet to dance ijig. 176.) and amuse themselves. .. 1261. As elevation is known to lessen temperature in regular gradation ac- cording to the altitude above the sea, its influence on plants and animals must correspond. Three hundred feet in height are considered nearly equal to half a degree of latitude, and occasion a diflerence of temperature of nearly twelve degrees of Fahrenheit. Hence it is that the agiicultiu'e of the temperate, may sometimes be adopted in the torrid, zone ; and that some of the mountains of Jamaica will produce, between their base and summit, almost all the plants of the world. Hence, also, that even in the limited extent of the island of Britain, a given elevation on mountains in Devonshire will be adapted for an agriculture different from that required by the same elevation on the Cheviot, Grampian, or Sutherland mountains ; and while wheat ripens at six hundred feet above the level of the sea in Cornwall, oats will hardly ripen at that height in the Western Isles. 1262. Mlevaiinn exposes plants and animals to the powerful ojieration of wind, and in this respect must influence the disposition of the fields, fences, plantations, and buildings of the agriculturist, as well as the plants and animals on the farm. It has some influence also on the density of the air and the supplies of water and vapour, and even in these respects must afiect the character of the agriculture. In Switzerland and Norway the upper mountain-farms are completely above the more dense strata of clouds, and their eOG HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. Pait !• occupiers are often for weeks together without getting a view of the plains or valleys below. 1263. That soU must influence the agriculture of a country appears at first sight very obvious; though, if climate is favourable, time and art will render tlie soil fit for any species of culture. Naturally, however, soil has a powerful influence ; and the period, under ordinary management, will be considerable, before strong deep clays on a flat surface can be rendered equally fit for the turnip or potato, with fnable loams, or more gravelly or sandy soils. 1264. The influence of moisture on the state of lands is naturally very considerable ; and though draining or irrigation can effectually remove excesses or supply deficiency, yet fen lands and chalk hills, such as we find in Huntingdonshire, Surrey, and other counties, vidll ever have a peculiar character of agriculture ; the marsh perennial hay grasses will be the characteristic plants of the former, and saintfoin of the latter. 1265. As tlie general result of this outline of the influence of physical circumstances on agriculture, we may form a classification of that of any particular country to whichever of thefour universal divisions (1254. to 1257.) it belongs. We submit the following: — 1266. The agriculture of water-fed lawls, including fens, marshes, and marsh meadows. 1267. The agriculture of sun^bumt lands, including chalk, gravel, and sandy hills, wheie vegetation is annually more or less burned up during two or more of the summer months. 1268. The agriculture of mountains, in which the farmery is placed on the farm, as distinguished from those cases in which the whole or a part of the mountain lands is ap- pended to lands on the plain. 1269. Common agriculture, or that of the plains, valleys, and hills of a country, in which all the crops and all the animals suitable to the climate may be profitably cultivated and reared. Chap. III. Agriculture as affected by Civil, Political, and Religiovs Circumstances, 1270. Tlie influence of tlie state of society ana government on agriculture must, as well as the climate and situation, obviously be very considerable ; for it will signify little what a country is capable of producing, if the inhabitants are too barbarous to desire, too igno- rant to know, or too much oppressed to attain, these products. Some of the finest lands in the world, capable of producing wheat, maize, rice, and the grape, are inhabited by savages, who live on game, wild fruits, or native roots ; or by half-civiUsed tribes who cultivate maize and yams, or some other local root. Even in Ireland, where the soil is better than in Britain, and with very moderate culture will produce excellent wheat and other corns, with beef, mutton, and wool, the greater part of the inhabitants, from igno- rance, oppression, and in part, as we have seen (852. ), religious slavery, content themselves with roots and rags, the latter often the cast off refuse of other countries. 1271 . The state of civilisation and reflneTnent of a people not only influences agriculture by the nature of the products such a state requires, but also by the means of production it affords ; by the superior ease with which information on every subject may be attained ; and by the existing state of knowledge, for example, in mechanics, chemistry, and physiology, by which the implements and machines are improved, tlie operations of soils and manures regulated, the influence of water, the atmosphere, and the functions of plants and animals understood. The difference in the means taken to effect the same end in a poor but yet ingenious country, and in one rich and enlightened, is exemplified in China and India, as compared with Britain. Wealth and ignorance, as contrasted with poverty and ingenuity, may also be exemplified in comparing the farmer of Hindustan with the English farmer. The latter, to stir the soil, employs an unwieldy implement drawn by several oxen or horses ; the former uses a small light implement drawn by one ox or buffalo, but effects his object by repeating the operation many times. The Englishman effects it at once, often in spite of the worst means, by main force. The processes of Chinese manufacture are exceedingly curious and ingenious, and form a remarkable contrast to the rapid and sci- entific processes of Britain. There are many curious practices in France and Germany, the result of poverty and ingenuity. In Brittany the whin is used as horse provender: to bruise the spines one man operates on a simple but ingenious machine (fie. 177.), and effects his purpose completely. Here the same thing is done by a couple of iron rollers turned by a horse or by water : but the farmer of Brittany, who would purchase a pair of whin-bruising rollers, must first sell the greater part of his stock and crop. Book II. AGRICULTURE UNDER VARIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. 207 1272. The political state of a country will powerfully affect its agriculture. Where se- curity, the greatest object of government, is pro- cured at too high a rate, tlie taxes will depress the cultivator, and not only consume his profits, but infringe on his capital ; where security, either relatively to external circumstances or internal laws, is incomplete, tliere tlie farmer who has capital will be unwilling to risk it : in either case, few who have capital will engage in that profession ; and if any find it profitable, the fear of exposing himself to exactions from government or from his landlord, will prevent him from making a proper use of his profits either in the way of employment or of consump- tion. Many instances of this state of things are to be found in the foregoing history. Wherever the metayer system orthat of short leases prevails, whatever may be the nature or practice of the government, these remarks vrill apply. Security and liberty at a moderate price are essential to the prosperity of agriculture, even more so than to that of manufactures or commerce. 1273. Religion may be thought to have very little influence on agriculture ; but in a Catholic or Mohammedan country, where the religion enjoins a frequent abstinence from animal food, and long periodical fasts from even the produce of the cow, surely the rear- ing and feeding of stock for the shambles or the dairy cannot prosper to the same extent as in a country less enslaved by prejudice, or whose religious opinions do not interfere with their cookery. The number of holidays is also a great grievance. 1274. The natural character of a people may even have some influence on their agri- culture, independently of all the other circumstances mentioned. The essential character of a people is formed by the climate and country in which they live, and their factitious or accidental character by their government and religion for the time being. The latter .may alter, but the original or native character remains. Thus the French appear to be the same gay people that they were in the time of Julius Ca?sar ; and, as far as history enables us to judge, the Greeks and Romans have only lost their accidental character. 1275. The agriculture of the world, in regard to the state of society, may perliaps admit of tlie following divisions : — 1276. The agriculture tf science, or modern farming, in which the cultivator is secure in his property or possession, both with relation to the government and to the landlord he lives under, as generally in Britain and North America. 1277. The agriculture of habit, or feudal culture, in which the cultivator is a metayer, or a tenant at will, or on a short lease, or has covenanted to pursue a certain fixed system of culture. 1278. JBarbarian agriculture, or that of a semi-barbarous people who cultivate at ran- dom, and on land to which they have no defined right of possession, roots or grain, without regard to rotation, order, or permanent advant^e. 1279. The economy cf savages, such as hunting, fishing, gathering fruits, or digging up roots. Chap. IV. Of the Jlgricvlture of Britain. 1280. To which of these geographical, physical, and social divisions of agriculture that of the British isles may be referred, is the next object to be determined, and we submit the following as its classification : — 1281. GeographicaUy it is the agriculture of draining and manures. 1282. Phydcally, those of water-fed and sun-burnt lands, mountains, and variable plains. 1283. Socially considered, it is the agriculture of science. 1284. Tlie follmmng Parts of this work, therefore, are to be considered as treating of a .kind of agriculture so characterised ; that is, of the agriculture of our own country. Who- ever has paid a due attention to what has preceded, can scarcely fail to have formed an idea of the agriculture of every other part of the world. 208 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part I. PART II. AGRICULTURE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE. •1285. 411 knowledge is founded on experience ; in the infancy of any art, experience is confined and knowledge limited to a few particulars ; but as arts are improved and extended, a great number of facts become known, and the generalisation of these, or the arrangement of them according to some leading principle, constitutes the theory, science, or law of an art. 1286. Agriculture, in common with other arts, may be practised without any knowledge of its theory ; that is, established practices may be unitated : but in this case it must ever remain stationary. The mere routine practitioner cannot advance beyond the limits of his own particular experience, and can neither derive instruction from such accidents as are favourable to his object, nor guard against the recurrence of such as are unfavourable. He can have no resource for unforeseen events but ordinary expedients ; vphile the man of science resorts to general principles, refers events to their true causes, and adapts liis measures to meet every case. 1287. The object of the art of agriculture is to increase the quantity and improve the quality of such vegetable and animal productions of the earth as are used by civilised man ; and the object of the agriculturist is to do this with the least expenditure of means, or, in other words, with profit. The result of the experience of mankind as to other objects may be conveyed to an enquiring mind in two ways : he may be instructed in the practical operations of the art, and their theory, or the reasons on which they are founded, laid down and explained to him as he goes along ; or he may be first instructed in general principles, and then in the practices which flow from them. The former mode is the natural and actual mode in which every art is acquired (in so far as acquire- ment is made) by such as have no recourse to books, and may be compared to the natural mode of acquiring a language without the study of its grammar. The latter mode is by much the more correct and effectual, and is calculated to enable an instructed agricul- turist to proceed with the same kind of confidence and satisfaction in his practice, that a grammarian does in the use of language. 1288. In adopting what we consider as the preferable mode of agricultural instruction, we shall, as its grammar or science, endeavour to convey a general idea of the nature of vegetables, animals, minerals, mixed bodies, and the atmosphere, as connected with agriculture ; of agricultural implements and other mechanical agents ; and of agricul- tural operations and processes. 1289. The study of the science of agriculture may be considered as implying a regular education in the student, who ought to be well acquainted with arithmetic and mensur- ation ; and to have acquired the art of sketching objects, whether animals, vegetables, or general scenery, of taking off and laying down geometrical plans ; but especially he ought to have studied chemistry, hydraulics, and something of carpentry, smithery, and the other building arts ; and, as Professor Von Thaer observes, he ought to have some knowledge of all those manufactures to which his art furnishes the raw materials. BOOK L OF THE STUDY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM WITH A VIEW TO AGRICULTUKE. 1290. The various objects with which we are surrounded are either organised, having several constituent parts which united form a whole capable of increase by nourishment ; or they are unorganised, and only increased by additions to their external parts. To the first division belong the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and their study is founded chiefly on observation : to the second belongs the mineral kingdom, the study of which in masses, or geology and mineralogy, is also founded chiefly on observation ; and, with regard to composition and elements, on experiment or chemistry. 1291. Vegetables are distinguished from animals in not being endowed with sentiment or a consciousness of existence. Their study has employed the attention of mankind from a very early period ; and has been carried to a high degree of perfection within the last Book I. THE STUDY OF SYSTEMATIC BOTANY, 209 century ; more especially by the exertions of Linnjeus, and those of .Tussieu, Mirbol, and some other French philosophers. This study comprehends systematic botany, vegetable anatomy, vegetable chemistry, physiology, pathology, the distribution of vegetables, and vegetable culture. The study of these branches is of the utmost importance to the agri- culturist, especially that of vegetable physiology ; and though the limits of this work do not permit us to enter into tlie subject at great length ; yet we shall direct his attention to the leading points, and refer liim to the best books. Chap. I. Of the Study of Systematic Botany* 1 292. Giossology, or the study of the names of the parts of plants, is the first step in this department. 1293. Ali the arts arid sciences reqiure to express with brevity and perspicuity a crowd of idetts unused in cmmnon language, and unknown to the greater part of men : whence that multitude of terms, or tech. nical turns, given to ordinary words, which the public often turn into ridicule, because they do not feel the use of them ; but which all are obliged to make use of, who apply themselves to any study what- ever. Botany having to describe an immense number of beings, and each of these beings having a great variety of organs, reqmres a great variety of terms. Nearly all botanists are agreed as to these terms, and in order that they may be universally understood and remain unchanged in meaning, they are taken from a dead or fixed language. 1294. A plant m flower ^ surveyed externally, may be perceived to be composed of a variety of obvious parts, such as the root, the stem, the branch, the leaf, the flower, the fruit, and perhaps the seed ; and other parts less obvious, as buds, prickles, tendrils, hairs, glands, &c. These, with their modifications, and all the relative circumstances which enter into the botanical description of a plant, constitute the subject of glossology, or the study of the language of botany. The reader may consult Sraitli's Introduction to Botany, or almost any recent work on the elements of botanical science. 1^5. Phytography, or the naming and describing of plants, is the next part of the subject to be considered. Before botany became a regular science, plants were named as individual beings, without regard to any relation which they had to one another. But from the great number of names to be retained on the memory, and the obvious affinities existing among certain individuals or natural families, some method was soon found necessary, and it was then deemed requisite to give such composite names as might recall to mind something of the individuals to which they were applied. Thus we had Anagdllis fibre aer&leo, Mtispilus aculeata pyrifolia, &c. In the end, however, the length of these phrases became inconvenient, and Linnsus, struck with this inconvenience, {>roposed that the names of plants should henceforth consist of two words only, the one the generic or family name, and the other the specific or individual name. 1396. The names q/" classes and orders were originally primitive or without meaning, as the Grasses of Tragus, Poppies of Bauhin, &c. ; and afterwards so compounded as to be long and complex, as the PoUoplostemonop4tal^, EleutheroTnacrost^mones, &c., of Wachendorf. Linnaeus decided that the names of classes and orders should consist of a single word, and that word not simple or primitive, but expressive of a certain character or characters found in all the plants which compose it 1 297. In appfy/ing names to plants, three rules are laid down by botanists: 1st, That the languages chosen should be fixed and universal, as the Greek and Latin. 2d, That these languages should be used accord- ing to the general laws of grammar, and compound words always composed from the same language, and not of entire words, &c. Sd, That the first who discovers a being, and enregisters it in the catalogue ol nature, has the right of giving it a name; and that that name ought to be received and admitted by naturalists, unless it belongs to a being already existing, or transgresses the rules of nomenclature Every one who discovers a new plant may not be able to enregister it according to these laws, and in that case has no right to ^ve it a name ; but the botanist who enregisters it, and who is in truth the discoverer, may give it the name proposed by the finder, if he chooses. 1298. The whole vegetable kingdoTn is divided into classes, orders, genera, species, mid varieties. A class is distinguished by some character which is common to many plants ; an order is distinguished by having some character limited to a few plants belonging to a class ; a still more limited coincidence constitutes a genus ; and each individual of a genus, which continues unchanged when raised from seed, is called a spe- cies. A variety is formed by an accidental deviation from the specific character, and easily returns by seed to the particular species from which it arose. 1299. 1^ the purposes of recording and communicating botanical knowledge plants are described; and this is done either by the use of language alone, or by language and figures, models, or dried plants, con. joined. The description of plants may be either abridged or complete The shortest mode of abridgement is that employed in botanical catalogues, as in those of Donn or of Sweet The most exact descriptions are deficient vrithoutflgures or a herbarium. Hence the advantage of being able to see plants at pleasure, by farming dried ccdlections of them. Most plants dry with facility between the leaves of books, or between sheets of paper, the smoother the better. If there is plenty of paper, they often dry best without shifting; but if the specimens are crowded, they must be taken out frequently, and the paper dried before they are replaced. 1300. The language qf botany may be acquired by two methods, analogous to those by which common languages are acquired. The first is the natural method, which begins with the great and obvious classes of vegetables, and distinguishes trees, grasses, &c, next individuals among these, and afterwards their parts or organs : this knowledge is acquired insensibly, as we acquire our native tongue. The second is the artificial method, and begins with the parts of plants, as the leaves, roots, Ac, ahcending to nomenclature and classification, and is acquired by particular study, aided by books or instructors, as one acquires a dead or foreign language. This method is the fittest for such as wish to attain a thorough knowledge of plants, so as to be able to describe them ; the other mode is easier, and the best suited for cultivators, whose object does not go beyond that of understanding their descriptions, and studying their physiology, history, and application. A very good method, for a person at a distance from botanists, is to form a collection of dried specimens of all the plants of which he wishes to know the names, and to send them to the curator of the nearest botanic garden, requesting him to write the name below each spe- cimen, and to refer to some work easily procured, such as Lindley's Vasculares, ox Withering or Gray's Arrai^emeni qf British Plants, in which are given its description, uses, history, &c. We know of no work in which an attempt has been made to comprehend so much, both of theoretical and practical botany, as is comprised in our Encyclopedia qf Plants ; and to those therefore who cannot afford to have many books, and especially to gardeners, for whose convenience it is more especially intended, it may be confidently recommended. P 210 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II, 1301. Taxonomy^ or the classification of plants, is tlie last part of the study of tecbno- logical botany. It is very evident, that, without some arrangement, the mind of man would be unequal to the task of acquiring even an imperfect knowledge of the various objects of nature. Accordingly, in every science, attempts have been made to classify the different objects that it embraces, and these attempts have been founded on various principles : some have adopted artificial characters ; others have endeavoured to detect the natural relations of the beings to be arranged, and thus to ascertain a connection by which the whole may be associated. In the progress of zoology and botany, the fun- damental organs on which to found a systematic arrangement have been finally agreed on. In both, those which are essential, and which discover the greatest variety, form the basis of classification. Animals are found to diflTer most from each other in the organs of nu- trition, plants in the organs of reproduction, 1302. Two methods of arranging vegetables have been distinguished by botanists, the natural and the artificial. A natural method is that which, in its distribution, retains all the natural classes ; that is, groups into which no plants enter which are not connected by numerous relations, or which can be dis- joined without doing a manifest violence to nature. An artificial method is that whose classes are not natural, because they collect together several genera of plants which are not connected by numerous relations, although they agree in the characteristic mark or marks assigned to that particular class or assemblage to which they belong. An artificial method is easier than the natural, as in the latter it is nature, in the former the writer, who prescribes to plants the rules and order to be observed in their dis- tribution. Hence, likewise, as nature is ever uniform, there can be only one natural method ; whereas artificial methods may be multiphed almost ad infinitum^ according to the diflferent relations under which bodies are viewed. 1303. Tlie object of the natural method is to promote our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom by gene- ralising facts and ideas ; the object of the artificial method is to facilitate the knowledge of plants as indi- vidual objects. The merits of the former method consist in the perfection with which plants are grouped together in natural families or orders, and these families grouped among themselves ; the merits of the latter consist in the perfection with which they are arranged according to certain marks by which their names may be discovered. Plants arranged according to the natural method may be compared to words arranged according to their roots or derivations ; arranged according to an artificial method they may be compared to words in a dictionary. The success attending attempts at botanical arrangement, both natural and artificial, has been singularly striking. Linnaeus has given the most beautiful artificial system that has ever been bestowed by genius on mankind; and Jussieu has, with unrivalled ability, exhibited the natural affinities of the vegetable kingdom. For the study of this department we refer to the works of Smith, Lindley, DecandoUe, and Gray, but especially to the Encyclopcedia of Plants. Chap. II. Vegetable Anatomy^ or the Structure and Organisation o/* Plants* 1304. Vegetables may he classed for the study of their anatomy and physiologyi accordingly as they are distinguished by a structure or organisation more complicated or more simple. The former will constitute what may be denominated perfect plants, and will form a class comprehending the principal mass of the vegetable kingdom ; the latter will constitute what may be denominated imperfect plants, and will form a class comprehending all such vegetables as are not included in the foregoing class. "We shall first consider their external, and next their internal, organisation. Sect. I. Of tfie External Structure of Perfect Plants* 1 305. The parts of peifect plants may be distributed into conservative and reproduc- tive, as corresponding to their respective functions in the economy of vegetation. 1306. The conservative organs are such as are absolutely necessary to the growth and preservation of tiie plant, and include the root, trunk, branch, leaf, and frond. 1307. The root is that part of the plant by which it attaches itself to the soil in which it grows, or to the substance on which it feeds, and is the principal organ of nutrition. 1308. 7%e trunk is that part of the plant which, springing immediately from the root, ascends in a ver- tical position above the surface of the soil, and constitutes the principal bulk of the individual. 1309. The branches are the divisions of the trunk, originating generally in the upper extremity, but often also along the sides, 1310. The leaft which is a temporary part of the plant, is a thin and flat substance of a green colour, issuing generally from numerous points towards the extremities of the branches, but sometimes also imme- diately from the stem or root, and distinguishable by the sight or touch into an upper and under surface, a base and apex, with a midrib and lateral veins or nerves. 1311. The fronds which is to be regarded as a compound of several of the parts already described, con- sista of a union or incorporation of the leaf, leaf-stalk, and branch or stem, forming, as it were, but one organ, of which the constituent parts do not separate spontaneously from one another by means of the fVacture of any natural joint, as in the case of plants in general, but adhere together even in their decay. It is found in palms and ferns. 1312, The conservative appendages are such accessory or supernumerary parts as are found to accompany the conservative organs occasionally, but not invariably. They are permanent in whatever species they are found to exist, some being peculiar to one species, and some to another ; but they are never found to be all united in the same species, and are not necessarily included in the general idea of the plant. They are de- nominated gems, glands, tendrils, stipula, ramenta, armature, pubescence, and anomalies. Book I, EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PLANTS. 211 1313. Gems or bulbs are or^nised substances issuing fVom the surface of the plant, and containing the rudiments of new and additional parts which they protrude ; or the rudiments of new individuals, which they constitute by detaching themselves ultimately from the parent plant, and fixing themselves in the soil. 1314. Glands are small and minute substances of various forms, found chiefly on the surface of the leaf and petiole, but often also on the other parts of the plant, and supposed to be the organs of secretion. 1315. The tendril is a thread-shaped and generally spiral process issuing fVorn the stem, branch, or petiole, and sometimes even firom the expansion of the leaf itself, being an organ by which plants of weak and climbing stems attach themselves to other plants or other substances for support ; for which purpose it seems to be well fitted by nature, the tendril being much stronger than a branch of the same size 1316. The stipulcB are small foliaceous appendages accompanying the real leaves, and assuming the appearance of leaves in miniature. 1317. Ramenta are thin, oblong, and strap-shaped appendages, of a brownish colour, issuing from the sur- face of the plant, and somewhat resembling the stlpulee, but not necessarily accompanying the leaves. 1318. T%e armature consists of such accessory and auxiliary parts as seem to have been intended by nature to defend the plant against the attacks of animals. 1319. The pubescence is a general term, including under it all sorts of vegetable down or hairiness, with which the surface of the plant may be covered, finer or less formidable than the armature. 1320. AnoTnalies.There . » q are several other appen- * ' dages proper to conser- vative organs, which are so totally difi*erent from all the foregoing, that i they cannot be classed I with any of them ; and ^ so very circumscribed in their occurrence, that they do not yet seem to have been designated by any peculiar appellation. The first anomaly, affect- ing the conservative ap- pendages, occurs in Dio. ns^a muscjpula, Venus's fly-trapw ( Jig. 178. a) A second is that which oc- curs in Sarrac^nia pur- pfirea or purple side-sad- dle-fiower (b). A third, which is still more singular, occurs in ^ep^nthes distillat&ria {c). The last anomaly is a small globular and membranaceous bag, attached as an appendage to the roots and leaves of some of the aquatics. It is confined to a few genera, but it is to be seen in great abundance on the roots or leaves of the several species of Utricul^ria inhabiting the ponds and ditches of this country j and on the leaves of Aldrovanda vesiculbaa, an inhabitant of the marshes of Italy. In UtriculJiria vulg?iris this appendage is pear-shaped, compressed, with an open border at the small end, furnished with several slender fibres originating in the margin, and containing a transparent and watery fluid and a small bubble of air, by means of which it seems to acquire a buoyancy that suspends it in the water. 1321. The reproductive orgaris are such parts of the plant as are essential to its propaga- tion, whose object is the reproduction of the species, terminating the old individual, and beginning the new. It includes the flower, with its immediate accompaniments or pecuharities, the flower-stalk, receptacle, and inflorescence, together with the ovary or fruit. 1^3. TheJUnuer, like the leaf, is a temporary part of the plant, issuing generally from the extremity of the branchesj but sometimes also from. the root, stem, and even leaf, being the apparatus destined by nature for the production of the fruit, and being also distinguishable, for the most part, by the brilliancy of its colouring or the sweetness of its smelL 1333. T/ie flower-stalk is a partial trunk or stem, supporting one or more flowers, if the flowers are not sessile, and issuing from the root, stem, branch, or petiole, and sometimes even from the leaf. 1324. The receptacle is the seat of the flower, and point of union between the different parts of the flower, or between the flower and the plant, whether immediate and sessile, or mediate and supported upon a flower-stalk. 1325. The ir^florescencef mode of flowering, is the peculiar mode of aggregation in which flowers are arranged or distributed upon the plant. 1326. The fruit is the ripened ovary, or seed-vessel which succeeds the flower. In popular language the term is confined chiefly to such fruits as are esculent, as the apple, the peach, and tiie cherry ; but with the botanist the matured ovary of every flower, with the parts contained, constitutes the fruit. 1327- Appendages, The reproductive organs, like the conservative organs, are often found to be furnished vrith various additional and supernumerary parts, not at all essential to their constitution, because not always present, and hence denominated appendages. Many of them are precisely of the same character with that of the conservative appen- dages, except that they are of a finer and more delicate texture ; such are the glands, down, pubescence, hairs, thorns, or prickles, with one or other of which the parts of the fructification are occasionally furnished : but others are altogether peculiar to the repro- ductive organs, and are to be regarded as constituting, in the strict acceptation of the term, true reproductive appendices. Some of them are found to be proper to the flower, as the involucre, spathe, bracte^ &c, ; and others to the fruit, as the persisting calyx, exemplified in the pomegranate. Sect. II. Of the External Structure of Imperfect Plants* 1328. Plants apparently defective in one or other of the more conspicuous parts or organs, whether conservative or reproductive, are denominated imperfect. The mobt P 2 212 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II. generally adopted division of imperfect plants is that by which they are distributed into Ji'ilices, £quiseticeffi, Lycopodincie, Miisci, Hep^ticae, Algx, iichenes, and J^ngi. 1329. The rWcM, Equiselice,^, and T^copodlne,e are for Ike most part ''"f?^™!"- J""'' fllv ilsSes'a ground in the wlnterTbut they are ftimished with a perennial root, from which there ^"""f"/ "f"^'^ frond bearing the ftuitiflcation. The favourite habitations of many of hem a™ hcath^nd uncuU^^^^^^ grounds, whlre they are found intermixed with furze and brapib to ; but the habitetions of such as are the most luxuriant'in their growth are moist and futile spots, in stady and retted situat.^^^^ mossy dripping rocks, or by feuntains and rills of water. Some of them J^'" thrive even on the dry and barren rock or in the chinks and Assures of walls ; and others only m wet and marshy situations where *S"t/£ Mfo™(A. m « »)>™ <. 'rite,^ imperfect plants of a diminutive si.e, often consirting meSv of a root surmounted with a tuft of minute leaves, from the centre of which the fructification S/s- but fXirriiSfor the most part with astern and branches, on which the leaves are closely imbri. S and"he fmctiflcation terminal or lateral They are perennials and herbaceous, approaching to SrSiby- or annuals, though rarely so, and wholly herbaceous, the perennials being also evergreens. 1331. The Hepatic^ (Jig. 179. c) form a tribe.of small herbaceous plants resemblmg the mosses, bxit chiefly with frondose hefbage, and producing their fruit in a capsule that splits into longitudinal valve^ In their habitations, they affect for the most part the same sort of situations as the mosses, being touna chiefly in wet and shady spots, by the sides of springs and ditches, on the shelving brinks of rivulets, or on the trunks of trees. Like the mosses, they thrive best also in cold and damp weather, and recover their verdure though dried, if moistened again with water. j,.i,,»i„„ 1332 The A'lea:. or sea-weeds, include not merely marine and many other submersed plants, but also a great variety of Slants that are not even aquatics. All the .4'lgK agree in the common character of having their herbage frondose, or but rarely admitting of the distinction of root, stem, and leaf. IS.'JS. The ulUity of the A'lgne is obviously very considerable, whether we regard them as furnishing an article of animal food, or as appli- cable to medicine and the arts. The Laminaria saccharina (Jig. 1 80 a), Halym6nia palmata(i) and ediklis (c), and several other Fad, are eaten, and much relished by many people, whether raw or I dressed; and it is likely that some of them are fed ( upon by various species of fish. The J^cus li-^ i chenoldes {Tumer,c. 118.) is now believed to be ' the chief material of the edible nests of the East India swallows, which are so much esteemed for soups, that they sell in China for their weight in silver. (Joj-. Mag., vol. xx.) When disengaged from their place of growth and thrown upon the sea-shore, the European ..), and a mass of pulp more or less indurated filling up the meshes. The innermost of the layers is denominated the liber, and was used by the ancients to write on before the invention of paper. It is the finest and most delicate of them all, and often most beautiAilly reticulated (^.186. a) and varied by bundles of longitudinal fibre (6). But the liber of D&phne Z-ag-i?«D is remarkable beyond that of all other plants for the beauty and delicacy of its network, which is not inferior to that of the finest lace, and at the same time so very soft and flexible that, in countries of which the tree is a native, the lace of the liber is often made to supply the place of a neckcloth. If the cortical layers are injured or destroyed by accident, the part destroyed is again regenerated, and the wound healed up without a scar j but if the wound penetrates beyond the liber, the part destroyed is no longer regenerated. Or if a tree is bent so as to break part of the cortical fibres, and then propped up in its former position, the fractured fibres will again unite. Or if a portion of the stem is entirely decorticated and covered with a piece of bark, even from another tree, the two diflferent barks will unite. Hence the practicability of ascertaining how far the liber extends \ and hence also the origin of grafting, which is always effected by a union of the liber of the graft and stock. 1373. Tfie ligneous layers^ or layers constituting the wood, occupy the intermediate portion of the stem between the bark and pifh j and are distinguishable into two sorts, concentric layers and divergent layers. 1374. The concentric laverSf which constitute by far the greater part of the mass of the wood, are sumciently conspicuous for the purpose of exemplifica- tion on the surface of a horizontal section of most trunks or branches, as on that of the oak and elm. But though they are generally described as being concentric, they are not always strictly so. For they are often found to extend more on the one side of the axis of the stem or branch, than on the other. Some authors say the excess is on the north side, but others say it is on the south side. The former account for it by telling us it is because the north side is sheltered fi'om the sun ; and the latter by telling us it is because the south side is sheltered from the cold ; and thus from the operation of contrary causes alleging the same effect, which has been also thought to be sufficiently striking and uniform to serve as a sort 6f compass, by which the bewildered traveller might safely steer his course, even in the recesses of the most extensive forest But Du Hamel has exposed the futility of this notion, by showing that the excess is sometimes on the one side of the axis, and sometimes on the other, according to the accidental situation of the great roots and branches : a thick root or branch producing a proportionabl y thick layer of wood on the side of the stem from which it issues. The layers are indeed sometimes more in number on the one side than on the other, as well as thicker ; but this is the exception, and not the rule. They are thickest, however, on the side on which they are fewest, though not of the same thickness throughout Du Hamel, after counting twenty layers on the one side of the transverse section of the trunk of an oak, found only fourteen on the other ; but the fourteen exceeded the twenty in thickness by one fourth part But the layers thus discoverable on the horizontal section of the trunk are not at all of an equal consistence throughout, there being an evident diminution in their degree of solidity from the centre, where they are hardest, to the circumference, where they are softest The outermost layer, which is the softest of all, is denominated the alburnum, perhaps from its being of a brighter white than any of the other layers, either of wood or bark ; by which character, as well as by its softer texture, it is also easily distinguished. It does not acquire its utmost degree of sohdity till ailer a number of years ; but if a tree is barked a year before it is cut down, then the alburnum is converted into wood in the course of that year. 1375. The divergent layers, which intersect the concentric layers in a transverse direction, constitute also a considerable proportion of the wood, as may be seen in a horizontal section of the fir or birch, or of almost any woody plant, on the surface of which they present an appearance like that of the radii of a circle- 1376. The structure of the concentric layers wiU be found to consist of several smaller and component layers, which are themselves composed ol layers smaller still, till at last they are incapable of farther division. The concentric layers are composed of longitudinal fibres, generally forming a network ; and the divergent layers, of parallel threads or fibres of cellular tissue, extending in a transverse direction, and filling up the interstices of the network. 1377. The structure of the stem^ in plants that a/repvn'ely herbaceous, and in the herbaceous parts of woody plants, is distinguished by a number of notableand often insulated fibres passing longitudinally throughout its whole extent, as in the stipe of Aspidium i?llix-m5s or in the leaf-stalk of the alder. These hbres, when viewed superficially, appear to be merely individuals, but when inspected minutely, and under the microscope, they prove to be groups or bundles of fibres smaller and minuter still, firmly cemented together, and forming in the aggregate a strong and elastic thread, but capable of being split into a number of component fibres, till at last you can divide them no longer. If the fibres of the bark are separated by the destruction of a part, the part is again regenerated, and the fibres are again united, without leaving behind them any traces of a wound : but, if the fibres of the wood are separated by the destruction of a part, the part is never regenerated, and the fibres are never united. SuBSECT. Si Elementary, or Vascular y Organs, 1378. Fihre, cellular tissue with or ivithout parenchi/ma, and reticulated membrane are ibe ultimate and elementary organs of which the whole mass of the plant is composed. P 4 216 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE, Part II. If it be asked of what arc tlio olomentary organs themselves composed, tlie reply is, tliey are composed, as it appeai-s from tlie same analysis, of a fine, colourless, and transparent membrane, in which the eye, aided by the assistance even of the best glasses,, can discover no traces whatever of organisation ; which membrane we must also regard as constituting the ultimate and fundamental fabric of the elementary organs themselves, and, by conse- quence, of tlie whole of the vegetable body. It has been asked by some phytologists whether or not plants are furnished with vessels analogous to the blood-vessels of tlie animal system. But if it be admitted that plants contain fluids in motion, which cannot possibly be denied, it will follow, as an unavoidable consequence, that they are furnished with vessels conducting or containing such fluids. If the stem of a plant of marigold is divided by means of a transverse section, the divided extremities of the longitudinal fibres, arranged in a cu-cular row immediately within the bark, will be distinctly perceived, and their tubular structure demonstrated by means of the orifices which they present, particu- larly when the stem has begun to wither. Regarding it, therefore, as certain, that plants are furnished with longitudinal tubes, as well as with cells or utricles for the purpose of conveying or containing their alimentary juices, we proceed to the specific illustration of both, together witli their peculiarities and appendages. _ 1379. The utricles are the fine and membranous vessels constituting the cellular tissue of the pith and pulp already described, whether of the plant, flower, or fruit. Individually they resemble oblong bladders inflated in the middle, as in the case of some plants ; or circular or hexagonal cells, as in the case of others. Collectively they have been compared to an assemblage of threads of contiguous bladders, or vesicles, or to the bubbles that are found on the surface of liquor in a state of fermentation. 1380. The tubes are the vessels formed by the cavities of the longitudinal fibres, whether as occurring in the stem of herbaceous plants, or in the foot-stalk of the leaf and flower, or in the composition of the cortical and ligneous layers, or by longitudinal openings pervading the pulp itself, as in the case of the vine. 1381. The large tubeg are tubes distinguishable by by being twisted from right to left, or from left to the superior width of the diameter which they present ]87 "Bht, in the form of a corkscrew. They occur in on the horizontal section of the several parts of the ..frt°gT&i- most abundance in herbaceous plants, particularly plant. ^fiia^B^) in aquaticB. 1382. Simple tubes (./?g. 187.) are the largest of all nTOfffllilM l.w5. Pulse spiral hibes aretubes apparently spiral large tubes, and are formed of a thin and entire mem- niJ q iPilil n °" ^ slight inspection, but which, upon minute brane, without any perceptible disruption of con- HHriillfiLi) examination, are found to derive their appearance tinuity. Iliey are found cnielly in the bark, though IllilPi Kfeul merely from their being cut transversely by parallel not confined to it, as they are to be met with also m UnilPRUmFR fissures. the alburnum and matured wood, as well as in the Ij l|uri|[l [11 13S6. IHixed tuhes are tubes combining in one in- tibres of herbaceous plants. IIIIHdIIiIIiJIiH dividual two or more of the foregoing varieties. 1383. Piiroif«fuAes resemble the simple tubes in their Hi IB R 118 I Mirbel exemplifies them in the case of tlie Biitomus gnieral aspect; but ditTer from them in being pierced nil BE i til 8 1' umbellktus, in which the porous tubes, spiral tubes, , with smalt holes or pores, which are often distributed Mil BB'B III [ ^"'^ **^* spiral tubes, are often to be met with united in regular and parallel rows. Thev ai'e found in 11 III PIP in one. most abundance in woody plants, and particularly in P I f n I ' E i 1387< The small lubes are tubes composed of a sue- wood that is firm and compact, like that of the oak ; i IIE'lPI it cession of elongated cells united, like those of the but they do not, like the simple tubes, seem destined ||' jl'|pi | B I cellular tissue. Individually they may be compared to contain any oily or resinous juice. Milt' IB In E ill' ^ the stem of the grasses, which is formed of several 1384. Spiral tubes stre fine, transparent, and thread- ^HylBJPiPr^ internodia, separaied by transverse diaphragms ; and like substances occasionally interspersed with the -%ciji»*^ ^ collectively to a united, assemblage of parallel and other tubes of the plant, but distinguished from them collateral reeds. 1388. Pores are small and minute openings of various shapes and dimensions, that seem to be destined to the absorption, transmission, or exaltation of fluids. They are distinguishable into perceptible pores and imperceptible pores. 1389. Gaps, according to Mirbel, are empty, but often regular and symmetrical, spaces formed in the interior of the plant by means of a partial disruption of the membrane constitutmg the tubes or utricles. In the leaves of herbaceous plants the gaps are often interrupted by transverse diai>hragms formed of a portion of the cellular tissue which still remains entire, as may be seen in the transparent structure of the leaves of T^pha and many other plants. Transverse gaps are said to be observable also in the bark of some plants, though very rarely. 1390. There are'various appendages cannecteA v/it\\ the elementary organs, such as internal glands, internal pubescence, &c. : the latter occurs in dissecting the leaf or flower-stalk of i^i:iphar liitea. Chap. III. Vegetable Chemistry, or Primary Principles of Plants. 1391. ^s plants are not m£rely organised beingSy but beings endowed with a sj^ecies of life, absorbing nourishment from the soil in which they grow, and assimilating it to their own substance by means of the functions and operations of their different organs, it is plain that no progress can be made in the explication of the phenomena of vegetable life, and no distinct conception formed of the rationale of vegetation, without some specific knowledge of the primary principles of vegetables, and of their mutual action upon one another. The latter requisite presupposes a competent acqu^ntance with the elements of chemistry ; and the former points out the necessity of a strict and scrupulous analysis of the several compound ingredients constituting the fabric of the plant, or contained within it. If the object of the experimenter is merely that of extracting such compound ingredients as may be known to exist in the plant, tlie necessary apparatus is simple, and the process easy : but if it be that of ascertaining the primary and radical principles of wliich the compound ingredients are themselves composed, the apparatus is then complicated, and tlie process extremely difficult, requiring much time and labour, and Book I, VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY 217 niuch previous practice in analytical research. But whatever may be the object of analysis, or the particular view of tlie experimenter, the processes which he employs are either mechanical or cliemical, 1392. The mechanical processes are such as are effected by the agency of mechanical powers, and are often indeed the operation of natural causes j hence the origin of gums and other spontaneous exudations. But the substances thus obtained do not always flow sufficiently fast to satisty the wants or necessities of mau_; and men have consequently contrived to accelerate the operations of nature by means of artificial aid in the application of the wimble or axe, widening the passages which the cxtravasated fluid lias forced, or opening up new ones. It more frequently happens, however, that the process employed is wholly artificial, and altogether effected without the operation of natural causes. When the juices are enclosed in vesicles lodged in parts that are isolated or may easily be isolated, the vesicles may be opened by means of rasps or graters, and the juices expressed by the hand, or by some other fit instrument. Thus the volatile qil may he obtained that is lodged in the rind of the lemon. When the substance to be extracted lies more deeply concealed in the plant, or in parts which cannot be easily detached from tlie rest, it may then become necessary to pound or bruise the whole or a great part of the plant, and t(> subject it, thus modified, to the action of the press. In this manner seeds are sometimes treated to express their essential oils. If, by the action of bruising or pressing, heterogeneous ingredients have been mixed together, they may generally be separated with considerable accuracy by means of decant, ation, when the substances held in suspension have been precipitated. Thus the acid of lemons, oranges, gooseberries, and other fruits, may be obtained in considerable purity, when the mucilage that was mixed with them has subsided. 1393. The chemical processes are such as arc effected bjr the agency of chemical powers, and may he reduced to the followmg : distillation, combustion, tiie action of water, the action of acids and alkalies, the action of oils and alcohols, and lastly fermentation. They are much more intricate in their nature than the mechanical processes, as well as more difficult in their application, 1394. Of the p7-oducts qf vegetable analysis, as obtained by the foregoing processes, some consist of several heterogeneous substances, and are consequently compound, as being capable of farther decomposition ; and some consist of one individual substance only, and are consequently simple, as being incapable of further decomposition. Sect. I. Com^ouvd Products- 1395. The compound products cf anah/sis are very numerous in themselves, and much diversified in their qualities. They are gum, sugar, starch, gluten, albumen, fibrine, extract, tannin, colouring matter, bitter principle, narcotic principle, acids, oils, wax, resins, gum resins, balsams, camphor, caoutchouc, cork, woody fibre, sap, proper juice, charcoal, ashes, alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides^ 1396. Gum is an exudation that issues spontaneously flrom the surface of a variety of plants, in the state of a clear, viscid, and tasteless fluid, that gradually hardens upon being exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and condenses into a solid mass. It issues copiously from many fruit trees, but especially from such as produce stone-fruit, as plum and cherry trees. From plants or parts of plants containing it, but not discharging it by spontaneous exudation, it may be obtained by the process of maceration in water, 1397. The uses of gam are considerable. In all its varieties it is capable of being used as an article of food, and is highly nutritive, though not very palatable. It is also employed in the arts, particularly in calico-printing, in which the printer makes choice of it to give consistence to his colours, and to prevent them from spreading. The botanist often uses it to fix his specimens upon paper, for which i>urpose it is very well adapted. It forms likewise an ingredient in ink ; and in medicine it forms the basis of many mixtures, in which its influence is sedative and emollient 1398. Sugar \'& the produce of the S&ccharum officinkrum. The canes or stems of the plant, when ripe, are bruised between the rollers of a mill, and the expressed juice is collected and put into large boilers, in which it is mixed with a small quantity of quicklime, or strong ley of ashes, to neutralise its acid, and is then made to boil j the scum, which gathers on the top during the process of boiling, being carefully cleared away. When the juice has been boiled down to the consistence of a syrup, it is drawn off and allowed to cool in vessels which are placed above a cistern, and are perforated with small holes through which the impure and liquid part, known by the name of molasses, escapes \ while the remaining part is converted into a mass of small and hard granules of a brownish or whitish colour, known by the designation of raw sugar, which when imfjorted into Europe is further purified by an additional process, and converted by filtration or crystallisation into what is called loaf sugar, refined sugar, or candied sugar. The juice of the ^"cer sacchar'mum, or American maple, yields sugar in such considerable abundance as to make it an object with the North American farmer to manufacture it for his own use. A hole is bored in the trunk of the vegetating tree early in the spring, for the purpose of extracting the sap ; of which a tree of ordi- nary size, that is, of from two to three feet in diameter, will yield from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pints and upwards, in a good season- The sap, when thus obtained and neutralised hy lime, deposits, by evaporation, crystals of sugar in the proportion of about a pound of sugar to forty pints of sap. It is not materially different in its properties from that of the sugar-cane. The juice of the grape, when ripe, yields also a sugar by evaporation and the action of potashes, which is known by the appel- lation of the sugar of grapes, and has lately been employed in France as a substitute for colonial sugar, though it is not so sweet or agreeable to the taste. Tne root of .ffSta vulg&ris, or common beet, yields also, by boiUng and evaporation, a sugar which is distinguished by a peculiar and slightly bitter taste, owing perhaps to the presence of a bitter extractive matter which has been found to be one of the con- stituents of the beet. Sugar has been extracted from the following vegetables also, or from their produc- tions : from the sap of the birch, sycamore, bamboo, maize, parsnep, cow-parsnep, American aloe, dulse, walnut tree, and cocoa-nut tree ; from the fruit of the common arbutus, and otner sweet-tasted fruits ; from the roots of the turnip, carrot, and parsley ; from the flower of the Euxine rhododendron ; and from the nectary of most other flowers. 1399. The utility qf sugar, as an aliment, is well known j and it is as much relished by many animals as by man. By bees it is sipped from the flowers of plants, under the modification of nectar, and con- verted into honey ; and also seems to be relished by many insects, even in its concrete state ; as it is also by many birds. By man it is now regarded as being altogether indispensable, and though used chiefly to give a relish or seasoning to food, is itself highly nutritive. It is also of much utiUty in medicine, and celebrated for its anodyne and antiseptic qualities, as well as thought to be peculiarly efficacious in pre- venting diseases by worms. 1400. Starch. If a quantity of wheatcn flour is made into a paste with water, and kneaded and washed under the action of a jet, till the water runs off colourless, part of it will be found to have been taken up and to be stiU held in suspension by the water, which wUI, by and by, deposit a sediment that may be separated by decantation. This sediment is starch, which may be obtained also immediately from the grain itselh by means of a process well known to the manufacturer, who renders it finally fit for the market by washing and edulcorating it with water, and afterwards drying it by a moderate beat. Starch, 218 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. when thrown upon red-hot iron, burns with a kind of explosion, and leaves scarcely any residuum behind. It has been found, by the analysis of Gav Lussac and Thenard, to be composed of carbon 4355 j oxygen 49-68 ; hydrogen 677 ; total 100. This result is not very widely different from that ot the analysis ot sugar, into which, it seems, starch may be converted by diminishing the proportion of its carbon, and increasing that of its oxygen and hydrogen. This change is exemplified in the case of the malting of barley, which contains a great proportion of starch, and which absorbs during the process a quantity of oxygen, and evolves a quantity of carbonic- acid; and accordingly part of it is converted into sugar. Perhaps it is exemplified also in the case of the freezing of potatoes, which acquire in consequence a sweet and sugary taste, and are known to contain a great deal of starch, which may be obtained as follows. Let the potatoes be taken and grated down to a pulp, and the pulp placed upon a fine sieve, and water made to pass through it : the water will be found to have carried off with it an infinite number of particles, which it will afterwards deposit in the form of a fine powder, separable by decantation ■ which powder is starch, possessing all the essential properties of wheaten starch. It may be obtained from the pith of several species of palms growing in the Moluccas qnd several other East India islands, by the following process : the stem, being first cut into pieces of five or six feet in length, is split longitudinally so as to expose the pith, which is now taken out and pounded, and mixed with cold water, which, after being well stirred up, deposits at length a sediment tiiat is separated by decantation, and is the starch which the pith contained, or the sago of the shops. 1401. Sat(m is also a species qf starch that is prepared, in the countries of the East, from the root of the O'rchis m6rio, miscula, bifhlia, and pyramid^hs ; and, in the Isle of Portland, from the ^*rum maculiitum. So also is cassava, which is prepared from the root of Jdnipha Mam'hot, a native of America, the expressed juice of which is a deadly poison used by the Indians to poison their arrows : but the sediment ■which it deposits is a starch that is manufactured into bread, retaining nothing of the deleterious pro- perty of the juice. So also is sowans, which is prepared from the husk of oats, as obtained in the process of grinding. 1402. Starch may he extracted from a numher of plants ; as ^'rctium Zappa, A'tropa Belladdnnttf Pol;fgo- num bist6rta, ^rybnia filba, C61chicum autumnSile, Spirae^a Filip^ndula, ^aniinculus bulbbsus, Scrophu- IJLria nodbsa, ^'ambilicus J^^ulus and nigra, O'rchis mbrio and mascula, Imperatbria Ostriithium, ^yosc^amus nlger, ^fimex obstusif5Iius, actitus, and aquaticus, .^jVum macul&.tum, i*ris Pseud&corus and foetidissima, O'robus tuberf)SU5, and J?Cinium Bulboc^stanum. It is found also in the following seeds: wheat, barley, oats, rice, maize, millet seed, chestnut, horsechestnut, peas, beans, and acorns. 1403. Starch is an extremely nutritive substance, and forms one of the principal ingredients in almost all articles of vegetable food used by man or by the inferior animals. The latter feed upon it in the state in which nature presents it ; but man prepares and purifies it so as to render it pleasing to his taste, and uses it under the various modifications of bread, pastry, and confectionary. Its utility is also consider- able in medicine and in the arts - in the preparation of anodyne and strengthening medicaments ; in the composition of cements j in the clearing and stiffening of linen ; and in the manufacture of hair- powder, 1404. Gluten is that part of the paste formed from the flour of wheat, which remains unaffected by the water, after all the starch contained in it has been washed off. It is a tough and elastic substance, of a dull white colour, without taste, but of a very peculiar smell. It is soluble in the acids and alkalies, but insoluble in water and in alcohol Gluten has been detected, under one modification or other, in a very considerable number of vegetables or vegetable substances, as well as in the flour of wheat. 1405. Gluten is one Qftbe most important of all vegetable substances, as being the principle that renders the flour of wheat so fit for forming bread, by its occasioning the panary fermentation, and making the bread light and porous. It is used also as a cement, and is capable of being used as a varnish and a ground for paint. 1406. Albumen, which is a thick, glairy, and tasteless fluid, resembling the white of an unboiled egg, is a substance that has been but lately proved to exist in the vegetable kingdom. Its existence was first announced by Fourcroy, and finally demonstrated by the experiments of Vauquelin on the dried juice of the papaw tree. It is nearly related to animal gluten. 1407. Fibrine is a peculiar substance which chemists extract from the blood and muscles of animals. This substance constitutes the fibrous parts of the muscles, and resembles gluten in its appearance and elasti- city. A substance possessing the same properties has been detected by Vauquelin in the juice of the papaw tree, which is called vegetable fibrine. 1408. Extract. When vegetable substances are macerated in water, a considerable portion of them is dissolved ; and if the water is again evaporated, the substance held in solution may be obtained in a sepa- rate state. This substance is denominated extract But it is evident that extract thus obtained will not be precisely the same principle in every different plant, but w^ill vary in its character according to the species producing it, or the soil in which the plant has grown, or some other accidental cause. Its dis- tinguishing properties are the following : — It is soluble in water as it is obtained from the vegetable, but becomes afterwards insoluble in consequence ofthe absorption of oxygen from the atmosphere It is solu- ble in alcohol ; and it unites with alkalies, and forms compounds which are soluble in water. When distilled it yields an acid fluid impregnated with ammonia, and seems to be composed principally of hydro- gen, oxygen, carbon, and a little nitrogen. Extract, or the extractive principle, is found in a greater or less proportion in almost all plants whatever, and is very generally an ingredient ofthe sap and bark, particularly in barks of an astringent taste ; but still it is not exactly the same in all individual plants, even when separated as much as possible from extraneous substances. It may therefore be regarded as constituting several species, of which the following are the most remarkable : — 1409. Extract c^calcchu. This extract is obt^ned from an 1411. Extract of qmnquvm. This extract was obtained by infusion of the wood or powder of catechu in cold water. Its Fourcrov, by evaporating a decoction of the bark of the quin- colour is pale brown ; and its taste sliKhtly astringent. It is quina of St. Domingo in water, and again dissolving it in Stecipitated from its solution by nitrate of lead, and yields by alcohol, which finally deposited by evaporation tlie peculiar istillation carbonic and caiburetled hydrogen gas, leaving a extractive. It is insoluble in cold water, but very soluble in porous charcoal. boiling water; its colour is brown, and its taste bitter. It is 1410. Extract of senna. This extract is obtained from an in- precipitated from its solution by lime water, in the form of a (u^on of the dried leaves of C4ssia S^nna in alcohol. The co- red powder ; and when dry it is black and britUe, breaking lour of the infasion is brownish, the taste slightly bitter, and with a polished fracture. the smell aromatic. It is precipitated from its solution by the 1412. Extract of Bajffron. This extract is obtained in great muriatic and oxymuriatic acids ; and, when thrown on burning abundance from the summits of the pistils of Cr&cus Bativua, coals, consumes with a thick smoke and aromatic odour, leaving which are almost wholly soluble in water, behind a spongy charcoal. 1413. Extracts were formerly much employed in medicine ; though their efficacy seems to have been overrated. But a circumstance of much more importance to society is that of their utility in the art ot dyeing. By far the greater part of colours used in dyeing are obtained from vegetable extracts, which have a strong affinity to the fibres of cotton or hnen, with which they enter into a combination that is rendered still stronger by the intervention of mordants. 1414. Colonring matter. The beauty and variety ofthe colouring of vegetables, chemists have ascribed to the modifications of a peculiar substance which they denominate the colouring principle, and which they have accordingly endeavoured to isolate and extract ; first, by means of maceration or boiling in water,, and then by precipitating it from its solution. The chemical properties of colouring matter seem to be as yet but imperfectly known, though they have been considerably elucidated by the investigations of Berthollet, Chaptal, and others. Its affinities to oxygen, alkalies, earths, metallic oxides, and cloths fabricated of animal or vegetable substances, such as wool or flax, seem to be among its most striking characteristics. But its affinity to animal substances is stronger than its affinity to vegetable substances ; Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 219 and hence wool and silk assume a deeper dye, and retain it longer, than cotton or linen. Colouring matter exhibits a great variety of tints, as it occurs iu different species of plants ; and as it combines with oxygen, which it absorbs from the atmosphere, it assumes a deeper shade : but it loses at the same time a portion of its hydrogen, and becomes insoluble in water ; and thus it indicates its relation to ex. tract. Fourcroy reduced colours to the four following sorts : extractive colours, oxygenated colours, carbo™ nated colours, and hydrogenated colours ; the first being soluble in water, and requiring the aid of saline or metallic mordants to fix them upon cloth j the second being insoluble in water, as altered by the absorp. tion of oxygen, and requiring no mordant to fix them upon cloth ; the third containing in their compo- sition a great proportion of carbon, but soluble in alkalies ; and the fourtli containing a great proportion of resin, but soluble in oils and alcohol. But the simplest mode of arrangement is that by which the dif- ferent species of colouring matter are classed according to their efffectin the art of dyeing. The principal and fundamental colours in this art are the blue, the red, the yellow, and the brown. 1415. The finest ff all vegetable biuea is that viiichislcnovnhy by the action of the atmosphere. The blue colour of indieo, Uw namejrfindi^^. Jtis the^roduce of thelndigdffflra tinctftria therefore, is owing to its combination with oxygen, _i K ._ ]_». .„ 1- ._j !_ nff :__ J ..1-- m__. 1416. T/ie pWwajdi/ red co(oi*p* are such as are found to exist In tlie Toot, stem, or flower, of the iive following plants : iI6bia tinctiirmOfltoce^lUi tinct6Tia, Lecanbra ■pax6l\a,Cdriluimua tlnc< tbrlus, CcGsalpfnia crfsta, and Hcumatdxylon campechihnum. 1417. YellotVy which is a colour of very iVequen't occurrence among vegetables, and the most permanent among flowers, ia extracted for the purpose of dyeing, from a varied of plants. JJn,t a slurub which is cultivated in Mexico and the East Indies for the sake of the dye it affords. The plant reaches maturity in about six monttu, whoi its leaves are gathered and immersed in vessels filled with water till fermentation takes place. The water then becomes opaque and green, ex- baling an odour like that of volatile alkali, and evolving bubbles of cafbonic acid gas. When the fermentation has been con- tinued long enough, the liquid Is decanted and put into oUier vessels, where it is agitated till blue flakes begin to appear. Water is now poured in, and flakes are precipitated in the form of a blue powdery sediment, which is obtained by de- cantation ; and which, after being made up into smalt lumps and dried in ttie shade, is the Indigo of the shops. It is insolu- ble in water, though slightly soluble in alcohol ; but its true solvent is sulphuric acid, with which it forms a fine blue dye, known by the name of liquid blue. It affords by distillation carbonic acid gas, water, ammonia, some oily and acid mat- ter, and much charcoal ; whence its constituent principles are most probably carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Indigo may be prociured also finm several other plants b^des IncUgiifeia tinctbria, and particularly from Isktis tinctjiria or voad, a plant indigenous to Britain, and thought to be the plant with the juice of which the ancient Britons stained thtir __ , ^ , naked bodies, to make them look terrible to their enemies. If astringent; and soluble'in water by decoction when ground or this plant is digested in alcohol, and the solution evaporated, grated to a powder. The decoction strikes, with the solution white crystalline grains, somewhat resembling starch, will be of iron, a deep black, that forms the basis of ink, and of most left behind; which grains are indigo, becoming gradi^lly blue dark colours used in dyeing cloths. 141&. Tannin. If a quantity of pounded nut-galls, or bruised seeds of the grape, is taken and dissolved in cold water, and the solution evaporated to dryness, there will be left behind a brittle and yellowish sub^ stance of a highly astringent taste, which substance is tannin, or the tanning principle. It is soluble both in water and alcohol, but insoluble in ether. With the salts of iron it strikes a black : and when a so- lution of gelatine is mixed with an atjueous solution of tannin, the tannin and gelatine fall down in com- bination, and form an insoluble precipitate. When tannin is subjected to the process of distillation, it yields charcoal, carbonic acid, and inflammable gases, with a minute quantity of volatile alkali, and seems accordingly to consist of the same elements with extract, from which, however, it is distinguished by the peculiar property of its action upon gelatine. Tannin may be obtained from a great variety of other vege- tables also, as well as those already enumerated, but chiefly from their bark ; and of barks, chiefly from those that are astringent to the taste. The following table exhibits a general view of the relative value of different species of bark, as ascertained by Sir Humphry Davy. It gives the average obtained iVom 480 lbs. of the entire bark of a middle-sized tree of the different species, taken in the spring, when the quantity of tannin is the largest : — of its dried stems. The colouring matter is precipitated by means of alum, and is much us^ In dyeing wool, sUk, ana cotton. It is also obtained from the JUfirus tinctbria, Btxa Oretlitna or amotta, Serrdtula tinctbria, GenfBta tinctbria, Ahas Cdtinus, Ahdmnus infect&rins, and Qu^rcus tinctbria, or quercitron, the bark of which last afiTpr^ a rich and per- manent yellow at present much In use. 141S. The brotvn colouring matter cfvegetaMea is very abundant, particularly in astringent plants. It is obtained f^om the root of the walnut tree, and rind t^the walnut; and also from the sumach and alder, but chiefly from nut-galls, which are ex- crescences formed upon the leaves of a species of Qu^rcus, indigenous to the south of Europe, In consequenceof thepunc- ture of insects. ITie best in qUality are brought frum the Levant. They ore sharp and bitter to the taste, and extremely Oak Spanish chestnut Leicester willow (large) Elm Common willow (large) lb. lb. Lorabardy poplar Birch Hazel Blackthorn Coppice oak Inner rind of oak bark - Oak cut in autumn Larch cut in autumn 16 1420. Tannin is qf the verpjirst uiility in its application to medicine and the arts s bemg regarded by chemists as the general principle of astrmgency. The medical virtues of Peruvian bark, so celebrated as a febrifuge and antiseptic, are supposed to depend upon the quantity and quality of its tannin. In conse- quence of its peculiar property of forming an insoluble compound with gelatine, the hides of animals are converted into leather, by the important art of tanning. The bark of the oak tree, which contains tannin in great abundance, is that which is most generally used by the tanner. The hides to be tanned are pre- pared for the process by steeping them in lime water, and scraping off the hair and cuticle. They are tnen soaked, first in weaker and afterwards in stronger infusions of the bark, till at last they are completely im- pregnated. This process requires a period of from ten to eighteen months, if the hides are thick j and four or five pounds of bark are necessary on an average to form one pound of leather. 1421. Bitter principle. The taste of many vegetables, such as those employed in medicine, is extremely bitter. The quassia of the shops, the roots of the common gentian, the bark and wood of common broom, the calyx and floral leaves of the hop, and the leaves and flowers of chamomile, may be quoted as ex- amples. This bitter taste has been thought to be owing to the presence of a peculiar substance, difl^rent from every other vegetable substance, and has been distinguished by the name of the bitter principle. When water has been digested for some time over quassia, its colour becomes yellow, and its taste in- tensely bitter ; and if it is evaporated to dryness, it leaves behind a substance of a brownish yellow, with a slight degree of transparency, that continues for a time ductile, but becomes afterwards brittle. This substance Dr. Thompson regards as the bitter principle in a state of purity. It is soluble in water and in alcohol ; but the solution is not much affected by re-agents. Nitrate of silver and acetate of lead are the only two that occasion a precipitate. The bitter principle is of great importance, not only in the practice of medicine, but also in the art of brewing; its influence being that of checking fermentation, preserving the fermented liquor, and when the bitter of the hop is used, communicating a peculiar and agreeable flavour. The bitter principle appears to consist principally of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a little nitrogen. 1422. Narcotic principle. There is a species of medical preparations known by the name of narcotics, which have the property of inducing sleep ; and", if administered in large doses, of occasioning death. They are obtained from the milky and proper juices of some vegetables, and from the infusion of the leaves or stem of others, all which have been supposed to contain m their composition some common in- gredient, which chemists have agreed to designate by the name of the narcotic principle. It exists in great abundance in opium, which is the concrete juice of Pap^ver somniferum var. album, or the white poppy, from which it is obtained pure, in the form of white crystals, It is soluble in boiling water and in alcmiol, as well as in all acid menstrua; and it appears that the action of opium on the animal subject depends on this principle. When distilled it emits white vapours, which are condensed into a yellow oil; some water and carbonate of ammonia pass into a receiver ; and at last carbonic acid gas, ammonia, and carburetted hydrogen are disengaged, and a bulky charcoal left behind. Many other vegetable substances 220 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. besides opium possess narcotic qualities though they have not yet been minutely analysed. The following are the most remarkable :— The inspissated juice of lettuce, which resembles opium mucli m its appearance, is obtained by the same means, and possesses the same medical virtues ; the leaves of A tropa BeUadOnna, or deadly nightshade, and indeed the whole plant; the leaves of Digitalis purptirea^ or foxglove: and lastly, the following plants, Zfyosc^amus nlger, Cbnium macul&tum, Datpra Stramonium, and i*Cdum paUistre, with many others belonging to the Linnean natural order of LCiridaD. \A>lti. Acids. Acids are a class of substances that may be distinguished by their exciting on the palate the sensation of sourness. They exist not only in the animal and mmeral, but also in the vegetable, kingdom : and such of them as are peculiar to vegetables have been denominated vegetable acids. Of acids pecuUar to vegetables chemists enumerate the following: the oxalic, acetic, citric, malic, gallic, tai*aric, benzoic, and prussic, which exist ready formed in the juices or organs oi the plant, and are accordingly denominated native acids ; together with the mucous, pyromucous, pyrotartarous, pyrolignous. camphoric, and suberic, which do not exist ready formed in the plant, and are hence denominated artifi- ficial acids. They are consequently not within the scope of the object of the present work. 1444. Oxalic acid. Ifthe expressed juice of the CxalisAceto- blues. It Is soluble both in water and alcohol; and is distin- s^Ua L.^ left to evaporate bIow^, it deposits small crystals of a guished by its properly of communicaUnB to so utions of iron yellowish colour and saltish taste, which are known by the a deep purple colour. When exposed to a gentle heat it sub- name of the acidulum of sorrel, that is, a salt with excess ot limes without alteration, but a strong heat decomposeE It. acid, from wliich the acid may be obtained pure by processes Nitric acid converts it into the malic and oxalic acids, it is of weU known to the chemist. It is not used in medicine or great uUUty in Uie art ot dyeing, and forms the basis of all the arts, except in its state of acidulum, in which it is era- black colours, and of colours with a dark ground. It forms also Eloyed to make a sort of lemonade, and to discharge stains of the basis ot ink ; and chemists use it as a test to detect the ik. It has been found also in O'xalis comiculiita, Pelargbnium presence of iron, licidum, in the several species of ililmex, and in the pubes- 1429. Tartaric add. If wine is kept for a length of time in a cenceof Clcer arietlnum. cask or other close vessel, a sediment is precipitated which 1425. Acetic acid. The acetic acid, or vinegar, which is ge- adlieres to the sides or bottom, and forms a crust known by the nerally manufactured from wine in a certain stage of ferment- name of tartar, which is a combination of potass and a pecu- ation, has been found also ready formed in the sap of several liar acid in excess. The compound is tartrate of potash, and trees, as analysed by Vauquelin ; and also in the acid juice the acid, in its state of purity, is the tartaric acid. It is cha- of .the Clcer arietlnum, of which it forms a constituent part. racterised by its property of^ forming with potass a salt that It was obtained by Scheele from the sap of the Sambucus is soluble with dimculty. It has been found in the followinf>; blgra; and is consequently to be regarded as a native vegetable vegetable substances also: in the pulp of tamarinds, in the acid. It is distin guistiea trom other vegetable acids by its Juice of the grape, and mulberries, sorrel, and sumach, and forming soluble salts with the alkalies and earths. therootsof Agxopyrum ripens and f-etfntodon Taraxacum. It \i9,Q. Citric add. Citric acid is the acid which exists in thejuice is not much used except among chemists; but the tartrate, of lemon. Its taste is very sour in a state ofpurity, but ex- from which it is usually obtained, is well known for its medical ceedingly pleasant when diluted with water. By a red heat it virtues under the name of cream of tartar, yields carbonic acid gas and carbonated hydrogen gas, and is 1430. Beiusoicadd. From the Stvrax Benzjnnthereexudcs a re- reduced to a charcoal; nitric acid converts it into oxalic and sinous substance, known in the shops by the name of benzoin, acetic acid, and with lime it forms a salt insoluble in water. and in which the benzoic acid is contained. It is disUnguished It has been found unmixed with other acids in the following tirom the other acids by its aromatic odour and extreme volati- vegetable substances : in the juice of oranges and lemons, and lity. It has been obtained also from the balsams of tolu and in the berries of Oxycdccus palilstris, Facctnium Vltis Idm^, storax ; and is used in pharmacy, in the preparation of boluses C^rasus Piidus, Sol^num Dulcamara, and Rbsa canlna. It has and electuaries, been found also in many other fruits, mixed with other acids. " 1431. Pruatic add. The prussic acid is generally classed 1427. Malic add. Malic acid is found chiefly in the juice of among the animal acids, because it is obtained in the greatest unripe apples, whence it derives its name; but it is found also abundance from animal substances. But it has been proved in the juice of barberries, alderberries, gooseberries, plums, and to exist in vegetable substances also, and it is procured by dis- common house-leek. tilling laurel leaves, or the kernels of the peach and cherry, or 1428. Gallic acid. Gallic acid, as it is obtained in the greatest bitter almonds. '\Vhen pure, it exists in tiie form of colourless abundance, so it derives its name, from the nut-gall, from fluid, with anodour resembling that of peach tree blossoms. It which it maybe extracted by exposing a quanUty of the powder does not redden vegetable blues; but it is characterised by Its of nut-galls to a moderate heat in a glass retort; when the acid property rf forming a bluish-CTeen precipitate, when it Is will sublime and form crystals of an octahedral figure. Its poured, with a little alkali added to it, mto solutions containing taste is austere and astringent. It strongly reddens vegetable iron. 1432. All vegetable acids contain carbon^ oxygen, and hydrogen, in one proportion or other i and the prussic acid contains also a portion of nitrogen. The gallic acid contains more of carbon than any other vegetable acid, and the oxalic more of oxygen. 1433. Vegetable oils are of two kinds, the fixed and the volatile. The former are not suddenly affected by the application of heat ; the latter are very inflammable, 14:34;. Fixed oils. Fixed oils are but seldom found, except in the seeds of plants, and chiefly in such as are dicotyledonous. They are found also, thbugh rarely, in the pulp of fleshy fruits, as in that of the olive, which yields the most abundant and valuable species of all fixed oils. But dicotyledonous seeds, which contain oil, contain also at the same time a quantity of mucilage and fecula, and form, when bruised in water, a mild and milky fluid, known by the name of emulsion ; and on this account they are sometimes denominated emulsive seeds. Some seeds yield their oil merely by means of pressure, though it is often necessary to reduce them first of all to a sort of pulp, by means of pounding them in a mortar : others require to be exposed to the action of heat (which is applied to them by means of pressure between warm plates of tin,) or of the vapour of boiling water, or of roasting, before they are subjected to the press. Fixed oil, when pure, is generally a thick and viscous fluid, of a mild or insipid taste, and without smell ; but it is never entirely without some colour, which is for the most part green or yellow. Its specific gravity is to water as 9403 or I'OOO. It is insoluble in water ; it is decomposed in the acids, but with the alkalies it forms soap. When exposed to the atmosphere it becomes inspissated and opaque, and assumes a white colour and a resemblance to fat This is in consequence of the absorption of oxygen ; but owing to the appearance ot a quantity of water in oil that is exposed to the action of the air, it has been thought that the oxygen absorbed by it is not yet perhaps assimilated to its substance. When exposed to cold it con- geals and crystallises, or assumes a solid and granular form ; but not till the thermometer has indicated a degree considerably below the freezing point. When exposed to the action of heat it is not volatilised till it begins to boil, which is at 600° of Fahrenheit. By distillation it is converted into water, carbonic acid, and carburetted hydrogen gas, and charcoal : the product of its combustion is nearly the same: and hence it is a compound of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Fixed oils are generally divided into two sorts, fat oils and drying oils. The former are readily inspissated by the action of the air, and converted into a sort of fat. The latter are capable of being dried by the action of the air, and converted into a firm and trans- parent substance. 1435. The principal species of fat oils are the following : — r ^^^^f^iT.f.'r^^t^ '^^^^ from the pulpy part of the pounded in mortars of marble into a paste, which is afterwards fruit of 01^ europffi^a. The fiTiit 13 first broken ma mill, and subjected to the action of the press ; and the oil is now oh- reduced to a sort of paste. It ls then subjected to the action of tained as in the olive a preM,ajidfte oil, which k now easily separated, swims on the 1 458 . Rapeseed oil, which is extracted from the Brdssica Nkpus '?.'?.^*^ ^*i^fi^T„?^V^ '"'"f'^^^' ■'V'^ manufactured and camptfstris. It is less fixed and less liable to become ra«- Sje'^STf ^u?.e'r%'n'S'^'^?e"aS^ni;;r^&«^°"' ^t^''"' ^° ^^^^^' -^ - manufect^red cldefly in ."i!,,;^" t^::T:t'Z^i±ttl'if^^^'''^':il^lf^^^^ J.^^-9}^ '^.^^^ ^^^'^^ -^ e^^^cted from, the.fruit of the ^mygdalus commiin^ or common almond. The almonds are Moringa pterygosp^rma, common in Egypt and Africa. It is apt first well rubbed or shook m a coarse bag or sack, to separate a to become rancid ; but it is without ^o^, and is on this ai- bitter powder which covers their epidermis. They are then count much used in perfumery. "'"**, 1440. The principal species qf drying oils are linseed oil, nut oil, poppy oil, and hempseed oa Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 221 1441. LitiseeA oil Is obtnlned ftom the seeds of ilnx, ^hich are 1443. Poppjj oil is extracted from the seeds of Pnphver somnf- cenerally roasted before they are subjected to any other process, feruin, which Is cultivated in Prance and Holland for this pur- for the purpose of drying up tiieir mucilage and separating pose. It is clear and transparent, and dries readily ; and when uiare oil. pure it ia without taste or odour. It is used for the same pur- 1442. Nvl oil is extracted from the fi^ilt of CiSrylua ^vellhna, poKes as the olive oil) Ibr which it is cflen sold, and possesses or Jdglam r^gia. The kernel is first slSglitly roasted, and the nothinc of the narcotic properlles of the poppy. oil then expr^sed. It is used in paintinfcs of a coarser sort ; 1444. Hmnpaced oil ia extracted from the seed of the hemp, and also in the seasoning of food, by many of the Inhabitants of It has a harsh and disagreeable taste, and is used by painters in die middle departments of France ; but it is apt to become this countryj and very cstenslTely for food in Russia, rancid. 1445. Volatile oils. Volatile oils, which are known also by the name of essential oils, are of very common occurrence in the vegetable kingdom, and are found in almost all the different organs of the plant. They are found in many roots, to which they communicate a fragrant and aromatic odour, with a taste somewhat acrid. The roots of Corvisartia Helknium^ Genista canariensis, and various other plants, contain essential oils. They are found also in the bark of Cinnambmum v^rum, of Xa6rus SassqfraSf andof Pinus; and in the leaves of labiate plants, such as mint, rosemary, marjoram ; of the odorous Umbelliferie, such as chervil, fennel, angelica ; ana of plants which compound flowers, such as wormwood. They are found also in the flower itself, as in the flowers of chamomile, and the rose ; in the ft'uit, as in that of pepper and ginger ; and in the external integuments of many seeds, but never in the cotyledon. They are extracted by means of expression or distillation, and are extremely numerous ; and perhaps every plant possessing a peculiar odour possesses also a peculiar and volatile oil. The aroma of plants, therefore, or the substance from which they derive their odour, and which is cognisable only to the sense of smell, is perhaps merely the more volatile and evaporable part of their volatile oil, disengaging itself ftom its combinations. Volatile oils are characterised by their strong and aromatic odour, and rather acrid taste, They are soluble in alcohol, but are not readily converted into soaps by alkalies. They are very inflammable, and are volatilised by a gentle heat Like fixed oils, their speciflc gravity is generally less than that of water, on the surface of which they will float; though in some cases it is found to be greater than that of water, in which they consequently sink. They are much in request on account of their agreeable taste and odour, and are pre- pared and sold by apothecaries and perfumers, under the name of distilled waters or essences ; as well as employed also in the manufacture of varnishes and pigments. 1446. Wax. On the upper surface of the leaves of many trees there may often be observed a sort of var- nish, which, when separate^ by certain chemical processes, is found to possess all the properties of bees' wax, and is consequently a'vegetable wax. It exudes, however, from several other parts of the plant besides the leaf, and assumes a more waxy and concrete form, as ^om the catkins of the poplar, the alder, and the fir ; from the fruit of the iWyrica cerifera and Stillingia sebifera ; but particularly from the anthfera of the flowers, from which it is probable that the bees extract it unaltered. It was the opinion of Reaumur, however, that the pollen undergoes a digestive process in the stomach of the bee before it is converted into wax, though a late writer on the subject endeavours to prove that the wax is elaborated from the honey extracted by the bee, and not from the pollen. It is found also in the interior of many seeds, from which it is extracted, by means of pounding them and boiling them in water. The wax is melted and swims on the top. Wax, when pure, is of a whitish colour, but without taste and without smell. The smell of bees* wax is indeed somewhat aromatic, and its colour yellow : but this is evidently owing to some foreign substance with which it is mixed ; because it loses its smell and colour by means of bleaching, and becomes perfectly white. This is done merely by drawing it out into thin stripes, and exposing it for some time to the atmosphera Bleached wax is not affected by the air. Its specific gravity is 0'9600. It is insoluble in water and in alcohol. It combines with the fixed oils, and forms with them a composition known by the name of cerate. It combines also with the fixed alkalies, and forms with them a compound possessing the properties of common soap. The acids have but little action on it, and for this reason it is useful as a lute to confine them, or to prevent them from injuring cork. When heat is applied to wax it becomes soft, and melts at the temperature of 142° if unbleached, and of 155° if bleached, into a colourless and trans- parent fluid, which, as the temperature diminishes, concretes again and resumes its former appearance. At a higher temperature it boils and evaporates, and the vapour may be set on fire by the application of red heat; hence its utility in making candles, and hence an explication of the singular phenomenon ob- servable in tlie i^ictamnus Fraxin^Ua. This plant is fragrant, and the odour which it difElises around forms a partial and temporary atmosphere, which is inflammable j for if a lighted candle or other ignited body is brought near to the plant, especially in the time of drought, its atmosphere immediately takes fire. This phenomenon was first observed by the daughter of the celebrated Linnaeus, and is explained by sup- posing the partial and temporary atmosphere to contain a proportion of wax exuded from the plant, and afterwards reduced to vapour by the action of the sun. The result of its combustion in oxygen gas was, according to Lavoisier, carbonic acid and water, in such proportion as to lead him to conclude that 100 parts of wax are composed of 82-28 of carbon and 1772 of hydrogen ; but, owing to the little action of acids upon it, there seems reason to believe that it contains also oxygen as an ingredient. 1447. Wax possesses all the esserUial properties of a fixed oil; and fixed oils have the property of becom- ing concrete, and of assuming a waxy appearance when long exposed to the air, in consequence, as it seems, of the absorption of oxygen. Wax therefore may be considered as a fixed oil rendered concrete, perhaps by the absorption of oxygen during the progress of vegetation. But if this theory is just, the wax may be expected to occur in a considerable variety of states according to its degrees of oxygenation ; and this is accordingly the case. Sometimes it has the consistency of butter, and is denominated butter of wax, as butter of cocoa, butter of galam. Sometimes its consistency is greater, and then it is denominated tallow, as tallow of croton ; and when it has assumed its last degree of consistency, it then takes the appellation of wax. The following are its principal specie : butter of cacao, butter of cocoa, butter of nutmeg, tallow of croton, and wax of myrtle. 144S. The butter qf caeao is extracted from the seeds of the 1450. Butter qf nutmeg is obtained from the seeds of the Tbeobr&ma Cadio or chocolate plant, either by boiling them in Myrbiica olficimilis, or nutmeg tree. water, or by subjecting them to the action of the press afler 1451. Tallorv of croton is obtained from the fruit of tlie having exposed tnem to the vapour of boiling water. StilUngia sehffera. 1449. Butter qf coam is found in the fruit of Cbcoa nucffera or 1452. T/te nax qf myrtle is obtained from the berry of the cocoa-nut tree. It is expressed from the pulp of the nut, and is Myxlca. cerffera. even said to separate nrom it when in a Quid state, as cream separates from milk. 1463. Resins. Resins are volatile oils rendered concrete by means of the absorption of oxygen, or rather perhaps by the abstraction of part of their hydrogen. They have a slight degree of transparency, and their colour is generally yellowish. Their taste is somewhat acrid ; but they are without smell when pure. Their specific gravity varies from 1*0180 to 1'2289. They are non-conductors of electricity, and when excited by friction their electricity is negative. The species of resins are numerous. 1454. Rosin is a species of resin, of which there are several is mixed with it while yet fluid, and incorporated by violent varieties. From dinerent species of the pine, larch, and fir a^tation, the residuum is yellora rosin. The yello«f nisin is tree, there exudes a juice wh-ch concretes m the form of tears. the most ductile, and the most generally used In the.nrts. Its extrication is generally aided by means of incisions, and it 1455. PifcAafid/ar are manufactured from the resinous Juices receives different appellations, according to the species from of the fir. The trunk is cut or clefV into pieces of a conve- which it is obtained. If it is obtained from the /■"inus syl- nient sixe, -which are piled together in heaps, and covered v^lris, it b denominated camnvm turpentine ; from Z.hrix with turf. The? are then set on fire, and the resinous jiiice europie^a Venice lurpentine ; from jlmjris toTtttira, balsam of Ca- which is thus extricated, being preventt-d from cscaiiine in a nada. This jaice ronsisis of two ingredients, oil of turpentine volatile slate by means of the turf, is pncipitated and coHectt-d and rosin. 'I'he oil is extricated by distillation, and the robin in a vessel iieneath. It is jiartly convertrd into an einpyivu- temains behind. If the dLstillation is continued to drynes-s, malic oil, and is now tar, which, liy being fiurdier intpibsated, the residuum is common nvin or colophoniam ; but if water is converted into pitch. 222 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT, 1456. Mattich Is extracted from the Pisthcia tcnttscua. of tree* and of almMt all vegetables. It Is insoluble in watw. 1457. Satularack is obtained from the Juniperus commilnis, bnt soluble in arcohol. When treated with oj^unaUc acid, by spontaneous exudation. it assumes the colour of a withered leaf, and exhibits the re- 1158. Elenu is extracted from the iimjris elemtfera. sinouB properties more distinclly. „„rfiii™,„ , •,„ 1459. TacMnbae is the produce of the Fag&ra octdndra and 1467. Copal is the produce of the fihfis copSlUnura, a tree Park 60, the alburnum 4, wood - - - . 2 Book I. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. 295 1499, The analysis qf the ashes of plants, with a view to the discovery of the ingredients of which they are composed, produces alkalies, earths, and metals, which must therefore be considered as ingredients in the composition of the vegetable. But vegetable ashes contain also a variety of other principles, occur, ring, however, in such small proportions as generally to escape observation. Perhaps they contain also substances not capable of being volatilised b^ the action of fire. 1500. Alkalies. The alkalies are a peculiar class of substances, distinguished by a caustic taste and the property of changing vegetable blues to green. They are generally regarded as being three in num- ber, potass, soda, and ammonia, of which the two former only are found in the ashes of vegetables. Am. monia is, indeed, often obtained f^om vegetable substances by means of distillation, but then it is always formed during the process. If the ashes of land vegetables, burnt in theoi>en air, are repeatedly washed in water, and the water filtered and evaporated to dryness, potass is left behind. The potass of commerce is manufactured in this manner, though it is not quite pure : but it may be purified by dissolving it in spirits of wine, and evaporating the solution to dryness in a silver vessel. When pure it is white and semi- transparent, and is extremely caustic and deliquescent. It dissolves all soft animal substances, and changes vegetable blues into green. It dissolves alumina, and also a small quantity of silex, with which it fuses into ghiss by the aid of fira It had been long suspected by chemists to be a compound substance : and according to the notable discovery by Sir H. Davy, its component parts are at last ascertained to be oxygen and a highly inflammable metal, which he denominates potassium, one proportion of each. Soda is found chiefly in marine plants, from the ashes of which it is obtained by means of lixiviation. It exists in great abundance in S^usula 5ddfa, Zostfera marltima, and various species of i^Cici. It is generally obtained in the state of a carbonate, but is purified in the same manner as potass, to which it is similar in its properties ; but from which it is easily distinguished by its fonning a hard soap with oil, while potass forms a soft soap. It consists, according to Sir H. Davy, of one proportion of a metal which he denominates sodium, and two proportions of oxygen. Such are the only vegetable alkalies, and the modes of obtaining them. They are found generally in the state of carbonates, sulphates, or muriates, salts which form, beyond all comparison, the most abundant ingredient in the ashes of green herbaceous plants whose parts are in a state of vegetation. The ashes of the golden rod, growing in an uncultivated soil, and of the bean, turn- sole, and wheat, were found by Saussure to contain at least three fourths of their weight of alkaline salts. This was nearly the case also with the leaves of trees just bursting from the bud. But the proportion of alkaline salts is found to diminish, rather than to augment, as the parts of the plant are developed. The ashes of the leaves of the oak, gathered in May, yielded 47 parts In the 100 of alkaline salts \ and, in September, only 17- 1501. The utility (ffthe alkalies, as obtained from vegetables, is of the utmost importance in the arts, particularly in the formation of glass and of soaps. If a mixture of soda, or potass, and silex, or sand, in certain proportions, is exposed to a vfblent heat, the ingredients are melted down into a fluid mass, which is ^lass m a state of fusion. In this state it may be moulded into almost any form, at the pleasure of the artist : and, accordingly, we find that it is manufactured into a great variety of utensils and instruments, under the heads of flint glass, crown glass, bottle glass. Bottle glass is the coarsest j it is formed of soda , and common sand, and is used in the manufacture of the coarser sort of bottles. Crown glass is composed of soda and fine sand: it is moulded into large plates for the purpose of forming window-glasses and looking-glasses. Flint glass is the finest and most transparent ot all : that which is of the best quality is composed of 1£0 parts of white silicious sand, 40 parts of pearl-ash, 35 of red oxide of lead, 13 of nitrate of potass, and 25 of black oxide of manganesa It is known also by the name of crystal, and may be cut and polished so as to serve for a variety of ornamental purposes, as well as lor the more important and more useful purpose of forming optical instruments, of which the discoveries made with the telescope and the microscope are the curious or sublime results. If a quantity of oil is mixed with halfits weight of a strong solution of soda or potass, a combination takes place which is rendered more complete by means of boiling. The new compound is soap. The union of oil with potass forms a soft soap, and with soda hard soap ; sub- stances of the greatest efficacy as detergents, and of the greatest utility in the washing and bleactiing of linen. The ^lulies are used also in medicine, and found to be peculiarly efficacious in the reduction of urinary calculi. 1502. Earths* The only earths which have hitherto been found in plants are the followii^: lime, silica, magnesia, and alimuna. 1503. Lime is by far the most abundant earth. It is generally combined with a portion of phosphoric, carbonic, or sulphuric acid, forming phosphates, or carbonates, or sulphates of lime. The phosphate of lime is, next to the alkaline salt, the most abundant ingredient in the ashes of green herbaceous plants whose parts arc all in a state of vegetation. The leaf of a tree, bursting from the bud, contains in its ashes a greater portion of earthy phosphate than at any other period : 100 parts of the ashes of the leaves of the oak, gathered in May, furnished 24 parts of earthy phosphate ; in September, only 18'25. In annual plants the proportion of earthy phosphate diminishes from the period of their germination to that of their flowering. Plants of the bean, before flowering, gave 14"5 parts of earthy phosphate ; in flower, only 13'S. Carbonate of lime is, next to phosphate of lime, the most abundant of the earthy salts that are found in vegetables. But if the leaves of plants are washed in water the proportion of carbonate is augmented. This is owing to the subtraction of their alkaline salts and phosphates in a greater proportion than their lima In green herbaceous plants whose parts are in a state of increase, there is but little carbonate of lime ; but the ashes of the bark of trees contain an enormous quantity of carbonate of lime, and much more than the alburnum, as do also the ashes of the wood. 1'he ashes of most seeds contain no carbonate of lime i but ttiey abound in phosphate of potass. Hence the ashes of plants, at the period of the maturity of the fruit, yields less carbonate of lime than at any previous period. 1504. Silica is not found to exist in a great proportion in the ashes of vegetables, unless they have been preWously deprived of their salts and phosphates by washing j but, when the plants are washed in water, the proportion of their silica augments. The ashes of the leaves of the hazel, gathered in May, yielded 2'5 parts of sUica in 100. The same leaves, wMhed, yielded four parts in 100. Young plants, and leaves bursting from the bud, contain but little of silica in their ashes ; but the proportion of silica augments as the parts are developed. Perhaps this is owing to the diminution of the alkaline salts. The ashes of some stalks of wheat gathered a month before the time of flowering, and having some of the radical leaves withered, contained IZ parts of silica and 65 of alkaline salts in 100. At the period of their flowering, and when more of their leaves were withered, the ashes contained 32 parts of silica and 54 of alkaline salts. Seeds divested of their external covering, contain less silica than the stem furnished with its leaves ; and it is somewhat remarkable that there are trees of which the bark, alburnum, and wood contain scarcely any silica, and the leaves a great deal, particularly in autumn. This is a phenomenon that seems inexpli- cable The'greaterpartof the nasses contain a very considerable proportion of silica, as do also the plant* of the genus .Equisfetum. Sir H. Davy has discovered that it forms a part of the epidermis of these plantsi and in some of them the principal part. From 100 parts of the epidermis of the following plants the iiro- portions of silica were, in bonnet cane, 90 j bamboo, 71 "4; common reed, 48"1 ; stalks of corn, 665. Owing to the silica contained in the epidermis, the plants in which it is found are sometimes used to give a polish to the surface of subtances where smoothness is required. The Dutch rush (£quis^tum hyemale), a plant of this kind, is used to polish even brass. 1505. Magnesia does not exist so abundantly in the vegetable kingdom, as the two preceding earths. It has been found, however, in several of the marine plants, particularly the i^ci \ but Salsbla Soda contains Q 226 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part 11 more of magnesia than any other plant yet examined According to Vauquelln, 100 parts of it contai 17'929 of Magnesia, 1506. Aliiinina has been detected in several plants, but never except in very small quantities. 1507. Metallic oxides. Among the substances found in the ashes of vegetables, we must class also metali They occur, however, only in small quantities, and are not to be detected except by the most dehcat experiments. The metals hitherto discovered in plants are iron, manganese, and ^)crhap8 gold. Oi tncs iron is by far the most common. It occurs in the state of an oxide ; and tlie ashes of hard and woody planti such as the oak, are said to contain nearly one twelfth of their own weight of this oxide. 1 he ashes o Salsbla contain also a considerable quantity. The oxide of manganese was first detected in the ashes c vegetables by Scheele, and afterwards found by Proust in the ashes of the pine, calendula, vine, green oak and ag tree. Beccher, Kunckel, and Sage, together with some other chemists, contend also for th existence of gold in the ashes of certain plants j but the very minute portion which they found, seems mor likely to have proceeded flrom the lead employed in the process, than from the ashes of the plant It ha been observed by Saussure, that the proportion of the oxides of iron and of manganese augments in thi ashes of plants as their vegetation advances. The leaves of trees furnish more of these principles ii autumn than in spring, as do those of annual plants. Seeds contain metals in less abundance than the stem and if plants are washed in water, the proportions of their metallic oxides are augmented. 1508. Such are the principal ingredients that enter into the vegetable composition. They are indeei numerous, though some of them, such as the metallic oxides, occur in such sm.dl proportions as to rendei it doubtful whether they are in reality vegetible productions or not The same thing may be said of somi of the other ingredients that have been found in the ashes of plants, which it is probable have beer absorbed ready formed by the root, and deposited unaltered, so that they can scarcely be at all regarded ai being the genuine products of vegetation. 15U9. Other substances. Besides the substances above enumerated, there are also several others which havi been supposed to constitute distinct and peculiar genera of vegetable productions, and which might hav( been introduced under such a character; such as the mucus, jelly, sarcocol, asparagin, inulin, and ulmin of Dr. Thomson, as described in his well known System of Chemistry i but as there seems to be sorai difference of opinion among chemists with regard to them, and a belief entertained that they are bul varieties of one or other of the foregoing ingredients, it is sulhcient for the purposes of this work to havt merely mentioned their names. Several other substances, of a distinct and peculiar character, have beer suspected to exist in vegetable productions : such as the febrifuge principle of Seguin, as discovering itseli in Peruvian bark ; the principle of causticity or acridity of Senebier, as discovering itself in the roots ol .^an6npulus bulbbsus, &'cilla marltima, .&y6nia alba, and .(4 Vum macul^tum, in the leaves of Digitalis pur. p?irea, in the bark of ZJapfane Jl/eztreon, and in the juice of the spurges : to which may be added the rtuic exuded from the sting of the common nettle, the poisons inherent ii»some plants, and the medical virtue: inherent in others j together with such peculiar principles as may be presumed to exist in such regions of the vegetable kingdom as remain yet unexplored. The important discoveries which have alreadj resulted from the chemical analysis of vegetable substances encourage the hope that further discoveries wit be the result of further experiment ; and, from the zeal and ability of such chemists as are now directing their attention to the subject, every thing is to be expected. Sect. II. Simple Products. 1510. A very few constituent and uncompounded elements include all the compound ingredients of vegetables. The most essential of such compounds consist of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen ; a small proportion of nitrogen is said to be found only in cruci- form plants. The remaining elementary principles which plants have been found to contain, although they may be necessary in the vegetable economy, yet they are by no means principles of the first importance, as occurring only in small proportions, and be- ing dependent iii a great measure on soil and situation ; whereas the elements of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen form as it were the very essence of the vegetable subject, and constitute by their mbdifications the peculiar character of the properties of the plant. This is conspicuously exemplified in the result of the investigations of Gay Lussac, and Thenard, who have deduced from a series of the most minute and delicate experiments the three following propositions, which they have dignified by the name of Laws of Ve- getable Nature (Traite d£ Chem. Element., tom. iii. chap, iii.) : — 1st, Vegetable sub- stances are always acid, when the oxygen they contain is to the hydrogen in a greater proportion than in water; 2dly, Vegetable substances are always resinous, or oily, or spirituous, when the oxygen they contain is to the hydrogen in a smaller proportion than in water ; Sdly, Vegetable substances are neither acid nor resinous, but saccharine, or mucilaginous, or analogous to woody fibre or starch, when the oxygen and hydrogen they contain are in the same proportion as in water. (See Dr. Thomson's System of Chemistn/.) Chap. IV. Functions of Vegetables. 1511. The life, growth, and jrropagation of plants necessarily involve the several following topics : germination, nutriment, digestion, growth and developement of parts, anomalies of vegetable developement, sexuality of vegetables, impregnation of the vegetable germen, changes consequent upon impregnation, propagation and dispersion of the species, causes limiting the dispersion of the species, evidence and character ol vegetable vitality. Book L ' GERMINATION OF THE SEED. 227 Sect. I, Germination of the Seed- 1512. Germination is that act or operation of the vegetative principle, by which the embryo is extricated from its envelopes, and converted into a plant. This is univer- sally the first part of the process of vegetation ; for it may be regarded as an indu- bitable fact, that all plants spring originally from seed. The conditions necessary to germination relate eitlier to the internal state of the seed itself, or to the circumstances in which it is placed witli regard to suriounding substances. 1513. T^e first condition necessary to ^a-^ninaikm is^ that the seed must have reached maturity, Un. ripe seeds seldom germinate, because their parts are not yet prepared to form the chemical tombi nations on which germination depends, 'ihere are some seeds, however, whose germination is said to commence in the very seed-vessel, even before. the fruit is ripe, and while it is yet attached to the parent plant Such are those of the Tangeko//i of Adanson, and Ag'"»ve viv'para of East Florida, as well as those of the C^amus Neivmbo of Sir J. E. Smith, or sacred bean of India ; to which may be added the seeds of the com- cora garden radish, pea, lemon, &c. But these are examples of rare oicurrence ; though it is sometimes necessary to sow or plant the seed edmost as soon as it is fully ripe, as in the case of the cofiee-bean ; which will not geijninate unless it is sown within tive or six weeks alter it has been gathered. Most seeds, however, if guarded from external injury, will retiiin their geiminating faculty for a period of many years. This has been proved by the experiment of sowing seeds which have been long so kept ; as well as by the deep ploughing up of fields which have been long left without cultivation. A field which was thus ploughed up, near Dunkeld, in Scotland, after a period of forty years' rest, yielded a considerable blade of black oats without sowin>;. This could have only been by the plough's bringing up to the surface seeds which had been formerly too deeply lodged for germination. 1514. The second condition is, that the seeds sown must be defended frmn the action of the rays of light. This has no doubt been long known to be a necessary condition of germination, if we regard the practice of the harrowing or raking in of the grains or seeds sown by the farmer or gardener as being founded iipon it 1515. A third condition necessary to germination is the access rf heat. No seed has ever been known to germinate at or below the freezing point Hence seeds do not germinate in winter, even though lodged in their proper soil: but the vital principle is not necessarily destroyed in consequence of this exposure; for the seed will germinate still, on the return of spring, when the ground has been again thawed, and the tempeniture raised to the proper degree. 'Ihis degree varies considerably in dif- ferent species of seeds, as is obvious from observing the times of their germination, whether in the same climate or in different ones : for if seeds, which naturally sow themselves, germinate in different climates at the same period, or in the same climate at different periods, the temperature necessary to their germi- nation must of consequence be ditterent. Now these cases are constantly occurring and presenting them- selves to our notice: and have also been made the subject of particular observation. Adanspn found that seeds which will germinate in the space of twelve hours In an ordinary degree of heat, may be made to germinate in the space of three hours by exposing them to a greater degree of heat ; and that seeds transported from the climate of Paris to that of Senegal, have their periods of germination accelerated from one to three days. {Families des Plantes^ vol i. p. 84.) Upon the same principle, seeds transported from a wanner to a colder climate, have tlieir periods of germination protracted till the temperature of the latter is raised to that of the former. This is well exemplified in the case of green-house and hot-house plants, from which it is also obvious that the temperature must not be raised beyond a certain degree, otherwise the vital principle is totally destroyed. 1516. A fourth condition necessary to gennination is the access of moisture. Seeds will not germinate if they are kept perfectly dry. Water, therefore, or some liquid equivalent to it, is essential to germi- nation. Hence rain is always acceptable to the farmer or gardener, immediately after he has sown his seeds ; and, if no rain falls, recourse must be had, if possible, to artificial watering. But the quantity of water applied is not a matter of indifference. Ihere may be too little or there may be too much. If there be too little, the seed dies for want of moisture ; if there be too much, it then rots. The case is not the same, however, with all seeds. Some can bear but little moisture, though others will germinate even when partially immersed ; as was proved by an experiment of Du Hamel's, at least in the case of peas, which he placed merely upon a piece of wet sponge, so as to immerse them by nearly the one half, and which germinated as if placed in the soil But this was found to be the most thay could bear ; for when totally immersed in the water they rotted. There are some seeds, however,which will germinate even when wholly submersed. The seeds of aquatics must of necessity germinate under water -, and' peas have been known to do so under certain conditions. I5I7- A fifth condition necessary to germination is the access of atmospheric air. Seeds virill not germi- nate if placed in a vacuum. Ray introduced some grains of lettuce-seed into the receiver of an air-pump, which he theH exhausted. The seeds did not germinata But they germinated upon the readmission of the air, which is thus proved by consequence to be necessary to their germination. Achard jproved that no seed will germinate in nitrogen gas, or carbonic acid gas, or hydrogen gas, except when mixed with a certain proportion of oxygen gas ; and hence concluded that oxygen gas is necessary to the germination of idl seeds, and the only constituent part of the atmospheric air which is absolutely necessary. Hum- boldt round that the process of germination is accelerated by means of previously steeping the seed in water impregnated with oxymuriatic acid. Cresfi seed treated in this manner germinated in the space of three hours, though its ordinary period of germination is not less than thirty-two hou^. 1518, Tfie period necessary to complete the process of germination is not the same in all seeds, even when all the necessary conditions have been furnished. Some species require a shorter, and others a longer period. The gi-asses are among the number of those plants whose seeds are of the most rapid germination ; then perhaps cruciform plants ; then leguminous plants; then labiate plants; then umbelliferous plants; and in the last order rosaceous plants, whose seeds germinate tlie slowest. The following table in- dicates the periods of the germination of a considerable variety of seeds, as observed by Adanson : — Wheat, MUIet.5eed 1 Spinach, Beans, Mustard S Lettuce, Aniseed - - 4 Melon, Cucumber, Cressl e seed - . i ° 1 519. Physical phenomena* When a seed is committed to the soil under the conditions which have been just specified, the first infallible symptom of germination is to be deduced Q 2 Badish, Beet-root D|J.. Days. Hjnop . . . 3& Borlej &om - 4lo7 Pauley - - - 40 or .'lO Orache - - 8 Almond, Chestnut, Peach 1 year Roue, Hawthorn, Filbert '2 years. Purslane 9 Cabbafie - 10 228 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part I from the prolongation of the radicle {Jig. 188. a), bursting through its proper integuments, and direct- ing its extremity downwards into the soil. The next step in the process of germination is the evolution of . the cotyledon or cotyledons (c), unless the seed is al- together acotyledonous, or the cotyledons hypogean, as in the oak (b). The next step, in the case of seeds furnished with cotyledons, is that of the extrication of the plumelet (c), or first real leaf, from within the cotyledon or from between the cotyledons, and its expansion in the open air. The developement of the rudiments of a stem(rf), if the species is furnished with one, is the last and concluding step, and the plant is complete. Whatever way the seed may be deposited, the invincible tendency of the radicle is to descend and fix itself in the earth ; and of the plumelet, to ascend into the air. Mar conjectures have been offered to account for tliis. Knight accounts for it on the o] but revived principle of gravitation. Keith conjectures that it takes place from a powi inherent in the vegetable subject, analogous to what we call instinct in the animal sul ject, infallibly directing it to the situation best suited to the acquisition of nutriment an consequent developement of its parts. 1520. The chemical phenomena of germination consist chiefly in the changes which are efiTected in tl nutriment destined for the support and developement of the embryo till it is converted into a plar This nutriment either passes through the cotyledons, or is contained in them ; because the embryo di when they are prematurely cut oft'. But the farinaceous substance of the cotyledons, at least in exs buminous seeds, is a proof that they themselves contain the nutriment. ITiey are to be regarded, therefoi as repositories of the food destined for the support of the embryo in its germinating state ; and, if tl seed IS furnished with a distinct and separate albumen, then is the albumen to be regarded as the rep sitory of food, and the cotyledon or cotyledons as its channel of conveyance. But the food thus containt in the albumen or cotyledons is not yet fitted for the immediate nourishment of the embryo : son previous preparation is necessary; some change must be effected in its properties. This change effected by the intervention of chemical agency. The moisture imbibed by a seed placed in the earth immediately absorbed by the cotyledons or albumen, which it readily penetrates, and on which it imm diately begins to operate a chemical change, dissolving part of their farina, or mixing with their oi particles, and forming a sort of emulsive juice. The consequence of this change is a slight degree fermentation, induced, perhaps, by the mixture of the starch and gluten of the cotyledons in the wati which they have absorbed, and indicated by the extraction of a quantity of carbonic acid gas, as well i by the smell and taste of the seed. This is the commencement of the process of germination, whic takes place even though no oxygen gas is present But if no oxygen gas is present, then the proce stops ; which shows that the agency of oxygen gas is indispensable to germination. Accordingly, whe oxygen gas is present, it is gradually inhaled by the seed; and the farina of the cotyledons is found i have changed its savour. Sometimes it becomes acid, but generally sweet, resembling the taste of sugar and is consequently converted into sugar or some substance analogous to it This is a further proof thi a degree of fermentation has been induced ; because the result is precisely the same in the process of ti fermentation of barley when converted into malt, as known by the name of the saccharine fermentatior in which oxygen gas is absorbed, heat and carbonic acid evolved, and a tendency to germination ind catcd by the shooting of the radicle. The effect of oxygen, therefore, in the process, is that of convertir the farina of the albumen Or cotyledons into a mild and saccharine food, fit for the nourishment of tt infant plant by diminishing the proportion of its carbon, and in augmenting, by consequence, that of i oxygen and hydrogen. The radicle gives the first indications of life, expanding and bursting its integi ments, and at length fixing itself in the soil : the plumelet next unfolds its parts, developing the rud ments of leaf, branch, and trunk : and, finally, the seminal leaves decay and drop off; and the embrs has been converted into a plant, capable of abstracting immediately from the soil or atmosphere tl: nourishment necessary to its future growth. Sect. II. Food of the vegetating Plant* 1 52 1 . The substances which plants abstract from the soil or atTnosphere, or the food of it vegetating plant, have long occupied the phytological enquirer. What then are the con ponent principles of the soil and atmosphere? The investigations and discoveries ( modern chemists have done much to elucidate this dark and intricate subject. Soil, i general, may be regarded as consisting of earths, water, vegetable mould, decayed anim; substances, salts, ores, alkalies, gases, perhaps in a proportion corresponding to the ordt in which they are now enumerated ; which is at any rate the fact with regard to the fin three, though their relative proportions are by no means uniform. The atmosphere hi been also found to consist of at least four species of elastic matter, nitrogen, oxygei carbonic acid gas, and vapour ; together with a multitude of minute particles detache from the solid bodies occupying the surface of the earth, and wafted upon the wind: Tlie two former ingredients exist in the proportion of about four to one ; carbonic aci gas in the proportion of about one part in 100; and vapour in proportion still lesi Such then are the component principles of the soil and atmosphere, and the sources of veg( table nourishment But the whole of the ingredients of the soil and atmosphere are n. taken up indiscriminately by tiie plant and converted into vegetable food, because plan do not thrive indiscriminately in all varieties of soil. Part only ot the ingredients ai selected, and in certain proportions : as is evident from the analysis of the vegetable sul stance given in the foregoing chapter, in which it was found that carbon, hydrogei Book I. FOOD OF THE VEGETATING PLANT. 229 oxygen, and nitrogen, are the principal ingrediente of plants ; while the other ingredients contained in them occur but in very smedl proportions. It does not however follow, that these ingredients enter the plant in an uncombined and insulated state, because they do not always so exist in the soil and atmosphere ; it follows only that they are inhaled or absorbed by the vegetating plant, under one modification or another. The plant then does not select such principles as are the most abundant in the soil and atmosphere ; nor in the proportions in which they exist ; nor in an uncombined and insulated state. But what are the substances actually selected ; in what state are they taken up ; and in what proportions ? In order to give arrangement and elucidation to the subject, it shall be considered under the foUovring heads : Water, Gases, Vegetable Extracts, Salts, Earths, Manures. .1 522, Water* As water is necessary to the commencement of vegetation, so also is it necessary to its progress. Plants will not continue to vegetate unless their roots be supplied with water ; and if they be kept long without it, the leaves will droop and become flaccid, and assume a withered appearance. Now this is evidently owing to the loss of water ; ■ for if the roots be again well supplied with water, the weight of the plant is increased, and its freshness restored. But many plants will grow, and thrive, and effect the developement of all their parts, if the root be merely immersed in water, though not fixed in the soil. Tulips, hyacinths, and a variety of plants with bulbous roots, may be so reared, and are often to be met with so vegetating ; and many plants will also vegetate though wholly immersed. Most of the marine plants are of this de- scription. It can scarcely be doubted, therefore, that water serves for the purpose of a vegetable aliment. But, if plants cannot be made to vegetate without water ; and if they will vegetate, some when partly immersed without the assistance of soil, and some even when totally immersed, so as that no other food seems to have access to them ; does it not follow that water is the sole food of plants, tlie soil being merely the basis on which they rest, and the receptacle of their food ? This opinion has had many advo- cates ; and the arguments and experiments adduced in support of it were, at one time, thought to have completely established its truth. It was indeed the prevailing opinion of the seventeenth century, and was embraced by several philosophers even of the eighteenth century ; but its ablest and most zealous advocates were Van Helmont, Boyle, Du Hamel, and Bonnet, who contended that water, by virtue of the vital energy of the plant, was su£5cient to form all the different substances contained in vegetables. Du Hamel reared in the above manner plants of the horsechestnut and almond to sOme considerable size, and an oak till it was eight years old. But though he informs us that they died at last only from neglect of watering, yet it seems extremely doubtful whether they would have continued to vegetate much longer, even if they had been watered ever so regularly : for he admits, in the first place, that they made less and less progress every year ; and, in the second place, that their roots were found to be in a very bad state. The result of a great variety of experiments is, that water is not the sole food of plants, and is not convertible into the whole of the ingredients of the vege- table substance, even with the aid of the vital energy ; though plants vegetating merely in water do yet augment the quantity of their carbon. 1 523. Gases. When water was found to be insufficient to constitute the sole food of plants, recourse was next had to the assistance of the atmospheric air ; and the vital energy of the plant was believed to be at least capable of furnishing all the dif- ferent ingredients of the vegetable substance, by means of decomposing and combining,, in different ways, atmospheric air and water. But as this extravagant conjecture is founded on no proof, it is consequently of no value. It must be confessed, however, that atmospheric air is indispensably necessary to the health and vigour of the plant, as may be seen by looking at the different aspects of plants exposed to a free circulation of air, and plants deprived of it : the former are vigorous and luxuriant ; the latter weak and stunted. It may be seen also by means of experiment even upon a small scale. If a plant be placed under a glass to which no new supply of air has access, it soon begins to languish, and at length withers and dies : but particularly if it be placed under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump ; as might indeed be expected from the failure of the germination of the seed in similar circumstances. The result of experiments on this subject is, that atmospheric air and water are not the only principles constituting the food of plants. But as in germination, so also in the progress of vegetation, it is part only of the component principles of the atmospheric air that are adapted to the purposes of vegetable nutrition, and selected by the plant as a food. Let us take them in the order of their reversed proportions. 1534. The effect of the application ofcarbtmic add gas was fouiid to be altogether prejudicial in thepro- cess of the sermination of the seed : but in the process of subsequent vegetation its application has been found, on the contrary, to be extremely beneficial. Plants will not indeed vegetate in an atmosphere of pure carbonic acid, as was first ascertained by Dr. Priestley, who found that sprigs of mint growing in water, and placed over wort in a state of fermentation, generally became dead in the space^ of a day, and did not even recover when put into an atmosphere of common air. Of a number of experiments the results are : 1st, That carbonic acid gas is of great utility to the growth of plants vegetating in the sun, as Q 3 230 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II applied to the leaves and branches, and whatever increases the proportion of this gas in their atmo sphere, at least within a given degree, forwards vegetation ; 2d, That, as applied to the leaves am branches of plants, it is praudicial to vegetation in the shade, if administered m a proportion oeyoni that in which it exists in atmospheric air ; 3d, That carbonic acid gas, as applied to the roots ol plants, i also beneficial to their growth, at least in the more advanced stages of vegetation. , ., . .. , . 1525. As otygen is essential to the commencement and progress of germination, so also it is essential ti the progress of vegetation. It is obvious, then, that the experiment proves that it is benehcial to th( growth of the vegeUble as applied to the root ; necessary to the developement ot the leaves ; and to thi developement of the flower and fruit. The Bower.bud will not expand if confined m an atmospheri deprived of oxygen, nor will the fruit ripen. Flower-buds confined in an atmosphere of pure nitrogei faded without expanding. A bunch of unripe grapes introduced into a globe of glass which was luted bj iu orifice to the bough, and exposed to the sun, ripened without effecting any material alteration in iti atmosphere : but when a bunch was placed in the same circumstances, with the addition of a quantity o lime, the atmosphere was contaminated, and the graces did not ripen. Oxygen, therefore, is essential t( thedevelopcmentof the vegctatingplant, and is inhaledduringthe night. ...... 1526. Though nitrogen gas constitutes by far the greater part of the mass of atmospheric air, it does not seem capable of affording nutriment to plants ; for as seeds will not germinate, so neither will planti vegetate, in it, but for a very limited time, with the exception of the V'mca. mlnor,.Z,ythrum Salicana, J'nula dysenterica, Epilobium hirsiltum, and Polj»gonum Persioairia, which seem to succeed equally well in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas as in an atmosphere of common air. Nitrogen is found in almost all vegetables, particularly in the wood, in extract, and in tlieir green parts, derived, no doubt, from thi extractive principle of vegetable mould. 1527. Hydrogen gas. A plant of the Epilbbium hirsitum, which was confined by Priestley in a receive! filled with inflammable air or hydrogen, consumed one third of its atmosphere and was still green. Hence Priestley inferred, that it serves as a vegetable food, and constitutes even the true and propei pabulum of the plant But the experiments of later phytologists do not at all countenance this opinion, The conclusion from various experiments is, that hydrogen is unfavourable to vegetation, and does not serve as the food of plants. But hydrogen is contained in plants, as is evident from their analysis : and if they refuse it when presented to them in a gaseous state, in what state do they then acquire it ? To this question it is sufficient for the present to reply, that if plants do not acijuire their hydrogen in the state oi gas, they may at least acquire it in the state of water, which is indisputably a vegeteble food, and of which hydrogen constitutes one of the component parts. 1528. Vegetable extract. When it was found that atmospheric air and water are not, even conjointly, capable of furnishing the whole of the aliment necessary to the de- velopement of the plant, it was then alleged that, with the exception of water, all sub- stances constituting a vegetable food must at least be administered to the plant in a gaseous state. But this also is a conjecture unsupported by proof; for even with regard to such plants as grow upon a barren rock, or in pure sand, it cannot be said that they receive no nourishment whatever besides water, except in a gaseous state. Many of the particles of decayed animal and vegetable substances, which float on the atmosphere and attach themselves to the leaves, must be supposed to enter the plant in solution with the moisture which the leaves imbibe ; and so also similar substances contained in the soil must be supposed to enter it by the root : but these substances may certainly con- tain vegetable nourishment; and they will perhaps be found to be taken up by the plant in proportion to their degree of solubility in water, and to the quantity in which they exist in the soil. Now one of the most important of these substances is vegetable extract. When plants have attained to the maturity of their species, the principles of decay begin gradually to operate upon them, till they at length die and are converted into dust or vegetable mould, which, as might be expected, constitutes a considerable proportion of die soil. The chance then is, that it is again converted into vegetable nourishment, and again enters the plant. But it cannot wholly enter the plant, because it is not wholly soluble in water. Part of it, however, is soluble, and consequently capable of being absorbed by the root, and that is the substance which has been denomi- nated extract. 1529. Saussure filled a large vessel with pure mould of turf, and moistened it with distilled or rair water, till it was saturated. At tbu end of five days, when it was subjected to the action of the press. 10,000 parts in weight of the expressed and filtered fluid yielded, by evaporation to dryness, 26 parts oi extract. In a similar experiment upon the mould of a kitchen-garden which had been manured with dung, 10,000 parts of a fluid yielded 10 of extract ; and, in a similar experiment upon mould taken from a well, cultivated corn field, 10,000 parts of fluid yielded 4 parts of extract Such was the result in these par. ticular cases. But the quantity of extract which may be separated from the common soil is not in genera very considerable. After twelve decoctions, all that could be separated was about one eleventh of it! weight; and yet this seems to be more than sufficient for the purposes of vegetation : for a soil containing this quantity was found by experiment to be less fertile, at least for peas and beans, than a soil containinf only one half or two thirds of the quantity. But if the quantity of extract must not be too much, neithe: must it be too little. Plants that were put to vegetate in soil deprived of its extract, as far as repeatec decoctions could deprive it, were found to be much less vigorous and luxuriant than plants vegetating il soil not deprived of its extract: and yet the only perceptible ditTerence between them is, that the forme can imbibe and retain a much greater quantity of water than the latter. From this last experiment, ai well as from the great ]>roportion in which it exists in the living plant, it evidently follows that extrac constitutes ,i vegetable food. But extract contains nitrogen ; for it yields by distillation a fluid impregnatei with ammonia The difficulty, therefore, of accounting for the introduction of nitrogen into the vegeta ting plant, as well as for its existence in the mature vegetable .=ubstance, is done away : for, although thi plant refuses it when presented in a gaseous state, it is plain that it must admit it along with the extract It seems also probable that a small quantity of carbonic acid gas enters the plant along with the extractivi principle, as it is known to contain this gas also. 1530. Salts, in a certain proportion, are found in most plants, such as nitrate, muriate and sulphate of potass or soda, as has been already shown. These salts are known t( exist in the soil, and the root is supposed to absorb them in -solution with the water b' which the plant is nourished. It is at least certain that plants may be made to take uj by the roots a considerable proportion of salts in a state of artificial solution. But i Book I. FOOD OF THE VEGETATING PLANT. 2SI salts are thus taken up by the root of the vegetating plant, does It appear that they arc taken up as a food ? Some plants, it must be confessed, are injured by the application of salts, as is evident from the experiments of Saussure ; but others are as evidently benefited by it. Trefoil and lucerne have their growth much accelerated by the application of sul- phate of lime, though many otlier plants are not at all influenced by its action. The parietaria, nettle, and borage will not thrive, except in such soils as contain nitrate of lime, or nitrate of potass ; and plants inhabiting the sea-coast, as was observed by Du Hamel, will not thrive in a soil tliat does hot contain muriate of soda. It has been thought, how- ever, that the salts are not actually taken up by the root, though converted to purposes of utility, by acting as astringents or corrosives in stopping up the orifices of the vessels of the plant, and preventing the admission of too much water ; but it is to be recollected that the salts in question are found by analysis in the very substance of the plant, and must consequently have entered in solution It has been also thought that salts are favourable to vegetation, only in proportion as they hasten the putrefaction of vegetable substances contained in the soil, or attract tlie humidity of the atmosphere. But sulphate of lime is not deliquescent ; and if its action consists merely in accelerating putrefaction, why is its beneficial effect confined but to a small number of plants ? Grisentliwaite {^New Theory of Agrkulture, 1819, p. Hi.) answers this question by stating, that as in tlie principal grain crops which interest the agriculturist, there exists a particular saline substance peculiar to each, so, if we turn our attention to the clovers and turnips, we shall still find the same discrimination. Saintfoin, clover, and lucerne have long been known to con- tain a notable quantity of gypsum (sulphate of lime) ; but such knowledge, very strange to relate, never led to the adoption of gypsum as a manure for these crops, any more than tliat of phosphate of lime for wheat, or nitrate of soda or potassa for barley. It is true that gypsum lias been long, and in various places, recommended as a manure, but its uses not being understood, it was recommended without any reference to crop, or indeed to the accomplishment of any fixed object. It is very well known that some particular ingre- dient may be essential to the composition of a body, and yet constitute but a very small proportion of its mass. Atmospheric air contains only about one part in the 100 of carbonic acid ; and yet no one will venture to affirm that carbonic acid gas is merely an adventitious and accidental element existing by chance in the air of the atmosphere, and not an essential ingredient in its composition. Phosphate of lime constitutes but a very small proportion of animal bodies, perhaps not one part in 500 ; and yet no one doubts that it is essential to tlie composition of the bones. But the same salt is found in the ashes of all vegetables ; and who will say that is not essential to their perfection. 15:il. Eartlis. As most plants have been found by analysis to contain a portion of alkaline or earthy salts, so most plants have been found to contain also a portion of earths : and as the two substances are so nearly related, and so foreign in their character from vegetable substances in general, the same enquiry has consequently been made with regaid to their origin. Whence are the earths derived that have been found to exist in plants ? Chiefly from the soil. But in what peculiar state of combination do they enter the vessels of tiie plant ? The state most likely to facilitate their absorption is that of their solution in water, in which all the earths hitherto found in plants are known to be in a slight degree soluble. If it be said that the proportion in wliich they are soluble is so very small that it scarcely deserves to be taken into the account, it is to be recollected that the quantity of water absorbed by the plant is great, while that of the earth necessary to its health is but little, so that it may easily be acquired in the progress of vegetation. Such is the manner in which their absorption seems practicable; and Woodward's experiments afford a presumption that they are actually absorbed by the root, 1532. The proportion of earths contained in the ashes of vegetables depends upon the nature of thesoil in which -they grow. The ashes of the leaves of the iZhododendron ferrugineum, growing on Mount Jura, a calcareous mountain, yielded 43-25 parts of earthy carbonate, and only 0'75 of silica : but the ashes of the leaves of a plant of the same species, growing on Mount Breven, a granitic mountain, yielded two parts of silica, and only 1675 of earthy carbonate. It is probable, however, that plants are not indebted merely to the soil for the eartliy particles which they may contain. They may acquire them partly from the atmo- sphere, Margray has shown that rain-water contains silica in the proportion of a grain to a pound ; which, if it should not reach the root, may possibly be absorbed along with the water that adheres to the leaves. But although the earths are thus to be regarded as constituting a small proportion of vegetable food, thejr are not of themselves sufficient to support the plant, even with the assistance of water. Giobert mixed together lime, alumyie, silica, and miignesia, in such proportions as are generally to be met with in fertile soils, and moistened them with water. Several different grains were then sown in this artificial soil, which germinated indeed, but did not thrive ; and perished when the nourishment of the cotyledons was exhausted. It is plain, therefore, that the earths, though beneficial to the growth of some vegetables, and perhaps necessary to the health of others, are by no means capable of affording any considerable de- gree of nourishment to the plant. 153n. Supply offooil by manures atid culture. With regard to the food of plants derived from the atmosphere, the supply is pretty regular, at least, in as far as the gases are con- cerned ; for they are not found to vary materially in their proportions on any part of the surface of the globe : but the quantity of moisture contained in the atmosphere is con- tinually varying, so tliat in the same season you have not always the same quantity, Q. i 232 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. though in the course of the year the deficiency is perhaps made up. From the atmo- sphere, therefore, there is a regular supply of vegetable food kept up by nature for the support of vegetable life, independent of the aid of man : and if human aid were even wanted, it does not appear that it could be of much avail. But this is by no means the case with regard to soils ; for if soils are less regular in their composition, tliey are at least more within the reach of human management. The supply of food may be in- creased by altering the mechanical or chemical constitution of soils ; and by the addi- tion of food in the form of manures. The mechanical constitution of soils may be altered by pulverisation, consolidation, draining, and watering ; their chemical properties by aeration and torrification ; botli mechanical and chemical properties, by the addition of eartlis or other substances ; and manures, either liquid or solid, are supplied by the distribution of prepared fluids, dungs, and other nourishing matters, with or without their interment. (See Book III.) 1 534. Soils in a state of culture, though consisting originatly of the due proportion of in^edients, mny yet become exhausted of tlie principle of fertUiiy by tneans of too frequent cropping ; whether by repetition of the same, or rotation of different, crops. In this case, it should be the object of the phytulogist, as well as of the practical cultivator, to ascertain by what means fertility is to be restored to an exhausted soil, or commu- nicated to a new one. In the breaking up of new soils, if the ground has been wet or marshy, as is frequently the case, it is often sufficient to prepare it merely by means of draining off the superfluous and stagnant water, and of paring and burning the turf upon the surface. If the soil has been exhausted by too frequent a repetition of the same crop, it often happens that a change of crop will answer the purpose of the cultivator • for, although a soil may be exhausted for one sort of grain, it does not necessarily follow that it is also exhausted for another. Accordingly, the practice of the farmer is to sow his crops in rotation, having in the same field a crop, perhaps, of wheat, barley, beans, and tares in succession ; each species selecting in its turn some peculiar nutriment, or requiring, perhaps, a smaller supply than the crop which has preceded it. But even upon the plan of rotation, the soil becomes at length exhausted, and the cultivator is obliged to have recourse to other means of restoring its fertility. In this case, an interval of re- pose is considerably eflScacious, as may be seen from the increased fertility of fields that have not been ploughed up for many years, such as those used for pasture ; or even from that of the walks and paths in gardens when they are again broken up. Hence also the practice of fallowing, and of trenching, or deep ploughing which in some cases has nearly the same effect as trenching. 15.S5. Tlie ferliMly of a soil is restored, in the case of draining, by means of its carrying off all such superfluous moisture as may be lodged in the soil, which is well known to be prejudicial to plants not naturally aquatics, as well as by its rendering the soil more firm and compact. In the case of burning, the amelioration is effected by means of the decomposition of the vegetable substances contained in the turf, and sub- jected to the action of the fire, which disperses part also of the superfluous moisture, but leaves a residue of ashes favourable to future vegetation. In the case of the rotation of crops, the fertility is not so much restored, as more completely developed and brought into action ; because the soil, though exhausted for one species of grain, is yet found to be sufficiently fertile for another, the food necessary to each being different, or required in less abundance. In the case of the repose of the soil, the restored fertility may be owing to the decay of vegetable substances which are not now carried off in the annual crop, but left to augment the proportion of vegetable mould ; or to the accumulation of fertilising particles conveyed to the soil by rains ; or to the continued abstraction of oxygen from the atmo- sphere. In the case of fallows, it is owing undoubtedly to the action of the atmospheric air upon the soil, whether in rendering it more friable, or in hastening the putrefaction of noxious plants ; or it is owing to the abstraction and accumulation of oxygen. In the case of trenching, or deep ploughing, it is owing to the increased facility with which the roots can now penetrate to the proper depth, by which their sphere of nourishment is increased. But it often happens that the soil can no longer be ameliorated by any of the foregoing means, or not at least with sufficient rapiditv for the purposes of the cultivator • and in this case there must be a direct and actual application made to it of such sub- stances as are fitted to restore its fertility. Hence the indispensable necessity of manures, which consist chiefly of animal and vegetable remains that are buried and finally decom- posed in the soil, from which they are afterwards absorbed by the root of the plant, in a state of solution. _ 1536. But as carbon is the pnncipal ingredient furnished by manures, as contributing to the nourishment of the plant, and is not itself soluble in water, nor even disengaged by fermentation in a state of purity ; under what state of chemical combination is its solu- tion effected ? Is it effected in the state of charcoal ? It has been thought, indeed, that carbon in the state of charcoal is soluble in water ; because water from a dunghill, when evaporated, constantly leaves a residuum of charcoal, as was first ascertained by the ex- Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 233 periments of Hassenfratz. But there seem to be reasons for doubting the legitimacy of the conclusion that has been drawn from it; for Senebier found that plants whose roots were immersed in water took up less of the fluid in proportion as it was mixed with water from a dunghill. Perhaps then the .charcoal of water from a dunghill is held merely in sus- pension, and enters the plant under some other modification. But if carbon is not soluble in water in the slate of charcoal, in what other state is it soluble ? It is soluble in the state of carbonic acid gas. But is this the state in which it actually enters the root ? On this subject phytologists have been somewhat divided in opinion. Senebier endeavours to prove that carbonic acid gas, dissolved in water, supplies the roots of plants with almost all their carbon, and founds his arguments upon the following facts : — In the first place, it is known tliat carbonic acid gas is soluble in water ; in the second place, it is known to be contained in the soil, and generated by the fermentation of tlie materials composing manures ; and, in the next place, it is known to be beneficial to vegetation when applied artificially to the roots, at least in a certain degree. This is evident from the following experiment of Ruckert, as well as from several experiments of Saussure's previously related. Ruckert planted two beans in pots of equal dimensions, filled vrith garden mould ; the one was moistened with distilled water, and the other with water im- pregnated with carbonic acid gas. But the latter appeared above ground nine days sooner than the former, and produced twenty-five beans ; while the former produced only fifteen. Now the result of this experiment, as well as the preceding facts, is evidently favourable to the presumption of Senebier, and shows that if carbonic acid is not tlie state in which carbon enters the plant, it is at least a state preparatory to it ; and there are other circumstances tending to corroborate the opinion, resulting from the analysis of the ascending sap of plants. The tears of the vine, when analysed by Senebier, yielded a portion of carbonic acid and earth ; and as the ascending sap could not be supposed to have yet undergone much alteration, the carbonic acid, like the earth, was probably taken up from the soil. But this opinion, wliich seems to be so firmly established upon the basis of experiment, Hassenfratz strenuously controverts. According to experiments which he had instituted with an express view to the investigation of this subject, plants which were raised in water impregnated with carbonic acid differed in no respect from such as grew in pure water, and contained no carbon tliat did not previously exist in the seed. Now if this were the fact, it would be decisive of the point in question. But it is pl^n from the experiments of Saussure, as related in the preceding section, that Has- senfratz must have been mistaken, both witi] regard to the utility of carbonic acid gas as fumishuig a vegetable aliment, and with regard to the augmentation of carbon in the plant. The opinion of Senebier, therefore, may still be correct. It must be acknow- ledged, however, that the subject is not yet altogether satisfactorily cleared up ; and that carbon may certainly enter the plant in some state different from that either of charcoal in solution, or of carbonic acid gas. Is not carbonic acid of the soil decomposed before entering the plant? Tliis is a conjecture of Dr. Thomson's, founded upon the fol- lowing facts : — The green oxide of iron is capable of decomposing carbonic acid ; and many soils contain that oxide. Most soils, indeed, contain iron, either in the state of the brown or green oxide, and it has been found that oils convert the brown oxide into green. But dung and rich soils contain a, quantity of oily substance. One effect of manures, therefore, may be that of reducing the brown oxide of iron to the green, thus rendering it capable of decomposing carbonic acid gas, so as to prepare it for some new combination, in which it may serve as an aliment for plants. All this, however, is but a conjecture ; and it is more probable that the carbonic acid of the soil enters the root in combination with some other substance, and is afterwards decomposed within the plant itself. Sect. III. Process of Vegetable Nutritum. 1537. Plants are nourished in a manner in some degree analogous to that in wliich animals are sustained. The food of plants, whether lodged in the soil, or wafted through the atmo- sphere, is taken up byintrosusceplionin the form of gases or other fluids; it is then known as their sap ; this sap ascends to the leaves, where it is elaborated as the blood of animals is in the lungs ; it then enters into the general circulation of the plant, and promotes its growth. 1538. Intiosusceptipn. As plants have no organ analogous to the mouth of animals, they are enabled to take up the nourishment necessary to their support only by absorp- tion or inhalation, as the chyle into the animal lacteals, or the air into the lun^s. The former term is applied to the introsusception of non-elastic fluids ; the latter to that of gaseous fluids. The absorption of non-elastic fluids by the epidermis of plants does not admit of a doubt. It is proved indisputably, that the leaves not only contain air, but do actually inhale it. It was the opinion of Priestley that they inhale it chiefly by the upper surface ; and it has been shown by Saussure that their inhaling power depends entirely upon their organisation. It has been a question, however, among phytologists, whether 234 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. it is not also effected by the epidermis of tlie other parts of the plant. We can scarcely suppose it to be effected by the dry and indurate epidermis of the bark of aged trunks, of which the original organisation is obliterated ; nor by that of the larger and more aged branches. But it has been thought that there are even some of the soft and succulent parts of the plant by which it cannot be effected, because no pores are visible in their epidermis. DecandoUe found no pores in the epidermis of fleshy fruits, such as pears, peaches, and gooseberries ; nor in that of roots, or scales of bulbs ; nor in any part not exposed to the influence of air and light. It is known, however, that fruits will not ripen, and that roots will not thrive, if wholly deprived of air ; and hence it is probable that they inhale it by their epidermis, though the pores by which it enters should not be visible. In the root, indeed, it may possibly enter in combination with the moisture of the soil ; but in the other parts of the plant it enters no doubt in the state of gas. Herbs, therefore, and the sofl parts of woody plants, absorb moisture and inhale gases from the soil or atmo- sphere by means of the pores of tlieir epidermis, and thus the plant effects the intro> susception of its food. 1539. Ascent of the sap. The means by which the plant effects the introsusception of its food, is chiefly that of absorption by the root. But the fluids existing in the soil when absorbed by the root, are designated by the appellation of sap or lymph ; which, before it can be rendered subservient to the purposes of vegetable nutrition, must either be intermediately conveyed to some viscus proper to give it elaboration, or immediately distributed tiu'oughout the whole body of the plant. Our present object, therefore, is that of tracing out the progress of its distribution or ascent. The sap is in motion in one direction or other, if not all the year, at least at occasional periods, as the bleeding of plants in spring and autumn suiHciently illustrates. Tlie plant always bleeds most freely about the time of the opening of the bud ; for in proportion as the leaves expand the sap flows less copiously, and when they are fully expanded it entirely ceases. But this sus- pension is only temporary, for the plant may be made to bleed again in the end of the autumn, at least under certain conditions. If an incision is now made into the body of the tree, after the occurrence of a short but sharp frost, when the heat of the sun or mildness of the air begins to produce a thaw, the sap will again flow. It will flow even where the tree has been but partially thawed, which sometimes happens on the south side of a tree, when the heat of the sun is strong and the wind northerly. At the seasons now specified, therefore, the sap is evidently in motion ; but the plant vrill not bleed at any other season of the year. It has been the opinion of some phytologists, that the motion of the sap is wholly suspended during the winter. But though the great cold of winter, as well as the great heat of summer, is by no means so favourable to vegetation as the milder though more changeable temperature of spring and autumn, yet it does not wholly suspend the movement of the sap. Palms may be made to bleed at any season of the year ; and although this is not the case with plants in general, yet there is proof suf- ficient that the colds of winter do not, even in this climate, entirely prevent the sap from flowing. Buds exhibit a gradual developement of parts throughout the whole of the winter, as may be seen by dissecting them at different periods. So also do roots. Ever- greens retain their leaves ; and many of them, such as the arbutus, laurustinus, and the beautiful tribe of the mosses, protrude also their blossoms, even in spite of the rigour of the season. But all this could not possibly be accomplished, if the motion of the sap were wholly suspended. 1540. Thus the sap is in perpetual motion, with a more accelerated or nwre diminished velocity, throughout the whole of the year ; but still there is no decided indication exhibited in the mere circumstance of the plant's bleeding, of the direction in which the sap is moving at the time ; for the result might be the same whether it was passing from tjie root to tl)e branches, or from the branches to the root. But as the great influx of the sap is effected by means of the pores of the epidermis of the root, it follows that its mo- tion must, at least in the first place, be that of ascent ; and such is its direction at the season of the plant's bleeding, as may be proved by the following experiment : If the bore or incision that has been made in the trunk is minutely inspected while the plant yet bleeds, the sap wiU be found to issue almost wholly from the inferior side. If several bores are made in the same trunk, one above another, the sap will begin to flow first from the lower bore, and then from those above it. If a branch of a vine be lopped, the sap will issue copiously from the section terminating the part that remains yet attached to the plant ; but not from the section terminating the part that has been lopped off. This proves indubitably that tlie direction of the sap's motion, during the season of the plant's bleeding, is that of ascent. But if the sap flows so copiously during the season of bleed- ing, it follows that it must ascend with a very considerable force ; which force has accord- ingly been made the subject of calculation. To the stem of a vine cut off about two feet and a half from the ground. Hales fixed a mercurial gauge which he luted with mastic ; the gauge was in the form of a siplion, so contrived that the mercury might be made to rise in proportion to the pressure of tlie ascending sap. The mercury rose accordingly, Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 235 and reached, at its maximum, to a height of thirty-eight inches. But this was equivalent to a column of water to the height of forty-three feet three and one tliird inches ; demon- strating a force in the motion of tlie sap that, witliout the evidence of experiment, would have seemed altogether incredible. 1541. Tkus the sap, in ascending from the lower to the upper extremity of the jAant, is jiro})etled with a very considerable force, at least in the bleeding season. But is the as- cending sap propelled indiscriminately throughout the whole of the tubular apparatus, ur is it confined in its course to any particular channel ? Before the anatomy of plants had been studied with much accuracy, there was a considerable diversity of opinion on the subject. Some thought it ascended by the bark ; others thought it ascended by the bark, wood, and pith, indiscriminately ; and others thought it ascended between the bark and wood. The first opinion was maintained and supported by Malpighi ; and Grew considered that the sap ascends by the bark, wood, and pidi, indiscriminately. Du Hamel stripped several trees of their bark entirely, which continued, notwithstanding, to live for many years, protruding new leaves and new branches as before. Knight stripped the trunks of a number of young crab trees of a ring of bark half an inch in breadth ; but the leaves were protruded, and the branches elongated, as if the operation had not been performed. Du Petit Thouars removed the centrsd wood and pith from the stems of several young sycamore trees, leaving the upper part to be supported only by four pillars of bark : in others he removed the bark, liber, and alburnum, leaving the upper part of the tree to be supported solely by the central wood. In each case the tree lived, so that he concludes that both the bark and wood are competent to act as conductors to the sap. {^Hist. d'un Morceau de Bois, Hort. Tour, 481.) 1542. That the sap does not ascend exclusively by the bark is thus rendered sufficiently evident. But it is equally evident that it does not ascend by the pith, at least after the first year ; for then, even upon Grew's own supposition, it becomes either juiceless or wholly extinct : and even during the first year it is not absolutely necessary, if at all subservient to the ascent of the sap, as is proved by an experiment of Knight's. Having contrived to abstract from some annual shoots a portion of their pitli, so as to interrupt its continuity, but not otherwise materially to injure tlie fabric of the shoot. Knight found that the growth of the shoots which had been made the subject of experiment was not at all affected by it. 1543. The sap ascends neither by the bark nor pith, but by the wood only. But the whole mass of tile wood throughout is not equally well adapted for the purpose of con- veying it. The interior and central part, or that which has acquired its last degree of solidity, does not in general afford it a passage. This is proved by what is called -the girdling of trees, which consists in making a circular gap or incision quite round the stem, and to the depth of two or three inches, so as to cut through both the bark and alburnum. An oak tree on which Knight had performed this operation, with a view to ascertain the channel of the sap's ascent, exhibited not the slightest mark of vegetation in the spring following. The sap then does not ascend through the channel of the matured wood. But if 5ie sap ascends neither through the channel of the bark, nor pith, nor matured wood, thtough what other channel does it actually ascend ? The only remaining chaimel through which it can possibly ascend is that of the alburnum. In passing through the channel of the alburnum, does the sap ascend promiscuously by the whole of the tubes composing it, or is it confined in its passage to any peculiar set ? The earliest conjectures recorded on this subject are those of Grew and Malpighi, who, though they maintained that the sap ascends chiefiy by the bark, did not yet deny that it ascends also partly by the alburnum or wood. It occurred to succeeding phytologists that the progress of the sap, and the vessels through which it passes, might be traced or ascer- tained by means of making plants vegetate in coloured infusions. Du Hamel steeped the extremities of branches of the fig, elder, honeysuckle, and filbert in common ink. In examining the two former, after being steeped for several days, the part immersed was found to be black throughout, but the upper part was tinged only in the wood, which was coloured for the length of a foot, but more faintly and partially in proportion to the height. The pith, indeed, exhibited some traces of ink, but the bark and buds none. In some other examples the external layers of the wood only were tinged. In the honey- suckle the deepest shade was about the middle of the woody layers ; and in the filbert there was also observed a coloured circle surrounding the pith, but none in the pith itself, nor in the bark. 1544. Thus it is proved that the sap ascends through the vessels of the longitudinal fire composing the albumvm, of woody plants, and through the vessels of the several bundles of lon^udinalfire constituting the woody part of herbaceous plants. But it has been already shown that the vessels composing tiie woody fibre are not all of the same species. There are simple tubes, porous tubes, spiral tubes, mixed tubes, and interrupted tubes. Through which of these, therefore, does the sap pass in its ascent ? The best reply to this enquiry has been furnished by Knight and Mirbel. Knight prepared some annual shoots of the 236 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt JI- apple and horsechestnut, by means of circular incisions, so as to leave detached rings of bark with insulated leaves remaining on the stem. He then placed them in coloured infusions obtained by macerating the skins of very black grapes in water ; and, on examining the transverse section at the end of the experiment, it was found that the infusion had ascended by the wood beyond his incisions, and also into the insulated leaves, but had not coloured the pitli nor bark, nor the sap between the bark and wood. From the above experiment. Knight concludes that the sap ascends through what are called the common tubes of the wood and alburnum, at least till it reaches the leaves. Thus the sap is conveyed to the summit of the alburnum. But Knight's next ob- ject was to trace the vessels by which it is conveyed into the leaf. The apple tree and horsechestnut were still his subjects of experiment. In the former the leaves are attached to the plants by three strong fibres, or rather bundles of tubes, one in the middle of the leaf-stalk, and one on each side. In the latter they are attached by means of several such bundles. Now the coloured fluid was found in each case to have passed through the centre of the several bundles, and through the centre only, tinging the tubes throughout almost the whole length of the leaf-stalk. In tracing their direction from the leaf-stalk upwards, they were found to extend to the extremity of the leaves ; and in tracing their direction from the leaf-stalk downwards, they were found to penetrate the bark and alburnum, the tubes of which they join, descending obliquely till they reach the pith which they surround. From their position Knight calls them central tubes, thus distinguishing them from the common tubes of the wood and alburnum, and from the spiral tubes with which they were every where accompanied as appendages, as well as from a set of other tubes which surrounded them, but were not coloured, and which he designates by the appellation of external tubes. The experiment was now transferred to the flower-stalk, and fruit-stalk, which was done by placing branches of the apple, pear, and vine, furnished with flowers not yet expanded, in a decoction of logwood. The central vessels were rendered apparent as in the leaf-stalk. When the fruit of the two former was fully formed, the experiment was then made upon the fruit-stalk, in which the central vessels were detected as before ; but the colouring matter was found to have penetrated into the fruit also, diverging round the core, approaching again in the eye of the fruit, and terminating at last in the stamens. This was effected by means of a prolongation of the central vessels, which did not however appear to be accom- panied by the spiral tubes beyond the fruit-stalk. Such then are the parts of the plant through which the sap ascends, and the vessels by which it is conveyed. Entering by the pores of the epidermis, it is received into the longitudinal vessels of the root by which it is conducted to the collar. Thence it is conveyed by the longitudinal vessels of the albur- num, to the base of the leaf-stalk, and peduncle ; from which it is further transmitted to the extremity of the leaves, flower, and fruit. There remains a question to be asked intimately connected with the sap's ascent. Do the vessels conducting the sap communicate vidth one another by inosculation or othervrise, so as that a portion of their contents may be conveyed in a lateral direction, and, consequently, to any part of the plant; or do they form distinct channels throughout the whole of their extent, having no sort of communication with any other set of tubes, or with one another ? Each of the two opinions implied in the question has had its advocates and defenders : but Du Hamel and Knight have shown that a branch will still continue to live, though the tubes leading directly to it are cut in the trunk ; from which it follows that the sap, though flowing the most copiously in the direct line of ascent, is at the same time also diffused in a trans- verse direction. 1 545. Causes of the sap's ascent. By what power is the sap propelled ? Grew states two hypotheses : its volatile nature and magnetic tendency, aided by the agency of ferment- ation. Malpighi was of opinion that the sap ascends by means of the contraction and dilatation of the air contained in the air-vessels. M. De la Hire attempted to account for the phenomenon by combining together the theories of Grew and Malpighi ; and Borelli, who endeavoured to render their theory more perfect, by bringing to its aid the influence of the condensation and rarefaction of the air and juices of the plant. 1546. Agency qf heat. Du Hamel directed his efforts to the solution of the difficulty, by endeavouring to account for the phenomenon from the agency of heat, and chiefly on the following grounds : because the sap begins to flow more copiously as the warmth of spring returns ; because the sap is sometimes found to flow on the south side of a tree before it flows on the north side, that is, on the side exposed to the influence of the sun's heat sooner than on the side deprived of it ; because plants may be made to vegetate, even in the winter, by means of forcing them in a hot-house ; and because plants raised In a hot-house uroduce tlieir fruit earlier than such as vegetate in the open air. There can be no doubt of the great utility of heat in forwarding the progress of vegetation ; but it will not therefore foUow that the motion and ascent of the sap are to be attributed to its agency. On the contrary, it is very well known that if the temperature exceeds a certain degree, it becomes then prejudicial both to the ascent of the sap and also to the growth of the plant Hales found that the sap flows less rapidly at mid-day than in the morning J and every body knows that vegetation is less luxuriant at midsummer than in the spring. So also, in the case of forcing, it happens but too often that the produce of the hot-house is totally destroyed by the unskdful application of heat If heat is actually the cause of the sap's ascent, how comes it that the degree necessary to produce the effect is so very variable, even in the same climate ? For there are many plants, luch as the arbutus, laurustinus, and . the mosses, which will continue not only to vegetate. Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 237 but to protrude their blossoms and mature their fruit, even in the midst of winter, when the temperature is at the lowest ; and, in the case of submarine plants, the temperature can never be very high : so that, altliough neat does no doubt facilitate the ascent of the sap by its tendency to make the vessels expand, yet it cannot be regarded as the efficient cause, since the sap is proved to be in motion even throughout the whole of tlie winter. Du Hamel endeavours, however, to strengthen the operation of heat by means of the influence of humidity, as being also powerful in promoting the ascent of tlie sap, whether as relative to the season of the year or time of the day. The influence of the humidity of the atmosphere cannot be conceived to operate as a projielUng cause, though it may easily be conceived to operate as afibrding a facility to the ascent of the sap in one way or other; which under certain circum- stances is capable of most extraordinary acceleration, but particularly in that state of the atmosphere which forbodes or precedes a storm. In such a state a stalk of wheat was observed by Du Hamel to grow three inches in three days ; a stalk of barley six inches, and a shoot of a vine almost two feet j but this is a state that occurs but seldom, and cannot be of much service in the general propulsion of the sap. On this intricate but important subject Linnsus appears to have embraced the opinion of Du Hamel, or an opinion very nearly allied to it ; but does not seem to have strengthened it by any new accession of argument ; so that none of the hitherto alleged causes can be regarded as adequate to the production of the effect 1547. Irritability. Perhaps the only adequate cause ever suggested, prior to the hypothesis of Dutrochet, is that alleged by Saussure. According to Saussure the cause of the sap's ascent is to be found in a peculiar species of irritability inherent in the sap-vessels themselves, and dependent upon vegetable life ; in consequence of which they are rendered capable of a certain degree of contraction, according to the affection of the internal surface by the application of stimuli, as well as of subsequent dilatation according to the subsidence of the action ol the stimulus ; thus admitting and propelling the sap by alternate dilatation and contraction. In order to give elucidation to the subject, let the tube be supposed to consist of an indefinite number of hollow cylinders united one to another, and let the sap be supposed to enter the first cylinder by capillary attraction, or by any other adequate means ; then the first cylinder being excited by the stimulus of the sap, begins gradually to contract, and to propel the contained fluid into the cylinder immediately above it But the cylinder immediately above it, when acted on in the same manner, is affected in the same manner ; and thus the fluid is propelled from cylinder to cylinder till it reaches the summit of the plant So also when the first cylinder has discharged its contents into the second, and is no longer acted upon by the stimulus of the sap, it begins again to be dilated to its original capacity, and prepared for the introsusception of a new portion of fluid. Thus a supply is constantly kept up, and the sap continues to flow. The above is by far the simplest as well as most satisfactory of all theories accounting for the ascent of the sap. 154S. Contraction and dilatation. Knight has presented us with a theory which, whatever may be its real value, merits at least our particular notice, as coming from an author who stands deservedly liigh in the list of phytological writers. This theory rests upon the principle of the contraction and dilatation, not of the sap-vessels themselves, as in the theory of Saussure, but of what Knight denominates the silver fain, assisted perhaps by heat and humidity expanding or condensing tlie fluids. {P/iiL Trans., 1801.) eith considers this theory of Knight as beset with many difficulties, and the agency of the alleged cause as totally inadequate to the production of the effect to be accomplished. 1549. Necessity of an equilibrium in the plant. Du Petit Thenars attributes the motion of the sap to an inherent power, with which nature has been pleased to endow vegetables. But the cause of the renewal of its motion in the spring, after remaining in a quiescent state for several months, he ascribes to the necessity of maintaining a perfect equilibrium in the system of a plant So that, if a consumption of sap is produced at any given point, the necessity of makinggood the space so occasioned consequently throws aU the particles of sap into motion ; and -the same effect will continue to operate as long as any consumption of sap takes place. The first cause of this consumption of sap he declares to be the deve- lopemcnt of the buds, and ^ready formed young leaves, by the stimulating action of light and heat, but particularly of the latter. As soon as this developement occurs, an assimilation and absorption of sap is occasioned for the support of the young leaves, a vacancy in the immediate vicinity of the leaves is produced, and a motion immediately takes place. {London Encyc, art JBot.) 1550. Electricity. The most satisfactory hypothesis for the ascent of the sap is that of M. Dutrochet This philosopher, by careful examination with a microscope, found that the minute conical termination of the radicle was furnished with other pi-ojecting bodies, like sponges, which perform tlie office of the piston of a syringe, and have the power of introducing into their cavity, and through their sides, the water which tomes in contact with the exterior surface, and which spongioles oppose, at the same time, the exit of any fluid which they may imbibe. The motions of the sap and juice in plants take place, according to this author, in consequence of the operations of two distinct currents of electricity : the one negative, by which the vessels have the power of absorption, which M. Dutrochet calls endosmose, and by which the vessels become turgid ; and the other positive, by which the vessels exude or secrete, which power M Dutrochet calls exosmose. {fiardener^s Mag., \o\.i\i, p. 78.; Dutrochet, Agent jTnmediat du mouvemeni vitaly Paris, 8vo, 1826.) 1551. Elaboration of the sap. The moisture of the soil is no sooner absorbed into the plant than it begins to undergo a change. This is proved by the experiment of making a bore or incision in the trunk of a tree during the season of bleeding ; the sap that issues from the wound possesses properties very different from the mere moisture of the soil, as is indicated by means of chemical analysis and sometimes also by means of a peculiar taste or flavour, as in the case of the birch tree. Hence the sap has already undergone a certain degree of elaboration ; either in passing through the glands of the cellular tissue, which it reaches through the medium of a lateral coinnmnication, or in mingling with the juices contained in the cells, and thus carrying off a portion of them ; in the same manner, we may suppose, that water, by filtering through a mineral vein, becomes im- pregnated with the mineral through which it passes. But this primary and incipient stage of the process of elaboration must always of necessity remain u. mystery to the phytologist, as being wholly effected in the interior of the plant, and consequently beyond the reach of observation. AU he can do, therefore, is to trace out its future progress, and to watch its succeeding changes, in which the rationale of the process of elaboration may be more evident. 1552L The process of elaboration is chUfly operated in the leof ; for the sap no sooner reaches the leaf, than part of it is immediately carried offby means of perspiration, perceptible or imperceptible ; eflfecting a change in the proportion of its component parts, and by consequence a change in its properties. 1553. Hales reared a sun-flower in a pot of earth till it grew to the height of three feet and a half; he then covered the mouth of the pot with a plate of lead, which he cemented so as to prevent all evaporation from the earth contained in it In this plate he fixed two tubes, the one nine inches in length and of but small diameter, left open to serve as a medium of communication with the external air; the other two 238 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. inches in length and one in diameter, for the purpose of introducing a supply of water, but kept always shut except at the time of watering. The holes at the bottom of tlie pot were also shut, and the pot and plant weighed for fifteen successive davs in the months of July and August : hence he ascertained not only the fact of transpiration by the leaves, from a comparison of the supply and waste ; but also the quantity of moisture transpired in a given time, by subtracting Irom the total waste the amount of evaporation from thepot The final result proved that the absorbing power of the root is greater than the tranbpmng power of the leaves, in the proportion of five to two. Similar experiments were also made upon some species of cabbage, whose mean transpiration was found to be 1 lb. 3 oz. per day ; and on some species of evergreens, which were found, however, to transpire less than other plants. The same is the case also with succulent plants, which transpire but little in proportion to their mass, and which as they become more hrm tran- spire less. It is known, however, that they absorb a great deal of moisture, though they give it out thus sparingly ; which seems intended by nature for the purpose of resisting the great droughts to which they are generally exposed, inhabiting, as they do for tlie most part, the sandy desert or the sunny rock Along with his own experiments Hales relates also some others that were made by Miller of Chelsea ; the result of which was tha^ other circumstances being the same, transpiration is in proportion to the transpiring surface, and is affected by the temperature of the air ; sunshine or drought promoting it, and cold and wet diminishing or suppressing it entirely. It is also greatest from six o'clock in tlie morning till noon, and is least during the night But when transpiration becomes too abundant, owing to excess of heat or drought, the plant immediately suffers and begins to languish ; and hence the leaves droop during the day, though tney are again revived during the night For the same or for a similar reason, transpiration has been found also to increase as the heat of summer advances ; being more abundant in July than in June, and still more in August than in either of the preceding months, from which last period it begins again to decrease. 1554. A Jluid little differerU from common water is exhaledf according to the experi- ments of Hales and Guettard ; in some cases it had tlie odour of the plant ; but Du Hamel found that it became sooner putrid than water. Such then are the facts that have been ascertained with regard to the imperceptible perspiration of plants, from which it unavoidably follows that the sap undergoes a very considerable modification in its passage through the leaf. 1555. Perceptible persjpiraliont which is an exudation of sap too gross or too abundant to be dissipated immediately, and which hence accumulates on the surface of the leaf, is the cause of its further modification. It is very generally to be met with, in the course of the summer, on the leaves of the maple, poplar, and lime tree ; but particularly on the surface exposed to the sun, which it sometimes wholly covers. 1556. The physical as veil as themical qualities of perspired matter are very different in different species of plants J so that it is not always merely an exudation ot sap, but of sap in a high state of elaboration, or mingled with the peculiar juices or secretions of the plant Sometimes it is a clear and watery fluid con- glomerating into large drops, such as are said to have been observed by Miller, exuding from the leaves of the Mfisa paradislaca, or plantain tree ; and such as are sometimes to be seen in hot and calm weather exuding from the leaves of the poplar or willow, and trickling down in such abundance as to resemble a slight shower. This phenomenon was observed by Sir J. £. Smith, under a grove of willows in Italy, and is said to have occurred even in England. Sometimes it is glutinous, as on the leaf of the lime tree; sometimes it waxy, as on the leaves of rosemary ; sometimes it is saccharine, as on the orange leaf; or resinous, as on the leaves of the Cistus creticus. The cause of this excess of perspiration has not yet been altogether satisfactorily ascertained ; though it seems to be merely an effort and institution of nature to throw off all such ledundant juices as may have been absorbed, or secretions as may have been formed, beyond what are necessary to the due nourishment or composition of the plant, or beyond what the plant is capable of assimilating at the time. Hence the watery exudation is perhaps nothing more than a re- dundancy of the fluid thrown off by imperceptible perspiration, and the waxy and resinous exudations nothing more than a redundancy of secreted juices ; all which may be still perfectly consistent with a healthy state of the plant But there are cases in which the exudation is to be regarded as an indication of disease, particularly in that of the exudation known by the name of honey-dew, a sweet and viscid substance covering the leaves like a varnish, and sometimes occasioning their decay. Such at least seems to be the fact with regard to the honey-dew of the hop, which, according to the observations of Linnaus, is the consequence of the attacks of the caterpillar of the ghost-moth injuring the root; and such seems also to be the fact with regard to the honey-dew of the beech tree, and periiaps also the honey-dew of the oak. The sap then, in the progress of its ascent from the extremity of the root to the extremity of the leaf, undergoes a considerable change, first in its mixing with the juices already contained in the plants and then in its throwing off a portion at the leaf, 1557. Tlie sap isfurther affected by means of ike gases entering into the root along with the moisture of the soil, but certainly, by means of the gases inhaled into the leaf ; the action and elaboration of which shall now be elucidated. 1558. Elaboration qf carbonic acid. The utility of carbonic acid gas, as a vegetable food, has been aL ready shown ; plants being found not only to absorb it by the root along with the moisture of the soil, but also to inhale it by the leaves, at least when vegetating in the sun or during the day. But howisthcela- boration of this gas effected? Is it assimilated to the vegetable substance immetliately upon entering the plant, or is its assimilation effected by means of intermediate steps ? The gas thus inhaled or absorbed is not assimilated immediately, or at least not wholly : for it is known that plants do also evolve carbonic acid gas when vegeUtingin the shade, or during the night Priestley ascertained that plants vegetating in confined atmospheres evolve carbonic acid gas in the shade, or during the night, and that the vitiated sUte of their atmospheres after experiment is owing to that evolution ; and Saussure that the elaboration of carbonic acid gas is essential to vegetation in the sun ; and, finally, Senebier and Saussure proved that the carbonic acid gas contained in water is abstracted and inhaled by the leaf, and immediately decom- posed ; the carbon being assimilated to the substance of the plant, and the oxygen in part evolved and m part also assimilated. The decomposition of carbonic acid gas takes place only during the light of day though Saussure has made it also probable that plants decompose a part of the carbonic acid gas which they form with the surrounding oxygen, even in the dark. But the eftfect is operated chiefly by means ot the leaves and other green parts of vegetables, that is, chiefly by the parenchyma : the wood roots petals, and leaves that have lost their green colour, not being found to exhale oxygen gas It may be observed however, that the green colour is not an absolutely essential character of the parts decomposinc carbonic acid ; because the leaves of a peculiar variety of the ^'triplex hort^nsis, in which aU the green parts change to red, do still exhale oxygen gas. or o 1559. Flaboration of oxygen. It has been already shown that the leaves of plants abstract oxygen from confined atmospheres, at least when placed in the shade, though they do not inhale all the oxygen that disappears i and it has been further proved, from experiment, that the leaves of plants do also evolve a gas m the sun. From a great variety of experiments relative to the action and influence of oxygen on the Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE NUTRITION. 239 plant, and the contrary, the following is the sum of the results:— The green parts of plants, but especially the leaves, when exposed in atmospheric air to the successive influence of light and shade, inhale and evolve alternately a portion of oxygen gas mixed with carbonic acid. But the oxygen is not immediately assimilated to the vegetable substance ; it is first converted into carbonic acid by means of combining with the carbon of the plant, which withers if this process is prevented by the application of lime or potass. The leaves of aquatics, succulent plants, and evergreens consume, in equal circumstances, less oxygen than the leaves of other plants. The roots, wood, and petals, and in short all parts not green, with the exception of some coloured leaves, do not effect the successive and alternate inhalation and extrication of oxygen ; the inhale it indeed, though they do not again give it out, or assimilate it immediately, but con- vey it under the form of carbonic acid to the leaves, where it is decomposed. Oxygen is indeed assimilated to the plant but not directly, and only by means of the decomposition of carbonic acid j when part of it, though in a very smaU proportion, is retained also and assimilated along with the carbon. Hence the most obvious influence of oxygen, as applied to the leaves, is that of forming carbonic acid gas, and thus pre- senting to the plants elements which it may assimilate ; and perhaps the carbon of the extractive juices absorbed even by the root, is not assimilated to the plant till it is converted by means of oxygen into car- bonic acid. But as an atmosphere composed of nitrogen and carbonic acid gas only is not favourable to vegetation, it is probable that oxygen performs also some other function beyond that of merely presenting to the plant, under the modification of carbonic acid, elements which it may assimilate. It may affect also the disengagement of caloric by its union with the carbon of the vegetable, wliich is the necessary result of such union. But oxygen is also beneficial to the plant from its action on the soil ; for when the ex- tractive juices contained in the soil have become exhausted, the oxygen of the atmosphere, by penetrating into the earth and abstracting from It a portion of its carbon, forms a new extract to replace the first. Hence we may account for a number of facts observed by the earlier phytologists, but not well explained. Du Hamel remarked that the lateral roots of plants are always the more vigorous the nearer they are to the surface ; but it now appears that they are the most vigorous at the surface because they have there the easiest access to the oxygen of the atmosphere, or to the extract which it may form. It was observed, also, by the same phytologist, that perpendicular roots do not thrive so well, other circumstances being the same, in a stiff and wet soil as in a friable and dry soil ; while plants with slender and divided roots thrive equally well in both : but this is, no doubt, owing to the obstacles that present themselves to the passage of the oxygen in the former case, on account of the greater depth and smaller surface of the root. It was further observed, that roots which penetrate into dung or into pipes conducting water, divide into immense' niunbers of fibres, and form what is called the fox-tail root ; but it is because they cannot continue to vegetate, except by increasing their points of contact, with the small quantity of oxygen found in such mediimis. Lastly, it was observed that plants, whose roots are suddenly overflowed with water remaining afterwards stagnant, suffer sooner tlian if the accident had happened by means of a continued current. It is because in the former case the oxygen contained in the water is soon exhausted, while in the latter it is not exhausted at all. Hence also we may account for the phenomenon exhibited by plants vegetating in distilled water under a receiver filled with atmospheric air, which, having no proper soil to supply the root with nourishment, eS^t the developement of their parts only at the expense of their own prcper substance ; the interior of the stem, or a portion of the root, or the lower leaves, decaying and giving up their extractive juices to the other parts. — Thus it appears that oxygen gas, or that constituent part of the atmospheric air which has been found to be indispensable to the life of animals, is also indispensable to the life of vegetables. But, although the presence and action of oxygen are absolutely necessary to the process of vegetation, plants do not thrive so well in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, as in an atmosphere of pure or common £ur. This was proved by an experiment of Saussure's, who, having introduced Some plants of PUum sativum, that were but just issuing from the seed, into a receiver containing pure oxygen gas, found that in the space of six days they had acquired only half the .weight of such as were introduced at the same time into a receiver containing common air. Whence it follows that oxygen, though tlie principal agent in the process of vegetation, is not yet the only agent necessary to the health and growth of the plant, and that the proportion of the constituent parts of the atmospheric air is well adapted for the purpcKes both of vegetable and animal life. 1560. Decomposition of water. Although the opinion was proved to be groundless, by which water had been supposed to be convertible into all the different ingredients en- tering into the composition of the vegetable substance, by means of the action of the vital energy of the plant ; yet when water was ultimately proved to be a chemical compound, it was by no means absurd to suppose that plants may possess the power of decomposing part, at least, of what tliey absorb by the root, and thus acquire the hydrogen as well as a portion of the oxygen which, by analysis, they are found to contain. This opinion was, accordingly, pretty generally adopted, but was not yet proved by any direct experiment. Senebier pointed out several phenomena from which he thought it was to be inferred, but particularly that of the germination of some seeds moistened merely with water, and so situated as to have no apparent contact with oxygen. The decomposition of water was inferred also by Xngenhouz, from tlie amelioration of an atmosphere of common air into which he had introduced some succulent plants vegetating in pxue water. Saussure having gathered a number of plants, of the same species, as nearly alike as possible in all circum- stances likely to be affected by the experiment, dried part of them to the temperature of the atmosphere, and ascertained their weight ; the rest he made to vegetate in pure water, and in an atmosphere of pure oxygen for a given period of time, at the end of which he dried them as before, and ascertained their weight also, which it was thus only necessary to compare with the weight of the former, in order to know whether the plants had in- creased in solid vegetable substance or not. But after many experiments on a variety of plants, the result always was, that plants when made to vegetate in pure water only, and in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, or of common air deprived of its carbonic acid, scarcely added any thing at all to their weight in a dried state ; or if they did, tlie quantity was too small to be appreciated. But from a similar experiment, in which carbonic acid gas was mixed with common air, the decomposition and fixation of water by the vegetating plant are legitimately inferred. It does not appear, however, tliat plants do in any case decompose water directly ; that is, by appropriating its hydrogen and at the same time disengaging its oxygen in the form of gas, which is extricated only by the decomposition of carbonic acid. 1561. Descent of the proper .hiice. When the sap has been duly elaborated in the leaf 240 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part tl. by means of the several processes tliat have just been described, it assumes the appel- lation of tlie cambium^ or proper juice of the plant. In this ultimate state of elaboration it is found chiefly in the baric, or rather between the bark and wood, and may very often be distinguished by a peculiar colour, being sometimes white, as in the several species of spurge, and sometimes yellow, as in celandine. It is said to be the principal seat of the medical virtues of plants ; and was regarded by Malpighi as being to the plant what the blood is to the animal body, the immediate principle of nourishment and grand support of life ; which opinions he endeavours to establish by the following analogies : if the blood escapes from the vessels of the animal body, it forms neither flesh nor bone, but tumours; if the proper juices of the plant are extravasated, they form neither bark nor wood, but a lump of gum, resin, or inspissated juice. The disruption of the blood-vessels, and conse- quent loss of blood, injure and often prove fatal to the animal ; the extravasation of the proper juice injures and often proves fatal to vegetables, unless the evil is prevented by the skill and management of the gardener. Whatever may be the value of these re- marks as tending to establish the analogy in question, it cannot be doubted that the cartV' hiuTti, or proper juice, constitutes at least the grand principle of vegetable organisation ; generating and developing in succession the several organs of the plant, or furnishing the vital principle with the immediate materials of assimilation. 1562. The proper Juice is convryed to the several parts of the plant by an appropriate set of vessels. One of the earliest and most satisfactory experiments on this subject, at least as far as regards the return of the proper juice through the leaf and leaf-stalk, is that of Dr. Darwin, which was conducted as follows : a stalk of the Eu-ph6r\3ta hetioscupia, furnished with its leaves and seed-vessels, was placed in a decoction of madder-root, so as that the lower portion of the stem and two of the inferior leaves were immersed in it After remaining so for several days the colour of the decoction was distinctly discerned passing along the midrib of each leaf. On the upper side of the leaf many of the ramifications, going from the midrib towards the circumference, were observed to be tinged with red ; but on the under side there was ob- served a system of branching vessels, originating in the extremities of the leaf, and carrying not a red bu'' a paie milky fluid, which, after uniting in two sets, one on each side the midrib, descended along with it into the leaf-stalk. These were the vessels returning the elaborated sap. The vessels observable on the upper surface Darwin calls arteries, and those on the under surface he calls veins. To this may be added the more recent discoveries of Knight, who, in his experiments instituted with a view to ascertain the course of the sap, detected in the leaf-stalk, not only the vessels which he calls central tubes, through which the coloured infusion ascended, together with their appendages, the spiral tubes ; but also another set of vessels surrounding the central tubes, which he distinguishes by the appellation of external tubes, and which appeared to be conveying in one direction or other a fluid which was not coloured, but which proved, upon further investigation, to be the descending proper juice. In tracing them upwards tliey were found to extend to the summit of the leaf, and in tracing them downwards they were found to extend to the base of the leaf-stalk, and to penetrate even into the inner bark. According to Knight, then, there are three sets pf vessels in leaves, the central tubes, the spiral tubes, and the external tubes. But by what means is the proper juice conducted from the base of the leaf-stalk to the extremity of the root ? This was the chief object of the enquiry of the earlier phytologists who had not yet begun to trace its progress in the leaf and leaf-stalk ; but who were acquainted with facts indicating at least the descent of a fluid in the trunk. Du Hamel stript sixty trees of their bark in the course of the spring, laying them bare from the upper extremity of the trunk and branches to the root ; the experiment S roved indeed fatal to them, as they all died in the course of three or four years. But many of them ad made new productions both of wood and bark from the buds downwards, extending in some cases to the length of a foot ; though very few of them had made any new productions from the root upwards. Hence it is that the proper juice not only descends from the extremity of the leaf to the extremity of the root, but generates also in its descent new and additional parts. I'he experiments of Knight on this sub- ject are, if possible, more convincing than even those of Du Hamel. From the trunks of a number of young crab trees he detacheda ring of bark of half an inch in breadth. The sap rose in them, and the portion of the trunk above the ring augmented as in the other subjects that were not so treated, while the portion below the ring scarcely augmented at alL The upper lips of the wounds made considerable advances downwards, while the lower lips made scarcely any advances upwards ; but if abud were protruded under the ring, and the shoot arising from it allowed to remain, then the portion of the trunk below that bud began immediately to augment in size, while the portion between the bud and incision remained nearly as before. When two circular incisions were made in the trunk so as to leave a ring of bark be- tween them with a leaf growing from it, the portion above the leaf died, while the portion below the leaf lived ; and when the upper part of a branch was stripped of its leaves the bark withered as far as it was fitript Whence it is evident that the sap which has been elaborated in the leaves and converted into proper juice, descends through the channel of the bark, or rather between the bark and alburnum to the extremity of the root, effecting the developement of new and additional parts. But not only is the bark thus ascertained to be the channel of the descent of the proper juice after entering the trunk ; the peculiar vessels through which it immediately passes have been ascertained also. In the language of Knight they are merely a continuation of the external tubes already noticed, which after quitting the base of the foot-stalk he describes as not only penetrating the inner bark, but descending along with it and conducting the proper juice to the very extremity of the root In the language of Mirbel they are the large or rather simple tubes so abundant in the bark of woody plants, though not altogether confined to it ; and so well adapted by the width of their diameter to afford a passage to the proper juice. 1563. Causes of descent. The proper juice then, or sap elaborated in the leaf, de- scends by the returning vessels of the leaf stalk, and by the longitudinal vessels of the inner bark, the large tubes of Mirbel and external tubes of Knight, down to the extre- mity of the root. 1564. The descent of the proper juice was regarded by the earlier phytologists as resulting from the agency of gravitation, owing perhaps more to the readiness with which the conjecture suggests itself than to the satisfaction which it gives. But the insufficiency of this cause was clearly pointed out by Du Hamel, who observed in his experiments with ligatures that the tumour was always formed on the side next to the leaves, even when the branch was bent down, whether by nature or art, so as to point to the earth, in which case the power propelling the proper juice is acting not only in opposition to that of graviUtion, but with such force as to overcome it This is an unanswerable argument ; and yet it seems to have been altogether overlooked, or. at least undervalued in its importance, by Knight, who endeavours to account for the effect by ascribing it to the joint operation of gravitation, capiUary attraction the waving motionofthetree.and the structure of the conducting vessels; but the grcdtest of these causes is gra- Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 241 vitatlon. Certain it is that gravitation has considerable influence in preventing the descent of the Bap hi young shoots of trees which have grown upright ; these, when bent down afler being ftilly grown, form ^^u °"^^> *"** often blossom Instead of leaf buds. This practice, with a view to the production of blos- som-buds, is frequently adopted by gardeners {Hort. Trans. 1 237.) in training fruit trees. — These causes are each, perhaps, of some efficacy ; and yet even when taken altogether they are not adequate to the pro- duction of the effect The greatest stress is laid upon gravitation ; but its agency is obviously over-rated, ^ffl'* ^^"l^nt from the case of the pendent shoots of the weeping willow j and if gravitation is so very efficacious in facilitating the descent of the proper juice, how comes its influence to be suspended in the ^f h 1 ^^^""^'"S fi^P ? The action of the silver grain will scarcely be sufficient to overcome it ; and u It should be said that the sap ascends through the tubes of the alburnum by means of the agency of the Vital principle, why may not the same vital principle conduct also the proper juice througn the returning vessels of the bark ? In short, if, with Saussure, we admit the existence of a contracting power in the *h'^*?^^f *'^^ sutficient to propel the sap from ring to ring, it will be absolutely necessary to admit it also in the latter. Thus we assign a cause adequate to the production of the effect, and avoid at the same time tne transgression of that most fundamental principle of all sound philosophy which forbids us to multiply causes without necessity. M. Dutrochet's hypothesis [1550.) for the ascent of the sap accounts equally for Sect. IV. Process of Vegetable Develoj)ement, 1565. The production of the different parts and organs of platds is effected by the assi- milation of the proper juice. The next object of our enquiry, therefore, will be that of tracing out the order of the derelopement of the several parts, together with the peculiar mode of operation adopted by the vital principle. But this mode of operation is not exactly the same in herbaceous and annual plants as in woody and perennial plants. In the former, the process of developenient comprises as it were but one act of the vital prin- ciple, the parts being all unfolded in immediate succession, and without any perceptible interruption till the plant is complete. In the latter, the process is carried on by gradual' and definite stages easily cognisable to the senses, commencing with the approach of spring, and terminating with the approach of winter ; during which, the functions of the vital principle seem to be altogether suspended, till it is aroused again into action by the warmth of the succeeding spring. The illustration of the latter, however, involves also that of the former ; because the growth of the first year exemplifies at the same time the growth of annuals, while the growth of succeeding years exemplifies whatever is peculiar to perennials. ' 1566, ElementarT/ organs. If the embryo, on its escape from the seed and conversion into a plant, is taken and minutely inspected, it will be found to consist of a root, plume- let, and incipient stem, which have been developed in consecutive order ; and if the plant is taken and dissected at this period of its growth, it will be found to be composed, merely of an epidermis enveloping a soft and pulpy substance, that forms the mass of tlie individual ; or it may be furnished also with a central and longitudinal fibre ; or with bundles of longitudinal fibres giving tenacity to the whole. These parts have been de-, veloped, no doubt, by means of the agency of the vital principle operating on the proper juice ; but what have been the several steps of operation ? 15ff7. No seUiifactory explication of this phenomenon has yet been offered. It is likely, however, that the rudiments of all the parts of the plant do already exist in the embryo in such specific order of arrange- ment as shall best fit Uiem for future developement, by the introsusception of new and additional particles. The pellicle constituting the vegetable epidermis has generally been regarded as a membrane essentially distinct from the parts which it covers, and as generated with a view to the discharge of some particular function. Some phytologists, however, have viewed it in a light altogether diflf'erent, and have regarded it as being merely the eflTect of accident, and nothing more than a scurf formed on the exterior and pulpy surface of the parenchyma indurated by the action of the air. It is more probably, however, formed by the agency of the vital principle, even while the plant is yet in embryo, for the ver^ purpose of protecting it from injury when it shall have been exposed to the air in the process of vegetation. There are several respects in which an analogy between the animal and v^etable epidermis is sufficiently striking : they are both capable of great expansion in the growth of the subject ; they are both easily regenerated when injured (except in the case of induration), and seemingly in the same manner; they are both subject, in certain cases, to a constant decay and repair; and they both protect from injury the parts enclosed. 1568. Composite organs. The elucidation of the developement of the composite organs involves the discussion of the two following topics : — the foimation of the annual plant, and of the original shoot of the perennial ; and tlie formation of the subsequent layers that are annually added to the perennial. 1569. jlnauals and annual shoots. If a perennial of a year's growth is taken up in the beginning of winter, when the leaves, which are only temporary organs, have fallen, it will be found to consist of a root and trunk, surmounted by one bud or more. ITie root is the radicle expanded into the form peculiar to tlie spedes, but the trunk and buds have bepn generatjsd in the process of vegetation. 1570. The root or ppur^, if taken and cut into two by means of a transverse section, will be found to consist already ori^ftiffet wood, and pith. Here, then, is the termination of the growth of the annual, and of the first stage oC the growth of the perennial : how have their several parts or organs been formed ? \B^l. The pith seems only a modification of the original pulp, and the same hypothesis that accounts for the formation of the one will account also for the formation of the other; but the pith and pulp, or parenchyma, are ultimately converted into organs essentially distinct from one another, though phytologists have been much puzzled to assign to each its respective functions. In the ages in which ' Shytological opinions were formed without enquiry, one of the vulgar errors of the time seems to have - een that the function of the pith was thatof generating the stone of fruit,- and that a tree deprived of its pith would produce fruit without a stone {Pbys. des Arb., liv. i. chap. 3.) : but this opinion is by much too absurd to merit a serious refutation. Another early opinion, exhibiting, however, indications of legitimate R 242 SCIENCE OF AORICULTURE. Part II. eiiiiuiry, was, that the pith was aimlogous to the heart and brain of animals, as rciated by Malplghi ; who did not himself adopt it, but believed the pith to be. lilte the cellular tissue, the viscera in which the sap was elaborated for the nourishment of the plant, and for the protrusion of ftiture buds. Mngnol thought tllat it produced the flower and fVuit, but not the wood. Du Harael regarded it as being merely an exten. sion of the pulp or cellular tissue, without being destined to perform any important function jn the process of vegetation. But Linnaus was of opinion that it produces even the wood ; regarding it not only as the source of vegetable nourishment, but as being also to the vegetable what the brain and spinal marrow are to animals— the source and scat of life. In these opinions there may be somethingof truth, but they have all the common fault of ascribing to the pith either too little or too much. Mr. Lindsay of Jamaica suggested a new opinion on the subject, regarding it as beHig tlie scat of the irritability of tlie leaves of the Mimtisa ; and Sir J. E Smith says, he can see nothing to invalidate the arguments on which this opinion is founded. Plenck and Knight regard it as destined by Nature to be a reservoir ot moisiure to supply the leaves when exhausted hy excess of perspiration. Hence it appears that the peculiar funrtion of the pith has not yet been altogether satisfactorily ascertained ; and the difficulty of ascertaining it has been thought to be increased from the circumstance of its seeming to be only ot a temporary use in the process of vegetation, by its disappearing in the aged Irunlt. But although it is thus only temporary as relative to the body of the trunk, yet it is by no means temporary as relative to the process of vegetation, the central part of the aged trunk being now no longer in a vegetating stale, and the pith being always present in one shape or other in the annual plant, or in the new additions that are annually made to perennials. The pith, then, is essential to vegetation in all its stages : and from the analogy of its structure .to that of the pulp, or parenchyma, which is known, as in the leaf, to be an organ of elaboration, the function of the pith is most probably that of giving some peculiar elaboration to 1572 ' The generation qf the layer of wood in WfioflyplarUs, or of the parts analogous to wood in the case of herbaceous plants, has been hitherto but little attended to. If we suppose the rudiments of the different parts to exist already in the embryo, then we have only to account for their developement by means of the introsusception and assimilation of sap and proper juice: but if we suppose them to be generated in the course of vegetation, then the difficulty of the case is augmented; and, at the best, we can only state the result of operations that have been so long continued as to present an eff'ect cognisable to the sense of sight, though the detail of the process is often so very minute as to escape even the nicest observation. All, then, that can be said on the subject is merely, that the tubes, however formed, do, by virtue of the agency of the vital principle operating on the proper juice, always make their appearance at last in a uniform and determinate manner, according to the tribe or species to which the plant belongs, uniting and coalescing so as to form either a circular layer investing the pith, as in woody plants ; a number of divergent layers intersecting the pith, as in some herbaceous plants j orbundles of longitudinal and woody fibre interspersed throughout the pith, as in others. In the same manner we may account lor the formation of the layer of bark. 1573. Perennlah and their annual layer. If a perennial is taken at the end of the second year and dissected, an in the example of the first year, it will be found to have increased in height by the addition of a perpendicular shoot, consisting of bark, wood, and pith, as in the shoot of the former year ; and in diameter by the addition of a new layer of wood and of bark, generated between the wood and bark of the former year, and covering the original cone of wood, like the paper that covers a sugar-loaf : this is the fact of the mode of augmentation about which phytologists have not differed, though they have differed widely with regard to the origin of the additional layer by which the trunk is increased in diameter. Malpighi was of opinion that the new layer of wood is formed from the liber of the former year. 1574. The new layer qf wood Linnaeus considered as formed from the pith, which is absurd, because the opinion goes to the inversion of the very order in which the layer is formed, the new layer being always exterior to the old one. -But,' according to the most general opinion, the layer was thought to be formed from a substance oozing out of the wood or bark — first a limpid fluid, then a viscid pulp, and then a thin layer attaching itself to the former; the substance thus exucfing fVom the wood or bark was generally regarded as being merely an extravasated mucilage, which was somehow or other converted into wood and bark : but Du Hamel regarded it as being already an organised substance, consisting of both cellular and tubular tissue, which he designated by the appellation of the cambium, or proper juice 1575. Knight has thrown the highest degree of elucidation on this, one of the most obscure ami intri- cate processes t^ the vef^etable economy, in having shown that the sap is elaborated, so as to render it fit for tlie formation of new parts, in the leaf only. If a leaf or branch of the vine is grafted even on the fruit-stalk or tendril, the graft will still succeed ; but if the upper part of a branch is stripiied of its leaves, the bark will wither as far as it is stripped ; anti if a portion of bark furnished with a leaf is insulated by means of detaching a ring of bark above and below it, the wood of the insulated portion that is above the leaf is not augmented : this shows evidently that the leaf gives the elaboration necessary to the formation of new parts, and that without the agency of the leaf no new part is generated ; —Such then is the mode of the augmentation of the- plant in the second year of its growth. It extends in width by a new layer of wood and of bark insinuated between the wood and bark of the former year; and in height by the addition of a perpendicular shoot or of branches, generated as in the shoot of the first year. But if the plant is taken and dissected at the end of the third year, it will be found to have augmented in the same manner; and so also at the end of the succeeding year, as long as it shall continue to live ; so that the outermost layer of bark, and innermost layer of wood, must have been originally tangent in the llrst year of the plant's growth ; the second layer of bark, and second layer of wood, in tne second year ; and so on in the order of succession till you come to the layer of the pre. cut year, which will in like man- ner divide into two portions, the outer forming one layer or more of bark, and the inner jbrming one layer or more of wood. And hence the origin of the concentric layers of wood and of bark in the trttnk. But how are we to account for the formation of the divergent layers, which Du Hamel erroneously sup- posed to proceed from the pith ? The true solution of the difficulty has been furnished by Knight, who, in tracing the result of the operation of budding, observed, that the wood formed under the bark of the inserted bud unites indeed confusedly with the stock, though still possessing the character and properties of the wood from which it was taken, and exhibiting divergent layers of new formation which originate evidently in the bark, and terminate at the line of union between the graft and stock. 1576. But how is the formation qfthe wood that now occupies the place of the pilh to be accounted for? It appears that the tubes of which the medullary sheath is composed do, in the process of vegetation, deposit a cambium, which forms an interior layer that is afterwards converted into wood for the puniose of filling up the medullary canal 1577. Opinion of Darwin and Du Petit Thouars. According to these philosophers, (and the hypothesis, we believe, was originally proposed by Dr. Darwin,) " the phenomena which took place at the period ot germination are renewed by every leaf which successively unfolds itself. The cotyledons were the source of the fibres which were sent down into the earth through the root ; in like manner every leaf is enabled to maintain a communicfltion between itself and the soil, by the means of fibres. Hence arises another kind of increase, of which no notice has yet been taken — the increase in thickness. A stem, which at the Book I. PROCESS OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 243 hour of its birth was no thicker thair a pin, in a f^w months acquires the diameter of an inch, or more. This arises from the successive superposition of the bundles of fibres which are created upon the develope- ment of each leaf, and of every teuf-bud. The latter makes its first appearance under che form of a green point, which originates flrom the inner layers of the ligneous body, wnich it traverses, and penetrates into the bark. A short time atler its first appearance, it may be perceived that the bud is surrounded by a portion of woody fibre, which passes downwards, covers over the wood previously formed, and thus forms a new layer. The existence of this it is easy to demonstrate ; for the fibres of the leaves separate easily from the wood, but the leaf-buds, when broken off, evidently arise from the interior of the wood. All the new parts formed by the leaf-bud soon become so completely identified with the old wood, that, after a short period, no marks of separation remain. " {London Encpclopadia, art. Botany,) 1578. Conversion qf the albuj'num into perfect wood. In consequence of the increase of the trunk by means of the regular and gradual addition of an annual layer, the layers, whether of wood or of bark, are necessarily of diflbrent degrees of solidity in proportion to their age, the inner layer of bark and the outer layer of wood being the softest ; and the other layers increasing in their degree of solidity till you teach the centre on the one hand, and the circumference on the other, whore they are respectively the hardest, farming perfect wood or highly indurated bark, which bark sloughs or splits into chinks, and falls ofi^in thick crusts, as in the plane tree, fir, and birch. What length of time, then, is requisite to convert the alburnum into perfect wood, or the liber into indurated bark ; and by what means are they so con- verted? There is no fixed and definite period of time that win be positively assigned as necessary to the compiete induration of the wood or bark, though it seems to require a period of a good many years before any particular layer is converted from the state of alburnum to that of perfect wood; and perhaps no layer has received its final degree of induration till such time as the tree h as arrival at its fuU growth. The indu- ration of the alburnum, and its consequent durability, are attributed by many to the loesof sap which the layer sustains after the period of its complete developement, when the supply from the root diminishes, and the waste by evaporation or otherwise is still kept up, inducing a contraction or condensation of its elementary principles which augments the solidity of the layer, in tlie first degree, and begins the process that future years finish. But Knight believes the induration of the alburnum, as distinguishable in the winter, to be owing rather to some substance deposited in it in the course of the preceding summer, which he regards as being the proper juice in a concrete or inspissated state, but which is carried off again by the sap as it ascends in the spring. 1579. Circulation of vegetable Juices. After the discovery of the circulation of the blood of animals, phytologists, who were fond of tracing analogies between tlie animal and vegetable kingdoms, began to think that there perhaps existed in plants also a circu- lation of fluids. The sap was supposed to be elaborated in the root. .The vessels in which it was propelled to the summit of the plant were denominated arteries ; and the vessels in which it was again returned to the root were denominated veins. Du Hamel, while he admits the ascent of the sap, and descent of the proper juice, each in peculiar and appropriate vessels, does not, however, admit tlie doctrine of a circulation, which seems, about the middle of the last century, to have fallen into disrepute. For Hales, who contended for an alternate ascent and descent of fluids in the day and night, and in the same vessels, or for a sort of vibratory motion, as he also describes it, gave no countenance whatever to the doctrine of a circulation of juices. But the doctrine, as it appears, has been again revived, and has met with the support of some of the most distinguished of modem phy tologists. Hedwig is said to have declared himself to be of opinion, that plants have a circulation of fluids similar to that of animals. Corti is said to have discovered a species of circulation in the stem of the Chara, but conflned, it is believed, within the limits of the internodia. Willdenow has also introduced the subject, and de- fended the doctrine (^Principles of Botany, p. 85 ) ; but only by saying he believes a cir- culation to exist, and that it is impossible for the leafless tree to resist the cold if there is not a circulation of fluids. Knight has given his reasons somewhat in detail ; and though his doctrine of a circulation sliould be false, yet the account which he gives of the progress and agency of the sap and proper juice, short of circulation, may be true. The sum of the account is as follows ; — When the seed is deposited in the ground under proper conditions, moisture is absorbed and modified by the cotyledons', and conducted directly to the radicle, which is by consequence first developed. But the fluid which has been thus conducted to the radicle, mingling no doubt with the fluid which is now ^so absorbed from the soil, ascends afterwards to the plumelet through the medium of the tubes of the alhurnum. The plumelet now expands and gives the due preparation to the ascending sap, returning it in its elaborated state to the tubes of the bark, through which it again descends to the extremity of the root, forming in its progress new bark and new albiu-num ; but mixing also, as he tliinks, with the alburnum of the former year, where such alburnum exists, and so completing the circulation. 1580. Decom^osUe organs. To the above brief sketch of the agency of the vital principle in the generation or growth of the elementary and composite organs, there now remains to be added that of the progress and mode of the growth of tlie decomposite or- gans, or organs immediately constituting the plant, as finishing the process of the vege- table developement. This will include the phenomena of the ultimate developement of the root, stem, branch, bud, leaf, flower, and fruit. 1581. The root. From the foregoing observations and experiments, it aT5>ears that the roots of plants or at leastof wqody plants, are augmented in their width by the addition of an annual layer, and in their length by the addition of an annual shoot, bursting fVom the terminating fibre. Hut how is the develope- ment of the shoot effected ? Is it by th£ introsusception of additional particles throughout the whole of its eactent J or only by additions deposited at the extremity? In order to ascertain the fact, with regard to the elongation of the root, Du Hamel instituted the following experiment : — Having passed several threads of silver transversely through the root of a plant, and noted the distances, he then immersed the root in water. The upper threads retained always their relative and original situation, and the lowest thread, which was placed within a few lines of the end, was the only one that was carried down. Hence he concluded that the root is elongated merely by the extremity. Knight, who from a similar experiment R 2 244 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTQRE. Part J I. obtained the same result, deduced from it also the same conclusion. We may regard It, then, as certain, that the mode of the elongation of the root is such as is here represented, though in the progress of ite developement, it may affect a variety of directions. The original direction of the root is generally perpen- dicular, in which it descends to a considerable depth if not interrupted by some obstacle. In takmg up some young oak trees that had been planted in a poor soil, Du Hamel found that the root had descended almost four feet, while the height of the trunk was not more than six inches. If the root meets with an obstacle, it then takes a horizontal direction, not by the bending of the original shoot, but by the sendmg out of lateral shopts. The same effect also follows if the extremity of the root is cut off, but not always ; for it is a common thing in nurserv gardens to cut off the tap-roots of drills of seedling oaks, without removing them, by a sharp spade, a'nd these generally push out new tap-roots, though not so strong as the former. When a root ceases of its own accord to elongate, it sends out lateral fibres which become branches, and are always the more vigorous the nearer they are to the trunk; but the lateral branches of horizontal roots are the less vigorous the nearer they are to the end next the trunk. In the former case^ the increased luxuriance is perhaps owing to the easy access of oxygen in the upper divisiona; but, in the latter case, the increased luxuriance of the more distant divisions is not so easily accounted for, if it is not to l)e attributed to the more ample supply of nutriment which the fibres meet with as they recede from the trunk, particularly if you suppose a number of them lying horizontally, and diverging like the radii of a circle. But the direction of roots is so liable to be affected by accidental causes, that there is often but little uniformity even in roots of the same species. If plants were to be sown in a soil of the same density throughout, perhaps there might be at least as much uniformity in the figure and direction of their roots, as in those of their branches ; but this will seldom happen. For if the root is injured by the attacks of insects, or interrupted by stones, or earth of too dense a quality, it then sends out lateral branches, as in the above cases ; sometimes extending in length, by following the direction of the obstacle, and some- times ceasing to elongate, and forming a knot at the extremity. But where the soil has been loosened by digging or otherwise, the root generally extends itself to an unusual length ; and where it is both loosened and enriched, it divides into a multiplicity of fibres. This is also the case with the roots of plants vegetating in pots, or near a river, but especially in water. Where roots have some considerable obstacle to overcome, they will often acquire a strength proportioned to the difficulty : sometimes they will penetrate through the hardest soil to get at a soil more nutritive ; and sometimes they will insinuate their fibres into the crevices even of walls and rocks, which they will burst or overturn. This of course requires much time, and does much injury to the plant. Roots consequently thrive best in a soil that is neither too loose nor too dense; but as the nourishment which the root absorbs is chiefly taken up by the extremity, so the soli is often more exhausted at some distance from the trunk than immediately around it Du Hamel regards the small fibres of the root, which absorb the moisture of the soil, as being analogous to the lacteals of the animal system, which absorb the food digested by the stomach : but the root is rather to be regarded as the mouth of the plant, selecting what is useful to nourishment, and rejecting what is yet in a crude and indigestible state ; the larger portions of it serving also to fix the plant in the soil, and to convey to the trunk the nourishment absorbed by the smaller fibres, which^ ascending by the tubes of the alburnum, is thus conveyed to the leaves, the digestive organs of plants. Du Hamel thinks that the roots of plants are furnished with pre-organised germs, by which they ar6 enabled to send out lateral branches when cut, though the existence of such germs is not proved j and affirms, that the extremities of the fibres of the root die annually, like the leaves of the trunk and branches, and are again annually renewed ; which last peculiarity Professor Willdenow afiirms also to be the fact, but without adducing any evidence by which it appears to be satisfactorily substantiated. On the contrary. Knight, who has also made some observations on this subject, says, it does not appear that the terminating fibres of the roots of woody plants die annually, though those of bulbous roots are found to do so : but the fibres of creeping plants, as the common crowfoot and strawberry, certainly die annu- ally, as do those of the vine. 1582. The stem. The stem, like the root, or at least the stem of woody plants, is also augmented in width by the addition of an annual layer, and in length, by the addition of an annual shoot bursting from the terminating bud. Is the developement of the shoot issuing f^om the stem effected in the same man. ner also? The developement of the shoot from the stem is not effected in the same manner as the developement of that from the root, by additions to the extremity only, but by the introsusception of additional particles throughout its whole extent, at least in its soft and succulent state : the longitudinal extension diminishing in proportion as the shoot acquires solidity, ana ceasing entirely when the wood is perfectly formed, tnougli often continuing at the summit after it has ceased at the base. The exten- sion of the shoot is inversely as its induration, rapid while it remains herbaceous, but slow in proportion as it is converted into wood. Hence moisture and shade are the most favourable to its elongation, because they prevent or retard its induration ; and hence the small cone of wood which is formed during the first year of the plant's growth increases no more after the approach of winter, either in height or thick- ness. Such is the mode of the growth and developement of the trunk of perennial and woody plants, to which there exists a striking exception in the growth of the trunk of palms. Their internal structure has been already taken notice of as possessing no concentric or divergent layers, and no medullary canal, but merely an assemblage of large and woody fibres, Interspersed without order in a pulp or parenchyma, softer at the centre, and gradually becoming harder as it approaches the circumference. When the seed of the palm tree germinates^ it protrudes a circular row of leaves, or of fronds, which crowns the radicle, and is succeeded in the following year by a similar row issuing from the centre or bosom of the former leaves, which ultimately die down to the base. This process is contiimed for four or five years successively, without exhibiting as yet any aj^pearance of a stem, the remaining bases of the leaves or frond forming by their union merely a sort of knob or bulb. At last, however, they constitute by their union an incipient stem, as thick the first year as it ever is after; which in the following year is aug- mented in heighth as before, and so in succession as long as the plant lives, the leaves always issuing from the summit and crowning the stem, which is a regular column, but decaying at the end of the year, and leaving circular marks at the points of insertion, which furrow the surface of the plant, and indicate the years of its growth. 1583. The branches^ in their mode of growth and developement, exhibit nearly the same appearances as the trunk from which they issue. They originate in a bud, and form also a cone which consists of pith, wood, and bark ; or rather they form a double cone: for the insertion of the branch into the trunk resembles also a cone whose base is at the circumference, and whose apex is at the centre, at least if it is formed in the first year of .the plant's growth, or on the shoot of the present year^ bUt falling short of the centre in proportion to the lateness of its formation, and number of intervening layers. Branches in their developementassumealmostall varieties of position, from the reflected to the horizontal and upright; but the lower branches ol trees are found to be generally parallel to the surface of the soil on which they grow, even though that surface should be the sloping side of a hil!^ owing, as some have thought, to the ^volution of a greater number of buds on the side that forms the obtuse angle with the soil, in conse- c^uence of its bemg exposed to the action of a greater mass of air. 1584. The bud, which in the beginning of spring is so very conspicuous on the trees of this country as to be obvious to the most careless observer, is by no means common to all plants, nor to plants of all pUmatcs i shrubs m general, and annuals universally, as well as all plants whatever growing within the tropics, are destitute of buds, the leaf being in them immediatelv protruded from the bark. It is only in the woody plants of cold climates, therefore, that we are to look for buds ; and in them no new part is ftdded, whether pT(^r to the leaf or flower, without the intervention of a bud. For when the young shoot is produced, it is at the same time furnished with new buds, which are again extended into new Book I.. ANOMALIES OF. VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 945 shoots in the following spring ; and thus the bud is to be regarded as forming, not only the cradle, but also the winter quarters of the shoot, lor which its coat of tiled and glutinous scales seems admirably adapted. It is found chiefly in the extremity, or on the surface of the young shoot or branch, and but rarely on the stem, except it be at the collar where it produces suckers. It is also generated for the most part in the a\ils of the leaves, as may be seen by inspecting the annual shoot of almost any tree at random : but it is not universally so ; for to tiiis rule there exists a curious and singular exception in the bud of the Pli- tanus, which is generated in the very centre of the base of the foot-stalk, and is not discoverable till after the fall of the leaf. liut how are the buds formed which are thus developed? Malpighi thought they were formed from tlie pith or celluLir tissue, which Grew regarded as viscera destined for the elaboration of the sap and protrusion of future buds. Du Hamel thinks the exterior scales of the bud originate in the interior part of the bark, and Knight relates an experiment fVom which he thinks it follows that the buds are formed from the descending proper juice. But whatever may be the actual origin of the bud, it is evident that its dcvelopement does not take place except through the medium of the proper juice, which has been elaborated in the leaves of preceding buds, and originally in those of the plumelet, as the young bud does not make its appearance till the leaves of the preceding buds have expanded, and will not ultimately succeed if deprived of them too soon. i^a. The bark^ it is probable, performs the same functions as the leaves in the early state of the buds, and occasionally in all states. Otherwise it would not be easy to account for the growth of cactuses, euphor- bias, some apocyneous plants, &c., which are all destitute of leaves. In fine, the bark may be compared to a universal leaf, with one surface only. {London Ency, art, Bot.) 138(5. Bulbs are so very similar to buds both in their origin and developement, as to require no specific ■investigation. 1587. The let^f. When the leaves burst Arom the expanding bud, and even long before that period, as may be seen by the dissection of the bud in the winter, they are complete in all their parts. Hence it ia obvious that the leaf, like the young shoot, effects its final developement by means of the introsusception of new particles throughout the whole of its dimensions; and yet this law of developement is not common to all leaves whatever, for the leaves of liliaceous plants extend chiefly at the point of their junction with the bulb. The effect, perhaps, of their peculiarity of structure, in being formed of parallel tubes which jextend throughout their whole length, without those transverse and branching fibres that constitute what are ciUed the nerves of the leaves of woody plants, 1588. The ^wer and fruit When the flower bursts fVomthe expanding bud, and even long before that period, it is already complete in all its parts, as may be seen also by the dissection of the bud in winter, Linnaaus represents the pistil as originating in the pith, the stamens in the wood, and the corolla 'and calyx in the inner and outer bark respectively : but this account of their origin, though ex- tremely plausible at first sight, will not bear the test of minute examination, being contradicted by the ana- tomy of the parts themselves ; particularly in the case of compound flowers. Knight, in investigating the drgauisation of the apple and pear, endeavoured to ascertain the origin of the several parts by tracing the organs of the fruiUstalk to their termination. In the fruit-stalk he thought lie could discover the pith, the central tubes, spiral tubes, and tubes of the bark, together with its epidermis : and in tracing them to their termination, he thought the pith seemed to end in the pistils; the central vessels in the stamens, after diverging round the core and approaching again in the eye of the fruit; and the bark and epidermis in the two ^eternal skin^. Hence he infers that the flower is a prolongation of the pith, wood, and bark. A question of some considerable importance has arisen out of this subject : does the flower or fruit elaborate sap for its own developement, or is it supplied with nourishment from the leaf? By placing small branches of the apple, pear, and vine, with blossoms not expanded, in a decoction of logw'ood. Knight found that the central vessels were coloured by the decoction. By means of a similar experiment on the same subjects after the fruit was formed, the colouring matter was traced through the mass of the fruit to the base of the stamina. And hence it appears that the flower and flruit do possess the power of elaborating sap fur their own developement. Knight infers from the foregoing data, that the blossom is nourished trom the alburnum, by means of the mingling of the proper juice, which the alburnum may be supposed to contain, with the sap in its ascent. Sect. V- Anomalies of Vegetable Develo2)efnent» 1589, A demation Jrom tlie general laws of developement is occasioned by the interven- tion of some accidental cause ; or of some cause operating permanently in certain sub- jects. Hence the anomaly may regard the developement either of an individual or a species, and may occur either in the root, stem, branch, leaf, bud, flower, or fruit, ac- cording to tlie circumstances in which it is placed ; or it may aifect the habit, duration, or physical virtues of the plant. 1590. Tke root. According to the general laws of vegetable developement, plants of the same species are furnished with the same species of root, not producing at one time a woody or fibrous root, and at anotlier time a bulbous root : and yet it is found that there are cases in which changes. of this kind do occur. If part of the root of a tree, planted by a pond or river, protrudes beyond the bank so as to be jgg partially immersed, it divides at the extremity into innumerable ramifications, or sends out innumerable fibres from the surface, which become again subdivided into fibres still more minute, and give to the whole an appearance something resembling that of the tail of a fox ; and it has accordingly been denominated by Du Hamel the fox-tail root. (Jig, 189.) 1591. The root of the Fhleum prat^tise^ when growing in a moist soil, which it naturally affects, is uniformly fibrous; butwhen growing in a dry soil, where it is also often to be found, it is furnished with a bulbous root. The same is the case with the A\o^eci\.vua geiiicul£ltus ; which, when growing in its native marshes, protrudes a fibrous root, though, when growing in a very dry situation, as on the top of a dry wall, it is found to be furnished with an ovate and juicy bulb. This anomaly also seems to be merely the result of a provision of nature by which the plant is endowed with the capacity of collecting a supply of ^ moisture suited to existing circumstances, and hence of adapting itself to the 7 soil in which it grows. / 1592. Tke roots of Utricvlhria m^myr., which consist of a number of slender > and hair-like filaments, exhibit the singular anomaly of being furnished with a multitude of small and membranous bladders, each containing a transparent .and watery fluid, and a small bubble of air, by means of which the plant is kept floating in the water, R 3 246 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT. ISPS. The descending rooty an anomaly which attends some perennials, is at first spimlle-fihaped and per- pendicular, sending out some lateral fibres, but dies at the lower extremity in the course of the succeed, ing winter, and protrudes new fibres from the remaining portion, and even from the lower portion of the stem, in the course*of the following spring, which, by descending into the soil, draw down the plant with them, 80 that part of what was formerly stem is now converted into root This process is repeated every year, and by consequence a portion of the stem is made to descend every year into the earth. The anomaly may be exemplified in the roots of Valeridna dioica, Tanacfetum vulgfire, and O'xalis Acetos^lla ; and will also account for the bitten and truncated appearance of Scabiusa succlsa, or devil's bit 1594. Minatory roots depend on a principle similar to the foregoing. If the stem of a descending root happens to oe creeping or procumbent instead of being erect, then the lateral shoots from above are carried forward in the direction of that procumbency, so that in the course of a few years the plant has actually changed its place by so much as the stem has been converted into a root This is well exemplified in the genus iVis, a plant of which, as it enlarges in circumference, dies in the centre, and presents a ring of plants instead of a solitary on& In the case of some aquatics, which float about on the surface of the water as they happen to be driven by the winds, the whole plant may be said to be migratory, as in the genus L^mna, and some marine plants. 1595. The beet-root, if dissected when about a year old, presents the smgular anomaly of being already furnished with from five to eight distinct and concentric circles of longitudinal tubes or sap-vessels, im- bedded at regular intervals in its pulp; whereas other biennial roots form only an individual circle each year, and are, consequently, at no time furnished with more than two. 1596. Roots changed to branches aTid branches to roots. If the stem of a young plum or cherry tree, but particularly of a willow, is taken in the autumn, and bent so as that one half of the top may be laid in the earth, one half of the root being at the same time taken carefully out, but sheltered at first from the cold and tlien gradually exposed to it, and the remaining part of the top and root subjected to the same process in the following year, the branches of the top will become roots, and the ramifications of the root will become branches, protruding leaves, flowers, and fruit in due season. 1597. The stenu If the stem of a tree planted by a pond or river is so bent in its growth as to come near to the surface of the water and to be occasionally immersed in it, it will sometimes send out from the under surface a multitude of shoots that will descend into tlie water, and develope themselves in the manner of tlie fox-tail root. Sometimes it happens that a stem, instead of assuming the cylindrical form common to the species, assumes a compressed and flattened form similar to the herbage of the Cactus, as in the fir tribe, ash, &c, 1598. The anomtUy of the flattened stem {fig. 190.) is accounted for by Du Hamel, by supposing that an unnatural junction must have taken place in the leaf-hud ; and so united shoots that would otherwise have been distinct Sometimes the stem is disfigured by accidental tumours or bunches projecting from the surface, and forming ultimately what are called knots in the wood. They are very common in the oak and elm, and are produced, perhaps, by means of some obstruction in the channel of the sap's motion, by which the vessels become convoluted and swell up into a buncn. 1599. But bunches are also to be met with on the stems of herbaceous plants, as on that of Che Cirduus prat^nsis; of which you will often find a portion near the top swollen out into an egg-shaped or egg-oblong bunch, extending from an inch to two inches in length, and about an inch across. If this bunch is cut open in the month of August, it will be found to contain several large and white maggots. It has consequently been occasioned by the puncture of the parent insect depositing its eggs. It does not seem to affect the general healtii of a vigorous plant, though it might prove seriously in- jurious to a weak on& 160U. Bundled stem» Sometimes two or more contiguous stems, extending in the process of their growth till they meet and press against one another, become incorporated at length into one, and form a sort of bundle. This is what ma;^ be termed a natural graft, in opposition to an artificial graft, of which it is the model and prototype. The natural graft is always effected by means of the union of the liber of the respective stems composing it ; so that the perfection of the art of grafting consists in applying the liber of the graft and stock together, in such a manner as shall most facilitate their incorporation. 1 60 1 . The bran ch. If the branch of a tree is situated, as in the foregoing case of the stem, so as to be partially or periodically immersed in winter, it will send out also the same sort of brush-like sJioots. 1602. Sunches or kTwtSy exhibiting a plexus 0/ young shoots (fig. 191.a) issuing from nearly the same point, rr.--ini,' in all directions, and finallyincorporating together by means of a sort of natural graft, frequently dishgurethebranch. Ihese bunches are frequently to he met with on the branches of thebirch tree, and arc Book I. ANOMALIES OF VEGETABLE DEVELOPEMENT. 247 known among the peasantry of Scotland by the name of witches* knots. They are occasioned* like the bunches of tlie stem, by some obstruction in the channel of the sap or proper juice. A peculiar sort of knot tirbunch is also formed on the branches of the dog-rose. The nucleus, whtcli is generally from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, is covered with a long and winged shag, first of a green and then of a purple colour, presenting the appearance of a small bunch of moss. {jfe. 192.) It has been occasioned, like that of the stem of the thistle, by the puncture of an i insect depositing its eggs in the tender shoot; for if it is cut|| open about the month of August, it contains maggots.^ lliese anomalies remind us always of that singular disease in tlie human species, thePUca polonica. 1603. The bud. The regular developement of the bud is also often prevented by means of the puncture of insects, and converted into a large globular tumour. . 1604. The gait tumour is very often eflffected by a species of C^nips, which drives its piercer into the heart of the bud while yet tender, and xienetrates with its saw into the very pith j in- jecting at the same time a drop of the corroding liquor con. tained in its bag, and then laying its eggs. The bud being ITius wounded, and the juices corrupted by the injected poison, the circulation is not only impeded, but a fermentation is induced which burns the contiguous parts and changes their colour. The extravasated juice flows round the egg, and is there accu- mulated and converted into a sort of spongy lump, which vegetates and augments till it forms what is called a galL The gall thus formed aflbrds both shelter and nourishment to the young maggot, which, after being converted into a fly, pierces its enclosure and launches into the open air. l^e most remark, able of such galls are those produced on the oak tree, and known in this country by the vulgar name of oak-apples. (Jig. 191. b) The bud of the willow, particularly SkWx //^lix, is apt to be punctured by insects and converted into a gall : but the conversion is not always complete ; and in this case the shoot remains dwarfisli, and the leaves, which are now protruded from nearly the same point, assume something of the figure of a rose. Hence it has obtained the common name of the rose-willow. The galls of the Salvia pomifera, formed in the above manner, are said to be of a very pleasant flavour, and are esteemed a great delicacy io Eastern countries, 1605. The leaves. These, like the buds, are also frequently chosen for the nidus of insects, and disfigured witli galls or excrescences. But the most remarkable gall produced on the leaf, and indeed the most remarkable and important of all galls, is that which is so extremely useful in the arts of dyeing and making ink, the nut-gall of the shops. 1606. The nut-^aU is generated on the leaf of a species of oak that grows plentifully in the Levant, and is so well known in commerce as to require no particular description. It is occasioned by the puncture of the equips ^uercifbUi, which deposits its egg in the substance of the leaf by making a small perforation on the under surface. Galls and tumours areto be found on the leaves of many plante ; and indeed almost ail leaves are liable to deformities, giving them a blistered, wrinkled, or curled appearance, and often pro- ducing disease. 1607. The excess or d^ficieitcy of leaves protruded in a group sometimes constitutes the anomaly, as in the case of the trefoils. 1^8. Sometimes it is found in the natural Jigure of the leaf itself, as in Asp&ragus officinalis, where they are bristle-shaped ; SalsMa Ktili\ awl-shaped ; and Allium Chpa, in which they are tubular, tapering to a point But one of the most remarkable anomalies of figure is that which occurs in the genus Sar- racdnia, the lower portion of the leaves of which is tubular, ascending,, and approaching to funnel-shaped, or rather pitcher-shaped reversed, with a flattened and concave limb attached by the one side to the orifice of the tube, and constituting the upper iiortion of the leaf. Linnseus, who was acquainted with this singularity of structure, accounted for it by supposing that it was an institution of Nature, meant for the purpose of furnishing the plant with a supply of water, which it could thus catch and retain in the leaf: but as some species of the genus do not readily admit water, notwithstandnig their capacity to retain it, this hypothesis is regarded by Sir J. R Smith as being extremely doubtful, who accordingly oflfers a different solution, founded upon the following facts. An insect, of the Sphex or/chneiimon kind, had been observed' by one of the gardeners of the botanic garden at Liverpool to drag several large flies to a leaf of Sarrac&nia adunca, and to force them into the tubular part of it On examination the leaf was found to be about half filled with water', in which the flies were now struggling ; the other leaves were also examined, and were found cramm^ with dead or drowning flies. The leaves of Sarrac^ma purptirea are said to exhibit also the same phenomena, and seem peculiarly well adapted to entrap and confine flies, by having the margin beset with inverted hairs, which render the escape of such insects as may have accidentally fallen into the watery tube, or are intentionally forced into it, impracticable ; so that the putrid exhalation Arom the dead insects contained in the leaf often o£Pends the nostrils, even in passing near the plant Hence Sir J. £. Smith infers, that the growth of the plant is perhaps benefited by means of the air evolved by the dead flies, which the water has been intended to tempt, and the leaves to entrap and retain. This ingenious conjecture is, no doubt, sufficiently plausible as far as the plant may be affected j but cannut be regarded as quite satisfactory till such time as it shall have been shown that the health of the plant is injured when insects are prevented from approaching it - \W9. The N£p(/n//ee» distiUatbria exhibits also an anomaly similar to that of Sarracfenia, in holding an ounce or two of a fluid which appears to be secreted from the leaf, and to be intended as a lure to insects, which gain admission either by the spontaneous opening of the lid, or by forcibly raising it them- selves. The consequence is that theyfall into the fluid and are drowned, no insect being capable of hving in it except a certain small squilla or shrimp, with a protuberant back, which, according to Rumphius, sometimes crawls into it and can live there, ^'o this phenomenon Sir J. E. Smith applies the same expli- cation as above, which is of course liable to the same objection. 1610. The Jigure of the lec^^ however- singular , is generally tJie same throughout the same iTidividiialy ex- cept in the case of accidental deformity, and yet there are exceptions even to this rule; for sometimes ttie lower leaves of a.plant are entire while the upper leaves are divided, as occurs in a variety of moun- uiinous plants, such as burnet, saxifrage, anise, coriander ; and sometimes the lower leaves are divided while the upper leaves are entire, as in the case of a variety of aquatics, particularly /ianiinculus aquati- cus, in which the lower leaves are capillary and immersed, and the upper leaves flat and circular, floating on the surface of the water. But sometimes the dissimilitude of the leaves is still more remarkable : the Chinese mulberry, a Botany Bay tree, has not two leaves alikf in form on the whole plant And, lastly, there are some plants, as in the case of the i^6ngi, that are wholly destitute of leaves, and hence called aphyllous ; while there are others, as in the case of the F^ci, that seem to be wholly leaf, 1611. The flower. The principal anomaly of the flower is that by which one of its parts is unduly augmented, to the exclusion or diminution of some of the rest. The R 4 248 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 193 flower is then said to be luxuriant ; and comprises the three following varieties : the mul- tiplicate, the full, and the proliferous flower, lfil2. T%emuttiplicate fiower is sometimefl, though rarely, occasioned by an unusual multiplication (A the divisions of the calyx, as in Dl&nthus Caryophf llus, and some of the alpine grasses. But the unomuly most generally consists in the undue multiplication of the divisions of the corolla, by theconversion of part of the stamens into petals, which is occasionally to be met with both in monopetalous and polypetalous flowers. It occurs but seldom, however. In flowers growing in their natural state and habit, though now and then a double flower is met with even in such circumstances. 1613. The full fiower is generally described to be that in which the divisions of the corrolla are so mul- tiplied as to exclude the stamens and pistils wholly by means of their conversion into petals ; which con- version is most readily effected in polypetalous flowers, such as the tulip, poppy, pink, and ranunculus; mo- nopetalous flowers seldom being found full This complete metamorphosis is always either the cflfect of cultivation, or of some concurrence of natural circumstances analogous to it, and is indeed one of the principal objects of the art of the florist ; the beauty of the flower, according to general estimation, being thus much augmented. In the full flower the stamens are almost alwaysconverted into petals, whence we should perhaps infer their identity of origin. But the pistil is often converted into a leaf, as may be seen by inspecting the flower of the double-blossomed cherry, whicli generally protrudes from the centre a leaf in miniature. But a flower may become full also by the multiplication of the parts of the nectary, as is sometimes the case in the genus Aquil&gia, which produces full flowers In three different ways : by the multiplication of the petals to the exclusion of the nectaries ; by the multiplication of the nectaries to the exclusion of the petals ; and by the multiplication of the nectaries while the proper petals remain. There are also some peculiarities in the manner in which compound flowers become fuIL Badiated flowers become full sometimes by the multiplication of the floscules of the ray to the exclusion of the floscules of the disk, as in Heli&nthus, ./^'nthemis, and Cen- > taurfea : and sometimes by the multiplication of (he floscules of ' the disk to the exclusion of those of the ray,as in Matricfiria and ^eilis. 1614. The proliferous flower {fig. 193.) is that out of which another flower or another sl^oot Is produced. It is seldom found but in flowers already j[UU; from the centre of which, that is, from the ovary or pistu, it sometimes happens that a new flower and foot-stalk is produced^ if the flower is simple, as in the ranunculus, anemone, and pink; or several flowers and foot-stalks issuing from the common calyx, if the flower is com- pound, as in the daisy, hawkweed, and marigold ; or a new umbel issuing from the centre of the original umbel, if the flower is umbellate, as in C6rnus. 1615. Various anomalies. Sometimes the proliferous issue of the full flower is not itself a flower, but a (hoot flirnished with leaves, as has been sometimes, though rarely, observed in the case of the anemone and rose. Such are the several varieties of luxuriant flowers, constituting anomalies of excess : but it sometimes happens that there is also in the flower an anomaly of defect in the absence of one of its parts. Examples of this sort are occasionally to be met with in the flowers of Cheiranthus CheWi, Campanula pentagbnia, and TussilSlgo anindria, in which the corolla is altogether wanting, though proper to the species ; and in this case the flower is said to be mutilated. Sometimes the anomaly consists in the situa- tion of the flower, which is generally protruded from the extremity or sides of the branches ; but the flower of the ^(iscus is protruded from the surface of the leaf. Or it may consist in the relative situation of the several parts of the flower. In simple flowers, the pistil is invariably central with regard to the stamens ; but in compound flowers the pistils are often situated in the circumference and the stamens in the centre. This seems to be the case, also, with some moncecious plants, having their flowers on the same peduncle, as in the example of the C^rex and j4Vum, in which the stamens are more central than the pistils. Some- times the anomaly consists in the color of the corolla, which will often deviate even in the same species. The general colour of the common cowslip (Primula vfer is) is a bright yellow; but an individual is occa- sionally to be met with, though veiy rarely, in which the limb or expansion of the corolla is purple with a line of yellow around the border. Sometimes the anomaly consists in the'time of flowering. The season £ roper for rhe flowering of the apple and pear tree is the month of May ; but trees of that sort have been nown to protrude both buds and blossoms even in the month of November. Some plants, however, blow only in the winter, as in the case of the laurustinus and ^'rbutus Z/nMo ; while others blow only in the night, and refuse to expand their petals to the light of the sun. Such is the case of the 6'dctus grandiflbra, that produces one of the most magniflcent of flowers, but blows only in the night ; and is hence known also by the appellation of the night-blowing cereus. Some plants, .,-^*=«^BBa^'^«i^ i n± such as the ^'Igas, and Funpi, are altogether destitute of con- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ a spicuous flowers ; and are hence call^ Cryptogamous. The i flower of the fig is perhaps one of the most singular in respect of i concealment. The flowers of perfect plants, which, in other cases, uniformly precede the fruit, are in this case concealed within what is generally denominated the fruit ; as may be proved by cutting open a green flgC/Sg'. 194.) by means of a lon- gitudinal section passing through its axis. Great numbers of flowers are then discovered lining a sort of cavity in the axis of the fruit; and hence what is called the firuit or flg, in common language, is rather the receptacle of the flower than any thing ^ else. Most plants have their flowers furnished both with stamens and pistils, and are hence hermaphro- dites. But there are also many genera that have the stamens in one flower and the pistils'in another, both on the same individual : these are denominated Moncecious plants, and are exemplifled in the oak and hazel. Other genera have the flowers with stamens on one plant, and the flowers with pistils on another : these are denominated Dioecious^ and are exemplified in the hop and willow. Others have unisexual flowers of each kind on one and the same plant, as in MoncEcia ; on separate plants, as in Dioecia ; and on others mixed with those which are hermaphrodite : these are denominated Po/^gamous, and are ex- emplified in the genus ^'triplex. In a species of Euterpe, found on the island of Bourbon, the flowers are visible eight years before they are expanded. The summit is formed of twelve leaves, each supplied with a bunch of flowers in its axilla. Three leaves only expand each year, so that four years will have elapsed between the expansion of the first flowers and of the last, although even the former were discoverable four, and the latter eight, years previously. (London Encyc, art Botany.) 1616. Tke fruit. The anomalies of the fruit may affect either its number, figure, colour, or appendages. 1617. The common hazel-nut produces in general but one kernel in one shell ; but in the course of opening a considerable number, you will now and then meet with one containing two or three kernels in a shell. This is, perhaps, best accounted for by supposing, with Du Hamel, that it is the result of an un- natural f^raft elfected in the bud , though some think that the shell does always contain the rudiments of Book T. SEXUALITY OF VEGETABLES, 249 two or more kernels, although It rarely happens that more than one Is developed. But if two apples or ^^^^ , pears are developed in an incorporated state, which is a case that now and 1 95 ,^^^S^ks^ ''^^" o<^curs, it is no doubt best accounted for by the graft of Du Hamel. Sometimes the anomally consist in the figure of the nruit, which is de- formed by tumours or excrescences, in consequence of the bite of insects, or injuries of weather producing warts, moles, or specks. Spmetimes it consists in the colour, producing green melons and white cucumbers. Sometimes it consists in an appendage of leaves, (^g. 195.) 1618. Habii. The anomalies of habit are principally oc- casioned by soil and cultivation. 1619. Some plants^ which, when placed in a rich soil, grow to a great height, and aflbct the habit of a tree, are, when placed in a poor soil, converted into dwarfish shrubs. This may be exempUfied in the case of the box-tree ; it also occurs in the case of herbaceous plants ; as in that of Jlfynsbtis, which in dry situations is but short and dwarfish, while in moist situations it grows to such a size as to seem to be altogether a differ- ent plant. The habit of the plant is sometimes totally altered by means of cultivation : the P^rus sativa, when growing in a wild and unculti- vated state, is furnished with strong thorns j but when transferred to a rich and cultivated soil the thorns disappear. This phenomenon, which was observed by Linnaeus, was regarded as being equivalent to the taming of animals : but this explica- tion is, like some others of the same great botanist, much more plausible than profound, in place of which Professor Willdenow substitutes the following ; the thorns protruded in the uncultivated state of the plant, are buds rendered abortive from want of nourishment, which when supplied with a sufficiency of nourish, ment are converted into leaves and branches. 16S0. Phydcal virhtes* When plants are removed from their native soil and taken into a state of culture, it alters not only their habit but their physical virtues. Thus the sour grape is rendered sweet ; the bitter pear, pleasant ; the dry apricot, pulpy ; the prickly- lettuce, smooth ; and die acrid celery, wholesome. Potherbs also are rendered more tender, by means of cultivation, and better fitted for the use of man ; and so are all our fine fruits. 1621. Duratum. Plants are either annuals, biennials, or perennials, and the species is generally of the same duration in every climate. But it has been found that some plants, wtuch are annuals in a cold climate, such as that of Sweden, will become peren- nials in a hot climate, such as that of the West Indies ; this anomaly has been exemplified in Tropie'olum, beet root and Jlfilva arbdrea : and, on the contrary, some plants, which are perennials In hot climates, are reduced to annuals when transplanted into a cold climate ; this has been exemplified in the climbing kidneybeans. Sect. VI. Oftke Sexuality of Vegetables. 1623. The doctrine ^aX plants are of different sexes, and which constitutes the found- ation of the Linnean system, though but lately established upon the basis of logical in- duction, is by no means a novel doctrine. It appears to have been entertained even among the original Greeks, from the antiquity of their mode of cultivating figs and palms. Aristotle and Theophrastus maintained tlie doctrine of the sexuality of vegetables ; and Pliny, Dioscorides, and Galen adopted the division by which plants were then dis- tributed into male and female ; but chiefly upon the erroneous principle of habit or aspect, and without any reference to a distinction absolutely sexual. Pliny seems to admit the distinction of sex in all plants whatever, and quotes the case of a palm tree as exhibiting the most striking example. 16S3. LinTueuSf reviewing with his usual sagacity the evidence on which the doctrme rested, and per- ceiving that it was supported by a multiplicity of the most incontrovertible facts, resolved to devote his labours peculiarly to the investigation of the subject, and to prosecute his enquiries throughout the whole ^tent of the vegetable kingdom ; which great and arduous enterprise he not only undertook, but accom- plished with a success equal to the unexampled industry with which he pursued it So that by collecting into one body all the evidence of former discovery or experiment, and by adding much that was original of his own, he found himself at length authorised to draw the important conclusion, that no seed is perfected without the previous agency of the pollen, and that the doctrine of the sexes of plants is consequently founded in fact 1624^ Pro(ifs fr(mi the economy qf the aquatics. Many plants of this class which vegetate for the most part wholly immersed in water, and often at a considerable depth, gradually begin to elevate their stems as the season of flowering advances, when they at last rear their heads above the surface of thewater, and present their opening blossoms to the sun, till the petals have begun to fade, after which they again gradually sink down to the bottom to ripen and to sow their seeds. This very i)ecuHar economy may be exemplified in the case of ^6ppia maritima, and several species of Potamogfeton common in our ponds and ditches. From this we may fairly infer, that the flowers rise thus to the surface merely to give the pollen an opportunity of reaching the srigma uninjured. But the most remarkable example of this kind is the VaU lisnferia spirals {Jig 196.), a plant which grows in the ditches of Italy. The plant is of the class Dioe^cia, pro. ducing \t& fertile flowers on the extremity of a long and slender stalk (o) twisted spirally like a corkscrew, which uncoiling of its own accord, about the time of the open- ing of the blossom, elevates the flowers to the surface of the water, and leaves them to expand in the open air. The barren flowers (ft) are produced i n great numbers upon short upright stalks issuing from a different root, f^om which they detach themselves about the time of the 250 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. expansion of the female blossom, mounting up like little air bubbles, and suddenly expanding when they reach the surface (c), where they float about in great numbers among the female blossoms, and often cling to them in clusters, so as to cover them entirely ; thus bringing the stamens and pistils into Immediate contact, and giving tlie anthers an opportunity of discharging their pollen immediately over the stigma. When this operation has been performed, the now uncoiled stalk of the female plant begins again to resume its originul and spiral form, and gradually sinks down, as it gradualW rose, to ripen its fruit at the bottom of the water. In 1819, we gathered these stalks, in the canals near Padua, upwards ol ten feet long. Sect. VII. Impregnation of the Seed. 1 625. Tfie stamem and instils are the male and female organs of vegetable generation, and the pollen w the substance by which the impregnation of the seed w effected; but how is the pollen conveyed to the ovary, and what is the amount of its action ? 1^6. Access of the pollen. When the stamens and pistils are situated near each other, the elastic spring with which the anther flies open, will generally be sufficient to disperse the pollen, so as that part of it must infallibly reach the stigma, in such flowers as do not perfect their stamens and pistils at the same time. The poUen is very generally conveyed from the anther to the stigma, through the instrumentality of bees, and other insects peculiar to a species. The object of the insect is the discovery of honey, in quest of whicii, whilst it roves from flower to flower, and rummages the recesses of the corolla, it unintentionally covers its body with pollen, which it conveys to the next flower it visits, and brushes off as it acquired itby rummaging for honey ; so that part of it is almost unavoidably deposited on the stigma, and impregnation thus effected. Nor is this altogether so much a work of random as it at flrst appears : for it has been observed that even insects, which do not upon the whole confine themselves to one species of flower, will yet very often remain during the whole day upon the species they happen flrst to alight on in the morning. Hence the impregnation of the females of Dicecious plants where no male is near ; hence also a sortof natural crossing of the breed of plants, which might probably otherwise degenerate. 1627. Fecundation of the ovary. Admitting that the pollen is conducted to the ovary through the tubes of the style, how after all is the ovary fecundated, or the seed ren- dered fertile ? On this subject naturalists have been much divided ; and, according to their several opinions, have been classed under the respective appellations of ovarists, animalculists, and epigenesists. 1628. Ovarist. According to the opinion of the Ovarist, the embryo J>reexi8t8 in the ovary, and is fecundated by the agency of the pollen, as transmitted to it through the style. 1629. Animatculist. But the theory of the ovarists is not without its difficulties; for, as the embryo is never found to make its appearance till after fecundation, it has been thought that it must necessarily pre. exist in the pollen of the anther ; from which it is conveyed to the ovary through the medium of the style, and afterwa];ds matured. This theory was founded upon that of Leuwenhoeck, with regard to animal generation, which supposes the preexisleiice of animalcula in the seminal principle of tlie male ; the animalcula being conveyed in co'itu to the ovary of the female, where alone they are capable of develoi^ement, 16SU. Epigenesist The difficulties inseparable from both theories, together with the phenomenon of hybrid productions, have given rise also to a third j this is the Theory of the Epigenesists ^ who maintain that the embryo preexists neither in the ovary nor pollen, but is generated by the union of the fecundat- ing principles of the male and female organs ; the former being the fluid issuing from the pollen when it explodes, and the latter the fluid that exudes from the surface of the stigma when mature. 1631. Hybrids, Although the arguments of the epigenesiste are by no means satis- factory, yet it cannot be denied, that hybrid productions partake of the properties both of the male and female from which they spring. This w^as long ago proved to be the fact by Bradley, and more recently confirmed by the experiments of Knight ; as well as hap- pily converted to the advantage of the cultivator. 1632. Vegetable crossing. Observing that farmers who rear cattle improve the progeny by means o£ crossing the breed. Knight argued from analogy, that the same improvement might be introduced into Vegetables. His principal object was that of procuring new and improved varieties of the apple and pear, to supply the place of such as had become diseased and unproductive. But as the necessary slowness of all experiments of the kind, with regard to the fruit in question, did not keep pace with the ardour of his desire to obtain information on the subject, he was induced to institute some tentative experiments upon the common pea ; a plant well suited to his purpose, both from its quickness of growth, and from the many varieties in form, size, and colour which itaflbrded. In 1787, a degenerate sort of pea was growing in his garden, which had not recovered its former vigour even when removed to a better soil. Being thus a good subject of ex- periment, the male organs of a dozen of its immature blossoms were destroyed, and the female organs left entire. When the blossoms had attained their mature state, the pollen of a very large and luxuriant grey pea was introduced into the one half of them, but not into the other. The pods of both grew equally ; but the seeds of the half that were unimpregnated withered away without having augmented beyond the size to which they had attained before the blossoms expanded. The seeds of the other half were augmented and matured, as in the ordinary process of impregnation ; and exhibited no perceptible difference from those of other plants of the same variety; pernaps because the external covering of the seed was furnished entirely by the female. But when they were made to vegetate in the succeeding spring, the eft'ect of the experiment was obvious. The plants rose with great luxurance, indicating in their stem, leaves, and fruit, the influence of this artificial impregnation j the seeds produced were of a dark grey. By im- pregnating the flowers of this variety with the pollen of others, the colour was again changed, and new varieties obtained, superior in every respect to the original on which the experiment was first made, and attaining, in some cases, to a height of more than twelve feet {Phil. Tram., 1789.) Knight thinks his experiments on this subject afford examples of superfoetation, a phenomenon, the existence of which appears doubtful amongst animals, and of which the proof amongst vegetables is not yet quite satisfactory. Of one species of superfoetation he has certainly produced examples ; that is, when, by impregnating a white pea-blossom with the pollen both of a white and grey pea, white and grey seeds were obtained. But of the other species of superfcetation, in which one seed is supposed to be the joint issue of two males, the example is not quite satisfactory. Such a production is perhaps possible, and further experiments may probably ascertain the fact ; but it seems to be a matter of mere curiosity, and not apparently con- nected with any views of utility. 1633. The practicability qf improving the species \s r&nd^eteA strikingly obvious by these experiments; and the ameliorating effect is the same, whether by the male or female ; as was ascertained by impreg- nating the largest and most luxuriant plants with the pollen of the most diminutive and dwarfish, or the contrary. By such means any number of varieties may be obtained, according to the will of the experimenter, amongst which some will no doubt be suited to all soils and situations. Knight's ex- periments of this kind were extended also to wheat; but not with equal success : forthoiigh some very good varieties were obtained, yet they were found not to be permanent But the success of his Book I. CHANGES FROM IMPREGNATIOK 251 exijenments on the apple tree were equal to his hopes. This was, indeed, his principal object, and no means of obtaining a successful issue were left untried. The plants which were obtained in this ease were found to possess the good qualities of both of the varieties eniployed, uniting tlie greatest healtli and luxuriance with the finest and best-flavoured fruit 163*. Improved varieties qf evetyfiitit and esculent plant may be obtained by means qf artificial impreg- nation, or crossingt as they were obtained in the cases already stated. Whence Knight thinks, that this promiscuous impregnation of species has been intended by nature to talce place, and that it does in fact often take place, for the purpose of correcting such accidental varieties as arise ftom seed, and of con- nnuig them within narrower limits. All which is thou^t to be countenanced firora the consideration of fi,''*"**^ of methods which nature employs to disperse the pollen, either by the elastic spring of the anthers, the aid of the winds, or the instrumentality of insects. But although he admits the existence of vegetable hybrids, that is, of varieties obtainedft-om the intermixture of different species of the same genus, yet he does not admit the existence of vegetable mules, that is, of varieties-obtained from the intermixture of the species of dififerent genera j in attempting to obtain which he could never succeed, 'k ®?1''® of all his efforts. Hence he suspects that where such varieties have been supposed to take place, the former must have been mistaken for the latter. It may be said, indeed, that if tne case exists in the animal kingdom, why not in the vegetable kingdom P to which it is, perhaps, difficult to give a satisfactory reply : but from tlie narrow limits within which this intercourse is in all cases circumscribed, it scarcely seems to have been the intention of nature that it should succeed even among animals. Salisbury is of a different opinion, and considers (Hart T^-ans.y i. 36*.) that new species may be created both by bees and by the agency of man ; and the recent experiments of Herbert, Sweet, and others, seem to confirm this opinion. Sweet's experience leads him to conclude that the plants of all orders strictly natural may be reciprocally impregnated with success, and he has already, in the nursery-gardens of Messrs. Colville produced many new Ger^nia and Ahodor&ces. 1635. A singiitar or anmnalous t^ct cfcrossiTig, or extraneous impregnation, is the change sometimes undei^one by the seed or fruit which is produced by the blossom impregnated. These results are not uniform, but they are of frequent occurrence, and have attracted notice fVom a very early period. John Turner observes {Hort. Trans., v. 63.) that Theophrastus and Pliny {Theophrast. Hist. Plant, 1. ii. c. 4. ; PliniiHtsL Mt^., l.xviL c.25.) seem to allude to it, and that the notion was entertained by Bradley, who, in his New lynprovemeiUs in PlantiTig and Gardening, after giving directions for fertilising the female flowers of the hazel with the pollen of the male, says, " By this knowledge we may alter the property and taste of any fruit, by impregnating the one with the farina of another of the same class, as, for example, a codlin with a pearmain, which will occasion the codlin so impregnated to last a longer time than usual, and be of a sharper taste ; or, if the winter fruit should be fecundated with the dust of the summer kinds th will decay before their usual time; audit is from this accidental coupling of the farina of one kind witli tlie other, that in an orchard, where there is a variety of apples, even the fruit gathered fi-om the same tree differs in its flavour and times of ripening ; and, moreover, the seeds of those apples so generated, being changed by that means from their natural qualities, will produce different kindsof fruit, if they are sown.'* Turner, after quoting several instances, and, among others, one from the Philosophical Transactions " concerning the effect which the farina of the blossoms of different sorts of apples had on the fruit of a neighbouring tree," states upwards of six cases of hybridised apples, that had come within his own observatibn ; and concludes with the remark, that, if there does exist in fruits such a liabilityto change it will at once be evident to the intelligent cultivator how much care is requisite in growing melons* cucumbers, &&, to secure their true characters, even without reference to saving seed for a future crop! In the same volume of the Horticultural Transactions (p. 234.) an account is given of different-coloured peas being produced in the same pod, by crossing the parent blossom. All these facts seem to contradict the generally received opinion, that crossing only affects the next generation ; here it appears to affect the embryo offspring ; and a gardener, who had no keeping apples in his orchard, might Communicate that quality in part to his summer fruit by borrowing the use of a neighbour's blossoms from a late variety. It is probable, however, that such counter-impregnations do not take place readily j otherwise the produce of a common orchard would be an ever- varying round of monstrosities. Sect. VIII. Changes consequent upon Impregnation, 1636. The peculiar changes, consequent upon imjrregnationi whether in the flowers or fruit, may be considered as external and internal. 1637. External changes. At the period of the impregnation of the ovary the flower has attained to its ultimate state of perfection, and displayed its utmost beauty ofcolouring and richness of perfume. But as it is now no longer wanted, so it is no longer provided for in the economy of vegetation. Its period of decline has commenced ; as is indicated, first by the decay of the stamens, then of the petals, and then of the calyx, which wither and shrink up, and finally detach themselves from the fVuit altogether, except in some particular cases in which one or other of them becomes piermnnent and falls only with the fruit The fitigma exhibits also similar symptoms of decay, and the style itself often perishes. The parts contiguous to the flower, such as the bractes and floral leaves, are sometimes also affected ; and finally the whole "plant, at least in the case of annuals, begins to exhibit indications of decay. But while the flower withers and falls, the ovary is advancing to perfection, swelling and augmenting in size, and receiving now all the nutriment by which the decayed parts were formerly supported. Its colour begins to assume a deeper and richer tinge ; its figure is also often altered, and new parts are even occasionally added, wings, crests, prickles, Jiooks, bloom, down. The common receptacle of the fruit undergoes also similar changes, becoming sometimes large and succulent, as in the fig and strawberry ; and sometimes juiceless and indurated, as in compound flowers. 1638. Internal changes. If the ovary is cut open as soon as it is first discoverable in the flower, it will be foimd tb be divisible into several distinct parts, exhibiting an apparatus of cells, valves, and membranes, constituting the pericarp, and sometimes the external coats of the seed. Impregnation has no sooner taken place than its influence begins to be visible: the umbilical cord, which was formerly short and dis- tended, is in some cases converted into a long and slender thread. Sometimes the position of the seed is altered. Before impregnation the seeds of Caryoph;yllus aromaticus and Metrosidferos gummifera are horizontal; after impregnation they become vertical. Before impregnation the Magnbl/a seeds are erect; after impr^nation they become inverted and pendulous. The figure of the seed is often also altered in passing from its young to its mature state ; chan^ng from smooth to angular, from tapering to oval, from oval to round, and from round to kidney-shaped. But all the seeds are not brought to maturity, of which the rudiments may exist in the ovary. Lagce^cia and Hasselquistui produce uniformly the rudiments of two seeds, of which they mature biit one. But the principal changes resulting from impregnation are operated in the seed itself, which, though previously a homogeneous and gelatinous mass, is now converted into an organised body, or embrifo. Sucn are the phenomena, according to the description of Gjertner, accom- panying or following the impregnation of all flowers producing" seeds ; exceptions occur where the fecun- dation is spurious and incomplete ; where the ovary swells, but exhibits no traces of perfect seed within, as often happens in the vine and Timus ; or where barren and fertile seeds are intermingled together in the same ovary. This proceeds from some defect either in the quantity or quality of the pollen ; but rather in the quality, as it is not always plants having the most pollen that produce the most seeds. The two stamens of the Orchidese fecundate 8000 seeds, and the five stamens of tobacco fecundate SOO : while 253 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. (he SO ttamens of Barringtftnio, the 230 of TJiia, and the 80 of the Caryoph Jllus fecundate only two or three ovulei. Shot. IX. The Propagation of the Species. 1(539. As the life of the vegetable, like that of the animal, is limited to a definite period, and as a continued supply of vegetables is always wanted for the support of animals, what we call art, or nature operating by means of the animal man, has taken care to institute such means as shall secure the multiplying and perpetuating of the species in all possible cases. 1640. Equivocal generalion. It was long a vulgar error, countenanced even by the philosophy of the times, that vegetables do often spring up from the accidental mixture of earth and putrid water, or other putrid substances, in the manner of what was called the equivocal generation of animals j or, at the very least, that the earth contains the principle of vegetable life in itself, which, in order to develope, it is only necessary to expose to the action of the air. The former alternative of the error has been long ago re- futed ; the latter has lost its hold, having been refuted by Malpighi, who proved that the earth produces no plant without the intervention of a seed, or of some other species of vegetable germ deposited in it by nature or by art 1641. Propagation by seeds. When the seed has reached maturity in the due and regular course of tlie developement of its several parts, it detaches itself sooner or later from the parent plant, either singly or along with its pericarp, and drops into the soil, where it again germinates and takes root, and springs up into a new individual. Such is the grand means instituted by nature for the replenishing and perpetuating of the vegetable kingdom. 1642. Dispersion of seed. If seeds were to fall into the soil merely by dropping down from the plant, then the great mass of them, instead of germinating and springing up into distinct plants, would grow up only to putrefy and decay; to prevent which consequence nature has adopted a variety of the most efficacious contri- vances, all tending to the dispersion of the seed. The iirst means to be mentioned is that of the elasticity of the peri- carp of many fruits, by_ which it opens when ripe, with a sort of sudden spring, ejecting the seed with violence, and throw- ing it some considerable distance from the plant This may be exemplified in a variety of cases ; the seeds of oats when ripe are projected from the calyx with such violence, that in a fine and dry day you may even hear them thrown out with a slight and sudden snap, in passing through a field that is ripe. The pericarp of the dorsiferous f^rns 0^, If}?.) is furnished with a sort of peculiar elastic ring, intended, as it would appear, for the very_ purpose of projecting the seeds. The capsules of the squirting cucumber, geranium, and Fraxinella, discharge their seeds also when ripe with an elastic jerk. But the pericarp of Imp^tiens, whicli consists of five cells with five valves, exh.nits perhaps one of the best examples of this mode of dispersion. If it be accidentally touched when ripe it will immediately burst open, while the valves, coiling themselves up in a spiral form, and springing from the stem, discharge the contained seeds, and scatter them all around. The bursting of the pericarp of some species of pines is also worthy of notice. The pericarp, which is a cone, remains on the tree till the summer succeeding that nn which it Was ^^^^M"!^!^^^^ H ^* ^~^ produced, the scales being still closed ; but when the hot weather has commenced and continued for some time, so as to dry the cone thoroughly, the scales open of their own accord with a sudden jerk, ejecting the contained seeds : and if a number of them happen to burst together, which is often the case, the noise is such as to be heard at some considerable distance. The twisted awn of AvinsL fatua (fig- 188.) or wild oat, as well as that of Erbdium cicutSirium, and some others, seems to have been intended particularly for the purpose of aiding the further dispersion of the seed, after being discharged ft°™ 'he plant or pericarp. This spiral awn or spring, which IS beset with a multitude of fine and minute hairs, possesses the property of contracting by means of drought, and of expanding by means of moisture. Hence it remains of necessity in a perpetual state of contraction or dilatation, dependent upon changeof weather j from which, as well as from the additional aid of the fine hairs, which act as so many i"S' ^"^ °""S '" whatever object they meet, the seed to which It is attached is kept in continual motion till it either germinates or is destroyed. The awn of bariey, which is beset with a multitude of little teeth aU pointing to ite upper extremity, presents also similar phenomena. For wncn the seed with its awn falls from the ear and lies flat upon the ground, it is necessarily extended in its dimensions "J 'he moisture of the nigh t, and contracted by the drought ?' 'h? oay : but as the teeth prevent it from receding in the direction of the point, it is consequently made to ad. Vance in the direction of the base of the seed, which is thus "''?" earried to the distance of many feet from the stalk on which It grew. If any one is yet sceptical with regard to tne travelling capacity of the awn, let him only introduce ^"/wn of barley with the seed uppermost between his coat and shirt sleeve at the wrist, when he walks out in the morn- ing, and by the time he returns to breakfast, if he has walked to any great distance, he will find it up at his arm- pit This journey has been effected by means of the con- tinued motion of the arm, and consequently of the teeth of the awn acting as feet to carry it forward. £'n"ciroi?s?eT'iacVT""'ih "Th "/ 'Ar°=''-""-*^^- '^"-^fchts?^^^^ zri^ tance from their place of growth is that of the instrumentaUty of animals. Many seeds are thus carried to Book T. PROPAGATION OF THE SPECIES. S53 a distance flrom their place of growth, merely by their attaching themselves to the l>odie!i of such animali as may happen accidentally to come in contact with the plant, in their search after food ; the hooks or hairs ^A ^^^'^ 0"® P^*^ or other of the fructification is often ftirnished, serving as the medium of attiichment, and the seed being thus carried about with the animal till it is again detached by some accidental cause, and ♦ik u^ committed to the soil This may be exemplified in the case of the Bldens and Myosbtis, in which the hooks or prickles are attached to the seed itself; or in the case of GUiumv4i>arlne and others, in which they are attacned to tlie pericarp ; or in thecaseof the thistle and the burdock, in which they are attached to the general calyx. Many seeds are dispersed by animals in consequence of their pericarps being used as food. This is often the case with the seeds of the drupe, as cherries and sloes, and with the berries of the hawthorn, which birds often carry away till they meet with some convenient place for devouring the pulpy pericarp, and then drop the stone into the soil And so also firuit is dispersed that has been hoarded for the winter, though even with the view of feeding on the seed itself, as in the case of nuts hoarded up by squirrels, which are often dispossessed by some other animal, which, not caring for the hoard, scatters and disperses it. Sometimes the hoard is deposited in the ground itself, in which case part of it is generally found to take root and to spring up into plants ; though it has been observed that the ground squirrel often deprives the kernel of its germ before it depf^its the fruit it collects. Rooks have been also observed to lay up acorns and other seeds in the holes of fence-posts, which being either forgot or accidentally thru:>t out* fali ultimately into the earth and germinate. But sometimes the seed is even taken into the stomach of the animal, and afterwards depasited in the soil, having passed through it unhurt This is often the case with the seed of many species of berry, such as the mistletoe, which the thrush swallows and afterwards deposits upon the boughs of such trees as it may happen to alight upon. The seeds of the Lo- ranthus americknus, another parasitical plant, are said to be deposited in like manner on the branches of the Coccoloba grandiflbra and other lofty trees ; as also the seeds of Phytolacca dec&ndra, the berries of which are eaten by the robin, thrush, and wild pigeon. And so also the seeds of currants or roans are sometimes deposited, after having been swallowed by blackbirds or other birds, as may be seen by ob- serving a currant bush or young roan treegrowingoutof the cleft of another tree, where the seed has been left, and where there may happen to have been a little dust collected by way of soil ; or where a natural graft may have been effected by the insinuation of the radicle into some chink or cleft. It seems indeed surprising that any seeds should able to resist the heat and digestive action of the stomach of animals; but it is undoubtedly the fact. Some seeds seem even to require it The seeds of Magnuha gla6ca^ which have been brought to this country, are said generally to have reftised to vegetate till alter undergomg this {irocess, and it is known that some seeds will bear a still greater degree of heat without any injury. Spal. anzani mentions some seeds that germinated after having been boiled in water : and Du Hamel gives an account of some others that germinated even after having been exposed to a degree of heat measuring 2350 of Fahrenheit In addition to the instrumentality of brute animals in the dispersion of the seed might be added also that of man, who, for purposes of utility or of ornament, not only transfers to his native soil seeds indigenous to the most distant regions, hut sows and cultivates them with care. " A farmer in the west of Scotland has been in the practice, for some years, of feeding his cows upon potato-apples, and using their dung, and raising seedling plants from it the seeds ; having passed through the stomach of the cow, without having undergone such a change as to prevent them from vegetating." {Note qf Mr, Cleghom, Ed. qfthe Edinburgh Farm, Mag.) 1644. The agency of winds is one of the most efffective modes of dispersion instituted by nature. Some seeds are fitted for this mode of dispersion from their extreme minuteness, such as those of the mosses, lichens and Fungi, which float invisibly on the air, and vegetate wherever they happen to meet with a suitable soil. Others are fitted for it by means of an attached wing, as in the case of the fir tree and Liriodendron tuliplfera, so that the seed, in falhng from the cone or capsule, is immediately caught by the wind, and carried to a distance. Otfiers are peculiarly fitted for it by moans of their being furnished with an aigrette or down, as in the case of the dandelion, goat's-beard, and thistle, as well as most plants of the class Syngenfesia ; the down of which is so large and light in proportion to the seed it supports, that it is wafted on the most.gentle breeze, and often seen floatingthrougii the atmosphere in greatabundance at the time the seed is ripe. Some have a tail, as in Clematis Vit^lba. Others are fitted for this mode of dispersion by means of the structure of the pericarp, which is also wafted along with them, as in the case of Staphyl^a trifMia, the inflated capsule of which seems as if obviously intended thus to aid the dispersioi> of the contained seed, by Its exposing to the wind a large and distended surface with but little weight ; and so also in the case of the maple, elm, and ash, the capsules of which are furnished, like some seeds, with a membranous wing, which when they separate from the plant the wind immediately lays hold of and drives before it 1645. The instrumentality of streams^ rivers, and cw^ents qf the ocean^ is a further means adopted by nature for the dispersion of the seeds of vegetables. The mountain. stream or torrent washes down to the valley the seeds which may accidentally fall into it, or which it may happen to sweep from its banks when it suddenly overflows them. The broad and majestic river, winding along the extensive plain, and traversing the continents of the world, conveys to the distance of many hundreds of miles the seeds that may have vegetated at its source. Thus the southern shores of the Baltic are visited by seeds which grew in the interior of Germany, and the western shores of the Atlantic by seeds that have been generated in the interior of America, But fruits indigenous to America and the West indies have sometimes hcen found to be swept along by the currents of the ocean to the western shores of Europe, and i;veti on the coasts of Orkney and Shetland. Fruits of Mim(>sa sc^ndens, Stizolobium prtiriens, Guilandina £6wiuc, and Anacardium occident&le, or cashew- nut, -have been thus known to be driven across the Atlantic to a distance of upwards of 2(XX) miles; and although the fruits now adduced as examples are not such as could vegetate on the coast on which they were thrown, owing to soil or climate, yet it is to be believed that fruits may have been often thus transported to climates or countries favourable to their vegetation. 1646. Propagation by gems. Though plants ^re for the most part propagated by means of seeds, yet many of them are propagated also by means of gems ; that is, bulbs and buds. 1647. The caulinary bulb is often the means of the propa^tion of the species: it generally appears iu the axils of the leaves, as in Dent^ria bulbifera and /.ilium bulblferum ; or between the s^iokes of theii; umbel.'!, as in ^'Uium canadcnse; or in the midst of the spike of flowers, as in Polygonum viviparum and Pdaalp'ina. As plants of this last kind are mostly alpine, it has been thought to be an institution or resource of nature, to secure the propagation of the species in situations where the seed may fail to ripen. 1648. The bud, though it does not spontaneously detach itself from the plant and form a new individual, will yet sometimes strike root and develope its parts if carefully separated by art and planted in the earth : but this is to be understood of the leaf-bud only, for the flower-bud, according to Mirbcl, if so treated, always perishes. 1649. Propagation by the leaves. The species may sometimes be propagated even by means of the leaves, as in the aloe, Xyloph^Ua, sea-onion, and some species of ^Vum ; which if carefully depositeil in the soil will grow up mto new plants, by virtue, no doubt, of some latent gem contained in them. The Fungi and lichens, according to Gtertner, are all gemmiferous, having no sexual organs, and no pollen impregnating a germ. In the genus Lycoperdon, the gelatinous substance that pervades the cellular tissue is converted into a proliferous powder j in Clav^ria, the fluid contained in the cavities of the plant is converted into a proliferous powder also; and in the agarics, Jifpnum, and ^olfetus, vesicles containing soboliferous granules are found within the lamellae, pores, or tubes. Hedwig, oh the contrary, ascribes to the Fdngi a sexual apparatus, and maintains that the pollen is lodged in the volva : but here it is to be recollected, as in the cases of the scuteUae of the litchens, that all Fungi are not furnished with a volva, and consequently uot furnished with pollen. The CbnKrvae and t^lvse, together with the genera Bl&sia and Riceia are 254 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II alsOf according to Gartner, propagated only by gems ; while MarchAntiV/, Anthoceros, JUngermSnnwi, and Lycop^rdon, are said to be propagated both by gems and seeds. 1650. Runners are young shoots isauing from the collar or summit of the root, and creeping along the surface of the soil ; but producing a new root and leaves at the extremity, and forming a new individual, by the decay of the connecting link, as in the strawberry. 165L Slips. The process of raising perennials by slips is well known to gardeners, and should, perhaps, be regarded as an extension of the old plant, rather than as the generation of a new one j though it serves the purpose of the cultivator equally well as a plant raised from seed, with the additional advantage of bearing fruit much sooner. But how is the root generated which the slip thus produces ? If the trunk of a tree is lopped, and all its existing buds destroyed, then there will be protruded from between the wood andbarkasort of protuberant lip or ring formed from the proper juice, and from which there will spring a number of young shoots. The formation erf the root, in the case of the slip, is efftected in the same man- ner, the moisture of the soil encouraging the protrusion of buds at and near the section ; and the bud that would have been converted into a branch above ground is converted into a root below. 1652. Lavers. The mode of propagation by layers is practised upon trees that are delicate, and which cannot readily be propagated by means of slips ; in which case the root is generated nearly as in the former nase, the soil stimulating the protrusion of buds which are converted into roots. In many plants, such as the currant and laurel, this is altogether a natural process, effected by the spontaneous bending down of a branch to the surface of the soil 1653. Suckers or offsets. Many plants protrude annually from the collar a number of young shoots, encircling the principal stem and depriving it of a portion of its nourishment, as in the case of most fVuit trees. Others send out a horizontal root fVom which there at last issues a bud that ascendsabove the soil, and is converted into a little stem, as in the case of the elm tree and Syrijiga. Others send out a hori- zontal shoot fVom the collar or its neighbourhood ; or a shoot that ultimately bends down by its own weight till it reaches the ground, in which it strikes root, and again sends up a stem as in the currant bush and laurel. The two former are called suckers or qffsets^ though the term offset should, perhaps, be restrictetl to the young bulbs that issue and detach themselves annually from bulbous roots. The latter is not desig- nated by any particular name, but may be regarded as a sort of natural layer, resembling also, in some respects, the runner ; from which, however, it is distinguished in that it never detaches itself spon- taneously from the parent plant, as is the case also with the two former : but if either of them is arti- ficially detached, together with a portion of root or a slice of the collar adhering to it, the detached part will now bear transplanting, and will constitute a distinct plant 1654. Graftit^ and buddins. The species is also often prt^agated, or at least the variety is multiplied* by means of grating s which is an artificial application of a portion of the shoot or root of one tree or plant to the stem, snoot, branch, or root of another, so that the two shall coalesce together and form but one plant The shoot which is to form the summit of the new individual is called the scion ; the stem to which it is affixed' is called the stock ; and the operation, when effected, the graft. As the graft is merely an extension of the parent plant from which the scion came, and not properly speaking a new individual, so it is found to be the best method of propagating approved varieties of fruit trees without any danger of altering the quality of the fruit, which is always apt to be incurred in propagation from seed, but never in propagating from the scion. The scion will also bear fruit much sooner than the tree that is raised from seed ; and, if effected on a proper stock, will be much more hardy and vigorous than if left on the parent plant Hence the great utility of grafting in the practice of gardening. Till lately, grafting was confined to the ligneous plants, but it is now successfully practised on the roots and shoots of her- baceous vegetables ; and the dahlia is grafted by the root j the melon on the gourd ; the love-apple on the potato; the cauliflower on the cabbage, &c., by the shoot Avery ingenious tract has been published on this subject entitled, Essai sur la Gr^b de rUerbe des Plantes et des Arbres, par Monsr, le Baron de Tschoiid^y Bourgeois de Glaris. Paris, 1819. Sect. - X. Causes limUing tlie Propagation of the Spe(^s» 1655. Though plants are controlled chiefly by animals^ yet they also control one another. From the various sources of vegetable reproduction, but particularly from the fertility and dispersion of the seed, the earth would soon be overrun with plants of the most pro- lific species, and converted again into a desert, if it were not that nature has set bounds to their propagation by subjecting them to the control of man, and to the depredations of the great mass of animals; as well as by confining the germination of their seeds to certain and peculiar habitations arising from soil, climate, altitude, and other circum- stances. In order to form an idea of the manner in which the latter act upon vegeta- tion, imagine that every year an enormous quantity of seeds, produced by the existing vegetables, are spread over the surface of the globe, by the winds and other causes already mentioned ; all of these seeds which fall in places suitable for their vegetation, and are not destroyed by animals, germinate and produce plants ; and then among these plants, the strongest, and largest, and those to which the soil is best suited, develope themselves in number and magnitude so as to choke the others. Such is the general progress of nature, and among plants, as among animals, the strong flourish at the expense of the weak. These causes have operated for such a length of time, that the greater number of species are now fixed in, and considered as belonging to, certain soils, situations, and climates, beyond which they seldom propagate, otherwise than by the hands of man. Sect. XI. Evidence and Character of Vegetable VitalUi/* 1656. The power of counteracting the laws of chemical affinity is reckoned the best and most satisfactory evidence of the presence and agency of a vital principle, as inherent in any subject. This principle, which seems first to have been instituted by Humboldt, is obviously applicable to the case of animals, as is proved by the process of the digestion of the food, and its conversion into chyle and blood ; as well as from the various secretions and excretions effected by the several organs, and causing the growth and developement of the individual, in direct opposition to the acknowledged laws of chemical affinity, which, as soon as the vital principle is extinct, begin immediately to give evidence of their action, in the incipient symptoms of the putrefaction of the dejul body. But the rule is also applicable to the case of vegetables, as is proved by the Book T. EVIDENCE OF VEGETABLE VITALITY. 255 introsusception, digestion, and assimilation of the food necessary to their developement ; all indicating the agency of a principle capable of counteracting the laws of chemical affinity, which, at the period of what is usually called the death of the plant, begin also immediately to act, and to give evidence of their action in the incipient symptoms of the putrefaction of the vegetable. Vegetables are therefore obviously endowed with a species of vitality. But, admitting the presence and agency of a vital principle inherent in the vegetable subject, what axe the peculiar properties by which tliis principle is cha< racterised ? IGlil. JBxcifahilfiff. One of themoBt distinguishable properties of the vital principle of vegetables is that of its excitability, or capacity of being acted upon by the application of natural stimuli, impelling it to the exertion of its vegetative powers ; the natural stimuli thus impelling it being light and heat 1658. The stimtUating i7\ftuence qf light upon the vital principle ot the plant is discoverable, whether jn the stem, leaf, or flower. The direction of the stem is influenced by the action of light, as well as the colour of the leaves. Distance from direct rays of light or weak light produces etiolation, and its absence blanching. The luxuriance of branches depends on the presence and action of light, as is par- ticularly observable in the C3S& of hot-house plants, the branches of which are not so conspicuously directed, either to the flue in quest of heat, or to the door or open sash in quest of air, as to the sun in quest of light Hence also the branches of plants are often more luxuriant on the south, than on the north, side; or at least on the side that is best exposed to li^ht. The position of the leaf is also strongly aff^ted by the action of light, to which it uniformly turns its upper surface. This may be readily perceived in the case of trees trained to a wall, from which the upper surface of the leaf is by con- sequence always turned ; being on a south wall turned to the south, and on a north wall turned to tlie north : and if the upper surface of the leaf is forcibly turned towards the wall, and confined in that position for a length of time, it will soon resume its primitive position upon regaining its liberty, but particularly if the atmosphere be clear. The leaves of the mallow are said to exhibit but slight indi- cations of this susceptibility, as also sword-shaped leaves j and those of the mistletoe are equally susceptible on both sides. It had been conjectured that these effects are partly attributable to the agency of heat ; and to try the value of the conjecture. Bonnet placed some plants of the ^^triplex in a stove heated to 25° of Reaumur. Yet the stems were not inclined to the side from which the greatest degree of heat came; but to a small opening in the stoves. Heat, then, does not seem to exert any perceptible influence in the production of the above effects. Does moisture ? Bonnet found that the leaves of the vine exhibited the same phenomenon when immersed in water, as when left in the open air. Whence it seems probable that light is the sole agent in the production of the effects in question. But as light produces such effects upon the leaves, so darkness or the absence of light produces an effect quite the contrary ; for it is known that the leaves of many plants assume a very different position in the night from what they have in the day. This is particularly the case with winged leaves, which, though i\illy expanded during the day, begin to droop and bend down about sunset and during the fall of the evening dew, till they meet together on the inferiorside of the leaf-stalk ; the terminal lobe, if the leaf is furnished with one, folding itself back till it reaches the first pair ; or the two side lobes, if the leaf is trifoliate, as in the case of common clover. So, also, the leaflet^ of the false acacia and liquorice hang down during the night, and those of Mimbsa pud\ca fold themselves up along the common foot-stalk so as to overlap one another. Linneeus has designated the above phenomenon by the appellation of The Sleep of Plants. The expansion of the flower is also eflfected by the a(;tion of light Many plants do not fully expand their petals except when the sun shines: and hence alternately open them during the day and shut them up during the night This may be exemplified in the case of papilionaceous flowers in general, which spread out their wings in fine weather to admit the rays of the sun, and agaia fold them up as the night approaches. It may be exemplified also in the case of compound flowers, as the dandelion and hawkweed. But the most singular case of this kind is perhaps that of the lotus of the Euphrates, which is described by Theophrastus as rearing and expanding its blossoms by day, closing and sinking down beneath the surface of the water by night so as to be beyond the grasp of the hand, and again rising up in the morning to present its expanded blossom to the sun. The same phenomenon is related also by Pliny. But although many plants open their flowers in the morning and shut them again in the evening, yet all flowers do not open and shut at the same time. Plants of the same species are tolerably regular as to time, other circumstances being the same; and hence the daily opening and shutting of tlie flower botanists have denominated The Horolbgium Flhree. Flowers requiring but a slight application of stimulus open early in the morning, while others, requiring more, open somewhat later. Some do not open till noon, and some, whose extreme delicacy cannot bear the action of light at aU, open only at night ; such as the Cactus grandiflura, or night-blowing cereus. But it seems somewhat doubtful whether or not light is the sole agent in the present case ; for it has been observed that equatorial flowers open always at the same hour, and that tropical flowers change their hour of opening according to the length of the day. It has been observed, also, that the flowers of plants which are removedfrom a wanner to a colder climate expand at a later hour in the latter. A flower that opens at six o'clock in the morning in Senegal, will not open in France or England till eight or nine, nor in Sweden till ten; a flower that opens at ten o'clock in Senegal, will not open in France or England till noon or later, and in Sweden it will not open at all ; and a flower that does not open till noon or later in Senegal, will not open at all in France or England. This seems as if heat or its absence were also an agent in the opening or shutting of flowers ; though the opening of such as blow only in the night cannot be attributed either to light or heat But the opening or shutting of some flowers depends not so much on the action of the stimulus of light as on the existing state of the atmosphere, and hence their opening or shutting betokens change If the Siberian sow-^istle shuts at night, the ensuing day will be fine : and if it opens, it will be cloudy and rainy. If the African marigold continues shut after seven o'clock in the morning, rain is near at hand; and if the {^nvc'jlvulus arv^nsis. Calendula pluvi^lis, or ^nagallis arv€nsis, is even already open, it will shut upon the approach of rain, the last of which, from its peculiar susceptibility, has obtained the name of the poor man's weatherglass. But some flowers, besides expanding during the light of day, incline also towards the sun, and follow his course, looking towards the east in the morning, towards the south at noon, and towards the west in the evening ; and again returning in the night to their former position in the morning. Such flowers are designated by the ax}^Q:\\a.X\6n-of Heliotropes^ on account of their following the course of the sun ; and the movement they thus exhibit is denominated their nutation. This phenomenon had been observed by the ancients long before they made any con- siderable progress in botany, and had even been interwoven into their mythology, having originated, according to the records of fabulous history, in one of the metamorphoses of early times. Clytie, inconsol- able for the loss of the affections of Sol, by whom she had been formerly beloved, and of whom she was still enamoured, is represented as brooding over her griefs in silence and solitude j where, refusing all sustenance, and seated upon the cold ground, with her eyes invariably fixed on the sun during the day, and watching for his return during the night, she is at length transformed into a flower, retaining, as much as a flower can retain it, the same unaltered attachment to the sun. This is the flower which is denominated Heliotrftpium by the ancients, and described by Ovid as Flos qui ad solem, vertitur. But it is to be observed, that the flower alludetl to by Ovid cannot be the j/eliotibi>ium of the moderns, because Ovid describes it as resembling the violet : much less can it be the sun-flower, which is a native of America, and could not consequently have been known to Ovid; so that the true /ieliotrt- 2S6 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt If. plum of the mcients Is perhaps not yet ascertained. Bonnet has further remarked that the ripe ears of com, which bend with the weight of grain, scarcely ever in';Iine to the north, but always less or more to the south; ofthe accuracy of which remark any one may easily satisfy himself by looking at a BeKl or wheat ready for the sickle : he will find the whole mass of ears nodding, as if with one consent, to tno south. The cause of the phenomenon has been supposed to be a contraction of the fibres ot the stem or flower-stalk on the side exposed to the sun j and this contraction has been thought by ue la Hire ana Dr. Hales to be occasioned by an excess of transpiration on the sunny side; which is probably the lact, though there seems upon the principle to be some difficulty in accounting for its returning at night ; because if you say that the contracted side expands and relaxes by moisture, what is it that contracts the side that was relaxed in the day ? The moisture, of which it is no doubt still full, would counteract the contraction of its fibres, and prevent it liom resuming its former position in the morning. 1659. Heat as well as light acts also as a powerful stimulus to the exertions of the vital principle. This has been already shown in treating of the process of germination ; but the same thing is observable with regard to the developement and maturation of the leaves, flower, and fruit ; for although all plants produce their leaves, flower, and fruit annually, yet they do not all produce them at the same period or season. This forms the foundation of what Linnseus has called the Calenddriuni FlarcB, including a view of the several periods of the frondescence and efflorescence of plants, together with those of the maturation of tlie fruit. 1660. Frondescence. It must be plain to every observer, that all plants do not protrude their leaves at the same season, and that even of such as do protrude them in the same 8e.-i8nn, some arc earlier and some later. The honeysuckle protrudes them in the month of January ; the gooseberry, currant, and elder, in the end of February, or the beginning of March ; the willow, elm, and lime tree, in April ; and the Platanus, oak, and ash, which are always the latest among trees, in the beginning or towards the middle of May. Many annuals do not come up till after the summer solstice ; and many mosses not till after the commencement of winter. This gradual and successive unfolding of the leaves of diflFbrent plants seems to arise from the peculiar susceptibility of the species to the action of heat, as requiring a greater or less degree of it to give the proper stimulus to the vital principle. But a great many circumstances will always concur to render the time of the unfolding of the leaves somewhat irregular ; because the mildness ofthe season is by no means uniform at the same period of advancement ; and because the leafing of the plant depends upon the peculiar degree of temperature, and not upon the return of a particular day of the year. Hence it has been thought that no rule could be so good for directing the husbandman in the sowing of his several sorts of grain, as the leafing of such species of trees as might be found by observation to correspond best to each sort of grain respectively, in tne degree of temperature required. Linnxus (Stillingfleet informs us^ instituted some observations on the subject about the yeaf 1750, with a view chiefly to ascertain the time proper for the sowing of barley in Sweden ; he regarded the leaBng of the birch tree as being the best indication for that grain, and recommended the institution of similar observations with regard to other sorts of grain, upon the grounds of its great importance to the husbandman, who may be said to attend to it in a manner instinctively ; but as all the trees of the same species do not come into leaf precisely at the same time, and as the weather may alter even alter the most promising indications, no guide, natural or artificial, can be absolutely depended on with a view to future results. 1661. Efflorescence. The flowering of the plant, like the leafing, seems to depend upon the degree of temperature induced by the returning spring, as the flowers are also protruded pretty regularly at the same successive periods of the season. The mezereon and snowdrop protrude their flowers in February ; the primrose in the month of March ; the cowslip in April ; the great mass of plants in May and June ; many in July, August, and September ; some not till the month of October, as the meadow saflVon ; and some not till the approach or middle of winter, as the laurustinus and arbutus. Such at least is the period of their flowering in this country; but in warmer climates they are earlier, and in colder climates they are later. Between the tropics, where the degree of heat is always high, it often happens that plants will flower more than once in the year ; because they do not there require to wait till the temperature is raised to a certain height, but merely till the developement of their parts can be effected in tne regular operation of nature, under a temperature already sufficient. For the greater part, however, they flower during our summer, though plants in ojiposite hemispheres flower in opposite seasons. But in all climates the time of flowering depends also much on the altitude of place, as well as on other causes affecting the degree of heat Hence plants occupying the polar regions, and plants occupying the tops of the high mountains of southern latitudes, are in flower at the same season ; and hence the same flowers are later in opening in North America than in the same latitudes in Europe, because the surface of the earth is' higher, or the winters more severe. 1662. Maturation of tlie fruit. Plants exhibit as much diversity in the warmth and length of time necessary to mature their fruit, as in their frondescence and flowering ; but the plant that flowers the soonest does not always ripen its ft-uit the soonest The hazel tree, which blows in February does not ripen its fruit till autumn ; while the cherry, which does not blow till May, ripens its fruit in June It may be regarded, however, as the general rule, that if a plant blows in spring, it ripens its fruit in sum- mer, as in the case of the currant and gooseberry ; if it blows in summer, it ripens its fruit in autumn as in the case of the vine ; and if it blows in autumn, it ripens its fruit in winter : but the meadow-safton, which blows in the autumn, does not ripen its fruit till the succeeding spring. lefS."?. Such are the primary facts on which a Calenddrium Flm-te should be founded. They have not hitherto been minutely attended to by botanists; and perhaps their importance is not quite so great as has been generally supposed; but they are at any rate sufficiently striking to have attracted the notice even of savages. Some tribes of American Indians act upon the very principle suggested by Linna;us, and plant their corn when the wild plum blooms, or when the leaves of the oak are about as large as a squirrel's ears. The names of some of their months are also designated from the state of vegetation. One is called the budding month, and another the flowering month ; one the strawberry month, and another the mulberry month ; and the autumn is desig- nated by a term signifying the fall of the leaf. Thus the proposed nomenclature of the French for the months and seasons was founded in nature as well as in reason. 1664. CM. As the elevation of temperature induced by the heat of summer is es- sential to the full exertion of the energies of the vital principle, so the depression of temperature consequent upon the colds of winter has been thought to suspend the ex- ertion of the vital energies altogether. But this opinion is evidentlv founded on a mistake, as IS proved by the example of those plants which protrude their 'leaves and flowers in Book I. EVIDENCE OF VEGETABLE VITALITY. 257 the winter season only, such as many of the mosses ; as well as by the dissection of tlse yet unfolded buds at different periods of the winter, even in the case of such plants as protrude their leaves and blossoms in the spring and summer, in which, it has been already shown, tliere is a regular, gradual, and incipient developement of parts, from the time of the bud's first appearance till its ultimate opening in the spring. The sap, it is true, flows much less freely, but is not wholly stopped. Du Hamel planted some young trees in tlie autumn, cutting off all the smaller fibres of the root, with a view to watcli the progress of the formation of new ones. At the end of every fortnight he had the plants taken up and examined with all possible care to prevent injuring them, ai.d found that, when it did not actually freeze, new roots were uniformly developed. 1665. En€vgi£s of life in plants like the process of respiration in animals. Hence it fol- lows, that even during tlie period of winter, when vegetation seems totally at a stand, the tree being stripped of its foliage, and tiie herb apparently withering in the frozen blast, still the energies of vital life are exerted ; and still the vital principle is at work, carrying on in the interior of the plant, concealed from human view, and sheltered from the piercing frosts, operations necessary to the preservation of vegetable life, or protru- sion of future parts ; though it requires the returning warmth of spring to give that degree of velocity to the juices which shall render their motion cognizable to man, as well as that expi-ession to ^e whole plant which is the most evident token of life : in the same manner as the processes of respiration, digestion, and the circulation of the blood are carried on in the animal subject even while asleep ; though tlie most obvious indications of animal life are the motions of the animal when awake. Heat then acts as a powerful stimulus to the operations of the vital principle, accelerating the mo- tion of the sap, and consequent developement of parts ; as is evident from the sap's beginning to flow much more copiously as the warmth of spring advances, as well as from the possibility of anticipating the natural period of their developement by forcing them in a hot-house. But it is known that excessive heat impedes the progress of vegetation as well as excessive cold ; both extremes being equally prejudicial. Hence the sap flows more copiously in the spring and autumn tlian in either the summer or winter ; as may readily be seen by watching the progress of the growth of the annual shoot, which, after having been rapidly protruded in the spring, remains for a while stationary during the great heat of the summer, but is again elongated during the more moderate temper- ature of autumn. 1666. Artificial stimulants* There are also several substances which have been found to operate as stimulants to the agency of the vital principle, when artificially dissolved in water, and applied to the root or branch. Oxygenated muriatic acid has been already mentioned : and the vegetation of the bulbs of the hyacinth and narcissus is accelerated by means of the application of a solution of nitre. Dr. Barton of Philadelphia found that a decaying branch of Liriod^ndron tulipifera, and a faded flower of the yellow iris, recovered and continued long fresh when put into water impregnated with camphor ; though flowers and branches, in all respects similar, did not recover when put into com- mon water. 1667. IrritabilUy. Plants are not only susceptible of the action of the natural stimuli of light and heat, exciting them gradually to the exercise of the functions of their dif- ferent organs in the regular progress of vegetation ; they are susceptible also of the action of a variety of accidental or artificial stimuli, from the application of which they are found to give indications of being endowed also with a property similar to what we call irritability in the animal system. Tliis property is well exemplified in the genus Miiwsa ; particularly in that species known by the name of the Sensitive Plant ; in the Dionae^a muscipula, and in the Drosera, But sometimes the irritability resides in the flower, and has its seat either in the stamens or style. The former case is exem,pHfied in the flower of the berberry and Cactus Tilna, and the latter in Stylidium glandulosum. 1668. Sensation. From the facts adduced in the preceding sections, it is evident that plants are endowed with a capacity of being acted upon by the application of stimuli, whether natural or artificial, indicating the existence of a vital principle, and forming one of the most prominent features of its character. But besides this obvious and ac- knowledged property, it has been' thought by some phytologists that plants are endowed also with a species of sensntion. Sir J. E. Smith seems rather to hope that the doctrine may be true, than to think it so. 1669. Instinct. There are also various phenomena exhibited throughout the extent of the vegetable kingdom, some of which are common to plants in general, and some peculiar to certain species, which have been thought by several botanical writers to exhibit indications, not merely of sensation, but of instinct. The tendency of plants to incline their stem and to turn the upper surface of their leaves to the light, the direction which the extreme fibres of the root will often take to reach the best nourishment, the folding up of the flower on the approach of rain, the rising and falling of the water lily, and the peculiar and invariable direction assumed by the twining stem in ascending its prop, S 2S8 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. are among the phenomena which have been attributed to instinct. Keith has endeavoured (im. Trans, xi. p. 11.) to establish the doctrine of the existence and agency of an instinctive principle in the plant, upon the ground of the direction invariably assumed by the radicle and plumelet respectively, in the germination of the seed. 1 670. Definition of the plant. But if vegetables are living beings endowed with sensation aiid instinct, or any thing approaching to it, so as to give them a resemblance to animals, how are we certainly to distinguish the plant from the animal ? At the extremes of the two kingdoms the distinction is easy ; the more perfect animals can never be mistaken for plants, nor the more perfect plants for animals ; but at the mean, where the two kingdoms may be supposed to unite, the shades of discrimination are so very faint or evanescent that of some individual productions it is almost impossible to say to which of the kingdoms they belong. Hence it is that substances which have at one time been classed among plants, have at another time been classed among animals ; and there are substances to be met with whose place has not yet been satisfactorily determined. Of these may be mentioned the genus CoralUna (Jig, 199.), which Linnaeus placed among 199 animals, but which Gsertner places among plants. Linnaeus, Bonnet, Hedwig, Mirbel, and Link, have each given particular definitions. According to Link, a plant is a com- pound organic body, deriving nourishment from the soil in which it grows. According to Keitli, a vegetable is an organised and living substance springing from a seed or gem, which it again produces ; and effecting the developement of its parts by means of the intro-susception and assimilation of unorganised substances which it derives from the atmosphere or the soil in which it grows. The definition of the animal is the counter- part ; an animal is an organised and living being proceeding from an egg or embryo, which it again produces, and effecting the developement of its parts by means of the intro-susception of organised substances or tlieir products. For all practical purposes, perhaps plants may be distinguished from animals with sufficient accuracy by means of the trial of burning ; as animal substances in a state of ignition exhale a strong and phosphoric odour, which vegetable substances do not. Chap. V. Vegetable Pathology, or the Diseases and Casualties of Vegetable Life. 1671. As plants are, like animals, organised and living beings, they are, like animals, also liable to such accidental injuries and disorders as may affect the health and vigour, or occasion the death, of the individual. These are wounds, accidents, diseases, and natural decay. Sect. I. Wounds and Accidents. 1672. A wound is a forcible separation of the solid parts of the plant effected by means of some external cause, intentional or accidental. 167S. Incisions are sometimes necessary to the health of the tree, in the same manner, perhaps, as bleeding is necessary to the healtli of the animal. Tlie trunks of the plum and cherry tree seldom expand fteely till a longitudinal incision has been made in the bark ; and hence this operation is often practised by gardeners. If the incision atTects the epidermis only, it heals up without leaving any scar ; if it pene- trates into the interior of the bark, it heals up only by means of leaving a scar ; if it penetrates into the wood, the wound in the wood itself never heals up completely, but new wood and bark are formed above it as before 1674: Boring is aji operation by which trees are often wounded for the purpose of making them part with their sap in the season of their bleeding, particularly the birch tree and American maple. A horizontal, or rather slanting, hole is bored in them with a wimble, so as penetrate an inch or two into the wood ; from this the sap ilows copiously ; and though a number of holes are often bored in tlie same trunk, the health of the tree is not very materially affected. For trees will continue '4b thrive, though Book I. DISEASES OF VEGETABLES. 259 subjected to this operation for many successive years ; and the hole, if not very Htrge, will close up again like the deep incision, not by the union of the broken fibres of the wood, but by the formation of new bark and wood projecting beyond the edge of the orifice, and finally shutting it up altogether. 1075. Girdline is an operation to which trees in North America are often subjected, wtien the farmer wishes to clear his laud of timber. It consists in making parallel and horizontal incisions with an axe into the trunk of a tree, and carrying them quite round the stem, so as to penetrate through the alburnum, and then to scoop out the intervening portion. If this operation is performed early in the spring, and before the commencement of ttie bleeding season, the tree rarely survives it ; though some trees that are pecu- liarly tenacious of life, such as^^cer saccharinum and K;f8sa integrifblia, have been known to survive it a considerable length of time. 1676. Fracture, If a tree is bent so as to fracture part only of the cortical and woody fibres, and the stem or branch but small, the parts will again unite by being put back into their natural position, and well propped up. Especially cure may be expected to succeed If the ftracture happens in the spring ; but it will oot succeed if the fracture is accompanied with contusion, or if the stem or branch is large ; and even where it succeeds the woody fibres do not contribute to the union, but the granular and herbaceous sub- stance only, which exudes from between the wood and liber, insinuating itself into all interstices, and finally becoming indurated into wood. 1677. Prurang. Wounds are necessarily inflicted by the gardener or forester in pruning or lopping off the superfluous branches; but this is seldom attended with any bad effects to the health of the tree, if done by a skilful practitioner : indeed, no further art is required, merely for the protection of the tree, beyond that of cutting the branch through in a sloping direction, so as to prevent the rain from lodging. In this case the wound soon clc^es up by the iuduration of the exposed surface of the section, and by the protru- sion of a granular substance, forming a sort of circular lip between the wood and hark; and hence the branch is never elongated by the growth of the same vessels that have been cut, but by the protrusion of new buds near the point of section. 1678. Grafting. In the operation of grafting there is a wound both of the stock and graft, which are united, not by the immediate adhesion of the surfaces of the two sections, but by means ota granular and herbaceous substance exuding from between the wood and bark, and insinuating itself as a sort of cement into all TOen spaces : new wood is finally formed within it, and the union is complete. 1679. Felling is the operation of cutting down trees close to the ground, which certain species will sur- vive, if the stump be protected from the injuries of animals, and the root fresh and vigorous. In this case the fibres of the wood are never again regenerated, but a lip is formed as in the case of pruning ; ahd buds, which spring up into new shoots, are protruded near the section ; so that from the old shoot, ten, twelve, or even twenty, new stems may issue, according to its size and vigour. The stools of the oak and asli tree will furnish good examples; but there are some trees, such as the pine and fir tribe, which never send out any shoots after the operation of felling. The frankincense pine is said to be an exception; but any specimens we have seen do not incline us to the belief of such an anomaly. 1680. ^ buds are destroyed in the course of the winter, or in the early part of the spring, many plants will again generate new buds, whicli will develope their parts as the others would have done, except that they never contain blossom or fruit Du Hamel thought these buds sprang from preorganised germs, which he conceived to be dispersed throughout the whole of the plant ; but Knight thinks he has dis- covered the true source of the regeneration of buds, in the proper juice that is lodged in the alburnum. Buds thus regenerated never contain or produce either flower or fruit; perhaps because the fruiUbud requires more time to develope its parts, or a peculiar and higher degree of elaboration^ and that this hasty production is only the effect of a great effbrt of the vital principle for the preservation of the indi- vidual, and one of those wonderful resources to which nature always knows how to resort when the vital principle is in danger. But though such buds do not produce flowers directly, as in the case of plants whidi bear their blossoms on last year's wood ; yet they often produce young shoots which produce blos- soms and fruit the same season, as in the case of cutting down an old vine or pruning the rose. 1681. Sometimes the leaves of a tree are destroyed partially or totally as soon as they are protruded from the bud, whether by the depredations of caterpillars or other insects, or by the browsing of cattla But if the injury is done early in -the spring, new leaves will be again protruded without subsequent shoots. Some trees will bear to be stripped even more than once in a season, as is the case with the mulberry tree, which is cultivated In the south of France and Italy for the purpose of feeding the silkworm ; but if it be stripped more than once in the season, it requires now and then a year's rest. 1682. The decortication of a tree, or the stripping it of its bark, may be either intentional or acci- dental, partial or total. If it is partial, and anects the epidermis only, then it is again regenerated, as in the case of slight incision, without leaving any scar. But if the epidermis of the pe^, leaf, or fruit is destroyed, it is not again regenerated, nor is the wound healed up, except by means of a scar. Such is the case also with all decortications that penetrate deeper than the epidermis, particularly if the wound -is not protected from the action of the air. If the decortication reaches to the wood, then new bark issues from between the bark and wood, and spreads till it covers the wound. But the rcbult is not the same when the wound is covered from the air. In the season of the flowing of the sap Du Hamel detached a ring of bark of three or four inches in breadth, from the trunks of several young elm trees. taking care to defend the decorticated part from the action of the air, by surrounding it with a tube of glass cemented above and below to the trunk. After a few days the tubes became cloudy within, par- ticularly when it was hot ; but when the air became cool, the cloud condensed and fell in drops to the bottom. At last Uiere began to appear, as if exuding from between the bark and wood of the upper part of the wound, a sort of rough scurfy substance ; and on the surface of the wood, as if exuding from be- tween the longitudinal fibres of the alburnum, a number of gelatinous drops. They were not connected with the scur^ substance at the top, but seemed to arise from small slips of the liber that had not been completely detached. Their first appearance was that of small reddish spots changing by degrees into white, and finally into a sort of grey, and extending in size till they at last united and formed longitudinal ridges, which constituted a new bark. 1683. Abortion or failure in the produce of flowers, fruits, or of perfect seeds, is generally the effect of accidental injuries, either directly to the flower or fhiit, by which they are rubbed off or devoured by insects ; or to the leaves by insects j or to the roots by exposure to the air or cutting off so much of them as essentially to lessen their power of drawing up nourishment Other causes will readily suggest them- selves ; and one of the commonest, as to seeds and fruits, is want of sufficient impregnation. 1684, Premature flowering or fruiting is sometimes brought on by insects, but more generally by checks produced by cold, or injuries from excessive heat, or long-continued drought Fruit is often ripened prematurely by the puncture of insects j and a pine-apple plant of almost any age may be thrown into fruit by an hour or two's exposure to a frosty atmosphere m winter, or by scorching the roots in an overhot tan-bed at any season. Sect. II. Diseases. 1685, Diseases are corrupt affections of the vegetable body, arising from a vitiated state of its juices, and tending to injure the habitual health either of the whole or part of the plant. Tlie diseases which occur the most frequently among vegetables are the fol- lowing : Blight, smut, mildew, honey-dew, dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene, etiolation, suffocation, contortion, consumption, S 2 260 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 1686. Slight* Much has been written on the nature of blight ; and in proportion as words have been multiplied on the subject, the difficulties attending its elucidation have increased. 1687. The blight^ orblast^ was-well known to the ancient Greeks, who were, however, totally i^norani of its cause, regarding it merely as a blast from heaven, indicating the wrath of their oflfbnded deities, and utterly incapable of prevention or cure. It was known also to the Romans under the denomination of rulilgo, who regarded it in the same light as the Greeks, and even believed it to be under the direction of a particular deity, Rubigus, whom they solemnly invoked that blight might be kept from corn and trees. It is still well known from its effects to every one having the least knowledge of husbandry or gar- dening; but it has been very differently accounted for: and, perhaps, there is no one cause that will account for all the different cases of blight, or disease going by the name of blight ; though they have been supposed to have all the same origin. If we take the term in its most general acceptation, it will include at least four distinct species, —blight originating in cold and frosty winds ; blight originating in a sort of sultry and pestilential vapour j blight originating from want of nourishment ; and blight origi- nating in the immoderate propagation of a sort of small and parasitical fungus. 1688. Btight originating in cold and frosty winds^ is often occasioned by the cold and easterly winds of spring, which nip and destroy the tender shoots of the plant, by stopping the current of the juices. The leaves which are thus deprived of their due nourishment wither and fiill, and the juices whiclj are now stopped in their passage swell and burst the vessels, and become the food of innumerable little insects which soon after make their appearance. Hence they are often mistaken for the cause of the disease itself; the fanner supposing tney are wafted to him on the '*ast wind, while they are only generated in the extravasated juices as forming a proper nidus for theii eggs. Their multiplication will no doubt con- tribute to the spread of the disorder, as they always breed fast where they rind plenty of food. But a similar disease is often occasioned by the early frost of spring. If the weather is prematurely mild, the blossom is prematurely protruded, which, though it is viewed by the unexperienced with delight, yet it is viewed by the judicious with fear. For it very often happens that this premature blossom is totally de- stroyed by subsequent frosts, as well as both the leaves and shoots, which consequently wither and fall, and injure if they do not actually kill the plant. This evil is also often augmented by the unskilful gardener, even in attempting to prevent it; that is, by matting up his trees too closely, or by keeping them covered in the course of the day, and thus rendering the shoots so tender that they can scarcely fail to be destroyed by the next frost 1689. Blighty originating in sultry and pestilential vo-pour^ generally happens in the summer, when the grain has attained to its flill growth, and when there are no cold winds or frosts to occasion it. Such was the blight that used to damage the vineyards of ancient Italy, and which is yet found to damage our hop- plantations and wheat-crops. The Romans observed that it generally happened after short but heavy showers occurring about noon, and followed by clear sunshine, about the season of the ripening of the grapes, and that the middle of the vineyard suffered the- most. This corresponds pretty nearly to what is in this country called the fire-blast among hops, which has been observed to take place most com- monly about the end of July, when there has been rain with a hot gleam of sunshine immediately after; the middle of the hop-ground is also the most affected, whether the blight is general or partial, and is almost always the point in which it originates. In a particular case which was minutely observed, the damage happened a little before noon, and the blight ran in a line forming a right angle with the sun- beams at that time of the day. There was but little wind, which was, however, in the line of the blight {Hale's Body of Husbandry.) Wheat is also affected with a similar sort of blight, and about the same season of the year, which totally destroys the crop. In the summer of 1809, a field of wheat, on rather a light and sandy soil, came up with every appearance of health, and also into ear with a fair prospect of ripening well. About the beginning of July it was considered as exceeding any thing expected from such a soil A week afterwards a portion of the crop on the east side of the field, to the extent of several acres, was totally destroyed ; being shrunk and shrivelled up to less than one half the size of what it had for- merly been, and so withered and blasted as not to appear to belong to the s^me field. The rest of the field produced a fair crop. 1690. Blight from want of nourishment may happen to all plants, wild or cultivated ; but it is most commonly met with in corn fields, in very dry seasons, in those thin gravelly surfaces which do not sufficiently retain the moisture. In such spots the plants are thrown prematurely into blossom, and the ear or seed-pod ripens before it is filled. In England the farmers call this the white blight 1691. Blight, originating in Fiingi, attacks the leaves or stems both of herbaceous and woody plants, such as Euphorbia Cypanssias, ^erberis vulgaris, and iZhdmnus cath^rticus ; but more generally grasses, and particularly our most useful grains, wheat, barley, and oats. It always appears in the least ventilated parts of a field, and has generally been preceded by cold, moist weather, which, happening in the warm month of July, suddenly chills and checKs vegetation. It generally assumes the appearance of a rusty- looking powder, that soils the finger when touched. In March, 1807, some blades of wheat attacked with this species of blight were examined by Keith ; the appearance was that of a number of rusty-look- ing spots or patches dispersed over the surface of the leaf, exactly like that of the seeds of dorsiferous ferns bursting their indusium. Upon more minute inspection, these patches were found to consist of thousands of small globules collected into groups beneath the epidermis, which they raised up in a sort of blister, and at last burst Some of the globules seemed as if embedded even in the longitudinal vessels of the blade. They were of a yellowish or rusty brown, and somewhat transparent. But these groups of globules have been ascertained by Sir J. Banks to be patches of a minute fungus, the seeds of which, as they float in the air, enter the pores of the epidermis of the leaf, particularly if the plant is sickly ; or they exist in the manure or soil, and enter by the pores of the root {Sir J. Banks on Blight, 1805.) This fungus has been figured by Sowerby, and by F. Bauer and Grew. It is known among farmers by the name of red rust, and chiefly afffects the stalks and leaves. But there is another species of fungus known to the fanner by the name of red gum, which attacks the ear only, and is extremely prejudicial. In the aggregate it consists of groups of minute globules interspersed with transparent fibres. The glol bules are filled with a fine powder, which explodes when they are put into water. It is very generally accompanied with a maggot of a yellow colour, which preys also upon the grain, and increases the amount of injury. 1692. The only means of preventing or lessening the effect of any of the different varieties ol blight mentioned is proper culture. Palliatives are to be found in topical applications, such as flower of sul- phur, and where the disease proceeds from, or consists of, innumerable minute nisetts, it may occasionally be removed, Grisenthwaite conjectures that in many cases in which the blight and mildew attack corn- crops, it may be for want of the peculiar food requisite for perfecting the grain ; it being known that the fruit or seeds of many plants contain primitive principles not found in the rest of the plant Thus the grain of wheat contains gluten and phosphate of lime, and where these are wanting in the soil that i& in the manured earths in which the plant grows, it will be unable to perfect its fruit which of conse. quence becomes more liable to disease. {New Theory qf Agr.) ' 1693. SmvS is a disease incidental to cultivated com, by which the farina of the grain, together with its proper integuments and even p^rt of the husk, is converted into a black soot-like powder. If the injured ear be struck with the finger, the powder will be dispersed like a cloud of black smoke ; and if a portion of the powder be wetted by a Book 1. DISEASES OF VEGETABLES. 261 drop of water and put under the microscope, it will be found to consist of millions of minute and transparent globules, which seem to be composed of a clear and glairy fluid encompassed by a thin and skinny membrane. This disease does not affect the whole body of the crop, but the smutted ears are sometimes very numerously dispersed through- out it. Some have attributed it to the soil in wliich the grain is sown, and others have attributed it to the seed itself, alleging that smutted seed will produce a smutted crop : but in all this there seems to be a great deal of doubt. Willdenow regards it as origin- ating in o small fungus, which multiplies and extends till it occupies the whole ear (Prindp. of Hot. p. M56.) : but F. Bauer of Kew seems to have ascertained it to be merely a morbid swelling of the ear, and not at all connected with the growth of a fungus. (Smith's Introd. p. 282.) It is said to be prevented by steeping the grain, before sowing, in a weak solution of arsenic. But, besides the disease called smut, there is also a disease analogous to it, or a different stage of the same disease, known to the farmer by the name of bags or smut balls, in which the nucleus of the seed only is converted into a black powder, whilst the ovary, as well as the husk, remains sound. The ear is not much altered in its external appearance, and the diseased grain contained in it will even bear the operation of threshing, and consequently mingle with the bulk : but it is always readily detected by the experienced buyer, and fatal to the character of the sample. It is said to be prevented as in the case of smut. 1 694. Mildew is a thin and whitish coating with which the leaves of vegetables are sometimes covered, occasioning their decay and death, and injuring the health of the plant. It is frequently found on the leaves of TussilSlgo jSrfara, Hiimulus Liipulus, Coi-ylus avellana, and the white and yellow dead-nettle. It is found also on wheat in the shape of a glutinous exudation, particularly when the days are hot and the nights without dew. J. Robertson (Hart. Trans, v. 178.) considers it as a minute fungus of which different species attack different plants. Sulphur he has found to be a specific cure. In cultivated crops mildew is said to be prevented by manuring with soot ; though by some this is denied, and soot, by rendering the crop more luxuriant, is said to be an encourager of mildew, the richest parts of a field being always most infected by it. As it is least common in airy situations, thinning and ventilation may be considered as preventives. 1695. Honey-dew is a sweet and clammy substance which coagulates on the surface of the leaves during hot weather, particularly on the leaves of the oak tree and beech, and is regarded by Curtis as being merely the dimg of some species of apliides. This seems to be the opinion of Willdenow also, and it is no doubt possible that it may be the case in some instances or species of the disease ; but Sir J. E. Smith contends that it is not always so, or that there are more species of honey-dew than one, regarding it particularly as being an exudation, at least in the case of the beech, whose leaves are, in consequence of an unfavourable wind, apt to become covered with a sweet sort of glutinous coating, similar in flavour to the fluid obtained from the trunk. J696. It is certain, however, that saccharine exudaiwns are found on the leaves of many plants, though not always distinguished by the name of honey-dew ; which should not perhaps be applied except when the exudation occasions disease. But it' it is to be applied to all saccharine exudations whatever, then we must include under the appellation of honey-dew, the saccharine exudations observed on the orange tree by De la Hire, together with that of the lime tree which is more glutinous, and of the poplar which is more resinous ; as also that of the Cistus creticus, and of the manna which exudes from the ash tree of Italy and larch of France. It is also possible that the exudation or excrement constituting honey-dew may occasionally occur without producing disease ; for if it should happen to be washed oif soon after by rains or heavy dews, then the leaves will not suffer. Washing is therefore the palliative ; judicious cul- ture the preventive. 1 697. Drops/. Plants are also liable to a disease which affects them in a manner similar to that of the dropsy in animals, arising from long-continued rain or too abundant watering. Willdenow describes it as occasioning a preternatural swelling of particular parts, and inducing putrefaction. It is said to take place chiefly in bulbous and tuberous roots, which are often found much swelled after rain. It affects fruit also, which it renders watery and insipid. It prevents the ripening of seeds, and occasions an immoderate pro- duction of roots from the stem. 1698. In succulent plants this disease generally appears in consequence of excessive waterings, and is for the most part incurable. The leaves drop, even though plump and green ; and the fruit rots before reaching maturity. In this case the absorption seems to be too great in proportion to the transpiration ; but the soil when too much manured produces similar effects. Du Hamel planted some elms in a soil that was particularly well manured, and accordingly they pushed with great vigour for some time j but at the end of five or six years they all died suddenly. The bark was found to be detached from the wood, and the cavity filled up with a reddish-coloured water. The symptoms of this disease suggest the palli. atives ; and the preventive is ever the same — judicious culture. 1699. Flux of juices. Some trees, but particularly the oak and birch, are liable to a great loss of sap, which bursts out spontaneously, owing to its superabundance, or issues from accidental wounds : sometimes it is injurious to £e health of the plant, and some- times not. 1700. There is & spontaneous extravasation of t\ie sap of the vine, known by the name of the tears of the vine, which is not always injurious. As it often happens that the root imbibes sap, which the leaves are not yet prepared to throw off^ because not yet sufficiently expanded, owing to an inclement season, the S 3 262 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. sap which is first carried up, being propeUed by that which follows, ultimately forces its way through all obstructions, and exudes from the bud. But this is observed only in cold climates; lor m not climates, where the developemeut of the leaves is not obstructed by cold, they are ready to elaborate tne sap as soon as it reaches them. There is also a spontaneous extravasation of proper juice m some tl^s, wnicn does not seem in general to be injurious to the individual. Thus the gum which exudes from cherry, plum, peach, and almond trees is seldom detrimenul to their health, except when it insinuates itself into the other vessels of the plant and occasions obstructions. ._. i. ^.i. - ,.i„™ ™j„ 1701. But the audatiin qf gum is sometimes a disease, and one for which thwe is seldom any remedy^ It is generally the consequSice of an unsuitable soil, situation or chmate. Cold raw summers will pro. duce it in the peach, aprFcot, and more tender sorts of plum and cherry ; or grafting 'hese fruits on diseased stocks. Cutting out the part and applying a covering of loam, or tar and charcoal, to exclude the air, are palliatives ; but the only effectual method, where it can be practised, is to take up the tree and place it in a suitable soil and situation. . , j. . - ». v » * 1702. ne exlravasatim and corruption of the ascending or descending jmces, have been known to occa. sion a fissure of the solid parts. Sometimes the Assure is occasioned by means of frost, and forms what is called a double alburnum ; that is, first a layer that has been injured by the frost, and then a layer that passes into wood. Sometimes a layer is partially affected, and that is generally owing to a sudden and partial thaw on the south side of the trunk, which may be followed again by a sudden fi:ost. In this case the alburnum is split into clefto or chinks, by means of the expansion of the frozen sap. ,.,,.. 1703 Chilblains But clefts thus occasioned often degenerate into chilblains which discharge a blackish and acrid fluid, to the great detriment of the plant, particularly if the sores are so situated that rain or snow will readily lodge in them and become putrid. The same injury may be occasioned by the bite or punc- ture of insects while the shoot is yet tender ; and as no vegetable ulcer heals up of its own accord, the sooner a cure is attempted the better, as it will, if left to itself, ultimately corrode and destroy the whole plant, bark, wood, and pith. The only palliative is the excision of the part affected, and the application of a coat of grafting wax. ( fVilldenow, p. 35i.) 1704. Gangrene. Of this disorder there are two varieties, the dry and the wet. The former is occasioned by means of excessive heat or excessive cold. If by means of cold, it attacks the leaves of young shoots, and causes them to shrink up, converting them from green to black ; as also the inner bark, which it blackens in the same manner, so that it is impassible to save the plant except by cutting it to the ground. If by means of heat, the effects are nearly similar, as may oftentimes be seen in gardens, or even in forests, where the foresters are allowed to clear away the moss and withered leaves from the roots. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by the too rapid growth of a particular branch, depriving the one that is next it of its due nourishment, and hence inducing its decay. Sometimes it is occasioned by means of parasitical plants, as in the case of the bulbs of the saffron, which a species of Lycop^rdon often attaches itself to and totally corrupts. 1705. Dri/ gangrene. The harmattan winds of the coast of Africa kill many plants, by means -of inducing a sort of gangrene which withers and blackens the leaves, and finally destroys the whole plant. The nopal of Mexico is also subject to a sort of gangrene which begins with a black spot, and extends till the whole leaf or branch rots off, or the plant dies. But plants are sometimes affected with a gangrene by which apart becomes first soil and moist, and then dissolves into foul ichor. This is confined chiefly to the leaves, flowers, and fruit. Sometimes it attacks the roots also, but rarely the stem. It seems to be owing, in many cases, to too wet or too rich a soil ; but it may originate in contusion, and may be caught by infection. But the nopal is subject also to a disease called byThierry la dissolution^ con- sidered by Sir J. E. Smith, as distinct from gangrene, and which appears to be Willdenow's dry gangrene. A joint of the nopal, or a whole branch, and sometimes an entire plant, changes in the space of a single hour from a state of apparent health to a state of putrefaction or dissolution. Now its surface is verdant and shining, and in an instant it changes to a yellow, and its brilliancy is gone. If the substance is cut into, the parts are found to have lost all cohesion, and are quite rotten. The attempt at a cure is by speedy amputation below the diseased part. Sometimes the vital principle, collecting and exerting all its energies, makes a stand as it were against the encroaching disease, and throws off the infected part {Smithes hu traduction f p. 276., edit 6.) 1706. Etiolation. Plants are sometimes affected by a disease which entirely destroys their verdure, and renders them pale and sickly. This is called etiolation, and may arise merely from want of the agency of light, by which the extrication of oxygen is eilected, and the leaf rendered green. Hence it is that plants placed in dark rooms, or between great masses of stone, or in the clefts of rocks, or under tlie shade of other trees, look always peculiarly pale. But if they are removed from such situations, and exposed to the action of light, they will ag£un recover their green colour. Etiolation may also ensue from the depredations of insects nestling in the radicle, and consuming the food of the plant, thus debilitating the vessels of the leaf so as to render them insusceptible of the action of light. This is said to be often the case with the radicles of SecMe cereale ; and the same result may also arise from poverty of soil. 1707. Sufocation. Sometimes it happens that the pores of the epidermis are closed up, and transpiration consequently obstructed, by means of some extraneous substance which attaches itself to, and covers, the bark. This obstruction induces disease, and the disease is called suffocation. 1708. Sometimes it is occasioned by the immoderate growth of lichens upon the bark, covering the whole of the plant, as maybe often seen in fruit trees, which it is necessary to keep clean by means of scraping off the lichens, at least from the smaller branches. For if the young branches are thus coated, so as that the bark cannot perform its proper functions, the tree will soon begin to languish, and will finally become covered with fungi, inducing or resulting fVom decay, till it is at last wholly choked up. 1709. But a similar effect is also occasionally produced by insects, in feeding upon the sap or shoot This may be exemplified in the case of the aphides, which sometimes breed or settle upon the tender shoot in such multitudes as to cover it from the action of the external air altogether. It may be exemplified also in the case of C6ccus «esp^ndum and A'c^ms telkrius, insects which infest hot-house plants, the latter by spinning a fine and delicate web over the leaf, and thus preventing the access of atmospheric air. Insect^ are to be removed either by the hand or other mechanical means, or destroyed by excess of some of the elements of their nutrition, as heat, cold, or moisture, where such excess does not prove injurious to the plant ; or by a composition, either fluid or otherwise, which shaU have the same effects. Prevention is Book T. NATURAL DECAY OF VEGETABLES. £63 to be attempted by general culture, and particular attention to hinder the propagation of the insects or vermin, whether oviparous or olJierwise, by destroying their embryo progeny. 1710. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by an extravasation qf juices which coagulate on the surface of the stalk, so aa to form a sort of crust, investing it as a sheath, and preventing its farther expansion, 1711. Sometimes the disease arises /rowituanit o/an adequate supply of nourish?nent as derived from the soil, in which case the lower part of the plant is the best supplied, while the upper part of it is starved. Hence the top shoots decrease in size every succeeding year, because a sufficient supply of sap cannot be obtained to ^ive them their proper developement. This is analogous to the phenomena of animal life, when the action of the heart is too feeble to propel the blood through the whole of the system: for then the extremities are always the first to suffer. And perhaps it may account also for the fact, that in bad soils, and unfavourable seasons, when the ear of barley is not wholly perfected, yet a few of the lower grains are always completely developed. {Smiik's Introduction^ p. S79.] 1712. CoTitortion. The leaves of plants are often injured by means of the puncture of iniiects, so as to induce a sort of disease which discovers itself in the contortion or convo- lution of the margin, or wrinkled appearance of the surface. The leaves of the apricot, peach, and nectarine, are extremely liable to be thus affected in the months of June and July. The leaves of the apple are aifected by the A^his lanigera ; those of the larch by another woolly aphis (A. laricio) ; those of the hawthorn by a species of Tenthr^do, &c. {See Major's Treatise on the Insects prevalent in Fruit Trees and Garden Produce.) 1713. The lecf vrhich has been punctured soon begins to assume a rough and wrinkled figure, and a red- dish and scrofulous appearance, particularly on the uraer surface. Themargins roll inwards on the under side, and enclose the eggs which are scattered irregularly on the surface, giving it a blackish and granular appearance, but without materially injuring its health. In the vine, the substance deposited on the leaf is whitish, giving the under surface a sort of a frosted appearance, but not occasioning the red and scroAi- lous aspect of the upper surface of the leaf of the nectarine. In the poplar, the eggs when first deposited resemble a number of small and hoary vesicles containing a sort of clear and colourless fluid. The leaf then becomes reflected and condupllcated, enclosing the eggs, and exhibiting a few reddish protuberances on the upper surface. The embryo is nourished by this fluid : and the hoariness is converted into a fine cottony down, which for some time envelopes the young fly. The leaf of the lime tree in particular, when fully expanded, is liable to attacks from insects j and nence the gnawed appearance it so often displays. The injury seems to be occasioned by some species of puceron depositing its eggs in the parenchyma, generally about the angles that branch ofif from the midrib. A sort of down is produced, at first green, and afterwards hoary; sometunes in patches, and sometimes pervading the whole leaf; as in the case of the vine. Under this covering the egg is batched ; and then the young insect gnaws and injures the leaf, leaving a hole or scar of a burnt or singed appearance. Sometimes the upper surface of the leaf is covered with clusters of wart-like substances somewhat subulate and acute. They seem to be occasioned by means of punctures made in the under surface, on which a number of openings are discoverable, penetrating into the warts, which are hollow and villous within. The disease admits of palliation by watering frequently over the leaves ; and by removing such as are the most contorted and covered by larvae. 1714. Consumption. From barren or improper soil, unfavourable climes, careless planting, or exhaustion from too frequent flowering, it often happens that disease is induced which terminates in a gradual decline and wasting away of the plant, till at length it is wholly dried up. Sometimes it is also occasioned by excessive drananas, palms, and bamboos in the valleys (Jig. 201.) : but green meadows and the season of spring are wanting, for nature has reserved gifts for everv region. " The valleys of the Andes," Humboldt observes, " are ornamented •mtn bananas and paims; on the mountains are found oaks, firs, barberries, alders, S72 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pai" H- brambles, and a crowd of genera believed to belong only to countries of the north. Thus the inhabitant of the equinoctial regions views all the vegetable forms which nature has bestowed around him on the globe. Earth developes to his eyes a spectacle as varied as the azure vault of heaven, which conceals none of her constellations." The people of Europe do not enjoy the same advantage. The languishing plants, which the love of science or luxury cultivates in our hot-houses, present only the shadow of the majesty of equinoctial vegetation ; but, by the richness of our language, we paint these countries to the imagination, and cultivated man feels a happiness peculiar to civilisation. 1773. The features of many plants are so obvious and characteristic, as to strike every general observer. The Scitaminese, tree-heaths, firs and pines, Mimosae, climbers. Cacti, grasses, lichens, mosses, palms, Squisetacea;, Afalvicea;, Aroidese, OrchidesE, iiUaceae, &c., form remarkable groups distinguishable at first sight. Of these groups, the most beautiful are the palms, Scitamineffi, and iUiaceae, which include the bamboos and plan- tains, the most splendid of umbrageous plants. 1 774. Tlie native countries of plants may often he discovered by their features, in the same manner as the national distinctions which are observable in the looks and colour of mankind, and which are effected chiefly by climate. Asiatic plants are remarkable for their superior beauty ; African plants for their thick and succulent leaves, as in the case of the Cacti ; and American plants for the length and smoothness of their leaves, and for a sort of singularity in the shape of the flower and fruit. The flowers of European plants are but rarely beautiful, a great portion of them being amentaceous. Plants indigenous to polar and mountainous regions are generally low, with small compressed leaves ; but with flowers large in proportion. Plants indigenous to New Holland are distinguishable by small and dry leaves, which have often a shrivelled appearance. In Arabia they are low and dwartish ; in the Archipelago they are generally shrubby and furnished with prickles ; while, in the Canary Islands, many plants, which, in other countries, are merely herbs, assume the port of shrubs and trees. The shrubby plants of the Cape of Good Hope and New Holland exhibit a striking similarity. The shrubs and trees of the northern parts of Asia and America also are very much alike ; which may be exemplified in the Platanus orientalis of the former, and in the Platanus occidentcllis of the latter, as well as in i<'agus sylvAtica and i^agus latifolia, or j4"*cer cappadbcium and j4^ceT saccharinum ; and yet the herbs and undershrubs of the two countries do not in the least correspond. " A tissue of fibres," Humboldt observes, " more or less loose, vegetable colours more or less vivid, according to the chemical mixture of their elements, and the force of the solar rays, are some of the causes which impress on the vegetables of each zone their characteristic features." 1775. The itifiuence rf the general aspect of vegetation on the taste and imagination of a people; the difference in this respect between the monotonous oak and pine forests of the temperate zones, and the picturesque assemblages of palms, mimosas, plantains, and bamboos of the tropics ; the influence of the nourishment, more or less stimulant, peculiar to different zones, on the character and energy of the passions ; these, Humboldt observes, unite the history of plants with the moral and political history of man. Sect. V. Systematic Distribution of Vegetables. 1776. The distribution of plants, considered in respect to their systematic classijications, is worthy of notice. The three grand systematic divisions of plants are Acotyledoneae, Dicotyledoneae, and Monocotyledoneae. A simplification of this division considers plants as agamous or phanerogamous, that is, without or with visible sexes. 1777. Plants of visible sexes. Taking the globe in zones, the temperate contain the greater part of all the phanerogamous or visible sexual species of plants. The equinoctial countries contain nearly ^, and Lapland only ^ part. 1778. Plants with the sexual parts invisible or indistinct. Taking the whole surface of the globe, the agamous plants, that is, Musci, Fingi, Fiici, &c., are to the phane- rogamous or perfect plants, nearly as 1 to 7 ; in the equinoctial countries as 1 to 5 ; in the temperate zones, as 2 to 5 ; in New Holland, as 2 to 1 1 ; in France, as 1 to 2 ; in Lapland, Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland, they are as I to 1, or even more numerous than the phanerogamous plants. Within the tropics, agamous plants grow only on the summits of the highest mountains. In several of the islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria, having a Flora of phanerogamous plants exceeding 200 species, R. Brown did not ob- serve a single moss. 1779. In the whole globe, the Monocotiledoneo!, including the Graminese, Xilikceae, ScitaminesB, &c., are to the whole of the perfect plants as 1 to 6 ; in the temperate zones (between 36" and 52°,) as one f» 4 ; and in the polar regions as 1 to 20. In Germany, the Monocotyledoneae are to the total number of species as 1 to 4J ; in France as 1 to 4| ; in New Holland the three grand divisions of plants, beginning with the Acolyle- dones, are nearly as 1, ^, and 7^. 1780. Dicotyledinea. In the whole globe, the Monocotyleddneae are estimated by Boos T DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLES. 273 .R, Brown [Gen. Bern on the Sot. of Terr. Aust., 1814,), from Persoon's Synopsis, to be to the Dicotyledoneae as 2 to 1 1 ; or, with the addition of undescribed plants, as 2 to 9, From tlie equator to 30° of north latitude, they are as 1 to 5. In the higher latitudes a gradual diminution of Dicotylcdoneae takes place, until in about 60° north latitude and 50° south latitude they scarcely equal half their intertropical proportions. The ferns in the temperate regions are to the whole number of species as 1, 2, and 5 ; that is, in the polar regions 'as 1, in the temperate countries as 2, and in the intertropical regions as 5. In France, ferns form ^ part of the phanerogamous plants ; in Germany, Jj ; in Lap- land ^. 1781. Tlie natural orders of perfect, or phanerogamous, plants are variously dis- tributed in diiferent countries. The following Table gives a general view of the relative proportions of several natural orders of perfect plants in France, Germany, and Lapland. Names of Natural Orders. Number of Species in different Countries. Ratio of each Family to the whole of the Phanero. gamous plants in these Countries. Fran. Germ. Lapl. Fran. Germ. Lapl. Cyperbideae - - - Gramineae - - - t/unceae - . - These three Families together Orchideae - - . LabiatEe - . - Rhinantheas et Scrophulaxineee foragineae . . - Encex et Jihodod^ndreae Compositae ... UmbeUlferae ... Cruclfera IfalvaceEe ... Caryophylleae - . - Leguminosae - . . .Suphorbuic^ ... Amentaceae ... Coniferae ... 134 284 42 102 143 20 55 49 20 t 8 r i is 1 f 1 1 1 t t 460 54 149 147 49 29 490 170 190 25 165 230 51 69 19 265 44 72 76 26 21 238 86 106 8 71 96 18 48 7 124 11 7 17 6 20 38 9 22 29 14 1 23 3 3645 1884 497 1782. The most universal plants are the agamous families. Their germs are the only ones which nature developes spontaneously in all climates. The Poly- trichum commijne (^.202.) grows in all latitudes; in Europe and under the equator; on high mountains and on a level with the sea; in short, wherever there is shade and humidity. No phanerogamous plants have organs sufficiently flexible to accomodate themselves in this manner to every zone. The .<^sine media, Fra- garia v^sca, and iSblanum nignun have been supposed to enjoy this advantage ; but all that can be said is, that these plants are very much spread, like the people of the race of Caucasus, in the northern part of the ancient con- tinent. [Humboldt.) Sect. VI. Hcononiical Distribution of Vegetables. 1783. The plants chiefly employed in human economy differ in different climates and countries ; but some, as the cereal grasses, are in universal use ; and others, as the banana and plantain, only in the countries which produce them. 1784. TVie bread-corn of the temperate climates is chiefly wheat and maize ; of the hot climates, rice, and of the coldest climates, barley. T 274 SCIENCE OF AGRtCULTURE. Pakt II. 1785. Tlie edible roots of the old world are chiefly the yam, sweet potato, onion, carrot, and turnip ; of the new, the potato. 1786. Tlie oleraceous^ herbs of temperate climates are chiefly the Brfcsica family, and other CruciferiE. In hot climates potherbs are little used. Legumes, as the pea, bean, and kidneybean, are in general use in most parts of the old world. 1787. TIte fruits of tlie northern Iwmispliere belong chiefly to the orders of Pomiceae, ^mygdalineaj, Grossuia.ria2, iJosAceae, FiticeEE, and Amentaceffi. 1788. The fruits of the East Indies belong chiefly to Myr&ceis, Guttiferae, Aurantiice*. Musilceis, Palraae, Cucurbit^ceffi, Myristiceae, &c. ,, , „,., „ * 1789. The fruits of China are chiefly of the orders of Aurantiaceae, JMyrticeiE, iihimneiE, Pomkceae, .<4mygda1inefe, P^lmaa, &c. „ „ „ . , „ .,. . 1790. The fruits of Africa belong to Sapoteie, Pilmffi, Chrysobalkneffi, Guttiferae, .^pocjneae, PapihonSlceffi, Mus&cet^, and CucurbitilceBe. ^ ,, ... „ ^. ^, „ . ,, ^,, 1791. The fruits qf South America belong to ATtonUcciet Jwyrtaceas, rerebintaceEe, MyriBtlcese, Palms, BromcWccir, Sapdtex, iaurinea, Chrysobalilneae, Musiceir, Papilioniceie, and Fassiflbrea;. 1792. T/te most showy herbaceous flowers of the temperate zone belong to BosiceaB, Ziliaceffi, Iridex, £ridlne£E, ijanunculaceas, PrimulilceiE, Caryophylleae, Genti^ne 111 Isiatids. Islands. S. Islands. the United Madeira . 75 New So. Wales 239 Islands. Cayenne . . 9 States . J Candia . 66 New Holland 152 Canaries > . 82 Falkland ] 3 Other IsUnda. 352 Ceylon - . 31 Teneriffe 21 Islands N. Islands. Britain . . 1400 Van Dieman's 7 T,snd . j 21 St Helena 6 Terra del ] 1 West Indies . 435 Cape Verde } filands i 1 Fueeo - Jamaica ■ . 248 Other Islands 73 i - Bahamas . . 9 Other Islands 55 European plants in the artificial Flora of Britain ... . . 4169 Asiatic , - - _ . . 2365 African . . - . . 2639 ■ South America ... . . . 644 Kortli America ... . . . 2353 Native countries unknown - " 970 13,140 1806. With respect to the dates of the introduction of the exotics from those countries, not any are known before the time of Gerard, in Henry VIII. 's reign. From this author and Trew, it appears that 47 species were introduced in or before 1548, including the apricot, fig, pomegranate, &c. Those previously introduced, of which the dates are unknown, may be considered as left here by the Romans, or afterwards brought over from France, Italy, and Spaiuj by the ecclesiastics, and preserved in the gardens of the T 2 276 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Fart II. religious houses. Henry died in 1547 ; but the plants introduced in the year after his death may be considered as properly belonging to his reign . Bdrv. VI. 1547 to 1553. DurinB this troublous reign, oijly feeven exotic species trere added to the British garden, chiefly bv Dr. Turner, director of tlie Duke of Somerset's (then Lord Protector) garden at Syon Hume. Mary. 1553 to 155ft. No plants Introduced. Bligabefh. 1558 to 1603. 533 species were introduced durine tills reign. Of these, 'iHH are enumerated in the firdt edition ol Gerard's Herbal, published 1557. Drake's voyage round the vorld, Raleigh's discoveries in Nortti AmerlcBi and the con* sequent Introduction of the tobacco and potato, took place during this reign. Jam£i I. 1603 to 1625. Only 20 plants introduced during this period. Charlei I. 1625 to 1649. 331 plants introduced, which are chiefly mentioned by Parkinson, the first edition of whose work was published in 1629. Parkinson was the king's herbalist, and Tradescant'his kitchen-gardener. A taste for plants began to appear among the higher clasws during this reign; -various privato gentlemen had botanic gardens; and several London merchants ptocured seeds and plants for Lob^, Johnston, and Parkinson, through Iheir foreign correspondents. O. and ft. Cromniell. 1649 to 1658. 95 plants introduced by the same roeans as before. Cromwell encouraged agriculture; but the part he acted left no leisure for any descnrlption of elegant or reUncd enjoyment. Cttarlct II. 1660 to 1685. 152 plants introduced chiefly mentioned by Kay, Morrison, and different -writers in the TraTUOction^ i\f the Royal Sneietiu founded in 1663. The Oxford and Chelsea gardens were founded, or enlarged, during this reign. Sir Hans Slaane and Evelyn flourished. Many native plants were now brought into notice by Ray and Wif- lougbby. George I. 1714 to 1727. 182 plants, chiefly tiurough llii Chelsea aarden. Geowe II. 1727 to 1760. 1770 planta, almost entirely through the Chelsea garden, now in its zenith of fame under Miller. 375 of these plants are stated as introduced In 1730 and 1731, the latter being the year in which the first folio edition or the Gardeners' and Butanisia' Dictionary ajipeared. 239 in 1739, In which year the 4th edition of the same work appeared. 196 in 1752, and above 400 in 1758 and 1759, when subsequent editions were published. In the last, in 1763, the number of plants cultivated in England is stated to be more than double the number contained in the edition of 173!. George III. 1760 to 1817. 6756 plants introduced, or con- siderably above half the number of exotics now in the gardens of this country. This {sto be accounted for from the general progress of civilisation, and the great L-xtension of British Eower and influence in every quarter of the world; esjiecialiy \ the East Indies, at the Cape of Good Hope, and New South Wales. I'he increasing liberality of intercourse which now obtained among tlie learned of all countries, must also be taken into account, by which, notwithslanding the existence of political differences, peace reigned and commerce flourished in the world of science. George III. may alho be said.to have encouraged botany, aided by the advice, assistance, and unwearied efTorts of that dislinguished patron of science. Sir Joseph Banks ; and the garden ofKew, and its late curator, Alton, became the Chelsea garden and the Milter of this reign. Most of the new plants were sent there, and first described In the Htirtua KeTvinait. The next greatest numbers were pro- cured by the activity of thp I^ondon nurserymen, espeiially Lee, and Loddiges, and described in the Botanical Maeaziite-; Andrew's Heathery; the Butamcai Rufpater ; Loddiges' Cabinet, and other works. The greatest number of plants introduced lit any one year, during this period, is 336 in ISOO, chiefly heaths and proteas trom the Cape of Good Hope, taken from Ibfe Dutcti in 1795. The following are the numbers annually in- troduced since that period: — 1801. - 11611805. - 16911809. - 4811815. - 42 1802. - 169 1806. - 224 ISIO. - 68 1814. - 44 1803. - 267 1807. - 61 ISll. • 149 1815. - 192 1804. - 299 1 1808. - 52 1 1812. - 316 1 1816. - 301 Anmtal Average of 17 years, ending 1816, 156 species. James 11. 1685 to 1688. 44 plants introduced. WiUiam and Mary. 1688 to 1702. 298 species introduced, chletlv from the West Indies, and through Sir Hans Sloane and ine Chelsea garden. Plukenet succeeded Parkinson as ^yal herbalist during this reign; and botanists were sent ftom England, for the first time, to explore foreign countries. As in the two former reigns great additions were now made to the indigenous Flora, by Ray, Sibbald, Johnson, and others. Many of the 50 species annually presented to the Royal Society were natives. Anne. 1702 to 1714. ^iSO plants, in ereat part from the East and West Indies^ and thmigh the Coebea garden. 1807. With respect to the obvious character of the artificial Florat 350 species are hardy trees or shrubs ; of these 270 are trees above 10, and 100 trees above 30 feet, high. Of these, the larch, spruce fir, silver fir, and Lombardy poplar sometimes attain the height of 100 feet. Above 400 species are hardy grasses. Of the tender exotics, the majority are trees or shrubs, and the next in number annuals and bulbs. The colours of the blossoms are generally rich and vivid in proportion to the warmth of the climate of which the plants are natives, 1 808. Purchasable British Flora* The whole of the plants enumerated as forming the British Flora, are probably not at any one time all in existence in Britain. Many of them, especially the exotic species which were introduced at Kew, have been lost there through accidents or diseases, and are wanting for a time till new seeds or plants are obtained from abroad. Had they been distributed among the nurserymen, they would have been abundantly multiplied and spread over the country. Casualties happen even to hardy plants, and a species which at one time is to be found in moderate quantities in the nur- series is at another period comparatively scarce. Thus, if we reduce the actual number of species to be found in cultivation at one time to from 9000' to 10,000, it will be found nearer the truth. In the public nurseries, varieties are very much cultivated, in order, as it were, to place the beauties of esteemed species in different points of view; or to produce in vegetables. something analogous to what are called variations in musical com- positions. The following may be considered as a popular or horticultural distribution of the species and varieties obtainable from British nurseries. It is taken from a cata- logue entitled Prodromus, &c. ; or Forerunner of the collection in Page's Southampton nursery-garden, said to be drawn up by L. Kennedy (late of the Hammersmith nurseryj, and published in 181S. 1809. Hardy Plartts. Sjp.&Var. Trees above 30 feet hiph - - 100 Trees under 30 and above 10 1 ann feethigh .... J *"" Deciduous shrubs - - 500 Ri^, double and single - • 330 Evergreen shrubs . . - 400 Hardy clbnbhig shrubs Herbaoeous plants Grasses introduced In botanic collections Bulbous-rooted plants » Aquatics . - . . ).&Var: 130 Marsh plants - 2800 Biennials [ 150 - 250 Sp.&Vai. 70 - 800 £0 1810. Green'house and Dry-stove plants. Trees and Shrubs Heaths Geraniums frateas * « Sp.&Var. - 1450 - 400 150 - 120 ibous-rooted plants Sp.&Var. Sp.iVar. 90 Herbaceous and stemless plants 340 Book I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH FLORA. 27^ 1811. ffot-house Pla7its. Tvees and shruba Climbers Su<»nilent plants Bulbous-rooted plants Hcxbaceoua Sp.&Var. - sao - 150 130 80 170 1812. Anrmalsy native and exotic* HsrdT Halfbaidr Tender £sculeat Sp.&yar. . 300 140 - 100 - 200 Aquatics Beedj or Gcltamineous Used in agriculture exclusive of gratees Bp. Sc Var. Total. Hardy, 4580; green-house and dry-stove, 3180; hot-house, 1463; annuals, 820; total, 10,043; of these, above SOOO may be considered as varieties, so that the actual Hortus procurable in British nurseries may be estimated, as to the British Hortus of books, as 7 to 12, or including the cryptogamous plants, as 8 to 12. 1813. With respect to the application of the purchasable Flora of Britainy including species and varieties, we submit the following as only a rude outline, the subject not admitting of perfect accuracy from the ever-chajiging number of varieties. 18] 4. Varieties of Fruit-trees^ and Fruit-bearing Plants, for Sale in British Nurseries. Sp.&Var. Apples Pears Medlars Oranges and Lemons Peaches Nectarines Almonds I. & Var. 500 Apricots 400 . Phuns 2 Cherries 2 Grapes 4 Figa 60 Gooseberries 100 Currants 50 Kaspberries 6 Strawberries Cranberry 150 ' MuIbeiTies 100 Filberts 150 Walnuts - SO Chestnuts SOO Melons ' - 4 Pine-apples 10 3 15 SO 40 Total in ordinary nursery cata]ogues]89 5 1815. Esculent Herbaceous Plants, annuals and perennials, used in Horticulture. Cabbage tribe Leguminous plants Esculent roots Spina ceous plants Alliaceous plants Asparaginous plants Acetaceous plants Sp. Var. 1 35 3 59 10 45 6 10 7 18 11 IS 25 40 Pot herbs and gamishings Sweet herbs Plants used in confectionaryl and domestic medicine J Plants used as preserves and 1 picldes - J Sp. Var. n 16 12 SO 14 18 12 26 Edible wild plants 'whicbl may be used - '•• j Edible fbngi * Edible fuel 3p.Var. 31 31 3 3 Total 154 337 1816. Florists* Flowers, used in Floriculture. Sp.&Var. - Bidbotu^ooted Piaidt. Hyacinths Tulips- Crocuses Narcissus Irises Fritillaries Crbwn-imparials Dens canls 200 300 100 200 60 ColcAicums ... Other sorts Fibrout-roated Plants, Auriculas . . _ Polyanthuses dp. & Var. Tvberout-rooted Ptantt Dahlias _ . - 400 Cowslips Finks Camationa SOO 100 20 1817. Hardy Timber-trees and Shrubs, used in Arboriculture, Floriculture, and Landscape-gardening. Sp.l Trees planted for timber Trees planted for other useful purposes Trees planted for ornament - - j.ou _ Hedge-plants ... * 10 Total 330 1818. AgricvXtural Herbaceous Plants, grown for Food for Men and Cattle, and for use in various Arts. Sp.&;Var. Shrubs planted for various uses, as fiielj charcoal, 1 an bark, firewood, &c. - - - - j Sp.Var. 4 SO 4 10 Plants used for dyeing - ■ Plants used for the clothing arts ■ Sea plants used . . _ Mosses used in dyeing Mosses used for various purposes in the arts Total 65 112 Sp.&Var. Grains for human food - - - Lfguminous seeds - R^wts - - ■ - - « *i/ Herbage plants, not grasses - - - 9 15 Herb^e grasses, and grasses fbr grains for ihe infe-l ^q ^ rior animals - - - - J Plants used for furnishing oils and essences - 5 5 1819. Miscellaneous applications of Hardy Perennials, native and exotic, Sp.&Var. Border-flowers, or such as are used in flower-gar-T qqq Used for distillation and perfumery dens and shrubberies, in ordinary cases about .J mi "7^ Used in the modem pharmacopoeias - - 50 Total 870 Sold by herbalists, and used by quacks and irtegu-1 go ~~* lar practitioners - - - J 1820. A]^jlication of curious hot-house exotics, or such plants of ornament as require the protection woman), and either have the sexual organs incorporated, and capable of generating without assistance, or the sexual organs are distinct, and the union of two individuals is necessary for impregnation : others have the sexual organs separate, and on different individuals. The young of such animals are either nourished at first by the store of food in the egg, or by the circulating juices of the ifiother. Those spedes in which the former arrangement prevails are termed oviparous, while the term viviparous is restricted to the latter. 1973. In all animals it is the business qf the female to prepare the ovum or germ, and bring it to maturity. For this purpose, tiie germ is produced in the ovarium, farther perfected in the uterus or matrix, and finally expelled from the system through the vagina. The office of the male is to impregnate the germ by means of the spermatic fluid. This fluid is secreted in the testicles, transmitted by the spermatic ducts, and finally conveyed by the external organ to its ultimate destination. 1 974. Among the viviparous animals, the reproductive organs present many points of resemblance, and appear to be constructed according to a common model. It is other- wise with the sexual organs of the oviparous tribes. These exhibit such remarkable differences in form and structure that it is impossible to collect them into natural groups, or assign to them characters which they have in common. 1975. The manner in which the eggs qf birds are impregnated by the male has not been satisfactorily determined. With the exception of the dcatricula, a female bird, in the absence of the male, can produce an egg. The conjunction of the sexes, however, is necessary for the impregnation of the egg, and the effect is produced previous to the exclusion. 1976. In manff kindx qf fishes and reptiles, the yolks, after being furnished vrith their glair, are gected &om the body of the female, and the impregnating fluid from the male is afterwards poured over them. Impregnation can be effected readily in such cases, by the artifidal application of the spermatic fluid. 1 977. Impregnation in insects appears to take place while the eggs pass a reservoir containing the sperm, situated near the termination of the oviduct in the volva. 1978. TTte most simple mode qf hatching is effected by the situation in which the eggs are placed by the mother, after or during their exclusion. In this mode a place is usually selected where the eggs will be U 3 294 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. cxiiosed to a suitable and uniform temperature, and where a convenient supply of food may be easily obtained for thp young animals. Such .irrangemcnts prevail in the insett tribe. 1979. In tke second viorie, the mother, aided in some cases by the sire, forms a nest, in which she deposits her eggs, and, sitting ui>on them, aids their hatching by the heat of her body. Birds in general hatch their young in this manner. 19R0. In the third mode, the eggs are retained in the uterus, without any connection, however, by circulating vessels, until the period when they are ready to be hatched, when egg and young are cx^Tclled at the same time. This takes place in some sharks and MoUfisca. The animals which exercise this last kind of incubation are termed ovovivi parous. In the Itkna p'lpa, the eggs are deposited in a bag on the back, where they are hatched, and where the young animals reside for some time after birth. Some animals, as the aphis, are oviparous at one season, and ovo^iparous at another. lysl. Thej/oung, after being hatched, iire, in many cases, independent of their parent, and do not stand in need of any assistance : they are born in the midst of plenty, and have organs adapted to the supply of their wants. Thus, many insects are hatched on, or within the very leaves which they are afterwards to devour. In other cases, the young are able to follow their parents, and receive from them a supply ot appropriate food ; or, if unable to follow, their parents bring their food to the nests. 1982. The changes which the young of oviparous anivuiis undej-go in passing from i7ifanc7/ to maturity have long attracted the notice of the inquisitive observer. The egg of the frog is hatched in the water, and the young animal spends in that element a part of its youth. While there it is furnished with a tail and external br6nchi£B: both of which are absorbed, and disappear, when it becomes an inhabitant of the land. The infancy of the butterfly is spent in the caterpillar state, with organs of motion and mastication which are peculiar to that period. It is destined to endure a second hatching, by becoming enveloped in a covering, and suffering a transformation of parts previously to appearing in its state of maturity. These metamorphoses of oviparous animals present an almost infinite variety of degrees of change, differing in character according to the tribes or genera, 1983. In birds, it is well known that one sexual union suffices for the production of impregnated eggs during the period of laying. This is a case somewhat analogous to those quadrupeds which produce several young at a birth with one impregnation, differing however, in the circumstance that the eggs are not all produced at the same time, although they are afterwards hatched by the same incubation. In the Aphides, or plant-lice, as they are called, one impregnation not only renders fertile the eggs of the individual, but the animals produced from these, and the eggs of those again, unto the ninth generation. 1 984. Androgynous animaU are of two kinds ; those where impregnatioii takes place by the mutual application of the sexual organs of two individuals ; and those where the hermaphroditism is complete. The Mollusca exhibit examples of both kinds. 1985. Gemndparous animals are exemplified in the .Hydra or fresh- water polypus, and other zoophytes. 1986. Hybridous animals. In the accomplishment of the important purpose of ge- neration, it is observed, that, in the season of desire, individuals of a particular species are drawn together by mutual sympathy, and excited to action by a common propensity. The produce of a conjunction between individuals of the same species partakes of the characters common to the species, and exhibits in due time the characteristic marks of puberty and fertility. In a natural state, the selective attribute of the procreative instinct unerringly guides the individuals of a species towards each other, and a preventive aversion turns them with disgust from those of another kind. In a domesticated state, where numerous instincts are suppressed, and where others are fostered to excess, in- dividuals belonging to different species are sometimes known to lay aside their natural aversion, and to unite in the business of propagation. Instances of this kind occur among quadrupeds, birds, and fishes, among viviparous and oviparous animals, where impregnation takes place within, as well as when it is effected without, the body. The product of such an unnatural union is termed a hybridous animal. The following cir- cumstances appear to be connected with hybridous productions : —^ 1987. The parents must belong to the same natural genus or family. There are no exceptions to this law. Where the species differ greatly in manners and structure, no constraints or habits of domestication will force the.unnatural union. On the other hand, sexual union sometimes takes place among indivi- duals of nearly related species. Thus, among quadrupeds, the mule is the produce of the union of the horse and the ass. The jackall and the wolf both breed with the dog. Among birds, the canary and goldfinch breed together, the Muscovy and common duck, and the pheasant and hen. Among fishes, the carp has been known to breed with the tench, the crusian, and even the trout {Phil. Trans.. 1771 p. 3ia) 1988. The parents inttst be in a confined or domesticated state. In all those hybridous productions which have yet been obtained, there is no example of individuals of one species giving a sexual preference to those of another. Among quadrupeds and birds, those individuals of different species which have united, have been confined and excluded from all intercourse with those of their own kind. In the case of hybridous fishes, the ponds in which they have been produced have been small and overstocked, and no natural proportion observed between the males and females of the different kinds. As the impregnating fluid, in such situations, is spread over the eggs after exclusion, a portion of it belonging to one species may have come in contact with the unimpregnated eggs of another species, by the accidental movements of the water, and not in consequence of any unnatural effort. In all cases of this unnatural union among birds or quadrupeds, a considerable degree of aversion is always exhibited, a circumstance which never occurs among individuals of the same species. 1989. The hybridxnts products are barren. The peculiar circumstances which are required to bring about a sexual union between individuals of different species sufficiently account for the total absence of hybridous productions in a wild state ; and, as if to prevent even in a domesticated state the introduction and extension of spurious breeds, such hybridous animals,. though in many cases disposed to sexual union are incapable of breeding. There are, indeed, some statements which render it probable that hybrid animals have procreated with perfect ones; at the same time there are few which are above suspicion Book II. ANIMAL PATHOLOGY. ^^^ Chap. V. AtUituiI Pathohgy s or the Duration, Diseases, and Casualties of Animal Life, 1990. Each species of animal is deslhied, in the absence of disease and acddents, to enjoy existence during a partictdar period- In no species, however, is this term absohitely limited, as we find some individuals outliving others, by a considerable fraction of their whole lifetime. In order to find the ordinary duration of life of any species, tlierefore, we must take the average of the lives of a number of individuals, and rest satisfied with the approximation to truth whicli can thus be obtained. Tliere is little resemblance in respect of longevity between the different classes, or even species, of animals. There is no peculiar structure, by which long-lived species may be distinguished from those that are short-lived. Many species whose structure is complicated live but for a few years, as the rabbit ; while some of the testaceous Molliisca, with more simple organisation, have a more extended existence. If longevity is not influenced by structure, neither is it modified by the size of the species. While the horse, greatly larger than the dog, lives to twice its age, man enjoys an existence three times longer than the former. 1 99 1 . The circumstances which regulate the term of existence in different species ex- hibit so many peculiarities, corresponding to each, tliat it is difficult to offer any general observations on the subject, Healtli is precarious, and the origin of diseases generally involved in obscurity. The condition of the organs of respiration and digestion, however, appears so intimately connected with the comfortable continuance of life, and the attainment of old age, that existence may be said to depend on the due exercise of the functions which they perform. Whether animals have their blood aerated by means of lungs or gills, they require a regular supply of oxygen gas : but as this gas is exten- sively consumed in the process of combustion, putrefaction, vegetation, and respiration, there is occasionally a deficiency in particular places for the supply of animal Ufe. In general, where there is a deficiency of oxygen, there is also a quantity of carbonic acid or carburetted hydrogen present. Tliese gases not only injure the system by occupying the place of the oxygen which is required, but exercise on many species a deleterious influ- ence. To these circumstances may be referred the difficulty of preserving many fishes and aquatic MoIMsca in glass jars or small ponds ; as a great deal of the oxygen in the air contained in the water is necessarily consumed by the germination and growth of the aquatic Cryptog^mia, and the respiration of the infusory Anim^lcula. In all cases, when the air of the atmosphere, or that which the water contains, is impregnated with noxious paiiicles, many individuals of a particular species, living in the same district, suffer at the same time. The disease which is thus at first endemic or local, may, by being con- tagious, extend its ravages to other districts. 1992. The endemical and epidemical diseases which attack horses, sheep, and cows, obtain in this country the name of murrain, sometimes also that of the distemper. The general term, however, for the pestilential diseases with which these and other animals are infected, is Epizboty (epi, amongst, zoon, an animal). 1993. The ravages which have been committed amoTig the domesticated animals^ at various times, in Ev/rope, by epizbbtieSt have been detailed by a variety of authors. Horses, sheep, cows, swine, poultry, fish, nave all been subject to such attacks ; and it has frequently happened, that the circumstances which have produced the disease in one species have likewise exercised a similar influence over others. That these diseases arise from the deranged functions of the respiratory organs, is rendered probable by the circumstance that numerous individuals, and even species, are affected at the same time; and this opinion is strengthened, when the rapidity with which they spread is taken into consideration. 1994. Many diseases, which greatly contribute to shorten life, take their rise from circumstances con- nected with the organs of digestion. Noxious food is frequently consumed by mistake, particularly by domesticated animals. Wlien cows, which have been confined to the house during the winter season, and fed with straw, are turned out to the pastures in the spring, they eat indiscriminately every plant presented to them, and frequently fall victims to their imprudence. It is otherwise with animals in a wild state, whose instincts guard them from the common noxious substances of their ordinary situation. The shortening of life, in consequence of the derangement of tiie digestive organs, is chiefly produced by a scarcity of food. When the supply is not sufficient to nourish the body, it becomes lean, the fat being absorbed to supply the deficiency ; feebleness is speedily exhibited, the cutaneous and intestinal animals rapidly multiply, and, in conjunction, accelerate the downfal of the system. 1 995. Tlie power of fasting, or of surviving without food, possessed by some animals, is astonisliingly great. An eagle has been known to live five weeks without food ; a badger a month ; a dog thirty-six days ; a toad fourteen months, and a beetle three years. This power of outliving scarcity for a time, is of signal use to many animals, whose food cannot be readily obtained ; as is the case with beasts of prey and rapacious birds. But this faculty does not belong to such exclusively: wild pigeons have survived twelve days, an antelope twenty days, and a land tortoise eighteen months. Such fasting, however, is detrimental to the system, and can only be considered as one of tliose sin- gular resources which may be employed In cases where, without it, life would speedily be extinguished. In situations where animals are deprived of their accustomed food, they frequently avoid tlie effects of starvation, by devouring substances to wliich tlieir U 4 296 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II digestive organs are not adapted. Pigeons can be brought to feed on flesh, and hawks on bread. Sheep, when accidentally overwhelmed with snow, have been linown to eat tlie wool off each other's backs. 1996. TVie vnrinus diseases to which animaU are subject tend greatly to shorten the period of their existence. With the methods of cure employed by diH'erent species wo are but little acquainted. Few accurate observations appear to have been made on the subject. Dogs frequently effect a cure of their sores by licking them. They cat grass to excite vomiting, and probably to cleanse their intestines from obstructions or worms, by its mechanical effects. Many land animals promote tlieir health by bathing, others by rolling themselves in the dust. By the last operation, they probably get rid of the parasitical insects with which tliey are infested. 1997. But independently of scarcity, or disease, comparatively few animals live to tlie ordinary term of natural" death. There is a wasteful war every where raging in the animal kingdom. Tribe is divided against tribe, and species against species, and neu- trality is nowhere respected. Those which are preyed upon have certain means which tliey employ to avoid the foe ; but the rapacious are likewise qualified for tlie pursuit. The exercise of the feelings of benevolence may induce us to confine our attention to the former, and adore tliat goodness which gives shelter to the defenceless, and pro- tection to the weak, while we may be disposed to turn precipitately from viewing the latter, lest we discover marks of cruelty, where we wished to contemplate nothing but kindness. But we should recollect, that, to the lower animals, destitute as they are of the means of attending to the aged or diseased, sudden death is a merciful substitute for the lingering tortures of starvation. Chap. VI. On the Distribution of Animals- 1998. On a superficial view, vegetables seem more abundant than animals ; so contrary, however, is this to fact, that the species of animals, when compared with those of plants, may be considered in the proportion of 10 to 1. Hence it follows that botany, when compared with zoology, is a very limited study : plants, when considered in relation to insects alone, bear no proportion in the number of the species. The phanerogamous plants of Britain have been estimated in round numbers at 1 500, while the insects that have already been discovered in this country (and probably many hundreds still remain unknown) amount to 10,000, which is more than six insects to one plant. It is there- fore obvious that the knowledge acquired on the geographical distribution of animals, in comparison with what is known of plants, is slight and unsatisfactory: it is likewise attended with difficulties inseparable from the nature of beings so numerous and diver- sified, and which will always render it comparatively imperfect. It rarely happens that a single specimen of a plant is found isolated ; the botanist can therefore immediately arrive at certain conclusions : if he is in a mountainous country, he is enabled to trace, without much difficulty, the lowest and the highest elevation at which a particular species is found ; and the nature of the soil, which may be considered the food of the plant, is at once known. But these advantages do hot attend the zoologist ; his business is with beings perpetually moving upon the earth, or hid in the depths of ocean, performing numerous functions in secret ; while of the marine tribes he can never hope to be acquainted with more than a very insignificant portion. The following observations must therefore be considered as merely an outline of those general laws which seem to regulate the geography of animals. 1999. The distribution of animals on tlie face of the globe must be considered under two heads, general and particular. The first relates to families or groups inhabiting par- ticular zones, and to others by which they are represented in another hemisphere. The second refers to the local distribution of the animals of any particular country, or to that of individual species. It is to the general distribution of groups, as a celebrated writer has well observed, that the philosophic zoologist should first direct his attention, rather tlian to the locality of species. By studying nature in her higher groups, we discover that certain functions are developed under different forms, and we begin to discern something of the great plan of providence in the creation of animals, and arrive at general results, which must be for ever hid from those who limit their views to the habitations of species, or to the local distribution of animals. 2000. Animals, Wee plants, are generally fouml to be distributed in zones. Fabricius, in speaking of insects, divides the globe into eight climates, which he denominates the Indian, Egyptian, southern, Mediterranean, northern, oriental, occidental, and alpine. In the first he includes tlie tropics; in the second, the northern region immediately adjacent ; in the tliird, the southern ; in the fourth, the countries bordering on the Medi- Book II. DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS. 297 terranean Sea, including also Armenia and Media; in the fifth, the northern part of £urope, inteijacent between Lapland and Paris; in the sixth, the northern part of Asia, where the cold in winter is intense ; in the seventh, North America, Japan^ and China ; and in the eighth, all those mountains whose summits are covered with eternal snow. It is, however, easy to perceive, that this, though a very ingenious, is a very artificial theory : ' the divisions are vague and arbitrary, and we know that animals of one country differ essentially from those of another, altliough both may enjoy the same degree of tempera- ture. M. Latreille has therefore attempted a more definite theory. His two primary divisions are the arctic and antarctic climates, according to their situation above or below the equinoctial line ; and taking twelve degrees of latitude for each climate, he subdivides the whole into twelve. Beginning at 84° N.L., he has seven arctic climates : viz. the polar, subpolar, superior, intermediate, supratropical, tropical, and equatorial : but his antarctic climates, as no land has been discovered below 60° S.L., amount only to five, beginning with the equatorial, and terminating with the superior. He proposes also a further division of subclimates, by means of certain meridian lines ; separating thus tlie old world from the new, and subdividing the former into two great portions ; an eastern, beginning with India ; and a western, terminating with Persia. He proposes, further, that each climate should be considered as having 24° of longitude and 12° of latitude. Tliis system certainly approximates more to what we see in nature than that proposed by Fabricius ; yet Mr. Kirby observes with truth, that the division of the globe into climates by equivalent parallels and meridians wears the appearance of an artificial and arbitrary system, rather than of one according to nature. 2CX)1. Mr. Swainson considers t/iat the geographic distribution of animals is intjmately connected with the limits of those grand and obvious sections into which the globe is divided ; and that in proportion to the geographical proximity of one continent to another, so will be either the proportional identity or the analogy of their respective animals. He considers Europe, Asia, and Africa as agreeing more particularly in pos- sessing certain animals in common, which seem excluded altogether from America and Australia ; both of which are not only isolated in situation, but their animals have a decided difiference of form and habit from those of the three continents of the old world. He considers that tlie animal geography of Asia is connected with that of Australia by the intervention of Borneo, New Guinea, and the neighbouring isles ; while that of America unites with Europe towards the polar regions. These five great types or divisions will, of course, present certain affinities or analogies dependent upon other causes, arising from temperature, food, and locality. (Swainson' s OtSS.) 2002. Vertebrated animals have a wider range than invertebrated animals, thus resem- bling man, who is spread over the whole earth : the dog and the crow are found wild in almost every climate ; the swallow traverses, in a few days, from the temperate to the torrid zone ; and numerous other birds annually perform long migrations. Next to these, insects, above all the other Invertebrktae, enjoy the widest range ; the house fly of America and of Europe are precisely the same ; and Mr. Swainson has observed in Brazi. vast flocks of butterflies, which annually migrate from the interior towards the coast. 2003. Marine animals have, in general, a wider range than those strictly terrestrial. This may probably originate in their being more independent of the effects of tem- perature. It is remarkable, that, with the exception of the crow and two or three others, the land birds of America differ entirely from those of Europe, yet that nearly all our aquatic species are found both in the new world and in the southern coasts of Africa. 2004. Sulmrdinate to tite jive geographic groups already noticed, temperature may he considered the principal regulator of the station of animals; it has likewise a remarkable influence on their clothing. Many quadrupeds, inhabiting the colder regions, appear in their natural colours during summer, but become whitfi in winter. ITie same change takes place in the plumage of several land birds ; but is not observable in insects, or l£e other invertebrate groups. Temperature has likewise a great influence on the size and colour of animals. The ijphinx convolvuli of Europe is found also in India, but of a much smaller size and more distinctly coloured : this is usually the effect of heat upon animals whose chief range is in temperate latitudes. On those which may be con- sidered intertropical, a greater degree of heat not only increases the brilliancy of their colours, but adds to their size. There are many birds and insects common both to central Brazil and Cayenne; but from the greater heat of the latter country, the specimens are always larger and their plumage more beautiful. Temperature likewise affects the clothing of animals in respect both to quality and quantity. This is more par- ticularly observed in such domesticated animals as have been transplanted from their natural climates. The covering of swine in warm countries consists of bristles of the same form and texture, thinly dispersed ; while the same animals in colder climates have an additional coating of fine frizzled wool next the skin, over which the long bristly hairs project. This diflference is very remarkable in the swine of northern Europe and tliose of tropical America, the latter appearing almost naked : it may be observed in a less 298 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut TI, degree in those of the south of England and the north of Scotland. Similar appearances present themselves among the sheep of warm and cold countries : the fleece of those of England consists entirely of wool, while the sheep of Shetland and Iceland possess a fleece, containing, besides the wool, a number of long hairs, which give it an appearance of being very coarse. 2005. Tlw particular or local distribution of animals is aflfected by various causes which have little influence on their geographic distribution. Thus the purely insectivorous birds of the family SylviadiB feed on all kinds of small insects, without regard to any particular species; yet the Sylviadse of America and those of Europe are each characterised by a peculiarity of structure which invariably designates the continent to which they belong. The wryneck is represented in America by the Oxyrhynchus cris- tatus Swains. (Zool. III. i. p. 149.) ; yet neither of these birds are found to inhabit all parts of their respective continents : their range, on the contrary, is regulated by tem- perature, food, and other circumstances connected with local distribution. (Swainson's MSS.) 2006. From temperature originate all the causes which ({ffect local distribution^ namely, food, situation, and migration. Were the climate of this country as unchanging as that of Brazil, the insects which now have only a single brood in the year might then produce several, and the swallow would no longer be obliged to quit us as now, for food in other climates, as soon as our insect season was at an end. Migration and torpidity are equally the effect of temperature ; the first depends upon the effect which the changes of the seasons produce in the abundance or scarcity of food, whether animal or vegetable ; the latter is a state of inaction during which the necessity for daily nourishment is suspended. 2007. The migration of birds and offish is more extensive than that of quadrupeds. The birds of the Polar regions migrate to Britain during severe winters ; while those of Africa come to us, in that season when the southern heats are most intense ; but the same species which is migratory in one country is in some cases stationary in another. It is stated that the linnet is migratory in Greenland, but that it is stationary in Britain. 2008. Tlie torjndity or hyhemation of animals is evidently designed to suspend the necessity of taking food during the winter ; although in some cases a small stock of provisions is laid up, most probably to serve for noiuishment previously to entire torpidity taking place. Several quadruped are subject to this partial suspension of life, as the dormouse, hedgehog, bat, marmot, &c. It is said that birds have sometimes been found in a similar state; but this is very questionable. Among insects, on the contrary, torpidity is very common, and a large proportion, when undergoing transformation, pass a considerable part of their lives in this state. 2009. Situation has an exte7isive influence on the local distribution of animals, although- it has little on the geographical distribution of groups. Air, earth, and water have their distinct inhabitants, which are again restricted to cert^n situations in their respective elements. The higher regions of the air are frequented by tlie eagle and falcon tribes ; the middle by the air-feeding birds ; and the lower by insects which merely jump, or just fly above the ground. The different situations on land, as mountains, plains, woods, marshes, and even sandy deserts, are each peopled by distinct races of beings, whose subsistence is sought for and furnished in peculiar spots. Thus the range of any par- ticular species is seldom or never continuous, or uninterrupted to its confines ; but is rather dependent upon local causes, quite unconnected with geographic division. Water is either the total or the partial residence of animals innumerable ; but here situation has an equal influence ; the deeps and the shallows of the ocean, its exposed or sheltered shores, its sandy, rocky, or muddy bottoms, are each the resort of different beings, widely distinct from those residing in the streams, lakes, rivers, and estuaries of fresh waters. It is principally among insects that we find the perfect animal inhabiting a situation different from that which was essential to its existence in an imperfect state. The larvEB of the May-fly, known to the vulgar by the name of case-worm (Trichopterie Kirby), and of all the Lib^Uulae live entirely in the water, preying upon other aquatic insects; but as soon as the period of transformation arrives, they crawl on the plants, just above the surface, and bursting the skin, become winged insects, which im- mediately commence an uninterrupted war upon others in their new element. The larva of the well known jEph^mera is likewise aquatic, and spends nearly all its life in water ; but the perfect insect is without jaws, mounts into the air, and seems born but to flutter and die. Many of the Coleoptera pass the first period of their existence entirely un- derground, others in the trunks of trees ; and others again in putrid substances ; situations very different from those which they frequent when arrived at maturity. Lepidopterous insects, after emerging from the eggs, undergo three changes, all of which are in situations totally opposite. In the larva state they reach their full dimensions by feeding upon the leaves of vegetables ; they next pass into pupae, and become torpid Book II. ECONOMICAL, OSKS OF ANIMALS. 299 either above or beneath the surface of the ground ; from wliich they emerge, and again become inhabitants of earth and air as perfect winged insects. 2010. The rapacity ofcamivarcms animals has been considered by some writers to have had a considerable effect on the distribution and even on the extinction of others ; but no instance has yet been brought forward in support of this argument, nor does history furnish us with any proof of such having been the case. The fossil remains of those stupendous carnivorous animals which have been discovered of late years, and which existed in the antediluvian world, might have suggested this idea as probable, and that the destruction among a host of smaller animals which would alone have satisfied the hunger of a brood of lizards (like the Plesiosaurus) forty feet long and six feet high, would soon have extirpated whole tribes ; but it must not be forgotten that these gigantic animals belonged to a different creation from that which now covers the earth ; and that neither in Africa. nor in India, where the present races of carnivorous animals are most abundant, has any change or sensible diminution taken place in the proportion of those upon which they principally feed. 2011. Man alone has exercised, in various ways, a powerful wifluenceon animals, and on their distribution : these changes, however, are purely artificial ; they have caused the total or partial extinction of some species, and the extension and domestication of others. Against many, hostile to his interests, man carries on a war of extermination, which, as population spreads, is at length effected in particular countries. The wolf, once so abundant in Britain that their heads were received as tribute by our Saxon kings, has for centuries been extirpated from our forests; and a progressive decrease is continually going on among the wild animals, not only of Europe, but of North America. Others, inoffensive in their habits, but valued as food, have been driven from our island. The eyret and crane, as British birds, are no longer known ; . while the great bustard, which may be called the ostrich of Europe, is now rarely seen ; and in all probability (unless its name should be inserted in the game laws), will be totally lost to us in a few years. In like manner that extraordinary bird the dodo (which was the ostrich of Asia) has not been seen for more than a century, and may possibly be no longer in existence. The benefits that have resulted, on the other hand, &om the extension and domestication of useful animals are sufficiently known. All the various breeds of our domestic cock have originated from the forests of India, which have likewise furnished Europe with the pheasant and the peacock ; the pintado or guinea fowl is of African origin ; the horse and domestic ox were unknovm in the new world before its discovery by the Spaniards ; and the vast island of Australia has been supplied with all its domestic animals from Europe. The turkey is of American origin; and, although nearly extinct in its native forests, is domesticated all over the world. There are doubtless many other animals tliat might be domesticated, either for use or pleasure ; but in a country like this, so variable in its climate, and where land is so valuable, it is much to be feared the necessary experiments will not be made. 2012. The local distribution ofSritish animals, however interesting, is too confined a subject to lead to any general or important conclusions regarding the geographic dis- tribution of animals. It is, however, an enquiry that merits attention ; and although no one has yet expressly written upon the subject, the observations of White, Montague, and several others will furnish a great deal of valuable information. In arranging the British fauna, all such birds as have been seen apparently as wanderers, and only at long intervals of time, should be excluded, or at least distinctly noticed as accidental visitors ; but to introduce the peacock, the domestic cock, and the turkey, into a natural history of British birds, as some have done, is a manifest absurdity; for upon this principle we should include the canary, the gold and silver pheasant, and all other exotic birds which may have accidentally bred in our aviaries. Chap. VII, Of the Economical Uses of Animals. 2013. On the importance of animals in the arts, as labourers, and as furnishing food, clothing, medicine, and materials for various manufactures, it is needless to enlarge. 2014. As labourers the quadrupeds alone are employed ; of these the most generally useful in this country are the horse, the ox, and the ass. The excellent carriage roads through most parts of Europe have superseded the necessity, in a great measure, of beasts of burden, although in the moimtainous parts of Spain and Italy, and nearly throughout the whole of Sicily, mules alone are employed to convey goods and produce. Such likewise is the case throughout Mexico and Brazil. The camel in Northern Africa, and 300 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. tlie elephant in Asia, are no less essential to internal commerce. In the south of Italy, and in tlic European settlements in Africa, the ox alone is used in drawing carts and waggons, and in all other agricultural operations. 2015. As articles offiod man employs animals belonging to every class, from the quadruped to the zoophyte. In some cases he makes choice of a part only of an animal, in other cases he devours the whole. He kills and dresses some animals, while he swallows others in a live state. The taste of man exhibits still more remarkable differ- ences of a rational kind. The animals which are eagerly sought after by one tribe, are neglected or despised by another. Even those which are prized by the same tribe in one age, are rejected by their descendants in another. Thus the seals and porpoises, which, a few centuries ago, were eaten in Britain, and were presented at the feasts of kings, are now rejected by the poorest of the people. 2016. TAose quadrupeds and birds which feed on grass or grain are generally preferred by man to those which subsist on flesh or fish. Even in the same :animal, the flesh is not always of the same colour and flavour, when compelled to subsist on different kinds of food. The feeding of black cattle with barley straw has always the effect of giving to their fat a yellow colour. Ducks fed on grain have flesh very different in flavour from those which feed on fish. The particular odour of the fat of some animals seems to pass into the system unchanged, and, by its presence, furnishes us with an indication of the food which has been used. No animals have yet been discovered whose flesh is poisonous, although some few among the fishes and the moll6sca are deleterious to the human constitution at particular seasons. 2017. TIte vse of skins, as articles of dress, is nearly coeval with our race. With the progress of civilisation, the fur itself is used, or the feathers, after having been subjected to a variety of tedious and frequently complicated processes. Besides the hair of quad- rupeds, and the feathers of birds, used as clothing, a variety of products of the animal kingdom, as bone, shells, pearls, and corals, are employed as ornaments of dress, in all countries, however different in their degree of civilisation, 201 S. Medicine. The more efHcient products of the mineral kingdom have in the progress of the medical art in a great measure superseded the milder remedies furnished by animals and vegetables. The blister-fly, however, still remains without a rival ; and the leech is often resorted to, when the lancet can be of no avail. 2019. The arts. The increase of the wants of civilised life calls for fresh exertions to supply them, and the animal kingdom still continues to furnish a copious source of materials for the arts. Each class presents its own peculiar offering, and the stores which yet remain to be investigated appear inexhaustible. Chap. VIII. Principles ofim^omng the Domestic Animals used in Agriculture^ 2020. The animals in use in Srilisk agriculture are few, and chiefly the horse, ox, sheep, swine, goat, and domestic fowls. The first is used solely as a labouring animal, and tlie rest chiefly as furnishing food. In applying the general principles of physiology to these animals with a view to their improvement for the use of man, we shsdl consider in succession the principles of breeding, rearing, and feeding. Sect. I. Oijects to be kept in View in the Improvejnent of Breeds. 2021. The great olject of the husbandman, in every case, is to obtain the most valuable returns from Ws raw produce ; to prefer that kind of live stock, and that breed of any kind, which will pay him best for the food the animal consumes. The value to which the animal itself may be ultimately brought, is quite a distinct and inferior consideration. {Gen. Hep. Scot., c. xiv.) 2022. To imfvove the form rather than to enlarge the size, in almost every case, ought to be the grand object of improvement. Size must ever be determined by the abundance or scarcity of food, and every attempt to enlarge it beyond that standard must prove un- successful, and, for a time, destructive to the thriving of the animals, and the interest of their owners. It is certain that animals, too large or too small, will alike approach to that profitable size which is best adapted to their pastures ; but the large animal becomes unhealthy, and degenerates in form, and in all its valuable properties ; whereas the small one, while it increases in size, improves in every respect. (Gen. Sep. Scot., c. xiv.) Sect. II. Of the Means of improving the Breed of Animals- 2023. By improvement of a breed is to be understood the producing such an alteration in shape or description, as shall render the animal better fitted for the labours he has to perform ; better fitted for becoming fat ; or for producing milk, wool, eggs, feathers, or particular qualities of these. The fundamental principle of this amelioration is the pro- Book II. IMPROVING THE BREED OF ANIMALS. 30J per selection of parents. Tliree theories have obtained notice on tliis subject ; the first in favour of breeding from individuals of the same parentage, called the in-and-in system : the second in favour of breeding from individuals of two different offsprings or varieties, called the system of cross breeding ; and the third in favour of breeding from animals of the same variety, but of different parentage, which may be called breeding in tfie liTie, or in the same race. As is usual in such cases, none of these theories is exclusively cor- rect, at least as far as respects agricultural improvement ; for, as it will afterwards appear, the principles on which a selection for breeding so as to improve the carcass of the animal depends, will lead occasionally to eitlier mode. Breeding in the samje line, however, is the system at present adopted by what are considered the best breeders. 2024. The sixetjitrm, and general jrroperties of the inferior animals in a state of nature may be always traced to the influence of soil and climate. Abundance of food, though of a coarse quality, will produce an enlargement of size in an animid which has been compelled to travel much for a scanty supply. Early maturity is also promoted by the same abundance ; and if the food is of a better quality, and obtained without fatigue, a tendency to fatten at an early age will be gradually superinduced, and combined with a tameness and docility of temper, a general improvement of form, and a diminished proportion of offal ; but at the same time such animals vrill not be capable of enduring the fatigue and privations to which the less fortunate natives of the mountains of Scot- land and Wales are habituated from their earliest age. 2025. Hardiness of constitution is one of the most desirable properties of live stock, for districts producing only a very scanty supply of food for winter. 2026. A barren and mountainous surface and rigorous climate not only prohibit any considerable improvement in the quantity and quality of its produce, but at the same time prescribe to the husbandman the kind of stoclc wliich he must employ for consuming that produce. His cattle and sheep must be in a great measure the creatures of his own mountains and of his own climate. He cannot avail himself of the scientific principles which have so eminently improved the live stoclc of rich pastures. The most esteemed breeds of England, instead of returning a greater quantity of meat for their fou.', could not subsist at all upon the mountains of the north. The first object of the Highland fanner is to select animals that will live and thrive upon his pastures. Of two breeds nearly equally hardy, he will no doubt prefer the cattle that will give the most valuable carcass, and the sheep that will return the most money in wool and carcass. He has seldom any considerable extent of land which would fatten any breed ; and, if he had, tliere is no market for it within his reach. With his live stock, as with his crops, he must be determined by his situation : and he would judge very ill, if he should lay aside his oats and big (native barley) for the more valuable but precarious crops of wheat and barley, 2027. Early maturity is a most valuable property in all sorts of live stock. With regard to those animals which are fed for their carcasses, it is of peculiar importance that they should become fat at an ear],y age, because they not only sooner return the price of their food with the profits of the feeder, but in general also a greater value for their consumption than slow-feeding animals. A propensity to fatten at an early age is a sure proof lliat an animal will fatten speedily at any after period of its life. 2028. Ta'men£ss and docility ofteTnper are desirable properties in most of the domesti- cated animals. These are also in some degree incompatible with the character of the live stock of mountainous districts, merely because they are necessarily subjected to a very slight degree of domestication, and must search for their food over a great extent of country. When they are reared in more favourable situations, plentifully supplied with food, and more frequently under the superintendence of man, their native wildness is in a great measure subdued. The same treatment which induces early maturity will gradually effect this change. 2029. The quality of the flesh, the proportion which theflne and coarse parts bear to each other, and the weight of botli to that of the offal, constitute the comparative value of two animals of equal weight, destined to be the food of man. The first of these properties seems to be determined by the breed and food ; the second by the form and proportions of the animal ; and the third by all these and its degree of fatness. The flesh of well- formed small animals, both 'of cattle and sheep, is well known to be finer grained, of a better flavour, more intermixed with fat, and to afford a richer gravy than that of large animals, and it brings a higher price accordingly in all the principal markets of the island. 2030. The desirable properties by analogy and experiment, that much more nourishment would be derived from it- 2074. Salt, it appears, from various experiments, may be advantageously given to most animals in very small quantities ; it acts as a whet to the appetite, promotes the secretion of bile, and, in general, is favourable to health and activity. In this way only can it be considered as preventing or curing diseases ; unless perhaps in the case of worms, to which all saline and bitter substances are knovm to be injurious. 2075. That degree of Iieat which is natural to animals in their original country, or has become so by habit and the breeding for successive generations in a cold climate, is necessary to their wellbeing ; and a somewhat increased degree in the cold months, or diminished degree in such as are oppressively warm, is advantageous in the fattening process, "Where a sufficient degree of warmth to promote the ordinary circulation of the blood is not produced by the natural climate, or by exercise, it must be supplied by an artificial climate. Houses and sheds are the obvious resources both for this purpose, and for protection ■from extremes of weatlier. Cold rains and northerly winds are highly injurious, by depriving the external surface of the body of caloric, more rapidly than it can be supplied from within by respiration, and the action of the stomach ; and also by contracting the pores of the skin, so as to impede circulation. When an animal happens to shed its covering, whether of hair, wopl, or feathers, at such inclement seasons, the effects on its general health are highly injurious. The excessive heats of summer, by expanding all the parts of the animal frame, occasion a degree of lassitude, and want of energy, even in the stomach and intestines ; and while the animal eats and digests 'less food than usual, a greater waste than usual takes place by perspiration. Nature has provided trees, rocks, caverns, hills, and waters, to moderate these extremes of heat and weather ; and man imitates them by hovels, sheds, and other buildings, according to particular circumstances, 2076. Good air and water it may seem unnecessary to insist on ; but cattle and horses, and even poultry, pent up in close buildings, where there are no facilities for a change of the atmosphere, often suffer on this account. A slight degree of fever is produced at first, and, after a time, when the habit of the animal becomes reconciled to such a state, a retarded circulation, and general decay or diminution of the vital energies, take place. S077. Water ought to be s(ifl and pure, as being a better solvent than such as is hard and charged with earthy particles. It ought to be of a moderate temperature, under that of the open air in hot weather, and exceeding it in winter. Deep wells a£fbrd this difference. In jiarticular caseSj as in those of animals in a suckling state or milked by man, warmed water has been found advantageous. Meals, or other light ■ich matters, are sometbnes mixed with it; but it does not clearly appear, except in the last case, that liquid food is so generally advantageous for fattening animals, as that which being equaUy rich is solid. Some judgment is requisite as to the time most proper for giving water to animals. In general, it does not appeal' necessary to supply it immediately after eating, for animals in a natural state, or pasturing in a field, generally lie down after filling themselves, and after the process of digestion seems to have gone on for some time, they go in quest of water. Perhaps the immediate dilution of food, after being taken into the stomach, with water, may, at the same time, weaken the digestive powers, by diluting the gastric juice. At all events, the free use of water at any time, but especially durmg meals, is found to weaken digestion in the human species. As animals of every kind become reconciled to any habit, not ultimately injurious to health, perhaps for housed animals a stated quantity of water, given an hour, or an hour and a half after what may be called their meals, may be the best mode. 2078. Moderate exercise ought not to be dispensed with, where the flavour of animal produce is any object ; it is known to promote circulation, perspiration, and digestion, and by consequence to invigorate liie appetite. Care must be taken, however, not to carry exercise to that point where it becomes a labom* instead of a recreation. In some X 2 308 SCIENCE OI< AGRICULTURE. Paut T. cases, as in feeding swine and poultry, fatness is hastened I>y promoting sleep, and preventing motion rather than encouraging it : but such animals cannot be considered healthy-fed ; in fact, their fatness is most commonly the result of disease. 2079. TraiiqxaUitr/ is fn obvious requisite, for where the passions of brutes are called into action, by whatever means, their influence on their bodies is often as great as in the human species. Hence the use of castration, complete or partial separation, shading from too much light, protection from insects, dogs, and other annoying animals, and from the too frequent intrusion of man. 2080. Cleanliness is favourable to health, by promoting perspiration and circulation. Animals in a wild state attend to this part of their economy themselves ; but, in pro- portion as they are cultivated, or brought under the control of man, this becomes out of their power ; and to insure their subserviency to his washes, this part of culture, as well as others, must be supplied by art. Combing and brushing stall-fed cattle and cows are known to contribute materially to health ; though washing sheep vidth a view to cleaning the wool often has a contrary effect, from the length of time the wool requires to dry. Tins often brings on colds, and aggravates the liver complaint, so incident to these animals. Bathing or steeping the feet of stalled animals occasionally in warm water would no doubt contribute to their health. Bathing swine two or three times a week in hot water, as in that used for boiling or steaming food, has been found a real advantage. 2081. Comfort. An animal may be well fed, lodged, and cleaned, without being comfortable in every respect ; and in brutes, as well as men, want of comfort operates on the digestive powers. If the surface of a stall, in which an ox or a horse stands, deviates much from a level, he will be continually uneasy j and he will be uneasy during night, if its surface is rough, or if a proper bed of litter is not prepared every evening for him to repose on. The form of racks and mangers is often less commodious than it might be. A hay rack which projects forward is bad ; because the animal in drawing out the hay is teased with the hay seeds falling into its eyes or ears ; and this form, it may be added, is apt to cause the breath of the animal to ascend through its food, which must after a time render it nauseous. For this reason hay should lie as short a time as possible in lofts, but when practicable be given direct from the rick. Poultry of different kinds are often crowded together, without any regard to the comfort of the particular kinds by attending to their peculiarities, such as a smooth or soft floor for the web feet of the duck tribe, or the proper size of roosting sticks for the grasping-toed feet of the other tribes. Even the crowing of the cock must cause some degree of irritation, and consequently, impede health and fattening by disturbing the repose of quiet fowls, such as the turkey or goose. Various other instances will occur to a reflecting mind ; and surely it must be a duty as agreeable as it is copducive to our own interest, to promote as much as possible the comfort of those animal^ whose lives are shortly to be sacrificed for ours. 2082. Health. A good state of health will, in general, be the result of the mode of feeding and treatment which we have Ascribed ; but in proportion as our treatment^ either of ourselves or other animals, is refined and artificial, in the same proportion are the functions of nature liable to derangement or interruption from atmospherical changes, and vaiious accidental causes. When this takes place, recourse must be had to art for relief. This is an obvious, natural, and reasonable practice ; though some contend that as every disease is only an effort of nature to relieve the being from some evil, it ought to be left to itself. To treat animals when in health artificially, and the moment when they become diseased to abandon them to nature, is a proposition so incon- gruous and absurd, that one would suppose it would be rejected by the common sense of mankind. There are, however, some solitary instances of medical men having adopted this opinion ; but the melancholy result of their acting on it in the human species, as well as its utter rejection by all rational professors, and men in general, has reduced it to its intrinsic value. There may be much of quackery in medicine ; and unquestionably there is a great deal in the art, as applied to the brute creation by common practitioners : but to reject the medical art altogether, becomes, on the other hand, a species of quackery just as despicable as the other, and not less dangerous ; for it cannot be much better for a patient to be left to die through neglect than to be killed by overmuch care. 2083. Farriery, as applied to cattle and sheep, is a department of medicine in which perhaps greater ignorance prevails than in any other. The subject,-as applied to horses, has, since the establishment of veterinary schools in this country, and in France, become better understood ; but the pupils from these establishments are so thinly scattered, that as Laurence (veterinary surgeon, and author of a Treatise on Horses) observes, it were desirable that country surgeons should in their different localities give instructions to the empirical local practitioners in the country, and to intelligent bailiffs ; and that gentle- men of property might have such a sense of their own interest as to call in a surgeon in all cases of the least difficulty. All that Vi-e can here do is to repeat our advice of Book II. FEEDING FOR EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSES. 309 studying the art of prevention rather than of cure ; to suggest that, in general, an analogy subsists between the constitution and diseases of the human and brute creation ; to avoid recipes and specific cures, rarely to bleed animals, unless by regular advice; and to confine as much as possible the operations of cow-doctors and smiths to giving warm drinks, gentle purges, and clysters, which can seldom do any harm. Proprietors who can afford to employ intelligent bailiifs, or rather who give such men considerable salaries, should ascertain previously to hiring them, by means of general questions, or by reference to a professor, whether they know any thing of the subject. By thus creating a demand for this species of knowledge, it would soon be produced in abundance. Sect. IV. Of Feeding far Extraordinary Purposes. 2084. Tlie extraordinary purposes of feeding may comprehend, promoting the growth, maturity, or obesity of particular parts of the body ; promoting the produce of milk or eggs ; or, fitting an animal for hard labour or long journeys, fasting, and other pri- vations. 2085. Feeding for extraordinary purposes, such as promoting the growth of the liver in geese ; the heart in turkeys ; producing excessively fat poultry, &c., seems to us utterly unjustifiable on principles of humanity, and unworthy of enlightened men. The practice of pulling out the animal's eyes, naiUng it to the spot, and cramming or forcing the food down its throat, is surely as repugnant to good taste and feeling, as the food so produced must be tasteless and unwholesome. Putting out the eyes of certain singing birds to improve their voice, and some practices in the rearing of game cocks, and fancy pigeons (at least the first two) seem equally reprehensible. 2086. The fattening qfjbwlsfor the London market is a considerable branch of rural economy in some convenient situations. " They are put up in a dark place, and cromjwetfwith a paste made of barley meal, mutton suet, and some treacle or coarse sugar, mixed with milk, and are found to be completely ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them." {Agricultural Report of Berkshire, 6y William Mavor, LL.D. 8vo. London, 1813.) But fowls brought to this state of artificial obesity are never so well flavoured in the flesh, and probably not so salubrious as those of the same species fattened in a more natural way. The great secret of having fine pullets is cleanliness, and high keeping with the best corn. 2087. The process followed in different parts of Franpe to enlarge the liver is described at length by Sonnini. (^Nouveau Uictionnaire d^Histoire NahireUe, art. Ofe.) The object is to cause tlie whole vital forces t» be determined towards this part of the animal, by giving it a kind of hepatic cachexy. In Alsace, the individual buys a lean goose, which he shuts up in a small box, so tight that it cannot turn in it. The back part of the bottom is furnished with a wide grating of rods, for the passage of the dung. In the fore part there is a hole for the head, and below it a small trough is kept always full of water, in which some pieces of wood charcoal are left to steep. A bushel of maize is - enough to feed it during a month, at the end of which time the goose is sufficiently fattened. A thirtieth part is soaked in water each night, and crammed down its tliroat next day, morning and evening. The rest of the time it drinks and guzzles in the water. Towards the 22d day, they mix with the maize some poppy oil, and, at the end of the month, it is known by a lump of fat under each wing, or rather by the difficulty of breathing, that it is time to kill it, otherwise it will die of fat. The liver is then found weighing one or two pounds, and, besides, the animal is excellent for the table, and furnishes, during its roasting, from three to five pounds of fat, which is used in the cooking of vegetables. Of six geese, there ai-e commonly only four (and these are the youngest) wliich answer the expectation of the fattener. They are kept in a cellar, or cool place with little light. The temperature most favourable for fattening is between 30° and 40° Fahrenheit, so that it is only practised during the latter part of the autumn, the winter, and the early part of spring. The process was examined in detail by us at Strasbourg in October 1 828, and will be found noticed in the account of the tour which we made in that year, in tlie Sth volume of the Gardeners Magamie. 2088. The Roman epicures, who prized the livers of geese, had abeady observed, that darkness was favourable to this practice ; no doubt, because it prevents all distraction, and directs the whole powers towards the digestive organs. The want of motion, and tlie difficulty of respiration, may be also taken into consideration ; the first from its diminishing the waste of the system, and both from their retarding the circulation in the vena portarum, of which the blood ought to become hydrogenated, in proportion as its carbon unites itself to the oxygen which that liquid absorbs. This favours the formation of the oily juice, which, after having filled the cellular system of the body, enters into the biliary system and substance of the liver, and gives it that fatness and size which is so delightful to the palates of true gourmands. The liver thus only becomes enlarged consecutively, and the difficulty of respiration does not appear till the end, when its size prevents the action of the lungs. Among a hundred fatteners, there are scarcely two who adopt the practice of putting out the eyes of the geese, and even these do not resort to this baibarous practice till a day or two before they are killed : and, therefore, tlie X 3 310 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari II. geese of Alsace, which are free from tliese cruel operations, acquire a prodigious fatness, which may be called an oleaginous dropsy, the effect of a general atony of the absorbents, caused by want of exercise, combined with succulent food crammed down their throats, and in an under-oxygenated atmosphere. (Ena/c. Brit. Sup., art. Food.) 2089. Early lamb. As an instance of both breeding and feeding for extraordinary pui-poses, we may mention the practice of those farmers who furnish the tables of tlie wealthy with lamb, at almost every season of the year, by selecting certain breeds of sheep, such as the Dorsetshire, which lamb very early, or by treating them in such a way as to cause the female to come in heat at an unnatural time. In this way, lamb is pro- cured as an article of luxury, as early as November and December ; and, on the contrary, by keeping the ewe on a cold and poor hilly pasture, the lambing season is retarded, and lamb furnished in September and October. 2090. Feeding for promoting the produce of milk or eggs. That which in plants or animals is produced for particular purposes in nature may, by certain modes of treat- ment, be rendered, for a time, a habit in the plant or animal, without reference to its natural end. Thus in many cases annual plants may be rendered perennial by continually pinching off their flowers as they appear ; and animals which give milk or lay eggs may be made to produce both for a much longer time than is natural to them, by creating a demand in their constitutions for these articles, by frequent and regular milk- ings, and by taking away every egg as soon as produced ; and then, by appropriate food, furnishing the constitution with the means of supplying this demand, by rich liquid food, in the case of milking animals, and by dry, stimulating, and nourishing food, in the case of poultry. 2091. Feeding to fit animals for hard labour or long journeys. It seems agreed on, that dry rich food is the best for this purpose ; and that very much depends on rubbing, cleaning, and warmth, in the intervals between labour and rest, in order to maintain something of the increased circulation ; and, in short, to lessen the influence of the transition from the one to the other. Tlie quantity of water given should never be con- siderable ; at least in cold countries and seasons. (See Horse, in Contents or Index.) Sect. V. Of the Modes of killing Animals. 2092. The mode of killing animals has considerable effect on the flesh of the animal. Most of those slaughtered for food are either bled to death, or are bled profusely imme- diately after being deprived of life in some other way. The common mode of killing cattle in this kingdom is, by striking them on the forehead with a pole-axe, and then cutting their throats to bleed them. But this method is cruel, and not free from danger. The animal is not always brought down by the first blow, and the repetition is difficult and uncertain ; and, if the animal be not very well secured, accidents may happen. Lord Somerville ( General Survey of the Agriculture of Shropshire, by Joseph Flymley, M.A., 8vo. London, 1803, p. 243.) therefore endeavoured to introduce tlie method of pithing or laying cattle, by dividing the spinal marrow above the origin of the phrenic nerves, as is commonly practised in Barbary, Spain, Portugal, Jamaica, and in some parts of England ; and Jackson says, that the " best method of killing a bullock is by thrusting a sharp-pointed knife into the spinal manow, when the bullock will immediately fall without any struggle, then cut the arteries about tlie heart." {Reflections on tlie Commerce of tlie Mediterranean, by John Jackson, Esq. F.S.A., Hvo. London, 1804, p. 91.) Although the operation of pithing is not so difficult but that it may, with some practice, be performed with tolerable certainty ; and although Lord Somerville took a man with him to Portugal to be instnicted in the method, and made it a condition that the prize cattle at his exhibitions should be pithed instead of being knocked down, still pithing is not becoming general in Britain. This may be partly owing to prejudice ; but we have been told that the' flesh of the cattle killed in this way in Portugal is very dark, and be- comes soon putrid, probably from the animal not bleeding well, in consequence of the action of the heart being interrupted before the vessels of the neck are divided. It there- fore seems preferable to bleed the animal to death directly, as is practised by the Jew butchers. . 2093. Du Card's observations on pithing deserve attention. This gentleman a surgeon of the Shrewsbury Infirmary, after mature consideration, is against the practice as causmg more pam than it is intended to avoid. He says, " Pain and action are so generally joined, that we measure the degree of pain by the loudness of the cries and violence of the consequent exertion ; and therefore conclude, on seeing two animals killed that the one which makes scarcely a struggle, though it may continue to breathe, suffers less than that which is more violently convulsed, and struggles till life is exhausted It appears, however, that there may be acute pain without exertion, perhaps as certain'lv as there is action without pam ; even distortions that at the first glance would seem to pro- ceed from pain, are not always really accompanied with sensation. To constitute pain there must be a communication between the injured organ and the brain." Book III. MINERAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHERE. 311 2094^ In the old method c)f slaughtering, a concussion of the brain takes place, and tlierefore the power of feeling is destroyed. The animal drops, and although convulsions take place generally longer and more violent than when the spinal marrow is divided, yet there is, I think, reason to believe that the animal suffers less pain. The immediate consequence of the blow is the dilatation of the pupil of the eye, without any expression of consciousness or fear on the approach of the hand. 2095. From all these circumstances, Du Gard concludes that the new method of slaughtering cattle is more painful than the old. The puncture of the medulla spinalis does not destroy feeling, though it renders the oody quiescent, and in this state the animal both endures pain at the punctured part, and suffers, as it were, a second death, from the pain and faintness from loss of blood in cutting the throat, which is practised in both methods. Sir Everard Home, in a valuable paper (Shrew. Rep., p. 250.) has suggested a mode of per. forming the operation, which would answer completely, could we be sure of having operators sufficiently skilful ; but we may the less regret the difliculty of getting new modes established when we thus see the superiority of an old custom under very improbable circumstances ; and if well meaning reformers wanted any additional motives to care and circumspection, a very forcible one is furnished in the instance of the time and trouble taken to introduce this operation, which, as it has been hitherto practised, is the very reverse of what was intended. 2096. Jewish modes. The Mosaic lave so strictly prohibits the eating of blood, that Hie Talmud contains a body of regulations concerning the killing of animals ; and the Jews, as a point of religion, Vfill not eat the flesh of any animal not killed by a butcher of their own persuasion. Their method is to tie all the four feet of the animal together, bring it to the ground, and, turning its head back, to cut the throat at once dovra to the bone, with a long, very sharp, but not pointed knife, dividing all the large vessels of the neck. In this way the blood is discharged quickly and completely. The effect is indeed said to be so obvious, that some Christians will eat no meat but what has been killed by a Jew butcher. Calves, pigs, sheep, and lambs, are all killed by dividing at once the large vessels of the neck. 2097. Animals which are killed by accident, as by being drowned, hanged, or frozen, or by a fall, or ravenous animal, are not absolutely unwholesome. Indeed, they only differ from those killed methodically in not being bled, which is also the case with animals that are snared, and with those killed by hounds. Animals which die a natural death should never be eaten, as it is an undeniable instance of disease, and even death to the consumer being the consequence. 2098. Animals frequently undergo some ^preparation before they are killed. They are commonly kept without food for some time, as if killed with full stomachs their flesh is considered not to keep well. Oxen are commonly made to fast for two or three days, smaller animals for a day ; but it is evident tliat the practice must not be carried too far, as the opposite effect will be produced by the animal falling off or getting feverish. Dr. Lister has stated that nothing contributes more to the whiteness and tenderness of the flesh of calves than often bleeding them, by which the colouring matter of the blood IS exh,austed, and nothing but colourless serum remains. A much more cruel method of preparation for slaughter used' to be practised, though now much less frequently, in regard to the bull. By some ancient municipal laws, no butcher was allowed to expose any bull beef for sale unless it had been previously baited. The reason of this regulation probably was, that baiting had the effect of rendering the flesh or muscular fibre much more tender ; for it is a universal law of the animal economy that, wlien animals have undergone excessive fatigue immediately before death, or have suffered from a lingering death, their flesh, though it becomes sooner rigid, also becomes sooner tender than when suddenly deprived of life in a state of health. The flesh of hunted animals also is soon tender and soon spoils (Secherches de Physiologie et de Chimie Fathologique, par P. N. Nysten. 8vo. Paris, 1811) ; and it is upon this principle only, that the quality of pig's flesh could be improved by the horrid cruelty, said to be practised by the Germans, of whipping the animal to death. BOOK in. OF THE STUDY OF THE MINEJRAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHERE, WITH REFERENCE TO AGRICULTURE. 2099, The nature of the vegetable and animal kingdom having undergone discussion, the next step in the study of the science of agriculture is to enquire into the composition and nature of material bodies, and the laws of Iheir changes. The earthy matters which compose the surface of the globe, the air and light of the atmosphere, the water precipi- tated from it, the heat and cold produced by the alternation of day and night, and by chemical composition and resolufaon, include all the elements concerned in vegetation. These elements have all been casually brought into notice in the study of the vegetable kingdom ; but we shall now examine more minutely their properties, in as far as they are connected with cultivation. To study them completely, reference must be had to systems of chemistry and natural philosophy, of which those of Dr, Thomson {System of Chemistry) and Dr. Young (Leclures on Natural Philosophy) may be especially recommended. X i 312 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paiit II. Chap. I. Of Earths and Soils. *2100. Earths are the productions of the rods which are exposed on the surface of the globe, and soils are earths mixed with more or less of the decomposed organised matter afforded by dead jylants and animals- Earths and soils, therefore, must be as various as the rocks which produce them ; and hence to understand their nature and formation it ia necessary to begin by considering the geological structure of the territorial surface, and J;he manner in which eartlis and soils are produced. We shall next consider in succession the Nomenclature, Quality, Use, and Improvement of Soils. Sect. I. Of tlie Geolog^al Structure of the Globe and the Formation of Earths and Soils. 2101. The crust of our earth, when examined, will be found to be composed of various stony bodies, diifering in their structure and composition. Some of tiiese are arranged in strata of greater or less regularity, and more or less inclined to the horizon ; others show no marks of stratification, but constitute large mountain masses, without any definite shape, or fill up fissures in other rocks, forming veins. Some rocks show an evident compound or aggregated structure ; others appear, to the naked eye, of a uniform texture : some stony bodies contain undoubted remains of animals and vegetables, which chiefly belong to species of organised beings no longer known to exist in a living state ; other rocks are always destitute of every trace of organised remains. These peculiarities have given rise to different classifications of rocks. One sect of geologists divide rocks into simple and compound ; and again subdivide these classes according as the structure of the rock is compact, /^anular, slaty, porpht/ritic, or amygdaloidal- The greatest number of geologists, however, are not satisfied with that arrangement, but have ventured to speculate on the relative age or era of the formation of the different kinds of rock. The data on which they proceed are, chiefly, the presence or absence of organic remains, and the supei^position of one kind of rocky bed on another. All geologists are agreed in con- sidering stratified rocks as arranged and deposited by the agency of water, and therefore the relative age of such rocks may be generally inferred from their relative position ; but philosophers differ both with regard to the origin and era of the unstratified rocks, and also of the minerals which occupy veins. It is not our business here to enter into this discussion, but we shall content ourselves by a slight sketch of the most generally received arrangement of rocks, which, though it involves theoretic considerations, is convenient to the student of mineralogy- The crust of our globe may be considered as composed of five series of rocks : primitive, transition, floetz, alluvial, and volcanic. 2102. Primitive rocks. These, from the absence of organic remains, are conceived to have been deposited, in their present situation, before the creation of animals, and, from most usually lying below other rocks, are supposed to be the most ancient. Of these the chief species ai-e granite (including syenite), gneiss, mica slate (including talc slnte), clay slate, jrrimitive limestone, primitive trap, serpentine, quarts rock, and some kinds of porphyry. 2103. Rocks of transition. In these a few organic remains occur, but neither fre- quently nor in large quantity. They are supposed to have obtained their present forai diaring the transition of the surface of the earth from a chaotic to a habitable state. The principal members of this series .are greywacke, one kind of limestone, and occasionally most of the rocks of the first series. 2104. Floetz rocks are so named from their generally occurring in nearly horizontal strata. They were formerly termed secondary, in contradistinction to the primitive series, and they constitute the terrain secondaire of the French geologists. The principal rocks of this class are sandstone or freestone, which appears to be of different ages, though comprehended still in the floetz series ; limestone (including alpine limestone, magnesian limestone, oolite, chalk, gypsum, and the calcareous beds of the Paris basin), coal, and the accompanying rocks of our great coal-fields ; trap rocks, including basalt, wacke, and the great body of kindred rocks, which often form the summits of considerable hills. 2105. Alluvial deposits, chiefly consisting of beds of clay, sand, gravel, and some cemented rocks. The first three formations appear to be universally distributed over the globe, and are supposed to owe their formation to causes acting before the land had yet appeared above the waves. The alluvial formations are conceived to be produced by the action of water on the rocks already mentioned. 2106. Volcanic rocks. Of this series different kinds of lava, scoria, puzzuolana, &c., are undoubted members ; and most geologists now include in it certain varieties of trap, trachyte, obsidian, and pumice ; while others are disposed to consider all trap rocks, and even granite, as the products of eitlier recent or ancient volcanic fire, acting under the Book III. CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS. 313 modifying circumstance of pressure. All tlie members of these formations are not every wlicre to be found : sometimes one or more species of rock may be wanting in tiie series ; but a skilful geologist can generally detect a wonderful degree of regularity in the superposition of sti'ata, which, to an unpractised eye, present only a, mass of confusion. 2107. The relative situation of these rocks in Britmn is as follows : The primitive rocks are usually observed constituting a portion of the most elevated parts of the surface of the earth ; the rocks of transition usually fonn the less elevated ridges ; the floetz rocks, with alluvial matter, generally constitute the bases of plains, or of an undulated country. The two latter formations constitute by fer the gieatest portion of England and the low parts of Scotland : the mountains of Cumberland and Wales are chiefly composed of rocks of transition, while Cornwall and the Highlands of Scotland have generally a basis of primitive rocks, over which some rocks of the transition series are occasionally svper^ imposed. 2108. The original authorities for the geological distribution of English strata are Smithes Map and Sections; Greenovglis Map; Coneybeare^s and Phillips^s Geology of England; Sedgeudcke's papers in the Gevlogical Trajisactions s Webster s Isle of Wight, &c. These are all authorities of weight with mineralogists. 2109. The surface earth, or that which forms the outer coating of the dry parts of the globe, is formed by the detritus, or worn oif parts of rocks and rocky substances. For in some places, as in chasms and vacuities between rocky layers or masses, earth occupies many feet in depth; and in others, as on the summits of chalk hills or granite mountains, it hardly covers the surface. 2110. Earths are therefore variously composed, according to the rocks or strata which have supplied their particles. Sometimes they are chiefly formed from slate-rocks, as in blue clays ; at other times from sandstone, as in silicious soils ^ and mosUy of a mixture of clayey, slaty, and limestone rocks, blended in- proportions as various as their situations. Such we may suppose to have been the state of the surface of the dry part of the globe immediately after the last disruption of its crust ; but in process of time the decay of vegetables and animals forms additions to the Outer surface of the earths, and constitute what are called soils; the diflference between which and earths is, that the former always contain a portion of vegetable or animal matter. 2111. The tnanTier irt which rocks are converted into soils^ Sir H. Davy observes {Elem.ofAgric. Chem., 188.), may be easily conceived by referring to the instance of soft granite, or porceliain granite. This substance consists of three ingredients, quartz, feldspar, and mica. The quartz is almost pure silicious 0arth ID a crystalline form. The feldspar and mica are very compounded substances ; both contain silica, alumina, and oxide of iron; in the feldspar there is usually lime and potassa; in the mica, lime and magnesia. When a granite rock of this kind has been long exposed to the influence of air and water, the lime and the potassa contained in its constituent parts are acted upon by water or carbonic acid ; and the oxide of iron, which is almost always in its least oxidised state, tends to combine with more oxygen : the consequence is, that the feldspar decomposes, and likewise the mica ; but the first the most rapidly. The feldspar, which is as it were the cement of the stone, forms a fine clay : the mica, partially decom- posed, mixes with it as sand ; and the undecomposed quartz appears as gravel, or sand of difTerent degrees of fineness. As soon as the smallest layer of earth is formed on the surface of a rock, the seeds of lichens, mosses, and other imperfect vegetables which are constantly floating in the atmosphere, arid which have made it their resting-place, begin to vegetate; their death, decomposition, and decay, ^ord a certain quantity of orgunisable matter, which mixes with the earthy materials of the rock ; in this improved soil more perfect plants are capable of-subsiscing ; these in their turn absorb nourishment from water and the atmosphere ; and, alter perishing, aflbrd new materials to those already provided : the decomposition of the rock still continues ; and at length, by such slow and gradual processes, a soil is formed in wnich'even fojest trees can fix their roots, and which is fitted to reward the labours of the cultivator. 2132. The formation qf peat?/ soils is produced from very opposite causes, and it is interesting to contemplate how the same efifect may be produced by different means, and the earth which supplies almost all our wants may become barren alike from the excessive application of art, or the utter neglect of it. Continual pulverisation, and cropping, without manuring, will certainly produce a hungry barren soil ; and the total neglect of fertile tracts will, from their accumulated vegetable products, produce peat soils and bogs. Where successive generations of vegetables have grown upon a soil, Sir H. Davy observes, unless part of their produce has been carried off" by man, or consumed by animals, the vegetable matter increases in such a proportion, that the soil approaches to a peat in its nature : and if in a situation where it can receive water from a higher district, it becomes spongy and permeated with that fluid, and is gene- tally rendered incapable of supporting the nobler classes of vegetables. 2113. Spurums peaty soU. Lakes and pools are sometimes filled up by the accumulation of the remains of aquatic plants; and in this case a sort of spurious peat is formed. The fermentation in these cases, however, seems to be of a diffferent kind. Much more gaseous matter is evolved ; and the neighbourhood of morasses, in which aquatic vegetables decompose, is usually aguish and unhealthy; whilst that of the true peat, or peat formed on soils originally dry, is always salubrious. 21 H. Soils vnay generally he distinguished from 'mere masses of earth by their friable texture and dark colour, and by the presence of some vegetable fibre or carbonaceous matter. In uncultivated grounds, soils occupy only a few inches in depth on the sur- face, unless in crevices, where they have been washed in by rains ; and in cultivated soils their depth is generally the same as that to which the implements used in cultivation have penetrated. 2115. Much has been written on soils, and, till lately, to very little purpose. All the Roman authors on husbandry treated the subject at length ; and in modem times, in this country, copious philosophical discourses on soils were published by Bacon, Evelyn, Bradley, and others ; but it may be truly said, that in no department of cultivation was ever so much written of which so little use could be made by practical men. 314 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IL Sect. II, Classification and Nomenclature of Soils- 2116. Systematic order and an agreed nomenclature arc as necessary in tlie study of soils as in that of plants or animals. The number of provincial terms for soils which have found their way into the books on cultivation is one reason why so little use can be made of their directions. 2117. A correct classification of sails may be founded on the presence or absence of organic and inorganic matter in their basis. This will form two grand classes, viz. primitive soils, or those composed entirely of inorganic matter, and secondary soils, or those composed of organic and inorganic matter in mixtures. These classes may be subdivided into orders founded on the presence or absence of saline, metallic, and car- bonic matter. The orders may be subdivided into genera founded on the prevailing earths, salts, metals, or carbon ; the genera into species founded on their different mixtures ; the species into varieties founded on colour, or texture ; and sub-varieties founded on moisture, dryness, richness, lightness, &c. 2118. In naming the genera of soils, the first thing is to discover the prevailing earth or earths j either the simple eartiis, as clay, lime, sand, or the paiticular rocks from which the soil has been produced, as granite, basalt, &c. "When one earth prevails, the generic name should be taken from that earth, as clayey soil, calcareous soil, &c. ; when two prevail to all appearance equally, then their names must be conjoined in naming the genus, as clay and sand, lime and clay, basalt and sand, &c. The great thing is pre- cision in applying the terms. Thus, as Sir H. Davy has observed, the term sandy soil should never be applied to any soil that does not contain at least seven eighths of sand ; sandy soils which effervesce with acids should be distinguished by the name of calcareous sandy soil, to distinguish them from those that are silicious. The teim clayey soil should not be applied to any land which contains less than one sixth of impalpable earthy matter, not considerably effervescing with acids ; the word loam should be limited to soils, con- taining at least one third of impalpable earthy matter, copiously effervescing with acids. A soil to be considered as peaty, ought to contain at least one half of vegetable matter. In cases where the earthy part of a soil evidently consists of the decomposed matter of one particular rock, a name derived from the rock may with propriety be applied to it. Thus, if a fine red earth be found immediately above decomposing basalt, it may be de- nominated basaltic soil. If fragments of quartz and mica be found abundant in the materials of the soil, which is often the case, it may be denominated granitic soil ; and the same principles may be applied to other like instances. In general, the soils, the materials of which are the most various and heterogeneous, are those called alluvial, or which have been formed from the depositions of rivers ; and these deposits may be de- signated as silicious, calcareous, or argillaceous ; and in some cases the term saline may be added as ,a specific distinction, applicable, for example, at the embouchure of rivers, where their alluvial remains are overflown by the sea. 2119. Innaming the species of soils, greater nicety is required to determine distinctions than in naming the genera ; and there is also some difficulty in applying or devising proper terms. The species are always determined by the mixture of matters, and never by the colour or texture of that mixture which belongs to the nomenclature of varieties. Thus a clayey soil with sand is a sandy clay, this is the name of the species ; if the mass is yellow, and it is thought worth while to notice that circumstance, then it is a yellow sandy clay, which express at once the genus, species, and variety. A soil containing equal parts of clay, lime, and sand, would, as a generic term, be called clay, lime, and sand ; if it contained no other mixture in considerable quantity, the term entire might be added as a specific distinction ; and if notice was to be taken of its colour or degree of comminution, it might be termed a brown, a fine, a coarse, a stiff, or a free entire clay, lime, and sand. 2120. The following Table enumerates the mare common genera, species, and varieties of soils. The application of the terms will be understood by every cultivator, though to attempt to describe the soils either chemically or empirically (as by sight, smell, or touch), would be a useless waste of time. From a very little experience in the field or garden, more may be gained in the study of soUs, than from a volume of such descriptions. This Table corresponds with the nomenclature adopted in the agricultural establishments of Fellenberg at Hofwyl in Switzerland, and of Professor Thaer at Moegelin in Pmssia, with the nomenclature employed by Professor Thouin in his lectures at Paris, and in general with that of all the Continental professors. It is therefore very desirable that it should become as generally adopted as that of the Linnean system of nomenclature in botany. The principle of the Table may be extended so as to include any other soil whatever. Book III. OF THE QUALITIES OF SOILS. S15 Specter. Earths and Salts or Metals. ^Claj Secondary Soibw 'Earths and organic re-. Earths and oT;gaoic re- with metals, salts, and , rocks. Sand Granite Basalt Schist - Fermgjneons ■ Cupreous (Saline - ' Fermj^ineoDS Cnpreous ._ SaTuie Loam; Pealy Momdy Limy .Sandy "Clay^ Loamy Monldy -Clayey - - Lounj Limy Pea& MoiudT • • - - Ferm^neooS} loamy. Sec. ' Femigineaua, limy, &c. FomgineouSf sandy, &c. Fermgineoos, peaty, &c. Ferrugiiieoii8,moiildy,8[c. Cupreous, loamr^ &c. Saune, loamy, &c. ^ Ctnerous, ioan^i &c> (Ferrugineous, loamy, &c Ferruglneous, sandy. Sec. Cupreous, loamy, Ate. Cnpreous, sandy, &c. SaUne, loamy, &c. Saline, sandy, &c. Cinereous, loamy, &c. Cinereous, limy, &c (Ferrugineous, loamy. See. Ferrugineous, limy, &c. Cupreous, loEuny, ikc> Cupreous, limy, &c. Saune, loamy, occ. Saline, limy, flee. Cinereous, loamy. Sec. Cinereous, limy, &c. r Fermgineons, Sec. • iQuartzose, &c. C Ferrugineous, &c. . i Columnar, &c. L Whinstone, &c. r Ferrugineous, Sec, i Micaceous, Sec. C Chlorite, &c. - - f Ferrugineous, Sec \ Calcareous, &c. "i Ai^illaceous, &c. C Cupreous, &c. rChalky, Sec. I Marble, &C. ' SheUy,&c. - Magnesian, See. Sulphuric, &c. I FermgiaeouB, &c. I Cupreous, Sec. > I Arenaceous, Sec. \. Silicious, Sec. Slaty, Sec. FyrUic, Sec. Stony,&c. Woaijf Bee. - - I Si I M ■{ Vaneltj. 'Black Red • • - - Yellow Coarse Lpine _ . - Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, I Black, red,yenow,coarse, fine, I Black, red,yellow,coaise, fine, I Black, red. &c. Black, red, &c. Black, red - Black, red Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, I Black, red,yellow, coarse, fine, J Bladk Black Black, red, ydlow. Sec. Black, red, yellow. Sec Black Black . Black Black, red, yellow, &c. Black Black Black Black Black Black . Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black . . Black Black Black Black Black Black . Black Black • . . Black, red, yellow, &c. Black Black, red, yellow. Sic. Black Black . Black, red, yellow. Sec. Black Black Black, Sec. Black Black Black Black, red, &c. Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black - Black, red, yellow, &c. Black . Black - Black . Snb-Varitty I Hf olsU ' Dry. Rich. , Poor. L Sterile. Moist, dry, &c. Moist, dry, &c. Moist, dry, &<:. Moist, dry, Sea. Moist, dry, rich. Sec* Moist, dry. Sec. Moist, dity, &c- Moist, diy, &c. Moist, dry. Sec. Moist, dry, &c. Moist, dry, &c. Moist, di7,rich,&c Moist, dry, rich. Sec . Moist. Moist, dry. See. Moist, dry. Sec Moist. Moist. Moiflt. Moist. Moist, dry. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Motst. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Mtrist. Moist. Moist Moist. Moist. Mobe. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. . Moist. Moists dry, &c. . Moist. Moist, dry, &c. Moist. Moist. Moist, Sec. Moist. Mirist. Moist, &C. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist, dry. Sec. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Moist. Mtdst, dry, rich. Sea, Moist. Moist. MoisL Sect. III. OftUscoverif^ tlie Qualities t^ Soils, 3131. The value of soils to the cultivator is discoverable botanically, chemically, and mechanically ; that is, by the plants that grow on them naturally ; by chemical analysis ; and by their sensible qualities of roughness, smootimess, taste, smell, and fracture. SuBSECT. 1. Of discoverijig the Qualities of Soils hy means of the Plants which grow on them. 3122. PloTits are the Ttiost certain indicators ^ the nature of u soil s for while no prac- tical cultivator would engage with land of which he knew only the results of a chemical analysis, or examined by the sight and touch a few bushels which were brought to him, yet every gardens* or farm^, who knew ihe sort of plants it produced, would be at once able to decide as to its value for cultivation. 3123. Tlie leading soUsfor the cultivator are the clayey, calcareous, sandy, ferrugineous, peaty, saline, moist or aquatic, and dry. The following are the plants by which such soils are distinguished in most parts of Europe : — 2124. jirgillaceous. Common coltsfoot (Tussilago i^'irfara); goose tansy (Potentilla Anseiina), silvery (arg^ntea), and creeping (reptans); yellow meadow rue (rhalictrum 316 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II flivura) ; CSrex, many species ; Jiincus, various species ; tuberous bitter vetch (O^robus tuberosus) ; greater bird's-foot trefoil (ibtus miijorj, and small-horned (comicuUtus) ; officinal soapvfort (Saponkria officinalis) : but the Tussilago ^FArfara is a certain and universal sign of an argillaceous soil, and is the chief plant found on the alum grounds of Britain, France, and Italy. 2125. Calcareous. Spiked speedwell (^Veronica spicSita), little bedstraw (Galium puslUum), officinal gromwell ( tithosp^rmum officinMe) and purple-blue (purpiiro- caeriileum), clustered bell-flower (Campanula glomerata), hybrid prismatocarpus (Pris- matocArpus hybridus), round-Aeacted rampion (Phyteuma orbiculilrej, lychnitis mullein ( rerb&cum Lychnitis), wayfaring tree ( Viburnum Lantina), common berberry {Birberis vulgaris), conunon dwarf sun rose (Helianthemum vulgire), common Pulsatilla anemone (/Anemone PulsatUla), white vine, virgin's bower, or traveller's joy (Clematis VitAlba), cultivated saintfoin (Onobrychis saliva). 2126. Stticvnis. Three-leaved speedwell {VerSnica triphyllos) and vernal (v^ma), Italian viper's bugloss (il'cliium itdlicum), smooth rupture-wort (Hemiiria glabra) and hairy (hirsuta), English catchfly (Silene ^nglica) and other species, red sandwort (Arenaria ribra), &c., corn-field spurrey (Sp&gula arv^nsis), hybrid poppy (Papaver hybridum), Argemone, &c. 2127. JTerrugineous. Common sorrel (iiumex Acetosa) and sheep's sorrel (Aceto- 2128. Peaty. Bilberry (Kaccinium Myrtillus), bleaberry (uliginosum), cranberry (Oxycoccus paliistris) heath, (£rica) 4 sp., awl-sAoped spurrey (Sp^rgula subulkta), officinal septfoil (Tormentilla officinalis). 2129. Saline. Glasswort (Salic6mia) 4 species, marine virackgrass (Zostera marina), searuppia (Riippia maritima), sea lung-wort (Pulmonaria maritima), Soldanella bear- bind (Calystjgia Soldan^lla), whorled knotgrass (/ll&ebrum verticillitum), sea goose- foot (Chenopodium maritimum) and shrubby (fruticosum), kali saltwort (Salsola Kiili), whorl-feotied honeywort (Sison verticillatum), marine sandwort (Arenaria madna), &c., fringed orache (^'triplex lacinikta). 2130. Aquatic. Marsh marigold (CAltha paldstris), common mare's-tail (ifippilris vulgaris), common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), European water-horehound (Lyco- pus europEe^is), dioecious valerian ( Valeriana dioica), marsh violet ( Flola palustris), Valerandi's brookweed (£!amolus Valerindz), marsh thysselinum (ThysseUnum paliistre), square-stalked epilobium (Epilobium tetragonum), willow lythrum (iythrum Salicaria), tongue-leaved crowfoot f^andnculus Lingua) and spearwort (Fldmmula). 2131. Very dry. Red sandwort (Arenaria rubra), sheep's sorrel (IZiimex Acetosella), wild thyme (Tliymus iSerpyllum), common acynos (^'cynos vulgaris), field trefoil (Tri- fohum arv^nse). 2132. These plants are not absolutely to be depended on, however, even in Britain; and in other countries they are sometimes found in soils directly opposite. Still, the cultivated saintfoin (Onobrychis satlva) is almost always an indication of a calcareous soil ; the common coltsfoot (Tussilago F&itaia.), of blue clay; the red sandwort (Arenaria rubra), of poor sand; and the sheep's sorrel (iiiimex Acetos^Ua), of the presence of iron, or of peat. The common reed (Phragmites commilnis) and the amphibious poly- gonum (Polygonum amphibium) grow on alluvial soils, which yield excellent crops if properly drained; but where the com horse-tail (£quis^tum arv^nse) grows freely, it indicates a cold and retentive subsoil. The corn-field pimpernel (.^ifnagallis arv^nsis), the corn-field madder (SherSrdio arv&sis), the corn-field gromwell (iithosp^rmum arvense), and the salad lamb's lettuce ( Valeriandlla olitoria), grow on cultivated lands, where the soil is a strong black loam on a (fry bottom ; when such a soil is wet, the clown's all-heal (Stachys paKistris) makes its appearance. A light sandy soil is known by the presence of the purple archangel (iimium purpiireum) ; the shepherd's purse (Caps^lla btirsa pastoris). If the parsley piert {Alcliemilla A'phanes) is found, the soil is rather unproductive; if the corn-field spurrey (Spergula arvfesis) grows very thick, the ground has likely been rendered too fine by the harrow; the common ragwort (SenScio JacobaeV), and the cornfield cirsium (Cirsium arvfose), grow indiscriminately on light and strong loams, but always indicate a fertile soil. The wall draba (ZJraba murahs) and the annual knawel (Sclerdnthus annuus) grow on soils that are dry, sandy, and poor in the extreme. The spiny rest-harrow (Ononis spinosa) is often found on dry pasture, and where the soil is incumbent on rotten rock. The aquatic, peaty, and saline soils are almost every where indicated by their appropriate plants ; a proof, as we have before stated, that the climate and natural irrigation of plants have much more influence on their habits than mere soil. (Galpine's Compendium; Flora Brit. ; Loudon's Ilortus Brit.; Kenfs Hints; Farmers' Mag. Feb. 1819; and the Quarterly Journal of Agric. for Aug. 1828.) ■' Book III. ANALYSIS OF SOILS. S17 SuBSECT. 2. Of discovering the Qualities of Soils hy Chemical Analysis. 2133. Chemical analysis' is much too nice an operation for general purposes. It is not likely that many practical cultivators will ever be able to conduct the analytic process with sufficient accuracy, to enable tliem to depend on the result : but, still, such a know- ledge of chemistry as shall e^yble the cultivator to understand the nature of the process and its results, when made and presented to him by others, is calculated to be highly useful, and ought to be acquired by every man whose object is to join theoretical to practical knowledge. If it so happens that he can perform the operations of analysis himself, so much the better, as far as that point is concerned ; but, on tiie whole, such knowledge and adroitness are not to be expected from men who have so many other points demanding their attention, and who will, therefore, effect their purpose much better by collecting proper specimens of the soils to be studied, and sending them for analysis to a respectable operative chemist. 2134. In selecting specimens, where the general nature of the soil of a field is to be ascertained, portions of it should be taken from different places, two or three inches below the surface, and examined as to the similarity of their properties. It sometimes happens, that upon plains, the whole of the upper stratum of the land is of the same kind, and in this case, one analysis will be sufficient : but in valleys, and near the beds of rivers, there are very great differences, and it now and then occurs that one part of a field is calcareous, and another part silicious ; and in this case, and in analogous cases, the portions dif- ferent from each other should be separately submitted to experiment. Soils, when collected, if they cannot be immediately examined, should be preserved in phials quite filled with them, and closed with ground glass stoppers. The quantity of soil most convenient for a perfect analysis is from two to four hundred grains. It should be col- lected in dry weather, and exposed to the atmosphere till it becomes dry to the touch. 2135. The soil best svited for culture, according to the analysis of Bergman, contains four parts of clay, three of sand^ two of calcareous earth, and one of magnesia ; and, according to the analysis of Fourcroy and Hassenfratz, 9216 pai-ts of fertile soil con- tained 305 parts of carbon, together with 279 parts of oil ; of which, according to the calculations of Lavoisier, 220 parts may be regarded as carbon ; so that the whole of the carbon contained in the soil in question may be estimated at about 525 parts, exclusive of the roots of vegetables, or to about one sixteenth of its weight. Young observed that equal weights of different soils, when dried and reduced to powder, yielded by distillation quantities of air somewhat corresponding to the ratio of their values. The air was a mixture of fixed and inflammable airs, probably derived from the decomposition of water, either by the chemical affinities of the ingredients of the soil, or by the process of vege- tation, while the carbonic acid or fixed air may be absorbed from the atmosphere, or produced by living vegetables under certain circumstances. The following is the ana- lysis of a fertile soil, as occurring in the neighbourhood of Bristol : — In 400 grains, there were of water, 52; silicious sand, 240; vegetable fibre, 5; vegetable extract, 3; alumine, 48 ; magnesia, 2 ; oxide of iron, 14 ; calcareous earth, 30 ; loss, 6. But Kirwan has shown in his Geological Essays, that the fertility of a soil depends in a great measure upon its capacity for retaining water ; and if so, soils containing the same ingre- dients must be also equally fertile, all other circumstances being the same, though it is plain that their actual fertility will depend ultimately upon the quantity of rain that falls, because the quantity suited to a wet soil cannot be the same that is suited to a dry soil ; and hence it often happens that the ingredients of the soil do not correspond to the character of the climate. Silica exists in the soil under the modification of sand, and alumine under the modification of clay ; but the one or the other is often to be met with in excess or defect. Soils in which the sand preponderates retain the least moisture, and soils in which the clay preponderates retain the most ; the former are dry soils, the latter are wet soils : but it may happen that neither of them is sufficiently favourable ta culture ; in which case, their peculiar defect or excess must be supplied or retrenched before they can be brought to a state of fertility. 2136. Use of the result of analysis. In the present state of chemical science. Dr. Ure observes, no certain system can be devised for the improvement of lands, independent of experiment ; but there are few cases in which the labour of analytical trials will not be amply repaid by the certainty with wliich they denote the best methods of melioration ; and this will particularly happen, when the defect of composition is found in the propor- tions of the primitive earths. In supplying organic matter, a temporary food only is provided for plants, which is in all cases exhausted by means of a certain number of crops ; but when a soil is rendej-ed of the best possible constitution and texture, with reo-ard to its earthy parts, its fertility may be considered as permanently established. It becomes capable of attracting a very large portion of vegetable nourishment from the atmosphere, and of producing its crops with comparatively little laboiu- and expense. {Diet, of Chem., ait. Soil.) 31S SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pa»t "• SuBSECT. 3. Of discovering the QualUies of a Soil mechanicalli/ and emi>iriaUllied : these operations with water arc independent of its supply as a manure, or as affording the stimulus of heat or cold. ; 2200. Stagnaiit water may be considered as injiurious to all the useful classes of plants, Book III. CHANGING THE CONDITION OF LANDS. 329 by obstructing perspiration and intro-susception, and thus diseasing tlieir roots and sub^ merged parts. Where the surface-soil is properly constituted, and rests on a subsoil moderately porous, both will hold water by capillaiy attraction, and what is not so ret^ned mil sink into the interior strata by its gravity; but where the subsoil is retentivcj it will resist, or not admit with sufficient rapidity, the percolation of water to the strata below, which accumulating in the surface-soil till its proportion becomes excessive as a component part, not only carries off the extractive matter, but diseases the plants. Hence the origin of surface-dnuning, that is, laying land in ridges or beds, or intersecting it with small open gutters. 2201. Springs* Where the upper stratum is porous in some places, and retentive in others, and on a retentive base, the water, in its progress along the porous bed or layer, will be interrupted by the retentive places in a great variety of ways, and there accumu- lating will burst through the upper surface in the form of springs, which are more injurious than surface-water, as being colder, and generally permanent in their operation. Hence the origjhi of under-draining in all its varieties of collecting, extracting, and con- veying water, 2202. The water of rwers may become injurious to lands on their banks, by too frequently overflovmig their surface. In this case the stream may be included by moimds of earth or other materials impervious to water : and thus aquatic soils rendered dry and fit for useful herbage and aration. The same may be SEud of lands occasionally overflown by the sea. Hence the origin of embanking, an art carried to a great extent in Holland and Italy. (See SmeatorCs Posthuinous Works j Sigismondi, Agr, Tosc* ; Rac- coUa dei Avtori eke trattanX) delT Aquej and our article Evibankmentf in Suj^» Encyc- Brit. 1819.) 2203. Irrigation, Plants cannot live without water, any more than they can prosper in soils where it is superabundant ; and it is therefore supplied by art on a large scale, either by siuface or subterraneous irrigation. In both practices the important points are to imitate nature in producing motion, and in applying the water in the mornings or evenings, or under a clouded sky, and ^so at moderate intervals. The effects of water constantly employed would, in most cases, be such as attend stagnated water, aquatic soils, or land-springs ; and em.ployed in hot sunshine, or after violent heats, it may check evaporation and destroy life, exactly as it happens to those who may have bathed in cold spring water after long and violent exercise in a hot day. {^Phytologia, xv. 3. 5.) 2204. In surface irrigation the water is conveyed in a system of open channels, which require to be most numerous in such groxmds as are under drilled annual crops, and least so in such as are sown in breadths, beds, or ridges, under perennial crops. This mode of watering has existed from time immemorial. The children of Israel are represented as sowing their seed and " watering it vrith their foot ;" that is, as Calmet explains it, raising the water from the Nile by a machine worked by the feet, from which it was conducted in such channels as we have been describing. It is general in the south of France and Italy ; but less required in Britain. ^05. The Persian wAeel, or Noria, an oriental invention of great power and of the most remote antiquity, was introduced into Spain by the Moors, and is yet extensively used in the southern and eastern provinces of that kingdom. It consists of a series of earthen jars attached to an endless rope passing over a vertical drum put into motion by a trundle and cog horizontal wheel, which last is usually turned by one bullock or mora 2206. Svhterraneous irrigation may be effected by a system of drains or covered gutters in the subsoil, which, proceeding from a main conduit or other supply, can be charged wiUi water at pleasure. For grounds under the culture of annual plants, this mode would be more convenient, and for all others more economical, as to the use of water, than surface irrigation. Where the under-stratum is gravelly, and rests on a retentive stratum, this mode of watering may take place without drains, as it may also on perfectly flat lands, by filling to the brim, and keeping full for several days, surrounding trenches ; but the beds or fields between the trenches must not be of great extent. This practice is used in Lombardy on the alluvial lands near the embouchures of the Po. In Lincoln- shire the same mode is practised by shutting up the flood gates of the mouths of the great drains in the dry seasons, and thus damming up the water through all the ramifications of the drainage from the sea to their source. This was first suggested by G, Rennie and Sir Joseph Banks, after the dr^nage round Boston, completed about 1810. A similar plan, on a smaller scale, had been practised in Scotland, where deep mosses had been drained and cultivated on the surface, but where, in summer, vegetation faQed from deficiency of moisture. It was first adopted by J. Smith (See Essay on the iTnprovement of Peat-mosS) 1795) on a farm in Ayrshire, and has subsequently been brought into notice by J. Johnston, the first delineator and professor of Elkington*s system of draining. 2207. Flooding and warping are modes of irrigation, the former for manuring grass lands, and the latter for enriching the surface of arable lands ; while both at the same time gradually raise up the surface of the soil. Irrigation with a view to conveying 330 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. additions to the soil has long been practised, and is an evident imitation of the overflowing of alluvial lands, whether in meadow or aration. In the former case it is called irrigation or flooding, and in the latter warping. Warping is used chiefly as a mode of enriching the soil by an increase of the alluvial depositions, or warp of rivers, during winter, where the surface is not under crop, and is common on the banks of the Ouse. 2208. The Italian process called colmala (fullness) is nothing more than a variety of the British process called warping. In the Val di Chiana in Tuscany, fields which are too low are raised and fertilised by the process called colmata, which is done in the following manner : —The field Is surrounded by an embank- ment to confine the water ; the dike of the rivulet is broken down so as to admit the muddy water of the high floods { the Chiana itself is too powerful a body of water to be used for this purpose, it is only the streams that flow into the Chiana that are used. This water is allowed to settle and deposit its mud on the field. The water is then let ofl" into the river at the lower end of the fleld by a discharging course called scolo, and, in French, canal d'4cmtement. The water.course which conducts the water ftom a river, either to a fall for Irrigation, or to a mill, is called gora. In this manner a field will be raised five and a half, and sometimes seven and a half feet, in ten years. If the dike is broken down to the bottom, the field will be raised the same height in seven years : but then, in this case, gravel is also carried in along with the mud. In a field of twenty.five acres, which had been six years under the process of colmata, in which the dike was broken down to within three feet of the bottom, the process was seen to be so far advanced that only another year was requisite for its completion. The floods in this instance had been much charged with soil. The water which comes off cultivated land completes the process sooner than that which comes off hill and woodlands. Almost the whole of the Val di Chiana has been raised by the process of colmata. 2209. A proprietor whose field is not adjacent to a stream may conduct the stream through the inter- vening lands of another proprietor on paying the damage he occasions. The process of colmata is expensive, because the ground is unproductive during the seven or eight years that the process lasts ; but this is soon repaid with great profit by the fertility of the newly deposited soiL 2210. By the gravel which the rivers carry and deposit their bed is much raised above the level of the adjoining fields ; so that, in order to carry off the rain water from the fields, drains are formed which pass in arched conduits under the embanked rivers, and go into larger drains which pass to the lowest part of the plain near Arezzo, and there enter the Chiana. 2211. The soil in the Val di Chiana is generally the same to the depth of six feet from the surface, and under that Is gravel or sand. After the completion of the process of colmata, the expense of which is always repaid with profit, the ground is cultivated for five years on the proprietor's own account ; and the produce during these five years repays the expense of the process of colmata with profit The first two years it is sown with Indian corn (granturco), and sometimes hemp, the soil being then too strong for wheat The next three it is sown with wheat, without any manure. The produce of wheat in this highly fertile state of the soil is twenty from one, whilst in the usual state of the ground the return of wheat is from twelve to fourteen firom one. After this the field is let out in the ordinary way to the farmers, the contadini. {Farm. Mag., vol xxi.) *2212. The rationale of irrigation is thus given by Sir H. Davy: — « In general, in nature, the operation of water is to bring earthy substances into an extreme state of division : but in the artificial watering of meadows, the beneficial efiects depend upon many different causes, some chemical, some mechanical. Water is absolutely essential to vegetation ; and when land has been covered by water in the winter, or in the begin- ning of spring, the moisture which has penetrated deep into the soil, and even the subsoil, becomes a source of nourishment to the roots of the plants in the summer, and prevents those bad effects which often happen in lands in their natural state, from a long con- tinuance of dry weather. When the water used in irrigation has flowed over a calcareous country, it is generally found impregnated with carbonate of lime ; and in this state it tends, in many instances, to ameliorate the soil. Common river water also generally contains a certain portion of organisable matter, which is much greater after rains than at other times; or which exists in the largest quantity when the stream rises in a cultivated country. Even in cases where the water used for flooding is pare, and free from animal or vegetable substances, it acts by causing u more equable diffusion of nutritive matter existing in the land ; and in very cold seasons it preserves the tender roots and leaves of the grass from being affected by frost. Water is of greater specific gravity at 42° Fahrenheit, than at 32°, the freezing point ; and hence, in a meadow irrigated in winter, the water immediately in contact with the grass is rarely below 40°, a degree of temperature not at all prejudicial to the living organs of plants. In 1804, in the month of March, the temperature m a water meadow near Hungerford was examined by a very delicate thermometer. The temperature of the air at seven in the morning was 29°. The water was frozen above the grass. The temperature of the soil below the water in which the roots of the grass were fixed, was 43°." Water may also operate usefully in warm seasons by moderating temperature, and thus retarding the over-rapid progress of vegetation. The consequence of this retardation will be greater magnitude and improved texture of the grosser parts of plants, a more perfect and ample developement of their finer parts, and, above all, an increase in the size of their fruits and seeds. We apprehend this to be one of the principal uses of flooding rice- grounds in the East ; for it is ascertained that the rice-plant will perfect its seeds in Europe, and even in this country, without any water beyond what is furnished by the weather, and the natural moisture of a well constituted soil. It may also be noticed that one variety of rice grows on the declivities of hills without artificial irrigation ; as in St. Domingo and in certain parts of India. " In general, those waters which breed the best fish are the best fitted for watering meadows ; but most of the benefits of irrigation may be derived from any kind of water. It is, however, a general principle, that "waters con- taining ferruginous impregnation, though possessed of fertilising effects when applied to Book III. ROTATION OF CROPS. ^31 a calcareous soil, are injurious on soils which do not efiervesce with acids ; and that cal- careous waters, which are known by the earthy deposit they afford when boiled, are of most use on silicious soils, or other soils containing no remarkable quantity of carbonate of lime." SuBSECT. 6. Changing t!>e CondUhn of Lands, in respect to Atmospherical Influence- 2213. The influence of the weather on soils may be affected by changing the position of their surface and by sheltering or shading, 2214. Changing the condition of lands, as to solar influence, is but a limited means of improvement ; but is capable of being turned to some account in gardening. It is effected by altering the position of their surface, so as that surface may be more or less at a right angle to the plane of the sun's rays, according as heat or cold is to be increased or diminished. The influence of the sun's rays upon any plane are demonstrated to be as their number and perpendicularity to that plane, the effects of tlie atmosphere being excepted. Hence one advantage of ridging lands, provided the ridges run north and south ; for on such surfaces the rays of the morning sim. will take effect sooner on the east side, and those of the afternoon will remain longer in operation on the west side ; whilst at mid-day his elevation will compensate, in some degree, for the obliquity of his lays to both sides of the ridge. In culture, on a small scale, ridges or sloping beds for winter-crops may be made south-east and north-west, with their slope to the south, at an angle of forty degrees, and as steep on the north side as the mass can be got to stand ; and on the south slope of such ridge, cieteris paribus, it is evident much earlier crops may be produced than on level ground. The north side, however, will be lost during this early cropping ; but as early crops are soon gathered, the whole can be laid level in time for a main crop. Hence all the advantage of grounds sloping to the south south- east, or south-west, in point of precocity, and of those sloping to the north for lateness and diminished evaporation. Another advantage of such surfaces is, that they dry sooner after rains, whether by the operation of natural or artificial drainage ; or, in the case of sloping to the south, by evaporation. 2215. Skelter, whether by walls, hedges, strips of plantation, or trees scattered over the surface, may be considered, generally, as increasing or preserving heat, and lessening evaporation from the soU. But if the current of air should be of a higher temperature than the earth, screens against wind will prevent the earth from being so soon heated ; and from the increased evaporation arising from so great a multiplication of vegetable surface by the trees, more cold will be produced after rains, and the atmosphere kept in a more moist state, than in grounds perfectly naked. When the temperature of a current of air is lower than that of the earth, screens will prevent its carrying off so much heat ; but more especially scattered trees, the tops of which vrill be chiefly cooled whilst the imder surfaces of their lower branches reflect back the rays of heat as they radiate from the surface of the soil. Heat, in its transmission from one body to another, follows the same laws as light ; and, therefore, the temperature of the siuface in a forest will, in winter, be considerably higher than that of a similarly constituted soil exposed to the full influence of the weather. The early flowering of plants, in woods and hedges, is a proof of this ; but as such soils cannot be so easily heated in summer, and are cooled like others after the sinking in of rains, or the melting of snows, the effect of the reflec- tion as to the whole year is nearly neutralised, and the average temperature of the year of such soils and situations will probably be found not greater than that of open lands. 2216. Shading the ground, whether by umbrageous trees, spreading plants, or cover- ing it with tiles, slates, moss, litter, or other materials, has a tendency to exclude atmo- spherical heat and retain moisture. Shading dry loose soils, by covering them with litter, slates, or tiles, laid round the roots of plants, is found very beneficial. SuBSECT. 7. Rotation of Crops, *2217. Growing different crops in succession is a practice which every cultivator knows ^to be highly advantageous, though its beneficial influence has not yet been fully accounted for by chemists. The most general theory is, that though all plants will live on the same food, as the chemical constituents of their roots and leaves are nearly the same, yet that many species require particular substances to bring their seeds or fruits to perfection, as the analysis of these seeds or fruits often afford substances different from those which constitute the body of the plant. A sort of rotation may be said to take place in nature, for perennial herbaceous plants have a tendency to extend their circumference, and rot and decay at their centre, where others of a different kind spring up and succeed them. This is more especially the case with travelling roots, as in mint, strawberry, creeping crowfoot, &c. 2218. The rationale of rotation is thus given by Sir H. Davy : — " It is a great advan- tage in the convertible system of cultivation, that the whole of the manure is employed ; and that those parts of it which are not fitted for one crop, renudn as nourishment for another. Thus, if the turnip is the first in the order of succession, this crop, manured S32 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pa»t II. with recent dung, immediately Bnds sufficient soluble matter for its nourishment ; and the heat produced in fermentation assists the germination of the seed and the growth of the plant. If, after turnips, barley with grass-seeds is sown, then the land, having been little exhausted by the turnip crop, affords the soluble parts of the decomposing manure to the grain. The grasses, rye-grass, and clover remain, wliich derive a small part only of their organised matter from the soil, and probably consume the gypsum in the manure Which would be useless to other crops : these plants, likewise, by their large systems of leaves, absorb a considerable quantity of nourishment from the atmosphere, or probably retain the nutritive qualities in the soil, for a covering of slates or any other covering would have nearly the same effect ; and when ploughed in at the end of two years, the decay of their roots and leaves affords manure for the wheat crop ; and at this period of the course, the woody fibre of the farm-yard manure, which contains the phosphate of lime, and the other difficultly soluble parts, is broken down : and as soon as the most exhausting crop is taken, recent manure is again applied. Peas and beans, in all instances, seem well adapted to prepare ground for wheat ; and in some rich lands they are raised in alternate crops for years together. Peas and beans contain a small quantity of a matter analagous to albumen ; but it seems that the azote, which forms a constituent part of tliis matter, is derived from the atmosphere. The dry bean-leaf, when burnt, yields a smell approaching to that of decomposing animal matter ; and in its de- cay in the soil, may furnish principles capable of becoming a part of the gluten in wheat. Though the general composition of plants is very analogous, yet the specific difference in the products of many of them, prove that they must derive different materials from the soil ; and though the vegetables having the smallest system of leaves will proportionably most exhaust the soil of common nutritive matter, yet particular vegetables, when their produce is carried off, will require peculiar principles to be supplied to the land in which they grow. Strawberries and potatoes at first produce luxuriantly in virgin mould, recently turned up from pasture ; but in a few years they degenerate, and require a fresh soil. Lands, in a course of years, often cease to afford good cultivated grasses ; they' become (as it is popularly said) tired of them ; and one of the probable reasons for this is, the exhaustion of the gypsum contained in the soil. " — " Experience," Mr. Main, the editor of the British Farmer s Magaane, observes, " has proved that land, whatever may be its quality, should not be sown with clover at shorter intervals than five years." 2219. The power of vegetables to exhaust the soil of the principles necessary to their growth, is remarkably exemplified in certain J^inguses^ Mushrooms are said never to rise in two successive seasons on the same spot ; and the production of the phenomena called fairy rings has been ascribed by Dr. WoUaston to the power of the peculiar fungus' which forms it, to exhaust the soil of the nutriment necessary for the growth of the species. The consequence is, that the ring annually extends ; for no seeds will grow where their parents grew before them, and the interior part of the circle has been ex- hausted by preceding crops; but where the fungus has died, nourishment is supplied for grass, which usually rises within the circle, coarse, and of a dark green colour. 2220. A rotation is unnecessary, according to Grisenthwaite ; and, in a strict chemical sense, what he asserts cannot be denied. His theory is a refinement on the common idea of the uses of a rotation stated above ; but by giving some details of the constituent parts of certain grains and certain manures, he has presented it in a more clear and striking point of view than has hitherto been done. To apply the theory in every case, the constituent parts of all manures and of all plants (1st, their roots and leaves, and 2dly, their seeds, fruits, or grains) must be known. In respect to manures this is the case, and it may be said to be in a great degree the case as to the most useful agri- cultural plants : but the same cannot be said of garden productions in general, which are very numerous ; though no branch of culture can show the advantage of a rota- tion of crops more than horticulture, in the practice of which it is found that grounds oecome tired of particular crops, notwithstanding that manures are applied at pleasure. If the precise effects of a rotation were ascertained, and the ingredients peculiarly neces- sary to every species pointed out, nothing could be more interesting than the results off experimental trials ; and whoever shall point out a simple and economical mode by which the potato may be grown successively in the same soil, and produce annually, the eflfects of climate being excepted, as dry and well flavoured tubers, or nearly so, as they generally produce the first and second years on a new soil, will confer a real benefit on society. That wheat may be grown many years on the same soil by the use of animal manures, or such as contain gluten, Grisenthwaite's theory would justify us in believing ; and it ought to be fairly tried by such cultivators as Coke and Curwen. Till this is done in the face of the whole agricultural world, and the produce of every crop, and all the par- ticulars of its culture, accurately reported on annually, the possibility of the thing may be assented to from the premises, but will not be acted on ; and, in fact, even the best, agricultural chemists do not consider that we are sufficiently advanced in that branch of the science to draw any conclusion, a priori, very much at variance with general opinion Book III, MANURES. 333 and experience. It should always be kept in mind, that it is one thing to produce a crop, and a different thing to grow crops with profit. 2221. The priticiples of rotations of crops are thus laid down by Yvart and Ch. Pictet {Cours complet d' uigriculturei articles Assolenienti and Succession de Culture ; and Traiti des Assolernens, Paris, 8vo) ; — Thejirst principle, or fundamental point, is, that every plant exhausts the soil. The second, that all plants do not exhaust the soil equally. The thirdy that plants of different kinds do not exhaust the soil in the same manner. The fourth^ that all plants do not restore to the soil tlie same quantity, nor the same quality of manure. The Ji/thj that all plants are not equally favourable to the growth of weeds. 2222. T/ieJhUoiving consequences are drawn from these fundamental principles : — First. However well a soil may be prepared. It cannot long npurish crops of the same kind in succes- sion, without becoming exhausted. Second. Every crop impoverishes a soil more or less, as more or less is restored to the soil l>y the plant cultivated. Third. Perpendicular-rooting plants, and such as root horizontally, ought to succeed each other. Fourth. Plants of the same kind should not return too frequently in a rotation. F^th. Two plants favourable to the growth of weeds, ought not to succeed each other. Sixth. Such plants as eminently exliaust the soil, as the grains and oil plants, should only be sown when the land is in good heart Seventh. In proportion as a soil is found to exhaust itself by successive crops, plants which are least ex- hausting ought to be cultivated. 222S. Influence of rotations in destroying insects. Olivier, member of the Institute of France, has described all the insects, chiefly Ilpulee and JliiiscaB, which live upon the collar or crown of the roots of the cereal grasses, and he has shown that they multiply themselves without end, when the same soil presents the same crop for several years in succession, or even crops of analogous species. But when a crop intervenes on which these insects cannot live, as beans or turnips after wheat or oats, then the whole race of these insects perish from the field, for want of proper nourishment for their larvae. {MSni. de la SocietS Rot/ale et Centrale d'j4gr* de Paris, vol, vii.) Chap. II. Of ManureS' *2224. Every spedes of matter capable of promoting the growth of vegetables may be con- sidered as manure. On examining the constituents of vegetables, we shall find that they are composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, or azote, with a small propor- tion of saline bodies. It is evident, therefore, that the substances employed as manuife should also be composed of these elements, for, unless they are, there will be a deficiency in some of the elements in the vegetable itself; and it is probable that such deficiency may prevent the formation of those substances within it, for which its pecuHar organisa- tion is contrived, and upon which its healthy existence depends. The elementary bodii^s •above enumerated are all contained in animal, and the first three in vegetable, matters. Sometimes, though very seldom, vegetables contain a small quantity of nitrogen. As certain salts are also constantly found to be present in healthy living vegetables, manures or vegetable food may, consequently, be distinguished into animal, vegetable, and saline. Kirwan, Dundonald, Darwin, and Davy, who produced the first chemical treatises on soils, were also the first to treat chemically of manures. Of these, the latest in the order of time is Sir H. Davy, from whose highly satisfactory work we shall extract the greater part of this chapter. Sect. I. Of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin. 2925. Decaying animal and vegetable substances constitute by far the most important class of manures, or vegetable food, and may be considered as to the theory of their operation, their specific kinds, and their preservation and application in practice, Sdbsect. 1. The Theory of the Operation of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin. 2226. The rationale of organic manures is very satisfactorily given by Sir H. Duvy, who, after having proved that no solid substances can enter in that state into the plant, explains the manner in which nourishment is derived from vegetable and animal sub- stances. 2227. Vegetable and animal substances deposited ifi the soil, as it is shown by universal experience, are consumed during the process of vegetation ; and they can only nourish the plant by affording solid matters capable of being dissolved by water, or gaseous sub- stances capable of being absorbed by the fluids in the leaves of vegetables ; but such parts ot them as are rendered gaseous, and pass into the atmosphere, must produce a compara- 334 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Past II. lively small effect, for gases soon become diffused through the mass of the surrounding air. The great object, therefore, in the application of manure should be to make it af- ford as much soluble matter as possible to the roots of the plant ; and that in a slow and gradual manner, so that it may be entirely consumed in forming its sap and organised parts. 2228. Mucilaginous, gelatinous, saccharine, oily, and extractive fluids, carbonic acid, and water, are substances that in their unclianged states contain almost all the principles ne- cessary for the life of plants ; but there are few cases in which they can be applied as manures in their pure forms ; and vegetable m.anures, in general, contain a great ex- cess of fibrous and insoluble matter, which must undergo chemical change, before it can become the food of plants. 2229. The nature oftlte changes on these substances ; of the causes which occasion them, and which accelerate or retard them ; and of tlie products they afford, have been scienti- fically stated and explained by our great agricultural chemist. If any fresh vegetable matter which contains sugar, mucilage, starch, or other of the vegetable compounds soluble in water, be moistened, and exposed to air, at a temperature from 55° to 80°, oxygen will soon be absorbed, and carbonic acid formed ; heat will be produced, and elastic fluids, principally carbonic acid, gaseous oxide of carbon, and hydro-carbonate will be evolved ; a dark-coloured liquid, of a slightly sour or bitter taste, will likewise be formed ; and if the process be suffered to continue for a time sufficiently long, nothing solid will remain, except earthy and saline matter, coloured black by charcoal. The dark-coloured fluid formed in the fermentation always contains acetic acid ; and when albumen or gluten exists in the vegetable substance, it likewise contains volatile alkali. In proportion as there is more gluten, albumen, or matters soluble in water, in the vegetable substances exposed to fermentation, so in proportion, all other circumstances being equal, will the .process be more rapid. Pure woody fibre alone undergoes a change very slowly ; but its texture is broken down, and it is easily resolved into new aliments, when mixed with substances more liable to change, containing more oxygen and hydrogen. Volatile and fixed oils, resins, and wax, are more susceptible of change than woody fibre, when exposed to air and water ; but much less liable than the other vegetable compounds ; and even the most inflammable substances, by the absorption of oxygen, become gradually soluble in water. Animal matters in general are more liable to decompose than vege- table substances ; oxygen is absorbed and carbonic acid and ammonia formed in the process of their putrefaction. They produce fetid, compound, elastic fluids, and like- wise azote ; they afford dark-coloured acid and oily fluids, and leave a residuum of salts and earths mixed with carbonaceous matter. 2230. The principal animal substances which constitute their different parts, or which are found in dieir blood, their secretions, or their excrements, are gelatine, fibrino, mucus, fatty or oily matter, albumen, urea, uric acid, and other acid, saline, and earthy matters. 2231. General treatment of organic manures. Whenever manures consist principally of matter soluble in water, it is evidont that their fermentation or putrefaction should be prevented as much as possible ; and the only cases in which these processes can be useful, are when the manure consists principally of vegetable or animal fibre. The circum- stances necessary for the putrefaction of animal substances are similar to those required for the fermentation of vegetable substances ; a temperature above the freezing point, the presence of water, and the presence of oxygen, at least in the first stage of the process. To prevent manures from decomposing, they should be preserved dry, defended from the contact of air, and kept as cool as possible. Salt and alcohol appear to owe their powers of preserving animal and vegetable substances to their attraction for water, by wliich they prevent its decomposing action, and likewise to their excluding air. Shbseot. 2. Of the different Species of Manures of Animal and Vegetable Origin. 2232. The properties and nature of the manures in common use should be known to every cultivator : for as different manures contain different proportions of the elements necessary to vegetation, so they require a different treatment to enable them to produce their full effects in culture. 2233. All green succulent plants contain saccharine or mucilaginous matter, with woody fibre, and readily ferment. They cannot, therefore, if intended for manure, be used too soon after their death. Hence the advantage of digging or ploughing in green crops, whether natural or sown on purpose ; they must not, however, be turned in too deep, otherwise, as Mrs. Ibbetson has shown {Philos. Mag. 1816), fermentation will be pre- vented by compression and exclusion of air. Green crops should be ploughed in, if it be possible, when in flower, or at the time the flower is beginning to appear ; for it is at this period that they contain the largest quantity of easily soluble matter, and that their leaves are most active in forming nutritive matter. Green crops, pond-weeds, or the parings of hedges or ditches, require no preparation to fit them for manure, nor does any Book ITT. SPECIES OF MANURES. 335 kind of fresh vegetable matter. The decomposition slowly proceeds beneath the soil ; the soluble matters are gradually dissolved ; and the slight fermentation which goes on, checked by the want of a free communication of air, tends to render the woody fibre soluble without occasioning the rapid dissipation of elastic matter. When old pastures are broken up and made arable, not only has the soil been enriched by the death and . slow decay of the plants which have left soluble matters in the soil, but the leaves and roots of the grasses living at the time, and occupying so large a part of the surface, afibrd saccharine, mucilaginous, and extractive matters, which become immediately tlie food of the crop, and, from their gradual decomposition, afibrd a supply for successive years. 2234. Rape~cak€» wliich is used with great success as manure, contains a large quantity of mucilage, some albuminous matter, and a small quantity of oil. This manure should be used recent, and kept as dry as possible before it is applied. It forms an excellent dressing for turnip crops ; and is most economically appUed by being thrown into the soil at the same time. with the seed. 2235. MaU-dust consists chiefly of the infant radicle separated from the grain. Sir H. Davy never made any experiment upon this manure ; but had great reason to suppose that it must contain saccharine matter, and this substance will account for its powerful efiects. Like rape-cake, it should be used as dry as possible, and its fermentation prevented. 2236. Linseed-cake is too valuable as a food for cattle to be much employed as a manure. The water in which flax and hemp are steeped, for the purpose of obtaining the pure vegetable fibre, has con^derable fertilising powers. It appears to contain a substance analogous to albumen, and likewise much vegetable extractive matter. It putrefies very readily. By the watering process, a certain degree of fermentation is absolutely necessary to obtain the flax and hemp in a proper state ; the water to which they have been exposed should therefore be used as a manure as soon as the vegetable fibre is removed from it : but as flax is generally watered in deep ponds, and sometimes even in streams, it is but seldom that the water is sufliciently impregnated with extrac- tive matter to be worth applying to agricultural purposes. 2237. Sea-weeds, consisting of different species of J'uci, ^Igce, and ConfervEe, are much used as a manure on the sea-coasts of Britain and Ireland. In the Orkney Islands the fHicus digltatus is preferred, on account of its greater substance. When driven on shore by the winter storms or the gales of spring, it is collected and laid on the land, into which it is then ploughed. In summer it is burnt, with other i<'uci, into kelp. It is a powerful fertiliser, but its benefits do not extend beyond one or at most two seasons. By digesting the common ^iicus, which is the sea-weed usually most abundant on the coast, in boiling water, one eighth of a gelatinous substance will be obtained, with characters similar to mucilage. A quantity distilled gave nearly four fifths of its weight of water, but no ammonia; the water had an empyreumatic and slightly sour taste; the ashes contained sea salt, corbonate of soda, and carbonaceous matter. The gaseous matter afforded was small in quantity, principally carbonic acid, and gaseous oxide of carbon, with a little hydro-carbonate. This manure is transient in its effects, and does not last for more than a single crop ; which is easily accounted for from the Icu-ge quantity of water, or the elements of water, which it contains. It decays without producing heat when exposed to the atmosphere, and seems, as it were, to melt down and dissolve away. A large heap has been entirely destroyed in less than two years, nothing remaining but a little black fibrous matter. Some of the firmest part of a i^cus was suffered to remain in a close jar, containing atmospheric air, for a fortnight : in this time it had become very much shrivelled ; the sides of the jar were lined with dew. The air examined was found to have lost oxygen, and to contain carbonic acid gas. Sea-weed is sometimes suffered to ferment before it is used ; but this process seems wholly unnecessary, for there is no fibrous matter rendered soluble in the process, and a part of the manure is lost. The best cultivators use it as &esh as It can be procured ; and the practical results of this mode of applying it are exactly conformable to the theory of its operation. The carbonic acid formed by its incipi'ent fermentation must be partly dissolved by the water set free in the same process; and thus become capable of absorption by the roots of plants. The effects of the sea-weed, as manure, must principally depend upon this carbonic acid, and upon the soluble mucilage the weed contains. Some Fhcus which had fermented so as to have lost about half its weight, afforded less than one twelfth of mucilaginous matter ; irom which it may be fairly concluded that some of this substance is destroyed in fermentation. 2238. Dry straw of wheat, oats, barley, beans, and peas, spoiled hay, or any similar kind of dry vegetable matter, is, in all cases, useful manure. In general, such sub- stances are made to ferment before they are employed, though Sir Humphrey Davy states " it may be doubted whether the practice should be indiscriminately adopted. From 400 grains of diy barley-straw eight grains of matter soluble in water were 936 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. obtained, which had a brown colour, and tasted like mucilage. From 400 grains of wheaten-straw were obtained five grains of a similar substance. There can be no doubt that the straw of different crops, immediately ploughed into the ground, affords nourish- ment to plants; but there is an objection to this method of using straw, from the difficulty of burying long straw, and from its rendering the husbandry foul. When straw is made to ferment, it becomes a more manageable manure ; but there is likewise, on the whole, a great loss of nutri'.ive matter. More manure is perhaps supplied for a single crop ; but the land is less improved than it would be, supposing the whole of the vegetable matter could be finely divided and mixed with the soil. It is usual to carry straw that can be employed for no other purpose to the dunghill, to ferment and decompose ; but it is worth experiment, whether it may not be more economically applied when chopped small by a proper machine, and kept dry till it be ploughed-in for the use of a crop. In this case, though it would decompose much more slowly, and produce less effect at first, yet its influence would be much more lasting." 2239 Sir Humphrey Davy's opinion as to the application of farm-yard manure is in Bcvcral points directly at variance with the experience of fanners. There may otten be an error in allowing such manure to reach too high a degree of fermen tation and putrefaction before it is applied to th e soil ; but in no case has it ever been found advantageous to apply it before the process of fermentation has actually begun. As to its fermenting after being spread upon the soil and ploughed down, it must be evident, upon a little reflection, either that no sensible fermentation would take place at all, unless the quantity were very large, or that its gases would be speedily exhaled through the loose covering of earth, and lost in the atmosihere. Mr Coke of Holkham's practice, which has been so often referred to in support of the use of Imig or fresh dung, is in fact not difl'erent from that of the best turnip-land farmers of Scotland. Mr. Blaikie, his steward, a native of Roxburghshire, prepares his farm-yard manure for turnips in what are called pyes or camps in much the same way, and the dung undergoes much the same degree of fermentation in them as is done with the square or oblong dunghills of the turnip counties of Scot- land (C.) 2240. Mere woody fire seems to be the only vegetable matter that requires fermenta- tion to render it nutritive to plants. Tanners' spent bark is a substance of this kind. A. Young, in his excellent Essay on Manure, states " that spent bark seemed rather to injure than assist vegetation ;" which he attributes to the astringent matter that it contains. But, in fact, it is freed from all soluble substances, by the operation of water in the tan- pit ; and, if injurious to vegetation, the effect is probably owing to its agency upon water, or to its mechanical effects. It is a substance very absorbent and retentive of moisture, and yet not penetrable by the roots of plants. 2241. Inert peaty matter is a substance of the same kind. It remains for years ex- posed to water and air without undergoing change, and in this state yields little or no nourishment to plants. Woody fibre will not ferment, unless some substances are mixed with it which act the same part as the mucilage, sugar, and extractive or albuminous matters with which it is usually associated in herbs and succulent vegetables. Lord Meadowbank has judiciously recommended a mixture of common farm-yard dung for the purpose of bringing peat into fermentation : any putrescible or fermentable substance will answer the end ; and the more a substance heats, and the more readily it ferments, the better will it be fitted for the purpose. Lord Meadowbank states, that one part of dung is sufficient to bring three or four parts of peat into a state in which it is fitted to be applied to land ; but, of course, the quantity must vary according to the nature of the dung and of the peat. In cases in which some living vegetables are mixed with the peat, the fermentation will be more readily effected. 2242. Tanners' spent bark, shavings of wood, and saw-dust, will probably require, as much dung to bring them into fermentation as the worst kind of peat. Woody fibre may be likewise prepared, so as to become a manure, by the action of lime. It is evident, from the analysis of woody fibre by Guy Lussac and Th^nard (which shows that it consists principally of the elements of water and carbon, the carbon being in larger quantities than in the other vegetable compounds), that any process which tends to abstract carbonaceous matter from it must bring it nearer in composition to the soluble principles ; and this is done in fermentation by the absorption of oxygen and production of carbonic acid ; and a similar effect, it will be shown, is produced by lime. ,2243. Woodnashes, imperfectly formed, that is, wood-ashes containing much charcoal, are said to have been used with success as a manure. A part of their effects may be owing to the slow and gradual consumption of the charcoal, which seems capable, under other circumstances than those of actual combustion, of absorbing oxygen, so as to become carbonic acid. In April 1 803, some well burnt charcoal was enclosed by Sir H. Davy in a tube, which was lialf fiUed with pure water and half with common air, and then hermetically sealed. The tube was opened under pure water, in the spring of 1804, at a time when the atmospheric temperature and pressure were nearly the same as at the commencement of the experiment. Some water rushed in ; and, on analysing a little air, which was expelled from the tube by the agency of heat, it was found to contain only seven per cent of oxygen. The water in the tube, when mixed with lime-water, produced a copious precipitate ; so that carbonic acid had evidently been formed and dissolved by the water. Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES, 837 2244. Manures from animal substances, in general, require no chemical preparation to fit them for the soil. The great object of the fanner is to blend tliem witli the earthy constituents in a proper state of division, and to prevent their too rapid decomposition. 2245. The entire parts of the muscles of land animals are not commonly used as manure, though there are many cases in which such an appHcation might be easily made. Horses, dogs, sheep, deer, and other quadrupeds that have died accidentally or of disease, after their skins are separated, are often suffered to remain exposed to the air, or immersed in water till they are destroyed by birds or beasts of prey, or entirely decomposed ; and, in this case, most of their organised matter is lost for the land in which they lie, and a con- siderable portion of it employed in giving off noxious gases to the atmosphere. By covering dead animals with five or six times their bulk of soil, mixed with one part of lime, and suffering them to remain for a few months, tlieir decomposition would im- pregnate the soil with soluble matter, so as to render it an excellent manure ; and by mixing a little fresh quicklime with it at the time of its removal, the disagreeable effluvia would be in a great measure destroyed, and it might be applied to crops in the same way as any other manure. 3246. JFish forms a powerful manure, in whatever state it is applied ; but it cannot be ploughed in too fresh, though the quantity should be limited. A. Young records an experiment, in which herrings spread over a field, and ploughed in for wheat, produced so rank a crop, that it was entirely laid before harvest. The refuse pilchards in Corn- wall are used throughout the county as a mamu'e, with excellent effects. They are usually mixed with sand or soil, and sometimes with sea weed, to prevent them from raising too luxuriant a crop. The effects are perceived for several years. In the fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, the little fishes called sticklebacks are caught in the shallow waters in such quantities, that they form a great ai-ticle of manure in the land bordering on the fens. It is easy to explain the operation of fish as a ma.. nure. The skin is principally gelatine, which, from its slight state of cohesion, is readily soluble in water ; fat or oil is always found in fishes, either under the skin or in some of the viscera ; and their fibrous matter contains all the essential elements of vegetable substances. 2247. Amongst oUj/ substances, blubber has been employed as a manure. It is most useful when mixed with clay, sand, or any common soil, so as to expose a large surface to the air, the oxygen of which produces soluble matter from it. Lord Somerville used blubber with great success at lus farm in Surrey. It was made into a heap with soil, and retained its powers of fertilising for several successive years. The carbon and hydrogen abounding in oily substances fully account for their effects ; and their dura- bility is easily explained from the gradual manner in which they change by the action of air and water. 2248. Bones are much used as a manure in various parts of England, and especially in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. They are also used in Scotland wherever they can be got, and a knowledge of their great value is spreading rapidly over the Continent. After being broken, and boiled for grease, they are sold to the fanner. The more divided they are, the more powerful are their effects. The expense of grinding them in a mill is amply repaid by the increase of their fertilising powers ; and in the state of powder they are used in the drill husbandry, and delivered with the seed in the same manner as rape-cake. Bone-dust and bone-shavings, the refuse of the turning manu- factiu*e, may be advantageously employed in the same way. The basis of bone is con- stituted by earthy salts, principally phosphate of lime, witii some carbonate of lime and phosphate of magnesia; the easily decomposable substances in bone are fat, gelatine, and cartilage, which seems of the same nature as coagulated albumen. According to the analysis of Fourcroy and Vauquelin, ox-bones are composed of decomposable animal matter 51, phosphate of lime 37 'T, carbonate of lime 10, phosphate of magnesia 1"S; total 100. To apply bone mamu-e with effect, it is essential that the soil be dry. 2249. Horn is a still more powerful manure than bone, as it contains a larger quantity of decomposable animal matter. From 500 grains of ox-horn, Hatchett obtained only 1 -5 grains of earthy residuum, and not quite half of this was phosphate of lime. The shavings or turnings of horn form an excellent manure, though they are not sufficiently abundant to be in common use. The animal matter in them seems to be of the nature of coagulated albumen, and it is slowly rendered soluble by the action of water. The earthy matter in horn, and still more that in bones, prevents the too rapid decomposition of the animal matter, and renders it very durable in its effects. 2250 Hair, woollen rags, ami feathers, are all analogous in composition, and princi- pally consist of a substance similar to albumen united to gelatine. This is shown by the ingenious researches of Hatchett. The theory of their operation is similar to that of bone and horn shavings. 2251. Tlie refuse of tlie different manufactures of skin and leather forms very useful manures ; such as currier's shavings, furrier's clippings, and the offals of the tan-yard Z 338 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Vart II. and of the glue-manufactory. The gelatine contained in every kind of skyi is in a state fitted for its gradual solution or decomposition ; and when buried in the soil , it lasts for a considerable time, and constantly affords a supply of nutritive matter to the plants in its neighbourhood. 2252. Blood contains certain quantities of all the principles found in other animal sub- stances, and is consequently a very good manure. It has been already stated that it contains fibrine ; it likewise contiiins albumen ; the red particles in it, which have been supposed by many foreign chemists to be coloured by iron in a particular state of combin ation with oxygen and acid matter, Brande considers as formed of a peculiar animal substance containing very little iron. The scum taken from the boilers of the sugar- bakers, which is used as manure, principally consists of bullocks' blood which has been employed for the purpose of separating the impurities of common brown sugar, by means of the coagulation of its albuminous matter by the heat of the boiler. 22.';s. Tlie different species of corals, corallines, and sponges must be considered as sub- stances of animal origin. From the analysis of Hatchett, it appears that all tliese substances contain considerable quantities of a matter analogous to coagulated albumen ; the sponges afford likewise gelatine. According to Merat Guillot, white coral contains equal parts of animal matter and carbonate of lime; red coral 46 '5 of animal matter, and 53*5 of carbonate of lime; articulated coralline 51 of animal matter, and 49 of carbonate of lime. These substances are never used as manure in this country, except in cases when they are accidentally mixed with sea- weed ; but it is probable that the corallines might be advantageously employed, as they are found in considerable quantity on the rocks, and bottoms of the rocky pools on many parts of our coast, where the land gradually declines towards the sea; and they might be detached by hoes, and collected without much trouble. On many parts of the Scottish coast, banks of shells have been deposited by the sea, and are applied with great advantage, both as a substitute for lime and in improving the mechanical texture of the clay soils within their reach. 2254. Amongst excrementitious animal substances used as manures, urine is the one upon which the greatest number of chemical experiments have been made, and the nature of which is best understood. The urine of the cow contains, according to the experiments of Brande: water 65 ; phosphate of lime 3 ; muriates of potassa and am- monia 15 ; sulphate of potassa 6 ; carbonates, potassa, and ammonia 4 ; urea 4. 2255. The urine of the horse, according to Fourcroy and Vauquelin, contains, of car- bonate of lime 1 1, carbonate of soda 9, benzoate of soda 24, muriate of potassa 9, urea 7, water and mucilage 940. In addition to these substances, Brande found in it phosphate of lime. The urine of the ass, the camel, the rabbit, and domestic fowls, have been submitted to different experiments, and their constitution has been found similar. In the urine of the rabbit, in addition to most of the ingredients above mentioned, Vau- quelin detected gelatine ; and the same chemist discovered uric acid in the urine of do- mestic fowls. Human urine contains a greater variety of constituents than any other species examined. Urea, uric acid, and another acid similar to it in nature called rosacic acid, acetic acid, albumen, gelatine, a resinous matter, and various salts are found in it. The human urine differs in composition, according to the state of the body, and the nature of the food and drink made use of. In many ca^es of disease there is a much larger quantity of gelatine and albumen than usual in the urine, and in diabetes it con- tains sugar. It is probable that the urine of the same animal must likewise differ according to the different nature of the food and drink used ; and this will account for discordances in some of the analyses that have been published on the subject. Urine is very liable to change, and to undergo the putrefactive process ; and that of carnivorous animals more rapidly than that of graminivorous animals. In proportion as there is more gelatine or albumen in urine, so in proportion does it putrefy more quickly. The species of urine wiiich contain most albumen, gelatine, and urea, are the best as manures ; and all urine contains the essential elements of vegetables in a state of solution. During the putrefaction of urine the greatest part of the soluble animal matter tliat it contains is destroyed : it should consequently be used as fresh as possible ; but if not mixed with solid matter, it should be diluted with water, as, when pure, it contains too large a quan- titj* of animal matter to form a proper fluid nourishment for absorption by the roots of plants. 2256. Putrid urine abounds in ammoniacal salts ; and though less active than fresh urine, is a very powerful manure. According to a recent analysis published by Berzc- lius, 1000 parts of urine are composed of, water 933; urea 30-1 ; uric acid 1 ; muriate of ammonia, free lactic acid, lactate of ammonia, and animal matter 17 •14. The remainder different salts, phosphates, sulphates, and muriates. 2257. Dung of birds. Amongst excrementitious solid substances used as manures, one of the most powerful is the dung of birds that feed on animal food, particularly the dung of sea-birds. The guano, which is used to a great extent in South America, and which is the manure that fertilises the sterile plains of Peru, is a production of this tind. It exis-ts Book III. SPECIES OF MANURES. 359 abundantly, as we are informed by Humboldt, on the small islands in the South Sea, at Chinche, Ilo, Iza, and Arica. Fifty vessels are laden with it annually at Chinche, each of which carries from 1500 to 2000 cubical feet. It is used as <% manure only in very small quantities ; and particularly for crops of maize. Some experiments were made on specimens of guano in 1805. It appeared as a fine brown powder; it blackened by heat, and gave ofiF strong ^nmoniacal fumes ; treated with nitric acid, it afforded lu-ic acid* In 1806, Fourcroy and Vauquelin published an elaborate analysis of guano. They state that it contains a fourth part of its weight of uric acid, partly saturated with am- monia, and partly with potassa ; some phosphoric acid combined with the bases, and likewise with lime; small quantities of sulphate and muriate of potassa; a little fatty matter ; and some quartzose sand. It is easy to expl^n its fertilising properties : from its composition it might be supposed to be a very powerful manure. It requires water for the solution of its soluble matter, to enable it to produce its full beneficial effect on crops. *2258. The duiig of sea-birds has never been much used as a manure in this country ; but it is prob^le that even the soil of the small islands on our coast much frequented by them would fertilise. Some dung of sear-birds, brought from a rock on the coast of Merionethshire, produced a powerful, but transient, effect on grass. The rains in our climate must tend very much to injure this species of manure, where it is exposed to them soon after its deposition ; but it may probably be found in great perfection in caverns or clefts in rocks haunted by cormorants and gulls. Some recent cormorants* dung, when examined, had not at all the appearance of guano; it was of a greyish- wliite colour ; had a. very fetid smell, like that of putrid animal matter ; when acted on by quicklime, it gave abundance of ammonia ; treated with nitric acid, it yielded uric acid. *2259. Night soil, it is well known, is a very powerful manure, and very liable to decompose. It differs in composition ; but always abounds in substances composed of carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen. From the analysis of Berzelius, it appears that a part of it is always soluble in water ; and in whatever state it is used, whetlier recent or fermented, it supplies abundance of food to plants. The disagreeable smell of night- soil maybe destroyed by mixing it with quicklime; and if exposed to the atmosphere in thin layers, strewed over with quicklime in fine weather, it speedily dries, is easily pulverised, and in this state may be used in the . same manner as rape-cake, and delivered into the furrow with the seed. The Chinese, who have more practical know- ledge of the use and application of manures than any other people existing, mix their night-soil with one third of its weight of fat marl, make it into cakes, and dry it by exposiure to the sun. These cakes, we are infonned by tiie French missionaries, have no disagreeable smell, and form a common article of conunerce of the empire. The earth, by its absorbent powers, probably prevents, to a certain extent, the action of moisture upon the dung, and likewise defends it from the effects of air. Desiccated night-soil, in a state of powder, forms an article of internal commerce in France, and is known under the name of poudrelte ; in London it is mixed with quicklime, and sold in cakes under the name of " desiccated night-soil." 2260. Pige(ms dung comes next in order, as to fertilising power. 100 grains, digested in hot water for some houre, produced 23 grains of soluble matter; which afforded abundance of carbonate of ammonia by distillation, and left carbonaceous matter, saline matter principally common salt, and carbonate of Hme, as a. residuum. Pigeons* dung, when moist, readily ferments, and after fermentation contains less soluble matter than before ; from 100 parts of fennented pigeons' dung, only eight parts of soluble matter were obtained, which gave proportionably less carbonate of ammonia in distillation dian recent pigeons* dung. It is evident that this manure should be applied as new as possible ; and, when dry, it may be employed in the same manner as the other manures capable of being pulverised. The soil in woods, where great flocks of wood- pigeons roost, is often highly impregnated with their dung, and, it cannot be doubted, would form a valuable manure. Such soil will often yield ammonia when distilled with lime. In the winter, likewise, it usually contains abundance of vegetable matter, the remains of decayed leaves ; and the dung tends to bring the vegetable matter into a state of solution. Manuring with pigeons' dung was, and still is, in great esteem in Persia. 2261. Tlie duTig of domestic fowls approaches very nearly in its nature to pigeons' dung. Uric acid is common to it and the dung of birds of every kind. It gives carbonate of ammonia by distillation, and immediately yields soluble matter to water. It is very liable to ferment. The dung of fowls is employed, in common with that of pigeons, by tanners, to bring on a slight degree of putrefaction in skins that are to be used for making soft leather. For iJiis purpose the dung is diffused through water, in which state it rapidly undergoes putrefaction, and brings on a similar change in the skin. The ex- crements of dogs are employed by the tanner with similar effects. In all cases, the contents of the grainer, as the pit is called in which soft skins are prepared by dung must form a very useful manure. Z 2 340 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2262. Rabbits' dung has never been analysed. It is used with great success as a manure by some farmers, who find it profitable to keep rabbits in such a manner as to preserve their dung. It is laid on as fresh as possible, and is found better the less it has fermented. • j , t^- i_ i. 153.), lime forms insoluble composts with almost all animal and vegetable substances that are soft, and thus destroys their fermentative pro- perties. Such compounds, however, exposed to the continued action of the air, alter in comrse of time ; the lime becomes c^'bonate ; the animal or vegetable matters decompose by degrees, and furnish new products as vegetable noinishment. In this view, lime presents two great advantages for the nutrition of plants ; the first, that of disposing certain insoluble bodies to form soluble compounds ; the second, that of prolonging the 346 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II. action and nutritive qualities of substances, beyond the term during wlilch they would be retained if these substances were not made to enter into combination with lime. Thus the nutritive qualities of blood, as it exists in the compound of lime and blood known as sugarbaker's scum, are moderated, prolonged, and given out by degrees ; blood alone, applied directly to the roots of plants, will destroy them with few or no exceptions. 2291. Lime promotes fermentation. In those cases in which fermentation is useful to produce nutriment from vegetable substances, lime is always efficacious. Some moist spent tanners' bark was mixed with one fifth of its weight of quicklime, and suffered to remain in a close vessel for three months ; the lime had become coloured, and was effervescent : when water was boiled upon the mixture, it gained a tint of fawn-colour, and by evaporation furnished a fawn-coloured powder, which must have consisted of lime unitedto vegetable matter, for it burnt when strongly heated, and left a residuum of mild lime. 2292. Different hinds of limestones have different effects. The limestones containing alumina and silica are less fitted for the purposes of manure than pure limestones; but the lime foi-med from them has no noxious quality. Such stones are less efficacious, merely because they furnish a smaller quantity of quicklime. There is very seldom any considerable portion of coaly matter in bituminous limestones ; never as much as five parts in 100 ; but such limestones make very good lime. The carbonaceous matter can do no injury to tire land, and may, under certain circumstances, become a food of tlie plant. 2293. Tlie subject of the application of the magnesian limestone is one of great interest. It had been long known to fanners in tlie neighbourhood of Doncaster, tliat lime made from a certain limestone, when applied to the land, often injured the crops considerably. Tennant, in making a series of experiments upon this peculiar calcareous substance, found that it contained magnesia ; and on mixing some calcined magnesia with soil, in which he sowed different seeds, he found that they either died or vegetated in a very imperfect manner, and the plants were never healthy. With great justice and ingenuity he referred the bad effects of the peculiar limestone to the magnesian eartlx it contains. 2294. Magnesian limestone is used with good effect in some cases. Magnesia has a much weaker attraction for carbonic acid than lime, and will" remain in the state of caustic or calcined magnesia for many months, though exposed to the air ; and, as long as any caustic lime remains, the magnesia cannot be combined with carbonic acid, for lime instantly attracts carbonic acid from magnesia. When a magnesian limestone is burnt, the magnesia is deprived of carbonic acid much sooner than the lime ; and, if there is not much vegetable or animal matter in the soil to supply by its decomposition carbonic acid, the magnesia will remain for a long while in the caustic state, in which state it acts as a poison to certain vegetables ; and that more magnesian lime may be used upon rich soils, seems to be owing to the circumstance, that the decomposition of the manure in them supplies carbonic acid. Magnesia in its mild state, i. e. fully combined with car- bonic acid, seems to be always a useful constituent of soils. Carbonate of magnesia (procured by boiling the solution of magnesia in supercarbonate of potassa) was thrown upon grass, and upon growing wheat and barley, so as to render the surface white, but tlie vegetation was not injured in the slightest degree ; and one of the most fertile parts of Cornwall, the Lizard, is a district in which the soil contains mild magnesian earth. It is obvious, from what has been said, that lime from the magnesian limestone may be applied in large quantities to peats; and that where lands have been injured by the application of too large a quantity of magnesian lime, peat vidll be a proper and efficient remedy. 2295. A simple test of magnesia in a limestone is its slight effervescence with acids, and its rendering diluted nitric acid, or aqua fortis, milky. From the analysis of Tennant, it appears to contain from 20-3 to 22-5 magnesia; 29-5 to 31 -7 lime; 47 -2 carbonic acid; 0'8 clay and oxide of iron. Magnesian limestones are usually of a brown or pale yellow colour. They are found in Somersetshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Durham, and Yorkshire ; and in many parts of Ireland, particularly near Belfast. In general, when limestones are not magnesian, their purity wiU be indicated by their loss of weight in burning ; the more they lose, the larger is the quantity of calcareous matter they contain. The magnesian limestones contain more carbonic acid than the common limestones ; and I have found all of them lose more than half their weight by calcination. 2296. Gypsum. Besides being used in the forms of lime and carbonate of lime, cal- careous matter is appUed for the purposes of agriculture in other combinations. One of these bodies is gypsum or sulphate of lime. Tliis substance consists of sulphuric acid (the same body that exists combined with water in oil of vitriol) and lime ; and when dry it is composed of 55 parts of lime and 75 parts of sulphuric acid. Common g-ypsum or selenite, such as that found at Sliotovur HUl, near Oxford, contains, besides sul- Book III. SPECIES OF MINERAL MANURES. 847 phuric add and lime, a considerable quantity of water ; and its compositibn may be thus expressed : sulphuric acid one proportion 75 ; lime one proportion 5S ; water two proportions 34. 2297. The nature of gypsum is easily demonstrated : if oil of vitriol be added tn quicklime, there is a violent heat produced ; when the mixture is ignited, water is given oif, and gypsum alone is the result, if the acid has been used in sufScient quantity ; and gypsum mixed with quicklime, if the quantity has been deficient. Gypsum, free from water, is sometimes found in nature, when it is called anhydrous selenite ; it is distin- guished from common gypsum by giving oif no water when heated. When gypsum, free from water, or deprived of water by heat, is made into a paste with water, it rapidly sets by combining with that fluid. Plaster of Paris is powdered dry gypsum, and its pro- perty as a cement, and its use in making casts, depend upon its solidifying a certain quantity of water, and making with it a coherent mass. Gypsum is soluble in about 500 times its weight of cold water, and is more soluble in hot water ; so that when water has been boiled in contact with gypsum, crystals of this substance are deposited as the water cools. Gypsum is easily distinguished by its properties of ai!brding precipitates to solutions of oxalates and of barytic salts. It has been much used in America, where it was first introduced by Franklin on his return from Paris, where he had been much struck with its efifects. He sowed the words. This has been sown with gypsuTrit on a field of lucem, near Washington ; the effects astonished every passenger, and the use of the manure quickly became general, and signally efficacious. It has been advan- tageously used in Kent, but in most counties of England it has failed, though tried in various ways, and upon different crops. 2298. Very discordant nations have been formed as to the mode of operation of gi/psum^ It has been supposed by some persons to act by its power of attracting moisture from the air ; but this agency must be comparatively insignificant. When combined with water, it retains that fluid too powerfully to yield it to the roots of the plant, and its adhesive attraction for moisture is inconsiderable ; the small quantity in which it is used likewise is a circumstance hostile to this idea. It has been erroneously said, that gypsum assists the putrefaction of animal substances, and the decomposition of manure. 2999. The ashes of aaintfoin, clover, and rye-grass, afford considerable quantities of gypsum / and the substance probably is intimately combined as a necessary part of their woody fibre. If this be allowed, it is easy to explain the reason why it operates in .such small quantities ; for the whole of a clover crop, or saintfoin crop, on an acre, according to estimation, would afford by incineration only three or four bushels of gypsum. The reason why gypsum is not generally efficacious, is probably because most cultivated soils contain it in sufficient quantities for the use of the grasses. In the common course of cultivation, gypsum is furnished in the manure ; for it is contained in stable dung, and in the dung of all cattle fed on grass : and it is not taken up in corn crops, or crops of peas and beans, and in very small quantities in turnip crops ; but where lands aa-e exclusively devoted to pasturage and hay, it will be continually consumed. Should these statements be confirmed by future enquiries, a practical inference of some value may be derived from them. It is possible, that lands which have ceased to bear good crops of clover or artificial grasses, may be restored by being manured with gypsiun. This substance is found in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, &c., and requires only pulverisation for its preparation. 2.S0O. Upon the use of sulphate of iron, or green vitriol, which is a salt produced from peat in Bedfordshire, some very interesting documents have been produced by Dr. Pearson ; and there is little doubt that the peat salt and the vitriolic water acted chiefly by producing gypsum. The soils on which both are efficacious are calcareous ; and sulphate of iron is decomposed by the carbonate of lime in such soils. The sul- phate of iron consists of sulphuric acid and oxide of iron, and is an acid and a very soluble salt ; when a solution of it is mixed with carbonate of lime, the sulphuric acid quits the oxide of iron to unite to the lime, and the compounds produced are insipid and comparatively insoluble. 2301. Vitriolic iTnpregnations in soils where there is no calcareous matter are injurious; but it is probably in consequence of their supplying an excess of ferruginous matter to the sap. Oxide of iron, in small quantities, forms a useful part of soils ; it is found in the ashes of plants, and probably is hurtful only in its acid combinations. The ashes of all peats do not afford gypsum. In general, when a recent peat-ash emits a strong smell, resembling that of rotten eggs when acted upon by vinegar, it will furnish gypsum. Tliere is a curious agency of iron in soils which may here be mentioned. Soils containing iron at a minimum of oxidation decompose carbonic acid : the oleaginous parts of manures, by converting the brown oxide, which occurs in every soil, into that with a minimum of oxygen, form a substance capable of aiding the nutrition of plants, by affording them carbon from carbonic acid. ( T. ) 2302. Phosphate of lime is a combination of phosphoric acid and lime, one proportion 348 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE, Part II. of each. It ia a compound insoluble in pure water, but soluble in wafer containing any acid matter. It forms the greatest part of calcined bones. It exists in most excremen- titious substances, and is found both in the straw and grain of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, and likewise in beans, peas, and tares. It exists in some places in these islands native, but only in very small quantities. Phosphate of lime is generally conveyed to the land in the composition of other manure, and it is probably necessary to corn crops and other white crops. 2303. Bone-ashes calcined and ground to powder will probably be found useful on arable lands containing much vegetable matter, and may perhaps enable soft peats to produce wheat ; but the powdered bone in an uncalcined state is much to be preferred in all cases when it can be procured. 2304. The saline compounds of magnesia will require very little discussion with regard to their uses as manures. In combination with sulphuric acid, magnesia forms a soluble salt. This substance, it is stated by some enquirers, has been found of use as a manure; but it is not found in nature in sufficient abundance, nor is it capable of being made by art sufficiently cheap to be of useful application in the common course of husbandry. 2305. Wood-ashes consist principally of the vegetable alkali united to carbonic acid ; and as this alkali is found in almost all plants, it is not difficult to conceive that it may form an essential part of their organs. The general tendency of the alkalies is to give solubility to vegetable matters ; and in this way they may render carbonaceous and other substances capable of being taken up by the tubes in the radical fibres of plants. Vege- table alkali likewise has a strong attraction for water, and even in small quantities may tend to give a due degree of moisture to the soil, or to other manures ; though this operation, from the small quantities used or existing in the soil, can be only of a secondary kind. 2306. The mineral alkali or soda is found in the ashes of sea-weed, and may be pro- cured by certain chemical agencies from common salt. Common salt consists of the metal named sodium, combined with chlorine ; and pure soda consists of the same metal united to oxygen. When water is present, which can aiford oxygen to the sodium, soda may be obtained in several modes from salt. The same reasoning will apply to the operation of the pure mineral alkali, or the carbonated alkali, as to that of the vegetable alkali ; and when common salt acts as a manure, it is probably by entering into the composition of the plant in the same manner as gypsum, phosphate of lime, and the alkalies. Sir John Pringle has stated, that salt in small quantities assists the decomposi- tion of animal and vegetable matter. This circumstance may render it useful in certain soils. Common salt, likevrise, is offensive to insects. In small quantities it is sometimes a useful manure, and it is probable that its efficacy depends upon many combined causes. Some persons have argued against the employment of salt ; because, when used in large quantities, it either does no good, or renders the ground sterile; but this is a very unfair mode of reasoning. That salt in large quantities rendered land barren, was known long before any records of agricultural science existed. We read in the Scriptures, that Abimelech took the city of Shechem, " and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt;" that the soil might be for ever unfruitful. Virgil reprobates a salt soil ; and Pliny, though he recommends giving salt to cattle, yet affirms, that when strewed over land it renders it barren. But these are not arguments against a proper application of it. Refuse salt in Cornwall, which, however, likewise contains some of the oil and exuvia of fish, has long been known as an admirable manure ; and the Cheshire farmers contend for the benefit of the peculiar produce of their county. It is not unlikely, that the same causes as those which act in modifying the operation of gyp- sum influence the effects of salt. Most lands in this island, particularly those near the sea, probably contain a sufficient quantity of salt for all the purposes of vegetation ; and in such cases the supply of it to the soil will not only be useless, but may be injurious. In great storms the spray of the sea has been carried more than fifty miles from the shore; so that from this source salt must be often supplied to the soil. Salt is found in almost all sandstone rocks, and it must exist in the soil derived from these rocks. It is a constituent likewise of almost every kind of animal and vegetable manure. A va- riety of curious and often contradictory experiments on this subject will be found in The Gardener s Magasdne, vols. ii. and iii. *2307. Otiier cowpountls. Besides these compounds of the alkaline earths and alkalies, many others have been recommended for the purposes of increasing vegetation • such are nitre, or the nitrous acid combined with potassa. Sir Kenelm Digby states that he made barley grow very luxuriantly by watering it with a very weak solution of nitre ; but he is too speculative a writer to awaken confidence in his results. This substance consists of one proportion of azote, six of oxygen, and one of potassium ; and it is not unlikely that it may furnish azote to form albumen or gluten in those plants which contain them ; but the mtrous salts are too valuable for other purposes to be used as manures. Book IH. HEAT AND LIGHT. 349 Dr. Home states that sulphate of potassa, which was just now mentioned as found in the ashes of some peats, is a useful manure : but Naismith (^Elements of -Agt-iculture, p. 78. ) questions his results ; and quotes experiments hostile to his opinions, and, as he conceives, unfavourable to the efficacy of any species of saline manure. Much of the discordance of the evidence relating to the efficacy of saline substances depends upon the circumstance of their having been used in different proportions, and, in general, in quantities much too large. 230S. Solutions of saline substances were used twice a week, in the quantity of two ounces, on spots of grass and corn, sufficiently remote from each other to prevent any interference of results. The substances tried were bi-carbonate, sulphate, acetate, nitrate, and muriate of potassa ; sulphate of soda ; and sulphate, nitrate, muriate, and carbonate of ammonia. It was found, that, in all cases when the quantity of the salt equalled one thirtieth part of the weight of the water, the effects were injurious ; but least so in the instance of the carbonate, sulphate, and muriate of ammonia. When the quantities of the salts were one three-hundredth part of the solution, the effects were diDerent. The plants watered with the solutions of the sulphates grew just in the same manner as similar plants watered ^^'ith rain-water. Those acted on by the solution of nitre, acetate, and carbonate of potass, and muriate of ammonia, grew rather better. Those treated with the solution of carbonate of ammonia grew most luxuriantly of all. This last result is what might be expected, for carbonate of ammonia consists of carbon, hydrogen, azote, and oxygen. There was, however, another result which was not anticipated ; the plants watered with solution of nitrate of ammonia did not grow better than those watered with rain-water. The solution reddened litmus paper ; and probably the free acid exerted a prejudicial effect, and interfered with the result. 2309. Soot doubtless owes part of its efficacy to the ammoniacal salts it contains. The liquor produced by the distillation ■of coal contains carbonate and acetate of ammonia, and is said to be a very good manure. 2310. Soapers* waste has been recommended as a manure, and it has been supposed that its efficacy depended upon the different saline matters it contains ; but their quantity is very minute indeed, and its principal ingredients are mild lime and quicklime. In the soapers* waste, from the best manufactories, there is scarcely a trace of alkali. Lime, moistened with sea-water, affi)rds more of this substance, and is said to have been used in some cases with more benefit than common lime. 23 1 1. The result of Sir H. Davy's discussion as to the extent of the effects of saline sub- stances oil vegetation is, that except the ammoniacal compounds, or the compounds con- taining nitric, acetic, and carbonic acid, none of them can afford by their decomposition any of the common principles of vegetation, viz. carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The alkaline sulphates and the earthy muriates are so seldom found in plants, or are found in such minute quantities, that it can never be an object to apply them to the soil. The earthy and alkaline substances seem never to be formed in vegetation ; and there is every reason to believe that they are never decomposed; for, after being absorbed, they are found in the ashes. The metallic bases of them cannot exist in contact with aqueous fluids ; and these metallic bases, like other metals, have not as yet been resolved into any other forms of matter by artificial processes ; they combine readily with other elements, but they remain indestructible, and can be traced undiminished in quantity through their diversified combinations. Chap. IIL Of the Agency of Heat, Light, Electricity, and Water, in Vegetable Culture. 2812. The particular agency of heat, light, and water, in vegetation and culture, has been so frequently illustrated, that it only remains to give a general idea of their natures, and to ofifer some remarks on electricity. Sect. L Of Heat and Light. 2313. The heat of the sun is the cause of growth, and its light the cause of maturity, in the vegetable kingdom. This is universally acknowledged : animals will live without light or with very little ; but no plants whatever can exist for any time without the pre- sence of this element. The agency of electricity in vegetation is less known. 2314. Two ojmwms are current respecaTt^ the nature of heat. By some philosophers it is conceived to be a peculiar subtile fluid, of which the particles repel each other, but have a strong attraction for the particles of other matter ; by others it is considered as a motion or vibration of the particles of matter, which is supposed to differ in velocity in sm SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut H. different cases, and thus to produce the different degrees of temperature. Whatever decision be ultimately made respecting these opinions, it is certain that tlicre is matter moving in the space between us and the heavenly bodies capable of communicatmg heat ; the motions of which are rectilineal : thus the solar rays produce heat in acting on the surface of ihe earth. The beautiful experiments of Dr. Herschel have shown that there are rays transmitted from the sun which do not illuminate, and which yet produce more heat than the visible rays ; and Ritter and Dr. WoUaston have shown that there are other invisible rays distinguished by their chemical effects. 2315. Heat is radiated hy tlt£ mn to the earth, and if suffered to accumulate, Dr. Wells observes, would quickly destroy the present constitution of our globe. This evil is prevented by the radiation of heat from the earth to the heavens, during the night, when it receives from them little or no heat in return. But through the wise economy of means, which is witnessed in all the operations of nature, the prevention of this evil is made the source of great positive good ; for the surface of the earth, having thus become colder than the neighbouring air, condenses a part of the watery vapour of the atmosphere into dew, the utility of which is too manifest to require elucidation. This fluid appears chiefly where it is most wanted, on herbage and low plants, avoiding, in great measure, rocks, bare earth, and considerable masses of water. Its production, too, tends to prevent the injury that might arise from its own cause ; since the precipitation of water, upon the tender parts of plants, must in them lessen the cold which occasions it. The prevention, either wholly or in part, of cold, from radiation, in substances on the ground, by the interposition of any solid body between them and the sky, arises in the following man- ner ; the lower body radiates its heat upwards, as if no other intervened between it and the sky ; but the loss, which it hence suffers, is more or less compensated by what is radi- ated to it, from the body above, the under surface of which possesses always the same, or very nearly the same temperature as the air. The manner in which clouds prevent, or occasion to be small, the appearance of a cold at night, upon the surface of the earth, is by radiating heat to the earth, in return for that which they intercept in its progress from the earth towards the heavens. For although, upon the sky becoming suddenly cloudy during a calm night, a naked thermometer, suspended in the air, commonly rises 2 or 3 degrees, little of this rise is to be attributed to the heat evolved by the condensation of watery vapour in the atmosphere ; for the heat so extricated must soon be dissipated, whereas the effect of greatly lessening, or preventing altogether, the appearance of a superior cold on the earth to that of the air, will be produced by a cloudy sky, during the whole of a long night. 2316. Dense clouds, near the earth, reflect back the heat they receive from it by radiation. But similar dense clouds, if very high, though they equally intercept the communication of the earth with the sky, yet being, from their elevated situation, colder than the earth, will radiate to it less heat than they receive from it, and may, consequently, admit of bodies on its surface becoming several degrees colder than the air. Islands, and parts of continents close to the sea, being, by tlieir situations, subject to a cloudy sky, will, from the smaller quantity of heat lost by them through radiation to the heavens, at night, in addition to the reasons commonly assigned, be less cold in winter than countries con- siderably distant from any ocean. But the chief cause why islands, and the coasts of the ocean, are more temperate than continents and inland situations is, that the tem- perature of the ocean a little from the surface, and where not cooled by contact with ice, is very uniformly about 54° Falir. in all latitudes. The ocean is the great equaliser of heat. (T.) 2317. Fogs, like clouds, will arrest !wnt, which is radiated upwards by the earth, and if they are very dense, and of considerable perpendicular extent, may remit to it as much as they receive. Fogs do not, in any instance, furnish a real exception to the general rule, that whatever exists in the atmosphere, capable of stopping or impeding the passage of radiant heat, will prevent or lessen the appearance at night of a cold on the surface of the earth, greater than that of the neighbouring air. The water deposited upon the earth, during a fog at night, may sometimes be derived from two different sources, one of which is a precipitation of moisture from a considerable part of the atmosphere, in consequence of its general cold ; tlie other, a real formation of dew, from the condens- ation, by means of the superficial cold of the ground, of the moisture of that portion of the air which comes in contact with it. In such a state of things, all bodies will become moist, but those especially which most readily attract dew in clear weather. 23 1 8. When bodies become cold by radiation, the degree of effect observed must depend, not only on their radiating power, but in part also on the greater or less ease with which (hey can derive heat, by conduction, from warmer substances in contact with them. Bodies, exposed in a clear night to the sky, must radiate as much heat to it during the prevalence of wind, as they would do if the air were altogether still. But in the former case, little or no cold will be observed upon them above that of the atmosphere, as the frequent application of warm air must quickly return a heat equal, or nearly so, to that Book III. HEAT AND LIGHT. 351 which they had lost by radiation. A slight agitation of the air is sufficient to produce some eiFect of this kind ; though, as has already been said, such an agitation, when the air is very pregnant with moisture, will render greater the quantity of dew ; one requisite for a considerable production of this fluid being more increased by it, than another is diminished. 2S 1 9. It has been remarked that the hurtful effects of cold occur chiefly in hollow places* If this be restricted to what happens on the serene and calm nights, two reasons from different sources are to be assigned for it^ The first is, that the air being stiller in sucJi a situation, than in any other, the cold, from radiation, in the bodies contained in it, will be less diminished by renewed applications of waimer air ; the second, that from the longer continuance of the same air in contact with the ground, in depressed places tlian in others, less dew will be deposited, and therefore less heat extricated during its formation. 2320. An observation closely connected with the preceding, namely, that, in clear and still nights, Jrosis are less severe upon the hUlsj than in the neighbouring plains, has excited more attention, chiefly from its contradicting what is commonly regarded an established feet, that the cold of the atmosphere always increases with the distance from the earth. But on the contrary the fact is certain, that, in very clear and still nights, the air near to the" earth is colder than that which is more distant from it, to the height of at least 220 feet, this being the greatest to which experiments relate. If then a hill be supposed to rise from a plain to the height of 220 feet, having upon its summit a small flat surface covered with grass ; and if the atmosphere, during a calm and serene night, be admitted to be 10° warmer there than it is near the surface of the low grounds, which is a less difference than what sometimes occurs in such circumstances, it is manifest that, should botli the grass upon the hill, and that upon the plain, acquire a cold of 10° by radiation^ the former will, notwithstanding, be 10° warmer than the latter. Hence also the tojjs of trees are sometimes found dry when the grass on the ground's surface has been found covered with dew. 2321. A very slight covering wUl exclude much cold. I had often, observes Dr. Wells, in the pride of half knowledge, smiled at the means frequently employed by gardeners, to protect tender plants from cold, as it appeared to me impossible that a thin mat, or any such flimsy substance, could prevent them from attaining the temperature of th6 atmosphere, by which alone I thought them liable to be injured. But, when I had learned that bodies on the surface of the earth become, dm-ing a still and serene night, colder than the atmosphere, by radiating their heat to the heavens, I perceived imme- diately a just reason for the practice, which I had before deemed useless. Being desirous, however, of acquiring some precise iiiformation on this subject, I fixed, perpendicularly^ in the earth of a grass-plot, four small sticks, and over their upper extremities, which, were six inches above the grass, and formed the corners of a square, the sides of which were two feet long, drew tightly a very thin cambric handkerchief In this dis- position of things, therefore, nothing existed to prevent the free passage of aii" from the exposed grass, to that which was sheltered, except the four small sticks, and there was no substance to radiate heat downwards to the latter grass, except the cambric handker- chief. The temperature of the grass, which was thus shielded from the sky, was, upon many nights afterwards, examined by me, and was always found higher than that of neighbouring grass, which was uncovered, if this was colder tlian the air. When the difference in temperature, between the air several feet above the ground and the un- sheltered grass did not exceed 5°, the sheltered grass was about as warm as the air. If that difference, however, exceeded 5°, the air was found to be somewhat warmer than the sheltered grass. Thus, upon one night, when fully exposed grass was 11° colder than the air, the latter was 3° wai-mer than the sheltered grass; and the same difference existed on another night, v/hen the air was 14° warmer than the exposed grass. One reason for this difference, no doubt, was that the air, which passed from the exposed grass, by which it had been very much cooled, to that under the handkerchief, had deprived the latter of part of its heat ; another, that the handkei'chief, from being made colder than the atmosphere by the radiation of its upper surface to the heavens, would remit somewhat less heat to the grass beneath, than what it received from that substance. But still, as the sheltered grass, notwithstanding these drawbacks, was upon one night, as may be collected from the preceding relation, 8°, and upon another ] 1^, warmer than grass fully exposed to the sky, a sufficient reason was now obtained for the utility of a veiy slight shelter to plants, in averting or lessening injury from cold, on a still and serene night. 2322. The covering has most tffect token placed at a little distance above the plants or objects to be sheltered. A difference in temperature, of some magnitude, was always observed on still and serene nights, between bodies sheltered from the sky by substances touching them, and similar bodies, which were sheltered by a substance a little above them. I found, for example, upon one night, that the warmth of grass, sheltered by a 352 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paot H- cambric handkerchief raised a few inches in the air, was 3° greater than that of a neigh- bouring piece of grass which was sheltered by a similar handkerchief actually in contact with it. On anotlier night the difference between the temperatures of two portions of grass, shielded in the same manner as the two above mentioned from the influence of the sky, was 4°. Possibly, continues Dr. Wells, experience has long ago taught gai- deners tlie superior advantage of defending tender vegetables, from the cold of clear and calm nights, by means of substances not directly touching them; though I do not recollect ever having seen any contrivance for keeping mats, or such like bodies, at a distance from the plants which they were meant to protect. 2323. Heat produced by walls. Walls, Dr. Wells observes, as far as warmth is con- cerned, are regarded as useful, during a cold night, to tlie plants which touch them, oi are near to them, only in two ways ; first, by the mechanical shelter which they afford against cold winds, and secondly, by giving out the heat which they had acquired during the day. It appearing to me, however, that, on clear and calm nights, those on which plants frequently receive much injury from cold, walls must be beneficial in a third way, namely, by preventing, in part, the loss of heat, which the plants would sustain from radiation, if they were fully exposed to the sky ; the following experiment was made for the purpose of determining the justness of this opinion. A cambric handkerchief having been placed, by means of two upright sticks, perpendicularly to a grass-plot, and at right angles to the course of the air, a thermometer was laid upon the grass close to the lower edge of the handkerchief, on its wdndward side. The thermometer thus situated was several nights compared with another lying on the same grass-plot, but on a part of it fully exposed to the sky. On two of these nights, tlie air being clear and calm, the grass close to the handkerchief was found to be 4° warmer than the fully exposed grass. On a third, the difference was 6°. An analogous fact is mentioned by Gersten, who says that a horizontal surface is more abundantly dewed than one which is perpendicular to the ground. 2324. Heat from a covering of snow. The covering of snow, the same author observes, which countries in high latitudes enjoy during the winter, has been very commonly thought to be beneficial to vegetable substances on the surface of the earth, as far as their temperature is concerned, solely by protecting them from the cold of the atmosphere. But were this supposition jus^ the advantage of the covering would be greatly circumscribed ; since the upper parts of trees and of tall shrubs are still exposed to the influence of the air. Another reason, however, is furnished for its usefulness, by what has been said above ; which is, that it prevents the occurrence of the cold, which bodies on the earth acquire, in addition to that of the atmosphere, by the radiation of their heat to the heavens during still and clear nights. The cause, indeed, of this additional cold does not constantly operate ; but its presence, during only a few hours, might effectually destroy plants which now pass unhurt through the winter. Again, as things are, while low vegetable productions are prevented, by their covering of snow, from becoming colder than the atmosphere in consequence of their own radiation, the parts of trees and tall shrubs, which rise above the snow, are little affected by cold from this cause ; for their uttermost twigs, now that they are destitute of leaves, are much smaller than the thermometers suspended by me in the air, which in this situation very seldom became more than 2° colder than the atmosphere. The larger branches, too, which, if fully exposed to the sky, would become colder than the extreme parts, are, in a great degree, sheltered by them ; and, in the last place, the trunks are sheltered both by the smaller and larger parts, not to mention that the trunks must derive heat, by conduction through the roots, from the earth kept warm by the snow. In a similar way is partly to be explained the manner in which a layer of earth or straw preserves vege- table matters in our own fields from the injurious effects of cold in winter. (Essay on JOew.) 2325. The nature of light is totally unknown : the light which proceeds from the sun seems to be composed of three distinct substances. Scheele discovered that a glass mirror held before the fire reflected the rays of light, but not the rays of caloric ; but when a metallic mirror was placed in the same situation, both heat and light were reflected. The mirror of glass became hot in a short time, but no change of temperature took place on the metallic mirror. This experiment shows that the glass mirror absorbed the rays of caloric, and reflected those of light ; while the metallic miiror, suffering no change of temperature, reflected both. If a glass plate be held before a burning body, the rays of light are not sensibly interrupted, but the rays of caloric are intercepted ; for no sensible heat is observed on the opposite side of the glass ; but when the glass has reached a proper degree of temperature, the rays of caloric are transmitted with the same facility as those of light; and thus the rays of light and caloric may be separated. But the curious experiments of Dr. Herschel have clearly proved that the invisible rays which are emitted by the sun have the greatest heating power. In those experiments, the different coloured rays were thrown on the bulb of a very delicate ther- Book III. ELECTRICITY WATER. 353 mometer, and their heating power was observed. The heating power of the violet, green, and red rays were found to be to each other as the following numbers : — Violet, 16*0 ; Green 22-4 ; Red, 55-0. The heating power of tlie most refrangible rays was least, and this power increases as the refrangibility diminishes. The red ray, therefore, has the greatest heating power, and the violet, which is the most refrangible, the least. The illuminating power, it has been already observed, is greatest in the middle of the spectrum, and it diminishes towards both extremities ; but the heating power, wliich is least at the violet end, increases from that to the red extremity ; and when the thermo- meter was placed beyond the limit of the red ray, it rose still higher than in the red ray, which has the greatest heating power in the spectnmi. The heating power of these invi- sible lays was greatest at tlie distance of half an inch beyond the red ray, but it was sen- sible at the distance of one inch and a half. 2326. Tlie influence of tlte diff^erent solar rays on vegetation has not yet been studied ; but it is certain that the rays exercise an influence independent of the heat they produce. Thiis plants kept in darkness, but supplied with Beat, air, and moisture, grow for a short time, but they never gain their natural colours ; their leaves are white and pale, and their juices watery and peculiarly saccharine : according to Knight they merely expend the sap previously generated under the influence of Ught. [Notes to Sir H. Davy's Agr. Chem. p. 402.) Sect. II. Of Electricity. 2327. Electrical changes are constantly taking place in nature, on the surface of the earth, and in the atmosphere ; but as yet the effects of this power on vegetation have not been correctly estimated. It has been shown by experiments made by means of the vol- taic battery, that compound bodies in general are capable of being decomposed by elec- trical powers; and it is probable that the various electrical phenomena occurring in our system, must influence both the germination of seeds and the growth of plants. It has been found that corn sprouted much more rapidly in water positively electrified by the voltaic instrument, than in water negatively electrified ; and experiments made upon the atmosphere show that clouds are usually negative ; and, as when a cloud is in one state of electricity, the surface of the earth beneath is brought into the opposite state, it is probable that in common cases the surface of the earth is positive. A similar experi- ment is related by Dr. Darwin. {Phytologia, sect. xiii. 2, 3.) 2328. Resjiectvng the rinture of electricity different opinions are entertained amongst scientific men. By some, the phenomena are conceived to depend upon a single subtile fluid in excess in the bodies said to be positively electrified, and in deficiency in the bodies said to be negatively electrified ; a second class suppose the effects to be produced by two different fluids, called by them the vitreous fluid and the resinous fluid ; and others regard them as affections or motions of matter, or an exhibition of attractive powers similar to those which produce chemical combination and decomposition, but usually exerting their action on masses. 2329. ji profitable application of electricity, Dr. Darwin observes, to promote the growth of plants is not yet discovered ; it is nevertheless probable, that, in dry seasons, the erection of numerous metallic points on the surface of the ground, but a few feet high, might in the night time contribute to precipitate the dew by facilitating the passage of electricity from the air into the earth ; and that an erection of such points higher in the air by means of vm-es wrapped round tall rods, like angling rods, or elevated on buildings, might frequently precipitate showers from the higher parts of the atmosphere. Such points erected in gardens might promote a quicker vegetation of the plants in their vicinity, by supplying them more abundantly with the electric ether. {Phytologfa, xiii. 4.) J. Williams {Climate of Great Britain, 348.), enlarging on this idea, proposes to erect large electrical machines, to be driven by wind, over the general face of the country, for the purpose of improving the climate, and especially for lessening that superabundant moisture which he contends is yearly increasing from the increased eva- porating surface, produced by the vegetation of improved culture, and especially from the increase of pastures, hedges, and ornamental plantations. Sect. III. Of Water. 2330. Water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen gas, though primarily reckoned a simple or elementary substance. " If the metal called potassium be exposed in a glass tube to a small quantity of water, it will act upon it with great violence ; elastic fluid will be disengaged, which will be found to be hydrogen; and the same effects will be produced upon the potassium, as if it had absorbed a small quantity of oxygen ; and the hydrogen (Msengaged, and the oxygen added to the potassium, are in weight as 2 to IS ; and if two in volume of hydrogen, and one in volume of oxygen, which have the weights of 2 and 15, be introduced into a close vessel, and an electrical spark passed through them, they will inflame and condense into 17 parts of pure water." A a 354 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2331. Heater is absolutely necessary to the economy of vegetation in its elastic and fluid states ; and it is not devoid of use even in its solid term. Snow and ice are bad con- ductors of heat ; and when the ground is covered with snow, or the surface of the soil or of water is frozen, the roots or bulbs of the plants beneath are protected by the congealed water from the influence of the atmosphere, the temperature of which, in northern win- ters, is usually very much below the freezing point ; and tliis water becomes the first nourishment of the plant in early spring. The expansion of water during its con- gelation, at wliich time Its volume increases one twelfth, and its contraction of bulk during a thaw, tend to pulverise the soil, to separate its parts from each other, and to make it more permeable to the influence of the air. Chap. IV. Of the Agemcy of the Atmosphere in Vegetation- 2332. The aerial medium which envelopes the earth may be studied chemically and phy- sically : the first study respects the elements of which the atmosphere is composed ; and the second their action in a state of combination, and as influenced by various causes, or those phenomena which constitute the weather. Sect. I. Of the Elements of the Atmosphere. 2SS3. Water, carbonic acid gas, oxygen^ and azote, sure the principal substances compoft ing the atmosphere ; but more minute enquiries respecting their nature and agencies are necessary to afford correct views of its uses in vegetation. 2334. That water exists in the atmosphere is easily proved. If some of the salt, called muriate of lime, which has been just heated red, be exposed to the air, even in the driest and coldest weather, it will increase in weight, and become moist ; and in a certain time will be converted into a fluid. If put into a retort and heated, it will yield pure water ; will gradually recover its pristine state, and, if heated red, its former weight : so that it is evident that the water united to it was derived from the air. That it existed in the air in an invisible and elastic form, is proved by the circumstances, that if a given quantity of air be exposed to the salt, its volume and weight will diminish, provided the experiment be correctly made. 2335. The quantity of water which exists in air, as vapour, varies with the temperature. In proportion as the weather is hotter, the quantity is greater. At 50° of Fahrenheit, air contains about ^ of its volume of vapour ; and, as the specific gravity of vapour is to that of air nearly as 10 to 15, this is about ^ of its weight. At 100°, supposing that there is a free communication with water, it contains about -ff part in volume, or ^ in weight. It is the condensation of vapour, by diminution of the temperature of the atmo- sphere, which is probably the principal cause of the formation of clouds, and of the 'deposition of dew, mist, snow, or hail. 2336. The power of different substances to absorb aqueous vapour from the atmosphere by cohesive attraction has been already referred to. The leaves of living plants appear to act upon this vapour in its elastic form, and to absorb it. Some vegetables increase in weight from this cause, when suspended in the atmosphere and unconnected with the soil ; such are the house-leek, and diiferent species of the aloe. In very intense heats, and when the soil is dry, the life of plants seems to be preserved by the absorbent power of their leaves ; and it is a beautiful circumstance in the economy of nature, that aqueous vapour is most abundant in the atmosphere when it is most needed for the purposes of life ; and that when other sources of its supply are cut off, this is most copious. ^ 2337. The existence of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere is proved by the following process : if a solution of lime and water be exposed to the air, a pellicle will speedily form upon it, and a solid matter will gradually fall to the bottom of the water, and in a certain time the water will become tasteless ; this is owing to the combination of the lime which was dissolved in the water with carbonic acid gas, which existed in the atmosphere, as may be proved by collecting the film and the solid matter, and igniting them strongly in a little tube of platina or iron ; they will give out carbonic acid gas, and villi become quicklime, which, added to the same water, will again bring it to the state of lime-water. 2338. Tlie quantity of carbonic acid gas in the atmosphere is very small. It is not easy to determine it with precision, and it must differ in different situations ; but where there is a free circulation of air, it is probably never more than one 500th, nor less than one 800th, of the volume of air. Carbonic acid gas is nearly one third heavier than the other clastic parts of the atmosphere in their mixed state ; hence, at first view, it might be supposed Book III. THE ATMOSPHERE. 335 that it would be most abundant in the lower regions of tlie atmosphere ; but unless it has been immediately produced at the surface of the earth in some chemical process, this does not seem to be tlje case ; elastic fluids of different specific gravities have a tendency to equable mixture by a species of attraction, and tl>e different pai-ts of the atmosphere are constantly agitated and blended together by winds or other causes. De Saussure found lime-water precipitated on Mount Blanc, the highest point of land in Europe ; and car- bonic acid gas has been always found, apparently in due proportion, in the air brought down from great heights in the atmosphere by aeronautic adventurers. 2339. The jmncipal consumption of the earbomc add in the atmosphere seems to be in affording nourishment to plan^ ; and some of them appear to be supplied with carbon chiefly from this source. 2340. Thejormatwn of carbonic acid gas takes place during fermentation, combustion, putrefaction, respiration, and a number of operations taking place upon the surface of the earth ; and thei'e is no other extensive operation known in nature, by which it can be destroyed but by vegetation. 2341. Oxygen and azote are the remaining constituents of the atmosphere. After a given portion of common air has been deprived of aqueous vapour and carbonic acid gas, it appears little altered in its properties ; it remains a compound of oxygen and azote, which supports combustion and animal life. There are many modes of separating these two gases from each otlier. A simple one is by burning phosphorus in a confined volume of air ; this absorbs the oxygen and leaves the azote ; and 100 parts in volume of air, in which phosphorus has been burnt, yield 79 parts of azote ; and by mixing this azote with 21 parts of fresh oxygen gas artificially procured, a substance having the original characters of air is produced. To procure pure oxygen from air, quicksilver may be kept heated in it, at about 600°, till it becomes a red powder ; this powder, when ignited, will be restored to the state of quicksilver by giving off oxygen. 2342. Oxygen is necessary to S07n£ Junctions of vegetables ; but its great importance in nature is its relation to the economy of animals- It is absolutely necessary to their life. Atmospheric air taken into the lungs of animals, or passed in solution in water through tlie gills of fishes, loses oxygen ; and for the oxygen lost, about an equal volume of car- bonic acid appears. 2343. T/ie effects of azote in vegetation are not distinctly knovni. As it is found in some of tlie products of vegetation, it may be absorbed by certain plants from the atmosphere. It prevents the action of oxygen from being too energetic, and serves as a medium in which the more essential parts of the air act ; nor is this circumstance unconformable to the analogy of nature ; for the elements most abundant on the solid surface of the globe are not those which are the most essential to the existence of the living beings belonging to it. 2344. Tlie action of the atmosphere on plants differs at different periods of their growth, and varies with the various stages of the developement and decay of their organs. If a healthy seed be moistened and exposed to air at a temperature not below 45°, it soon germinates, and shoots forth a plume, which rises upwards, and a radicle which descends. If the air be confined, it is found that in the process of germination the oxygen, or a part of it, is absorbed. The azote remains unaltered ; no carbonic acid is taken away from the air j on the contrary, some is added. Seeds are incapable of germinating, except when oxygen is present. In the exhausted receiver of the air-pump, in pure azote, or in pure carbonic acid, when moistened they swell, but do not vegetate ; and if kept in these gases, lose their living powers, and undergo putrefaction. If a seed be examined before germination, it will be found more or less insipid, at least not sweet; but after germination it is always sweet. Its coagulated mucilage, or starch, is converted into sugar in the process ; a substance difficult of solution is changed into one easily soluble ; and the sugar carried through the cells or vessels of the cotyledons is the nourishment of the infant plant. The absorption of oxygen by the seed in germinatioh has been com- pared to its absorption in producing tiie evolution of foetal life in the egg ; but tliis analogy is only remote. All animals, from the most to the least perfect classes, require a supply of oxygen. From the moment the heart begins to pulsate till it ceases to beaf^ the aeration of die blood is constant, and the function of respiration invariable : carbonic acid is given off in the process ; but the chemical change produced in the blood is unknown j nor is there any reason to suppose the formation of any substance similar to sugar. It is evident, that in all cases of semination, the seeds should be sown so as to be fully exposed to the influence of the air ; and one cause of the unproductiveness of cold clayey adhesive soils is, that the seed is coated with matter impermeable to air. In sandy soils the earth is always sufficiently penetrable by the atmosphere ; but in clayey soils there can scarcely be too great a mechanical division of parts. Any seed not fully supplied with air, always produces a weak and diseased plant. We have already seen that cai'bon is added to plants from the air by the process of vegetation in sunshine ; and oxygen is added to the atmosphere at the same time. It is worthy of remark that tlic A B 2 356 SCIENCE Oh AGRICULTURE. Part 11. Latitude. Places. Range of tlie Barometer. Greatest. Annual, 0" C aa as 33 55 40 55 51 8 53 13 53 as 59 56 Pom - . - Calcutta . - Cape Town - Naples . . . Dover - . . Middlewich - Liverpool . - Petersburgh - ao 77 T 00 8 47 3 00 2 89 3 4* ¥ 89 T 80 1 94 1 96 2 77 absence of light is necessary to the formation of sugar in the germination of seeds ; and its presence to the production of sugar in fruits. The following is the late Dr. Murray's ingenious explanation of these remarkable facts. The seed consists chiefly of farinaceous matter, which requires oxygen to convert it into sugar. Now living vegetables appear to absorb oxygen in the dark : unripe fruits usually contain an acid, that is, have an excess of oxygens and light is favourable to the evolution of oxygen from living plants. (T.) 2345. Those changes in the atmospliere which constitute the most important meteorological phenomena may be classed under five distinct heads ; the alterations that occur in the weight of the atmosphere ; those that take place in its temperature ; the changes produced in its quantity by evaporation and rain ; the excessive agitation to which it is frequently subject ; and the phenomena arising from electric and other causes, which at particular .times occasion or attend the precipitations and agitations alluded to. All the above phenomena prove to demonstration that constant changes take place, the consequences of new combinations and decompositions rapidly following each other. 2346. With respect to the changes in the weight of the atmosphere, it is generally known that the instrument called the barometer shows the weight of a body of air immediately above it, extending to the extreme boundary of the atmosphere, and the base of which is equal to that of the mercury contained within it. As the level of the sea is the lowest point of observation, the column of air over a barometer placed at that level is the longest that can be obtained, 2347. The variations of the barmneter between the tropics are very trilling! they increase gradually as the latitude advances towards the poles, till in the end it amounts to two or three inches. The ibilowing Table will explain this gradual increase : — 2348. The range of the barometer is considerably less in North America than in the corresponding latitudes qf Europe, particularly in Virginia, where it never exceeds I'l. The range is more considerable at the level of the sea than on mountains; and in the same degree of latitude it is in the inverse ratio of the height of the place above the level of the sea. Cotte composed a table, which has been published in the Journal de Physique, from which it appears extremely probable, that the barometer has an in- variable tendency to rise between the morning and the evening, and that this impulse is most con- siderable from two in the afternoon till nine at night, when the greatest elevation is accomplished ; but the elevation at nine differs from that at two by four twelfths, while that of two varies from the elevation of • the morning only by one twelfth, and that in particular climates the greatest elevation is at two o'clock. The observations of Cotte confirm those of Luke Howard; and from them it is concluded, that the barometer is influmced by some depressing cause at new and full moon, and that some other makes it .rise at the quarters. This coincidence is most considerable in fair and calm weather ; the depression in the interval between the quarters and conjunctions amounts to one tenth of an inch, and the rise from the conjunctions to the quarters is to the same amount The range of this instrument is found to be -greater in winter than in summer; for instance, the mean at York, during the months from October to March inclusive, in the year 1774, was 1-42, and in the six summer months I-OIG. 2349, The more serene and settled the weather, the higher the barometer ranges ; calm weather, with a tendency to rain, depresses it ; high winds have a similar effect on it ; and the greatest elevation occurs with easterly and northerly winds ; but the south produces a directly contrary effect. 2350. The variations in the temperature of the air in any particular place, exclusive of the differences of seasons and climates, are very considerable. These changes cannot be produced by heat derived from the sun, as its rays concentrated have no kind of effect on air ; these, however, heat the surface of our globe, from which heat is communicated to the immediate atmosphere ; it is through this fact that the temperature is highe.5t where tire place is so situated as to receive with most effect the rays of the sun, and that it varies in each region with the season ; it is also the cause why it decreases in proportion to the height of the air above the surface of the earth. The most perpenilicular rays falling on the globe at the equator, there its heat is the greatest, and that heat decreases gradually to the poles, of course the temperature of the air is in exact unison ; from this it appears that the air acquires the greatest degree of warmth at the equator, whence it becomes insensibly cooler till we arrive at the poles; in the same manner the air immediately above the equator cools gradually. Though the temperature sinks as it approaches the pole, and is highest at the equator, yet as it varies continually with tlie seasons, it is impossible to form an accurate idea of the progression without forming a mean temperature for a year, from that of the temperature of every degree of latitude for every day of the year, which may be accomplished by adding together the whole of the observations and dividing by their number, when the quotient will be the mean tem- perature for the year. The " diminution," says Dr. Thomson, " from the pole to the equator takes place in arithmetical progression ; or to speak more properly, the annual temperature of all the latitudes are arithmetical means between the mean annual tem- perature of the equator and the pole ; and, as far as heat depends on the action of solar rays, that of each month is as the mean altitude of the sun, or rather as the sine of the sun's altitude. Later observations, however, Iiave shown that all the formulje for cal- culating the mean temperatures of (Jifferent latitudes, which are founded on Mayer's Book III. THE ATMOSPHERE. 357 Empirical Equation, though tolerably accurate in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, to latitude 60°, are totally irreconcileable with observations in very high latitudes ; and on the meridians, from 70° to 90° W. and E. of London. The results of late arctic voyages, and of Rmsian travels, have been satisfactorily shevrn, by Dr. Brewster {Edin Plal. Tr*')^ to prove the existence of two itieridians of greatest cold in the northern hemisphere ; and the mean temperature of particular countries varies, not only according to the parallels of latitude, but also according to their proximity to these two cold meridians, (2^0 2351. Inconsiderable seas, in temperate and cold climates, are colder m winter and warmer in summer than the main ocean, as they are necessarily under the influence of natural operations from the land. Thus the Gulf of Bothnia is generally frozen in winter, but the water is sometimes heated in the summer to 70°, a state which the opposite part of the Atlantic never acquires ; the German Sea is iive degrees warmer in summer than the Atlantic, and more than three colder in winter ; the Mediterranean is almost throughout warmer both in winter and summer, which therefore causes the Atlantic to flow into it; and the Black Sea, being colder than the Mediterranean, flows into the latter. S352. 7%e eastern parts qf North America^ as it appears from meteorological tables, have a much colder air than the opposite European coast, and fall short of the standard by about ten or twelve degrees. There are several causes which produce this considerable difference. The greatest elevation in North America is between the 40th and 50th degree of north latitude, and the 100th and 110th of longitude west from London j and there the most considerable rivers have their origin. The height alone will partly explain why Uiis tract is colder than it would otherwise be ; but there are other causes, and those are most extensive forests, and large swamps and morasses, all of which exclude heat from the earth, and consequently prevent it from ameliorating the rigour of winter. Many extensive lakes lie to the east, and Hudson's Bay more to the north ; a chain of mountains extends on the south of the latter, and those equally prevent the accumulation of heat; besides, this bay is bounded on the east bv the mountainous country of Labrador, and has many islands; from all which circumstances arise the lowness of the temperature, and the piercing cold of the noith-west winds. The annual decrease of the forests for the purpose of clearing the ground, and the consumption for building and fuel, is supposed to have occasioned a considerable decrease of cold in the winter j and if this should be the result, much will yet be done towards bringing the temperature of the European and American continents to something like a level. 2353. Continents have a colder atmosphere than islands situated in the same degree of latitude ; and countries lying to the windward of the superior classes of mountains, or forests, are warmer than tliose which are to the leeward. Earth always possessing a cert^n degree of moisture, has a greater capacity to receive and retain heat than sand or stones, the latter therefore are heated and cooled with more rapidity: it is from this circumstance that the intense heats of Africa and Arabia, and the cold of Terra del Fuego, are derived. The temperature of growing vegetables changes very gradually; but ^ere is a considerable evaporation from them : if those exist in great numbers, and congregated, or in forests, their foliage preventing the rays of the sun from reaching the earth, it is perfectly natural that the immediate atmosphere must be greatly affected by the ascent of chilled vapours. 2354. Our next object is the ascent and descent of water: the principal appearances of this element are vapour, clouds, dew, rain, frost, hail, snow, and ice. 2355. Vapour is water rarefied by heat, in consequence of which, becoming lighter than the atmosphere, it is raised considerably above the surface of the earth, and afterwards by a partial condensation forms clouds. It differs from exhalation, which is properly a dispersion of dry particles from a body. When water is heated to 212° it boils, and is rapidly converted into steam ; and the same change takes place in much lower temperatures ; but in that case the evaporation is slower, and the elasticity of the steam is smaller. As a very considerable proportion of the earth's surface is covered with water^ i, and as this water is constantly evaporating and mixing with the atmosphere in the state of vapour, a precise determination of the rate of evaporation must be of very great im- portance in meteorology. Evaporation is confined entirely to the surface of the water ; hence -it is, in all cases, proportional to the surface of the water exposed to the atmosphere. Much more vapour of course rises in maritime countries or those interspersed with lakes, {ban in inland countries. Much more vapour rises during hot weather than during cold r hence the quantity evaporated depends in some measure upon temperature. The quantity of vapour which rises from water, even when the temperature is the same, varies according to circumstances. It is least of all in calm weather, greater when a breeze blows, and greatest of all with a strong wind. From expenments, it appears, that the quantity of vapour raised annually at Manchester is equal to about 25 inches of rain. If to this we add five inches for the dew, with Dalton, it will make the annual evaporation 30 inches. Now, if we consider the situation of England, and the greater quantity of vapour raised from water, it will not surely be con^dered as too great an allowance, if we estimate the mean annual evaporation over the whole surface of the globe at 35 inches. 2356. A cloud is h mass of vapour, more or less opaque, formed and sustained at considerable height in- the atmosphere, probably by the joint agencies of heat and A a3 3.58 SCIENCE OF AORICULTUKi; Pa I II cluctricity, TIic iii^it successfui arfpni]>t ro arr;in'.r(-' the rlivcrsificd forms of clouds, under a few general niodilications, was made l)y Luke Howard, Ks(i. Wc sliall give liere a brief account of his ingenious classification. 2357. The simple mmlificntinns arc thus named and defined; — 1. Cirrus, parallel, flexuous, or diverging fihrcs, extensible in any or in all directions (^fig. 207. u. ) ; 207 r- ■-:— ; a I ., 2. Cumulus, convex or conical heaps, increasing upwards from a horizontal base (A) ; 3. Stratus, a widely-extended, continuous, horizontal sheet, increasing from below (c). 2358. Tlie intermediate modifications whicii require to be noticed are, 4. Cirro-cumulus small, well defined, roundish masses, in close horizontal arrangement (d) ; 5. Cirro- stratus, horizontal, or slightly inclined masses, attenuated towards a part or the whole of their circumference, bent downward or undulated, separate, or in groups consistinn- of small clouds having these characters (e). ° 2359. Tlie compound modifications are, 6. Cumulo-stratus, or twain cloud ; the cirro- stratus blended with the cumulus, and either appearing intermixed with the heaps of the latter, or superadding a wide-siireajl structure to its base (/) ; 7. Cumulo-cirro-stratus, or Nimbus ; the rain-cloud, a cloud or system of clouds from which rain is falling. Ft is a horizontal sheet, above which the cirrus spreads, while the cumulus enters it laterally and from beneath (g, g) ; 8. The Fall Cloud, resting apparently on the surface of the ground (/i). Book III, THE ATMOSPHERE, 359 S360. TJie cirrus appears to have the least density, the greatest elevatio§, the greatest variety of extent and direction, and to appear earliest in serene weather, being indicateil by a few threads pencilled on the sky. Before storms they appear lower and denser, and usually in the quarter opposite to tnat irom which the storm arises. Steady high winds are also preceded and attended by cirrous streaks, running quite across the sky in the direction they blow in. 2361. The cumulus has the densest structure, is formed in the lower atmosphere, and moves along with the current next the earth. A small irregular spot first appears, and is, as it were, the nucleus on which they increase. The lower surface continues irregularly plane, while the upper rises into conical or hemi- spherical heaps ; which may afterwards continue long nearly of the same bulk, or rapidly rise into moun- tains. They will begin, in fair weather, to form some hours after sunrise, arrive at their maximum in the hottest part of the afternoon, then go on diminishing, and totally disperse about sunset Previously to rain the cumulus increases rapidly, appears lower in the atmosphere, and with its surface fUU of loose fleeces or protuberances. - The formation of large cumuli to leeward in a strong wind, indicates the ap- proach of a calm with rain. When they do not disappear or subside about sunset, but continue to rise, thunder is to be expected in the night. 2362. The stratus has a mean degree of density, and is the lowest of clouds, its inferior surface commonly resting on the earth in water. This is properly the cloud of night, appearing about sunset It compre- h»id5 all those creeping mists which in calm weather ascend in spreading sheets (like an inundation of water) from the bottoms of valleys, and the surfaces of lakes and nvers. On the return of the sun, the level surface of this cloud begins to put on the appearance of cumulus, the whole at the same time separate ing from the ground. The continuity is next destroyed, and the cloud ascends and evaporates, or passes off with the appearance of the nascent cumulus. This has long been experienced as a prognostic of fair weather. 2363. Trartsitton qf forms. The cirrus having continued for some time increasing or stationary, usually passes either to the cirro-cumulus or the cirro-stratus, at the same time descending to a lower station in the atmosphere. This modification forms a very beautiful sky, and is frequently in summer an attendant on warm and dry weather. The cirro-stratus, when seen in the distance, frequently gives the idea of shoals of fish. It precedes wind and rain ; is seen in the intervals of storms ; and sometimes alternates with the cirro-cumulus in the same cloud, when the different evolutions form a curious spectacle. A judgment may be formed of the weather likely to ensue by observing which modification prevails at last. The solar and lunar haloes, as well as the parhelion and paraselene (mock sun and mock moon), prognostics of foul weather, are occasioned by this cloud. The cumulo-stratus precedes, and the nimbus accom> p»iies rain. 2364. Dew is the moisture insensibly deposited from the atmosphere on the surface of the earth. Iliis moisture is precipitated by the cold of the body on which it appears, and will be more or less abundant, not in proportion to the coldness of that body, but in pro- portion to the existing state of the air in regard to moisture. It is conunonly supposed that the formation of dew produces cold, but like every other precipitation of water from the atmosphere, it must eventually produce heat. S365. Phenomena qfdew. Aristotle justly remarked, that dew appears only on calm and clear nights. Dr. Wells shows, tiiat very Httle is ever deposited in opposite circumstances ; and that little only when the clouds are very high. It is never seen on nights both cloudy and windy j and if in the course of the night the weather, from being serene, should become dark and stormy, dew which has been deposited will disap- pear. In calm weather, if the sky be partially covered with clouds, more dew will appear than if it were entirely uncovered. Dew probably begins in the country to appear upon grass in places shaded from the sun, during clear and calm weather, soon after the heat of the atmosphere has declined, and continues to be deposited .through the whole night, and for a little after sunris& Its quantity will depend in some measure on the proportion of moisture in the atmosphere, and is consequently greater after r»n than after a long tract of dry weather; and in Europe, with southerly and westerly winds, than with those which blow from the north and the east. The direction of the sea determines this relation of the winds to dew; for in Eg^pc, dew is scarcdy ever observed except while the northerly or E^sian winds prevail. Hence also dew is generally more abundant in spring and autumn than in summer. It is always very copious on those clear nights which are followed by misty mornings, which show the air to be loaided with moisture ; and a clear morning following a cloudy night determines a plentiful deposition of the retained vapour. When warmth of atmosphere is compatible with clearness, as is the case in southern latitudes, though seldom in our country, the dew becomes much more copious, because the air then contains more moistura Dew continues to form with increased copiousness as the night advances, from the increased refrigeration of the ground. 2366. Cause of dew. Dew, according to Aristotle, is a species of rain, formed in the lower atmosphere, in consequence of its moisture being condensed by the cold of the night into minute drops. Opinions of this kind, says Dr. Wells, are still entertained by many persons, among whom is the very ingenious Pro- fessor Leslie: {Relat. qf Heat OTid Moisture^ p. 37. and 132.) A fact, however, first taken notice of by Oarstin, who published his Treatise on Dew in 1773, proves them to be erroneous j for he found that bodies a little elevated in the air often become moist with dew, while similar bodies, lying on the ground, remain dry, though necessarily, from their position, as Dable to be wetted, by whatever falls from the heavens, as the former. The above notion is perfectly refuted by the fact, that metallic surfaces exposed to the air in a horizontal position remain dry, while every thing around them is covered with dew. ~ After a long period of drought, when the air was very still and the sky serene. Dr. Wells exposed to the sky, 28 minutes before sunset, lareviously weighed parcels of wool and swandown, upon a smooth, unpainted, and perfectly dry fir table, 5 feet long, 3 broad, and nearly 3 in height, which had been placed, an hour before, in the sunshine, in a large level grassfield. The wool, 12 minutes after sunset, was found to be 14° colder than the air, and to have acquired no weight The swandown, the quantity of which was much greater than that of the wool, was at the same time 13° colder than the air, and was also without any ad- ditional weight In 20 minutes more the swandown was 14^^° colder than the neighbouring air, and was still without any increase of its weight Atthesarae time the grass was 15° colder than the air four feet above the ground. Dr. Wells, by a copious induction of facts derived from observation and experiment, establishes the proposition, that bodies become colder than the neighbouring air before they are dewed. The cold therefore, which Dr. Wilson and M. Six conjectured to be the effect of dew, now appears to be its cause. But what makes the terrestrial surface colder than the atmosphere ? The radiation or projection of heat into free spaca Now the researches of Professor Leslie and Count Rumford have de- monstrated that different bodies project heat with very different degrees of force. In the operation of this principle therefore, conjoined with the power of a concave mirror of cloud, or any other awning, to reflect or throw down again those caloric emanations which would be dissipated in a clear sky, we shall find a solution of the most mysterious phenomena of dew. 2367. Rain, Luke Howard, who may be considered as our most accurate scientific meteorologist, is inclined to think that rain is in almost every instance the result of the electrical action of clouds upon each other, Aa 4 360 SCIENCK OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II. 2368. Phnwmctui qfrain. %ln never descends till the transparency of the air ceases, and the invisible vapours Ijecome vesicular, when clouds form, and at length the drops fall : clouds, instead of forming gradually at once throughout all parts of tiie horizon, generate in a particular spot, and imperceptibly in- crease till the whole expanse is obscured. 2369. TIte cause of rain Is thus accounted for by Hutton and Dalton. If two masses of air of unequal temperatures are, wlien saturated with vapour, intermixed by the ordinary currents of the winds, a precipitation ensues. If the masses are under satu- ration, then less precipitation takes place, or none at all, according to the degree. Also the warmer the air, the greater is the quantity of vapour precipitated in like circumstances. Hence the reason why rains are heavier in summer than in winter, and in warm countries than in cold. 2370. Tlie quantiti/ of rain, taken at an annual mean, is the greatest at the equator, and it lessens gradually to the poles ; at which there are fewer days of rain, the number in- creasing in proportion to the distance from them. From north latitude 12° to 43" the mean number of rainy days is 78 ; from 43° to 46° the mean number is 103 ; from 46° ■to 50°, 134; and from 51° to 60°, 161. Winter often produces a greater number of rainy days than summer, though the quantity of rain is more considerable in the latter than in the former season ; at Petersburgh rain and snow fall on an average 84 days of the winter, and the quantity amounts to about five inches ; on the contrary, the summer produces eleven inches in about the same number of days. Mountainous districts are subject to great falls of rain ; among the Andes particularly, it rains almost incessantly, while the flat country of Egypt is consumed by endless drought. Dalton estimates the quantity of rain falling in England at 31 inches. The mean annual quantity of rain for the whole globe is 34 inches. 2371. The cause why less rainfalls in the first six months of the year than in tlie last sit months is thus explained. The whole quantity of water in the atmosphere in January is usually about three inches, as appears from the dew point, which is then about 32° ; now the force of vapours of that temperature is 0*2 of an inch of mercury, which is equal to 2'S or three inches of water. The dew point in July is usually about 58° or 59°, cor- responding to 0-5 of an inch of mercury, which is equal to seven inches of water. Thus it is evident that, in the latter month, the atmosphere contains four inches of water more than in the former month. Hence, supposing the usual intermixture of currents of air in both the intervening periods to be the same, the rain ought to be four inches less in the former period of the year than the average, and four inches more in the latter period, making a difference of eight inches between the two periods, which nearly accords with the preceding observations. 2372. The mean, rnonthly and annual quantities ofrnm aX various places, deduced from the average for many years, by Dalton, is given in the following Table; — li i u fi li ■^i li It fi li o-< 1" as g" «s 3S ^§ '^s PS 2)iM. Inch. Im:h. Inti. tfich. Inch. Itich. Inch. January - 2-310 2-177 2-196 3-461 5-2iJ9 3-095 1-S95 1-464 1-228 2-477 February - 2-588 1-847 1-652 2995 5-126 2-837 1741 1-250 1-232 1-700 2-295 March - . 2-098 1-523 1-322 1-753 3-lSl 2164 1-184 1-172 1-190 1-927 AprU May 2010 2-104 2-078 2-180 2-986 2-017 0-979 1-279 1-185 2-686 2-895 2-573 2-118 2-460 3-480 2-668 1-641 1-636 1767 2-4here, naturally proceeds from the upper parts of bodies downwards ; so the longer a frost is continued, the thicker the ice becomes upon the water m ponds, and the deeper into the earth the ground is frozen. In about 16 or 17 days' frost, Boyle found it had penetrated 14 inches into the ground At Moscow, m a hard season, the frost will penetrate two feet deep into the ground • and Captain James found it penetrated 10 feet deep in Charlton Island, and the water in the same island was frozen to the depth of six feet. Scheflfer assures us, that in Sweden the frost pierces two cubits (a Swedish ell) into the earth, turning what moisture is found there into a whiush substance hke ice ; and into standing water three ells or more The same author also mentions sudden cracks or rifts in the ice of the lakes of Sweden nine or ten feet deep, and many leagues long ; th^ rupture being made with a noise not less Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 361 loud than if many guns were discharged together. By such means, however, the fishes are furnished with air, so that they are rarely found dead. 2374, The history qf frosts ftirnishes very extraordinary facts. The trees are often scorched and burnt up, as with the most excessive hea^ in consequence of the separation of water ft-otn the air, which is therefore very drying. In the great frost in 1633, the trunks of oak, ash, walnut, and other trees, were miserably split and cleft, so that they might be seen through, and the cracks often attended with dreadful noises like the explosion of fire-arms. 2S7S. Hail is generally defined as frozen rain ; it differs from it in that the hailstones for the most part are not formed of single pieces of ice, but of many little spherules agglutinated togedier ; neither are those spherules all of the satne consistence ; some of them being hard and solid, like perfect ice ; others soft, and mostly like snow hardened by a severe frost. Hailstone has sometimes a kind of core of this soft matter ; but more frequently the core is solid and hard, while the outside is formed of a softer matter. Hailstones assume various figures, being sometimes round, at other times pyramidal, crenated, angular, thin or flat, and sometimes stellated with six radii, like the small crystals of snow. Natural historians furnish us with various accounts of surprising showers of hail, in which the hailstones were of extraordinary magnitude. 2376. Snow is formed by the freezing of the vapours in the atmosphere. It differs from hail and hoar frost, in being as it were crystallised, while they are not. As the flakes fall down through the. atn^osphere, they are continually joined by more of these radiated spicula, and they increase in bulk like the drops of rain or hailstones. The lightness of snow, although it is firm ice, is owing to the excess of its surface in comparison with the matter contained under it : as gold itself may be extended in surface till it will ride upon the least breath of air. The whiteness of snow is owing to the small particles into wliich it is divided ; for ice when pounded will become equally white. 2377. Snow is of great use to the vegetable kingdom. Were we to judge from appearance only, we might imagine, that, so far from being useful to the earth, the cold humidity of snow would be detrimental to vegetation ; but the experience of all ages asserts the con- trary. Snow, particularly in those northern regions where the ground is covered with it for several months, fructifies the earth, by guarding the corn or other vegetables from the intenser cold of the air, and especially from the cold piercing winds. It has been a vulgar opinion, very generally received, that snow fertilises the land on which it falls more than rain, in consequence of the nitrous salts which it is supposed to acquire by freezing: but it appears from the experiments of Margraaf, in the year 1731, that the chemical difference between rain and snow-water is exceedingly small; that the latter contains a somewhat less proportion of earth than the former ; but neither of them contains either earth, or any kind of salt, in any quantity which can be sensibly efficacious in promoting vegetation. The peculiar agency of snow as a fertiliser, in preference to rain, may be ascribed to its furnishing a covering to the roots of vegetables^ by which they are guarded from the influence of the atmospherical cold, and the internal heat of the earth is prevented from escaping. Different vegetables are able to preserve life under different degrees of cold, but all of them perish when the cold which reaches their roots is extreme. Providence has, therefore, in the coldest climates, pro- vided a covering of snow for the roots of vegetables, by which they are protected from the influence of the atmospherical cold. The snow keeps in the internal heat of the earth, which surrounds the roots of vegetables, and defends them from the cold of the atmosphere. 2378. Ice is water in the solid state, during which the teroperatiu-e remains constant, being 32 degrees of the scale of Fahrenheit. Ice is considerably lighter than water, namely, about one eighth part ; and tliis increase of dimensions is acquired with prodi- gious force, sufficient to burst the strongest iron vessels, and even pieces of artillery. Congelation takes place much more suddenly than the opposite process of liquefaction ; and of course, the same quantity of heat must be more rapidly extricated in freezing than it is absorbed in thawing ; the heat thus extricated being disposed to fly off in all direc- tions, and little of it being retained by the neighbouring bodies, more heat is lost than is gained by the alternation : so that where ice has once been formed, its production is in this manner redoubled. 2379. The northern ice extends during summer about 9° from the pole ; the southern 18° or 20°; in some parts even 30°; and floating ice has occasionally been found in both hemispheres as far as 40° from the poles, and sometimes, as it has been said, even in latitude 41° or 42°. Between 54° and 60° south latitude, the snow lies on the ground, at the sea-side, throughout the summer. The line of perpetual congelation is three miles above the surface at the equator, where the mean heat is 84° ; at Teneriffe, in latitude 28°, two miles ; in the latitude of London, a little more than a mile ; and in latitude 80° north, only 1 250 feet. At the pole, according to the analogy deduced by Kirwan, from Mayer's Formula, and which is not however found to agree very exactly with what takes place, from a comparison of various observations, the mean temperature should be 31°. 363 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part It. In London the mean temperature Is 50" ; at Home and at Montpellier, a little more than 60° ; in the island of Madeira, 70" ; and in Jamaica, 80°. 2380. Wind. Were it not for this agitation of the air, putrid effluvia arising from the habitations of man, and from vegetable substances, besides the exhalations from water, would soon render it unfit for respiration, and a general mortality would be the conse- quence. The prevailing winds of our own country, which were ascertained by order of the Royal Society of London, at London, are, ffinds. Days. Winds. Days. Winds. Days. South-west ni West S3 South 18 North-east m South-eaat . 52 North . 16 North-west m East 26 The westerly winds blow more upon an average in each month of the year than any other, particularly in July and August ; the north-east wind prevails during January, March, April, May, and June, and is most unfrequent in February, July, September, and December ; the north-west occurring more frequently from November to March, and less so in September and October than in any other months, 2381. Near Glasgow, the average is stated as follows : — Winds. Days. Winds. Days. South-west . 174 North-east ■ 104 North-west 40 South-east 47 2382, In Ireland, the prevailing winds are the west and south-west. 2383, The different degrees of motion of wind next excite our attention ; and it seems almost superfluous to observe, that it varies in gradation from the mildest zephyr, which plays upon the leaves of plants, gently undulating them, to the furious tempest, calcu- lated to inspire horror in the breast of the most callous. It is also a remarkable fact, that violent currents of air pass along, as it were, within a line, without sensibly agitating that beyond them. An instance of the fury of the wind being bounded " by a line" occurs in the hurricane of America ; where its devastating course is often accurately marked in the forests for a great extent in one direction. 2384, Causes of wind. There are many circumstances attending the operations of the air, which we term wind, which serve for a basis for well-founded conjectures, and those, united to the result of daily observation, render the explanation of its phenomena tolerably satisfactory. 2385. It must be clear to the most common capacity, that as the rays of the sun descend perpendicularly on the surface of the earth under the torrid zone, that part of it must receive a greater proportion of heat than those parts where they fall obliquely ; the heat thus acquired communicates to the air, which it rarefies, and causes to ascend, and the vacuum occasioned by this operation is immediately filled by the chill air f^om the north and south. The diurnal motion of the earth gradually lessens to the poles from the equator, at which point it moves at the rate of fifteen geographical miles in aminute, and this motion is communicated to the atmosphere in the same degree; but if part of the atmosphere were conveyed instantaneously to the equator from latitude 30°, it would not directly acquire the equatorial velocity ; consequently, the ridges of the earth must meet it, and give it the appearance of an east wind. The effect is similar upon the cold air proceeding from the north and south, and this similarity must be admitted to extend to each place particularly heated by the beams of the sun. The moon, being a large body situated comparatively near the earth, is known to affect the atmosphere j and this, and the continual shifting of the point of the earth's surface over which the sun is vertical, to the west, are given as the causes of the tides and of the trade winds. The moon's revolutions, by pressing the atmosphere upon the sea, cause the flux and reflux which we call tides j it cannot, therefore, be doubted, Uiat some of the winds we experience are caused by the moon's motion. 2386. The regular motion of the atmospherey known by the name of laTid and sea breezes, may be explained by the effects of rarefaction : theair heated over the land rises up, because rarefied, and its place is supplied by the cooler air which flows in from the sea ; this produces the sea breeze ; at sunset, the equilibrium is first restored; but as the earth cools faster by radiation than the water, the air over it becomes cooler than that over the sea, especially if there be mountains in the vicinity ; the air over the land then displaces the light air from the sea, and thus the land breeze is formed. Granting that tlie attraction of the moon and the diurnal movement of the sun affect our atmosphere, there cannot be a doubt but a westward motion of the air must prevail within the boundaries of the trade-winds, the con- sequence of which is an easterly current on each side : from this, then, it proceeds that south-west winds are so frequent in the western parts of Europe, and over the Atlantic Ocean. Kirwan attributes our constant south-west winds, particularly during winter, to an opposite current prevailing between the coast of Malabar and the Moluccas at the same period : this, he adds, must be supplied from regions close to the pole, which must be recruited in its turn from the countries to the south of it, in the western parts of our hemisphere. 2387- The variable winds cannot he so readily accounted for ; yet it is evident, that though they seem the effect of capricious causes, they depend upon a regular system, arranged by the great Author of nature. That accurate and successful observer of part of his works, the celebrated Franklin, discovered in 1740, that winds originate at the precise points towards which they blow. This philosopher had hoped to observe an eclipse of themoon at Philadelphia, but was prevented by a north-east storm, that commenced at seven in the evening. This he afterwards found did not occur at Boston till eleven ; and upon enquiry, he had reason to suppose, it ijassed to the north-east at the rate of about 100 miles an hour. The manner in which he accounts for this retrograde proceeding is so satisfactory, that we shall give it in his own words, particularly as his assertions are supported by recent observations, both in America and Scotland. He argued thus : — " I suppose a long canal of water, stopped at the end by a gate. The water is at rest till the gate is opened ; then it begins to move out through the gate, and the water next the gate is put in motion and moves on towards the gate ; and so on successively, till the water at the head of thecanal is in motion, which it is last of all. In this case all the water moves indeed towards the gate ; but the suc- cessive times of beginning the motion are in the contrary way, viz. from the gate back to the head of the canal Thus to produce a north-east storm, I suppose some great rarefaction of the air in or near the Gulf (rf Mexico ; the air rising thence hjis its place supplied by the next more northern, cooler, and therefore denser and heavier air j a successive current is formed, to which our coast and inland mountains Book HI. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 363 give a north-east direction." According to the observations made by Captain Cook; the nrorth-east winds prevail in the Northern Paeilic Ocean during the same spring months they do with us, from which facta it appears the cold air ftom America and the north of Europe flows at that season into the Faciflc and Atlantic Oceans. 2388. Other descriptions nf winds may arise fVom a variety of causes. The atmosphere has been ascer. tained to be composed of air, vapour, and carbonic acid and water ; and as it is well known that these fre- quently change their aerial form, and combine with diifbrent substances, and tlie reverse, consequently partial winds and accumulations must continually occur, which occasion winds of different degrees of violence, continuance, and direction. 2389. T/te principal electrical phenomena of the atmosphere are thunder and lightning. 2390. Thunder is the noise occasioned by the explosion of a flash of lightning passing through the air : or it is tliat noise which is excited by a sudden explosion of electrical clouds, which are therefore called thunder-clouds. S391. The rattling^ in the noise of thunder, which makes it seem as If it passed through arches, is pro. bably owing to the sound being excited among clouds hanging over one another, between which the agitated air passes irregularly. ^93. The explosion^ if high in the air and remote from us, will do no mischief, but when near, it may ; and it has, in a thousand instances, destroyed trees, animals, &c. This proximity, or small distance, may be estimated nearly by the interval of time between seeing the flash of lightliing and hearing the report of the thunder, reckoning the distance after the rate of 1142 feet to a second of time, or 3| seconds to the mile. Dr. Wallis observes, that commonly the difference between the two is about seven seconds, which, at the rate above-mentioned, gives the distance almost two miles : but sometimes it comes in a second or two, which argues the explosion very near to us, and even among us ; and in such cases, the doctor assures us, he has sometimes foretold the mischiefs that happened. S393. Season qf thuTider. Although in this country thunder may happen at any time of the year, yet the months of July and August are those In which it may almost certainly be expected. Its devastations are of very uncertain continuance; sometimes only a few peals will be heard at any particular place during the whole season ; at other times the storm will return, at intervals of three or four days, for a month, six weeks, or even longer ; not that we have violent thunder in this country directly vertical in any one place so frequently in any year, but in many seasons it will be perceptible that thunder-clouds are formed in the neighbourhood, even at these short intervals. Hence it appears, that during this particular period, there must be some natural cause operating for the production of this phenomenon, which does not take place at other times. This cannot be the mere heat of the weather, for we have often a long tract of hot weather without any thunder; and besides, though not common, thunder is sometimes heard in the winter alsa . As therefore the heat of the weather is common to the whole summer, whether there is thunder or not, we must look for the causes of it in those phenomena, whatever they are, which are peculiar to the months of July, August, and the beginning of September. Now it is generally observed, that from the month of April, an east or south-east wind generally takes place, and continues with little interruption till towards the end of June. At that time, sometimes sooner and sometimes later, a westerly wind takes place ; but as the causes producing the east wind are not removed, the latter opposes the west wind with its whole force At the place of meeting, there are naturally a most vehement pressure of the atmosphere, and fric> tion of its parts against one another ; a calm ensues, and the vapours brought by both winds begin to collect and form dark clouds, which can have little motion either way, because they are pressed almost equally on all sides. For the most part, however, the west wind prevails, and what little motion the clouds have is towards the east : whence, the common remark in this country, that " thunder- clouds move against the wind." But this is by no means universally true : for if the west wind happens to be excited by any temporary cause before uie natural period when it should take place, the east wind will very frequently get the better of it ; and the clouds, even although thunder is produced, will move westward. Yet in either case, the motion is so slow, that the most superficial observers cannot help taking notice of a con. liderable resistduce in the atmosphA'e; 3394. Thundei'boUs. When hghtning acts with extraordinary violence, and breaks or shatters any thing, it is called a thunderbolt, which the vulgar, to fit it for such efibcts, suppose to be a hard body, and even a stone: But that we need not have recourse to a hard solid body to account for the eflPects commonly attributed to the thunderbolt, will be evident to any one who considers those of gunpowder, and the several chemical fulminating powders, but more especially the astonisliing powers of electricity, .when only collected and employed by numan art, and much more when directed and exercised in the course of nature. When we consider the known effects of electrical explosions, and those produced by lightning^ we shall be at no loss to account for the extraordinary operations vulgarly ascribed to thunderbolts. As stones and bricks struck by lightning are often found in a vitrified state, we may reasonably suppose, with Beccaria, that some stones in the earth, having been struck in this manner, gave occasion to the vulgar opinion of the thunderbolt. 2^95. Thunder-clouds are those clouds which are in a state fit for producing lightning and thunder. The first appearance of a thunder-storm, which usually happens when there is little or no wind, is one dense cloud, or more, increasing very fast in size, and rising into the higher regions of the air. The lower sur- face is black, and nearly level ; but the upper finely arched, and well defined. Many of these clouds ofl en seem piled upon one another, all arched in the same manner j but they are continually uniting, swelling, and extending their arches. At the time of the rising of this cloud, the atmosphere is commonly t\il\ of a great many separate clouds, which are motionless, and of odd whimsical shapes ; all these, upon the appearance of the thunder-cloud, draw towards it, and become more uniform in their shapes as they approach ; till, coming very near the thunder-cloud, their limbs mutually stretch towards one another, and they immediately coalesce into one uniform mass. Sometimes the thunder-cloud wUl swell, and increase very fast, without the conjunction of any adscititious clouds ; the vapours in the atmosphere forming themselves into clouds whenever it passes Some of the adscititious clouds appear like white fringes, at the skirts of the thunder-cloud, or under the body of it j but they keep continually growing darker and darker, as they approach to unite with it. When the thunder-cloud is grown to a great size. Its lower surface is often ragged, particular parts being detached towards the earth, but still connected with the rest Sometimes the lower surface swells into various large protuberances, bending uniformly downward; and sometimes one whole side of the cloud will have an inclination to the earth, and the extremity of it will nearly touch the ground. When the eye is under the thunder-cloud, after it is grown large and well formed, it is seen to sink lower, and to darken prodigiously; at the same time th^t a number of small adscititious clouds (the origin of which can never be perceived) are seen in a rapid motion, drivipg about in very uncertain directions under it. While these clouds are agitated with the most rapid motions, the rain commonly falls in the greatest plenty; and if the agitation be exceedingly great, it commonly hails. 2396. Lightning* "While the thunder-cloud is swelling, and extending its branches over a large tract of country, the lightning is seen to dart from one part of it to another, and often to illuminate its whole mass. When the cloud has acquired a sufficient extent, tlie lightning strikes between the cloud and the earth, in two opposite places ; tlie path of the lightning lying through the whole body of the cloud and its branches. The 364 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part It, longer this lightning continues, the less dense does the cloud become, and the less dark its appearance ; till at length it breaks in different places, and shows a clear sky. Those thunder-clouds are said to be sometimes in d, positive as well as a negative state of electricity. The electricity continues longer of the same kind, in proportion as the thunder-cloud is simple and uniform in its direction ; but when the lightning changes its place, there commonly happens a change in the electricity of the atmosphere over which the clouds passed. It changes suddenly after a very violent flash of lightning ; but gradually when the lightning is moderate, and the progress of the thunder-cloud slow, 2397. Lightning is an electrical explosion or phenomenon. FlaBhes of lightning are usually seen in broad and undefined masses ; when their path appears angular or zigzag, they are reckoned most dangerous. They strike the highest and most pointed objects in preference to others, as hills, trees, spires, masts of ships, &c. ; so all pointed conductors receive and throw off the electric fluid more readily than those that are terminated by flat surfaces. Lightning is observed to take and follow the readiest and best conductor ; and the same is the case with electricity in the discharge of the Leyden phial ; whence it is inferred, that in a thunder-storm it would be safer to have one's clothes wet than dry. Lightning burns, dissolves metals, rends some bodies, sometimes strikes persons blind, destroys animal life, deprives magnets of their virtue, or reverses their poles ; and all these are well known properties of electricity. 2398. With regard to places of safety in times qf thunder and lightning^ Dr. Franklin's advice is to sit in the middle of a room, provided it be'not under a metal lustre suspended by a chain, sitting on one chair, and laying the feet on another. It is still better, he says, to bring two or three mattresses or beds into the middle of the room, and folding them double, to place the chairs upon them; for as they are not so good conductors as the walls, the lightning will not be so likely to pass through them. But the safest place of all is in a hammock hung by silken cords, at an equal distance from all the sides of the room. Dr. Priestley observes, that the place of most perfect safety must be the cellar, and especially the middle of it ; for when a person is low^ than the surface of the earth, the lightning must strike it before it can possibly reach him. In the fields, the place of safety is within a few yards of a tree, but not quite near it Beccaria cautions Eersons not always to trust too much to the neighbourhood of a higher or better conductor than their own ody, since he has repeatedly found that the lightning tjy no means descends in one undivided track, but that bodies of various kinds conduct their share of it at the same time, in proportion to their quantity and conducting power. Sect. II. Of the Memis of Prognosticating the Weather. 2399. The study of atmospherical changes has, in all ages, been more or less attended to by men engaged in the cultiu'e of vegetables, or the pasturage of animals; and we, in this country, are surprised at the degree of perfection to which the ancients attained in this knowledge : but it ought to be recollected, that the study of the weather in the countries occupied by the ancients, as Egypt, Greece, Italy, and the continent of Europe, is a very different thing from its study in an island situated like ours. It is easy to foretell weather in countries where months pass away without rain or clouds, and where some weeks together, at stated periods, are as certainly seasons of rain or snow. It may be asserted with truth, that there is a greater varjety of weather in London in one week, than in Rome, Moscow, or Fetersburgh in three months. It is not, there- fore, entirely a proof of our degeneracy, or the influence of our artificial mode of living, that we cannot predict the weather with such certainty as the ancients ; but a cir- cumstance rather to be accounted for from the peculiarities of our situation. 2400. A variable climate, such as ours, admits of being studied, both generally and lo- cally ; but it is a study which requires habits of observation and reflection like all other studies ; and to be brought to any useful degree of perfection must be attended to, not as it commonly is, as a thing by chance, and which every body knows, or is fit for, but as a serious undertaking. The weatiier may be foretold from natural data, artificial data, and from precedent, 2401. The natwral data for this study are, 1. The vegetable kingdom ; many plants shutting or opening their flowers, contracting or expanding their parts, &c. on ap- proaching changes in the humidity or temperature of the atmosphere : 2, The animal kingdom ; most of tiiose familiar to us exhibiting signs on approaching changes, of which those by cattle and sheep are more especially remarkable ; and hence shepherds are gene- rally, of all others, the most correct in their estimate of weather : 3. The mineral king- dom ; stones, eartJis, metals, salts, and water of particular sorts, often shovidng indications of approaching changes : 4. Appearances of the atmosphere, the moon, the general cha- racter of seasons, &c. The characters of clouds, the prevalence of particular winds, and other signs are very commonly attended to, 2402. The infbience of the moon on the weather has, in all ages, been believed by the generality of mankind : the same opinion was embraced by the ancient philosophers ; and several eminent philosophers of later times have thought the opinion not unworthy of notice. Although the moon only acts (as far at least as we can ascertain) on the waters of the ocean by producing tides, it is nevertheless highly probable, according to the ob- servations of Lambert, Toaldo, and Cotte, that in consequence of the lunar influence, great variations do take place in the atmosphere, and consequently in the weather. The following principles will show the grounds and reasons for their embracing the received notions on this interesting topic : — 2403. There are ten sitimtions in the moon''s orbit when she must particularly exert her influence on the atmosphere ; and when, consequently, changes of the weather most readily take place. These are,^ 1st, The new, and 2d, The full moon, when she exerts her influence in coniunction with, or in opposition to, the sun. Book IH. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 365 3d and 4th, The quadratures, or those aspects of the moon when she is 90° distant from the sun ; or when she is in the middle point of her orbit, between the points of conjunction and opposition, namely, in the first and third quarters. 5th, The perigee^ and 6th, The apogect or those points of the moon's orbit, in which she is at the least and greatest distance from the earth. 7tn andSth, The two passages oF the moon over the equator, one of which Toaldo calls themoon'sfl«ceMd. I'n^, and the other the moon's descending^ equinox ; or the two lunistices, as De la Lande tertns them. 9th, The ioreal tunistice, wlien the moon approaches as near as she can in each lunation (or period between one new moon and another) to our zenith (that point in the horizon which is directly over our heads}. 10th, The austral lunistices when she is at the greatest distance from our zenith, for the action of the moon varies greatly according to her obliquity. With these ten points Toaldo compared a table of forty- eight years' observations; the result is, that the probabilities, that the weather will change at a certain l^eriod of the moon, are in the following proportions : New moon, 6 to 1. First quarter, 5 to 2. Full moon, 5 to 2. Last quarter, 5 to 4. Perigeet, 7 to I. Apogee, 4 to 1. Ascending equinox, 13 to 4. Northern lunistice, H to 4. Descending equinox, 11 to 4. Southern lunistice, 3 to 1, 2104^ That the new moon wUl bring with it a change of weather is in the doctrine of chances as 6 to 1. Each situation of the moon alters that state of the atmosphere which has been occasioned by the preceding one : and it seldom happens that any change in the weather takes place without a change in the lunar situations. These situations are combined, on account of the inequality of their revolutions, and the greatest eSbct is produced by the union of the syzigies, or the conjunction and opposition of a planet with the sun, with the apsides, or points in the orbits of planets, in which they are at the greatest and least distance from the sun or earth. The proportions of their powers to produce variations are as follows ; — New moon coinciding with the perigee, 33 to 1. Ditto, with the apogee,? to 1. Full moon coinciding with the perigee, 10 to I. Ditto, with uie apogee, 8 to 1. The combination of these situations generally occasions storms and tempests : and this perturbing power will always have the greater effect, the nearer these com. bined situations are to the moon's passage over the equator, particularly in the months of March and ■September. At the new and full moons, in the months of March and September, and even at the solstices, especially the winter solstice, the atmosphere assumes a certain character, by which it is distinguished for three and sometimes six months. The new moons which produce no change in the weather are those that happen at a distance from the apsides. As it is perfectly true that each situation of the moon alters that state of the atmosphere which has been produced by another, it is also observed, that many situations of the moon are favourable to good and others to bad weather. 2405. The situations of the moon favourable to bad weather are the perigee, new and ftill moon, passage of the equator, and the northern lunistice. Those belonging to the former are, the apogee, quadratures, and the southern lunistice. Changes of the weather seldom take place on the very days of the moon's situations, but either precede or follow them. It has been found by observation, that the changes affected by the lunar situations in the six winter months precede, and in the six summer months follow them. 2'106. The octants. Besides the lunar situations to which the above observations refer, attention must be paid also to the fourth day before new and full moon, which days are called the octants. At these times the weather is inclined to changes j and it may be easily seen, that these will follow at the next lunar situation. Vir^l calls this fourth day a very sure prophet. If on that day the horns of the moon are clear and well defined, good weather may be expected; but if they are dull, and not clearly marked on the edges, it is a sign that bad weather will ensue. When the weather remains unchanged on the fourth, fifth, and sixth day of the moon, we may conjecture that it will continue so till fiill moon, even sometimes till the next new moon ; and in that case the lunar situations have only a very weak effect. Many observers of nature have also remarked, that the approach of the lunar situations is somewhat critical for the sick. According to Dr. Herschel, the nearer the time of the moon's entrance at full, change, or quarters, is to midnight (that is within two hours before and after midnight), the more fair the weather is in summer, but the nearer to noon the less fair. Also, the moon's entrance, at full, change, or quarters, during six of the afternoon hours, viz. from four to ten, may be followed by fair weather; but this is mostly dependent on the wind. The same entrance during aU the hours after midnight, except the first two, is unfavourable to fair weather ; the like, nearly, may be observed in winter. 2407. The artificial data are the barometer, hygrometer, rain-gauge, and ther- mometer. 2408. By means of the haronieter, Taylor observes, we are enabled to regain, in some degree at least, that foreknowledge of the weather, which the ancients unquestionably did possess ; though we know not the data on which they founded tlieir conclusions. Chaptal considers that the value of the barometer, as aa indicator of the approaching weather, is greater than that of the lunar knowledge of the most experienced countryman, and indeed of all other means put together. (Agriculture appliquie d. Chimiej ^c) We shall therefore annfex such rules as have hitherto beeii found most useful in ascertaining the changes of the weather by means of the barometer, 2409. The rising of the mercury presages, in general, fair weather; and its falling foul weather, as rain, snow, high wdnds, and storms. 2410. The sudden falling qf the mercury foretells thunder, in very hot weather, especially if the wind is south. 2411. The rising in winter indicates frost; and in frosty weather, if the mercury falls three or four divisions, there will follow a thaw : but if it rises in a continued frost, snow may be expected. 2412. When foul weather happens soon after the fa/ling of the mercuri/ it will not be of long duration ; 'nor are we to expect a continuance of fair weather, when it soon succeeds the rising of the quick- silver. 2413. Iff in foul weather, the Tnercury rises considerably, and continues rising for two or three days before the foul weather is over, a continuance of fair weather may be expected to follow. 2414. In fair weather^ when the mercury falls much and low, and continues falling for two or three days before rain comes, much wet must be expected, and probably high winds. 2415. The unsettled motion of the mei'cury indicates changeable weather. 2416. Respecthig the words engraved on the register plate of the barometer, it may be observed, that their exact correspondence with the state of the weather cannot be strictly relied upon, though they will in general agree with it as to the mercury rising and falling. Tlie engraved words are to be regarded only as indicating probable consequences of the varying pressure of the atmosphere. The barometer, in fact, only shows tlie pressure of the aerial column ; and the precipitation of rain, or the agitations of the atmosphere are merely events which experience has shown usually to accompany the sinking of the mer- 356 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. P*Rt II. curial column, but are not necessarily connected with fluctuations of pressure. Tlie words deserve to be particularly noticed when the mercury removes from " changeable " upwards; as tliose on the lower part should be adverted to, when the mercury falls from "changeable" downwards. In other cases, tliey arc of no use: for, as its rising in any part forebodes a tendency to fair, and its falling to foul, weather, it fol- lows that, though it descend in the tube from settled to fair, it may nevertheless be attended with a little rain, and when it rises from the words " much rain " to " rain " it shows only an inclination to become fair, though the wet weather may still continue in a less considerable degree than it was when the mercury began to rise. But if the mer- cury, after having fallen to "much rain," should ascend to " changeable," it foretells fair weather, though of a shorter continuance than if the mercury had risen still higher; and so, on the contrary, if the mercury stood at " fair " and descends to " change- able," it announces foul weather, though not of so long continuance as if it had fallen lower. 2417. CoiiawUt/ of tlie surface of the mercury. Persons who have occasion to travel much in the winter, and who are doubtful whether it will rain or not, may easily ascer- tain this point by the following observation : — A few hours before he departs, let the traveller notice the mercury in the upper part of the tube of the barometer ; if rain is about to fall, it will be indented, or concave ; if otherwise, convex or protuberant. 2418. Barometer in spring. Towards the end of March, or more generally in the beginning of April, the barometer sinks very low with bad weather ; after which it seldom falls lower than 29 degrees 5 minutes till the latter end of September or October, when the quicksilver falls again low with stormy winds, for then the winter constitution of the air takes place. From October to April, the great falls of the barometer are from 29 degrees 5 minutes to 28 degrees 5 minutes, and sometimes lower ; whereas, during the summer constitution of the air, the quicksilver seldom falls lower than 29 degrees 5 minutes. It therefore follows that a fall of one tenth of an inch, during tlie summer, is as sure an indication of rain, as a fall of between two and three tenths is in the winter. 2419. Tlie hygrometer is of various sorts, but cord, fiddle-string, and most of the sub- stances commonly used, become sensibly less and less accurate, so as at length not to undergo any visible alteration from the different states of the air, in regard to dryness or moisture. The most common of all barometers is that formed of the beard of the wild oat, ^vena fatua, ^20. A sponge makes a good hygrometer on th is account, as being less liable to be changed by use than cord. To prepare the sponge, first wash it in water, and wtien dry wash it again in water wherein sal ammoniac or salt of tartar has been dissolved; and let it dry again. Now, if the air becomes moist, the sponge will grow heavier; and if dry, it will become lighter. 2421. Oil qf vitriol is found to grow sensibly lighter or heavier in proportion to the less or greater quantity of moisture it imbibes from the air. The alteration is so great, that it has been known to change its weight from three drachms to nine. The other acid oils, or, as they are usually called, spirits, or oil of tartar per deliquium, may be substituted for the oil of vitriol 2422. Steel~ycwd hygrometer. In order to malce a hygrometer with those bodies which acquire or lose weight in the air, place such a substance in a scale on the end of a steel-yard, with a counterpoise which shall keep it in equilitjrio in fair weather ; the other end of the steel- yard, rising or falling, and pointing to a graduated index, will show the changes, 24^. Lim arid ylummet. If a line be made of good well dried whipcord, and a plummet be fixed to the end of it, and the whole be hung against a wainscot, and a line be drawn under it, exactly where the plummet reaches, in very moderate weather it will be found to rise above such line, and to sink below it when the weather is likely to become fair. 208 2424, The hair hygrometer of Saussure, and the whaleboiK hygrometeVt originally invented by De Luc, are esteemed two of the best now in use. C?Nj^O 2425. The best and, indeed, only perfect hygrometer m \iiaX of ntofe&zox Jj&zWe. It con. sists of a siphon tube, with a "hall blown at each end {fig. 208.), and filled with air. A coloured liquid fills one leg of the si))hon ; the ball on the opposite limb, smoothly coated with tissue paper, is the evaporating surface; this is kept perpetually moist by means of a thread passing from a jar with water as high as the instrument to the covered ball. The cold produced by evaporation causes the air in that ball to contract, and the coloured liquid is forced into that stem by the elasticity of the air included in the naked ball. This rise is exactly proportional to the dryness of the air. (r.) ' 2426. The rain-gauge, plummeter, or hyetom£ter, is a machine for measuring the quantity of rain that falls. 2427. A hollow cylinder forms one of the best-constructed rain-gauges ; it has within it a cork ball attached to a wooden stem (Jig. 209.), which passes through a small opening at the top, on which is placed a large funnel. When this instrument is placed in the open air in a free place, the rain that falls within the circumference of the funnel will run down into the tube and cause the cork to float ; and the quantity of water in the tube may be seen by the height to which the stem of the float is raised. The stem of the float is so graduated as to show by its divisions the number of perpendicular inches of water which fell on the surface of the earth since the last observation. After every observation tlie 209 cylinder must be emptied. \ Book III. OF THE ATMOSPHERE. »61 2428. A qopper funnel forms another very simple rain-gauge : theareaof the opening must be exactly ten square inches. Let tliis funnel be fixed in a bottle, and the quantity of rain caught is ascertained by multiplying the weight in ounces by 173, which gives the depth in inches and parts of an inch. 2429. In Jiving these gauges, care must be taken that the rain may have free access to them ; hence the tops of buildings are usually the best places, though some conceive that the nearer the rain-gauge is placed to the ground the more rain it will collect. 2430. In order to compare the guaniities of rain collected in pluviometers at different places, the instruments shoidd be fixed at the same heights above the ground in all such places ; because, at different hdghts, the quantities are always different, even at the same place. 2431. Thermometer. As the weight of the atmosphere is measured by the barometer so the thermometer shows the variations in the temperature of the weather ; for every change of the weather is attended with a change in the temperature of the air, wliich a thermometer placed in the open air will point out, sometimes before any alteration is perceived in the barometer. 2432. The scales qf digkrerti thermometers are as follows: — In Fahrenheit*s the freezing point is 32 degrees, and the boUing point 212 degrees. In Reaumur's the freezing point is 0, and the boiling point 80 degrees. In the centigrade thermometer, which is generally used in France, and is the same as that of Celsius, which is the thermometer of Sweden, the freezing point is 0, and the boiling point lOOdegrees. As a rule for comparing or reducing these scales, it may be stated, that 1 degree of Reaumur's scale con- tains 2^ degrees of Fahrenheit, and to convert the degrees of the one to the other, the rule is to multiply by 9, divide by 84, and add 3&. One degree of the centigrade scale is equal to one degree and eight tenths of Fahrenheit ; and the rule here is to multiply by 9, divide by 5, and add 32. Any of these thermometers may be proved by immersing it in pounded ice for the freezing point, and in boiling water for the boiling point, and if the space between these points is equally divided, the thermometer is correct. 2433. The studff of the weather from precedent, affords useful hints as to the character of approaching seasons. From observing the general character of seasons for a long period, certain general results may be deduced. On this principle, Kirwan, on com- paring a number of observations taken in England from 1677 (TVojw. Ir. Acad. \. 20.) to 1789, a period of 112 years, found: . That when there has been no storm before or itfter the vernal equinoXffh& ensuing summer is generally (^^, at least five times in six. That when a storm happens from an easterly point, either on the 19th, 20th, or 21st of May, the succeed- ing summer is generally dry, at least four times in five. That when a storm arises on the 25th, 26lh, or 21th of March, and not before, in any point, the succeed- ing summer is generally dry, four times in five. If there be a storm at S. W. or W. S. W. on the 19th, 20th, 21st, or 22d of March, the succeeding sum- mer is generally wet, five times in six. In this country wiviers and springs, if dry, are mast commonly coldi ^moist, warm : on the contrary, dry summers and autumns are usually hot, and moist summers cold ; so that, if we know the moistness or dryness of a season, we can fbrm a tolerably accurate judgment of its temperature. In this country also, it generally rains less in March than in November, in the proportion at a medium of 7 to 13. It generally rains less in April than October, in the proportion of 1 to 2 nearly at a medium. It generally rains less in May than September ; the chances that it does so are at least 4 to 3 j but, when it rains plentifully in May, as I'S inches or more, it generally rains but little in September j and when it rains one inch, or less, in Hay, it rains plentifully in September. 2434. The probabilities of particular seasons being followed by others have been calculated by Kirwan ; and although his rules chiefly relate to the climate of Ireland, yet as there exists but little difference between that island and Great Britain, in the general appear- ance of the seasons, we shall mention some of his conclusions. In forty-one years there were 6 wet springs, 22 dry, and 13 variable; 20 wet summers, 16 dry, and 5 variable; 11 wet autumns, 11 dry, and 19 variable. 2435. A season is accounted wet, when it contains two wet months. Xn general, the quantity of rain, which fall in dry seasons, is less than five inches, in wet seasons more ; variable seasons are those, in which there fall between 30 lbs. and 36 lbs., a pound being equal to •157639 of an inch. 2436. January is the coldest month in every latitude ; and July is the warmest month in all latitudes above 48 degrees : in lower latitudes, August is generally the warmest. The difference between the hottest and coldest months increases in proportion to the distance from the equator. Every habitable latitude enjoys a mean heat of 60 degrees for at least two months ; wliich heat is necessary for the production of com. Sect. III. Of the Climate of Britain. 2437. The climate of the British isles, relatively to others in the same latitude, is tem- perate, humid, and variable. The moderation of its temperature and its humidity are owing to our being surrounded by water, which being less affected by the sun than the eartli, imbibes less heat in summer, and, from its fluidity, is less easily cooled in winter. As the sea on our coast never freezes, its temperature must always be above 33° or 34° ; and hence, when air from the polar regions at a much lower temperature passes over it, that air must be in some degree heated by the radiation from the water. On the other himd, in summer, the warm currents of air from the south necessarily give out 9«8 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. P^" Im- part of their heat in passing over a surface so much lower in temperature. The vari- able nature of our climate is chiefly owing to the unequal breadths of watery surface which surround us ; on one side, a channel of a few leagues in breadth ; on the other, the Atlantic Ocean. The temperature of the British seas rarely descends below 53° or 54°. 2438. The British climate varies maleriaay within itself: some districts are dry, as the east ; others moist, as the west coast ; in the northern extremity, dry, cold, and windy ; in the south, warm and moist. Even in moist districte some spots are excessively dry, as part of Wigtonshire, from the influence of the Isle of Man in warding off the watery clouds of the Atlantic ; and, in dry districts, some spots are moist, from the influence of high mountains in attracting and condensing clouds charged with watery vapour. The mean temperature of London equals 50° 36' ; that of Edinburgh equals 47° 84'; and tjie probable mean temperature of all Britain will equal 48°. The usual range of the barometer is within three inches. The mean annual rain is probably about 32 inches. The climate is variable, and subject to sudden alternations of heat and cold, which arc supposed to render pulmonary complaints common with us : but on the whole it is healthy, and the moisture of our clouded atmosphere clothes our fields with a lasting verdure unknown to the more favoured regions of Southern Europe. ( 7". ) 2439. The delerioration of the British climate is an idea entertained by some ; but whether in regard to general regularity, temperature, moisture, or wind, the alleged changes are unsupported by satisfactory proofs. It is not improbable but the humidity of our climate, as Williams alleges (^Climate of Britain, &c. 1816), has of late years been increased by the increase of evaporating surface, produced by the multiplicity of hedges and plantations ; a surface covered with leaves being found to evaporate con- siderably more than a naked surface. If the humidity of the climate were greater before the drainage of morasses and the eradication of forests for agricultural purposes, a comparative return to the same state, by artificial planting and irrigation, must have a tendency to produce the same results. However, it will be long before the irrigation of lands is carried to such a degree as to produce the insalubrious effects of undrained morasses ; and as to our woods and hedges, we must console ourselves with the beauty and the shelter which they produce, for the increase of vapour supposed to proceed fron> them. BOOK IV. OF THE MECHANICAL AGENTS EMPLOYED IN AOKICULTUKE. 2440. Having taken a view of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as supplying the subjects of agricultural improvement, and of the mineral kingdom, manures, and the weather, as the natural agents of their growth and culture ; our next course is to examine the mechanical agents, or implements, machines, atid buildings employed in agricultural operations. In a rude state of husbandry few implements are required besides Sie plough and the cart, and few buildings besides the stable and the barn. The ground is ploughed and the seed thrown in and covered with a bush ; at harvest it is cut down and carted to the barn ; and the three grand operations of the farmer are sowing, reaping, and thresh- ing : but in our improved state of society, where all the science of mechanics as well as of chemistry is, made to bear on agriculture, the implements, machines, and buildings become numerous, and equally so the operations. So numerous are the former, indeed, that the theoretical enquirer is often puzzled in making a selection. The whole of the most improved agriculture, however, may be, and in fact is, carried on with a very limited variety both of implements and buildings. Intricate and complicated machines are not adapted for a rustic art like agriculture, and a great variety are not required for one, the operations of which are so simple as almost to be universally understood and practised. In our enumeration we shall include a number that we do not consider of much consequence ; but we shall always distinguish between the essential, and such as are comparatively objects of superfluous ingenuity and expense. We shall adopt the order of Implements of Manual Labour, Implements or Machines impelled by Quadrupeds or other Powers, Structures, and Buildings. We shall give a considerable variety, not altogether on account of their individual excellence, but to assist the mechanical reader in inventing for himself. Cook IV; IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. 069 Chap. I. Of the Implements of Manual Labour used in ^grkuUure. 2441. Though the most important implements of agriculture are drawn or put in action by beasts of labour, yet a few, which cannot be dispensed witli, are used by man alone. These may be arranged as tools, or simple implements for performing operations on the soil ; instruments for performing operations on plants or animals, or for other more delicate operations ; utensils for tlie deportation of materials ; and hand machines for various purposes. Sect. I. Tools used in Agriculttire. 2442. The lever is an inflexible straight bar of iron or wood, employed in connection with a prop or fulcrum, on which it is supported. There are three kinds, but the most common is that in which the fulcrum is I)etween the power and the weight. Its use in' the removal of large stones or other heavy bodies is well known, and the advantage of its- application depends on tlie distance of the power from the fulcrum, and the proximity of the weight. 2443. The pick or mattock consists of two parts: the handle, which ought to be formed of sound ash timber or oak, such as is obtained from the root or butt end of a middle-aged tree ; and the head^ which should be formed of the best iron and pointed with steel. The handle ought to be perfectly cylindrical, as in using it one hand slides along it from the end next the operator towards the head. There are several varieties : the first the pick, with the ends of tlie head pointed, used for loosening hard ground,' gravel, &c. ; the second, the pick-axe, with the ends wedge-shaped in reverse positions, used in digging up trees ; the third, the grubber, for grubbing up heath or small brush- wood; and there are also the road pick, and some others. *2444. The S]>ade consists of two parts, the handle of ash, generally about two feet nine inches long, and the blade of plate iron. The blade consists of two parts, the plate which cuts and carries the soil, and the tread, which is a piece of strong iron fixed on the upper edge of the blade, to receive the impulse of the foot of the operator. There are several varieties: 1. with a curved outline to the extremity of the blade, by which it may be made to enter a stiff soil witli less exertion on the part of the digger ; 2. with a perfor- ated blade, which in adhesive soils frees itself better from earth in the using ; 3. with a sub-semicylindrical blade, which enters a stiff soil easier than the common form, is mucli stronger as a lever, and also frees itself well from the spitful of earth ; this variety is what canal diggers chiefly use, and is called by them a grafting tool. There are other varie- ties and subvarieties used in draining, and for particular purposes ; which will be noticed, at the proper place. Elwell's spades, from the manner in which they are manufactured,., for which Mr. E. has a patent, are said to be much stronger than any others. 2445. The Flemish spade (Jig. SIO.) liae a long handle, in some cases (Tor 8 feet, but no tread for the foot' of the operator. The long handle forming a very powerful lever, when the soil is easily penetrated it may. be dug with greater ease with this spade than with any of the forms in common use, and carts may lie 210 filled with earth, and earth thrown to a greater distance by this implement for the same reason. Add to^ this, that In no manner of using the Flemish spade, is the operator required to stoop as much as with the English one. (Gard. Mag. vol ii.) 2446. Tlie shovel differs from the spade in being made with a broader and thinner blade; its use being to lift, rather than to cut and separate. There are several varieties, differing in the form and magnitiide of the blade. One variety, the barn shovel, has the blade generally qf wood, sometimes edged with iron. 2447. The l^rf-sjiade consists of a cordate or scutiform blade, joined to a handle by a kneed or bent iron shank. It is used for cutting turf from pastures, and in removing ant-hills and other inequalities. A thin section is first removed, then the protuberance of earth is taken out and the section replaced, which, cut tliin, and especially on the edges, readily refits ; and the operation is finished with gentle pressure by the foot, back of the spade, or roller. One variety, (fig. 211.) has one edge turned up, and is preferable where the turfs are to be cut square-edged and somewhat thick, 2448. Thefcn-lc is of several kinds ; the dung-fork for working in littery dung, con- sisting of a handle like that of the shovel, and three or more prongs instead of a blade ; the hay or pitch-fork, for working witli sheaves of corn or straw or hay, consisting of a B b S70 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II. long handle and two prongs ; and the wooden fork, consisting of a shoot of willow, ash, or other young tree or sapling, forked at the extremity, barked and formed into a rude fork, sometimes used in hay-making and similar operations. The prongs of forks to take up loose materials should be made square ; those for sheaves or more compact mat- ters or very littery dung will work easiest when the prongs are round. 2449. The rake used in agriculture is of two kinds, the hay-rake and the corn-rake. Both consist of a handle and head set with teeth ; in the corn-rake these are generally of iron. The garden-rake is sometimes used for covering small seeds. 2450. The hay-rake is usually made of willow, that it may be light and easy to work ; and the teeth should be short, otherwise they are apt to pull up the stubble or roots of the grass in raking. Sometimes the teeth are made to screw into the head, and fasten with nuts, which prevents their dropping out in dry seasons. •2451. Tlie cam-rake (Jig. 2l2.) is of different dimensions and constructions in different counties. In general the length of the rake is about four feet; and the teeth of iron about four inches long, and set from one to two inches apart. Young (Report of Norfolk) mentions one of these dimensions 212 which had two wheels of nine inches' diameter for the purpose of rendering it easier to draw : the wheels were so fixed that the teeth might be kept in any posture at the will of the holder. It was used both for hay and com, and answered the purpose well. 2452. In East Lothian a corn-rake has been tried, which, according to Soraerville {Survey, &e.\ has been found to answer much better than the common corn.rake. In this, the length of the head is from ten to fifteen feet, and the handle about seven feet, with a piece of wood across the end of it, by which it is drawn by two men. The teeth are of wood or iron ; the last are the best, as well as the most durable, and are a little bent forward at the point, which gives them the power of retaining and carrying the ears along with them much better than they would otherwise do. . To make clean work, especially if the ridges are rounded, the field is raked across; in that way every thing is taken up ; but when it is preferred to draw 213 the rake in the direction of the ridges, it may be consider, ably improved by cutting the head into two or three lengths 0^. 213.), and joining them with hinges, which will allow it to bend and accommodate itself to the curvature of the ridges. The advantage of this kind of rake has been foimd considerable, even in cases where every possible attention has been paid to the cutting of the crop. 2453. The stubble, or dew, rake, is merely a coarser sort of com rake. 2454. The daisy-rake (Jig. 214.) has teeth sharpened on both edges like lancets, and is used for raking or tearing off the flower heads or buds of daisies and other , plants in grass lawns. 2455. Tlie drill rake is a large-headed rake, in which the teeth are triangular in section, like small coulters ; and they are set at six or twelve inches' distance, according to circumstances. The implement is used to draw drills across beds or ridges, for sowing field crops of small seeds or roots, such as onions, early turnips, carrots, &c., or for planting saffron or Indian corn. 2456. The dung-drag, or dung-hack, is a two or three-pronged implement, with a long handle, for drawing the dung out of carts in different portions. The form of the prongs should be flat. 2457. The earth-hack resembles a large hoe, and is used for emptying loads of earth or lime, or other pulverulent matters, in the same manner as the dung-drag is used for emptying dung ; it is sometimes also used as a hoe, and for scraping and cleaning. 2458. The hand-hoe commonly used in agricultm'e is of two kinds: that with an entire, and that with a perforated, blade. The latter variety is preferable for thinning crops or destroying weeds, as it does not collect the soil and the weeds together in heaps ; but where earthing up is the object, the common square blade is the best. The breadth of the blade may vary from two to twelve inches, according to the adhesiveness or looseness of the soil, or the distance to which the plants are to be thinned. An improvement for hoes to be used in stirring stiff soils, consists in forming the blade with a prong or prongs on the opposite side of the broad blade (fig. 215.), which can be used in very stiff places to loosen the earth, by the operator's merely altering the position of the handle. The blades of all hoes enter the soil easier when curved than when straight, the wedge in the former case being narrower. lASa. Various improvements in hoes have been attempted by agriculturists. One with a triangular blade 215 Book IV. IMPLEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. 37) L'16 has been recommended as adapted to thin either at a greater or less distance, according to tlie depth it is thrust Into the soil. Lord Somervillc recommends the forked tool ijig. 215. a.) or heavy hoe, used in the vineyards on the Continent ; but it is .in implement more oppressive to the cultivator than a spade, as it requires hira to stoop verjr low. Ducket, jun. recommends a treble hod (d) for thinning ; another of a diiferent description (c) for . making drills by drawing; one for making them by striking in a line, in order to form a trench for dung and potatoes (/) ; one for forming a drill in the common way (e) ; and, lastly, one for hoeing both sides of a drill at once (d). It is said Uiat by this last tool two acres of barley may be hoed in a day, and that it makes good work among oats or wheat ; but such hoeing, even on the slightest soils, can be little more than a mere scraping of the surface; and tliough the weeds may he cut, yet this Is only one object of hoeing. 2460. The Dutch hoe is more frequently used in gardening than in agriculture ; but, as it may sometimes be found preferable to the spade or dew-hoe, in cutting the weeds at the roots of young hedges and trees, where it is not desirable to stir the soil more than an inch deep, we shall 218 219 introduce a figure of the most improved form {Jig. 217.) 2461. The thrust hoe (Jig. 218.) is an improvement on the Dutch hoe. (Gard. Mag. vol. i. p. 343.) 2462. The Sparush hoe (Jig. 219.) may be usefully employed on some occasions in stirring the soil among potatoes, where roots and weeds are abundant. To render stooping unnecessary, it should have a long handle. {^Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 65.) • 2463. Tlie hoe-fork may be used as the Spanish hoe, and is most valuable where the roots of couch- grass abound. ( Gard. Mag. vol. ii. ) 2464. The scraper may be described as a broad hoe, of treble the usual size and strength, used in cleaning roads or court-yards, and sometimes in cleaning grassy surfaces. One with the ends of the blade turned inwards an inch or two is found more efiecfive in scraping the mud or dust from roads. 2465. Of weeding-tooU used in agriculture there are three or four kinds ; one with a long handle and fulcrum to the blade, for digging docks and other tap-rooted plants from pastures ; a common spud or spadelet for cutting smaller weeds in hedges or standing com ; a tiiistle-spud for cutting and rooting out thistles in pastui-es ; besides short-handled weeders of difiFerent kinds, to be used in hand-weeding young and delicate broad-cast crops, as onions, &c. in stiff soils. 2466. Salter's thistle extirpator (Jig. 220.) is an effecSve implement where that weed 220 ^-^Ue ^ abounds. It consists of a handle about four feet six inches long (a), daws between which the thistle is received (i), a fulcrum over which the purchase is obtained for extracting the root (c), and an iron rod or bar upon which the foot is placed to thrust the claws into the ground (rf). In case the root of the thistle breaks while the operator is endeavouring to extract it, there is a curved blade, which has a sharp end like a chisel (e), which is thrust into the ground, in order to cut off the underground stem, some inches below the surface, and thus prevent or retard the re- appearance of the weed. 2467. Weedittg-paicerSt or thistle-drawers (Jig. 221. o, 6) are sometimes used for pulling thistles out of hedges and from among standing com : the handles are about two feet six inches long, and the blades faced with plate iron made rough by cross channels or indentations. There is a variety of this implement called the Havre pincers b), which is used in France both for pulling- thistles and other weeds, and for taking tench and eels from the ponds. (Thouin.) 2468. The besoms used in farming are commonly small faggots with handles, formed of birch spray, for _ the stables and cattle-houses, and of broom, heath, straw, &c. for the bams. 2469. The stratu-rope-twisler, or twistirig-crook (Jig. 222.) is used for twisting straw ropes, and consists of a stick or rod from two to three feet lone, and from one inch to Bb 2 872 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT. I 224\J 222 ' :- two indies in diameter, either naturally or artificially VV crooked. At one end is a ring, through which a cord is J ) passed, and the implement tied to the waist ; at the otlier Q * ^^ is a notch, on wliich the commencement of the rope is made. An improved tool of this sort {Jig. 22.'?. ) is now used by the best farmers ; it is held under the left arm, and turned with the right hand. ^ ^.^^ 22, 2470. The polato-dibber is exclusively used in '~ — planting potatoes in fine moulds ; but drilling is a mode generally to be preferred, as providing a better bed and a closer covering to the sets. 2471. The common dibber used in agriculture has several teeth or dibbles proceeding from 3 head, which, having a handle, is pressed into the ground, and forms several holes at once, according to the number of dibbles, and these are regulated by the hardness of the soil. In strong clays the common garden dibber, shod with iron, is often used. 2472. Tlie double-dibber {Jig. 224.) is chiefly used in Norfolk and Suffolk, for dibbling wheat ; but the more enlightened agriculturists of the present day consider that the pressing plough effects the same object, that of making a firm bed for the seed, more effectually and at less expense. 247.'}. Coggins dibbling ^*^e ^o«, the earth is pulled away. 2514._ ITie chisel or punch-ptpe (g) has a projecting piece to be used for penetrating tlirough stone. This chisel IS by rising and falling made to peck the stone and pulverise it, the small middle part breaking it away first, and afterwards thebroad part cominginto action. Another chisel, or punching-tool (h), is twisted on its cutting edge, an« is used for breaking away a greater portion of the stone. 251.7. A lifting tool ( i ) is used when it happens that an auger breaks in the hole. On one side of this tool a curved piece is attached, for tlie purpose of a. guide to conduct it past the cylindrical auger; S78 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari Ij, 240 241 and at the end of the other side is a hook, which taking hold of the bottom edge of the auger enables it to be drawn up. 2.S16. The Iriaitgvlar claw (Jg. 240. i) is used when loose stones lie at the bottom of the hole, which are too large to be brouglu up by tlie cylindrical auger, and cannot be con- veniently broken. The mternal notches of this instrument take hold of the stone, and as the tool rises it brinj^s them up. For raising broken rods a tool (0 is sometimes employed, which has an angular claw that slips under the shoulder of the rod, and holds it fast while drawing up. (Newton^s Journal, voL viiL p. 217.) 2517. Other tools connected with the subject of boring for water, also invented by Mr. Good, will be described when the operation of boring is treated of, in Part III. Book III. Chap. III. (See Contents.) 2518. liushy's borer for quicksand (Jig. 241.) consists of a tube called a sludger, from five to six feet in length, made of plate iron, with a valve at its lower extremity, made partly of iron and partly of leatlier, which works upon an an iron hinge, and a hole at the top (a) through which it is emptied. In boring through quicksands a metal pipe is inserted into the borehole, and the sand is withdrawn from it by the sludger, which, by means of the valve at its lower end, acts as a pump. A second metal pipe is added to the first, and so on to any depth. (Trans. High. Soc. vol. vi. p. 611.) 242 2519. The peat-borer (Jig. 242.) is a larger sort of borer, employed in peaty soils that are boggy, for the purpose of removing wetness. It has been used with advantage in some peat-mosses in Lancashire, by Eccleston. 2520. The blasting avger, timber measure, and other scientific instru- ments, not in general use in agriculture, will be best described in treating of the departments in which they are applied. 2521. The ordy essential scientific instrument is the common level, which may be wanted to level drams and vvater furrows, adjust the sur- face of roads, &c. Seci. III. Utensils used in Agriculture. 2522. The principal agricultural utensils are sieves, baskets, corn-measures, and sacks. *2523. Sieves are textures of basketwork, wire, gut, or hair, stretched on a broad wooden hoop. Sometimes, also, they are formed of skins or plate iron pierced with holes, and so stretched. They are used for separating com, or other seed, from dust or other extraneous matters. There are different varieties for wheat, beans, oats, rape-seed, &c. 2524. Tlie comnscreen (fg. 243.) consists of a hopper (a), with a sliding board (6) for giving more or less feed ; slips of wood (c c) fixed on pivots to prevent tlie grain from passing too quickly down ; and tlie screen, which is composed of parallel wires (d). ♦2525. Baskets are made of wickerwork, of different shapes, but generally forming some section of a globose figure ; they vary much in size ; those in most general 244 use in agriculture are from twenty inches to two feet in diameter, and are used for carrying roots, chaff, cut straw, &c., from one place to another in the farmery. A very good substitute for a basket for filling sacks (Jig. 244.), formed of iron, is in use in Nottingham- shire, Lincolnshire, and other counties. (Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 674.) 2526. The seed-carrier or seed-basket (Jig. 245.) is sometimes made 245 of thin veneers of wood, bent into an irregular oval, with a hollow to fit tlie seedsman's side, and a strap to pass over his head, and rest on his shoulder. In some places, a linen bag of a shape adapted to be borne by the right shoulder, and t» suspend the seed under the left arm, is used for the same purpose. 2527. The feeding tui or trough may be of any shape and size ; it is used for giving short or liquid food to swine, sheep, and other live stock. 2528. The pail is used for carrying water, or other liquid food. 2529. The turnip tray is a shallow movable trough or box, used to prevent waste when slieep are fed upon turnips. 2530. The com Inn, or com chest, for containing oats or other grain for horses, may be an oblong box of any convenient size. Sometimes it is placed in the loft over the stable, and the corn is drawn out by a hopper below ; but for a fai-m stable this is needless y 243 Book IV. HAND MACHINES. 379 trouble : there it is commonly placed in the broad passage behind the horses, or in any spare corner. It should be stout, and have good hinges, and a safe lock and key. 2531. Tlie Jlexible tube, for relieving cattle that are hoven or choked, consists of a strong leathern tube about four feet long and about half an inch in diameter, wiili a leaden nozzle pierced with holes at the insertion end. It should be kept in every farmery. There is a similar one, on a smaller scale, for sheep, which should be kept by all shepherds. Both will be found figured and described in Part III. Book VII. 2532. Joneses kUn-^TyiTig apparatus {Jig' 246. section) consists of two concentric cylinders about six feet in dia- meter, and is from the bottom to the top of its cones twelve feet high. The outer cylinder may either be perforated with small holes, or made of wire gauze. In the centre of the inner cylinder are a fire-place and chimney. The grain to be dried is admitted between the cylinders through a hopper at top, and distributing itself round the internal cone, it is discharged through a spout into a sack or receiver. In passing the grain becomes heated, and the moisture eva- porates, and passes off through the perforations of the ex- terior cylinder. {Newton's Journal, vol. vii. p. 214.) 2533. Com measures consist of the lippie, peck, and bushel, with the strike or rolling pin to pass over the surface, and determine their fulness. The local measures of every country are numerous; the imperial bushel is now the standard corn-measure of the three kingdoms. 2534. Com socle or bags are strong hempen bags, calcu- lated to hold four bushels ; and in Scotland four firlots. 2535. Other utensils, as those of the dairy, poultry, and cider-house, will be described in their appropriate places. 2536. 27je essential agricultural utensils are the sieve, basket, seed-carrier, tub, pail, com chest, flexible tube, com measure, and com sack. Sect. IV. Hand Maddnes used in Agriculture. 2537. Agricultural hand machines are generally portable ; some are exclusively put in action by man, as the wheel-barrow; and others, as the straw-cutter, sometimes by horses, water, or other powers. 2538. Tlie common ladder is the simplest of manual machines, and is in constant use for forming and thatching ricks, and for other purposes ; with or widiout the use of trestles and scaffolding. 2539. The wheel^barrow is of three kinds : — the new ground work barrow (fig. 247.) used in moving earth or stones; the dung barrow (Jig. 248.) for the faimylrd; and the corn barrow ( fis. 249.) for conveying com from the stackyard to the bam. The body ol 249 the latter (4) may be made to separate from the frame and wheel, and by means of levers fffl) to be carried like the hand-barrow. 2540. Barrows for hay and straw may be variously constmcted,^d near towns (Jigs. 250, 251.) may be used for wheeling light packages. 250 251 2541. The sack-barrow is a two-handed lever of the first kind, the fulcmm of which 380 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part XI. is a pair of low wheels : it is a convenient machine for moving sacks in a granary or barn floor, from one point to another. >. i e ^ 2542. Tlie Normandy witeel-barrow ( fg. 252.) xs said to be exceedingly useiul on a farm. The handles or trams (n n) are nearly fifleeii feet in length, by which, when loaded, nearly all the weight is thrown on the axle, so that the man has almost nothing to carry, and has only to push. He is thus saved from being bent down wliile at work, and consequently from acquiring a habit of stoop- ing. A shoulder strap (6) is commonly used by the operator. (Morel Vindi, and Gard. Mag. vol. vi. ) 2543. The truck (fig. 255.) is a machine of the barrow kind for conveymg compact heavy weights, such as stones, metals, &c. 2544. The hand-barrow is of diff'erenl kinds [Jigs. 254, 255, 256.), and is in fre- quent use in various departments of agricul- ture, where the soil is soft, or the surface uneven. Its bottom should be close and strong for carrying stones ; but may be light and open for dung or corn. 2545. The winnomng machine, originally introduced from Holland to East Lothian by Mr. James Meikle of Saltoun, father to Mr. Andrew Meikle, the inventor of the 254 , 255 256 threshing machine (799.), is in use for cleaning corn in most of the improved districts. There are different forms, but the best are those founded on the Meikle or Berwickshire winnower, which, instead of one screen, has a set of sieves put in motion by the machine, by which means the corn comes out, in most cases, ready to be meted up .in sacks. A highly- improved form of this machine, and the most perfect, we believe, at present in use (^Jig. 257.) is manufactured by Weir and Co. of London, 2546. TIte hand threshing-machine (Jig. 258.) is worked by two men and one woman, and is sometimes used for threshing the com of a small farm, or for threshing clover or other small seeds. The advantage consists chiefly in the completeness in which the grain is separated from the straw ; there is no saving of human labour, unless the power of horses or water is applied. 2547. The potato cleaner is a hollow or per- forated cylinder or banel, with a wooden axle through its long diameter, and a handle at one end, by which it is turned like a barrel churn. A hinged board forms an opening for putting in and taking out the potatoes, which fastens with an iron hasp and staple. It is filled one third with potatoes or other roots, and then placed in a cistern of water, by means of a crane or other- wise. In this state, being two thirds immersed in the water, and one third full of potatoes, it is turned round iv few times, when the latter are found cleaned, and the barrel is lifted out by the crane, emptied, filled, and replaced. 2548. A locomotive steam^ihreshing-machine, capable of propelling itself and a man, has been constructed in the county of Northumberland. It is intended for the small farmers, as it can be moved from one farm to another, and thus enable them to thresh 258 Book IV. HAND MACHINES. 381 out tlieir corn expeditiously and perfectly clean. The steam engine is not intended to be confined to threshing, as, by particular arrange- ments, it may be applied to the drawing of waggons, pumping of water,' breaking of stones, &c. 2549. Tlie maae-slteller (Jig. 259.) is composed of a thin vei'tical wheel covered wifli iron on one side, made rough by punctures ; which wheel works in a trough, and separates the grains from the stalks by rubbing. The ears or spikes of corn are thrown in by hand one at a time ; and while the separated groins pass through a funnel below, the naked stalk is brought up at the end of the wheel opposite to that at which it was put in. The wheel may either be made rough on both sides, or on one side, according to the quantity of work required to be done, and the force to be applied.. 2550. MarUitt*s improved tnaize separator (Jig' 260.) is the most perfect, machine of this kind at present in use ; it has not hitherto been much used in England, but a good many have been exported to America and the colonies. A machine for the same purpose, by Cobbett, will be figured and described in Part 111. Book VI. 260 II^^^NI 2551. A hand Jlour-rraU (Jig. 261.), for grinding Indian com, consists of one wheel and pinion, a fixed French burstone, and a similar stone in motion over it. The corn passes through a hopper in the usual manner, and comes out from the stones fit for the bolting machine. The hand flour-mill is chiefly used for Indian com ; but it will also grind wheat and other corns into meals of tole- S^I^ " ~~ — ^^'^ * I'able fineness. It re- quires two men to work it, and the price in Lon- don is from ten to six- teen guineas. 2552. A haJid bolting-' machine (Jig. 262. ), con- sists of a h^ cylinder of wire with cross brushes (a), enclosed in a box (6) about four feet long by twenty inchesonlhe sides. It may be considered a necessary appendage to the hand flour^mill, and costs in London from three to five guineas. 382 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2553. The furze-bruiser (Jig. 263.) is an in- genious and most useful machine where furze is either grown or found naturally. The shoots are bruised and cut into short lengths by hammers which operate like those in the mills for hammering iron. When the material is not sufficiently bruised, it is afterwards passed between rollers. 2554. Tlie bone-breaking machine {Jig' 264.') consists of two rollers grooved and indented, and with pinions on their ends, by which they may be moved either by animals, water, or steam power. The surfaces of the rollers are filled with indent- ations and strong teeth, which penetrate and break the bones to pieces. This is accomplished by employing separate cast-iron wheels placed side by side upon an axis, to compose the rollers ; the wheels have coarse teeth similar to those of a saw or ratchet wheel ; each wheel of the lower roller is an inch thick ; and they are placed at distances of an inch and a half asunder, having circles of hard wood or iron placed between them, which are two inches less in diameter. The bones should be supplied rather gradually to the flaachine at first, to avoid choking it, and the rollers should then be adjusted to a considerable distance asunder ; but when the bones have once passed through in this way, the rollers are screwed closer by screws placed for that pur- pose, and the fragments ground a second time. The pinions (a a) must have deep cogs to enable them to take deep hold of each other, when the rollers are set only half an inch distant to grind fine, and without the cogs being liable to slip when the centres are separated so far as to leave a space of one inch or one inch and a quarter between the rollers, for the passage of the large bones the first time. The rollers will act most effectually, if the different wheels are fixed upon their axles in such a position that the teeth will not correspond or form lines parallel to the axes, and then no piece of bone can escape without being broken by some of the teeth. The bones which have passed through the rollers slide down an inclined board, and collect at the bottom in a large heap. When all the stock of bones are thus coarsely broken, a labourer takes them up in a shovel and throws them again to the hopper to be ground a second time. {Supp. to Encyc. Brit. Art. Agr. ) In a modification of this machine to be impelled by horse power, manufactured by Weir of London {^. 265.), the bones, after passing through the rollers, are conducted by the hopper (a) into a revolving screen (ft), which is driven by a bevel wheel (r) working into a pinion on the screen shaft (d, e). 2555. Tlie oil-cake bruiser is composed of two rollers ground and toothed like the rollers of the bone-mill, but it is on a smaller scale so as to be worked by one man. The object is to bruise the oil-cake to a dust or powder. Below the rollers^ is a screen for separating the grosser pieces which are set apart for feeding cattle, and Book IV. HAND MACHINES. 383 the finer material or dust is reserved for sheep or for manure. Price in London from 8 to 11 guineas. 25S6., A stane-breaJdi^ machine impelled by steam may be constructed of two fluted rollers, placed side by side, about an inch- apart, and turning different ways. The stones are put into a kind of hopper above, and pushed down witli a rake, affording a regular supply to the roller. It is worked by one of Kay and Routledge's rotatory engines, of one-horse power, and will completely break a ton of hard pebbles in about six or eight minutes. (^Newton's Journal, vol. vi. p. 152.) 2557. Tlie root-breaker or bruiser {fig. 266.) is composed of two widely fluted rollers, placed under a hopper, turned by two men. It is used for breaking or bruising potatoes, turnips, carrots, or other raw roots, into small or moderate sized pieces, before giving them to cattle or horses. The same implement may be set so close by means of two screws, as to serve for a whin-bruiser, or for breaking beans or corn of any kind. 2558. The corn-bruising machine (Jig. S67.) is contrived for the purpose of bruising or kibbling different sorts of grain, pulse, &c as well as grinding malt. It is a simple implement, constructed with two iron rollers of different diameters, turned true on their axles or spindles, each roller having a cog or tooth wheel. A roller with grooves is fixed under the hopper, to receive the grain from the hopper, and lay it on the two rollers. To one of the rollers is fixed a fly-wheel. The machine is made to be worked by hand, or any otlier power. The upper wood frame is made to slide, and is regulated by a screw, according to the size of the grain, and will bruise it more or less as may be required. 2559. The potato fiour-miU , and com- 269 plete the grating of them into a pulp. The tin-plate covering the cylinder is of course pierced from tlie inside outwards, and the bur or rough edge, left round each hole, forms an excellent rasping surface. *2560. The chaff-cutter is used for cutting hay or straw into frag- ments not larger than chaflP, to facilitate its consumption by cattle. There are numerous forms ; one of the best is that of Weir {jig. 269.), which is so formed, that in case of its being accidentally broken, it may be repaired by any common mechanic. The pressure of the straw is also capable of being regulated with great facility. 2561. The hay-binding machine is an invention by Beckway for weighing and binding straw or hay. (Jig. 272.) It is a very ingenious apparatus, and may be useful to retail 1 farmers in the neighbourhood of large towns. The apparatus, with every implement necessary to be used in cutting, weighing, and binding, may be packed together so as to form a wheel- barrow. [Jig. 270.) When un- packed (jig. 272.), the wheel is taken out, and the bottom of the barrow (o) turned upside down upon the ground as a platform. (j?g. 271.) The standard (i), is then set up in the sockets of the underside of the barrow. The frame (c) is then unfolded, and the axis of the steelyard or scalebeam (d;, placed upon the standard as a fulcrum, supporting the frame (c) at the short end, and at the long end the coun- terpoising weight is suspended by a chain, and adjusted to the graduations upon the steelyard agreeably to the quan- tity of hay to be weighed. The Tjed of tlie frame (c) Is then fastened down to the platfoi'm by means of the lever which held the wheel in the barrow. Two hayhands are then placed between the hooks (e e), and extended along the bed of the frame (c). The truss of hay is then laid upon the bed of the frame (c), as shown by dotted lines, and the lever or latch underneath withdrawn, so as to allow the scale-beam to oscillate. The proper quantity or weight of hay being adjusted, the truss is bound round with the haybands, which were placed under it. This truss being removed, the same process is followed in weighing and binding every other truss, which is done without the smallest delay or inconvenience ; when the whole quantity required is bound up, the apparatus is dismounted and packed toge- tlier in five minutes, as_^. 270. The re- spective implements, such as the knife, fork, pin, and every part of the machine, fitting together upon the barrow so as to secure the whole, are bound round by the chain and (Newton's Journal, vol. i, p. 136.) weight, and tightly packed for conveyance. Book IV. HAND MACHINES. 3S5 274 2562. The rope-limtmg machine (Jig- 273.), is a small wheel, the prolonged axle or spindle of which terminates in a hook, on which the rope is commenced. It is commonly fixed to a portable stand; but is sometimes attached to a threshing-macliine. It is used for twisting ropes of straw, iiay, or rushes, for tying on the thatch of ricks, and other similar purposes. It is also used to form very thick ropes for forming straw drains. 2563. The draught-machine, or dynamometer, is a contri- vance invented for the purpose of ascertaining the force or pdwer of draught, in drawing ploughs, &c. Finlayson*s (Jig, 274.) is reckoned one of the best varieties for agricultural purposes. 2564. More's draught-machine is a spring coiled within a cylindrical case, having a dial-plate marked with numbers like that of a clock, and so contrived that a hand moves with the motion of the spring, and points to the numbers in proportion as the force is exerted : for instance, when tlie draught equals one cwt. over a pulley, the hand points to figure 1 ; when the draught is equal to two cwt. it points to figure 2, and so on. Till this very useful machine was invented, it was exceedingly difficult to compare the draught of different ploughs, as there was no rule to judge by, but the exertions of the horses as apparent to the eye ; a very undecisive mode of ascertaining their force. 2565. Braby's draught-machine {Jig. 21 5.), consists of two strong steel plates, joined at the ends, and forming a spheroidal opening between them. In using it, one end (a) is hooked on the muzzle of the plough or other implement, and to the other (6) the Lf^^ \ ^^3;-^tt draught trees are at- ^^°°^ -*'==>' tached. An indicator (c) points out the power 275 / \ applied, in cwts. It is evident - that Braby's machine and Finlay- son's act on the same principle, and that the latter, being more simple in the construction, must be a more accurate indicator, and less liable to go out of order. 2566. The weigUng-cage (Jig. 276.) is a contri- ^;S-^ 276 vance made in the form of a sort of open box or cage, by which any small animal, as a pig, sheep, calf, &c. may be very easily and expeditiously weighed, and with sufficient accuracy for the farmer's purpose. It is constructed on the principle of ttie common steelyard, with a strong wooden frame and steel centres, in which the pivots of the lever are hung ; and upon the short side of the lever is suspended a coop, surrounded by strong network, in which the animal intended to be weighed is placed. l"he point of suspension is connected vnih the coop by means of two curved iron rods, which at the same time form the head of it ; a common scale being hung on the longer side of the lever. 2567. The cattle - weighing machine is a contrivance of the steelyard kind, for the purpose of weighing cattle and other am'mals alive. A machine of this sort is of importance in the grazing and fattening systems, where they are !^ carried to anycon- ?siderable extent, " ^-^in ascertainingthe progress made by the animals, and showing how they pay for the use of any par- ticular kind of food, or what power it has inpromoting the fattening process. Weir's variety (Jig. 277.) is by far the simplest and most economical of these machines. *2568. The weighing-macUne Jor sacks (Jig. 278. ) is a convenient piece of barn-furniture on the steelyard principle, and so com- mon as to require no description. C 277 278 386 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT. 2569. J potato-weighins machine {fig. 279-), of a very complete description, lias been invented by Mr. John Smith, 'of Edinburgh, and is figured in the Highland Society's Transactions, vol. vii. pi. iii. It is on the principle of the steelyard, and chiefly intended for weighing grain, flour, potatoes, or any other commodity usually put into a bag for carriage or keep. The machine is portable, of easy use, and not liable to go out of order. 2570. Buthven's farmer's steelyard (Jig. 280.) is well adapted for weighing and readily discharging bulky commodities. It consists of a longer and shorter beam, with a moveable weight, to be shifted along the former, and a scale suspended to the latter. The longer arm, from its extremity, being confined within a limited range, obviates the inconvenience of jerks and long vibra- tions, wliile an index upon it points out the required weight, by a counterpoise being slid backwards and forwards, till the point has been found when it acts as an equiva- lent. By turning a keeper fixed to the scale, one end of it is opened, turning on a cylindrical hinge at the top, and the con- tents speedily discharged. These balances may be made of any size required, either to suit the purposes of the farm, or the household. Their simplicity secures them equally against expense of manufacture, and the risk of going wrong when in use. One weight only is required, the value of which, as a counterpoise, depends on its distance from the centre of motion ; and it is so confined upon the long arm, that, though it has a perfectly free motion over all its length, it cannot escape at either extremity, and consequently can never be lost, which is a great recommendation to the instrument. The simple manner in which one of the ends of the tin-plate scale opens up round a wire hinge is also very ingenious, and no less calculated to render the steelyard useful when weighing flour, grain, seeds, and such commodities. (High. S. Trans.") *2571. The tumip-slicer is of different forms ; the old machine works by hand, like a straw-cutter of the original construction ; but a better one consists of a hopper and knives, fixed upon a fly wheel. [Jig. 281.) The turnips press against the knife by their own weight, and a man turning the wheel will cut a bushel in a minute. Gardener's turnip-slicer is a highly improved form of this machine. 2572. The turrdp-chopper (ji^. 282.) is perhaps a more useful implement than the turnip-slicer. It is first made like the common nine-inch garden hoe, forming an oblong square, with an eye to receive the handle, and from the centre of the first hoe, another hoe crosses it at right angles. On the reverse is a two-pronged fork, for the purpose of pulling up the turnips. The turnip being pulled out of the ground by the prongs, or the angles .of the hoe, is immediately struck with it about the centre, which divides it into four; and if these four * pieces are not small enough, the stroke is repeated upon each of the pieces until they are sufiiciently reduced. The two stoutish prongs on the back or reverse part of the hoe, proceeding from the neck of the eye, besides their use in pulling up the turnips 282 '"*'' expedition, increase the weight of the hoe, which is in its favour, by lessening the force necessary to split the roots- 2573. Of hand-driUing and dibbling machines, and especially of the former, there are a great many kinds, of various degrees of merit. The sort to be re- Book IV. HAND MACHINES 387 commended in any particular case will depend on the texture of the soil ; one which would answer well in a soft soil or sand might not succeed in a stony or loamy soil, As the fashions of drills are continually changing, we advise intending purchasers to descrihe tlieir soil and kind of culture, as whether raised or Hat drilling, &c,, tu a respectable implement-maker, and try the kind he recommends. In the mean time we submit a few of the established forms. 2574. The bean or potato dibbling macldne (Jig. 283.) consists of a single wheel, set with dibber points, which may be placed wider or closer at pleasure. It is pushed along by one man, and succeeds on friable soils, but cannot be depended on when the sur- face is rough or tenacious. Potato sets to be planted after this machine should be cut with the improved scoop (2494. ). 2575. The common hand driSrbarrow (fis. 284.) consists of a frame and wheel somewhat similar to that of a common barrow, with a hopper attached to con- tain the seed. It is used for the pur- pose of sowing horse-beans, turnips, and similar seeds, upon small ridges. In using it, the labourer for the most part wheds it before him, the seed being afterwards covered by means of a slight harrow, or sometimes by a shallow furrow. 2576. The broadcast hand-drill (Jig. 285. ^ is chiefly used for sowing clover or other small seeds, with or without grass seeds. The operation, however, is much more fre- quently performed by hand. Broadcast sowing by machinery drawn by horses or cattle, however, may be advantageously adopted on farms of the largest size, and where the soil is uniform in surface, in moisture, and in richness. 2577. Coggim's dibbling-machine (Jig. 286.) was invented in 1827, and appears very ingeniously contrived. The Me- chanism is to be worked by the foot of the operator. The machine runs on wheels, and there are two conical dibbling irons, one larger than the other. These are ranged in a line viith the delivering funnel of the drill, and at such distances apart as may be considered proper for dis- charging the seeds. A hopper (a) contains tlie seed, and such earthy materials as bone dust, or other manure in powder, as may be found necessary to deposit with the seed. There is a funnel (6) through which the seeds and manure are passed ; and the conical dibbling iron (c) is ^ worked by a handle (rf). This dib- !j ■ bJing iron and its handle are con- '^fj nected by two levers, of which the ^ lower (e) hangs to the axle of the ' principal running wheel, and has at its front extremity a small cone (/), intended as a marker. There is an upper lever (g) which works the axle (It) of the cylinder, within C c 2 38S SCIENCE OF AGIIICULTURE. Part II. the hopper which delivers the seed. The foot of the operator is strapped to the lever, ."ind by its pressure forces the dibbling iron into the ground. The inventor says that two machines may be used at the same time by the same man, one foot being strapped to each. (^Newton's Journal, vol. ii. new series, p. 89.) •2578. The turnip barrom-driJl sows a single row at a time ; but is of difficult manage- ment on the tops of ridges : for this purpose, it is desirable to have two wheels, one to go on each side of the ridge. An im- proved variety of this machine tfiS' 287.) has a barrel of water (a) attached, which, by means of a tube, is dropped among the seed in the tract made by the coulter. This very useful appendage may be added to any drill-machine, whether worked by manual or animal labour. 2579. The hand turnip-roUer {Jig. 288.) is used for rolling raised drills or ridges previously to and after sowing turnip-seed by a hand- drill. The use of such a roller leaves the ridges in a much better form for receiving the seed than a com- mon cylindrical roller; and after the seed is sown, when this roller is again used, the surface is left in the fittest state for retaining moisture, and for com- mencing the hoeing and thinning operations, 2580. Doxat^s Tnachine for assisting human power {Jig* 289,) consists in a certain arrangement of levers and pulleys, by means of which the weight as well as muscular strength of the labourer is intended to be brought into action, and hence to render his necessary exertions less laborious and fatiguing. Supposing the apparatus as applied to a pump ; then (a) and (6) will represent two qqq levers, their ful- crums or pivots being in the standard (c c). These levers are connected together by a cord or chain (dd) passing over a pulley (e). To the lever (a) the cord (/) is attached, which is also connected to the upper lever (g) • tliis upper lever moving upon a fulcrum in the standard (c), works the pump rod (A). In order to put this apparatus in action, a man is to be seated on a transverse bar or rail (t), shown by dots near the end of the lever (a)( The feet of this man are to rest upon the bottom lever (i), and by his alternately sitting upon the lever (a), and standing upon the lever (6), they are by the chain or cord (d) brought mto the situation shown by the dotted lines ; and hence the lever (g) is raised and lowered for the purpose of working the pump. A weight is placed upon the lever (n), and made to shde, for the purpose of regulating the machinery and balancing the weight of the water or other matter raised. By these means it is evident, that a man can exert a greater power, m proportioii to the fatigue occasioned, than would be effected by the usual methods, such as turning a winch or moving a lever with the arms, &c. (Newton's Journal, vol. lu, p. 77.) *258]. Other machines for particular departments, will be noticfd in their proper places- — ^ Jon -»— and some will be wanted which are not peculiar to agriculture, such as rat-traps (fgs. 290, and 291,), mouse and mole-traps (fig. 292,), a fowling piece for shooting birds, scares for deterring birds, and similar contrivances, 2582, The grindstone (Jig. 293,) is a hand-machine that cannot be dispensed with in a farmery. The most improved fiort has a cast-iron frame, which any 292 person wishing to grind an instrument on may turn for himself, by operaUng with his foot Book IV. SWING PLOUGHS. 389 on a treadle (o). This frame can be adjusted to a small or a large grindstone, or altered as the stone wears out, by the construction of the support for the gudgeon (6) ; a loose shield of sheet- iron (c) is used to protect the operator from the water thrown off by the wheel when in motion. ( Gard. Mag, vol. V.) 2583. The essential hand-machines are the ladder, wheel and hand-barrows, winnowing machine, chaff-cutter, and turnip barrow-driU. Chap. II. Of Agricultural Implements and Machines drawn hy Beasts of Labour. 2584. The fundamental implements of agriculture are the plough, the harrow, and the cart : these are common to every country in the slightest degree civilised ; sufficiently rude in construction in most countries, and only very lately brought to a high degree of perfection in Britain. Dr. Anderson (Recreations in Agriculture, ^c. ), writing in 1 802, observes, " that there are no sorts of implements that admit of greater improvement than those of husbandry, on the principle of diminishing weight without in any degree abating their strength." Since that very recent period, great improvements have taken place in almost every agricultural implement, from the plough to the threshing-machine ; and though these have not yet found their way into general use, especially in England, they may be procured at the public manufactories of the capitals of the three kingdoms with no trouble. It is incredible what benefits would result to agriculture if proper ploughs and threshing-machines were generally adopted ; and if the scuffler or cultivator, of which Wilkie's seems to be the most improved form, were applied in suitable soils, and under proper circumstances ; not to mention one and two horse carts, improved harrows, and the best winnowing machines. But the ignorance and antipathy to innovation of tlie majority of farmers in almost every country, the backwardness of labourers to learn new practices, and the expense of the implements, are drawbacks which necessarily require time to overcome. It may also be observed, that, in the progress of improvement, many innovations which have been made have turned out of no account, or even worse than useless ; and this being observed by the sagacious countryman confirms him in his rooted aversion fiom novelty and change. — In our selection, we shall pass over a great variety of forms, the knowledge of which we consider of no use, unless it were to guard against them, and shall chiefly confine oiurselves to such as are in use at the present time by the best farmers of the best cultivated districts. These we shall arrange as tillage imple- ments, sowing and planting implements, reaping machines, threshing maclunes, and machines of deportation. Sect. I. Tillage Implements and Machines, 2585. The tillage implements of agriculture comprise ploughs with and without wheels, and pronged implements of various descriptions, as grubbers, cultivators, harrows, rollers, &c. We shall take them in the order of swing ploughs, wheel ploughs, pronged implements, harrows, rollers, &e. SuBSECT. 1. Suing Ploughs, or such as are constructed without Wlieels. 2586. Tlie plough, being the fundamental implement of agriculture, is common to all ages and countries, and its primitive form is almost every where the same. The forms used by the Greeks and Romans (see Part I. Book I. Chap. 1 and 2.) seem to have spread over Europe, and undergone no change till probably about the 16th century, when they began to be improved by the Dutch and Flemish. In the 17th century the plough underwent further improvement in England ; and it was greatly improved in that following, in Scotland. There are now a great variety of excellent forms, the best of which, for general purposes, is universally allowed to be what is called in England the Scotch plough, and iu Scotland the improved Scotch plough. In speaking of the Cc 3 390 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. implement we shall adopt the latter terai, because the unimproved Scotch ptmigh differs little from some old forms of tlie implement common to Europe from the time of the Romans. As the operation of ploughing, like many other operations in practical husbandry, must often vary in the manner of its being performed, it is evident that no one particular sort of plough can be superior to all others, in every season, and under every variety of soil or inclination of surface. The Scotch plough, however, and the variations of which it is susceptible, render it by far the most universal tillage imple- ment hitherto invented or used. 2587. Plouglis are of two kinds : those fitted up with wheels, and called wlied plcmghs ; and those without wheels, called swing ploughs. The latter are the lightest of draught, but require an experienced and attentive ploughman to use them ; the former work with greater steadiness, and require much less skill in the manager: some sorts, indeed, do not require holding at all, excepting at entering in, and turning on and off the work at the ends of the ridges. On the whole, toking ploughmen as they are, and ploughs as they are gene- rally constructed, it will be found, that a district ploughed with wheel ploughs will show greater neatness of work than one ploughed with swing ploughs : but, on the other hand, taking a district where the improved form of swing ploughs is generally adopted, the ploughmen will be found superior workmen, and the work performed in a better manner, and with less expense of labour, than in the case of wheel ploughs. Northumberland in this respect may be compared with Warwickshire. 2588. In tlie construction of ploughs, whatever be the sort used, there are a few gene- ral principles that ought invariably to be attended to ; such as the giving the throat and breast, or that part which enters, perforates, and breaks up the ground, that sort of long, nairow, clean, tapering, sharpened form that affords the least resistance in passing through the land ; and to the mould-board, that kind of hoUowed-out and twisted form, which not only tends to lessen friction, but also to contribute greatly to the perfect turn- ing over of the furrow-slice. The beam and muzzle should likewise be so contrived, as that the moving power, or team, may be attached in the most advantageous line of draught. This is particularly necessary where a number of animals are employed together, in order that the draught of the whole may coincide. 2589. The construction of an improved Scotch swing plough is thus given mathemati- cally by Bailey of Chillingham, in his Essay on the Construction of the Plough on Ma- thematical Principles, 1795. It had been previously aimed at by Small of Berwickshire, and subsequently by Vetch of Inchbonney, near Jedburgh, (^Highland Soc. Trans, vol. iv. p. 243.), and more recently and completely in the Quarterly Journal of .Agriculture for Februai-y, 1829. Whoever wishes thoroughly to understand the construction of the plough, and the principles of its operation, are recommended to the last-mentioned very excellent paper, which is too long to be given here, and which would lose half its value by being abridged. 2590. Land, when properly ploughed, Bailey observes, must be removed from a hori- zontal position, and twisted over to a certain angle, so that it may be left in that inclining state, one furrow leaning upon another, till the whole field be completely ploughed. The depth and width of the furrows which is most approved of by farmers, and commonly to be met with in the best-ploughed fields, are in the proportion of two to three ; or, if the furrow be two deep, it must be three wide, and left at an angle of 45 to 46 degrees. 2591. Various forms have been given to the different parts of the plough, by ingenious persons, according to their different fancies, in order to diminish the weight of the draught, and to turn over the furrow, and leav^it in its proper position, without tearing or breaking it. 2592. To have the line of draught at right angles to the horses' shoulders is of great importance in the formation of a plough ; a circumstance of which the greatest part of the plough-makers are totally ignorant, although it is well known to every one that has the least knowledge of mechanics. If we take the angle that the horses' shoulders make with a perpendicular from the horizon, and continue another line at right angles to it, or parallel to the draught chain ; the length of this line from the horse's shoulders to where it meets or crosses the coulter, at half the depth of the furrow, will be thirteen feet two inches for ordinary sized horses. 2593. Length of beam. If the plough be properly made, the line of draught should pass through the middle hole of the plough bridle at the point of the beam. This requires the beam to be seven feet long, to give it a proper height at the bridle. 2594. Left side plane. That part of the plough next the solid land should be made a perfect plane, and, run parallel to the line of draught; whereas some of the common ploughs are completely twisted in that part, and deviate more than two inches from the line of draught ; this throws the plough to the left, and causes the hinder part of the mould-board to press hard against the furrow, and crush and break it, besides increasing the labour of the cattle. 2595. The positinn of tlie coulter must not deviate much from an angle of 45 degrees: Book IV. SWING PLOUGHS. 391 for, if we make it more oblique, it causes the plough to choke up with stubble and grass roots, by tlirowing tliem up against the beam ; and, if less oblique, it is apt to drive the stpnes or other obstacles before it, and make it heavier to draw. 2596. The movlA-board, for all free soils, and for working fallows, is generally most effective when it has a considerable concavity ; but for breaking up clover leys, pasture, or any firm surface, and also for clayey soils, it is found to clean itself better and make neater work when it approaches nearer to a plane, and in very stiff clays, is formed with a concave surface. The lower edge of the mould-board, on the most improved forms, is in a sepaiate piece, which, when it wears, can be taken off and renewed. The tech- nical name of this slip of iron is the wealing piece, 2597. The materials with which ploughs are constructed is, generally, wood for the beam and handles, cast-iron for the head, side-plates, mould-board, and sole, and wrought iron for the share, coulter, and muzzle. But of late years, in consequence of the dear- iiess of tunber, and the cheapnesS'Of iron, they have been constructed wholly of the latter material, and with considerable advantage in point of strength and durability, and some also in point of convenience. Among the conveniences may be mentioned, the facility wliich they afford of bending the left handle to the right of the straight line (see Jig. 293. a), first introduced by Mr. Wilkie of Uddingston, (who, if not the inventor, may certainly be considered . the greatest improver of iron ploughs,) by which means the ploughman is permitted to walk with ease in the bottom of the furrow. The stilts or handles may also be joined to the body of the plough, in such a way as to admit of taking off and packing for a foreign country, or raising or lowering the points of the handles according to the size of the ploughman, as in Weatherley's plough. *2S98. Of suiing ploughs, by far tie best is the implement known in England as the Scotch ploiigh. It is almost the only plough used in Scotland, and throughout a con- siderable part of England ; it is drawn with less power than wheel ploughs, at least, those of the old construction, the friction not being so great ; and it probably admits of greater variations in regard to the breadth and depth of the furrow-slice. It is usually di'awn by two horses abreast in common tillage ; but for ploughing between the rcws of the drill culture, a smaller one drawn by one horse is commonly employed. A plough of the swing kind, having a mould-board on each side, is also used both in forming narrow ridges for turnips and potatoes,' and in laying up the earth to the roots of the plants, after the intervals have been cleaned and pulverised by the horse and hand-hoe. This plough is sometimes made in such a manner, that the mould-board may be shifted from one side to the other when working on hiUy grounds ; by which means the fur- rows are all laid in the same direction. This will be found described as the tum-vyrest plough. ' 2599. Sviing ploughs, similar to the Scotch plough, have been long known in England. In Plythe's Improver Improved (edit. 1652), we have engravings of several ploughs; and what he calls the " plain plough" does not seem to differ much in its principal parts from the one now in use. Amos, in an Essay on Agricultural Machijies, says, that a person named Lummis (whom he is mistaken in calling a Scotchman, see Maxwell's Practical Husbandman, p. 191.) " first attempted its construction upon mathematical principles, which he learned in Holland ; but having obtained a patent for the making and vending of this plough, he vnthheld the knowledge of these principles from the public. However, one Pashley, plough-vmght to Sir Charles Tiunier of Kirkleathem, having si knowledge of those principles, constructed upon them a vast number of ploughs. After- wards his son established a manufactory for the making of them at Rotberham. Hence they obtained the name of the Rotherham plough; but in Scotland they were called ^the Dutch or patent plough." ''At length the Americans, having obtained a knowledge of those principles, either from Britain or Holland, claimed the priority of the invention ; in consequence of which. President Jefferson, of the United States, presented the prin- ciples for the construction of a mould-board, first to the Institute of France, and next to the Board of Agriculture in England, as a wonderful discovery in mathematics." (^Com^ munications to tlie Board of Agriculture, vol. vi. p. 437.) According to another writer, the Rotherham plough was first constructed in Yorkshire, in 1720, about ten years before Lummis's improvements. {Survey of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr. ) We have seen it stated somewhere, that one of the first valuable alterations on the svring plough, of the variety formerly used in Scotland, was made by Lady Stewart of Goodtrees, near Edinburgh, grandmother to the Earl of Buchan. She invented what is caUed the Rutherglen plough, at one time much used in the west of Scotland. 2600. The Scotch plough was little known in Scotland till about the year 1764, when Small's method of constructing it began to excite attention. (Small's Treatise on Flouglis and Wheel Carriages, 1784; and Lord i'aimes's Gentleman Farmer). This inge- nious mechanic formed the mould-board upon distinct and intelligible principles, and afterwards made it of cast-iron. His appendage of a chain has been since laid aside. It has been disputed, whether he took the Rotherham, or the old Scotch plough, for the Cc 4 kn^j.j:*r<*^Xj KJV AOrtH^UlJl UlVIIi. X' AHT IM, basis of his improvements. The swing plough has been since varied a little, in some parts of Scotland, from Small's form, for the purpose of adapting it more completely to particular situations and circumstances. Since 1810, this plough has been very generally made entirely of iron. In Northumberland the mould-board is made less concave than in Berwickshire, and in Berwickshire it is even less concave than in Small's plough. Dif- ferent degrees of concavity in the mould-board suit different soils : soft and sandy soil requires most, and a loamy or clayey soil least, concavity. The following are the prin- cipal varieties of the improved Scotch plough at present in use in the most improved districts of the north, and among scientific farmers in all countries. 2601. SmaU's plougli. The mould-board is more concave than in most other varieties, and this may be considered its characteristic as compared with these varieties. It is sometimes drawn by a chain proceeding from the muzzle to the head, in order to lessen the strain on the draught-beam, and in that case it is called SmaU's chain plough. It is commonly made of wood and iron (^g. 294. u, as seen from the right side, b from above), but also entirely of iron. 294 2602. The Northumberland plough, and the Berwickshire plough, are very nearly the same implement ; differing from Small's plough in having the mould-board less concave. 260S. WUkie^s swing plough, the best iron 295 swing plough in Scot- » land, (J^. 295. a, as J^-:::^ seen from above, b the "ISl ?70A>. b ^y^j/^ I left side) is formed en- tirely of iron except the points of the handles. Its characteristic, in point of form, is a longer mould-board with a greater twist in it, the object of which is, to reverse the fur- row more completely in light or highly pul- verised soils. 2604. Finlmson's iron ploughs {Jigs. 296 to 299.) are, as he informs us (BriHsh Farrwr, p. 9.), constructed in imitation of those of WUkie, but with improvements and modifications adapted for particular circtimstances. 2605. The heath or self-cleaning plough, or rid plough, Ulgs.296, 297.), is formed with the beam sp curved vertically (^. 296.), or divided and curved horizontally (Jg. 297.), as to leave no resting place for stubble, heath, or other vegetable matter at the ton nf fn^Srant^rthrvfo^r-"^' ^'' ^'-^'^ "' ^^ idinary-^rVu^tiS K sti^^r^i^e^rL^lS^tl^rn-Sar ^^^^ - V""- is of a pecuUarly adhesive clay. When this Vis' betwlei! ^h^wTtSiTCit a-^-s Book IV. SWING PLOUGHS. 393 to the body of the plough like glue, by which the draught is increased probably double or treble." By substituting three or four iron rods for the mould-board, the soil is pre- vented from adhering, while the operation of ploughing is at the same time performed in an equally perfect manner with two horses as with four. This is accounted for " by the whole surfece of this plough not being more than one third or one fourth the surface of other ploughs." In like manner, when it is necessary to dig or trench very strong clayey soil between the wet and the dry, the operation is performed with much greater ease by a two-pronged fork. It is important to agriculturists to know the opinion and experience of a man of so much science and extensive practice as the late Mr. Finlayson, who says, " irom my own experience I have no hesitation in saying that the most adhe- sive land may, with ease, be ploughed by the skeleton plough, tmd one pair of good horses." (British Farmer, p. 165.) 2607. FhUa^son's Kne plough {Jig. 299.) is characterised by a rod (a), which proceeds 299 from the sheath of the plough to the muzzle, which is put on when the plough is drawn by horses in a line — 3 very disadvantageoijs manner, but yet common in many parts of England. 394 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II 2608. The SomcrvUle swing plough is known by its mould-board, a part of which is rendered moveable by hinges ; the advantage of this is, that the furrow can be laid more or less flat at pleasure. " Mould-boards," Lord Somerville observes, " formed to lay furrows in ley, so as to give tlie most soil to harrows, cannot be of that fonii best calculated to make good work in stirring earths ; more especially the last, which ought to be thrown up in small seams, as it were, that the seed may be duly buried. It has hitherto held necessary to rip off the plate for this purpose, and drive in wedges, by which the mould-plate must be injured. From the trouble attending this operation, it has generally been omitted, and the land, of course, imperfectly worked. But this inconvenience may be remedied, and the mould-board be adjusted with great facility and expedition, by the following means ; — When the mould-board is formed, and its plate fitted as usual, let the hind part be cut off, and again connected with the fixed part of mould-board by means of flat hinges, or of thin flexible plates of tempered steel, or of hard hammered iron, so as to admit of that part being set to have different inclinations with the fixed part of the mould-board : by means of a screw passing from the inside tlirough the lower parts of the handle of the plough, opposite the back of this moveable piece, the screw may be made to keep it at any desired degree of inclination, according to the nature of the work to be performed." — This plough, however, has been but little used, and does not seem to meet the approbation of the best cultivators. •2609. Turn-iorest swing ploughs are such as admit of removing the mould-board from one side to another at the end of each furrow, for the purpose of throwing the earth removed always to one side. Their principal use is in ploughing across steep declivities, in order that the furrow slice may always be thrown down. Wherever it is practicable, however, it is best to plough obliquely up and down such declivities ; because the other practice soon renders the soil too rich and deep at bottom, and too thin and poor at top. 2610. Gray^s tum-wresi swing plough (Jig* 300.) is one of the most scientific imple- ments of the kind. The beam, head, and sheath, must always be placed in the di- rection of a Une passing along their middle ; and the two handles must be placed equi- distant on each side of that line. There are two mould- boards and two coulters, and a mould-board is produced on either side, at pleasure, by moving the lever (a) between the plough handles from the one side to the other. The line of draught can be shifted with equal ease and expedition, and at the same time one of the coulters raised up clear of the land, and placed along the side of the beam, whilst the other is put down, and placed in a proper position for cutting off the furrow-slice from the furrow ground. All this is performed at once, vrithout the ploughman's changing his position, by means of two levers (J, c, and d, a). We have already noticed (2597.) the mode in which the double-mouling or earthing-up svring plough may be rendered a turn-wrest plough, of a less perfect kind. 2611. Weatherlet/'s moveaile stilt plough (Jig. SOl.) is characterised by certain joints in the stilts (a a), wluch admit ^ «q, of raising or lowering the handles at pleasure, so as to suit the height of the plough- man. They also admit of taking off the stilts for the convenience of packing. These joints are the invention of Weatherley, a Northumbrian agriculturist in the service of Prince Esterhazy. The plough is manufactured by Weir of London, who commonly adds to it the improved draught tackle (6). 2612. The ribbing plough is any of the above implements on a smaller scale, to be used for the operation of ribbing, or laying leys or stubbles in small ridges. 2613. Ducket's sMm^covJter plough {Jig. 302.) is said to be a valuable implement, though not much in use. By it the ground may be opened to any depth in separate horizontal portions of earth ; and, as the weeds or grassy surface are turned down in the first operation, and covered by fresh earth or mould from beneath, a larger proportion of nourishment is supposed to be provided for- the crop, while at the same Book IV. SWING PLOUGHS. 395 time it is rendered more clean, and the inconvenience of the roots of the grasses or otlier plants wholly got rid of. It requires a strong team in tlie heavier sorts of soils, but this is in some degree counterbalanced by the circumstance of one such ploughing being mostly sufficient for the crop. It is, says a late theorist, consequently evident that, con- sidering the number of plougliings generally given in the ordinary vpay of preparing lands for a crop of barley or turnips, and under the fallowing system for wheat, and the labour and expense in the latter case, in raking, picking, and burning weeds, the advan- tages of this plough are probably greater than is generally supposed. It has also ad- vantages in another point of view, which is, that the soil is increased in depth, and the parts of it so loosened and broken down that the fibrous roots of the crops strike and extend themselves more readily in it, and of course are better fed and supported. In thin and sandy soils it is more particularly useful, because it cuts off all which is on the surface, at the depth of an inch or an inch and a half, in order to its being laid in a state of decay, for a futin*e crop ; by which an increased depth of soil is given to every subsequent course of crops, which often acts as a support, to keep up manures near the surface, as their running through such soils too quickly is a disadvantage. It is also capable of being made use of vpithout a skim- coulter as a conunon plough. 2614, A skiTtucoulter may be added to any other plough, and may be useful in turning down green crops and long dung, as well as in trench ploughing. But in most instances it is thought a preferable plan, where the soil is to be stirred to an unusual depth, to make two common swing-ploughs follow each other in the same track ; the one before taking a shallow furrow, and the other going deeper, and throwing up a new furrow upon the former. 2615. The double share plough is distinguished by having one share fixed directly over the other. It is made use of in some of the southern districts, with advantage, in putting in one crop inunediately after ploughing down another ; as by it a narrow shallow furrow is removed from the surface, and another from below placed upon it, to such depth as may be thought most proper, — it being capable of acting to ten inches or more. In this manner many sorts of crops, such as rye and other green crops that have much height of stem, may be turned down without the inconvenience of any of the parts sticking out through tile seams of the furrow slices, by which the farmer has a clean surface of mould for the reception of the grain. *2616. The mining plough, or trenching plough, is sometimes employed for the piurpose of loosening the soil to a great depth, without bringing it up to the surface ; a mode of operation which is particularly useful for various sorts of tap-rooted plants, as well as for extirpating the roots of such weeds as strike deep into the ground* For these purposes it may be employed in the bottom of the furrow after the common plough. It is con- structed in a very strong manner, having a share but no mould-board. The share raises the earth in the bottom of the fmrow, and, passing on under what it has raised, leaves the soil where it was foimd^ but in a loosened state. 2617. SomervUle's dovMe-furrow plough {Jig- 30,3.) is obviously advantageous in per- 303 forming more labour in a given time, with a certain strength of team, than other sorts of ploughs, as producing two furrows at a time. It has been found useful on the lighter sorts of land where the ridges are straight and wide, though some think it more confined in its work than those of the single kind. The saving of the labour of one person, and doing nearly double the work with but little more strength in the team, in the same time, recommend it for those districts where four-horse teams are in use. This plough has been brought to its present degree of perfection by Lord SomerviUe, especially by the introduction of the moveable plates already mentioned (2607.), at the extremities of the mould-board, as in His Lordship's single plough. But, as observed by an excellent authority, " with all the improvements made by Lord SomerviUe, it can never come into competition, for general purposes, vrith the present single-furrow ploughs." Lord S. admits, that it would be no object to invade the system already established in well cultivated counties ; though, where large teams are employed, vrith a driver besides the ploughman, it would certainly be a matter of importance to use this plough, at least, on light friable soils. « Their horses," he says, « vpijl not feel the difference between thdr SOS SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. own single furrow, working one acre, and the well constructed two-furrow plough, with two acres per day ; here is no system deranged, and double work done." (Comm. B. A. vol. ii.) This plough is also of particular value for ploughing up and down steeps. (See 2627.) 2618. The Argylesldre plough differs from Small's, or any single swing plough, in having no coulter fixed in the beam, but, in lieu of this, a fin or knife rising from the left side of the share, which serves the purpose of slicing off the furrow as well as the coulter. This fin or feather must be placed at the same angle as the coulter, and should terminate in a lance-like shape, in order to furnish the least obstruction to stubble, weeds, or stones. This plough is not liable to be choked by stubble, or thrown out by catching small stones between the points of the coulter and sock. It is found particularly useful in taking the earth away from the sides of a drill crop ; as its broad upright feather, which operates as a coulter, completely shields the plants from all risk of earth falling on them from the left side of the plougli, while, at the same time, the ploughman ascertains to a certainty, that the part of the plough below ground approaches no nearer to the roots of the plants than the upper part does to their leaves ; so that he can bring the plough to slice off the earth close in upon their sides, if necessary, In point of draught it is pre- cisely the same as the common plough. 2619. The double mouldr-boarded plough is a kind of plough often used with advantage in clearing out furrows, in setting' potatoes, cabbages, and other similar crops, and in earthing up such as are planted in wide rows. Those whose mould-boards move on hinges, and may be set wide or narrow at pleasure, are the most convenient. A variety of this plough, made by Weir of London, admits of removing the mould-boards, and fixing in curved coulters and hoes, for cleaning between drilled turnips and similar crops. 2620. The binot is almost the same thing as the double mould-boarded plough, and the one is commonly sold for the other, with no loss to the purchaser. It has two mould-boards, one on each side of the beam. It is used in some soils in forming a ribbed or ridged bed for wheat or other grains ; by which means, when tlie grain is sown over the ribs or ridgelets in the broadcast manner, as it falls for the most part into the fur- rows, or is harrowed into them, it comes up in rows. It is also used in earthing up crops; and sometimes, in Flanders, but never by the best cultivators in England, in giving the first furrow to stubbles. 2621. The marking plough is used in straightening and regulating the distance of ridges where the drill system is practised. Any plough witli a rod fixed at right angles to the beam, and a short piece depending from this rod, will trace a line parallel to the furrow drawn by the plough, which line will serve for a guide as to the width of ridges, &c, 2622. dymer's plough (Jig. .")04.) is a recent modification of the implement, formed entirely of iron, and chiefly re- ^^^ ^Oi markable for the absence of the coulter, or rather its attachment to the breast, and ' for the share, mould board, and other parts which move under ground, being com- posed of distinct pieces of cast-iron. This is considered as cheaper to commence with and easier to repair, because any one part may be renewed of the same material without deranging the rest ; whereas renewing or repairing wrought-iron shares, mould- boards, or coulters, is found in many districts both difficult and expensive. It has never come into use. 2623. Stothard!s plough is characterised by a perforated mould-board. The holes may be in any form or fimensions ; and their object is to allow the air to pass through, and thereby prevent the adhesion of wet earth, which it is contended adheres in ordinary ploughs with such a degree of tenacity as greatly to increase the friction, and diminish the speed of the horses. (Newton's Journal, vol. ii. p. 335.) 2624. Morton's trenching plough (Jig. 305.) has two bodies (o6), the one working four 305 Book IV. WHEEL PLOUGHS. 397 or six inches deeper than the other. The first (a) cuts or pares off the surface to the required depth, say five inches, and turns it over into the furrow, ten or twelve inches deep, made by the main body. The second body generally works from ten to twelve inches deep, but might be made to work to the depth of thirteen or fifteen inches ; upon its mould-board is formed an inclined plane, extending from the back part of the featlier of the sock or share (c) to the back part of the mould-board (d), where it terminates about six inches above the level of the sole (e). This inclined plane raises the soil from the bottom of the furrow, and turns it over on the top of that which has been laid in the bottom of the previous furrow by the body (a) - — ""■ ' — ~— 2°^ going before. 2625. Gladstone's water- J'lirrowing plough ( ^s. 306. and 307. ) is used for cleaning out the furrows of anew-sown field, when the nature of the soil, or the inclination of the surface, requires extraordinary at- tention to leading off the rainwater. The beam (o), handles (b), and sole (c), of this plough are form- ed in the usual manner of double mould-board ploughs. The sole is five inches square, for the purpose of forming a square bottom to the furrow. The two mould-boards (d) are loose, so as to rise and fall with the depth or shallov/ness of the furrow, being fastened only by the centre pin (e) to the upright (^ ). The mould-boards, or wings, as they are called, are kept extended by a piece of iron (g) ; and this piece of iron has a number of holes in it, so that, by means of a pin (A) it may be raised or lowered at pleasure, according to the depth of the water furrow. The mould-boards are made of wood. Any old plough may be converted into one of this description for a few shillings. 2626. Draining ploiighs are of various kinds, but none of them are of much use ; the work can always be done better, and generally cheaper, by manual labour. As most of these ploughs have wheels, we have included the whole of them in next subsection. 307 Sdbsect. 2. Wheel Ploughs^ 2627. Wheel ploughs are of two kinds : those, and which are by far the most common, where the wheel or wheels are introduced for tlie purpose of regulating the depth of the furrow, and rendering the implement more steady to hold ; and those where the wheel is introduced for the purpose of lessening the friction of the sole or share. This last description of wheel plough is scarcely known, but it promises great advantages. The former is of unknown antiquity, having been used by the Romans. 2628. Ploughs with wheels for regulation, and steadiness vary considerably in their con- struction in different places, aceorcUng to the nature of soils and other circumstances ; but in every form, and in all situations, they probably require less skill in the plough- man. Wheels seem, indeed, to have formed an addition to ploughs, in consequence of the want of experience in ploughmen ; and in all sorts of soil, but more particularly in those which are of a stony and stubborn quality, they afford great assistance to such ploughmen, enabling them to perform their work with greater regularity in respect to depth, and with much more neatness in regard to equality of surface. From the friction caused by the wheels, they are generally considered as giving much greater resistance, and consequently demand more strength in the team that is employed ; and, besides, are more expensive in their construction, and more liable to be put out of order, as well as more apt to be disturbed in their progress by clods, stones, and other inequalities that may be on the surface of the ground, than those of the swing kind. It is also observed, " that with wheel ploughs workmen are apt to set the points of their shares too low, so as by their inclined direction to occasion a heavy pressure on the wheel, which must pro- ceed horizontally :" the effect of this struggle is an increased weight of draught, infinitely beyond what could be supposed : for which reason, the wheel is to be considered as of no importance in setting a plough for work ; but passing lightly over the surface, it will be of material aid in breaking up old leys, or ground where fiints, rocks, or roots of trees occur, and in correcting the depression of the share from any sudden obstruction, as well as in bringing it quickly into work again, when thrown out towards the surface. (Com- mvMtcations to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii, p. 419.) 398 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2629. Tlie improved Scotch plough, with one or sometimes two wheels (fig. 308.), fixed near to the end of the beam, without any carriage, goes very light, and is very useful ; such alterations as are necessary requiring very little time or trouble. Where two wheels are employed, the plough does very well without a holder on a good tilth or light sward, where there are few stones, except at the setting in and turning out. Wheel ploughs should, however, probably be seldom had recourse to by the experienced ploughman, though they may be more convenient and more manageable for those who are not per- fectly informed in that important and useful art. 2630. The Beverston plough (fig. 309.) was once considered a good wheel plough. It has its principle of draught given it in a very effective manner by an in- genious contrivance of iron work, in which, according to Lord Somerville, " the point of draught is perpendi- cularly above the point of traction, or the throat or breast where the share fits on." 2631. Tlie Kentish and Herefordshire wheel ploughs are extraordinary clumsy imple- ments of very heavy draught, and making, especially the former, very indifferent work. They were figured by Blythe in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and seem to have received no improvement since. The Kentish plough is generally made with a turn-wrest, in order always to turn land downwards in ploughing a hill ; but this as Lord Somerville remarks, soon renders the summit of the hill or the upper side of the field, where such a practice is persisted in, destitute of soil. A much better mode is to plough up and down the steep, or diagonally across it. In either case the double mould- board plough, invented by His Lordship, is of singular use, as one furrow only need be taken in going up and two in coining down. 2632. Tlie Norfolk witeel plough (fig. 310.) has a clumsy appearance, from the great bulk of its wheels and their carriage ; but in light friable soils it does its work with neatness, and requires only a small power of draught. ^ 2633. Ploughs with wheels far diminusliing friction are of compara- tively recent date. Morton, of Leith walk, in 1813, conceived the idea of introducing into the body of the plough a wheel about 15 inches in diameter, to act as the sole, and made several exhibitions of a plough so constructed before the Dalkeith Fanning Society. (Gard. Mag. vol. v.) Wilkie, of Uddingston, brought forward a similar plough in 1814, and Plenty, of London, in 1815. Liston, of Edinburgh, a few years afterwards, brought forward a plough on the same principle ; but it never came into use. Plenty's friction wheel plough has been occasionally used in England. It has two wheels under the beam, and one behind the sole ; and, while the same plough with two wheels requires a power of 4 cwt., tliose wdth a third or friction wheel, as Mr. Plenty informs us, require only a draught of 3-^ cwt. 2634. Willae's single horse wlieel plough (fig. 311.) was invented by the late Mr. Wil- kie, and described by liim in the Farmer's Magazine for November, 1814. It has the Book IV. WHEEL PLOUGHS 399 Sll wheel (d) placed behind the sole, which, besides considerably reducing the weight of draught, is found to give a degree of" steadiness seldom ex- ceeded in the use of the common plough, except when quite new, or recently re- paired with a new sock and sole-shoe. At that period, when the back end of the sole is quite full and square, the common plough (when well constructed) goes as well as can be wished for ; but, by the great friction of the sole, the back end of it soon becomes convex , and, consequently, the plough loses tlie steady support of the extremity of the heel ; ori in other words, in proportion as the sole becomes more convex, the fulcrum of the lever is extended considerably forward, so as to be too near the centre of gravity. When that is the case, the least obstruction at the point of the share hrows the plough out of the ground. In oMer to remedy or counteract that tendency, the ploughman is obliged to raise the point of draught at the end of the beam ; but this expedient, although it gives the plough more hold by the point of the share, is attended with another inconvenience fully as bad as the former ; for, when the point of the share meets with an obstruction as before noticed, the heel of the plough is raised, on account of the point of draught being fixed above the direct line of traction. Thus, the common plough, when the sole becomes convex, is made to go very unsteadily, and often requires the utmost attention and exertions of the ploughman to direct it. What is stated above, however, can only apply to the common plough when out of order by the sole becoming convex. 2635. Placing the wkecL In order to understand in what manner the wheel ought to be placed so as to reduce the friction, it may be necessary to remark that one of the first properties of a plough is to be constructed in such a manner as to swim fair on the sole. This depends principally on the form of the sole, and position or inclination of the point of the sock, together with the point of draught at the end of the beam (a). If these are properly adjusted, the pressure or friction of the sole will be uniform' from the point of the share (6) to the back end of the heel (d) j or, in other words, the friction will be balanced between these two points by means of the beam (a] acting as a lever, the heel (d) being the fulcrum, and a point over the share (c) the centre of gravity. 2636. The centre of gravity or of resistance will be extended nearer to the point of the share (ft), in proportion as the soil has acquired a greater degree of cohesion ; as in old pasture ground, or strong clays. But, wherever the point of resistance meets, it is evident that the point of draught at the end of the beam must be placed so as to balance the friction of the sole between its extreme points (fi and a). Viewing the machine, therefore (with regard to the friction of the sole), merely as a sledge carrying a •considerable weight, by which it is pressed equally to the bottom of the furrow at the extreme points (6 and d), it is clear that, by substituting a wheel at the one point (d), the one half of the friction of 'the sole will be thrown on the wheel. The draught is reduced by the wheel from forty to sixty. six pounds, or from one seventh to one fifth (two hundred and eighty pounds being the power of one horse.) *2637. Wilkie's improved friction-wheel plough f(yr two horses (Jig- 312.) was invented by the late Mr. Wilkie in 1825, and is manufactured by his son at Uddingston, near Glasgow. We consider this as by far the most perfect implement of the plough kind that has hitherto been produced. The wheel (a) is placed so as to incline from the perpendicular, at an angle of about 30 degrees ; and, following in the angle of the furrow cut by the coul- ter and share, it ensures a greater degree of steadiness in the motion of the plough than when rolling only on the bottom of the furrow. The sock or share is of cast-iron, which is a great saving both in first cost and repairs ; costing only one shilling, and ploughing at an average upwards of ten acres. Only the coulter requires to be taken to the smithy, the share being renewed by the ploughman at pleasure. The wheel, which is of cast-iron, will last many years. The draught of this plough has been proved at a public ploughing match, in 1829, to be fully 30 per cent less than that of the common scoring plough of the most improved form. The price is also lower than that of any iron plough now in use. Mr. W. has lately made some of these ploughs with a piece of mechanism attached to the wheel, by the revolution of which, the quantity of ground passed over by the plough may be indicated. (Gard. Mag. vol. V.) 2638. The paring wheel plough is of various forms, though it is an implement seldom required. It is used for paring the surface of old grass lands, or leys on clay •soil, where the turf is to be burned. A vaiicty in use in the fen districts \ Jig. 2,13.\ 400 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part It has a wheel (o) which cuts the turf, instead of a coulter ; a broad flat share which raises it, with a sharp fin oi turned-up part at the extremity (c), which cuts the turf on that side, thus turning it over in slices about a foot broad and two inches deep. There is » foot (6) from the forepart of the beam, which serves to prevent the share from going too deep. 26.39. Clarice's draining plough (Jig. 314.) was found to answer well in meadow ground near Belford in Northumberland, but could not be drawn in stiflf clay with the force of eight horses. 2640. Gray's draining plough (Jig* 315.) seems one of the best. The beam is strongly fortified with iron, and is always kept at a proper distance from the surface of the ground, and also the depth of the drain regulated by two wheels (« a) which turn on an iron axle, and roll upon the surface on each side of tlie drain. ' The middle coulter is made to cut perpendicularly ; consequently, the side coul- ters will cut the two ^des of the drain at an equal slope. When this machine is at work, the earth of the diain is cut in the middle by the foremost coulter, and on each side by the other two coulters. Then the sharp point of the share will cut up that earth from its bed, and, as the machine advances, it must ascend on the surface of the inclined plane; at the same time, the fore-ends of the mould-boards, following in the track of the middle coulter, will divide the slice of earth, as it rises, into two equal parts, turning these parts gradually to each side ; and, as the back-ends of the mould-boards extend farther than the breadth of the drain above, the portion of earth so raised will be placed upon the firm ground, leaving the drain quite open. The frame into which the axle is fixed may easily be either raised up or depressed, as the drain is to be cut deep or shallow ; and the two outside coulters can easily be placed more or less oblique, so as to cut the sides of the drain at a greater or less slope, as may be found necessary. (Gray's Implements, ^c. 4to.) 264]. Morton's draining plough (Jig- 316.) has three coulters (a a 6), two mould- boards [c c), and one share (d). The mould-boards have an inclined plane, formed upon 316 each (e e), which rises from the share backwards to such a height above the level of the sole as the drain is required to be made deep. The middle coulter separates the soU to be lifted into two parts, and each part is raised to the surface by the inclined planes on the mould-boards. The usual dimensions of the diain so formed are 10 or 12 inches deep, 8 or 9 inches wide at bottom, and 14 or 15 inches wide at top ; but the construction may be adapted to a smaller or a larger drain, or for cleaning out drains already made. Book IV. WHEEL PLOUGHS. 401 2642. TAe gutter plough (Jig. 317) is made use of for forming gutter drains in grass lands, where the soil is of a retentive gjY nature. The power of six horses is required in drawing it for the first time ; but four horses are found sufficient for opening tlie old gutters. 2643. The nwlejilmgh (Jig. 318.) was invented by Adam Scott, and improved by Lumbert of Gloucester- shire. It is said to be an implement which, in ductile soils and situations, as in pleasure- 318 ^^-^ grounds, and where much regard is had to the surface-appearance of the laud, may be of considerable benefit in forming temporary drains. It makes a drain without opening the ' surface any more than merely for the passage of a thin coulter, the mark Civ--.!.- of which soon disappears : it is chiefly employed in such grass-lands as have a declination of surface, and where there are not many obstructions to contend with ; but some think it may be used in other kinds of land, as on turnip-grounds that are too wet for the sheep to feed them off, or where, on account of the wetness, the seed cannot be put into the earth. With this plough the drains should be made at the distance of ten or fifteen feet in straight lines, and also contrived so as to discharge themselves into one large open furrow, or grip, at the bottom of the field. As it requires great strength to draw this implement, it can only be used where a good team is kept. • 2644. Lumbert not only brought this plough to its present shape ; but, finding the surface greatly injured by the feet of so many horses as were found necessary to draw it, he invented a piece of machinery (Jig. 319.), consisting of a windlass, frame, and anchor, by which it is worked by the labour of four men. Young, and other members of the Board of Agriculture, expressed themselves greatly enamoured of this plan ; but it is obviously too complicate and expensive for general use. 2645. ji subsequent improvementf by Lumbert, consisted in the addition of a gin-wheel and lever, by which the machine was worked by one horse walking round it, as in a common horse-miU ; and this last form has again been improved by the late mechanist', Weir, of Oxford-street, London, by the addition of a vertical cylinder, which winds up the chain without any attention from the driver. Weir has also simplified and strengthened this machine in other respects; so that his modification of it (_^. 320.) is. at present, by far the best. Still we think it an implement that very seldom can be profitably used : that this may be the case, the surface of the field Dd 402 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pa»t H- must have a natural drainage, by lying in one even slope or slopes ; it must be m pasture j and the soil must be of uniform consistency, and free from stones. But even where these favourable circumstances combine, we think two swing ploughs, with finless shares, following in the same track, would effect the same object sufficiently well tor all agricul- tural purposes; and for drains in ornamental grounds, no machine will ever equal manual labour. . 2646. riie Duke of Bridgewater's draining plough (Jig. 321.) is used for niakmg open drains of a small size (c), regular shape, and from five to nine inches deep. The share (a) has a coulter (J) fixed to it, projecting upwards, to cut one side of the drain, and another coulter (d) fixed to the beam and elso to the share at its lowest end. The turf which is thus cut out passes between the coulter (d) and the mould-board (e), and is thus lifted clearly out of the trench. The depth of the drain is regulated by the wheels at the fore end of the beam (/). This plough is drawn by four or six horses. •2647. Variom draining ploughs have been invented and tried by Arbuthnot, Makie, M'Dougal, Green, Pearson, and others. Pearson's will be afterwards figured and described. 2648. Tlie presshig plough is properly a roller, and will be found noticed among machines of that class. *2649. The only essentuil plough to be selected from these three sections is the improved Scotch swing plough, with or without one or two wheels, according to circumstances ; and with the mould-board, share, and coulter, set to suit different soils, as flinty, chalky, &c. ; or soils in different states of culture, as old turf, heath, steep banks, ley, &c. SuBSECT. 3. Tillage Implements, known as Scarifiers, Scufflers, Cultivators, and Grubbers. 2650. The use of pronged implements, as substitutes for the plough, is of comparatively recent date. They differ from the plough in stirring the soil without reversing its surface or altering its form, unless, indeed, they in some cases tend to even or level inequalities ; they act both as the plough and harrow at the same time, and on suitable soils, and at proper seasons, much more labour is effected with less expense of men and cattle. Wherever, therefore, lands require to be stirred for any purpose except that of reversing the surface, or laying them into beds or ridges, recourse may be had to pronged tillage implements, such as we are about to describe. 2R^1. In estimating the mtue of pronged tillage implements. General Beatson {New System c^ Cultivation, 1820) applies the principle of lessening'power and employing time. He says, if we apply tile principle of petty operations to any stiff land, by taking that deptll of furrow which can easily be ploughed with two horses, and repeat the operation (or plough the land a second time), we shall arrive at the end proposed, that is, the same depth of ploughing, with absolutely less exertion of animal strength than if we were to plough the same depth with four horses at one operation. 2652 This may be illustrated by supposing the resistances to the plough to be in proportion to the squares of the depth of the land. If so, and we are to plough at once with four horses, six inches deep, the resistance at that depth would be 6 x 6 = 36 : but if with the same four horses, using two at a time, we plough the same depth of six inches at two operations, taking only three inches at each, then the square of the first depth is 9, and the square of the second. 9 ; making 18 for the total resistance, or the power expended by the two horses, in ploughing six inches deep, at two operations. 2653. A farther illustration may be made by supposing the same four horses, which had ploughed at once six Inches deep, and had overcome the resistance of 6 x 6 = 36, applied, separately, to four light ploughs, or other implements, and to plough only 1| inch deep at a time, and to go over the same land four times. In this case the sum of aU the resistances to be overcome, or the animal force expended, in these repeated ploughings, would be no more than 9 instead of 36j because the square of 11 = 2i, which, multiplied by the four ploughings, gives 9, or only one fourth of the power expended in ploughing at once six inches deep. Hence it appears, that in ploughing six inches deep, with four horses, each horse exerts a force = 9 ; whereas in taking only 1^ inch deep, the force he exerts is not more than 2-*- 265*. Farther, supposing that a horse exerts, in drawing a plough, a force of 160 pounds, it is evident, if four horses are ploughing six inches deep, the total force exerted will be fiW pounds, or 160 pounds by each ; but if they be required to plough one inch and a half deep at a time, then the total force expended by the four horses will be only 160 pounds, or 40 pounds by each horse. 2655. Application. This leads General B. to the principle on which his small scarifiers are constructed. " They have," he says, " four hoe-tmes in the hind bar, and I will suppose that there are four harrow- tines (instead of three) in the fVont bar, so that each scarifier may be considered as four small ploughs, with four shares and four coulters. If we suppose one horse attached to this implement, and that the force he exerts is 160 pounds, it is obvious that m scarifying to the depth of one inch and a half, he will exert these 160 pounds upon the four pairs of tines, or a force of 40 pounds upon e.ich pair But in fact, the force required to draw the scarifier will be considerably less than to draw any form of plough, because the hoe, or share-tines, bemg much thinner and sharper than a ploughshare and mouH.board, will of course meet with much less resistance in stirring the soil" General B. goes on to relate some experiments by which he considers he has clearly proved that the least expensive method of preparing the land for wheat, after tares, beans, peas, or clover, is simply by using the scarifiers." This we conceive is carrying Book IV. SCARIFIERS AND GRUBBERS. 403 the use of the Ecarifier much too far. We think it is a sufficient illustration of its value that it may l3e used in stirring lands on which potatoes or turnips have grown, or that has been ploughed in autumn or during winter, so that a crop may be sown in spring without farther use of the plough. In working fallows, and preparing for turnips and potatoes, it may save two of three fUrrows. (,Supp. Ency, Brit. art. Agr, and Farvn, Mag.) 2656. Willd^t parallel acjjasting brake, or cultiuaior (_Jig. 322.), appears to us decidedly the most perfect implement of this description. The prongs of such implements, mechanically considered, are bent levers (^fg. 323.), of which the fulcrum is at a, tlie power at b, and the weight , . or resistance at c. The im- i '^^^ "^^ ^ ' provement of Mr. Wilkie X:Ov 2689. The Northumberland «^^--?-T^=*' ^^ ''^^^'''''^^^^^^^^^'^T^^f^^^^':!^^ ' one-row turnip drill {fig* 346.) has two wheels which run in the hollows on each side of the drill or ridgelet to be sown ; by which means the sower is enabled to keep the row exactly in the centre of the drill. The ridgelets are pre- viously rolled, either by a common or concave roller ; the latter being preferable : and as the horse goes in the furrow at one side of the drill to be sown, of course he draws from one side of the draught-bar of the bar- row. A small roller fol- lows, and covers and presses in the seed. A recent im- provement in this machine IS the addition of a hopper (o) for pulverised manure, over wMch a barrel of water might easily be suspended, if deemed requisite. *2690. Weirds manming one-row turnip drill {fig. 347.) is a remarkable improvement on the Northumberland implement. It has a manure hopper (a) and a seed hopper (6), the same as the other ; but the ynanure, In pla^e of being dropped along with the seed, 345 412 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. is deposited in a deep gutter made by a coulter (c) wliich goes before ; this manure is covered by a pronged coulter (d) which follows the other ; next comes the coulter 3-17 which forms the gutter for the seed(e). The seed is thus deposited about one inch above the manure. One roller of the concave kind goes before the machine, and another light one of the common kind follows after it: -or, without at- tached rollers, the drill may be affixed to one side of the common roller behind, which roller may prepare one drill and cover the seed sown on another each course. 2691. The drill roller is so contrived as to form regular small incisions or drills in the ground, at proper depths for the seed. It is merely a common roller, mostly of iron, about seven feet long, about which are put cutting-wheels of cast iron, that turn round the common cylinder, each independently of the others, which cylinder generally weighs about a ton. It is drawn by three or four horses abreast, and driven by a man elevated behind them ; the cutting-wheels, being movable, may be fixed at any distance, by means of washers ; but the most common and favourite distance is four to six inches. It is said to have been found effectually productive of the principal benefits which have been derived from the operation of drill ploughs, or the practice of dibbling and setting the corn by hand, with the great advantage of saving both time and expense j as by the use of this simple machine, one man may sow and cover five or six acres of corn in one day, using for the purpose three horses, on account of its weight. It was at first chiefly used on clover or other grass leys on the first ploughing, but may be as properly employed on land which has been three or four times ploughed. The mode of working it is this : — " A clover ley or other ground being ploughed, which the cultivator intends for setting or dibbling with wheat, the roller is drayn across the furrows, and cuts the whole field into little drills, four inches asunder ; the seed is then sown broad- cast in the common quantity, and the land bush-harrowed ; by which means the seed is deposited at one equal depth, as in drilling, and that depth a better one than in setting, and the crop rises free from the furrow-seams, which are the ill eflTects of common broadcast sowing, at least on a ley ploughed once." To us this machine, so much praised by some writers, seems merely an ingenious mode of increasing the expenses of culture. By the use of a plough, such as Small's, that will cut a square furrow, no machine of this sort can possibly become necessary. The land when ploughed will be left in little drills, and being sown broadcast, the seed vrill come up as if it had been drill- rolled or ribbed. It is admitted, however, that the pressure of the roller may be useful in soft lands, and may, possibly, keep down the wire-worm. For this purpose we have the pressing plough. (2715.) 2692. The drill-wtttering machine (Jig. 348.) is an implement of recent invention by John Young, a surgeon, in Edinburgh. It is used for watering turnips and other drill crops in dry seasons; and promises to be a valuable assistant to the amateur agricul- turist, in dry seasons or situations, or where it is an important object to secure a crop. It has been much approved of by the Highland Society of Scotland and the Dalkeith Book IV. HARROWS. 413 Fanners' Society. (See Farm. Mag. vol. xxi. p. 1.) The machine consists of a barrel, which is mounted upon a cart frame, and discharges water from a ball stop-cock having four mouths (a) communicating by means of a leathern hose with four horizontal tubes {b bb b), shut up at the end by a screw (c), which admits of the tube being cleaned. The tubes are placed parallel with the drills, two between the wheels of the cart, and one on the outside of each wheel ; the distance of the tubes, and their height from the surface, are regulated by hooks and chains ; and the water is discharged in small streams, through twenty projecting apertures in the under part of the tubes. The tubes are suspended by chains to the hooks in an iron rod secured to the fore and back part of the frame of the cart. The moutli of the funnel on the top of the barrel is covered with a wire-cloth, to prevent any thing getting in to clog the apertures. The quantity of water let out by the apertures being less than what is received into the tubes, the tubes are always full ; by which a regular dischaige is kept up from all the apertures at the same time. As the machine advances, the stream which falls from the iirst aperture upon the plants is followed up by successive streams from all the apertures in the tube ; therefore each plant must receive the discharge from twenty apertures. 2693. Estimate of its operation. — Supposing the barrel to contain 200 gallons, and the tubes to be five feet long, the diameter uf the tubes three eighths of an inch, and the diameter of the apertures in the tubes one sixteenth of an inch, 200 gallons will be discharged from 80 such apertures in two hours one third. The diameter of the mouths of the stop^cock must be equal to the diameter of the tubes. The horse, going at the rate of 2| miles in one hour, in two hours and twenty minutes will go 5 miles five- sixths. The distance between four drills is 6 feet 9 inches ; therefore, if we suppose a parallelogram to be 6 feet 9 inches broad, and 5 miles five sixths long, the area of this parallelogram will be 4 acres 3 roods 1*6 perches, which will be watered by 200 gallons in two hours and twenty minutes : and in one hour will be watered 2 acres 7'27 perches, supposing the water to flow uniformly; but the quantity given out upon the driUs must be regulated by the progressive movement of the machine. '2694. In construction it is neither complicated nor expensive : it may be erected upon the frame of a cart useii for other purposes in husbandry ; and the barrel and apparatus may be furnished for about six pounds sterling, supposing the stop.cock and connecting-screws to be made of brass, and the tubes of copper or tin. This machine may be used for other purposes ; such as the application of urine as a manure, or of a solution of muriate of soda, which has been proposed for some crops. 2695. Tlie best drill machines are French's and Weir's for turnips, Morton's for corn, and the drill attached to a plough (2686.) for beans. Sect. III. Harrows or Pronged Im2>lements fir scratching the Surface Soil, fir covering the Seed, and fir other purposes, 2696. The harrow is an implement of equal antiquity with the plough, and has of late years undergone so much improvement as to have originated that class of pronged imple- ments known as cultivators, grubbei's, &c. The original uses of the harrow seem to have been chiefly three : that of reducing or comminuting soil already stirred or ploughed ; tearing root weeds out of such soil ; and covering sown seeds. We shall confine our- selves in this section to these three uses. For the purpose of stirring the soil to the 349 depth of eight or ten inches and tearing up weeds, no harrow is preferable to that of Finlayson, or Wilkie, in whidj the tines or prongs are of the cycloidal form. For the purpose of breaking and pulverising the surface of soils, straight prongs, and such as present by breadth or position greater resistance when drawn through the soil, are preferred. It is generally considered that prongs whose horizontal section, a few inches above the point, is a square or a parallelogram (Jig. 349.) are best adapted for the attrition to which they are subject in being moved forward in a direction parallel to their 4H SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT. 350 diagonals, and for resisting tlie lateral or shaking motion occasioned by encountering obstacles. (^Quart. Jour. Agr. vol. ii. p. 555.) The principal parts of harrows are generally made of wood ; but they are frequently also constructed entirely of iron. 2697. The JBerwicksldre harrow {Jig. 350. ) is the most perfect implement pf the kind in general use. It consists of two parts joined to- gether by iron rods, having hasps and hooks. Eachpartconsistsof four bars of wood technically termed bulls, and connected together by an equal number of cross bars of smaller dimensions mor- tised through them. The former of these bars may be 2^ inches in width by 3 inches in depth, and the latter 2 inches in width by 1 inch in depth. Thelongerbars areinclinedat acertain angle to the smaller, so as to form the figure of a rhomboid, and they have inserted into them the teeth at equal dis- tances from each other. This inclination of the longer bars is made to be such, that perpendicu- lars from each of the teeth, falling upon a line drawn at right angles to the line of the harrow's motion, shall divide the space between each bar into equal parts ; so that the various teeth, when the instrument is moved forward, shall equally indent the surface of the ground over which they pass. ( Qfuirt. Jour. Agr.) 2698. The angular-sided hinged harrow (Jig. 351.) is one of the best implements of the kind, as it both operates on the ground with great regularity, and is less liable to ride or be deranged in turning, than, the common, or the rhomboidal harrow. 2699. The grass seed rhomboidal harrow (Jig. 352.), is nothing more than the Ber- wickshire harrow on a smaller scale. It is used chiefly for harrowing in clover and grass seeds when sown among corn crops, or even alone. 352 353 4= 2700. The common brake (fg. 353.) is merely a baiTOw of the common kind, of Book IV. HARROWS. 415 greater weight and dimensions than necessary for ordinary soils. Its use is to reduce the stronger clays, at a time when they are too obdurate to be impressed with the teeth of the common harrow. The levelling brake, or grubber, is generally considered the preferable implement for this purpose. 2701. The brake, grubter, or levelling harrow ( fig- 354.), is a valuable implement on strong clayey soils. It consists of two frames, the one triangular and the other oblong. By means of tlie handles, the oblong part of this brake can either be raised up or depressed ; so that when the ground is cut in small pieces by the teeth of the triangular harrow, then the oblong harrow following, its teeth, being pressed down into the high parts, carry or drag part of the soil off from the heights ; and, when they are raised up by the handles, leave that soil in tlie hollow or low parts. By this means, the ground is brought nearly to one plain surface, whether that surface be horizontal or sloping. Sometimes it may be found necessary to place a greater number of teeth in the oblong part of the brake, so that they may be nearer to one another, and perform the operation more effectually. The teeth are made sharp or thin on the fore edge, for cutting ; broad and thick on the back, for strength ; and tapering, from a little below the bulls to their joints. 2702. Morton* s revolving brake harrow {Jig* 355.) is a very powerful implement in strong clayey soils infested with couch. When the implement is to be moved from one field to another, the large wheels may be brought forward (n), to support the tines from the ground, while the hind axle and the rake are- supported by a castor or truck- wheel (6). In most soils, four horses and a driver and holder are necessary to work this instrument ; which, however, no good farmer will ever require the aid of, unless it be when entering upon land which has been allowed to run wild, or clay of an extraor- dinary degree of tenacity. We have seen it extensively and advantageously used, on the latter description of soil, by Mr. Dickson of Kidbrook farm, Elackheath, Surrey. (Gord. Mag. vol. iv. p. 186.) 2703. As svhstUutes for the last two implements, may be mentioned Finlayson's harrow (2G57.), Wilkie's brake (2656.), and Kirkwood's improved grubber, which will be afterwards figured and described, the invention being only made public while the present sheet is passing through the press (February 15.). Bartlett's cultivator. Brown's cross-cutting machine, the Sythney scarifier, and the spiky roller, noticed in next section, ai'e used for a part of the purposes of the last two implements. 416 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2704. Gray's seed-harrow for ivet weather {fig. 356.) promises to be useful in certain situations, as in a tenacious re- tentive soil and moist climate. The sowing of wheat, under existing circumstances, is one of the most important branches of the com farmer's labour. In some backward seasons, it is almost impossible to get wheat ^ land harrowed according to the J common method, especially land that has been reduced by sunmier fallow, without sub- jecting it to poacliing from the horses, which is not only un- favourable to the soil, but also occasions a great waste of seed. Hence it often happens, that a less quantity of grain is got sown than was intended, or is requisite for the supply of the market. The beam (o) to which the harrows are attached admits of being made shorter or longer as the width of the ridge requires ; the shafts have freedom to turn round either to the right hand or to the left, and the teeth of the .TT=e — J harrows are placed square in the bulls, so that ^^' ^=^ they can be drawn from either end at plea- sure. The wheels {fig. 357.) may be from three to four feet in diameter if made on ^ \v drags the pressing plough. The advantages are said to be y'''/'''^^\ x*^ * ^'*" '""^ ^°^ *''* seed, by which it is not liable to be thrown .-^^^jj^ ( \^ out in the winter season, and not so liable to be attacked by the ^^^^l^v grub and wire worm ; and the rising of the plants in rows, by ^vj which means they may be hoed or harrowed between. 2715, Brown's crosi-cutting machine {Jig- 366.) is used for cross-cutting the furrows of rough, mossy, and heathy land, in order to reduce the soil to a state fit for receiving the seed. It consists of a series of parallel iron plates, or blades as they may be termed, fixed in a frame-work of wood, by the weight of which, and the pressure on the shafts by the driver, they are forced into the ground. The frame consists of oak ; and the main beams are 4 feet long, 6 inches deep, and 5 inches broad, with cross bars of proportional strength. The handles are 6^ feet long. The blades are of good foreign iron, 4 feet 3 inches Book IV. LEVELLING MACHINES. 419 long, 3§ inches broad, and five eighths of an inch thick at the back. The curves of the blades are formed to a circle of 46 inches diameter. {High. Soc. Traiis. vol. vii.) 2716. 27(6 SUhna/ scolder, or liash, consists pf a cylinder with manjr circular cutters, or a number of circular cutters connected together upon one axis, which is intended to pass over tlie ground, for tlie purpose of scarifying or cutting the surface of grass land, perpendicularly, to the depth of a few inches, and to any required degree of fineness. By means of tliis scarifier, or hash, the roots of old grass may be eflfectually destroyed without the labour of ploughing, which is calculated to enable the farmer to graze the land much longer, previously to breaking it up for wheat or turnip tillage. The apparatus is proposed to be connected to the hinder part of an ordinary cart j or the axis of the cylinder, or circular cutters, may be supported by two iron ai'ms, attached to the axletree with a pair of common carriage wheels. When this machine is used for renewing lawns or grass land, it will then be necessary to fix above the cutters a box containing grass seed ; which box must be perforated with small holes, one hole being exactly over every cutter, so tliat the seed may fall immediately into the furrow produced by the cutter. (Newton's Journal, vol. i. p. 250.) 2717. The only essential roller for general purposes is the parted casVJron roller, with a scraper and box over (_/^g. 359.). Sect. V. Machines for laying Land even, and other occasional or anomalous Tillage Machines* 27 IS. Various machines for agricultural purposes are occasionally brought into notice by amateur cultivators, and some even by the professional farmer. It forms, indeed, the privilege and the characteristic of wealth and intelligence, to procure to be made what- ever pailicular circumstances may require, in every department of the mechanical agents of culture. We shall only notice a few, and that chiefly for the purpose of showing the resources of the present age. 2719. Of machines for laying land level two may be noticed: in the first and best {Jig' 367.), the horses are harnessed to a pole (a), which is joined to an axle having a pair of low wheels (A c). Into this axletree are mortised two long side-pieces {d), terminating in handles {e e). Some- what inclined to these long or upper side pieces, shorter lovver ones are joined by ; cross pieces, and connected by strong ^_ ' side-boards. The machine has no bot- tom ; its back part (/ ) is strongly attached to an axle {Jig. 368. g), and to the bottom of this the scraper part (A) is firmly screwed. The front ends pf the slide irons {Jig. 367. ffl), turning up, pass easily through mortises in the upper side-pieces (d), where, by means of pins, the in- clination of the slide irons and of the back board can be adjusted within narrow limits, according to the nature of the soil to be levelled and the mass of .earth previoiisly loosened by ploughing. This earth the back board is intended to collect and force before it, until the machine arrives at the place where it is intended to be dcpositied. Here, by lifting up the hinder part of the machine by its handles {e e"), the contents are left on the ground, and the machine proceeds to a fresh hillock. {Supp. Encyd. Srit. i. 25.) 2720. TIte Flemish levelling machine {Jig. 369.) may be considered as a shovel, on a large scale, to be drawn by a pair of horses ; it collects earth at the pleasure of the holder, who contrives to make the horses turn over the shovel and empty the contents by merely letUng go the handle (a), and recovering it by means of a cord (J), when emptied, as already described. (508.) 2721. The levelling harrow (2701.) is adequate to all ordinary purposes. 420 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II. Sect. VI. Machinet for rea]ring and gathering the Crop, 2722. The horse machines of haytime and harvest are chiefly the horse rakes, the hay tedder, and the reaping machine. SnasECT. 1. Horse Rakes and Haymaking Machines. 2723. HaMjig machines are not in very general use ; but, where corn is mown, they are successfully employed in drawing together the scattered stalks, and are also of great use in haymaking. The saving in both cases consists in the substitution of animal for manual labour. 2724. The common or Norfolk horse rake [fig- 370.) is employed for barley and oat crops, and also for hay. One man, and a horse driven by means of a line or rein, are capable of clearing from twenty to thirty acres in a moderate day's work ; the grain being deposited in regular rows or lines across the field, by simply lifting up the tool and dropping it from the teeth, without the horse being stopped. 2725. The horse stubble-rake is a large heavy kind of horse rake, having strong iron teeth, fourteen or fifteen inches in length, placed at five or six inches from each other, and a beam four inches square, and eight or ten feet in length. In drawing it two horses are sometimes made use of, by which it is capable of clearing a considerable quantity of stubble in a short time. In general, however, it is much better economy to cut the stubble as a part of the straw. 2726. The couch-grass rake differs little from the last, and is employed in fallowing very foUl lands, to collect the couch-grass or other root weeds. It may be observed, however, that where a good system of cultivation is followed, no root weeds will ever . obtain such an ascendency in the soil as to render an implement of this kind requisite. 2727. Weirs imj/rotied hay or cam rake {Jig' 371.) is adjusted by wheels, and is readily put in and out of gear by means of the handles (o a) and bent iron stays (J 6). It Is drawn by one horse in shafts (c), and is a very effective implement, 2728. The Iiay-tedding machine {Jig. 372.), invented about 1800, by Salmon of Wobum, has been found a very useful implement, especially in making natural or meadow hay, which requires to be much more frequently turned, and more thinly spread out, than hay from clover and rye grass. It consists of an axle and pair of wheels, the axle forming the shaft of an open cylindrical frame, formed by arms proceeding from it, from the extremities of which bars are stretched, set with iron prongs, pointing outwards, and about six inches long, and curved. There is a crank by which, this cylinder of prongs is raised from the ground, when the machine is going to, and returning from, the field ; Book IV. RAKES AND REAPING MACHINES. 481 or when it Is not wanted tu operate. It Is drawn by one horse, and, on the whole, answers as a tedding machine perfectly. In the neighbourhood of London, where- 374 meadow hay is so extensively made, it is found to produce a great saving of labour, and is now coming into very general use. 2729. The hay swoop or sweep {fig. 373.) is an implement for drawing or sweeping accumulations of hay to the cart or rick, or to any larger accumulations. Sometimes a rope is merely put round the heap, especially if it has been a few days in the cock, or piled up ; but the most general hay swoop consists of two curved pieces of wood, six or eight feet long, joined by upright pieces, so as to form sometliing like the back of a chair. To the four comers of this, ropes are attached, which meet in the hook of a one-horse whipple-tree (o). ~ 2730. Snoviden's leaf-collecting machine is for the purpose of collecting dead leaves from lawns, parks, and pleasure-grounds, and has been employed in the King's grounds at Hampton Court. The apparatus consists of a large cylindrical tub, about five feet in diameter, and seven feet long, which swings upon an axle, and is open at top, in order to receive the leaves as they are collected. The collectors are hollow iron scoops, or scrapers, attached to bars, extending across the machine from two iron hoops, which work round the cylindrical receiver, and, as they revolve, scrape the ground, collect tile leaves together, lift them up, and turn them over into the tub. The collectors or scoops {fig- 374.) are made of many distinct pieces, set in rows, with springs behind each, by which any part of the scraper is enabled to give way, should it come in contact with a stone, in a manner similar to the rake bars of a haymaking machine. The hoops carrying the scrapers are lowered and adjusted to meet 'the ground, by having their pivots supported in a lever attached to the carriage, upon whicli it is adjusted by means of a circular rack and pinion. The scrapers are carried round as the carriage moves forward, by means of a spur-wheel, upon the nave of one of the carriage wheels, which works into a cog wheel upon the axis of the scraper-frame. This apparatus is designed, beside cleaning parks and lawns of dead leaves, to remove snow from the walks, to scrape and clean roads, and for several other useful purposes. {Newton's Jowmal, vol. i. p. 203.) SuBSECT. 2. Reaping Machines. *2731. Though reaping machines, as we have, seen (133.), are as old as the time of the Romans, one of an effective description is yet a desideratum in agriculture ; unless tlie recent invention of the Rev. Patrick Bell can be considered as supplying that desideratum. The high price of manual labour during harvest, and the universal desire in civilised society of abridging every description of labour, will doubtless call forth such a reaping machine as may be employed in all ordinary situations ; and this is, perhaps, all that can be desired or expected. Corn laid down, or twisted and matted by wind and rain, or growing among trees, or on very irregular surfaces, or steep sides of hills, will probably ever require to be reaped by hand. But independently of the hlgli price of labour, despatch, as an able author observes {Supp. Encyc. Brit. i. 118.), is a matter of great importance in such a climate as that of Britain. In reaping corn at the precise period of its matiuity, the advantages of despatch are incalculable, especially in those districts where the diiliculty of procuring hands, even at enormous wages, aggravates the danger from the instability of the season, It cannot, therefore, fail to be interesting, and we hope it may be also useful, to record some of the more remarkable attempts that have been made towards an invention so eminently calculated to forward this most important operation. £e 3 422 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 5732. The first ntlenipt at a reaping macht'w, go fat as we have learned, was made by Boyce, who obtained a patent for a reaping machine early in the present century. This machine was placed in a two- wheeled carriage, somewhat rcacmblins a comtndti cart, but the wheels were fixed upon the axle, so that It revolved along with them. A cog-wheel, within the carriage, turned a bmaller one at the upper end of an inclined axis, and at the lower end of this was a larger wheel, which gave a rapid motion to a pinion fixed ujion a vertical axis in the forepart of the carriage, and rather on one side, so that it went before one of the wheels of the carriage. iTie vertical spindle descended to within a few inches of the surface of the ground, and had there a number of scythes fixed upon it horizontally. This machine, when wheeled along, would, by the rapid revolution of its scythes, cut down a portion of the corn growing upon the ground over which it passed ; but having no provision for gathering up the corn in parcels and laying it in proper heap^, it was wholly unsuited to the purpose. 27S3. An improvement on this attempt was made by Plucknet, an agricultural implement. maker of London, some years afterwards. The principal alteration he made was In substituting for the scythes a circular steel plate, made very sharp at the edge, and notched at the upper side like a sickle This plate acted in the same manner as a very fine toothed saw, and was found to cut the corn much better than the scythes of the original machine. 2734. A machine, invented by Gladstone of Castle Douglas, in the stewartry of Kircudbright, operated upon nearly the same principles with Plucknet's ; but Gladstone made his work much better by introducing a circular table, with strong wooden teeth notched below, all around, which was fixed immediatefy over the cutter and parallel to it. The use of these teeth was to collect the corn, and retain it till it was 0]>erated on by the circular cutter. The corn, when cut, was received upon this table ; and, when a sufficient quantity was collected, taken away bjr a rake or sweeper, and laid upon the ground beneath the machine, in separate parcels. To this machine was added a small circular wheel of wood, covered with emery, which, being always kept in contact with the great cutter at the back part, or opposite side to that where the cutting was performed, kept it constantly ground to a sharp edge. 2735. Salmon of fVobum made the next attempt ,- and his invention, it is said, promised better than thosb we have mentioned. It was constructed upon a totally different pnnci|>Ie, as it cut the corn by means of slicars } and it was provided with a very complete apparatus for laying it down in parcels as it was cut. 2736. The next machine {fig. 375.), and one of great ingenuity and promise, is that constructed by smith, of the Deanston Cotton Works, Perthshire. Smith's perseverance, his successive improvements, and ingenious yet simple contrivances for remedying defects, affbrded strong grounds to hoi>e that he would ultimately succeed in rendering his machine a most valuable acquisition to agriculturists; but various circumstances have prevented Mr. Smith from perfecting his invention. He made the first trial of his machine upon a small scale, during the harvest of 1811. It was then wrought by two men. In ISIS he constructed one upon a larger scale, to be wrought by a horse ; but, though he cut down several acres of nats and barley with considerable ease, it was found that when met by an acclivity the horse could not move the machine with proper effect. In 1813 he made a more successful attempt, with an improved machine, worked by one man and two horses ; and (1814) it was still farther improved by an additional apparatus, tending to regulate the application of the cutter when working On an uneven surface. This ingenious machine has been again tried, in September 1815, and with much success. A Scotch acre (1^ acre English) of beans was cut down with ease in an hour a^d a quarter. The trials made with it on wheat, though not extensive, were satisfactory; and in reaping oats, the corn was laid down in the most regular manner. The cutter of this machine is circular, and operates horizontally ; it is appended to a drum connected with the forepart of the machine, its blade projecting some inches beyond the peri- phery of the lower end of the drum; and the machine is so constructed as to communicate, in moving forward, a rapid rotatory motion to this drum and cutter, by which the stalks are cut, and, falling upon the drum, are carried round and thrown off" in regular rows. This most ingenious piece of machinery will cut about an English acre per hour, during which time the cutter requires to be four times shari^ened with a common scythe stone. The expense of this machine is estimated at from thirty tq thirty-five pounds. If properly managed it may last for many years ; only requiring a new cutter every two or three years, a repair which cannot cost much. This promising invention, which attracted a good deal tof notice a few years ago, remains, it is believed, as it was then, in a state not calculated for extensive use. Mr. Smith's large concerns in the cotton manufacture may have prevented him from continuing his experiments ; and it is understood that the time he has already devoted to it has been without sufficient remuneration or encouragement 2737. BeU's t-eaping machine (Jigs 376. and 377.) is the most recent as well as the most perfect inven- tion of this description. The frame-work of this machine (a a) may be made lighter or stronger accord- ' ing to circumstances ; b b and c c are four wheels upon which it is mounted, of whatever form it is made ; b b have their spokes at right angles to their naves, and are 3a feet diameter. For neatness* sake the naves are made of cast-iron ; the wheels are from five to six inches broad at the rims, and are surrounded with a slight hoop of iron. Were they made narrower in the rims, when the ground was soft ttiey would both cut it, and drag, without giving motion to the connected parts of the ma. chinery. The small wheels (c c/, which support the front of the frame, are (like the large ones b b) made of wood : they are fourteen inches in diameter, and six inches broad at the rims, with a very slight hoop of iron round thera. 'Iheir axles, which are of iron, are screwed to the frame, and are alwut 1| Book IV. REAPING MACHINES. 423 The licv. Patrick Veil invenit i the Bev. M. Cruickshanlts del E e 4 424 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. inches In diameter. Tlie wheels are placed as nenr the ftont of the frame as poaslble, the reason for which will appear when the general description of the machine is given. The wTieels d b are connected with the main axle (d), in such a manner as that they may turn upon it. similarly to a carnage- wneel, without moving the axle with them : or they can be fixed to it at pleasure, so as to turn it round with them as occasion requires. For this purpose, the holes in the naves are circular ; and of course so much of the axle as passes through them is round. There are cross flenges, cast upon the nave, which catch hold of the coupling box e when the machinery is to be moved, and are disengaged from it by the handle P. when the machine is going, without moving the machinery. In the engraving, thispart of the apparatus is entirely concealed at one of the wheels, except a small ^rtion of theliandle at h. The other coupling box is but faintly represented at e. The handle f has a jomt in it, which is fixed to the other hall of it, which passes through) the frame of the machine, and terminates with the handle h ; so that both coupling boxes can be managed by the driver, standing at h, although they are on oppc^ite sides of the tVame. The main axle (n) is Si feet long between the shoulders, and eight inches from the shoulders to the coupling box : the frame of the machine is four feet broad, by seven feet long. Fixed upon the main axle (d) is the beveled wheel (i) of sixty teeth, part of which is seen in the engraving. This beveled wheel moves two pinions of ten teeth each. These pinions are concealed in the plate by the frame of the machme : one of them turns the crank-rod (k), and the other gives motion to the coupling wheels (l l) upon the top of the frame The crank-rod fK) being thus put In motion as the machine moves forward, the crank m, which gives motion to the cutters, revolves with a uniform and steady motion, n is a coupling strap of iron, which connects the crank (m) and the movable bar (o o) together, which is kept m its place by means of the sliding hooks (p p) working in the brass sockets (qq) which are screwed upon the strong iron supports (tt R.) It is obvious that as the crank fia) revolves, it will, by pulling the connecting rod (n), give a perpetual motion backwards and forwards to the movable bar (o o). In order that there may be as little friction as possible to the movable bar (o o) there are two friction pulleys fixed to the iron supports (r h), upon which the movable bar (o o) rests. These are not seen in the plate, as they are placed immediately below the bar ; but to any person who considers the thing attentively, they must be readily understood. They are of the gi-eatest consequence, as the back parts of the cutters wholly rest upon the movable bar (o o) ; and from the spring which each cutter must necessarily have, the pressure upon it is very considerable. With respect to the cutters, it may here be remarked that the greater body of them is made of iron, edged with the best steel, hard^ied as much as they will bear, without breaking out into chips when the machine is in operation. The cutter-bar (that is. the bar upon which the cutters are screwed) is strongly screwed upon the extremities of the supports (r r), and Is six feet long^ by three inches broad, and three fourths of an inch thick. The lower or fixed cutters (s s s) are made triangular, of solid iron, edged with steel, as before mentioned : they are fifteen inches long from the point to the extremity, four inches broad at the base, and nearly one fourth of an inch thick : they are steeled only to the front of the bar. thus leaving a steeled edge of about one foot. In the middle of the base of the cutter there is a hole pierced, half an inch in diameter, and a corresponding one in the bar where it is to be placed. The hole in the bar is screwed ; and, in fixing a cutter, a bolt is passed through the hole in the base, and screwed tightly down into the bar. To prevent a cutter from shifting its place, there are other two small holes pierced, one on each side of the half-inch hole in the base, and corresponding ones in the centre of the bar : these holes are one fourth of an inch in diameter. Into he holes in the bar there are two iron pins firmly riveted below, and left one eighth of an inch above the bar, made to fit neatly into the holes in the cutters, although with a sufficiencjr of looseness to allow the cutter to be taken easily off when the bolt in the middle is screwed out By this means, when the bolt in the middle is screwed down, a firm and unalterable position is insured to the under cutter. The upper cutters (u u,) &c., like the under ones, are made of good iron, edged with steel as far back as the hole where the bolts upon which they turn pass through. They are three inches broad where the hole is pierced ; and, behind the cutter-bar, as is seen in the plate, they are bent down about two inches, to allow the rollers and canvass to operate, as shall be afterwards described. After being continued horizontally about three inches, they are again bent up, and their extremities placed above the movable bar. They are made about 13J inches long from the point to the hole, -and about 7| inches from the hole to the extremity backwards. Both upper and undei cutters are sharpened on both sides, similarly to a pair of scissors ; the under ones, of course, upon the upper side, and the upper ones upon the lower side; thus forming, when the cutters are screwed to their places, a perpetual cutter upon that principle; The bolts upon which the upper or movable cutters work are half an inch in diameter, and are screwed to the bar through a hole of corresponding breadth : they are made to go through the bar about half an inch, upon which a nut is screwed, to prevent the bolts from unscrewing, which they would otherwise do, from the moving of the cutters ; which would allow the edges of the cutters to separate, and of course the machine would get deranged, and would not operate. The points of the under or fixed cutters are six inches separate ; of course the holes in the bar, by which they are fixed, are six inches apart. The bolts of the upper or movable cutters are intermediate, that is, three inches from the others ; so that the cutter-bar is bored from end to end with holes half an inch in diameter, and three inches distant The small holes, with the pins which prevent the fixed cutters from shifting their places, are each 1| inch from the large holes; so that the bar, before the cutters are screwed upon it, is pierced first with a small hole, then a large one, then two small ones, then a large one, then two small ones, &c., as may be understood from the plate ; each hole IJ inch apart The back parts of the movable cutters, as was already mentioned, rest upon the movable bar; and on each side of every cutter there is an iron pin, of one fourth of an inch in diameter, riveted into the movable bar. By means of these pins, it is easily seen, from the consideration of the plate, that, as the movable bar is pushed backwards and forwards by the crank (m) upon the friction pulleys below it, the movable cutters will have a perpetual motion backwards and forwards. Under the heads of the bolts, which fasten the movable cutters, and the cutters themselves, there is placed a washer of brass, to diminish the friction as much as possible; and, for the admission of oil, there are two small holes pierced in the head of each bolt There are twelve movable cutters, and thirteen fixed ones, with intervals of six inches between the points of the latter; so that the breadth of the machine is exactly six feet: but this breadth, trom the principle of the machine, may be either increased or diminished, according to the nature of the farm upon which the machine is intended to operate. Upon a perfectly level farm the machine might be made broader ; but upon a farm of sloping or uneven surface, one of six feet in breadth will be found lo be work enough for two horses. As It was before stated, the beveled wheel (i) gives motion to the coupling wheels (l l) of 18 teeth each : these move the horizontal shaft v, and the wheel w, which is fixed to the end of it The whee w has 36 teeth ; and pinion x, which it turns, and which is fixed upon the gudgeon of the roller y, has 18 teeth. This part, however, is misrepresented in the drawing, wTiich was taken from a model which had the rollers tunied by fO"Pl;P& wheels, as shown in the plate. The one roller (y) turns the othei iz),by the pitch-chains (««), the chief use of which is to keep the slieet of canvass from changing its place by the reWu- tion of the rollers. The canvass, from its gravity, would slip down upon the rollers as the machine moved forward; and it would twist upon them by the unequal pressure t5 which it is exposed by ?he cJJcom pressing unequally upon It: to prevent these derangements, there are loops fixed to the canvass, which are made fast to the links of the chain, about six inches apart ; and there being an equal number of links in both the upper and lower chains and an equal number of teeth in the four pulleys upon which the? work the canvass revolves unifonnly without being in the least deranged by the maSrcasualties to which it is exposed. 6 is the pole to which the horses are yoked: it is made of wood, and iVfirmty fixed to the cross rails upon the top of the frame: its length is ten feet from its extremity to the frame of the machine, cc are the swingletrees by which the horsns are yoked : they are yoked similarly to horses in a carnage, so as both to draw lorward, or push backward, at pleasure. Their heads, of course, are towards Book IV. REAPING MACHINKSw 42S ( / // V-^-^v \X. ne Ben. Patrick BeUinvmits the Bcv. James Cruichttianks del *26 SCIENCE OF AGRICULIURE. Part ir. the machine ; and, In appearance, they push the machine before them, but, in reality, they are drawing the same as in the plough. dh& small rod of wood, or helm, which the driver holds in his right hand, by the pulhng of which to him, or pushing it from him, he conducts the machine straight forward. The dotted lines in the plate are a continuation of the pole with the swingletrees and helm attached. The machine is turned, at the end of the ridge, by the following contrivance : — The two wheels e«, in the body of the machine, are joined to the lever / by an upright movable axle. These wheels are similar to the two (c c) on the front of the frame : they have a strong iron axle, which is made so long as to let the wheels conveniently turn between the crank.rod (k) and the frame of the machine. In order that this piece of the apparatus may be used with advantage, the beveled wheel i is not placed upon the middle of tJie main axle (n), but about one foot from the end of it, as is seen in the engraving. This throws the crank-rod (k) nearer the side of the machine, thus leaving plenty of space for the turning apparatus. In the middle of the horizontal axle of the wheels e e there is an upright standard of iron, sufficiently strong, and firmly joined to the horizontal axle. This upright standard or axle passes through the middle of the lever / (which is of wood, and, at this part, about five inches square), about twenty inches from the end of it. Upon the top of the upright standard there is placed a segment of a wheel (i), with the teeth on the lower side, which is worked by a small pinion of six teeth upon the end of the rodg. This pinion is not seen in the engraving, as it is completely concealed by the segment i'. The rod g, and the small pinion upon it, arc turned round by the handle h ; the pinion moves the segment t, which, being firmly fixed to the upright standard, turns the small wheels e e either way. When the machine is cutting, the wheels ce are put parallel to the cutters ^ and in this position they assist the machine in passing a frirrow, without allowing the cutters to come m contact with the opposite side of it But when the machine is to be turned round, they are turned, with an angle to the path of the machine, by the handle k \ and the rod g being fixed in that position by a screw near the handle, the lever is then pressed down, and fixed with a caUsh to the frame of the machine. In pressing down the lever /, the small wheels ect which before were about two inches from the ground, are pressed to the earth, about two or three inches below the natural level of the machine. Of course, the two front wheels (c c) are lifted two or three inches ftrom the ground, and the cutters considerably more, thus insuring them from accident while turning round. The machine now rests upon the two large wheels o D, and the two small ones ee of the lever; and the two front wheels (c c) go for nothing, as tney do not touch the ground. But the axle of the small wheels e e being placed with an angle to the main axle (n) of the large wheels b b, the machine will naturally turn round upon the horses being moved slowly forward : of course, the greater the angle formed by the two axles, the less space will the machine require to turn upon. In turning the machine, however, attention must always be given to disengage the large wheels b b from the main axle (d) : this is done by shifting the coupling boxes ee by means of the handles h h. The apparatus //, or collector, is placed exactly above the cutters: it is 31 feet in diameter, made of wood, as slight as maybe. The supports A; /r, in the original machine, were made of iron ^ but now the two side-beams of the machine are made of a piece of wood, with a natural cast upon it, similar to the beam of a plough, but rising with a much greater angle, as near the form of the iron supports in the plate as possible, and continued horizontally till their points are exactly above the movable bar o o. The points p pare made of iron, bent as in the plate, to allow the collector {It} to turn round. Ataqqa are strong iron screws, working in nuts placed in the wooden part of the supports, which serve the double purpose of uniting the iron part to the wood, and allowing it to be drawn forward, or pushed backward, as occasion may be, by either shifting to another hole, or, which is better, by long slips in the middle of the bar. Long corn requires the collector to be p1ac«l forward, and short corn requires it to be taken back. At o o are two perpendicular rods, which slip in holes in the points of the supports ; by the moving of which, upwards or downwards, the collector {I l,) which turns in sockets in the lower ends of these rods, is lowered, or heightened, according to the length of the corn to be cut The rods are fixed in their places by screws in the end of the supports. The collector is turned by a cross belt, or chain, passing over the two pulleys vin. A piece of slight canvass is put round the rollers YZ, fixed to thechains aa, as before described. The lower ends of the rollers have a shield of plate iron round their gudgeons, to prevent the cut corn from warping, which it does elTectuatly. The busnes of the roller z are made to shift by screws, to tighten thechains a Uttle, to prevent them from slipping the pulleys, as they lengUien a little by using, especially when new. Fig. SIS is a representation of the machine in full operation. About six or eight yards of the field require to be cut at the ends to allow the machine to turn without Injuring the corn, which may be done by the machine itself. If the com is standing nearly upright, a convenient number of ridges may be taken in and cut by ^oing round them ; but if the corn is standing, and the field free from deep furrows, it may be cut by gomg round and round it till it is finished in the middle. One man, as seen in the plate, is sufficient to manage the whole operation. The cutting, collecting, and laying are the three principal parts of this machine, which have been all, more or - less, explained in the general description given above. But as they are particular, a few words on each of these heads may still be necessary, that the machine may be completely understood in all its bearings. First, then, with regard to the cutting : it is desirable that the machine should do her work, and nothing more. If the motion of the cutters were too slow, she would not clear the ground ; and if it were too quick, there would be a useless expenditure ofpower and machinery. Let it be remembered that the large outer wheels bb are S| feet in diameter; that the beveled wheel i has sixty teeth ; and that the crank-rod pinion has ten; and that the cutters have twelve inches of a cutting edge. The diameter of the wheels b b being 3j feet or forty.two inches, their circumferences are isr94678 inches; every revolution of them will pass over nearly 133 inches of the ground's surface ; but there being ten teeth in the crank-rod pinion, and sixty in the beveled wheel i, every revolution of the wheels bb will turn the crank-pinion six times, and, of course, the crank as often. But every turn of the crank-pinion gives Iwo cuts, and each stroke of the cutters clears twelve inches of the ground, because they nave twelve inches of a cutting edge : therefore, one revolution of the wheels b a gives twelve strokes of the cutters, and clears twelve times twelve, or 144 inches of the surface of the ground. But one revolution of BBpasses only over 132 inches of surface ; therefore, the cutters are calculated to cut, in one revolution of a b, twelve inches more than enough, that is, one inch each stroke. This, however, is perhaps nothing more than is advisable to calculate upon, making allowances for the operation of the machinery, the partial dragging of the wheels, &c. &c. Secondly, the collector (//) must not move too slowly, lest it should retard the corn from falling upon the canvass ; and it must not move too quickly, lest it should shake ripe grain. As before stated, it is 3^ feet in diameter, that is, 94'2477 inches in circumference. But one revolution of b b passes over 133 inches of surface ; therefore, that the collector {I I) may just touch the corn, without bringing it back, or retarding it from naturally falling back, it must make r4 revolution for every one that bb makes. Since there are six arms in //, every arm will touch the standing corn at equal distances of 157 inches. The pulley m makes six revolutions for one that b b makes : it is six inches in diameter, and the pulley n, upon the axle of//, is nine inches; therefore »i revolves 1*5 times for once that n turns round, and the collector (//) re- volves four times for once that the large wheels b b revolve. But 4 x 94-2477 = 37699 inches, the space passed through by the circumference of the collector, while the machine moves forward only 133; the diflference of which is 344'99, the space that the collector passes over more than the machine, during one revolution of bb. Therefore, every inch of the corn is brought back 154 inch nearly, by the collector, which is sufficient to insure its falhng backwards upon the canvass ; and yet it touches the corn so gently that it is impossible that it can injure it in the smallest degree. A quicker and a slower motion, however* is advisable ; which is easily given, by having two or three sheaves upon the pulleys m and n ; and then* by shifting the belt, a different motion is produced. With regard to the canvass, it is necessary that it should revolve as much as the ground passed over by the machine ; that is, while the wheels b b make one revolution, or pass over 133 inches of the surface, 132 inches at least of canvass should pass over the rollers. w, as before stated, has thirty-six teeth, and x eighteen, so that the roller v will give two revolutions for Book TV. REAPING MACHINES. 427 one of w. But Vf revolves six times for one revolution of the wheels b b : hence the roller v will revolve twelve times for every revolution of b a The diameter of the rollers is four inches : their circumferences therefore, are nearly 1S*56 inch^, twelve revolutions of which will give 15072 inches. As before stated! one revolution of b b ^ves only 132 inches, wherefore there is a preponderance of motion, on the side ot the canvass, of IS'TS inches for every revolution of bb. This velocity is nec^sary to insure the canvass of clearing itself in all cases; and, with a smart velocity, the cut corn is laid down with a greater angle to the path of the machine. It may here be observed, that it is often found convenient to have the canvass to lay down the com on either side of the machine, according to the direction from which the wind is blowing This may be done with a dout>le wheel at x, with a handle in the usual method employed for reversing the motion of the rollers of the threshing machine. It were desirable, too, if possible, to have the canvass besmeared with a drying oil or gum, or some other substance which would prevent it fVom contracting with moisture; as the slightest shower, or dew of a morning, contracts it so much, as to ren- des the Implement usel^s until the corn is perfectly dry. S738. An estimate of the probable value of BelVs reaping machine may be formed fVom the reports signed by numerous practical farmers, who were spectators to diflTerent trials made in 18Sd and 1^19. In Sepu tember, 2828, uie machine was tried at Powrie, in the county of Forfar, before between forty and fifty landed proprietors and practical agriculturists, who signed a declaration, stating ** that the machine cut down a breadth of five feet at onc6, was moved by a single horse, and attended by ttatti six to aght persons to tic up the com ; and that vtie field was reaped by this force at the rate of an imperial acre per hour." (Gurtf. Mag. vol v. p. 600.) In September, 1829, the machine was tried at Monckie in Fortar. shire, in the presence of a stiU greater number of persons, who attest that it cut, in half an hour, nearly half an English acre of a very heavy crop of oats, which were lodged, thrown about by the wind, and exceedingly difficult to harvest It was tried in a number of other places in Forfarshire, Perthshire, and Flfeshire, and the general convicUon appears to be, that it will soon come into as general use among farmers as the threshing machine. {Gard. Mag. vol. vi.) The price is, at present, between 30^ and 35/. ; but if it were once in general use, probably the cost might be lowered ; but even that price would be saved out of the usual sum paid for manual labour, during only one harvest , by an extensive farmer. Few men deserve bettar of his country, and indeed, of every civilised country where agriculture is practise!, than Mr. Bell; for surdly that invention must ultimately be of great benefit to men and women, which enables them to do by hones, oxen, or steam, that which they have hitherto done by a most severe description of manual labour, rendered doubly oppressive by the season of the year in which it must necessarily be performed. 2739. A ynachme for reaping, and at the same time sheaving com, was invented in the year 182S, by Mr. Henry Ogle, schooUmaster at Rennington, near Alnwick, Northumberland. In 1823, Messrs, Brown, iron founders in Alnwick, advertised that they would fumish machines of this sort complete for sheaving com at the beginning of harvest No farmer however could be found who would go to the expense; The operation of the machine was satisfactory, and it was estimated to cut fourteen acres per day. An engraving and description of it will be found in the Mechanic's Magazine, vol. v. p. 50. In the same work (vol i. p. 145.) will be found an engraving of a mowing machine invented by Jeremiah Baily, of Chester County, United States, about 1821, and said to answer well, and to have t>een exten, sively used. Whoever contemplates further improvements in this description Of machinery^ would do well to begin by making himself master of all the foregoing inventions. 2740. Gladstone's machine for recqnng beans {Jig* 378.} has been used in several parts of Scotland with complete success. The framework of this machine is the same as that of a com- mon plough. To tliis is added the knife (a), which is a plate of steel, screwed to a piece of wood, to keep it from bending up and down; this wood being screwed to the framework. There is a wheel {b) to keep the km'fe when in motion in a horizontal position. The cutting edge of the knife (c) has tee^, or serratures, on the upper side (d) ; the under side {e) is flat. One horse and a man will cut with this machine from four to five acres a day, with eas^ and perform the work as perfectly as by manual labour. 2741. A machine for rea^ng tfte Iieads or seed^ods of clover {Jig. 379. )j where the •'^7 9 i&s. tt ^^ ^^ second growth of that crop is left to stand for seed, has been used in some parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. It consists of a comb, the teeth of which are lance-shaped, very sharp, and set close. This comb is affixed horizon- tally to the fore part of the bottom of an open box or barrow, which is drawn by one horse and guided by a man, who empties the barrow in regular lines across the field by means of an implement {«), which serves also to dean the teeth^ 2742. A machine for movdng clover My has frequently been attempted, but not yet perfected. One by Flucknet, of the Blackfriars Hoad, London, succeeded tolerably, but never came into use : it consisted of circular knives put into rapid motion, and the cut stalks guided to one side by a revolving cradle, like that attached to com scythes, (2480.) It never came into use. Sect. VII. Machines of Deportation. 2743. The carriage or conveyance macHnea of agriculture are chiefly carts and waggons, and their several varieties. SuBSECi. 1. Carta. 2744. Carts, like other implements, vary in their forms and modes of construction, according to the nature and situation of the roads, and many other local circumstances ; but, for the purposes of fanning, those of the single-horse kind are in general the most advantageous and useful. The advantages of single-horse carts. Lord R. Seymour observes {Ann. Ag. xxvii.), are universally admitted, wherever they have been attentively compared with carriages of any other description. A horse, when he acts singly, will do half as much more work as when he acts in conjunction with another ; that is to say, that two horses will, separately, do as much work as three conjunctively : this arises, in the first place, from the single horse being so near the load he draws ; and, in the next place, from the point or line of draught being so much below his breast, it being usual to make the wheels of single-horse carts low. A horse harnessed singly has nothing but his load to contend with j whereas, when he draws in conjunction with another, he is generally embarrassed by some difference of rate, the horse behind or before him moving quicker or slower than himself ; he is likewise frequently inconvenienced by the greater or less height of his neighbour : these considerations give a decided advantage to the single-horse cart. The very great ease with which a low cart is filled may be added; as a man may load it, with the help of a long-handled shovel or fork, by means of his hands only ; whereas, in order to fill a higher cart, not only the man's back, but his arms and whole person must be exerted. To the use of single horses in draught there can be no objection, unless it be the supposed necessity of additional drivers created by it : the fact however is, that it has no such effect ; for horses once in the habit of going singly, will follow each other as uniformly and as steadily as they do when harnessed together ; and accordingly we see, on the most frequented roads in Ireland, men conducting three, four, or five, single-horse carts each, without any inconvenience to the passengers: such, likewise, is the case where lime and coal are generally carried upon pack-horses. In some of the northern counties of Britain also, one man manages two or three, and sometimes more, one-horse carts. 2745. Carts drawn by one horse, or by two horses, says a writer whose authority is unquestionable (Supp. Ency. Brit.), axe the only farm carriages of some of the best cultivated counties, and no other are ever used in Scotland. Their load depends upon the strength of the horses, and nature of the roads ; but, in every case, it is asserted that a given number of horses will draw a great deal more, according to some one third more, in single-horse carts than in waggons. Two-horse carts are still the most common among farmers in Scotland ; but those drawn by one horse, two of which are always driven by one man, are unquestionably preferable for most purposes. The carriers of the west of Scotland usually load from a ton to a ton and a half, on a single-horse cart, and no where does it carry less than 12 cwt. if the roads are tolerable. 2746. Wheels, such as are broad, with conical or convex rims, are common in England ; in Scotland the wheels are generally narrow, though broader ones are beginning to be introduced. Those used for the common, or two-horse, carts, are usually about 4J feet high, and mounted on iron axles. The advantages of broad cylindrical wheels have been illustrated with much force and ingenuity in several late publications. (Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii. and vol. vii. part i.) 2747. Large wheels to carts, drays, Sgc. will, besides greatly increasing the facility of draught, tend to lessen the number of accidents to which all two-wheeled carriages are liable, from the shaft-horse falling down. To render this more evident, let us first examine fg. 380., which is a rude sketch of a cart constructed in the usual manner, and supposed to be loaded with bricks, stone, sand, or other heavy material. While thus loaded, and the horse is in an erect position, the centre of , gravity (g) is almost directly over the axletree, in which state the body of the cart is nearly balanced, or only pressed upon the back of the horse with a force equal to a few pounds' weight. But the horse is supposed to have fallen : the consequence is, that the centre of gravity is thrown much more forward ; the body of the cart and its load becomes divided by the line a b, perpendicular to the axletree, into two very unequal parts, c and d ; the whole of the increased portion (c) in front of the line acting as a weight upon the horse, and only partly counterbalanced by the diminished portion (d) behind the line. It frequently happens that this increased weight, so suddenly thrown upon the shafts, snaps them short off; and, at all times, tends to prevent the horse from rising until part of the load is removed. By adopting the larger wheels, and the bent Book IV. CAHTS. 429 axle (fig. S81.) the cart, &c. becomes much less liable to such accidents, because the centre of gravity (g) and the centre of suspension (the axle) are brought much nearer together ; the former being placed nearly over the latter, at a small 381 \i§fp^!^^^^^^1 distance only from it. A horse falling with a loaded cart so constructed, will experience but little increase of weight upon him while down : the cart will be divided as before, by the line a b, into two parts ; but it will be observed, these portions differ but little in their respective magnitudes. The centre of gravity (g) will be thrown forward, but in a very trifling degree. In carts, &c. It will almost always happen that the centre of gravity will be above the point of suspension (the axle) ; but in gigs, &c. the body may be placed so low that the centre of gravity may fall below that point, when the body will always maintain an erect (t. e- a horizontal) position, and, should the horse fall down, will operate to lift him up again. A gig so constructed would be almost beyond the possibility of those serious, and frequently fatal, accidents, which occur from the falling of the horse. ((T. Baddeley, jun. in Mech. Mag. vol. xii. p. 204.) 2748. TTie power qf wheels has no dependence on ttie height of the wheels, or the length of their spolces, but depends wholly on the power of draught that is joined to their axles, and to the forward motion, or the progress of the carriage. If the carriage were placed upon sicates completely polished, and upon smooth ice, it would he drawn by as little power as if it were placed upon wheels. The use of wheels is to lessen the resistance to the carriage by friction, or rubbing upon the ground, or upon the floor upon which the carriage is to be moved ; that resistance is least of all when the ground is hard and smoothj such as a rail-road of iron; it increases upon soft and upon rough ground; and.it increases stilt more when the carriage must be drawn up an ascent, according to the steepness of the ascent, because the power of draught must be able to lift the carriage, it may be said, step by step, up the ascent ; and when the ascent is softer rough, more power of draught is necessary. When the wheels are dished they plough the soft ground, and grind the rough ground, and thereby theyincreasethepower of resistance, and require more power of draught to overcome the absurdity of their own form ; and thus they cause the continual shalcing of the joints of the carriage, and the wearing of the iron and of the wood of which it has been made. Narrow .wheels are drawn rather more easily through small loose stones ; but, upon every other kind of ground, broad wheels that are rollers are drawn more easily, or with less power, and the benellt of them to the roads is greater according to their greater breadth. High broad wheels do not sink so deep into soft ground as low wheels do ; but, if the low wheels be made broader, the benefit obtained will be in proportion to the additional breadth. The axles of high wheels turn seldomer round, or the wheels turn seldomer round the axles, which is an advantage; but high wheels must be weightier than low wheels, which is a disadvaiilage. High wheels are useful to carry great stones, or great trees, under the axles ; and loads of every kind, alive as well as dead, ought to be hung as low as possible And every load ought to be hung, or to be placed, upon springs, which will allow the carriage to be lighter; and the lower it is hung, or placed, it will be so much safer from overturns, there will be less shaking, and less power of draught will be required. (Sir Alex. Gordon, in Farm. Mag. vol. xx. p. ISO.) ZJ4Q- The cotutruction of wheels has been much improved by the introduction of cast-iron naves or stocks These stocks are found particularly suitable for warm climates, and scarcely any others are exported. Messrs. Mor- ton, of Leith Walk, have renewed the spokes in them after they have been in use twenty years, and found the stocks as pood as when new. {Gard. Mag. vol. vi.) In England wrought- iron spokes have been employed, which are found to succeed perfectly, and, from their durability, will, in the end, be found cheaper than wood. 2750. Jo7ies*s imprcrved iron wheels (Jig. 382.) are formed wholly of cast and wrought iron. The felly, or periphery of the wheel (o), is made of cast iron, with conical holes on the outside, con- tracting towards the centre, through which the spokes, made of Iron rods, are to be passed, and secured in the box, or nave (4), near the centre of the wheel, by nuts screwed on to the reverse end of the rods, by which means they are drawn tight. (Newton's Journal, vol. i. 2d Series, p. 154.) 2751. ji great improvement in the construction of axles for carriages, carts, and waggons, has been made by George Surges, Esq. M.A. of Cambridge. Instead of one circle moving withm another, as in all common axles ; or one circle moving within another, this other — , having grooves for retaining oil in the manner of the patent axles ; Mr. Burges's axle is a circle (^g. 383. o) moving within six points, formed by six equal convex segments, which hold oil in their angles (4) : the friction is thus reduced to a minimum in theory ; and with case-hardened iron, and abundance of oil, we should think it could not be othervrise In practice. Mr. Surges has had the axles of his own carriage constructed in this way for some years. ( Gard. Mag, vol. V.) *2752. Tlie Scotch one-horse cotip cart is used either without or vrith (^. 384.) a frame for the purpose of — i 430 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. building on a greater load of hay, straw, or com in the sheaf. This frame is held on ty no fastening, but remains in its place from being fitted to the exact width of the body of 384 the cart. On drawing out an iron pin, the fore part of the body rises up from the shafts, while the other end sinks, and allows the load, whether of dung, earth, or stones in the close cart, or of hay, or sheaves of com, on the cart and frame, to fall to the ground. 2753. The Scotch com cart (fig- 385.) consists of open framework, with a boarded ___^__^_^_^_^^^__^^_^_ bottom, and is used solely for die 385 " - I I l- ^i . /-. II purpose of carting hay, com in the sheaf, or similar materials. It is light, cheap in construction, and contains a bulky load, which, being lower and more extended than a load on a coup cart with a frame, is less likely to be overturned. 2754. The Scotch two-horse cart difTers little from the one-hors^ cart, except in being larger. To prove the inferiority of double to single horse carts. Gray observes, " that whatever greater part of the load is placed before the centre of gravity, which is always in the axle, must rest constantly on the horse that is in the shafts. In going down hill this burden must be considerably increased, especially if the load be high above the centre of the axle, or the descent steep ; and the additional burden upon the shaft-horse is always in proportion to these two causes united. But there is another disadvantage ; for, unless the line of the draught of the forenfost horse be exactly in the line from die hook of his collar to the centre of the axle (which is hardly possible), he will perpetually be pulling down the hindmost horse, or, in other words, will be giving him more weight to carry. For, as the traces of the foremost horse are generally fixed upon the shafts, this throws liis line of draught at a considerable angle above the centre of the axle ; from which it is evident, that although the road be ever so level, yet in every double or two-horse cart, the foremost horse must either not draw at all, or must bring additional weight upon the horse in the shafts, which weight will always be in proportion to the force with which the trace-horse draws, and the largeness of the angle which the line of his draught makes with the line from the hook of his collar to the centre of the axle. Besides, unless the driver be more careful than ordinary, and keep the trace-horse to his duty, the other one has not only this great weight to carry, but also the whole load to draw. The angle is increased considerably when the trace-horse is of a lower size than the one in the shafts, which may frequently happen ; and, by this means, a still greater burden is laid upoti the back of the horse employed in the shafts. 2755. Improved two-horse carts. (Jig. 386.) It may be suggested to those who are fond of employing two-horse carts, that, in order to adjust the traces of the fore-horse Book IV. CARTS. 43 1 with as little injury as possible to the one behind, and by this means make both their powers coincide, two iron frames are fixed into the axle, in each of which is placed a sheeve or whorl. Upon these sheeves pass a rope or chain (a). In the outside of each shaft is fixed a long iron staple j and on each staple is placed an iron slider (A), having liberty to shift either forward or backward ; the chain from the collar of the shaft-horse is hooked into the eye of the slider; and the chain or rope, by which the foremost horse draws, passing from his collar (c), round on the sheeve at the axle, is hooked into the other eye of the slider. By this means the two horses are so connected, that, if the one shall relax, immediately the exertion of the other horse presses the collar hard upon his shoulders, so that he must either exert himself or be pulled backwards. Thus tne exertions of the two horses are united, so as to form one power applied to the cart, in place of two powers working generally against one another, which must be the case in the common way of attaching two horses to a cart. But, by this way of yoking, the shaft- horse receives no additional burden from the exertion of the trace-horse, as they both draw from one point, which is the centre of the axle, to the hooks of their respective collars, by which their powers must nearly coincide. If this coincidence does not take place, it is evident that the two horses will, to a certain degree, be pulling against one another, which must be extremely distressing to each in his turn, especially to the one in the shafts. The same principle, as will afterwards appear, has been employed in yoking horses to threshing machines. •2756. The com care has a longer body than the close cart, and the sides and ends are open, and support two rails along each. It is made to fit the axle and wheels of the close cart, and is chiefly used in haytime and harvest, when it is supposed to admit of laying on a larger load of sheaves or hay than the cart and frame. 2757. Lord SomermUe't drag-carl {Jig. 387.) is constructed with a contrivance for 387 checldng or regulating the rapidity of its motion !n going down hills or other declivities. The method for adjusting the position of the centre of gravity of the load, and to prevent its pressing too much on the cattle in going down hill, is by a toothed rack, screwed to the front of the cart, and worked by a pinion and handle (a) immediately connected with the pole. By means of this pinion and rack the front of the carriage is elevated more or less, in proportion to the declivity of the hill, by which means the weight of the load is made to bear more on the axis, and less on the necks of the oxen. A friction drag (i) is made to press more or less on the side of the wheel, according to the steepness of the descent ; the one end of it is connected with the tail of the cart by a small chain, and the other end to the front, by means of a toothed rack, which catches on a staple in the front of the cart, by which the pressure of the friction-bar may be regulated at the discretion of the driver : the notches or teeth iij this rack, it is observed, should be as close to each other as circumstances will permit. 2758. inie aimntages qfthfjnction-dra^, and other contrivances, are said to be, 1st, Tlie method, which IS equally sini|>le and expeditious, of adjusting tlie centre of gravity of the load, so as to liave a proper bearing on the horses or cattle, in going down hilL 2dly, The method of applying friction to the side of the wheel, to regulate the motion of the carriage in going down hill (instead of locliing the wheels) the advantages of which method appear to be as follow : namely, first, the pressure and degree of friction may, with great expedition, be adjusted to the steepness of the declivity, so that the carriage will neither press forward, nor require much exertion to make it follow the cattle ; secondly, the friction is so applied to the wheel, that a given pressure will have twice the effect in retarding the progress that it would have if immediately applied to the body of the carriage, or to the axis : and, by applying the friction on both sides of the wheel, the risk of heating and destroying the friction.bar is much less than if the same degree of friction were applied in one place. Sdly, This apparatus is so conveniently placed, that it can be instantly applied or adjusted, without stopping the carriage, or exposing the driver to the same danger as in locking a wheel And, 4thly, This contrivance will assume yet a greater importance when applied to both the hind wheels of waggons, by which means the resistance may always be proportioned to the steepness of the descent, the tearing up of the road prevented, the unnecessary exertion of the cattle in drawing the locked carriage down hill avoided, the danger to which the driver is sometimes exposed in locking the waggon-wheel totally evaded, and the time now lost in locking and unlocking the wheel saved to the proprietor. 493 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTUHE Pa-ht II. 2759. Rapton't Hop drag for carriages going down hill (Jigs- 388, 389, and 390.) con- 389 sists of five or more pieces of wood, " united on the out- side by a strong jointed iron hoop ; the wood pressing upon the nave of the wheel. The first, a fixed pivot (o), from tile hoop, is fixed to the under side of the frame of the cart ; from the other extremity of the hoop of the brake proceeds a bar (i), which slides tlirough the plate or socket (c) fixed to the side of the cart frame; a vertical perforation is made through the bar (i), just behind the plate, to receive the pin (d), which is likewise chained to the shaft : tliis pin, so placed, prevents any force applied to the chain from tightening the brake on the nave of the wheel. Fig. 389. represents the interior of a wheel on level ground, the nave surrounded by the brake, which, by its own gravity, is hanging loose, leaving the wheel perfectly free. jFig. 390. shows a wheel on a declivity, the chain drawn tight by the pressure of the breeching on the horse ; the brake, of course, closely surrounding the nave, and forming an effectual drag. Fig. 391. is a bird's-eye view of the whole apparatus, exhibiting the framing of the cart, the shafts, wheels, and brakes; the chains also are shown, passing from the bars on each side, each round a horizontal pulley on the shaft, and attached to the ends of the breeching. Thus it is evident that, when a cart, furnished with this drag, is going down hill, the load, pressing the breeching against the horses, draws the brake tight by means of the chain, and produces a friction on the nave proportioned, in some measure, to the declivity. When backing upon level ground, by inserting the pin (Jig. 388. d) through the bars of the brakes, the wheels will be kept free. This drag is to be applied to the naves of the carriage wheels, with a chain attached, fastened to the breeching of the horse, and a small pin on each side of the shaft is to go into the hole of the bar of the drag. If one of the pins be taken out, one wheel will be dragged and the other not. By leaving out both pins, the two wheels are dragged in going down hill, by the breeching bearing against the horse. The wheels will revolve round on a level road, and in going up hill undrag themselves. When the wheels are braced, two or three tons* weight have very little pressure on the horse in going down hill. If two loaded carts should meet on a narrow hill, by unhooking the drag-chain from the breeching, and hooking it to the tub-chain (back chain), the horse can be put back with the greatest ease and safety. When the horse is put back against the hill, the two pins must be put in the bars of the drags. The drag consists of a wooden brake, applied round the nave of each wheel, irt pieces which are encircled and connected by a jointed iron plate. The small bar attached to one end of this brake slides freely through a corresponding hole in a plate fixed at light angles to the shaft ; a hole is drilled through this sliding bar, for the purpose of admitting a pin or forelock, chained to the shaft. To each end of the breeching is attached a chain, which, passing through a horizontal sheeve, or pulley, on the upper surface of each shaft, is ultimately fixed to the bar of the drag. While the bolts or fore- locks remain in the holes behind the perforated plate before mentioned, it is evident the brake cannot tighten upon or drag the wheel; but, on either of those pins being removed, the wheels become immovable." {Smith's Mechanic, vol. ii. p. 322.) 2760. Kneebone's drag for two-wheeled carriages (fg. 392.) is composed of a piece of wrought iron, curved to the exact form of the circumference of the wheel, with a chain, to be fastened to the near shaft, to keep the drag properly under the wheel. When the drag is out of use it may be hung on hooks, at the under part of the tail of the cart. The weight of this drag is usually from sixty to eighty pounds. " This simple contrivance has never failed to be effectual in retarding carts, or any two-wheeled car- riages, while descending hills, taking olf the great burden from the shaft horse, and Book IV. WAGGONS. 433 permitting the carriage to descend with the greatest ease and safety in the most moun- tainous country. It may he applied to any kind of 392 road, and is not subject to the inconvenience of lock- ing poles, which, on rough roads, among loose stones or deep ruts, are very apt to overturn carts by the sudden resistance tliey meet with. Deep ruts, or loose stones, have not been found to lessen the ad- ^ vantages of this drag." [Smith's Compend. of Practical InventioriSi p. 322.) 2761. The improved quarry cart has a bend in its iron axle, which brings it within fourteen inches of tlie ground, although moving on wheels more than five feet high. In the ease with which it is drawn, loaded, and unloaded, it is superior to the common cart in the proportion of seven to three. 2762. The three-wheeled cart is a low machine, on wheels about two feet in diameter, the third wheel placed in the middle before, and generally of smaller size than the two others. It is used for conveying earth or gravel to short distances, as in canal and road making ; and for these purposes it is a most valuable machine, and in very general use. SuBSECT. 2. Waggons, 2763. Waggons constructed in different forms, and of various dimensions, are made use of in different districts of the kingdom ; and for the most part without much attention to the nature of the roads, or of the articles which are to be conveyed by them ; being, in general, heavy, clumsy, and inconvenient. Waggons require much more power in the draught than carts, and are far from being so handy and convenient, which is certfdnly an objection to them, though they carry a much greater load. There can be no doubt that more work may be done in any particular time, with the same number of horses, by carts than by waggons, in the general run of husbandry business, especially where the distance is small between loading and unloading. Waggons may perhaps be the most proper sort of conveyances for different sorts of .heavy loads to a considerable distance ; but for home business, especially harvest, and other field work which requires to be speedily performed, carts seem decidedly preferable. 2764. Waggons, though they may possess sonw advantages over carts in long journeys, and when fully loaded, the editor of The Farmer's Magazine observes, are now admitted to be much less convenient fdr the general purposes of a farm, and particularly on occasions which require great despatch, as in harvesting the crop. S765. On the loading of waggons much of the value depends, *' A waggon or other carriage, on four wheels of equal diameter, is ot Tighter draught than those in common use, having the fore pair of wheels of less diameter than the hind; but if the load be placed on the fore and hind wheels in the same proportion that their diameters bear to one another, nearly all the advantages of having wheels of equal diameter will be obtained. This proportioning of the load cannot at all times be eifected in carriages of 393 ^^^ ordinary description, even if wished; because the body of the vehicle must be equally filled with the goods to be removed, or a great loss of room would occur." {W, Baddeley. in Mcch. Mae. vol. xii. p. 173.) 2766. T%e distribution qf the load between the wheels, so as to render the difTerence in their size a matter of no importance, may be effected by adopting a plan recommended by Baddeley, before quoted. In a sketch of a wajrgon, which this engineer has given in the Mechanics' Magazine {fig. 5i93.)i the hinder wheels are unusually large, and are so situated as to carry four fifths of the weight when the body is fully loaded ; with less than a full load they may be made to carry the whole weight, by placing it over them. To admit of such large wheels being used the axle is bent, as will be better seen by referring to Jig. 394., which is a section of the hinder portion of the carriage ; it will also be seen that Qud n ^^^^ P^*^** °^ '^^ carriage is supported by three springs, two only being used ^jy^ n in the fore part. Simple as this arrangement may at first sight appear, it will be found to possess a great superiority over waggons of the usual construction. The ease with which great roofs may be transported upon wheels of large dimensions has been a long and well established fact ; but, at the same time, it is one of which the builders of carriages have never so fully availed themselves as they should have done. In passing over a rough or unevenly paved road (such as yet abound in many parts of our metro- polis), a small wheel sinks into every little hollow, and the axle, if noticed, would be found to describe a line almost as curved and irregular as the Eurl'ace of the road. A large wheel on the same road would partake but slightly of its inequalities, and the line described by the axle would be found to deviate but little from a straight line ; indeed, with a wheel sufficiently large, the axle would describe a perfectly straight line. In the latter case the friction, and consequently the draught, would be little more than if the carriage ran upon a rail-road ; the larger, therefore-, we use the wheels, the nearer we approach this favourable point of efffect By the application of the bent axle {fig. 394.), large wheels, so highly necessary in these cases, might be employed without raising the body of the carriage. {W. Baddeley, jun. in Mech. Mag. vol xii. p. 174^) 2767- The Gloucestershire waggon, according to Marshal, is the best in England. By means of a crooked side-rail, bending archwise over the hind wheel, the bodies or frames of them are kept low, without the diameter of the wheels being much lessened. The bodies are likewise made wide in proportion to their shallowness, and the wheels run six inches wider than those of most other waggons, whereby advantages in carrying top- Ff ^ 434 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. loads are eTidehtly obtained. Rudge, in his survey of the above district, says, that in many districts, waggons are the principal carri^es employed in getting in the hay, and are either full-bedded, or with three-quarter beds. The former have the advantage of a greater length of bed, but are not so convenient for turning; the latter, though diminished in size, have the convenience of locking the fore wheels, and turning in almost as narrow a compass as a chaise, in consequence of the bed being hollowed out on each side near the middle, to admit the exterior part or felloes of the fore wheels. Both waggons are capable of carrying nearly the same weight; though the former, being deeper in the bed, is somewhat better adapted for the carriage of heavy articles, such as bags of corn, &c. For the purpose of harvesting, or carrying hay and straw, their length and width are increased by light ladders before and behind, and of similar contrivances called " rathes," the whole length of the sides. The ladders are put on and taken off at pleasure, in both kinds, but the side additions are generally fixed, except in the straits headed, which are in use on the western side of the Severn ; in these they are made removable, so as to leave the bed quite naked. 2768. The Berksldre waggon {fig. S95.) is constructed on a simple and convenient principle, not having the usual height or weight of other waggons, while it possesses sufficient strength, and is easy in the draught. An improvement suggested is, that of leaving the space sufficiently deep in the body or bed for the fore wheels to lock round in the shortest curve ; as, in the present manner of its construction, a great deal of time is lost in turning at the ends of the swarths, in carrying hay, and on many other occasions. In this way the inconvenience may be removed, without doing the smallest injury to the symmetry or strength of the carriage. 2769. The NorfoUc cart arid waggon is formed by adding a pair of fore wheels and shafts to a common cart, connected by a pole from axle to axle. It is said to be light, cheap, and convenient, and capable of carrying nearly as much hay or straw as the Berkshire waggon, 2770. Rao([s patent waggon (Jig. 396. ) is a contrivance whereby the same carriage may, in a few minutes, be changed by the driver into two complete tip-carts of the commuii dimensions, and applicable to all the uses of carts in general, or into one waggon, so complete, that a narrow inspection is necessary to distinguish it from a common waggon. The carts have a contrivance (a a) to render them more safe and easy to the horse in going down a hill, and have movable side-ladders (/j b), which will be found of great use in carrying corn, bark, &c. It may be constructed with perfect facility by the wheel- wrights of any county ; its shape and particular dimensions can be suited to the wishes of the owner, or to the local fashion of his neighbourhood. The result of considerable experience and enquiries enables its inventor to state, that it may, in any county, be completed for about five pounds more than the cost of two common carts. It must, however, be admitted to be somewhat more clumsy than a common waggon. 2771. Gordon's one-Iiorse waggon (fig. 397.) is a very scientifically designed machine. The wheels are cylindrical, and of the breadth of six inches. The draught is by what is called a draught spring. ( fig. 398. i "By these draught springs, " the inventor says, " a carriage will be put into motion by little more than half of the power that would be necessary without them, and the benefit will continue during all the time tliat the carnage may be continued in motion ; but the benefit will be lessened as the speed of Book IV* THRESHING MACHINES. 4R$ 398 the carriage may be increased, the projectile or forward force beiiig increased in aid of it. Tugs, which are the greatest cause of the restiveness of horses, are prevented by these springs, and jolts are very much lessened; and carriages and Worses will not be so soon worn out ; and the motion of carriages will be much easier, " When several beasts are employed to draw any carriage, each should be attached by one of these springs, llie advantage is said to be obtained by the spring being squeezed together, in some degree, before the carriage can be set in motion ; and the exertion of the spring to expand itself pulls the carriage with so much force, which is added to the force exerted by the beast. Sir Alexander Gordon, tlie inventor, is said to have employed carriages of this sort himself, but they have never come into general use. Messrs. Morton of LeiUi Walk perfectly understand their construction, and their details are recorded in the FarTner's Magazine, vols. xvii. and xx. 2772. Light waggons drawn fty one horse are recommended for general use where roads are hard and smooth, and not hilly. Mr. Stuart Menteath uses them at Closeburn in Dumfriessliire, and frequently draws from a ton and a half to two tons in a waggon weighing not more than nine cwt. drawn by one horse. Sect. VIII. Machines for threshing and otherwise preparing Cornjhr Market. * 2773. Threshing and preparatory machines include threshing — I — j j — j — and winnowing machines, and awn and smut machines. T I + * Threshing machines are cotnmon in every part of Scotland, on farms where the extent of tillage-land requires two or more ploughs ; and tJiey are every year spreading more extensively in England and Ireland. They are worked by horses, water, wind, and, of late, by steam ; and their powers and dimensions are adapted to the various sizes of farms. Water is by far the best power ; but, as a supply cannot be obtained in many situations, and as wind and steam require too much expense for most farms, horses are employed more generally than any other. Where windmills are erected, it is found necessary to add such machinery as may allow them to be worked by horses, occasionally, in very calm weather ; and the use of steam must be confined, for the most part, to the ^coal districts. 2774^ The operation of separating the grain from the straw was long performed by the flail, to the manifest injury of both the mrmer and the commnnity ; for though in some cases the work was tolerably well performed, yet in a great majority of instances it was otherwise. A quantity, perhaps equal to the average of the seed sown, was lost even in thebest cases : but, where the allowance to the thresher was either a proportion of the produce, known by the name of lot, generally a twenty-fifth part ; or, wiien he was paid in money, at so much per boll; the temptation to do the work in a slovenly manner was so great, that, a quantity, perhaps double what was required for seed, was lost upon many farms ; — an evil that did not, escape the notice of intelligent men, by several of whom attempts were made to invent something that would do the work more perfectly ; this, therefore, seems to have led to the construction and use of this valuable machine. 2775. Thejirst threshing-machine, as before observed (795.), was invented by Menzies, brother to the then shenff-depute of East Lothian ; the machinery was driven' by a water-wheel, which put in motion a number of flails, of the same kind with those used in threshing by the hand. Trials made with these machines were so far satisfactory, that a great deal of work was done in a given time ; but, owing to the velocity required to do the work perfectly, they soon broke, and the invention fell into disgrace. 277t>, Another attempt, some time in the year 1768, was made by a farmer in the parish of Dumblane in Perthshire. His machine was constructed upon principles similar to the flax-mill, having an upright shaft with four arms enclosed in a cylinder, three and a half feet in height and eight in diameter, within which the shaft and its arms were turned with considerable velocity by a water-wheel The sheaves, being presented by the hand, were let down from the top upon the arms, by which the grain was beat out^ and, together with the straw, descended through an opening in the floor, where they were separated by riddles and fanners, also turned by the water-wheel. 2777. A third attempt, about twenty years after, was made by Elderton, near Alnwick, and Smart, at Wark, both nearly about the same time. Their machine was so constructed as to act by rubbing, in place of beating out the grain. The sheaves were carried between an indented drum, about six feet in diameter, and a number of rollers of the same description ranged around it, towards which they were pressed by springs, in such a way as to rub out the grain when the drum was turned round, tijpon trial, this machine was also found ineffectual, as along with its doing very little work in a given time, it bruised the grain, and so materially hurt its appearance as to lessen its value considerably in the market Ff 2 436 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II. 2778. The machine^ in its then imperfect state, was seen by the late Sir Francis Kinloeh, Bart of Oilmerton, a gentleman well acquainted with mechanics, and who had paid much attention to country affairs : it occurred to him that the machine might be rendered more perfect by enclosing the drum in a fluted cover, and fixing on the outside of it four fluted pieces of wood, capable of being raised a little from the circumference by springs, in such a way as to press against the fluted cover, and to rub out the grain as the sheaves passed between them ; but, after repeated trials, it was found to bruise the grain nearly as much as the model from which it was copied. In that state it remained for some time, and was afterwards sent by Sir Francis to a very worthy and ingenious character, Meikle of Know Mill, in his neighbourhood, a millwright by profession, who had for a very considerable time employed his thoughts upon the same subject. After much consideration, and several trials, it appeared to Meikle that the purpose of separating the grain from the straw might be accomplished upon a principle different from any that had hitherto been attempted, namely, by skutches acting upon the sheeves by their velocity, and beating out the m-ain, in place of pressing or rubbing it out j accordingly a model was constructed at Know Mill, in which the grain was beat out by the drum, to which it was presented through two plain feeding-rollers, which were afterwards altered for fluted ones. The first machine on a large scale, executed upon this principle, was done by a son of Meikle's, for Stein of Kilbagie, in the year 1786, which, when finished, performed the work to the satisfaction of all parties, and established Meikle's principle of beating out the corn as superior to all others. This superiority it still maintains, and is likely ever to do so. 2779. Many improvements have been made on these machines since their introduction. One of the most useful of these, perhaps, is the method of delivering the straw, after it has been separated from the corn by the circular rake, to what is called a travelling-shahert which carries it to the straw-barn. This shaker, which revolves like the endless web used in cotton and other machinery, is composed of small rods, placed BO near as to prevent the straw from falling through, while any thrashed corn that may not have been formerly separated, drops from it in its progress, instead of falling along with it, where it would be trodden down and lost 2780. Improved mode qf yoking the horses. It is well known that the work of horses in threshing-mills is unusually severe, if continuea for any length of time; that they sometimes draw unequally; that they, as well as the machine itself, are much injured by sudden jerks and strains, which are almost unavoidable ; and that, from this irregularity in the impelling power, it requires much care in the man who presents the corn to the rollers, to prevent bad threshing. It is therefore highly desirable that the labour should be equalised among the horses, and the movements of the machine rendered as steady as possible. A method of yoking the horses in such a manner as compels each of them to take his proper share of the labour has accordingly been lately introduced, and the necessary apparatus, which is neither complicated nor expensive, can be added to any machine worked by animal power. (Farmer*s MagazinCt vol. xiii. p. 279. ; { 2751-. and 2786. and Jigs. 386. 399. and 400.) 2781. Winnowing machines added. AH well constructed threshing mills have one winnowing machine, which separates the chaff from the corn before it reaches the ground : and a second sometimes receives it from the first, and gives it out ready for market, or nearly so. If trie height of the building does not admit of this last addition, a separate winnowing machine, when the mill is of great power, is driven by a belt from it. In either of these ways there is a considerable saving of manual labour. 27K2. Advantages qf threshing Tnachines. With a powerful water-mill, the editor of The Farmer^s Magnzine observes, it cannot be doubted, that corn is threshed and dressed at no more expense than must be incurred for dressing alone, when threshed with the flail. Besides, the corn is more completely detached from the straw; and, by being threshed expeditiously, a good deal of it may be preserved in a bad season which would have spoiled in a stack. The great advantage of transferring forty or fifty quarters of grain in a few hours, and under the eye of the owner, from the yard to the granary or market, is of itself sufficient to recommend this invaluable machine, even though there were no saving of expense. 2783. The specific advantages resulting from the use of the threshing machine are thus stated in The Code of Agriculture : 1. From the superiority of this mode, one twentieth part more corn is gained from the same quantity of straw than by the old-fashioned method. 2. The work is done more expeditiously. 3. Pilfering is avoided. 4. The grain is less subject to injury. 5. Seed corn can be procured without difficulty from the new crops, for those to be sown. 6. The market may be supplied with grain more quickly in times of scarcity. 7. The straw, softened by the mill, is more useful for feeding cattle. 8. If a stack of corn be heated it may be threshed in a day, and the grain, if kiln-dried, will be preserved, and, Tendered fit for usa 9. The threshing-mill lessens the injury from smutty grain, the balls of smut not being broken, as when beaten by the Sail ; and, 10. By the same machine the grain may be separated from the chaff" and small seeds, as well as from the straw. Before the invention of thresh ing-milU farm, servants and labourers endured much drudgery; the large corn farmer sustained much damage from bad threshing ; and had much trouble, vexation, and los^ from careless and wicked servants ; but now, since the introduction of this valuable machine, all his dimculties, in these respects, are obviated. 2784. The advantage that might be derived by the public, were threshing mills used in every case, for separating corn from the straw, is thus estimated by Brown of Markle:— 'Hie number of acres producing f^rain In Great Britain, at 8,000,000 The average produce in quarters, at 3 qrs. per acre, at - - - - 24,000,000 Tlie increased quantity of grain produced by threshing-nullB, instead of vang the flail, at one twentieth part of tlie produce, cnr in quarters, at- - 1,200,000 The value of that increased quantity, at 40». per quarter 1-2,400,000 The saving ui the expense of labour, at la. per quarter ... .... 1,1,200,000 2785. Jt variety of threshing machines have been made in England, both on the rubbing and beating, or scutching, principle, and some combining both modes ; but none have been found to answer tlie purpose of separating the grain from the straw so well as those of Meikle, which is the kind exclusively used in Scotland and the north of England. 2786. MeiJcle*s two-horse threshing machine^ with the new-invented poking apparatus (Jig. 399. and 400.), is the smallest size of horse engine which is made. From the limbers, or hanging pieces (a), by which the cattle draw when working this machine, proceed the chains or ropes to which the horses are yoked, these chains or ropes being united by an iron frame, placed upon a lever, having liberty to turn on a bolt ; orip end of each of two single ropes is fixed to this iron frame, and upon their other ends are fixed small blocts ; in each of which is placed a running sheeve, and over these sheeves pass double ropes or chains. One horse is yoked to these chains at the one arm, an4 one at the other arm, so that the chains or ropes by which they draw, being con- nected by the blocks, and the sheeves having liberty to move either way, if one of the horses relaxes, immediately the other presses the collar to his shoulders. For instance, if the horse yoked to the chains at one arm (fg. 400. a) were to relax, then the one yoked at the other (6) would instantly take up his rope, and pull the collar hard to his shoulders. Book IV. THRESHiyO MACHINES, 437 so that the lazy horse must either exert himself or be drawn backward, until the hooks, to which he is yoked, rest on the limbers. Thus each horse spurs up his fellow, they being both connected by the ropes and sheevcs ; their exertions are united, so as to form one power applied to the machine, instead of two powers, independent of one another. By tliis means the draught will always press the collars equally upon the horses' shoulders, and, though they are working in a circle, yet the strains of the draught must press fairly, or equally, on their shoulders, without twisting their bodies to either side. This advantage cannot be obtained in the common way of yoking horses in a threshing machine, unless the draught-chains on each side of the horse be made in exact proportion in length to the diameter of the circle in which he walks, or the cfa^n next to the centre of the walk be made a little shorter than the one farthest from it, which is often neglected ; but in this way of yoking the horses, the strain of the draught will naturally press equally on his shoulders when pulling, which of course must be less severe on the animal when walking in a circle* 2787. The advantages of this method of yoking horses to a threshing machine, which was invented by Walter Samuel, blacksmith at Niddry, in the county of Linlithgow, have been fully ascertained by experience, and acknowledged by the most intelligent farmers in Scotland. They are as follows :— 1st, The very great comparative ease obtained for the cattle, in this the heaviest part of their work. This, without doulit, is a real saving of labour ; for it is no exaggeration to afSrm, that five horses, yoked by this apparatus to. a threshing machine, will perform with ec|ual ease the labour of six horses, of equal strength and weight, yoked in the common way, each horse bemg independent of the rest Sdly, A very great saving results in the tear and wear of the machme, from the regularity and urn- Ff 3 438 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt rx. formity of tho movement Thl. will be acknowledged by any judge of the subject whowitnesBcs th^ performance. The sudden jerks and strains that generally fake place m the usual way, are found to be . quite removed ; the machinery moving with the same kind of uniformity as if driven by water. In conse- quence of which the work is better performed, and that in a very perceptible degree. 2788. M Meikle's water threshing-machine (Jig. 401.) is the preferable engine, when a . supply of water can be obtained. The main axle or shaft (a), upon which is fixed the water-wheel (6), has placed upon its cir- curaferencecast-metal seg- ments (c), the teetli of which turn the pinion which is fastened on the axle of the threshiqg- drum; the platform, on which the unthreshed com is spread, joins the feed- ing rollers, that conduct the com forward to the ____ threshers ; next the thresh- ing-drum is the straw-shaker, driven by a leathern belt, passing over a sheeve, fixed on an iron spindle connected with the axle of tlie water-wheel and the sheeve on the axle of the shaker. . 2789. Meiil^s threshing machine to be driven hy water or by four horses (Jig. 402.), is a powerful and convenient engine, as advantage may be taken of water when it is AT-l D-.A^- abundant, and in dry seasons horses can be applied. To this machine the improved apparatus for yoking the horses is appended, and by the simple operation of varying the positions of the pinions on the common shaft (a), which communicates with the water and horse-wheel (i, c), threshing may be carried on without interruption, either with the water or the horses separately ; or a small quantity of water may be applied to assist the horses at any time, when a sufficient supply of water cannot be obtained to impel the machine alone. 2790. Meilde*s threshing tnachine to be driven either by wind or six horses {Gray, PI. XII.) is a powerful but costly erection. On large corn farms, however, it will Answer to erect such machines ; and there are frequent instances in Berwickshire and Northumberland, of farmers incurring that expense on the security of twenty-one years' leases. The machinery of the wind power of this machine is fitted up with a small ■van to turn the large ones to face the wind, and with the machinery necessary to ToU on or off the sails according to its increase or diminution ; by which means the naturally unsteady power of wind is rendered as regular as that of horses or water. The threshing part of this machine contains the usual apparatus, and also a complete set of fanners and screens for cleaning the com. To the board upon which the unthreshed grain is spread, and introduced between the feeding rollers, succeeds the djum, with the threshers, or beaters, fixed upon the extremity of its arms ; then the shaker, that receives the straw from the threshing drum, and conveys it to the second shaker, by which it is thrown down a sloping searce, either on the low floor, or upon a sparred rack, which moves on rollers, turned by the machine, and by this means is con- veyed into the straw-shed, or else into the barn yard. One searce is placed below tlie threshing-drum ; and, while the drum's cii'cular motion throws out the straw into tlie ^traw-shaker which conveys it to the second shaker, the chaif and grain pass at the same Book IV. THRESHING MACHINES. 4S9 time down tjirough a searce or spai-red rack into the Jiopper, wliich conveys it into the fanners. By tlie fanners the corn is separated from tlie chaff, the clean graiii running out at the opening, and the chaff or any light refuse blowing out at the end by the rapid motion of the fans, which are driven by a band or rope from a sheeve placed upon the axle of the tlu-eshing-drum, and passing over the sheeve fixed upon tiie pivot of the fans. 2791. Meikle's threshing machine to be impelled bi/ steam is the same arrangement of interior machinery, with a steam engine outside of the barn connected by a shaft in the manner of the vrind and water machines, 2792. Portable threslting-machines, to be fixed in any barn, or in the open field, for threshing the crops of small farms, or for other purposes of convenience, are differently contrived. Except the hand machine, already described (§ 2546.), all of them work by horses, and generally by one, or at most two. The most complete have a large frame of separating beams, into which the gudgeons of the larger wheels work, and which retains the whole of the machinery in place. In general there are no fanners ; but sometimes a winnowing machine is' driven by a rope from the threshing machinery. ' Such machines are considerably more expensive, in proportion to their power, than fixed machines ; they are, therefore, not much used, and indeed their place might often be profitably supplied by the hand machine. Portable threshing machines are very common in Suffolk. It is not unusual in that county, for an industrious labourer who may have saved 301. or 401. to own one, which iS moved from place to place on two wheels, and worked, when fixed, by three or four horses. The horses and other labourers are supplied by the farmer ; and the owner of the~machine acts as feeder. The quantity tlireshed is from fifteen to twenty quarters a day. ■ Heaping machines, and steam ploughing-machines,.will probably in a few years be owned, and let out for hire in a similar manner. 2793. Weirds portable two-liorse power threshing machine is one of the best in England. The corn is threshed on Meikle's skutching principle, and is sometimes supplied by fluted rollers, and sometimes introduced through a hopper directly over the drum ; a mode which is found not to break the straw so much as the common mode. 2794. Lester^ s portable threshing-?nachine received the straw without the intervention of rollers, and separated the com entirely by rubbing. It was an ingenious, but very im- perfect, machine, and never came into use. 2795. Forrest of ShifnaCs portable threshing machines have been employed in several parts of Warwickshire, Shropshire, and the adjoining counties. It combines the rubbing and skutching methods, but does not perform either perfectly. Meikle's machines, in fact, can alone be depended on, for completely separating the grain from the straw j though some others may render the straw less ineligible for thatch, or for gratifying the present taste in litter of the London groom^. 2796. The smut machine (Jig. 403.) is the invention of Hall, late of Ewel in Surrey, now of the Prairie in the United States. It re- sembles that used for dressing flour, and consists of a cylinder perforated with small holes, in the inside of which are a number of brushes, which are driven round with great rapidity. The wheat infected with smut is put into the cylinder by a hopper (a), and the constant friction occasioned by tiie rapid motion of the brushes (6) .effectually separates the smutty grain, which is driven out by the holes of the cylinder. Hall finds that it re- quires much more power to clean wheat by this machine, than to dress flour. A machine on tliis construction might be a very useful appendage to every threshing machine, for the purpose o^ effectually cleaning all wheat intended for seed, or such wheat, meant for the market, as had a 403 ■ ■ , great proportion of smut in it. . {Stevenson's Sur- *• re«, p. 141.') rey, p. •2797. MitclieWs hummelling mxichim [Jig. 404.) is the invention of a millwright of tliat name in the neighbourhood of Elgin, and it has been very generally added to threshing machines, in the barley districts of Scotland, for the purpose of separating the awns from the grains of barley. It operates on the scutching principle, and is composed of a scutcher consisting of a spindle, at the top of which is fixed a wheel for putting it in motion, and between tliis wheel and its lower extremity three tier of scutching arms (a) ; each scutcher is composed of two pieces forming a cross (6), and bevelled at the edges to prevent them from cutting the barley in the operation of hummelling (c). The scutcher revolves in a cylinder (rf), into which the barley passes through a spout (e e) from a hopper placed over the machine. The cylinder may either be of wood or ' cast iron, and the frame- Ff 4 440 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. l^ART IL work which supports it (/) may be of either, or of both of these metals. (Farm. Mag. vol. xiii.) 406 405 2798. To take the awns from barley where a threshing machine is used, a notched spar, lined on one side with plate iron, and just the length of the rollers, is fixed by a screw bolt at each end of the inside of the cover of the drum, about the middle of it, so that the edge of the notched stick is about one eighth of an inch from the arms of the drum as it goes round. Two minutes are sufficient to put it on, when its operation is wanted, which is, when putting through the barley the second time ; and it is as easily taken off. It rubs off the awns completely. 2799. A cheap method of hummeUing barley, where a threshing machine is in use, con- sists in having a second cover for the drum fined with tin, having small holes perforated in it in the manner of a grater, and the rough side externally. The grain being sepa- rated &om the straw in the ordinary way, the grated cover is to be substituted for the common one, and the grain passed through a second time. This mode is said to succeed as well as any other, (formi Mag. vol. xiii. p. 443.) 2800. Hand hummeUing machines {figs. 405. and 406.) are in use in Lincolnshire and other paits of England, where barley is much cultivated, and where threshing machines are little in use. {Gard. Mag. vol. V.) Sect. IX. Mechanical and other fixed Apparatxis, far the Preparation of Food for Cattle, and for grinding Manure. 2801. T/ie principal food-preparing contrivances are, the steamer, boiler, roaster, breaker or bruiser, and grinder. *2802. An apparatus for steaming food for cattle, the editor of T/ie Farmer's Magamte observes, should be considered a necessary appendage to every arable and dairy farm of a moderate size. The advantage of preparing different sorts of roots, as well as even grain, chaff, and hay, by means of steaming apparatus, for the nourishment of cattle, begins now to be generally understood. It has been long known that many sorts of roots, and particularly the potato, become much more valuable by undergoing this sort of pre- paration ; and it is equally well known that when thus prepared they have been employed alone as a substitute for hay, and with cut chaff, both for hay and com, in the feeding of horses, as well as of other animals. To a farmer who keeps many horses or cattle, or even swine or poultry, the practice of boiling their food in steam is so great a saving and advantage, that it deserves the most particular attention. Though potatoes have often been given raw to both horses and cattie, they are found to be infinitely preferable when cooked by steam, as they are rendered thereby much drier and more nutritive, and better than when boHed in water ; this has been long since shown by the experiments of Wakefield of Liverpool, who, in order to ascertain it, fed some of his horses on steamed and some on raw potatoes, and soon found the horses fed on the steamed potatoes had greatly the advan- tage in every respect. Those on the steamed potatoes looked perfectly smooth and sleek. Book IV. STEAMING APPARATUS. 441 while the others were quite rough. Eccleston also found them useful instead of corn ; and the extensive and accurate trials of Curwen have placed the utility and advantage of them in this way beyond all dispute. Curwen has found that in their preparation in this way the waste of the potato is about one eighteenth part, and that straw when given along with tliem answers as well as hay, as the horses keep their condition and do their work equally well. 2803. A steaming apimralus on a grand scale has been erected at Workington, by Curwen, of which an accurate ground plan and section, with a copious description, are given in The Complete Farmer. One erected by the Duke of Portland, chiefly for steaming hay, will be afterwards described. 2804. All economical steaming and washing maclane has been described by Grey, in his Implements of Husbandry, ^c. The parts of this machine are few and simple ; the potatoes are washed, and emptied into a large chest to drip ; and when a sufHcient quan- tity is washed, this chest, by a motion of the crane, empties itself into a steaming-box, placed edmost immediately over the boiler ; by which means a large quantity of potatoes or other materials are steamed at once. The chief advantage attending the use of this simple steaming apparatus, he says, consists in saving manual labour in lifting on and off tlie tubs for holding the potatoes, or other materials to be steamed ; also in lessening the expense of erection, and repairs of leaden or copper pipes, turn-cocks, &c. Its superiority over one with a number of steaming-tubs, especially in a large operation, will be at once perceived by those who have paid attention to the subject. The steaming boiler may be made of any approved form, and of a size proportioned to the steaming-box, with a furnace of that construction which affords the greatest quantity of heat to the boiler with the smallest waste of fuel. The steaming-box may be made either of cast-metal plates, enclosed in a wooden frame, or of stout planks, well joined, and firmly fixed together. It has been found by experience, that a box, eight feet in lengthy five feet wide, and three feet deep, will serve for cooking, in the space of one hour, with the attendance of one person, a sufficient quantity of potatoes to feed fifty ordinary horses, allowing each horse thirty-two pounds weight per day. The boiler and steaming-bo^ however, ought to be made of a size in proportion to the number of cattle to be fed, or the quantity of materials to be steamed ; both boiler and steaming-box may be made of any form and proportion that will best answer the intended purpose, witJi the least expense. 2805. A steaming-^machiiie, on a simple and ^economical plan (Jig.407.), consists of a ' boiler, and wooden chest or box placed over or near it. The box may be of any size, and so placed as to be supplied and emptied by means of wheel or hand barrows in the easiest manner, either by the end or top, or both, being made to open. If the box is made eight feet by five, and three deep, it will hold as many potatoes as will feed fifty cows for twenty-four hours, and these may be steamed in an hour. (J". Mag. vol. xviii. p. 74. ) ■ 2806. Boilers or boiling machines are only had recourse to m the case of very small establishments. By means of fixed boilers, or boilers suspended by cranes, on the Lodi dairy principles (270.), roots may be boiled, and chaff, weak corn, and other bam refuse, rendered more palatable and nutritive to cattle. Hay tea also may be made, which is a salutary and nutritive drink for horses or cattle when unwell, or for calvmg cows, Food for swine and poultry may also be prepared in this way : or water boiled an4 salted to half prepare chaff and culmiferous plants for animals. 2807. A balling or roasting oven has been recommended for preparing the potato by Pierrepoint (Comm. Board of Agr. vol. iv.), which he states to be attended with superior advantages ; but as, independently of other considerations, the use of such an oven must be limited to potatoes, a steaming-machine, which will prepare any sort of food, is un- doubtedly preferable for general purposes. Many speculative plans of this sort, however ingenious, chiefly deserve notice as beacons to be avoided, or to prevent their being invented and described a second time. 2808. A ■machine for pounding limestone {,fig. 408.) is in use in some parts of the country where unbumt chalk, limestone, or limestone gravel, is used as a manure. This machine may be worked by steam, wind, water, or the power of horses. It consists of a beam (o) working on a wheel (6), and raising and lowering a cone of cast iron (c). The base of this cone, which may be a circle of from two to six feet in diameter, according to the power of the machinery, and the size and hardness of the material to be broken,, should be studded with knobs or protuberances about two inches long, of a diamond shape, terminating bx a blunt point, and about five inches in circumference at the 44S SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Vaut II. bottom. The stones to be broken are laid on a circular basement, founded at some depth bclowthe surface, the foundation of which is prepared in the following manner : — "A stratum is formed of clay, well tempered, and mixed with a proportion of burnt limestone, powdered without being slacked, and forge ashes beat very small. When this is properly dried, a bed of sand, about eighteen inches in thickness, should be laid above it, and paved with common paving stones of the kind used for streets ; this, after being well beat down, should be covered with another bed of sand of the same thickness, which should be paved in the same manner, and afterwards well beat down. The foundation of the building should be, at least, six feet below the common surface ; which will allow eighteen inches for the clay, thirty-six inches for the two beds of sand, and eighteen inches for the two courses of pavement. The circumference should consist entirely of hewn stone, at least the uppermost three feet of it ; the stones of which should be strongly batted together with iron, and secured on the outside with numerous wooden posts driven into the earth/ and different courses of pavement, extending at least six feet all round, carefully laid, and well beat down. A floor prepared in this manner, if it is not used too soon, will resist any force that can be let fall upon it. The limestone laid into it should not be too small, and should have a light bedding of sand in the soil to give it stability." (Farm. Mag. vol. iii.) 2809. ^ stone-hewing machine to be impelled by steam has lately been invented by Mr. James Milne of Edinburgh. It is said to save an immensity of manual labour, and to be competent to the execution of the finest mouldings. (Scotsman, Oct. 28. 1829.) 2810. Low's Machine for raising large stones (Jig. 409.) is a powerful engine. An iron plug is driven into the stone, and retained there by its elasticity. The machine " is placed over the stone to be raised, by extending, the posts on each side, and then tlie windlass is attached. Of the stone to be thus raised, however large it be, it is enough to see the smallest part appear above^ the surface of the ground. At this part, let a' workman, with a mallet, and the common steeU boring chisel of masons, make a small circular hole, about two inches deep, and as peipendicular as possible. This chisel should be of such a size as to make the hole about a sixteenth part of an inch less in diameter than the plug itself, so that a stroke or two of a hammer may be necessary to drive the iron home. When the latter is thus driven an inch, more or less, into the stone, it is attached to the block, and the ropes are tightened by turning the winch. Nothing more is now requisite than to set as many persons as may be required to work the windlass ; and, strange as it will seem, with no other fastening than this simple plug, the heaviest mass will be torn up through every opposing obstacle." ( Quar. Jour. Agr. vol. i. p. 208. ) Chap. III. Edifices m use in Agriculture. *2811. A variety of buildings are necessary for carrying on the business of field cul- ture ; the nature and construction of which must obviously be difl^erent, according to the kind of farm for which they are intended. Suitable buildings, the editor of Tlie Famuirs Magadne observes, are scarcely less necessary to the husbandman than implements and machinery ; and might, without much impropriety, be classed along with them, and considered as one great stationary macliine, operating more or less on every branch o1 labour and produce. There is nothing which marks more decidedly the state of agricul- ture in any district, than the plan, arid execution of these buildings. Book IV. BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK.- 443 2812. In erecting a farmeryi the first thing that deserves notice is its situation, both in regard to the other parts of the farm, and the convenience of the buildings them- selves. In general, it must be of importance on arable farms, that the buildings should be set down at nearly an equal distance from the extremities ; or so situate, tliat the access from all the different fields should be easy, and the distance from those most remote, no greater than the size of the faim renders unavoidable. The advantages of such a posi- tion in saving labour are too obvious to require illustration ; and yet this matter is not near so much attended to as its importance deserves. In some cases, however, it is advisable to depart from this general rule; of which one of the most obvious is, where tlie command of water for a t^eshing-mill, or other purposes, can be better secured in another quarter of the farm. 2813. The form Tnost generaUy a^yprcfoed for o set of offices is a square, or rather a rectangular parallelogram ; the houses being arranged on the north, east, and west sides, and the south side fenced by a stone wall, towhicli low buildings, for calves, pigs, poultry, &c. are sometimes attached. The space thus enclosed is usually allotted to young cattle : these have access to the sheds on one or two sides, and are kept separate, according to their size or age, by one partition-wall or more. The fanner's dwelling-house stands at a short distance from the offices, and frequently commands a view of the inside of tlie square ; and cottages for servants and labourers are placed on some convenient spot, not far from the other buildings. 2814. Tlie different buildings required for the occupation of land are chiefly those devoted to live stock, as the stable, cow-house, cattle sheds, &c. ; those used as repositories or for conducting operations, as the cart-shed, barn, &c. ; and human habitations, or cottages and farm-houses. After noticing the separate construction of these edifices, we shall exemplify their combination in different descriptions of farmeries. Sect. I. Buildings for Live Stock. 2815. Suildingsfor agricultural live stock are the stable, cow-house, cattle-houses and cattle-sheds, sheep-houses, pigsties, poultry-houses, rabbitry, pigeonry, and bee-house. •2816. The stable is an important building in most farmeries; it is in general placed in the west side of the square, with its doors and windows opening to the east. Nothing; conduces more to the health of horses than good and wholesome air. The situation of the stable should always be on firm, dry, and hard ground, that in winter the horse may go out and come in clean ; and, where possible, be built rather on an ascent, that the luine and other liquid matters may be easily conveyed away by means of drains for the purpose. As there is no animal that delights more in cleanliness than the horse, or that more dislikes bad smells, care should be taken that there be no ben-roost, hogsties, or necessary houses near the place where the stable is to built. The swallowing of feathers, which is very apt to happen, when hen-roosts are near, often proves injurious to horses. The walls of a stable ought to be of brick rather than stone, and should be made of a moderate thickness, two bricks or a brick and a half at least, or the walls may be built hollow, not only for economy, but for the sake of warmth in the winter, and to keep out the heat in the summer. The windows should be proportioned in number to the- extent^ and made on the east or north side of the building, that the north wind may be let in to cool the stables in the summer, and the rising sun all the year round, especially in winter. They should either be sashed or have large casements for the sake of letting in air enough; and there should always be close wooden shutters, turning on bolts, that the light may be shut out at pleasiure. Many pave the whole stable;, with stone, but that^ part which the horse is to lie on is often boarded with oak planks, which should be laid: as even as possible, and cross- wise rather than length-wise ; and there should be several; holes bored through them to receive the urine and carry it oflT underneath the floor by- gutters into one common receptacle. The ground behind should be raised to a level with! the planks, and be paved with small pebbles.' There are mostly two rings placed on each side of the manger, or stall, for the reins of the horse's halter to run through, and a logger is to be fixed to the ends of these, sufiicient to poise them perpendicularly but not so heavy as to tire the horse, or to hinder him from eating ; the best place for him tol eat his corn in, is a drawer or locker, which need not be large, so that it may be taken: out at pleasure to clean it, by which means the common dirtiness of a fixed manger may' be avoided. Many people are against having a rack in their stables ; they give the horse his hay in a trough bin, formed of boards with an open bottom. 2817. yi lofty stable is recommended by White {Treatise on Veter. Med. p. 1.), fifteen or twenty but never less than twelve feet high, with an opening in the ceiling for venti-' lation. The floor he prefers is brick or limestone, inclining not more from the manger, to the gutter than an inch in a yard. Some litter, he says, should always be allowed for a horse to stale upon, which should be swept away as often as is necessary. This with a pail or two of water thrown upon the floor, and swept oflT while the horse is at exercise wUl keep the stable perfectly clean, and free from off'ensive smells. 444 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 2818. The tlepth qfa ttable ehould never be less than twenty feet, nor the height less than twelve. The width of a atall should not be less than six feet clear. But when there is sufficient room, it is a much better plan to allow each horse a space of ten or twelve feet, where he may be loose and exercise himself a little. This will be an effectual means of preventing swollen heels, and a great relief to horses that are worked hard. With respect to the rack and manger. White prefers the former on the ground, rising three feet high, eighteen inches deep from front to back, and four feet long. The manger, eighteen inches deep, eighteen inclies from ft-ont to back, and five feet in length. The rack he prefers being closed in ftont, though some farmers prefer it open, alleging that horses when lying down will thus be enabled to eat if they choose. A close-fronted rack, however, is better adapted for saving hay. The back part of the rack should be an inclined plane made of wood ; should be gradually sloped towards the ftont; and should terminate about two feet down. Such a rack will hold more hay than ever ought to be put before one horse. The advantages of this rack are numerous : in the first place, the hay is easily put into it, and it renders a hay-loft over the stable unnecessary; which ought to be an inducement to the builder to make the stable as lofty as it ought to be, to obtain proper ventilation. All the hay that is put into this manger will be eaten ; but in the common rack it is well known that a large portion of the hay is often pulled down upon the litter, and trodden upon, whereby a considerable quantity is often wasted It prevents the hay-seeds or dust from falling upon the horse, or into his eyes ; and what is of considerable imporUnce, though seldom attended to, there will be an inducement to the horse-keeper to give the horse Ihay in small quantities at a time, and frequently, from the little trouble which attends putting it into the rack. The saving in hay that may be effected by the use of this rack is so apparent, that it need not be dwelt upon. A great saving also may be made in oats, by so fastening the horse's head during the time of feeding, that he cannot throw any of them out of the manger. This kind of rack and manger, from being boarded up in front, will efffectually prevent the litter from being kept constantly under the horse's head and eyes, by which he is compelled to breathe the vapours which arise from it, It will also prevent him from getting his head under the manger, as sometimes happens, by which means, not unfrequently, the poll evil is produced. The length of the halter should be only four feet from the head- stall to the ring through which it passes : this will admit of his lying down with ease, and that is all which is required. The ring should be placed close to that side where the manger is, and not in the centre of the stall The side of the stall should be sufficiently high and deep to prevent horses from biting and kicking each other. When the common rack and manger are preferred, the rack-staves should be perpendicular, and brought nearly down to the manger, and this may easily be done without the necessity of a hay-loft, and the manger may be made deep and wide as described. •2819. T^ window of the stable should be at the south-east end, and the door at the opposite end The window should be as high as the ceiling will admit of, and in size proportioned to that of the stable In one of twelve feet high, it need not come down more than four feet, and it will then be eight feet from the ground, and out of the way of being broken. The frame of the window should be moveable upon a pivot in the centre, and opened by means of a cord running over a pulley in the ceiling, and fastened by means of another cord. With a window of this kind, in a stable of three or four horses, no other ventilation will be required : a person never need be solicitous about finding openings for the air to enter, where there is sufficient room above, and means for it to escape. A stable thus constructed will be found conducive to the health and comfort of horses, and will afford an inducement to the horse-keeper to attend to every little circumstance which may contribute to cleanliness. He will not allow the smallest bit of dung to remain swept up at one end of the stable, as it commonly is. The pails should be kept outside, and not standing about the stable as they usually are. If it is necessary to take off the chill from water, it is much better, and more easily done, by the addition of a little hot water, than by suffering it to stand in the stable : and while the horses are at exercise, the litter should be all turned out to dry, and the brick floor well washed or swept out A little fresh straw may then be placed for the horses to stale upon. Litter thus dried during the day will serve again as well as fresh straw for the bottom of the bed, and be perfectly free from smell. The litter necessary to be kept under a horse that he may stale with comfort, and without splashing himself, is not considerable, and may be changed once a day. A great saving may be made in litter by turning it out, and drying it as described ; and a shed built ad|joining a stable would afford a place for doing this at all times, and might serve also to exercise and clean a horse in during wet weather. 2820. Neither do^SffovolSy nor goats, should ever be permitted to enter a stable; and dung should be kept at a distance from it A good contrivance in cleaning horses is, to have two straps, one on each side of the stall, about one yard from the head of it By these the horse may be fastened during the time he is cleaned, by which he will be effectually prevented from biting the manger or the horse-keeper; and being kept back in the stall, the man will be better able to clean the front of his fore legs, chest, and neck, and be able to move round him. This is better than strapping him to the rack, 2821. Farm stables in Scotland^ the editor of The Farmer's MagaxtJie observes, are constructed in such a manner, that all the horses stand in a line with their heads towards the same side-wall, instead of standing in two lines, fronting opposite walls, as formerly. Those lately erected are at least sixteen feet wide within walls, and sometimes eighteen, and the width of each stall upon the length of the stable is commonly five feet To save a little room, stalls of nine feet are sometimes made to hold two horses ; and in that case, the manger and 410 ^^^ width of the stall are divided into " ■ equal parts by what is called a half tre- vice, or a partition about half the depth of that which separates one stall ftrom another. By this contrivance, each horse indeed eats his food by himself; but the expense of single stalls is more than com. pensated by the greater ease, security, and comfort of the horses. The trevices or partitions which divide the stalls, are of deals two inches thick, and about five feet high ; but, at the heads of the horses, the partition rises to the height of seven feet {fig. 410. a), and the length of the stall is usually from seven to eight feet „ , , ^ . ^ . In many cases the end stall has a door or frame of boards to fit in between it and the back wall (i), in order to enclose food of any kind, a sick horse, a foal, or mare and foal, &c. 2822. The nuinger (c) is generally continued the whole length of the stable. It is about nine inches deep, twelve inches wide at the top, and nine at the bottom, all inside measure, and is placed about two feet four inches from the ground. Staples or rings are fixed on the breast of the manger, to which the horses are tied. 2823. The rack for holding their hay or straw, is also commonly continued the whole length of the stable. It IS formed of upright spars (rf), connected by cross-rails at each end, and from two to two and a half feet in height The rack is placed on the wall, about one foot and a half above the manger, the bottom almost close to the wall, and the top projecting outwards, but the best plan is to place it upright (c, d, a,). The spars are sometimes made round, and sunk into the cross-rails, and sometimes square. In a few stables lately built, the round spars turn on a pivot, which facilitates the horse's access to Book IV. BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK. 445 the hay, without reqi^ring the interstices to be so wide as to permit him to draw it out in too large quantities. 2824. Immediately above the racks is an opening in the hay-loft, through which tlie racks are filled. When it is thought necessary, this may be closed by boards moving on hinges. 2825. The racks in some of the best stables occupy one of the angles between the wall and trevices, and form the quadrant of a circle. The spars are perpendicular, and wider placed than in the hanging racks. The hay-seed falls into a box below, instead of being dropped on the ground, or incommoding tlie eyes and ears of the horses. S8S6. Behind the horses, and about nine feet flrom the front wall, is a gutter, having a gentle declivity to the straw-yard or urine.pit: Allowing about a foot for this, there will remain a width of eight feet to the back wall, if the stable be eighteen feet wide ; a part of which, close to the wall, is occupied with corn-chests and places for harness. 2827. With a view to save both the hay and ike seed, it is an adv>antage to have the haystacks so near the stable as to admit of the hay being thrown at once upon the loft In some stables there is no loft, and the hay is stored in a separate apartment 2828. The stable Jloor is, for the most part, paved with undressed stones j but in some instances, the space from the gutter to the back is laid with flags of freestone. S829. Horse-hammels, or small sheds, with yards to each, have been used as stables in a few instances, and with great success in Berwickshire. Each shed holds two horses, with a niche for their harness : to each shed there is an open straw- yard, of small size, with a water trough, and a gate large enough to admit a cart to take out the dung. John Herriot, of Ladykirk, has long used these buildings for his horses with great success. He has lost none by death for a number of years, and they seldom have colds or any other disease. His horses lie in these open hammels in winter ; and it is remarked, that in frosty weather, when snow is falling, and lying on the ground, the animals do not go under cover, but prefer to lie out, with their backs and sides covered with snow. It is well known, that if a horse is kept out m winter, he will have no grease, nor swelled legs, and perhaps few other diseases. These hammels seem to have all these advantages, at the same time that they protect the animal from damp, and prevent his back from being kept wet by heavy or long continued rains. Every farmer who keeps a large stock of horses, occasionally loses one by in^ammation, brought on by coughs and colds; but the horses of the farmer alluded to become aged, and he has not had occasion to purchase a young horse for several years. (Husb. qf Scot. i. 26.) SufiFblk cart horses lie out during night throughout the whole year; they are not exempt from grease, but they are probably more healthy than horses in general are; 2830. Cattle-sheds are used either for lodging milch cows, or for feeding cattle for the butcher. The principal requisites in buildings of this description are, to l)e capable of being well aired ; to be so constructed as to require the least possible labour in feeding the cattle and clearing away the dung ; and the stalls to be so formed as to keep the cattle as diy and clean as possible, with sufficient drains to carry away, and reservoirs to collect, the urine and dung. There are three ways in which the cattle are placed : first, in a row towards one of the side walls ; secondly, in two rows, either fronting each other, with a passage between, or with their heads towards both side walls ; and, thirdly, across, or upon the width of the house, in successive rows, with intervening passages for feeding and removing the dung. In the first mode, it is usual to have openings in the walls, through which the cattle are supplied with turnips; otherwise they must necessarily be served from behind, with much inconvenience both to the cattle-feeder and the cattle ^emselves. The plan that is most approved, and now becoming general when new buildings are erected, is to fix the stakes to which the cattle are tied about two and a half or three feet from the wall, which allows the cattle-man, without going among them, to fill their troughs successively from his wheelbarrow or basket, with much ease and expedition. It is also a considerable improvement to keep the cattle separate, by partitions between every two. This will, in a great measure, prevent accidents, and secure the quiet animals from being injured by the vicious ; for in these double stalls, each may be tied up to a stake placed near the partition, so as to be at some dis- tance from his neighbours ; and it is easy to lodge together such as are alike in size and in temper. The width of such stalls should not be less than seven feet and a half, and the depth must be regulated by the size of the cattle. 2831. Cattle-hammels {Jig. 411.) The practice of feeding cattle in small sheds and straw-yards, or what are called hammels in Berwickshire, deserves to be noticed with approbation, when saving of expense is not a paramount object Two cows are usually kept together, and go loose j in which way they are thought by some to thrive better than when tied to a stake, and, at the same time, feed more at their ease tlian when a number are kept together as in the common straw-yards. AU that is necessary is, is to run partition walls across the sheds and yards of the farmers j or if these are allotted to rearing stock, one side of the square, separated by a cart-way from the straw-yards, may be appropriated to these hammels. In the usual manage- ment of a row of cattle hammels in Berwickshire, there is one hammel (o 61 at one end used as a temporary repository for roots and straw for the cattle; then each hammel consists of the open yard (d a), and the covered part (c) ; the entrance door, of which there is only one to each hammel, is in the wall of the yard {/) and on each side of it are two troughs (e, e) for food, and a crib for hay or straw, and for cut clover or other herbage in summer. 2832: Harley^s cow-house at Glasgow contained one hundred cows. It stood upon a vaulted cellar, which was divided into three apartments : the middle one for the manure ; that at one end forpotatoes, and other roots to be used as food ; and in the other, cows not giving milk were kept iTie dung was dropped into the centre division through apertures in the gutters fj?g-.412. a, a), eighteen inches in diameter, covered with cast-iron plates. Sometimes a cart was brought mto the cellar, and the dung at once dropped into it, and carted away. The covers had finger-holes for lifting them up, and the dung was drawn along the grooves into them by a broad hoe or scraper fitted to the groove. It was often found necessary to mix ashes with the dung, to render it of a fit consistence for being carted away. The second division of the vaults was fitted up for the process of fattening; darkness and quiet being considered fevourable circumstances. In the third division, roots were effectually preserved from frost At one end 446 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II.: of the cow-house a tank was formed, fifty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and six deep, with its aurfiice on a level with the bottom of the cellar j it was arched over, and had a man-hole for cleaning out the sediment, four feet in diameter : into this tank the whole of the urine was conducted, after being filtered through the urine gutters into spouts beneath it reaching the whole length of the house. Each filter consisted of a vessel covered with a plate of cast iron, pierced with small holes, the sur- face of the plate being on a level with the sur- face of the gutter ; the use of tlie vessel under it is to receive the sediment, for which purpose it is made four inches wider than the cover, and in this extra width the water runs over into the cast-iron spout by which it is conducted to the tank : it enters the tank by adivision surrounded ;*T»v by boards pierced with holes, so as to filter it a V \ second time, in order that the water may be / '^ pumped up with greater ease. This water was sold to the gardeners and others, at from Is. to Is. Hd. per hundred gallons. The roof was sup. ported in the middle by cast iron pillars (b) ; there were no ceilings, but the slates were hung to the quarterings of the rafters on pms, with a good lap ; this being found warm enough in the coldest weather, and favourable for ventilation in the hottest : there were also windows in the roof, both for light and ventilation. The heat was generally kept to fiO° or 64°. The passages (c) were paved, aud five feet wide, and two inches and a half higher in the middle than at the side, 2833. Thenar on which the cows stood in Harlei/'s cow-house " was raised six inches above the pas- sages ; tliis not only showed the cows to greater advantage^ but kept them dry and clean : and two and a half feet of the floor next to the trough were made of composition, similar to what is commonly used in making barn floors j because the principal weight of the cows being upon their fore feet, and as in lying down the whole weight is upon their knees, it was obviously desirable to have that part of the stall as smooth and soft as possible; indeed, it is conceived that joints and flooring would be the best for that, purpose, were it not for the expense. The back part of the stall was of hewn stone, and for about eighteen inches towards the groove there was an inclination of about half an inch, to let the water go off'; and these eighteen inches were of stript ashlar transversed, the strips being about an inch separate ; this pre- vented the feet of the cows from slipping. In all cow-houses, perhaps, the front part of the stall should be rather lower than the back part, since it would enable the cattle to lie easier j and, besides this, they would not be apt to slip their calf. Cows which put out their calf bed, or have a tendency to slip their calf, should have a straw mat laid below their hind quarters. The bottom of the feeding troughs was on a level with the floor of the stalls ; both edges were of hewn stone, the outer one next the passage was three inches above the bottom of the trough, and the other six inches higher ; they were four inches and a half thick, and rounded to a semicircle ; the trough was one foot three inches wide, and six feet four inches long." {Harleian Dairy System, p. 24.) 2834. The standing room for the cows in the Harleian dairy, that is, the space between the feeding trough (d) and gutter (a), was from six to seven feet; the latter dimension being for the larger cows. The. breadth allowed for a cow was from three feet to three feet six inches; two cows standing together be- tween wooden partitions as in stables (e). Each cow is fixed to a stake nine inches from the partitions, and six inches ftrom the feeding trough ; the stakes are two and inches a half in diameter, and the cows- are fixed to them by chains and swivels fixed to rings. " The chains were three feet seven inches long, consisting of twenty-one links, viz., three on one side of the swivel, and eighteen on the other j the short end of the chain had a hook for joining the chain, with a broad point of an oval shape, which was more easily hooked and unhooked, and answered the purpose better than the common mode used in dogs' chains. '* The hecks, or racks for the hay, are three feet two inches long, by one foot ten inches deep, framed with deal, and filled up with one horizontal and ten perpendicular iron rods a quarter of an inch in diameter. These hecks are hung with window cord, which passes over pulleys, so that they can be raised, by a wheel and pinion at pleasure, so as to be above the heads of the cows, when they are eating green food from the feeding gutter. Mr, Harley considers it of importance that each cow should not only be kept clean by combing and brushing, but, by the chain system of fastening, should have the liberty of licking its own skin and that of its fellow. {Harleian Hairy System, p. 28.) 2835. Calf-pensj or calf-stages, are common additions to cow-houses, where the feeding of calves for the butcher is an object of pursuit. The principal thing to be observed in 413 _^ the. construction of calf-pens is the laying of the floor, which should be made of laths or spars about two inches broad, laid at the distance of an inch from each other, upon joists, so as to make the floor about ten or twelve inches from the ground, as the situation will admit {Jig. 413.) This not only keeps them quite dry, by ^^^^^s^js^se?^ allowing all the moisture to pass immediately away, but has the advantage of admitting fresh air below the bedding, and thereby preventing that unwholesome disagreeable smell too often found among calves ; for it is to be understood, tliat this place below the floor (a) should frequently be cleaned, as well as the floor itself whenever it becomes wet or dirty ; but it is not right to allow the litter to increase to a great thickness, otherwise the moisture vnll not so easily pass through. Calf-pens arcj however, too often made without this sparred floor, and the fresh litter always laid on the- old till the calves are removed, which is a slovenly practice, and not by any means to be recommended. Stalls, or divisions, are too often neglected in calf-pens. Partitions, about three feet high, of thin deal nailed on small posts, might be so contrived as to be movable at pleasure, to increase or diminish the stall, if necessary, according to the age and size of the calf. If it be thought unnecessary to make the partitions movable, there might be a small round trough, in a circular frame, fixed in the corner of each pen, for holding the milk, and a door in the next adjoining corner. A small slight rack for hold- ing a little hay, placed at the upper part of the' pen, might also be useful. The troughs should be round, that the calves may not hurt themselves upon them, which they migiit probably do on the angles if they were square. The advantages of this kind of calf-pens Book IV. BUILDINGS FOR LIVE STOCK. 447 sxe, tliat the calves are all kept separate in a small compass, and cannot hurt' each other, as the stronger ones sometimes do the weaker when confined promiscuously, and their food may be much more easily and equally distributed. 283a The calf-pens in Gloucestershire ^ Marshal observes, are of an admirable construction ; extremely simpl& yet singularly well adapted to the object. Young calves, fattening calves more especially, require to be kept narrowly confined : quietness is, in a degree, essential to their thriving. A loose pen, or a long halter, gives freedom to their natural fears, and a loose to their playfulness. Cleanliness, and a due degree of warmth, are likewise requisite in the right management of calves. A pen which holds seven, or occasionally eight, calves, is of the following description : — The house, or roomstead, in which it is placed, measures twelve feet by eight: four feet of its width are occupied by the stage, and one foot by a trough placed on its front; leaving three feet as a gangway, into the middle of which the door opens. The floor of the stage is formed of laths, about two inches square, lying the long way of the stage, and one inch asunder. The front fence is of staves, an inch and a half in diameter, nine inches from middle to middle, and three feet high ; entered at the bottom into the front bearer of the floor (from which cross-joists pass into the back wall), and steadied at the top by a rail } which, as well as the bottom piece, is entered at each end into the end wall. The holes in the upper rail are wide enough to permit.the staves to be lifted up and taken out, to give admission to the calves ; one of which is fastened to every second stave, by means of two rings of iron joined by a swivel; one ring playing upon the stavcj the other receiving a broad leathern collar buckled round the neck of the calf. The trough is for barley-meal, chalk, &c. and to rest the pails on. Two calves drink out of one pail, putting their heads through between the staves. The height of the floor of the stage from the floor of the room is about one foot It is thought to be wrong to hang it higher, lest, by the wind drawing under it, the calves should be too cold in severe weather : this, however, might be easily prevented by litter or long strawy dung thrust beneath it It is observable, that these stages are fit only for calves which are fed with the pail, not for calves which suck the cow. 2837. Hogsties, for the breeding or fattening of swine, are mostly built in a simple manner, requiring only warm dry places for the swine to lie in, with small areas before, and troughs to hold their food. They are generally constructed with shed-roofs, and seldom above six or seven feet wide, with height in proportion. In order that they may be convenient, they should be at no great distance from the house ; and the less they are connected with the other farm-buHdings the better. In some cases, it might be of utility to have them connected with the scullery, in such a way as that all sorts of refuse articles might be readily conveyed to them by pipes or other contrivances. When at a distance, they should be so placed as that the servants need not enter the farm-yard in feeding them. It is a circumstance of vast advantage in the economy of labour, as well as of food, to have them conveniently situated and built. Though swine are generally, perhaps from a too partial view of their habits, considered as filthy animals, there are no animals which delight more in a clean and comfortable place to lie down in, and none that cleanliness has a better effect upon with respect to their thriving and feeding. In order to keep them dry, a suifiident s^npe must be given, not only to the inside places where they are to lie, but to the outside areas, with proper drains to carry off all moisture. The. outsides should ^so be a little elevated, and have steps up from the areas of at least five or six inches in height, Hogsties should likewise have several divisions, to keep the' different sorts of swine separate ; nor should a great many ever be allowed to go together ;, for it is found that they feed better in small numbers and of equal size, than when many of unequal sizes are put togetiier. Proper divisions must, therefore, be made : some for swine when with the boar ; others for brood swine, and for them to farrow in ; for weaning the pigs, for keeping the store pigs, for fattening, &c. When convenient, the areas should be pretty large ; and where it can be had, it is of great use to have water conveyed to them, as it serves many useful purposes. 2838. Every sty should have a rubbiriff-post " Having occasion," says Marshal, ** to shift two hogs out of a sty without one, into another with a post, accidentally put up to support the roof, he had a full opportunity of observing its use The animals, when they went in, were dirty, with broken ragged coats and with dull heavy countenances. In a few days, they cleared away their coats, cleaned their skins' and became sleeky haired ; the enjoyments of the post were discernible even in their looks, in their Jive! Hness, and apparent contentment It is not probable, that any animal should thrive while afflicted with pain or uneasiness. Graziers suffer single trees to grow, or put up dead posts in the ground, for their cattle to rub themselves against ; yet it is probable that a rubbing-post has never been placed intentionally in a sty ; though, perhaps, for a two-fold reason, rubbing is most requisite to swine." In farm- yards the piggeries and poultry-houses generally occupy the south side of the area, in low buildings, which may be overlooked from the farmer's dwelling-house. They should open behind into the straw-yards or dung, heap, to allow the hogs and fowls to pick up the corn left on the straw, or what turnips, clover, or other matters are refused by the cattle. They should have openings outwards, that the pigs may' be let out to range round the farmery at convenient times; and that the poultry may have ingress and egress from that side as well as the other. 2839. The pig-house at Harley*s dairy establishment {fig. 414 V consisted of a number of sties separated from each other by a nine-inch wall : each sty consisted of two apartments ■ one forexercise, which was open above (a), and the other for fwdinir' in which was covered {b) ; and a third, also covered, for sleeping in (c). The threshold ot the opening to the sleeping apartment was formed by a cast-iron trough kept 'full of water (d), throuch which the pigs being obliged to pass when they went to sleep it i^ said their feet were washed, and their litter kept clean. The water in these troughs was supplied by a pipe at one end, and each separate tank had a waste pipe. The floor of the sleepine place was a few inches higher than that of the feeding apartment : and the floor of the latter, and also of the open area, were inclined towards the middle (e), under which was a sewer with filtering plates for the urine to pass throueh • and at the end of the sewer a tank (/) received the whole, {liarleian Dairy System p 322 J 448 SCIENCE OF AGRTCULTURE. Paut II. 2840. Pmdtri/-houses are generally slight structures for rearing and feeding domestic fowls. Beatson {Com. to the Board of Agr. vol. i.) is of opinion, that poultry ought always to be confined, but not in a close, dark, diminutive hovel, as is often the case; they should have a spacious airy place, properly constructed for them. Some people are of opinion, that each sort of poultry should be kept by itself. This, however, is not, he says, absolutely necessary ; for all sorts may be kept promiscuously together, provided they have a place sufficiently large to accommodate them conve- niently, and proper divisions and nests for each kind to retire to separa,tely, which they will naturally do of themselves. Wakefield of Liverpool keeps a large stock of tur- keys, geese, hens, and ducks, all in the same place : and although young turkeys are in general considered so difficult to bring up, he rears great numbers of them in this manner every season, with little or no trouble. For this purpose he has about three quarters, or nearly a whole acre, enclosed with a fence only six or seven feet high, formed of slabs set on end, or any thinnings of fir or other trees split and put close together. They are fastened by a rail near the top and another near the bottom, and are pointed sharp, which he supposes prevents the poultry flying over ; for they never attempt it, although so low. Within this fence are places slightly constructed (but well secured from wet) for each sort of poultry ; also a pond or stream of water running through it. These poultry are fed almost entirely with steamed potatoes, and thrive astonishingly well. The quantity of dung made in this poultry-place is also an object worth attention : and when it is cleaned out, a thin paring of the surface is at the same time taken off, which makes a valuable compost for the purpose of manure. But for keeping poultry upon a small scale, it is only necessary to have a small shed or slight building, formed in some warm, sheltered, sunny situation (if near the kitchen or other place where a constant fire is kept so much the better), vrith proper divisions, boxes, baskets, or other contrivances, for the different sorts of birds, dnd for their laying and incubation. 284L Where a few poulfry, taking their chance at the barn-door, are kept by the fanner for the convenience of eggs, and to supply the table when a fowl is wanted, no particular attention is requisite; but as, in some situations, they may pay well for more food and closer attention, other circumstances may be noticed. " The poultry-house should," Young says, " contain an apartment for the general stock to roost in, another for setting, a third for fattening, and a fourth for food. If the scale is large, there should be a fifth, for plucking and keeping feathers. If a woman is kept purposely to attend them, she should have her cottage contiguous, that the smoke of her chimney may play into the roosting and setting rooms ; poultry never thriving so well as in warmth and smoke ; an observation as old as Columella, and strongly confirmed by the quantity bred in the smoky cabins of Ireland. For setting both turkeys and hens, nests should be made in lockers that have lids with hinges, to confine them if necessary, or two or three will,'' he says, " in sitting, crowd into the same nest All must have access to a gravelled ynrd, and to grass for range, and the building should be near the farm-yard, and have clear water near. Great attention should be paid to cleanliness and whitewashing, not for appearance, but to destroy vermin." 2842. The interior arrangement of a poultry. house for a farm-yard is generally very simple, and consists of little more than a number of spars reaching across the building at different heights, or at the same height, with a gangway or ladder attached, for the fowls to ascend ; but where comfort and cleanliness are studied, a preferable mode is to form a sloping stage of spars Ui^, 415, a, b) for the poultry to sit on ; beneath this stage may be two ranges of boxes for nests (c, c) ; the roof {d) should have a ceiling to keep the whole warm in winter, and the door (e) should be nearly as high as the ceiling for ventilation, and should have a small opening with a shutter at bottom, which, where there is no danger from dogs or foxes, may be left open at all times to admit of the poultry going in and out at pleasure, and especially for their early egress during summer. The spars on which the clawed birds are to roost should not be round and smooth, but roundish and roughish, like the branch of a tree. The floor must be dry, and kept clean for the web-footed kinds. 2843. Tlie rabbitry is a building of rare occurrence in agriculture, and where it is required differs little from the piggery ; consisting of a yard for exercise and receiving food, and a covered close apartment, connected, for repose, sleep, and the mothers and young. In the latter are generally boxes a foot or more high and wide, and divided into compartments of two or more cubic feet for the rabbits to retire into, and bring forth their young. Where young rabbits are fed for the market, the mother and offspring are generally confined to hutches, which arj boxes a little larger than the common breeding boxes, and kept in a separate apartrasnt. In treating of the rabbit (Part III.), these and other contrivances for the culture of this animal will be brought into notice. 2844. Tlie pigeonry is a structure not more frequent than the rabbitry, being scarcely admissible in professional agriculture, except in grazing districts, where the birds have not so direct an opportunity of injuring com. Sometimes they are made an ornamental appendage to a proprietor's farmery, or to a sheep-house in a park (Jig. 416.), or other detached building ; and sometimes *» wooden structure, raised from the ground on one post or more, is formed on purpose for their abode. Whatever may Book IV. BUILDINGS AS REPOSlTORIjES. 44 9 be the external fonn, the interior arrangement consists of a series of boxes or cavities, formed in or against the wall, generally about a foot high and deep, and two feet or less long : one half of the front is left open as an entrance, and the other is closed to protect the female during incubation. (See Pigeon, Fart III.) 417 41H 2845. I'he apiary is a building or structure seldom wanted, except to protect hives from thieves ; then a niche or recess in a wall, to be secured in front by two or more iron bars, is a simple and effectual mode. Sometimes apiaries are made ornamental {jig. 417.), but tlie best bee-masters set little value on such structures, and prefer keeping their bees detached in single hives, for sufficient reasons. These hives may be chained to fixed stools in Huish's manner. (See Bee, Part IV.) Sect. II. Buildings as Bepositories, and fiyr performing in-door Operations' 2846. Buildings far dead stock and crop occupy a considerable portion of the farmery, and include the barn, granary, straw and root-houses, cart-sheds, tool-house, harness- room, and, when farming is conducted on a very extensive scale, the smiths' and carpenters' work-rooms. *2847., The corn-ham, or building in which corn is contained, threshed, and cleaned, has undergone considerable change in form and dimensions in modern times. Formerly it was in many cases made so large as to contain at once all the corn grown on a farm j and in most cases it was so ample as to contain a great portion of it. But since the mode of forming smaU'com stacks became more general, and also the introduction of threshing machines, tliis de- scription of building is made much smaller. The barn, especially where tlie com is to be threshed by a machine, is best placed on the north side of the farmery, as being most central for tlie supply of the straw-yards, as well as the stables and cattle-sheds. In this situation it has also the best effect in an architectural and pic- turesque point of view. {jig. 418.) Suppose an octagonal fonn chosen for a farmery, with the barn (1), straw-room and granary over (2), and mill-shed (3), to the north ; then on the left of the barn may be the stable for work-horses (4), and riding-horse stable (5), cattle-house {6), cow-house (7), sick horse (8), sick cow (9), cat- tle-sheds (10), cart-shed (11), boiling and steam- ing house (12), root-house (13), chaff and other stores for steaming, or mechanics' work-shop (14), piggeries (15), poultry-house and rabbitiy (16). The yard may be divided in two by a wall running north and south, with a pump, well, or other supply of water in the centre (17). The rick-yard (27) should be to the north of such a farmery, for easy conveyance to the barn ; the main entrance (28) should be from the south, opposite the dwelling-house ; side entrances (26) should lead to different parts of the farm and to the main roads of the country, and there should be ponds (25) for washing the horses' feet and for the poultry. The same accommodations may be arranged in a square or circular outline. (/?.419. and 420.) • Gg 450 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 419 4'20 I. Bam S. Shtnr-room 3. MUl-«hcd 4. Common sta- ble 5. Bidine-horse Htable 6. Oz-feedinp; house 7. Cow-house 8. Hospital stable 9. Koot and steaming house 10. Cattle-sheds II. Cart-shed 12. Carpenter's shed 13. Smith's forge . 1-1. Tool-house (, 15. Piggeries ' 16. Pmntry J7. WeUandcia- tem 18. Parmer's kit- chen 19. Common par- lour SO. Business room ^1. Entrance. a. Com-bam b. Straw end c. Mill-shed d. Common stable c. Riding-horse stable f. Hospital e. Cattle-shed h. Cart-shed J- Poultry k. Piggeries /. Tool-house :. Carpentei ... Smith o. Cattle-sheds p. Root-house q. Cow-house r. Ox-feeding himse J. Washing-pond t. Side-road u. Entrance to rick-yard V. Pond n/. Side road a. Main entrance. 2848. The English corn-barn^ in which a large quantity of corn in the straw Is to be contained, and threshed out with flails, may either be constructed on wooden frames covered with planks of oak, or be built of brick or stone, whichever the country affords in the greatest plenty ; and in either case there should be such vent-holes, or openings in their sides or walls, as to afford free admittance to the air, in order to prevent the mouldiness that would otherwise, from the least dampness, lodge in the grain. The gable-ends are probably best of brick or stone, on account of greater solidity; the whole may be roofed with thatch or tiles, as either can be more conveniently procured. It should have two large folding-doors facing each other, one in each side of the building, for trie convenience of carrying in or out a large load of corn in sheaves ; and these doors shoUld be of the same breadth with the threshing-floor, to afford the more light and air; the former for the threshers, and the latter for winnowing. Over the threshing- floor, and a little above the reach of the flail, poles are often laid across from one beam to another, to form a kind of upper.floor, upon which the thresher may throw the straw or haulm, to make an immediate clearing, till he has time to stow it i>roperly elsewhere: and on the outside, over the great doors, it is sometimes convenient to have a large pent-house, made to project sufficiently to cover a load of corn or hay, in case a sudden storm should come on before it can be housed ; and also to shelter the poultry in the farm-yard in great heat or bad weather. It was formerly the custom in countries that abounded in corn to have separate barns for wheat ; for spring-corn, such as barley and oats ; and for peas, tares, lintels, clover, saintfoin, &c. ; but where the grain can be stacked, the heavy expense of so many buildings of this kind may be avoided. On no description of farm buildings has so much needless expense been incurred as on bams. The most ostentatious in England are those on Coke's estate in Norfolk j they are built of fine white brick, so large and unscientifically constructed that they cannot be filled with com from the fear of bursting the side walls. 2849. The tkreshing-Jioor, or space on which the grain is threshed out by the flail, is an important object in the English barn. It is for the most part made in the middle of the building ; but may be laid down in any other part, if more convenient, and should always be so formed as to be perfectly close, firm, and strong. In constructing these kinds of floors, various sorts of materials are employed, such as compositions of different earthy kinds, stones, lumps, bricks, and wood. The last substance, when properly laid and put together, is probably the best and most secure from damp. When made of wood^ they are sometimes so contrived as to be movable at pleasure, which is a great convenience in many cases ; they are made of different dimensions, but from twelve to fourteen by eighteen or twenty feet are in general proper sizes for most purposes. Book IV. BUILDINGS AS REPOSITORIES. 451 2850. ThreShiTig-fioors in Gloucestershire ^ Marshal observes, arc of a good size, wlion IVom !2 to H by 18 to 20 feet. Tlie best are of oak, some of stone ; but a species of earthen floor, which is made there, is thought to be superior to floors of stone, or any other material, except souml oak-plank. The superior excellency of these floors is owing in part to the materials of which they are formed, and in part to the method of making them. In order to this, in some places, the surface of the intended threshing-place is dug away to the depth of about six inches, and the earth thus taken out, when of a proper kind, after being well cleared of stones, is mixed with the strongest clay that can be procured, and with the dung of cattle. This mixture is then worked together with water, till it is of the consistence of stiff' mortar, and the compost thus made is spread as smooth as possible with a trowel, upon the spot from which the earth was taken. As it cracks in drying, it must be frequentlj[ beaten down with great force ; or rolled with a heavy roller until all the crevices are filled up : and this must be continued till it is quite solid, hard, dry, smooth, and firm. 28J1. Boarded threshing-fioors, made of sound, thick, well seasoned planks of oak, are excellent for service, will last a long time, and may be converted into good floorings for rooms, by planing them down, after they are become too uneven for the purpose originally intended. 2852. Earthen tkj-eshing~JiooQ-s should not be advised, except where good materials can be procured, and the making of them be performed in the most periect manner, which, as we have noticed (2iS.'50.) is only the case in particular instances and districts. 2853. Brick Jlooriy when well laid down, may, in some cases, make a tolerable floor for many purposes, but on account of their not only attracting, but retaining, moisture, they are not to be recommended where grain of any kind is to continue much upon them. 2854. In construciing wooden floors the most usual mode is that of nailing the planks, or boards of which they are composed, after their edges have been shot true, and well Qlted and jointed, close down to wooden joists or sleepers, firmly placed and secured upon the gi'ound, or other place lor the purpose. IJut in the midland districts, instead of the planks being nailed down to sleepers in the ordinary way, the floor is first laid with bricks, and the planks sjiread over these, with no other confinement than that of being ** dowled " together, that is, ploughed and tongued, and their ends let into sills or walls, placed in the usual way, on each side of the floor. By this method of putting down the ]>lanks, provided the brick- work is left truly level, vermin cannot have a hiding-place beneath them ; and a communication of damp air being effectually prevented, floors thus laid are found to wear better than those laid upon sleepers. It IS observable that the planks, for this method of laying, ought to be thoroughly seasoned. It is evident^ however, that where barn-floors can be made hollow, they must be much better for the purpose of threshing upon, than such as are either placed on brii-k-work, or the ground. From their greater pliability and elasticity in threshing upon, the grain is of course threshed out with more ease, certainty, and despatch. 2855- The threshing-mill ham is not restricted to any size ; but it answers best when the ground-plan is a parallelogram, the width from twenty to thirty feet, according to the size of the machinery, and tlie height from fifteen to twenty feet, in order to allow one winnowing macliiae, or even two, to be placed under the threshing part of the machinery. The bam in this case is in three distinct divisions : the first, for the unthreshed corn, should be of such a size as to contain an ordinary stack, and, if possible, it should be so contrived as to be entered by a loaded cart ; which, whether the corn be threshed as carried in, or be laid up for future operations, is a great saving of labour. The second division contains the machinery and the com floor, and should be enclosed with boards so as to be locked up when not in use. The third division is the straw-barn, which should be so large as to admit of keeping separately a considerable quantity of different kinds of straw, accessible for fodder and for litter. *2856. The hay-bam is commonly constructed of timber, and sometimes is open on the south or east, or even on all sides. In Middlesex, there are many hay-bams capable of holding from thirty to fifty, and some even one hundred, loads of hay. They are found to be extremely useful and convenient during a catching and unsettled hay-harvest, and also at other seasons of the year. In wet and vdndy weather, they afford an opportunity ot cutting, weighing, and binding hay ; none of which operations could, at such a time, be performed out of doors. Most farmers agree that hay may be put together eailier, even by a day, in a bam, than it would be safe to do in a stack. They advise, however, that the sides of the mow should be raked or pulled clear of the quartering of the barn ; and, when thus managed, they are of opinion that the hay will be as good in the barn as in the stack. In the driest seasons, barns are a saving ; and, in wet seasons, the ready assistance which they afford, in speedily securing the hay, has been known to make a difference in price of twenty shillings per load. Many persons, on the other hand, think hay is more apt to heat in a barn than in the open air ; and that they present no advantages which may not be obtained by the canvass stack-cover. If tliey do not possess considerable advantages, then the loss must be great, as the erection of such barns is a heavy expense. 2857. The granary, in barns with threshing machines, is sometimes formed immediately above the floor on which the machine works ; which, among other advantages, admits of raising the com to it directly from the ground-floor, either by the threshing-mill itself, or a common windlass easily worked by one man. When it is to be taken out and carried to market, it may be lowered down upon carts, vrith the utmost facility and despatch. There is evidently no greater expense incurred by this arrangement : for the same floor and height of side walls that must be added to the bam, are required in whatever situation the granary may be ; and it possesses several advantages. Ovidng to its being higher than the adjacent buildings, there is a freer circulation of air, and less danger of pilfering, or of destruction by vermin ; the com may be deposited in it as it is dressed, without being exposed to the weather, while the saving of labour is in most cases considerable. Gg 2 452 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IT. 2858. 7%e cmstrwtion of the agricultural granary has in it nothing particular ; being in fact, only a well ventilated room, where corn is seldom Icept more than a month or two, and generally in sacks. 2859. A detached granary often forms a part of farmeries on a sinali scale : they should be built with firmness, and well secured from the entrance of vermin. In order to effect the latter purpose, they should be raised, by means of stone pillars, about eighteen inches or two feet, and have a frame of some durable wood, with quarterings of timber, so placed as that they may be filled up closely with brickbats, and the inside made secure by being Uned with thin boards nailed firmly to the different pieces of quartering. The floors must be made firm, close, and even : the outside may also be covered with boarding, if it be thought necessary, and the roof well tiled. There may be different floors or stories, according to the room required. 2860. Of commercial corn granaries, some of the most extensive are in Dantzic. They are seven, eight, or nine stories high, having a funnel in the midst of every floor, to let down the corn iVom one to another. They are built so securely, that, though every way surrounded with water, the corn con- tracts no damp, and the vessels have the convenience of coming up to the walls for their lading. The Russians in the interior of the empire preserve their corn in subterranean granaries, of the figure of a sugar-loaf, wide below, and narrow at top ; the sides are well plastered, and the top covered with stones. They are very carefUl to have the corn well dried before it is laid into these store-houses, and often dry it by means of ovens, their autumn being too short to effect it sufficiently. 2861. A granary to preserve corn for many years should be a dry cellar, deeply covered with earth ; and, after the corn is put in, hermetically sealed to exclude heat, air, and moisture, and preclude the possibility of the grain vegetating, or of the existence of insects or vermin, or the hatching of their eggs. (See 1834.) 2862. The root-house is used for storing up or depositing potatoes, turnips, carrots, cabbages, or other roots or tops for the winter feed of cattle. It should always join the cattle-sheds, and communicate with them by an inner door that opens into the feeder's walk by the heads of the cattle. The entrance door ought to be so large as to admit a loaded cart. These houses are essentially necessary wherever there ai'e a number of cows, or other sorts of cattle, to be supported on roots of the carrot, parsnep, turnip, and potato kinds, as well as for cabbages ; as without them it would not only be inconvenient, but in many cases in severe weather impossible, to provide them for the daily supply of such stock. Cabbages should not, however, be kept long in houses, as they are very apt to take on the putrid fermentation, and become useless. The master should be careful that the yard man constantly keeps such places perfectly clean and sweet, in order that the roots may contract no bad smell, as cattle are in many cases extremely nice in their feeding, and when once disgusted with any sort of food, seldom take to it again in a proper manner. 2863. The steaming-house should be placed next the root-houses, for obvious reasons ; and have an inner floor communicating with it in a line with the door of the feeder^s walk. 2864. The straw-house or straw-shedj when there is one distinct from the barn, should be placed at the end of the cattle-sheds, opposite to the root-house, and like it should have a cart entrance, and an inner door communicating with the feeder's walk. Straw, however, is often stacked, in preference to placing it in a straw-house, especially when large quantities of corn are threshed at one time. 2865. Cart-sheds, or lodges for the shelter and protection of carts or waggons, *. id other large implements, are generally built close on three sides, with the fourth open, and the roof sup- ported with posts or pillars. Sometimes they are open on all sides (j^. 421. ) ; but this admits too much wind, which carries moisture with it in the cold seasons of the year, and dries up and shrinks wooden articles in sum- mer. Their situation in the square should be apart , from the buildings for live stock, and also from the barn, straw, and root houses : generally the first part of the east or west side on entering is devoted to the purpose of cart-sheds and tool-houses. 2866. The tool-house is used for keeping the smaller implements used in manual labour in the fields, as spades, rak^s, forks, &c. It is essential that this apartment be dry and free from damps ; and, when convenient, it should have a loft for the better pre- servation of sacks, cordage, sowing sheets, baskets, spare harness, &c. 2867. Some other buildings, besides those of this and the preceding section, will be wanted in most farm-yards of any extent, as stables for young horses, riding-horses, an hospital stable, &c. Particular descriptions of fanns also require appropriate buildings, as dairies, cheese-rooms, hop-kilns« and wood-lofts, which will be considered in treating of dairy farms, hop culture, the management of sheep, &c. 2868. Sleeping-rooms for single men should be made oyer the stable, and for the feeder or cow-keeper over the cattle-sheds, that they may hear any accident which takes place among the horses or cattle during the night, and be at hand to remedy it. 2869- A smithy, and carpenter s work-room, sometimes form part of the buildings on a large farm. Instead of going to a distance to the residence of these necessary mechanics, arrangements are made with them to attend at stated periods, or when sent for, by which a saving both of time and money is eflfected. Sometimes these buildings are set down at ^ little distance from the square, to prevent danger from fire, and lessen the expense of 421 Book IV. FARM-HOUSES. 453 insurance. The fixtures, as the anvil, bellows, bench, vice, latlie, &c. and some of the larger tools, belong to the farmer, but the others the mechanics bring witli them. A small stock of iron, steel, and timber is kept, to be in readiness ; and also the ca-st^iron work of ploughs, carts, &c., and sometimes the smaller pinions, and other parts of the threshing machines. Sect. III. Tlie Fartner's JDwelting-hoiise. 2870. 2'he dwelling-hoMe of tlie farmer is generally detached from the farmery on the south side, and sepaiated from it by a road, grass-plat, garden, or pond, or all of these, according to circumstances. In size and accommodations it ought to be proportioned to the capital requisite for the farm ; that is, it ought to be on a par with the houses of other members of society of similar property and income. In design it ought to be simple and unostentatious, utility and convenience being its recommendatory beauties. At the same time, as observed in the Code qf j^griculture, " every landlord of taste, in fixing on the site and plan of a new farm-house and offices, ought certainly not to overlook the embellishment of the country." How much of the beauty of a country, and of the ideas of the comfort and happiness of its inhabitants, depends on the appearance of its farm- houses and cottages, every traveller is aware ; and every agriculturist who has travelled through tlie British Isles can recognise at once a well cultivated district by the forms of the farm-yards, and the position of the farmer's dwelling-house. The difference between the best and worst cultivated English counties in this respect is sufficiently striking ; and the ideas of wealth, comfort, order, and scientific agriculture, which the farmeries and cottages of Northumberland and Berwickshire excite in the mind, are totally unfelt in passing through even Hertfordshire and Essex ; where the scattered straggling hovels of all sizes and shapes, the monstrous barns, and ricketty shapeless farm-houses, indicate a low state of culture, and an ignorant tasteless set of occupiers. Even in Norfolk and Suffolk the want of symmetry in the farmeries of opulent farmers is eveiy where conspicuous ; and the want of taste and decorum in setting the dwelling-houses among dung heaps and urine ponds no less so. 2871. In selecting a few examples of firm-hovses, the first we shall notice is that of the smallest size, where the farmer keeps no servant and cultivates only a few acres. The ground plan of such a house (^fg. 422.) should contain an entry (a); kitchen (6) ; dairy and pantry (c) ; parlour (d) ; light closet off the parlour as a store-room, or for a bed (e) ; tool-house \f ) ; stair, and cellar under (g) ; water-closet, and poultry-house over (A) ; there are three bed-rooms in the roo5 and one garret. The dimensions may be varied at pleasure ; but twelve feet square is the least dimension that can be given to the kitchen and parlours. 2872. A farmr-Jmi.se cf tlie smallest size (^fig. 423.), where the poultry and tool houses are in the farm-yard, but where the fanner keeps only one servant, and works and lives with him, may contain an entrance and stair fa) ; kitchen, closet, and oven (J) ; back- kitchen (c) ; dairy (d) ; parlour (e) ; bedroom (/) ; with three bedrooms and a Gg 3 454 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. I'ART II. garret up-stairs, and a cellar under. The arrangement of this ground plan is excellent, with the single exception of tlie situation of the fireplaces, which in no cottage or small dwelling-house ought to be in tlie outside wall. A few of such farm-houses and tenants should be found in all parts of the country, if for no other reason than to preserve the grada- tion from the labourer to the professional farmer, and from the cottage to the farm-house. 2873. A farm-house larger tlian tlie preceding {Jig. 424), and for a farmer and his family rather in a better style, may contain a principal entrance and lobby (a) ; parlour (i) ; closets (c) ; store-room for meal, cheese, &c. [d) ; lumber room for small imple- ments {e) ; beer cellar (/) ; pantry (g) ; dairy (A) ; staircase (i) ; kitchen, with an oven under the stairs, and a boiler on the other side of the fireplace (A) ; coals or wood, and back entry {1} ; pigsty, with a small opening towards the kitchen for throwing in dish- water, offal, &C. (m) ; and poultry-house (n) ; with two garret bedrooms over the wings ; two good bedrooms and a closet up stairs, and a garret in the roof. S. !H S, 2S74. A farm-house of tlie second lower scale {fig. 425.), executed at Burleigh in Hutlandshire, contains a principal entry (a) ; parlour (6) ; kitchen (c) ; stair (d) ; dairy (e) ; pantry {f ) ; cellar (g) ; and cheese-room (A). The three latter are attached to the back part of the house by a continuation downwards of the same roof. By making their ceilings only seven and a half or eight feet high, some small bedrooms may be got above them, having a few steps down from the floor of the front rooms, or a few steps up from the first landing-place. The back door of the kitchen enters into a brewhouse and washhouse, the fireplace and copper being behind the kitchen vent. Beyond this brewhouse is a place for holding fire-wood, &c., in the back wall of which are openings to feed the swine. In the kitchen is an oven ; and below the grate a very good con- trivance for baking occasionally, but principally used for keeping the servants' meat warm ; it consists of a cast-iron plate, and door like an oven. The chamber-floor is divided into two rooms forwards, and two small ones backwards. ^ 2875. FarTner's dwelling-houses, containing more accommodation and cojnfort, and displaying appropriate taste and expression of design, will be found in a succeeding section, where farmeries are treated of, and also where we treat of laying out farms. (Part III.) ' ^ Sect. IV. Cottages for Farm Servants. •2876. Cottages for labourers are necessary appendages to every farm or landed estate, and no improvement is found to answer the purpose better than building these on a comfortable and commodious plan. In the southern counties of the island, where the farmer's labourer is supposed to change his master once a year, or oftener, the whole business of cottages is commonly left to accident; but in the north a certain number of married servants are kept on every farm, and a fixed place near the farmery is appointed Book IV. FARM-COTTAGES. 455 for tlieir situation. These Iiabitations are in the tenure of the farmer, in common with the otlier buildings of the farm ; and wlienever a married servant changes his master he clianges his habitation. 2877. The acco7nmodatU>'n formerly considered suitable for farm labourers consisted of two rcoms. Tliat on the ground floor not being less than twelve feet square, with a sleeping-room of the same size over, and sometimes on the same floor. But this is justly deemed too small for an ordinary labourer's family. " Humanity," Beatson observes, " shudders at the idea of an industrious labourer, with a wife ant. perliaps five or six children, being obliged to live, or rather exist, in a wretched, damp, gloomy room, of ten or twelve feet square, and that room without a floor j but common decency must revolt at considering, that over this wretched apartment there is only one chamber to hold all the miserable beds of this miserable family. And yet instances of this kind, to our shame be it spoken, occur in every country village. How can we expect our labourers or their families to be healthy ; or that their daughters, from whom we are t.o take our Aiture female domestics, sliould be cleanly, modest, or even decent, in sucti wretched habitations?" 2878. The accommodation which the smallest cottage ought to have, according to "Waistell, is a kitchen, , washhouse, and closet, or pantry, with two bed-rooms. A parlour is almost useless. The- kitchen, being freed from the business of washing and baking, may always be kept decent for the family to live in j and a decent kitchen is greatly preferable to a disorderly parlour ; and a parlour that is not used Oftener, perhaps, than two or three times a year, will seldom be kept in order. Every cottager who has a family of children at home, ought, for decency's sake, to have two bedrooms; and if the children are of both sexes he ought to have three. For the purpose of thoroughly airing and sweetening the bedrooms there ought to be windows to all the rooms. (_WaistelVs Desi^s, &c p. 81.) " If the rooms of a cottage be built too low, or in any other respect upon a bad plan, the inconveniences arising from these circumstances will, in all probabihty, have to be endured by its successive occupants as long as the materials of which it is composed will last If, therefore, the welfare of the inhabitants of such dwellings be considered, it is highly important that any circumstances which would thus entail the want of comfort should be avoided ; and It must be gratifying to those who erect durable and efficient cottages, in healthy situations, with gardens attached, to contemplate on what industry, what cleanliness, what happiness, and, in short, what great and lasting improvement in the condition and habits of this class of their fellow-beings, they may, as they have it in their power, by a little attention, so easily and so beneficially to themselves eff'ect. " {lb. p. 84.) 2879. Cottages for fm-m servants^ it is observed by the able author of the article Agriculturcy in the Suppleinent to the Eiicyc. Britannicay" are usually set down in a line, ^t not an inconvenient distance from the farm-yard. Each of them contains two apartments with fireplaces, and garret sleeping-rooms over. Adjoining is commonly a cow-house, hogsty, shed for fuel, necessary, a small garden, and some- times other appendages of comfort and enjoyment. As an example of the minimum of modern accom- modation, we may refer to two cottages on a farm in Berwickshire, as described in the report of that county. They contain each a kitchen {fig, 426. a)t small parlour and store-room (fi), with two good bedrooms over, and a dairy under the staircase.— There is a garden behind (c), a place for a calf or pigs, or for fuel {d), water-closet (e), and dung-heap (/). The labourer's cows, in this case, are kept at the farmery, along with those of the far- mer. It is proper to observe, however, that this is more the beau id^al of the cottage of a farm servant in Scotland than the reality. With the exception of some cottages that havebeen recently built by Englishmen who have become possessed of property in Scotland, such as the Marquess of Staflfbrd, Earl Owydir, &c. the dwellings of the labouring classes are a disgrace to the country. It is any thing but creditable, both to the la;ided proprietors and the farmers, that while the houses of both have been greatly improved in comfort and appearance within the last thirty years, scarcely any improvement has taken place in the dwellings of their servants. Even in East Lothian, Berwickshire, and other counties, generally considered the most improved in Scotland, scarcely any alteration has taken place for the better within our remembrance. One cause, no doubt, of this want of comfort, and the appearance of enjoyment in Scottish cottages is owing to the ignorance of the cottager of many of the comforts which are enjoyed by the same class in other countries, and more particularly in England, Holland, and the South of Germany. This applies particularly to tradesmen cottagers, or what may be called independent occupiers ; but with respect to all those cottagers who are the hired servants of owners or occupiers of land, the blame belongs wholly to the owners and occupiers, and may be traced to their want of sympathy for their fellow-men, as well as a want of an enlightened view of their own interests. " Could the rich," "Waistell remarks, " but consider themselves interested in the ap. pearance of their tenants and labourers, and hold the improve- ment of the cottage and cottage garden, and its inhabitants, as an essential part of the improvement of their grounds; they would thus make their seats appear the growth of plenty diffused, and not the solitary instance of wealth in the midst of wretchedness, at once its neighbour and its reproach," {WnisteWs Designs, &c. p. 9.) 2880. A dmtble ploughman's cottage and cow-house {fig. 427.) may DO thus arranged. Both may contain a kitchen {a) with an oven, and there may be a small parlour or store-room (6), a dairy and pantry (c), with two bedrooms over. Detached may be a pigsty (d), water-closet ( in five days, beans' in eight, and barley and oats in ten days, and sometimes earlier. No vermin can find their way into these stacks to consume the grain, and the straw is better preserved. The cone or triangle keeps up a circulation of air, and prevents heating or other damage. (Gen. Re}u of Scotland^ vol. iv. App, p. 379.) 2909. WaisteWs circular rick. stand (Jig. 428.) is twelve feet eight inches in diameter. U consists of two concentric circular walls, the outer twenty and the inner eighteen inches thick ; the outer wall covered with flagstones, which project four inches over it, to prevent rats and mice from getting up into the rick. The space between the two walls is twenty inches wide; across this space are laid hedgestakes, which are sufficiently long to support the rick, so that no large bearers are wanted, nor other strong and expensive bearers of any kind. The outer wall is twenty inches high, to the top of the projecting flags; at about half its height, four grates of cast iron, about six inches square and half an inch thick, are placed in openings left through the external walls, at equal distances from each other to admit air. The bars of the grates are a quarter of an inch broad, and a quarter of an inch dis- tant from each otlier, which is sufficiently close to prevent the entrance of mice. Stands thus constructed are considered, by those who have tried them, to be less expensive and more eflTective than on any other plan that has been yet invented. The air that passes through these four grates, and through the openings in the internal walls, will circulate freely under the rick ; and if a chimney he carried up the middle of the rick to its top, the current of air that will pass up through it will carry oflf the heat and moisture, which might otherwise injure, and even spoil, such corn as was rather too moist when carried. {tVatstclI's Designs^ &c. p. 101.) 2910. Hay-standsj according to some, may be formed in the same manner as those for corn, only it is seldom necessary to have them made of such expensive materials. A simple frame of wood is mostly suflScient, with proper bearers laid across for the support of the stack ; and these stands are much better than loose pieces of wood laid across at the bottom, and filled in with brush or faggot wood, on which ricks are com- monly built. Earthy floors or foundations should never be thought of for this purpose, as the dampness must injure a considerable part of the hay at the bottom ; but where faggots are not scarce, and the ground on which the hay-stack is built is rather elevated, no stand can ever become necessary. 2911. The stack-funnel faysse or boss (/g. 439. a.) as it is called in the north, whether the stand be of wood, iron, or stone, may be formed of a few poles placed on a 43S I/II il i\ . II il iii\ b irjj- 'il i\ III II il //ir-ri\ Il II II t\ nil -rrn |iii- ~M II n- -tH- rn- -jtA tn= inrd Book IV. FARMERIES. 461 circular, square, or angular base, having a few . short spars nailed across, or a straw rope wrap- ped round. 2912. The stack-cover is a cloth or canvass covering, for suspending over stacks during the time of their being built to protect them from rain. A ample implement of this sort has long been in use in Kent; but it has been improved on by Sir Joseph Banks, so as to become more manageable, though somewhat more costly. It consists of two long upright poles fixed into two cart wheels: a rope, managed by blocks and tackle, connects the poles at top, and supports, raises, or lowers the canvass roof in the usual manner of managing tents and sails. Its construction and use will be afterwards more particularly described. 2913. Tlie straw-yard is a term applied to enclosures in or about the farmyard, in which cattle are turned in loose to eat straw. In most cases this enclosure occupies the centre of the farm-yard, and includes the dung-basin, or it is a subdivision of the yard ; but in some cases enclosures and sheds are erected exterior to the farmyard, and near the straw and root house. The great object in arranging straw-yards of this description, is to provide a sufficient extent of sheds open to the south for cover to the cattle in severe weather, and high fences or sheds on the east or west sides, according to their position with relation to the main yard, for shelter. 2914. The poultry-yard in most cases may be a very small enclosure, as the poultry of common farmeries should be allowed to range over the straw-yards and most parts of the premises, to pick up what cannot be got at by swine. 2915. A tradesman's yard or small enclosure is often appended to the smith's and carpenter's shops, as weU to contain timber as implements in want of repair, &c. 2916. ^ KfcAen-garden is an essential appendage to the dwelling-house. Its situation should be apart from the farmery, so as not to interfere with it, or be injured by the blowing in of straws, &c. The size of the garden will, of course, depend somewhat on that of the house and farm ; but as a small fanner with a large fainily will require as many or more vegetables than one of a higher class, there can be no impropriety in the garden being large. As potatoes and turnips, and sometimes other vegetables, may be had of better quality &om the field, some abatement of size may be allowed on this account. In general, the garden need not be under a fourth of an acre, nor exceed twice that quantity. The best fence is a wall, and next a close oak paling ; but if neither of these can be had, a thorn hedge will answer, though it harbours vermin, and its roots always rob a portion of the accompanying border. The best form is a parallelogiam, lying east and west, which may be intersected by walks, so a5 to divide it into four or six other parallelograms, with a surrounding border as broad as the enclosure fence is high. 2917. An orchard may either be regularly formed on an allotted space ; or fruit trees may be scattered over a lawn or piece of grass ground which may surround the house. In a convenient part of this orchard, posts should be fixed to form a drying ground, unless the drying is performed by heated air or steam in the house. 29 1 8. Tfte gardens appended to the labourers' cottages may contain from one eighth to one sixth of an acre. Their situation should always adjoin the house ; but whether they should surround it or enclose it on one or more of its sides, must depend on the position of the cowhouse belonging to each cottage. In some cases, and perhaps it is the best plan, these cowhouses form a range by themselves, in a small field devoted to their use, and situate behind the row of cottages. Sect. VI. Union of the different Farm Buildings and Enclosures in a Farmery. 2919. Infxing the arrangeTnenl of a set of farm bmldings, the first things, according to Beatson, to be taken into consideration, after choosing the situation, are the nature and produce of the farm. From these may be judged the different kinds of accommodation that will be necessary. For example, every farm must have, first, a dwelling-house ; secondly, a bam suitable to the extent of arable land in the farm, either with or without a threshing-mill, but always with one, if possible, and so placed as to go by water, if a supply can be had ; thirdly, stables, the dimensions of which must be determined according to the number of horses necessary for the farm ; fourthly, cowhouses or 462 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. feeding-houses, or both, according to the number of cows and cattle ; and so on, till tlie whole accommodations, and their dimensions, are fixed upon. Having ascertained these, and the situation for building, on being also settled, the ground must be carefully and attenlively viewed ; and if not very even, the dilferent levels must be observed, and the best way of conducting all the necessary diains, and carrying off' all superfluous moisture ; and also tlie best situations for dung and urine-pits, or reservoirs, wliich will, in a great degree, ascertain at once where the cattle-houses and stables should be. These being fixed on, the barn should be as near them as possible, for the convenience of carrying straw to the cattle ; and the barn-yard should be contiguous to the barn. These main points being determined on, the others will easily be found ; always observing this rule, to consider what is the nature of the work to be done about each office, and then the easiest and least laborious way to perform that work, so far as it is connected with other offices. In case this should not be sufficiently explicit, suppose, by way of illus- tration, the situation of a feeding-house is to be considered of. The nature of the work to be performed here is, bringing food and litter to the cattle, and taking away their dung. The place from which the greatest part perliaps of their food and all their litter comes, is the barn ; therefore the feeding-house should be as near the barn as possible. If turnips or other roots, or cabbages, make a part of their food, the most commodious way of giving these must be determined on ; whether by having a root-house adjoining the cattle-house, and that filled occasionally, or by having a place to lay them down in, near the head of the stall, from which they are thrown in at holes left In the walls for that purpose. The easiest method of clearing away the dung must also be considered, and the distance from the main dung-pit and urine reservoir. The same general rule being observed in determining on the site of all the other offices or accommodations, togetlier with a careful examination of the ground to be occupied (upon which the arrangement of the offices in a great measure should depend), any person conversant in rural affairs, who attends to these particulars, and can lay down his ideas In a drawing, may easily direct the planning and building of a very commodious set of offices. With respect to the site of the dwelling-liouse, it may be remarked, that, although the middle of a regular front is in some points of view the most pleasing, and in many situations perhaps the best, yet, unless the ground and other circumstances in every respect favour such a disposition, it should not invariably be adhered to ; for it may often happen that a much better situation for the dwelling-house may be obtained at a little distance from the offices, a pleasing uniformity be observed in them at the same time, and the house be more healthy and agreeable. In some cases, and for some kinds of farms, it may he particularly necessary to have the house so placed, in respect to the offices and farm-yard, as to admit of their being constantly inspected, and the labour that is to be performed In them attended to and overlooked. 2920. Farm buildings in the colder latitudes of Europe and America are most advan- tageously combined together under one roof, and on a square or parallelogram ground plan. The saving in the first erection, and in all future repairs, is very considerable ; and not less so the saving of heat during the severe weather of winter. In such countries open straw-yards for cattle are not wanted; for In summer these are either in the fields, or stall-fed, and in winter both cattle and sheep are kept almost always in the house. In Britain, however, where the winters are mild, and where it is the custom to keep cattle loose in the straw-yards, It Is found desirable to distribute llie buildings around such yards, for the sake of shelter to the cattle : but in the case of sheep farms, or where all tlie cattle kept are stall-fed, there seems no reason why the greater part of the buildings of a farmery might not be included in a cube with a single roof. 2921. Waistell considers a " parallelogram, the most ample and least expensive form for the arrangement of farm bmldmgs ; if any other form be adopted, more of both materials and labour wiU be required." Much the best publication on the subject of farm buildings is that of Mr. Waistell, entitled Designs Jor Agricultural BuUdm^s. London. 4to. 1827. It ought to he consulted by every proprietor intending to erect or alter farm buildings. According to this author, a farmery ought neither to be situated on a hill nor on a dead flat, but, if possible, on gently waving grounds on a southern declivity. At all events the spot should be dry, and of easy access ; — dry, that it may be warm and easily kept clean ; easy of access and central, to facilitate carrying home the crops, and out the manure, and for general despatch of business. It should not be far removed from a public road, and should, if possible, command a view of the greatest part of the farm. The site to be built on should be level, or made so, or nearly so, declining in preference to the south. Drainage must be got, or a deep cesspool formed for the house ; and a urine pit for the farm-yard. A gravelly soil, on the banks of a quick.running stream, is one of the healthiest^of situations ; while a rich and marshy soil is the reverse, and peculiarly unwholesome. Plenty of good water is desirable ; and if that cannot be got otherwise, it must be obtained by a mode which never fails — " by putting spouts round all the buildings, to collect the rain-water which falls upon them into one, two, or more tanks : by this last means a sufHcient supply of water has been u!f° .J™"" ..^ ■ °K " ''O'.'^BC to answer every purpose of the family during the driest season, while other cotUgers in the neighbourhood, having only ponds, had to travel miles for water. Ponds naving a large surface exposed to the sun and air, soon lose a great proportion of water by evaporation : the water in a coveted tarik is not liable to this loss, and will keep quite cLean, and, if properly ventilated will always be sweet The quantity of water that falls annually upon every hindred superficial feet or square of building is about 1,400 imperial gallons. Besides the water collected from the buildings being useful, the buildings themselves will be benefited by the spouts, as the walls and their foundations wdl be kept much drier, and will last longer than they would do if all the water from the rooft were suffered to fall upon them." The manner of constructing tanks wiU be found in Part III. Book III Book IV. FARMERIES. 46ft Chap. IIL Sec. III. The aspect, or principal ftront of the house, and that side of the farm-yard which is least sheltered by buildings, should generally face the south. " As the wind rarely blows from the south-east, and as our most constant and most violent winds are from the south-west, it would seem that one point to the east of south will generally be the best aspect" The north-east corner being the coldest, is the best for the dairy. Open cattle-sheds should face the sun. The farmhouse should be at a little distance southward from the middle of the south side of the farm-jjard. The living room and the master's bedroom should look into the farm-yard for the sake of looking after the servants, and seeing that no accident happens to the live stock. The rule for the distance of the dwelling-house from the south wall of the farm-yard, is the length of the house's shadow at noon on the shortest day. " In the latitude of London, the length of shadows on a horizontal plane when the sun is in the meridian,, on the shortest day, is about equal to 3% times tlie height of objects. On the ii3tl of November and lyth of January, they are equal to three times the height. The back of a farmhouse in front of the yard ought not, therefore, to be placed much nearer to the north side of the farm-yard, than four times the height of the house." It is essentially necessary for the health of the inhabitants, that tlie house should be separated from the farm-yard, which is generally covered with dung, by an open, naked, and dry court-yard ; since nothing is more injurious to health than putrid effluvia of every kind : besides, bad smells, it is well known, " lessen the products of butter dairies, by preventing a complete separation of the cream from the milk.*' Hog and poultry houses should be near the kitchen and the brewhouse, but not so near as to offend by their smell. The barn and threshing-machine should in general be placed on the north side oi the yard ; the granary over the straw-room ; the stables, cowhouses, and cart-sheds, on the east and west ; and the open sheds on the north side, so as to face the south. 2922. The form and proportion qffarm buildings are ably treated of by the same author. The more a building deviates from a square, the more will it require to enclose a given area. The area of a building twenty feet square, is four times as large as that of one ten feet square, and it only requires twice the length of wall to surround it. Hence large-roomed houses cost less proportional expense than small- roomed ones. "Utility, durability, and economy, are best obtained by adhering strictly to simplicity of form, and building with good materials. Let the buildings be quadrangular, as nearly square as olher circumstances will allow, and roofed at one span. Avoid lead gutters, and such projections as bow windows, dormar windows, &c. These are not only expensive to construct and keep in repair, but are often the cause of much damage to other parts by the overflowing of water, particularly after snow. The increase of the size of farm-houses is not required to be in the same ratio as the extent of the farms j that is, the dwelling-house for a small farm must be proportionably larger, and consequently will cost more, in proportion, than one for a large farm. The cost of cattle-sheds, cow-houses, and stables, will be nearly in the same ratio as the sizes of the farms, provided the lands be of the same quality, and in like situations." One window will generally be found sufficient for every room in a farm- house; unlesswheretwo would admit of looking over a greater part of the farm : every window ought to be made to open at top and bottom, for the purpose of ventilation ; and the top ought to be as near the ceiling as possible for that purpose, and because the upper half of a window always admits most light. All rooms should be high, because the floor and ceiling cost the same, whether the walls are high or low. In all new buildings, bedrooms, in addition to the chimney for the fire, should have a small flue, say six inches square, carried up from the top of the room in any convenient situation, for the purpose of ventilation; cellars, and even stables and cowhouses, should be ventilated in this way. This has been done by many gentlemen in their stables, because, as our author remarks, " the health of servants is often less attended to than the health of cattle.'* Farmers and their families frequently sufffer in their health, without knowing the reason, from the pernicious effluvia of the following articles : — " Oil, oil colours, impure wool, sweaty saddles, soap, tallow, fat, fresh meat whether raw or dressed, wet clothes, and other wet articles; by foul linen, washing, drying, and ironing; by the fumes from charcoal fires, which are extremely pernicious, and frequently fatal ; by green plants and flowers, however fragrant; and by saffron and hops; which last articles. Dr. Wallich says, have also sometimes proved fatal." The floors of aU dwelling-houses ought to be raised above the surface, not less than eighteen inches on a damp soil, nor nine inches on the driest. No external walls to dwelling-houses should be l^s than a brick and a half in thickness, unless cemented on the outside, or built with Roman cement 2923. The conveniences of farmhouses and detached offices are arranged by Waistell under seven classes as follows ;^ 2924. 1st Class. Back kitchen, hacon-room, bakehouse^ brewhouse^ cider-hotise^ kitchen, and washkousc. Two rooms generally serve for all these purposes in farmhouses of the smallest size; but the bakehouse and the brewhouse should always be in attached buildings, as the vapour arising from both baking and brewing is very injurious to health. Bacon is best kept in a closet with a draft through it 2925. 2d Class. Cellar^ potato-'place, carrot-store, &c. When under the kitchen they should be arched over ; when sunk only a few steps, the walls should be built hollow, and a bank of earth raised against them. 2926. 3d Class, Chambers or bedrooTns. Such as are in the roof should be lighted from the gables, dormars being expensive. The men-servants' bedroom ought not to be up the same stairs as tiie bedrooms for the family. 2927. 4th Class. Cheese-press house, cheese-room, dairy, dmry-scullery, and shed. These ought all to be connected, " A milk-room, sunk three feet within the ground, and a sloping bank raised against its walls externally, to the height of three feet, with the earth dug out of it, will be found nearly as cool in summer and warm in winter as a cellar, but more convenient to occupy, as four or five steps to descend into it will be sufficient" The milk-house should never be used as a pantry, because the smells incident to the latter prevents the cream from rising. A rill of water through a dairy carries heat to it in winter, and from it in summer. 2928. 5th Class, Parlour^ counting-house, pantry, and stoi-e-room. If the two latter apartments are attached, instead of being within the house, so much the better, on account of the pernicious effluvia which proceed from them. 2929. 6th Class. Courtyard, chaise-house, privy, ash-pit, arid tool-house. A tank may be built in the court-yard for the hogwash, and it ought to have oak covers, like the water-tank. The cesspool of the privy ought to be lined with Roman cement, and its walfe ought either to be hollow, or of double thickness. " When a drain is required, it should have a trap ; from the underside of the seat, a trunk or flue should be constructed to carry off", above the roof, any smell that may arise : if, however, the cesspool be airtight, so that no air may' be admitted below the seat, wl?ich always ought to have a cover, the air would then be stagnant, and the smell not likely to ascend. The tool-house may also, in some cases, serve for the cheese-press house, and also for dry pigs' food." ^ 2930. 7th Class. Coat-house, fuel-house, wood-houset and wood or coal yard. In some places the wood IS stacked and thatched. 2931. The out-qffices qffarm buildings are arranged by the same author in eleven classes, as follows : — ' 2932. Ist Class. Bam, straw-room, and threshing-machine. A comparatively small bam will suffice where there is a threshing-machine. Parallelogram barns {fig. 440.), and barns with porches (Jig. 441.), are much more expensive inpropprtion to their capacity than square barns (j?^. 442.) On the same principle, as we have already mentioned, if all the buildings of the farmery were arranged under one roof, the same accommodations would be obtained at much less expense ; but among other disadvan- 4C4 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. tages there would be no sheltered yards for cattle, unless walls were built on purpose, which would mate 44rt rially lessen the saving by combination. .., 29;J3. 2d Class. Granary. Ventilation, dryness, ^^* and security ftrom vennin, are essential objects. 442 2934. 3d Class. Fuld-yards, cattle-sheds^ cattle- troughs, hogs'-troughs, hogs^-courtt &c. The 1 oDenlngs in front of sheds should be at least seven feet high. Horses and cows ought to be • ' ' kept separate, and the different kinds, strength, and ages, by themselves. In many situations the warmth of cattle-yards might be increased by surrounding plantations. The middle of fold- yards should be hollowed out, and the moisture should either be conveyed away to a i>roper tank, or there may be a tank built immediately under the hollow. " In some cases, a stream of water may be conveyed through the farm-yard ; when this is the case, below the place where the cattle drink, it may have conveyed into it the over- flowings and drainings of the yards and offices, after they have been filtered through the earth and peat, and, thus enriched, be conducted to adjoining meadows, and as much ground watered with it as it is capable of flooding." ^ , „ , ,, . , 2935 4th Class, Cow-house^ feeding-house or shedyfodder^ing-bay^ buU-house, ca(f.hotcse, hay-room, store or turnip room, turnip-cistern, and place for sick cattle. No cow or feeding house should be built without a passage or fodder ing-l>ay at the heads of the cattle ; if that be wanting, it not only takes more time to feed the cattle and clean their troughs, but also their food, when passing behind them, is liable to be soiled by their dung ; this renders it highly disgusting to them, which is the cause of much waste." When the cattle stand in rows across the building, one foddering-bay may serve two rows ; it should have a gate at each end, and if a stream of water is at hand, it may have a sunk cistern for washing the turnips. Stalls for containing two cattle of the largest size should be seven feet wide and twelve feet long. By double foddering-bays and the rows of cattle across the house, more room is got under the same roof, and the cattle are fed with greater facility. 2936. 5th Class. Stable, stable-court, hay and chaff room, loose box or house^ and harness-room. The width of each stall should be from five to six teet ; short partitions between stalls from three feet six inches to four feet ; long partitions eight feet. Boxes for single horses should be eight feet wide and twelve feet long. Recesses may often be made in the walls to contain forks and other stable implements, harness, and to lessen the projection of corn-bins. The height from the floor to the ceiling should in no case be less than eight feet. Lofts over stables are bad places for both hay and corn, from the breath of the animals and the effluvia of the dung. For draught horses a stable open to the roof is best j for saddle horses one ceiled over at nine feet, if properly ventilated, is preferable, as they require to be kept warmer. Small openings should be made at the bottoms of the doors, and at the tops of the walls, with shutters, so as to admit of ventilation when the larger windows cannot be opened. Stables should be exceedingly well paved, because when the urine does not run off, it generates a variety of diseases, 2937. 6th Class. The cart-shed or waggon-hovel, plough and harrow place, and wool-room. The height should be at least seven feet, and the granary may ftequently be built over. 2938. 7th Class. Hogsties, hen-roosts, boiling-hotise, duck-house, goose-house, hogs^ food-house, hogs* food- tank, pigeon-house, poultry-yard, and twkey-house. The hogsties should be so placed as to be of easy access from the kitchen, and at the same time not to prove offensive to either the house or the stables by their smell. The height may be three or four feet, and the hen-roosts may be placed over them; the boiler for preparing their food, the food-tank, the duck-house, and the goose-house near them. The pigeon-house may be placed over any building ; but if the water collected from the roofs be used for culinary purposes, pigeons ought not to be kept, 2939. 8th Class. Brining-room for wheat, and slaughter-house. One building will serve both these purposes, and it should be paved with flat paving-stones. 2940. 9th Class, Sheep-house. A square of twenty feet on the side will contain thirty sheep ; the walls should be ten feet nigh ; this gives 13^ feet surface to each sheep. The doors ought to be always open, and there ought to be a fold-yard, so that the sheep may go out and in at pleasure, 2941. 10th Class. Forge, tool-house, workshop, priuy, &c. The forge ought to be apart on account of the danger of fire ; the carpenter's workshop ought to have folding doors to admit a cart or waggon. In large farmeries then ought to be a small yard distinct and apart from the fold-yai-ds and rick-yards, for the purpose of the forge, workshop, implements requiring repair, and stock of timber and other materials. In all farmeries there ought to be two privies ; one for the women-servants near the house, and one for the men near the stables : there ought also to be two water-closets, one in the dwelling-house for the mistress and her female children and friends ; and the other within the house, or adjoining it, for the master and his friends. 2942. 11th Class. Men\t lodge, meal-chest, and potato -house. ^Vhere single men are kept, they are sometimes lodged in the farmery, and supplied with meal, milk, and potatoes. They should have a large, light, and well ventilated room for cooking and living in, with bedchambers over, and iron bedsteads. The practice of sleeping in lofts over horses is highly injurious to health. 2943. The materials and construction of agricultural buildings are next treated of by Waistell, in a manner at once highly scientific and practical. 2944. Mo7-tar. Bad mortar is the main cause of the decayof all our modern buildings, from the cottage to the palace. Roman cement should be used in foundations, in exterior jointing, and frequently even in plastering in the interior, in different proportions, according to circumstances which it is unnecessary to suggest to the builder. Avoid salt or brackish water and sea sand ; slack the lime while it is yet hot from the kiln, make it into mortar immediately, and use it if possible the same day. This applies to all kinds of lime to be used in building. All lime or mortar to be mixed with Roman cement, ought to be used instantly afterwards ; if not used in five minutes it will set and become useless. Mortar to be used with hair as plaster may be kept some time ; but no advantage is gained from this in point of strength, but the contrary, 2945. IValls. Foundations should vary in thickness according to the compressibility of the ground, the height to which they are to be built, and the weight they may have to support Under wide doors or windows, inverted arches springing from the adjoining piers are found useful, by equalising compression. Walls should dimmish in thickness as they rise. Windows and door frames in external walls should always be placed m reveals, and every window should have a sia Where anything is to be fixed to walls, a piece of wood in size and shape hke a brick or stone should be built in, having the end even with the surface of the wall. In walls built of brick or small stones, templets, or plates of timber, stone, or cast iron, should be laid under the ends of all timber bearings on the walls to spread the load. In topping all walls exposed to the weather, set the last course in Roman cement. 2946. Timber. Stiff woods, as the oak and fir, are better for floors than stronger and more elastic timbers, like the ash, which bends with less weight than these woods. The strength and stiflhess of a joist depend more on its depth than its breadth ; a fact too little attended to by many country carpenters. Book IV. FABMERIES. 465 2947. Roqfs. High rooft are necessary for tempestuous climates, the better to shoot off the rains and snows ; but a high roof, having a larger surface than a smaller one, requires timber of a greater scantling to make it equaUy able to resist high winds j roofs, therefore, should be made sufficiently high for the climate and kind of covering, and no higher. '* A roof whose height is one half the span, will have one fourth more surface than if it were made one fourth the span. In general one third of the span or width of a roof, is the lowest extremity that is advisable where tiles either plain or pan-tiles, are to be used. Plain tiles should be laid dry, and afterwards plastfred wholly over, tiles and laths together, with coarse hair mortar. This is considered a great improvemrnt over the commoner modes, of laying tiles in plaster or In straw. Roofe for pan-tiles in exposed situations should be somewhat higher in pitch tlian in shel- tered place.4. Roofs for gray or stone slates should be strong in proportion to the great weight of these materials. Roofs for straw, ling, chips, reeds, &e. should ris.' half their width. Roofs of these materials have many disadvantages, and among others, that of rende.'ing the water which falls on them unfit for culinary nurposes." {Wa*steWa Designs for Agrkultural Buildings, p. 78 ) 9948. For a grazing farm t'n a mcuntainous couiuri/, the followmg plan {fig. 443.) is given by WaistelL ** The interior consists nf a fold-yard for the cattle, auu a court-yard, to keep the cattle, pigs, &c, froni the house, which is placed on the east side. On the ground plan of the house are the kitchen, back kitchen, parlour, dairy, and pantry. Both the kitchen and back kitchen overlook the yards, &c. The other wmdow to the kitchen, and also the parlour window, are supposed to overlook the farm. In the back kitchen are shown the situation of the copper or boiler, pump, and sink. The dairv is sunk five steps, for the sake of coolness in summer, and warmth in winter j and the way the benches or shelves may be placed, is shown. The pantry, which is down the same steps leading from the back kitchen to the dairy, is under the stairs to the chamber-floor. Under the parlour is the cellar. A part of the cellar may be partitioned off for a store-room for potatoes, &c. There are, on the first floor, four chambers, and over them two garrets in the roof, lighted from the ends of the housa The chamber over the dairy may be used for the men-servants' bedroom ; or, should that not be required, as it will be lofly, it may be used as a store-room. Next the house, on the north, is a stable for four horses. A saddle cloBet might be conveniently formed in the comer of the stable, at the back of the kitchen fire, place, where the saddles, &c., would always be kept dry. At the other end of the stable, a recess is formed for the corn-bin, near the window. The horses, in passing to and from the stable, through the court-yard, do not mix with or disturb the cattle in the fold-yard. The gate to the court-yard is placed as far as po^ible from the house; and posts and rails, or chains, may be placed, as shown by the single line, to Leep the horses trom, and to protect children at, the door. A tank for the hogwash may be made in the corner formed by the house and stable. The situation for it is shown by the dotted circle. Arranged along the north sides of the yards are the chaff-room next the stable, various offices, open* shed, and calf-house. The shed is open to the south, and may be used for cattle, and a part of it for a cart. The space within the roof of either the shed or stable, may be appropriated as repositories for such tools and implements as are only occasionally in use, as hay-rakes, ladders, &c To a part of the space in the roof of the shed (which may be enclosed), an opening, or door, may be left from the place for fuel The hen-roost maybe in the roof, over the place for ashes, &c. On the west side of the fold-yard are the bam and cow-house; and, as on the farm for which this design is proposed, little com is grown, the bam may occasionally be used as a store-room for turnips ; for this reason there is a door from it to the foddering.bay. The cow-house contains standings for sixteen head of cattle, eight on each side of the gangway; a feeding-house for the like number of cattle arranged in a single row, with a foddenng-bay at their heads, would require one sixth more area, and one fourth mure wall. Over the cow-house is a straw.room, which may occasionally be filled with unthreshed grain. The ridges of the roofs of the bam and cow-house are of the same height, but the side walls of the cow-house are about three feet lower than the side walls of the bam. On the wall, between the fold-vard and court- yard, is placed a large water-trough for the cattle in the yard, and for the stable horses. " The hogsty is m the comer next the cow-house; and in the opposite comer, a court for the store pigs is formed by the post and rail to keep off the cattle ; and there the trough for the pigs is placed. The wide door to the bam is made next the fo1d.yard; but, in some situations, it may be more convenient on the outside ; for, when the fold-yard is filled with manure, access with a loaded cart to the barn that way, may be difficult" (fVaigtelTs JDesigns, &c. p. 86.) The following is a recapitulation : a, kitchen : A, parlour: c, back kitchen; rf, dau-y; c, pantry; /, court-yard; a-, tank for the hogwash; h, four- horse stable ; i, chaff-room ; k, ashes ; /, fuel ; m, shed ; /e, fold-yard ; o, calf-house ; p, barn ; a. house for 16 cattle ; r, hogsty and hog-yard ; s, water-cistern ; t, hogs'-court ; «, enclosed area in front of the house ; V, hog-troughs. Hh 466 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paiii II. 2949. For a smtdl arable and grassing farm, Waistell's farm-house and outbuildings (Jtg. 444.) are as follows: —The house is on the west side, with a porch in front. Over the pantry may be a convenient store-room. " The bam is forty feet long and eighteen feet vidde. The cow-house will contain twelve cattle, and there is a loft over it, which may be used for a store of straw, or unthreshed grain. The approach is sup- posed to be from the east, and the cart-lodge, which is additional, is so placed that it must always be passed as the horses go to the stable ; and the granary over it is conve- ra'ently near the barn. A roost for hens may be made over the pigsty adjoining the cart-lodge ; and under the steps to the granary, and at the inner part behind the carts, the ploughs and harrows may be placed." The following is an enumeration of the details : a, parlour ; b, kitchen ; c, back kitchen ; d, dairy ; e, pantry ; f, open shed ; g, coals ; A, kitchen-court ; i, tools ; t, ashes ; I, harness room ; m, five-horse stable ; n, hay and chaff house; o, calf-house; p, stable-court; g, cattle-sheds; r, fold-yards; s, hogs'-court ; t, barn ; u, stalls for twelve cattle or cows, with foddering-bay in the centre ; v, cart-lodge with granary over ; x, hogsty ; y, hog-yard ; z, cisterns and hogs* troughs. 2950. The particular requisites of a farm-stead, Marshall observes, " are as various as the intentions of farms. A sheep-farm, a grazing-farm, a hay-farm, a dairy-farm, and one under mixed cultivation, may require difierent situations, and different arrange- ments of yards and buildings. On a farm of the last species, which may be considered as the ordinary farm of this kingdom, the principal requisites are, shelter, water, an area or site sufficiently flat for yards and buildings ; vrith meadow land below it, to receive the washings of the yards ; as well as sound pasturage grounds above it for a grass-yard and paddocks ; with private roads nearly on a level, to the principal arable lands ; and with suitable outlets to the nearest or best markets." The first of which, when wanting in the desired situation, may in time be supplied by plantations and mound-fences ; and where there is not a natural supply of water, a well, water-cellar, or artificial rill may, he says, furnish it. 2951. For a farm under mixed hvsbandry, the particulars to be arranged, according to Marshall, may be thus enumerated ; — 1. A suite of buildings, adapted to the intended plan of management, as a dwelling-house, barns, stables, cattle-sheds, cart- shed. 2 A spacious yard, common to the buildings, and containing a receptacle of stall-manure, whether arising from stables, cattle-sheds, hogsties, or other buildings ; together with separate folds, or straw-yards, furnished with appropriate sheds, for par- Book IV. FARMERIES. 467 ticular stock, in places where such are required. 3. A reservoir, or catchpool, situated on the lower side of the buildings and yards, to receive their washings, and collect them in a body for the purpose of irrigating the lands below them. 4. A corn-yard, conve- nient to the bams ; and a hay-yard contiguous to the cow or fatting-sheds. 5. A gar- den and fruit-ground near the house. 6. A spacious grass-yard or green, embracing the whole or principal part of the conveniences ; as an occasional receptacle for stock of every kind ; as a common pasture for swine, and a range for poultry ; as a security to the fields from stock straying out of the inner yards ; and as an ante-field or lobby, out of which the home-grounds and driftways may be conveniently entered. In respect to the distribution or management of these different objects, he remarks, that in order to make it with good efiect, great caution, study, and patience are required, that the most may be made of given circiunstances. " An accurate delineation of the site which is fixed on, requires," says he, " to be drawn out on a scale ; the plannist studying the subject alternately upon the paper and on the ground to be laid out ; continuing to sketch and correct his plan, until he has not a doubt left upon his mind ; and then to mark out the whole upon the ground, in a conspicuous and permanent manner, before the foundation of any particular building be attempted to be laid. It may," he thinks, ** be naturally conceived by a person who has not turned his attention to this subject, that there must be some simple, obvious, and fixed plan to proceed upon. But seeing the endless variety in the mere dwelling-places of men, it is not to be wondered at, if a still greater variety of plans should take place where so many appurtenances are required, and these on sites so infinitely various ; nor that men's opinions and practices should differ so much on the subgect, that on a given site, no two practical men, it is more than probable, would make the same arrangement." There are, however, he says, " certain principles which no artist ought to lose sight of in laying out " such buildings and con- veniences. " The bams, the stables, and the granary, should be under the eye, — should be readily seen from the dwelling-house ;" and " the prevailing idea, at present, is, that the several buildings ought to form a regular figure, and enclose an area or farm-yard, either as a fold for loose cattle, or, where the stalling of cattle is practised, as a receptacle for dung, and the most prevailing figure is the square. But this form is, he thinks, more defective than the oval or circle, the angles being too sharp, and the comers too deep. Besides, the roadway, necessary to be carried round a farm-yard in order to have a free and easy passage between the different buildings, is inconveniently lengthened or made at greater expense. The view of the whole yard and buildings from the house on one side of it, is likewise more confined." He had formerly sug- gested the plan of a polygon, or many- sided figure, or an irregular semi-octagon, with the dwelling-house and stables on the largest side, having ranges of cattle-stalls opposite : but he has since formed one on the complete octagon (Jig, 445.), the dwelling-house (a) being on one side, and the entrance gateway and granary oppo- site, the remaining six sides being occu- pied by stables and cattle-sheds (c, d), and other outbuildings (e), a bam and fliresh- ing machine (y), vrith a broad-way (g) dipping gently from the buildings, and surrounding a wide shallow dung-basin (A), which occupy the rest of the area of the yard. Externally is a basin ({) for the drainings of the yard ; and grass enclosures for calves, poultry, and fruit-trees, and rick-yard. This is given as a hint to those engaged in laying out and directing buildings of this sort, which they may adapt to the particular nature of the site of such erections. 2952. An example of the arrarigement cf a smaU farm-house and offices (fg. 446.) is given by Beatson, which he considers as very convenient. At the north-west comer is the barn (a), with a water threshing-mill ; and a straw-house (6), being a continuation of the bam above, for holding a quantity of straw after it is threshed, or hay, that it may be at hand to give to the cattle in the feeding-house below. The upper part of this straw-house may consist of pillars to support the roof, with a space of about eight feet between them, whereby a good deal of building will be saved. In the floor should be hatches, at convenient distances, to put down the straw to the cattle below. A court for the dunghill (c) has a door to it from the feeding-house, and a large entry at the other end to admit carts to take away the dung : on the outside of this should be a urine-pit, in the most convenient place, according to the form of tlie ground. A cow-house (d) has a door also to the dung-court ; and a calf-pen (e), with a rail across to keep in the calves, even though the doors are all open, adjoins. There Hh 2 4G8 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II, are a stable, with a harness-room, and a place for keeping com (/) ; a root-house (g) over which, or over the bam, may be 446 Q 11 ±1 "U — ^^ r. E a granary; a shed for carts (A) ; a place for keeping large implements, as ploughs and harrows (t) ; for keeping smaller imple- O O ments, as spades, shovels, rakes, forks, &c., and for the reception of old iron and many other useful things that might otherwise be lost or thrown away (i) ; a pond for washing the horses' feet (l), ^<=^ which slopes down from each extremity towards the middle, where it is deepest that the horses may easily go in at one end, and come out at the other, with a rail at each end, to prevent their going in during frost, or when not wanted to go in ; a pump, with a trough for the horses or cattle to drink out of, especially while other water is frozen, or when the water in the pond is dirty (m) ; but, if it can be contrived so that the water which drives the mill may run through this pond, it will be preferable, as being at all times clean and wholesome. One material advantage of this arrangement, Beatson remarks, is, that the fodder consumed upon the farm goes progressively forward from the barn-yard through the cattle-houses to the dunghill, without the unnecessary labour generally occasioned by carrying it backwards and forwards : for it comes from the barn-yard into the barn, where it is threshed ; it is then put in the straw-house, and given to the cattle immediately below ; and, after passing through them, it is thrown into the dung-court. A rick of straw or hay, built behind the stable or cow-house, or in a shed contiguous to either, with proper conveniences, will have the same progressive course to the dunghill : for, it will be observed, the communication from these is equally easy from without or within ; the rail across the calf-pen being intended chiefly to keep in the calves, while the doors on each side are open, during the conveyance of the dung that way from the stable to the dung- hiU. 29SS. The ground plan of the dwelling-house to this farmery (m) has a dairy, pantry, and various conveniences behind for keeping swine, poultry, coals, &c. The stair to the upper chambers rises from either side to the same landing-place ; from which are a few steps up to the chamber-floor. 2954. j1 convenient Bermckshire farmery {Jig, 447.) has the following accommoda- t 447 6 fl JZL M ^ 1 1 1 I 11 1 1 I 1 II 1 11] [!^ <—'=r—i 1-1=1-1 l-l-f— I "1 ui ((^-^ =^s ^-^ 1 "-" .............^ 1 " :i d c >\ 1 n " \ c 1 1 JjucTji"— q p ■^pac' e « e e 1 i : a c ■ -ci-'-a D"r ^ 1 ■■ 100 Veet. tioDS : a smith's workshop detached frqm the court-yard (a) j straw-rooms {b) j barn Book IV. FARMERIES. 469 with threshing-machine driven by water (c) ; cattle-sheds (rf) ; root-rooms and implements, or if preferred, hammels (e) ; stable (/) ; fatting cattle (g) ; cart-shed (A) ; cattle-sheds for feeding (i) j riding-horse (k) ; tools (j) ; single men's room or bailiff (m). 2955. As an example of a commodious arrangementjbr an arable Jarm managed for a gen- tleman farmer by his superintendant, both resident at tiie farm (Jig. 448. ),we give the follow- ing details. The original design will be found in the account of the Marquess of Stafford's 448 r — ^ no -6- -6- -^ rv ana improvements by Mr. Loch ; a work which, as it contains a great number of valuable plans and elevations, all of which have been executed, may be profitably consulted by every landed proprietor who contemplates either buildings or repairs, and by every architect, builder, or surveyor, whose practice is at all connected with agriculture or the country. The dwelling-house of the master contains two good sitting-rooms on the parlour floor ; three bed-rooms on the first floor, and attics over them, and over the cellar two kitchen ofiices. The farmery consists of a cart-shed (a) ; stable (6) ; riding-horse (c); bam (d) ; mill-shed («) ; cattle-shed (_/") ; steaming-place (g) ; root^house (A) ; cow- house (i) ; fatting cattle (i) j intendant's house (l, m, n) ; piggeries (o). The intendant's house is situated about three times its height distant from the south side of the piggeries (o o), so that nothing unpleasant or inconvenient may be experienced either from the yioise or the smell of the pigs, or from the general efiiuvia of the farmyard. This house, like every other built by the Marquess of Stafford, whether for his tenants, cottagers, or servants, exhibits a reasonable attention to the comforts of the occupants, and to the improvements of die age in domestic economy and architecture. In this respect, the Marquess, unlike some other extensive landed proprietors, cannot be considered as in srrear of the age in which he lives. Hh 3 470 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt II. 29S6. As a commodious mid very complete design, wc give the following. The dwell- ing-house contains two parlours ( fc 449. a, b) ; kitchen (c) ; ^airy W 5 Pantry (e; ; di&ng.paTlour(/) ; bedrooms fe, 4) ; ceUars (.). The farmery consists of cart-sheds 449 EJIDCLQ ^ nan 3 n a □ n n 3 nn ]y Jl h U d' L L r^^^o u □ D D g L [ Q and granary over (a) ; riding-horse stable (6) ; common stable (c) ; stalled cattle (rf) ; places for tools and other articles of the cattle attendant (e) ; entrance from the spacious root or turnip shed (f) ; straw (g) ; threshing-machine and water-wheel (h) ; granaries and straw-lofts over (g^ I, in) ; tools and sundries (z) ; smith's shop (J) ; carpenter's (/c) ; yard for pigs and sties (n) ; place for straw and turnips (o) ; open yards with sheds for wintering cattle {p), and exterior passage (y). The different elevations of this design here given are on too small a scale to be adequately judged of by a general observer; but whoever has paid a moderate degree of attention to architectural lines and forms vrill foresee the good effect of the ranges of arcades and pillars, the far-projecting roofs, and the general symmetry and regularity, as far as the requisite attention to fitness for the end in view will admit. We regret we cannot render justice to the author of this design by mentioning his name, and we have even forgotten whether we copied it from the General Report of the Agricultural State of Scotland ; The Hu&handry of Scotland ,• Loch^s Improvements of the Marquess of Stafford ; or one of the County Reports* Book IV, FARMERIES. 471 2957. An example of a very comjiete farmery, with a threshing-machine driven by steam, to be/armed by a baUifffar the proprietor, we give that of the Dayhouse ill Staffordshire. ( fig. 450.) The lands contain nearly 500 acres of mixed soil, and the buildings, besides the bailiff's house, which consists of a parlour (o), family room (J), brewhouse (c) kitchen (d), pantry (e), milk-house (/), bedrooms (g), attics (A). 2958. The farmery contains the following accommodations. Men-servants' day- rooms (o) ; sleeping ditto, above (6) ; hackney stable (c) j shed for implements (d) ; cart-horse stables (e) ; hay-loft (/) ; tool-house (g) ; bam and steam-engine (ft) ; feeding and cow-tyings (i) ; turnip-house {J) ; great granary and hay-room (i), which room is used for the annual agricultural dinner given by Lord Stafford ; small granary (Z) ; corn- loft (m) ; straw-lofts (n, o) ; pigsties, and hen-houses over (p). H h 4 472 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II 2959. Wai'le/l's farm-lwuse awl outbuildings of the largest dimensions {Jigs. 451, 452.) exliibit a very complete arrangement, and liis mode of giving isometncal perspective 451 l -H ! ! ! ! ! I I M I 1 I I M . 452 views of such buildings ought to be adopted by every arcnitect (see Chap. III. Subsect. 3.). The farm-house of this design contains a kitchen (a), parlour (6), business-room (c), Uving- room (d), pantry (e), dairy (/), store-room (g), and brewhouse (A). Adjoining are a place for hogs' food (t), for wood (t), for coals {t), for dust and ashes (m) ; a chaise- house {n), cart-lodge (o), and tool-house ( p). The west side of the quadrangle contains five pignues (1), a calf-house (2), bay for four cattle (3), store and foddering-bay (4), bay for four cattle (5), the same bays repeated (6, 7, 8, 9) ; a place for a tislcrn for Book IV. FENCES USED IN AGRICULTURE. 473 washing turnips (10), abull-house (IJ), cattle-sheds (12), a gangway from the straw- room (13), straw-room (14), threshing-machine (15), clean com room (16), unthreshed corn (17), horsi>track (18), loose box (19), chaff and hay room (20), stable for six horses (21), harness-room (22), another stable for six horses (23), saddle-room (24). In the open area are, the horse comt-yard (25), three fold-yards (26), the stable-court (27), two cisterns for the fold-yard (28), four hogs'-courts, with feeding cisterns (29), and two tanks for hogwash (30). " On the east side of this design is supposed to be a road, from which there is an entrance to a garden in the front of the house ; and from this road a gate is also supposed to open into the rick-yard, wliich is at the back of the cattle- shed, and north end of the bam ; through this, to the houses on the west side, pass the <^5n-*- with turnips and other provender for the cattle." Chap. IV. Fences used in Agricvlture, 2960. Fences, next to implements, machinery, and suitable buildings, are in most situations " indispensable to the profitable management of arable land. They are not only necessary to protect the crops from the live stock of the farm, but often contribute, in no small degree, by the shelter they afford, to augment and improve the produce itself. On all arable farms, on which cattle and sheep are pastured, the ease, sectuity, and comfort, which good fences give, both to the owner and the animals themselves, are too evident to require particular notice. And as there are few tracts so rich as to admit of crops being carried off the land for a succession of years, without the intervention of green crops consumed where they grow, fences, of some description or other, can very rarely be dispensed with, even in the most fertile and highly improved districts." The same able author complains of the general mismanagement of this branch of husbandry, by which means fences not only often become comparatively useless, but even injurious by the space they occupy and the weeds they shelter. This, he says, " is particularly the case with thorn hedges, which are too often planted in soils where they can never, by any management, be expected to become a sufficient fence ; and which, even when planted on suitable soils, are in many cases so much neglected when young, as ever afterwards to be a nuisance, instead of being an ornamental, permanent, and impenetrable barrier, which with proper training they might have formed in a few years." (Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr. ) Fences may be considered in regard to their emplacement or situation, and their form or kind. Sect. I. SituaHon or Fmplcu:eme7it of Fences. 2961. The emplacement or disposition offences on a farm or an estate will depend on the purposes for which they are made. In laying out an estate, their disposition will depend on the natural surface and situation of roads ; water- courses; on the lands to be planted with trees ; and on a variety of other considerations which will come under review in the succeeding part of this work. The sitiiation of fences on a farm depends on a great variety of circumstances, as the extent of the farm ; its climate ; whether pasture, arable, or mixed ; on the inequalities of the surface ; on the nature of the soil ; on the supply of water ; and on the course of husbandry to be followed. 2962. In determining the subdivisions of an arable farm, the excellent author above quoted observes, " whatever may be the kind of fence which it is thought advisable to adopt, we would recommend that particular attention be paid to the course of crops which the quality of the soil points out as the most advantageous ; and that upon all farms, not below a medium size, there should be twice the number of enclosures that there are divisions or breaks in the course. Thus, if a six years* rotation be thought the most profitable, there should be twelve enclosures, two of which are always under the same crop. One very obvious advantage in this arrangement is, that it tends greatly to equalise labour, and, with a little attention, may contribute much to equalise the produce also. On large farms, where all the land under turnips and clover, for instance, is near the extremity of the grounds, or at a considerable distance from the buildings, supposed to be set down near the centre, it is clear that the labour of supplying the house and straw-yard stock with these crops, as well as the carriage qi the manure to the field, is much greater than if the fields were so arranged as that the half of each of these crops should be nearer the ofiBces : but by means of two fields for each crop in the rotation, it is quite easy to connect together one field near the houses with another at a distance, and thus to have a supply at hand for the home stock, while the distant crops may be consumed on the ground. The same equalisation of labour must be perceived in the cultivation of the corn-fields, and in harvesting the crops. The time lost in travelling to some of the fields, when working by the plough, is of itself a matter of some consequence 474 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. on large farms. But the advantages of this arrangement are not confined to the equal- isation and economy of labour ; it may also, in a great measure, render the annual produce uniform and equable, notwithstanding a considerable diversity in the quality of the soil. A field of an inferior soil may be connected with one that is naturally rich ; and in the consumption of the green crops, as well as in the allowance of manure, the poor land may be gradually brought nearer, in the quantity and quality of its produce, to the rich, without any injury to the latter. Thus a field under turnips may be so fertile that it would be destructive to the succeeding corn crops to consume the whole or the greater part on the ground ; while another may be naturally so poor, or so deficient in tenacity, as to make it inexpedient to spare any part for consumption elsewhere. By connecting these two under the same crop, by carrying from the one what turnips are wanted for the feeding-houses and straw-yards, and eating the whole crop of the other on the ground with sheep, the ensuing crop of corn will not be over-luxuriant in growth on the former, while the latter will seldom fail to yield abundantly. The same plan will also be advantageous in the case of other crops. Hay or green clover may be taken from the richer field, and the poorer one depastured ; and on the one wheat may succeed both turnips and clover, while the more gentle crops of barley and oats are appropriated to the less fertile fi.eld. These observations are particularly applicable to turnip soils, of such u. quality as not to require more than one year's pasturage, and which are therefore cultivated wdth corn and green crops alternately ; but the same principle may be extended' to clay lands, and such as require to be depastured two or more years in succession. 2963. Wliere hedges are employed as fences^ it is of importance that the ditches be drawn in such a direction as to serve the pui-poses of drains, and also that they may receive the water from the covered drains that may be required in the fields contiguous. According to the greater or less convenience of the line of the fence in this respect, the expense of draining may be considerably diminished or increased. Sect. II, Different Kinds of Fences. 2964. Fences, in regard to kind, may be arranged as live fences, dead fences, and mixed kinds ; but tiiere are four elementary species which are the foundation of all the others ; the hedge, the ditch, the wall, and the paling. The hedge, when formed of the wliitethorn or blackthorn, of the plum or crab, or of the holly, is the cheapest, most dura- ble, and the handsomest of all fences on a good deep soil : the ditch is the best on low, flat, wet lands requiring much drainage ; the wall is the best for farming purposes in almost all cases whatever ; and the paling, whether fixed or temporary (as of hurdles), is the most convenient as a nurse-fence to hedges for immediate or temporary use, and for fencing in parks and scenery where an air of lightness and freedom is a desirable object From, these simple or fundamental fences, a variety of compound ones may be formed. "We shall consider them in the order of ditch or drain fences, hedge fences, compound hedge fences, paling fences, and wall fences. SuBSECT. 1. DUch or Drain Fences. 2965. Ditch fences, in their simple and original state, were considered rather in the light of open drains than as fences. In a variety of instances, ditches are made for this purpose only, where there is no intention whatever to enclose the field. They are, how- ever, sometimes meant as a fence, but, in such cases, they are made very deep and wide ; and the earth taken out of them is sometimes formed into a bank, the height of which, when added to the depth of the ditch, forms a tolerable barrier. In general, however, the ditch is of greatest value when used in conjunction with other fences. 2966. The farm of ditches is various : some of them being of a uniform width both at top and bottom ; others are wide above, and have a gradual slope downwards ; a third kind have one side sloping and the other perpendicular. For whatever purpose the ditch is meant, the sloping form is by much the best ; as it not only costs less money in the digging, but is at the same time mucn more durable, and has a neater appearance. Where open ditches are indispensably necessary for the drainage of the field, the sloping ditch is preferable to every other, as the sides are not liable to tumble in, or be undermined or excavated by the current of water, when properly executed. The slope should be considerable : perhaps never less than three, nor more than six,,timcs the width at top that it is at bottom. 2967. The simple ditcht with a bank cf earthy consists merely of a ditch sloping gradually towards the bottom ; the earth taken out of it being formed into a bank on one side, leaving a scarcement, or projecting space, of six or eight inches, on the side where the bank is formed, to prevent the earth from tumbling in and filling up the ditch. 2968. The bank of earth, with an upright facing of turves^ and a slope behind, is a very common sort of fence, and in some situations extremely useful; in making folds, for instance, for the confinement of • sheep or cattle. It is also valuable on the sides of highways, for defending the adjoining grounds, and for laying off clumps or belts of planting in the middle or corners of arable fields, for enclosing stack-yards, . -q cottages, gardens, &c. The front of the bank is made of a very steep slope with ^^•^ the turf paved off from the surface of the sloping ditch, and the mound at the back " with the earth taken out of it. . 2969. The ha-ha, or sunk fence ^ is calculated chiefly for fields that require no shelter, and where a uniform unbroken prospect is an object, as is the case in gardens and extensive lawns ; but in all situations where shelter is wanted, the sunk fence ought to be avoided, unless a hedge is planted upon the top of it Sometimes a medium between the sunk and raised fence {fig. 453.) is adopted, which makes both a durable and unobtrusive barrier. Book IV. HEDGE FENCES. 4*75 2970. Tke double ditcht with a bank between {Jig. 454 ), is not often used, unless in cases where it ia meant either to plant hedges or trees on the bank between the ditches. Considered as a fence, either with 454 MSti. ^^ without a hedge, it has an advantage over the single ditch, as the earth -'*®** taken out of the two ditches, when properly laid up, will form a bank of a somewhat formidable appearance, which cattle will not very readily attempt to break over. For the purposes of open drainage it is well adapted, especially by the sides of highways, wnere the lands have a considerable declivity towards the road ; the ditch next the field, by receiving the water on that side, prevents it from overflowing and washing the road,— a circumstance which very frequently happens in such situations j while the ditch on the side next the road, by receiving and carrying on* the moisture that falls upon it, and which would otherwise lodge there and destroy it, keeps it constantly dry and in good repair. Where double ditches are made in the immediate vicinity of high grounds, or on the sides of highways, care should be taken to prevent the water from the furrows or side drains fVom running into the main ditch at right angles. Where this is neglected, much trouble and inconvenience arise ; as when the water comes from a height, during heavy rains, in a straight line into the ditch, it presses with accelerated force against the sides of it; and if the soil is of a loose incoherent nature, the bank will be undermined and washed away in many places. To prevent this, nothing more is requisite than to alter the direction of the furrows, or small side i^tches, at a few yards' distance from their opening into the main ditch. ?971. The double ditch oTid hedge is now general in many parts of Britain, especially upon what are termed cold lands ; ftom an idea, that a single row of plants would not grow sufficiently strong or thick . to form a proper fence. The advocates for this fence 455 , /^ farther allege, that in addition to the two rows of plants forming a more sufficient fence, an opportunity is afforded of planting a row or rows of trees on the mid- dle of the bank. {Jig. 455.) This fence is liable to many objections : the expense of forming the ditches, the hedge-plants made use of, and the ground occupied thereby being double what is requisite in a single ditch and hedge. From twelve to eighteen or twenty feet is the least that is required for a double ditch and hedge : ' ^^ K > '^'-is space, in the circumference of a large field, is so nsiderable, that upon afarra of 500 acres, divided into . »en enclosures, the fences alone would occupy above ty acres. By throwing up a bank in the middle, the wiiole of the nourishment, not only of both hedges, but also of the row of trees, is confined solely to that space, which, from its being insulated by the ditches, and elevated so much above the common surface, not only ctutails the nourishment of the hedges and row of trees, but exposes them to all the injuries arising from drought, frost, &c. The idea of two rows of plants making a better fence than one is certainly no good reason for such an unnecessary waste of land and money ; as, in almost every instance, where the plants are properly adapted to the soil and climate, one row will be found quite sufficient; but, if it should be preferred to have two rows, the purpose will be answered equally well with a single ditch, or even without a ditch at alL SuBSECT. 2. Hedge Fences, 2972. Hedge fences are of two kinds ; either such as are made up of dead materials, 45g or such as are formed of living plants of some sort or other. 2973. Dead hedges (Jig. 456.) are made with the prunings of trees, or the tops of old thorn or other hedges that have been cut down ; and are principally intended for temporary purposes, such as the pro- tection of young hedges till they have acquired a suf- ficient degree of strength to render them fencible without any other assistance. For this purpose the dead hedge is well adapted, and lasts so long as to enable the live fence to grow up and complete the enclosure. In many cases, however, dead hedges are had recourse to as the sole fence, and where there is no intention of planting quicks, or any other hedge. From their very perishable, nature, however, they are found to be exceedingly expensive ; so much so, indeed, that, after the first or second year, they cannot be kept in repair at a less expense than from a fifth to a tenth part of the value of flie land, and sometimes more. When dead hedges are meant for the protection of young live fences, if the quick fence is planted upon the common surface, the dead hedge is made in a trench or furrow immediately behind it, in such a way as to prevent the sheep or cattle grazing in the enclosed field from injuring it. Where the quick fence, however, is planted upon the side of a ditch, the dead hedge is for the most part made on the top of the mound formed by the earth taken out of the ditch : these are called plain dead hedges, being made by cutting the thorns or brush-wood, of which they consist, into certain lengths, and putting them into the earth. We call them plain, in opposition to other descriptions of dead hedges where more art is used ; such as the dead hedge with upright stakes wattled, and the common plaited hedge bound together at the top vrith willows. 2974. A dead hedge is made in tke following manner : — "A hedgerandan assistant are necessary for this business. The man cuts the stems of the thorns about three feet long, with the cutting-bill or axe, as their strength may require, and he lays one cut piece above another, to form a bundle, taking care to add some of the small twigs to each bundle to thicken their appearance ; and he then compresses the whole with his foot, so that the bundle may stick together. He thus makes and prepares several bundles in readiness. The hedger takes his spade, and, fixing on the part which the line of dead hedge is to occupy, he turns up a spadeful of the earth, as whole as possible, as if he were digging a piece of ground of the breadth of the epEide. After be has laid this spadeful of earth, so as a bundle of thorns may lean against it in an inclining position, the man hands him one of the bundles over the breasted hedge with a fork. The butt-end of the bundle goes into the spade-furrow, and leans from him against the spadeful which he has placed. The 476 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Faut II. hedger then lifts another epadeflll, and places it upon the root of the bundle, and presses it firmly down with his foot, which should be fortified with a clog. He suits the inclination of the dead fence to the quarter whence the heaviest winds prevail, as is invariably done in choosing the position ot the stake and nse. In this manner they proceed to form the whole line of dead hedge. As the fence proceeds, the hedger cuts all twigs that have a straggling appearance, with the bill, towards the fence, to give a neatness and finish to the M ' •" ' "--"'■'I . -'-.^-_> j ,„i,;_J fk„ H,„rn. nf n upwIv niAnforf hedge, much nearer can with impunity '2975. In respect 10 live hedges, they are made either entirely with one kind of plants, or a mixture of different kinds : and for that purpose almost every tree or shrub known in Britain is either wholly or in part employed. The success of every attempt made to rear good fences will be found ultimately to depend on the plants being suited to the soil and climate, the preparation of the soil, the time and mode of plant, ing, the age of the plants, their size, the dressing or pruning of the tops and roots before planting, weed, ing, hoeing, pruning, and after-management. *2976. The proper choke of liedge plants is of the first importance. Many failures in this part of the business might be enumerated ; especially in the more elevated situations, where great labour and expense have been employed to raise hedges of hawthorn, which, after many years' care and attention, were found totally unfit for such inclement regions. In such situations, experience has now sufficiently proved that good fences can be reared in a short time with beech, birch, larch, and the Huntingdon willow : hedges of these kinds ought, therefore, to be the only ones used in hilly countries, or upon cold wet soils ; the first three upon the dry soils, and the last, with the addition of poplars, upon such as are wet or marshy. In iJie low country, however, and in the less elevated parts of the uplands, the whitethorn will be found the best upon all the dry, or mode- rately dry, parts of the soil ; especially the different kinds of loamy, sandy, or gravelly lands : upon cold wet-bottomed soils, however, beech, crab, birch, poplar, willow, and alder, may be used with advantage. The birch, poplar, alder, and Huntingdon willow, are peculiarly calculated for the coldest, wettest, and most marshy parts ; while beech, crab, &c. will be found to answer best upon the stiff clays. Hazel, sweet-briar, moun- tain-ash, and indeed all the kinds of forest-trees that are at present known to delight in dry soils, may also be successfully employed for making hedges in the low lands ; but whichever of these is used, it should, tf possible, be wifeout mixture. It is seldom that any soil, however goodv will be found equally favoura)>le to the growth of plants opposite in their natures ; this circumstance alone will render their growth unequal, and of course make the fence faulty and defective. These defects in the fence, and inequalities in the growth of the plants, will increase with time, become every day more apparent, and be every day more sensibly felt ; as the plants which have thus acquired the ascendancy will continue to keep it, and not only shade the weaker ones, and prevent them from enjoying the influence of the sun and air, but also deprive them of nourishment. Inde- pendently of these considerations, there is another, it is observed, of equal, perhaps greater, moment, that requires to be mentioned ; allowing the soil to be equally favoiir. able to the growth of the whole plants of which the mixture consists, there are certain plants which are highly inimical to the growth of others, when planted in their immediate vicinity ; ivy and honeysuckle, for instance, when mixed with thorns, or other plants in a hedge, never fail to destroy such of the hedge-plants as they fasten upon ; indeed moss, which is known to be one of the worst enemies to all hedges, is not more dangerous nor more certainly ruinous : even the different kinds of sweet-briar, virgin's bower, brambles, briony, cleavers, &c. have the same effect ; and in the end never fail to produce a gap in that part of the hedge where they grow, by smothering the other plants. In general the common hawthorn (Cratffi'gus Oxyacdntha) is the best British, and we might even say European, hedge plant. The black or sloe thorn (Prunus spi- nosa) is perhaps next in excellence, as far as the strength and durability of the fence is concerned ; but unfortunately it throws up suckers in such abundance, as to encroach rapidly on the adjoining surface. The common hawthorn, like all plants raised from seed, produces innumerable varieties : some of these are much more abundantly furnished with prickles, and some grow much faster than others; and it might be desirable to sav» the seeds of fast-growing prickly individuals in preference to those of such as are less prickly or of slower growth. The smoothest, however, may be considered prickly enough for all ordinary purposes. Like all the ligneous plants of the natural order to which it belongs (Eosacese), the thorn grows readily from cuttings of the roots. 2977. The preparation of the soil for hedges is one of those points intimately connected with, and, indeed, essential to their success. Except in a very few instances, however poor the soil may be, or however strong the cohesion of its parts, no attempt is made either to break that cohesion by tillage, or improve its quality by enriching or alterative manures : the young plants being for the most part laid upon the old surface, which has perhaps never been opened by the labour of man, and their roots covered with the earth taken out of the ditch, consisting very often of the poorest and coldest clay, or of earths loaded with iron or other metallic impregnations. To those who have considered the matter with the smallest attention, the fate of such a hedge wiU not appear doubtful : the surface upon wliich the plants are laid will be so hard and impervious to the roots, as Book IV. HEDGE FENCES. 477 to preclude the possibility of their penetrating it ; of course, their only chance of either extending themselves, or procuring nourishment, is by spreading out bet\^'een the surface and the mound made by the earth taken out of the ditch, or by striking up into the mound, where, though the soil will be sufficiently open to admit of this, the roots, in place of finding an establidmient in a situation friendly to their growth, will very often be either st^-ved or poisoned. 2978. With respect to the age at which hedge plants ought to be iised, it is very common, especially where young hedges are made with thorns, to plant them of one, tvco, or three years old, seldom exceeding this last age. Plants of this description, when put into the earth at a proper season of the year, uplaced on the natural surface of the undulations, and will therefore partake of their inequalities. When such a compromise is necessary, the superabundant earth thrown out of the deep parts must be wheeled away to the shallow parts, to equalise the dimensions of the hedge-bank. Should any hollow part be so deep as that the heights next it cannot possibly be cut down so as to let the water flow away on either side, a drain must be made from the liollowest point in the bottom of the ditch, doivn an inclining hollow or plain ground in the adjoining field, to some ditch or drain already existing in it at a lower level. These undulations will cause another evil, that is, the collection in their hollows of stagnant surface-water behind the hedge-banks. The only eRbctual method of getting c^uit of this evil, and it is fortunately a simple one, is the building of drains under the hedge-bed, openmg into the ditch ; and whatever number of hollows there are, and almost however small, there must be the same number of drains. As these drains must be formed cbmpletely under the black mould, and at only a little elevation above the level of the bottom of the ditch, they can be conveniently built only alter the ditch has been entirely dug out ; and for this purpose, that part of the hedge. bed which lies over these drains must be left undone till the drains are built, and finished afterwards, A little taste and dexterity in the hedger, who should, of course, be a good spademan, will till up these gaps in the hedge-bank with neatness. If the hedge is to be planted along the side of a road, especially of an ornamental road, and where a hollow in the road has been filled up to make the whole a continuous level, the hedge-bed should also be brought up to the same level, with earth or turf, as may be most I expedient; but still the thorn-plants, here as ' " eliewhere, must be laid among mould. The annexed figure (468.) will give an idea of the work to be performed in such inequalitiej of ground, and of the position of the drains : it indicates the line of hedge-bed, with un. dulations (a a) ; the top of hedge-bank paral- lel to the bed [b b) ; the bottom of ditch (c c), made to slope, to let the water run down to the leading drain {e) ; and the small drains {^ddd) under the hedge-bed, to convey away the surface, water from behind the hedge-bank. 3006. Markins qff parallel lines q/" hedges. Thus one whole line of hedge may be planted, and all the probable obstacles to its right accomplishment may be anticipated. Let us now surmount another difficulty — the marking off another line parallel to the first. Take the rule with the cross-head, and measure from the thorn-bed already made, across its ditch, a distance so as to leave a soarcement of one foot in breadth on the edge of the ditch, that is, in the present case, six feet from the thorn-bed. Any distance from the hedge-bed will, of course, answer the purpose intended, but I have taken the above, that the scarcement necessary for the preservation of the edge of the ditch might be indicated. Set oft' other two such distances at about one hundred yards from each other, place poles in the three points, and adjust their accuracy to one another. Make these measurements at such a place of the line of hedge, as from it you may have a view of the places at which vou wish to plant the new parallel line. Erect the plane-table midway between two of the poles, and fix the eye-sights so as through them you may see one of the poles in one direction, and the other two in "another direction. This is the base line. Fix the other eye-sights so as by looking through them you may see the place of the new line as clearly as the field of vision will permit, and mark the angle of observation. This angle may be of any degree ; but the nearer it is to the right angle, the more certainly will the breadth of the field be set ofl^ so as to contain its exact complement of ridges of a given breadth. Cause one of the men to fix a pole in the line of observation where he wilt be most distinctly seen. Fix other poles along this line, so appropriately, that how unequal soever the ground may be, the right line may be kept From the stalk of the plane-table measure by the chain, along the line of poles, the distance necessary for the proposed breadth of the field. If your line of poles is at, or nearly at, right angles to the furrows of the ridges of the field, the breadth of the field may be conveniently marked off, so as to contain a given number of ridges of a given breadth. It is necessary to attend to this, as a half ridge left at the side of the field would be inconvenient Fix this point by a pole. Remove then the plane-table to between the other two poles, the middle pole being common to both stations ; adjust It to them without changing the relative positions of the eye-sights, and, of course, the angle of observation ; and, in the same manner, measure another line from the stalk of the plane-table, which will, of course, be parallel to the first across the field, of exactly the same length, and mark it also with another pole. Fix a third pole at a specified distance, on the line passing through these two last placed poles, and measure from it across the field to a point on the scarcement of the ditch, at a distance from the stalk of the plane-table, where last placed, exactly corresponding to the specified distance mentioned above ; and if this third line, which may be considered as the line of proof by trial and error, agree exactly with the length of the other two lines severally measured across the field, your observations and operations have been correct But, should the error be considerable, as of one yard, it must be found out by another trial, and corrected. 3007. Forming hedges in curved lines. All these observations apply to hedges in straight lines ; but where irregularly curved lines are to be formed, they can be made by the poles above, but must be judged of by the eye, so that a pleasing sweep maybe made according to the nature of the ground, and which would not offend the taste of the most fastidious, and the curves drawn conformably to the ploughing of the ad]ommg land ; for if this latter consideration is not attended to, land may be lost for utihty in tillage m the depths of the curves. But poles set, in the first place, to guide the outlines of the sweeps, and the spaces between them tilled up by the cord distended over the hooked-headed pins, with curves Which please the eye, will generally accomplish all that can be done in this way, where geometrical curves cannot be introduced. The rutting of the breadth of the ditch must follow the cord in its curved position, and the sod for the thorn-bed must also take the sweep of the curves; but great care is necessary in making the curved sides of the ditch parallel to one another, for if the cross-headed rule is not held at right angles to the hne of the thorns, at whatever spot the measurement is taken, the breadth of the ditch will vary considerably in different places There is no error into which the labourers will fall of the parallelism of its sides. 3008. Season of planting. Thorns may be planted anytime from October to April when the weather is thenrLrLnSrw^r^TH- '^\^ ^"'"?""' ^^^^^" '' "P°" the whole pre&Te, as the^C^^^ fnr ?hP nnrnn-J hnt ?n rJ ^ "'^ earliest spring ; the months of January and February are also excellent for the purpose, but m most seasons March and April are rather late, particularly in a dry soil in which V'^fXtr't^Sn'^I,'^^'' '''"" '^^^^^^'^ ^ «°"^^-" and western LpectshouValVa7sb'iSr^^^^ 3009. A'-gumenUforand against a scarcement. All the writers which I have nerused on the riantine SlaSi?'aid lSTKamoVf„"r,;r,S' "' ■>'"= g"" 'en inches in breadth to be !eK fron^ of tK^n Fh™If hS^l. »h ,rf; i ^'t' Of«"''»""» Farmer, who is the most minute writer on the planting of thorn hedges, though not nearly mmute enough, gives a reason for doing this which no other writer condescends to do ; and his reason ,s, that it keeps the moisture about the thSrns ■ and °ndeed he cafrils fnXdTsaua e tolhe d^tch^^Xf^r ^t" ?'<'"«"', as to recommend%irp"antrbe\ngpT45paraYle1 ;v"„'S1t°^Sr&t\"ejro?irttm";affi,foVe''dS^lC-;j^r/th'e'rr^^^ Book IV. COMPOUND HEDGE FENCES. 486 best earth, which would make a hollow between the plants and-the sloping bank ? This hollow would intercept any drops of rain that fall on the bank to sink gradually among the roots. If this be not a better position for a thorn, it must he of a Angular constitutiun." He thinks that the face of the mound being beaten down solid, it will be made impervious to water ; and at the same time recommends it to be made as upright as possible, for a safeguard to the young plants, — a position well adapted to throw off water. He thinks there is no good reason for thorns being laid sloping in the ground, as they might as well l>e planted, like all other plants, upright, when, he thinks, they would sooner become a fence; and, indeed, suggests that thorns six feet high might be planted in this way. He also recommends the plants being placed one inch projecting from the face of the bank. In the method of planting hee given to it, will never make it entirely impervious to rain ; besides, there is no need of rain entering them, when the back of the bank is composed of loose earth, through which it can easily percolate to the roots immediately below. Nor can such a moundj whatever be its shape, be any protection to the young thorns from any beast, either from behind or belore ; its main use being to admit tlie ditch being made of a sufficient size to carry ofFwater, to afford the hedge roots a covering against drought, and to envelop the black mould which surrounds the roots with a covering of sterile earth, which is itself inimical to vegetation, and which, at the same time, tends to check the ardour of vegetation in the black mould. Thorns will, no doubt, grow in an upright i>osition as well as in a sloping one ; but the latter position is the most convenient for planting with mound and ditch, and in this position the whole stem is converted into root. The transplanting of old thorns to any great extent is, I fear, a hopeless task ; besid^s,where are they to be obtained in quantities sufficient to fence a farm ? The projecting of thethorn.plants from thereof the bank is a bad plan ; as they are not only liable to be wounded in the working up of the face of the mound, by the rolling down of the earth and stones, and by the process of beating and smoothing, but when stems spring up from their extremities, and the wind tosses them about, the tops exert a lever power on the root, and loosen it in the soil. Hence, when a thom..hedge is examined in the first year of its growth, particularly in the autumn, when the stems are strong and leafy, and the winds prevail, it is often observed, that all those plants, which have been accidently left projecting farther out than the others, have worked an upright oblong hole about them in the earth, whereas all those which have been left even with the face of the bank, or been relieved from some fettering earth, by the force of vegetation, or the hand, are quite firmly imbedded in the earth ; a state, without doubt, much preferable to the other. 3010. Management of the ditch and thariuhedge. The implements necessary for the proper manage- ment of hedges are : — A common Dutch hoe, 7 inches broad and 5 feet long, for cleanmg {fig. 469. a). A hedge-spade, 5 or 6 inches 469 rj *''^® ^* ^^^ mouth, and about . f ^ '^^^ ^ inches long altogether, " " for cleaning (6). A hooked- headed stick, for freeing the earth from the points of the sets (c). A switching-bill, blade 9 inches long, and 1| inch broad; shaft 2 feet 3 inches long, and weighing altogether about 2| pounds [d). A breast- ing-knife, which resembles the switching-bill, but considerably stronger, and of course heavier, A cutting-bill, blade 7 inches long and 5^ inches broad ; shaft 2i feet long, and weighing 11^ altogether about 6 pounds (e). , [ j ) A light axe, weighing about \) J I L /iSpounds, and a shaft 36 inches -^ ^Iong(/). soil. Releasing the buds on the points qf the sets. The first attention which a young hedge requires is to release those buds which may have been prevented by the tenacity of the clayey earth from pushing out, and this is done cither by the finger or a small piece of stick ; but great care must be taken that none of the sprouts be broken off in the work. The force of vegetation will generally accomplish all that is required; but in some cases assistance is beneficial to the plant. 3012. Cleaning. If the hedge has been planted In the autumn, the grass between the inverted sod and the original sunEace will have decayed so much, as to create little trouble in the early part of the season in clearing away grass. Indeed, both the hedge and bank will not be injured by those plants that may have sprung up from the seed, as they will rather ward off the effects of frost during winter. If they are, however, likely to scatter their own seed, it would be prudent to remove them before that time. Should the hedge have been planted in the spring, the vernal influence will keep alive the grass under the inverted sod, and it will grow rapidly, so that it may be necessary to clear it away about midsummer at least, in order that the luxuriance of its growth may be checked. The seam between the inverted sod and the original ground is the only very troublesome place of the hedge-bank to keep clear of weeds, but even that is six inches below the thorn-bed ; and if the ground had been projierJy cleaned of quickens, couch-grass, and knot-grass, before the hedge was planted, which it ought undoubtedly to have been, the other kinds of weeds which will spring up will be easily got rid of. Couch-grass, when it gets entangled about the roots of a young hedge, injures its growth very much, and it is, in such a situation, quite impossible ever after to get quit of it altogether. When cleaning is to be performed, it is done in the following manner : — Let the hedger^ — for one man is now only necessary, — take the weeding- spade, and hold it in a horizontal position with both hands, the right hand upon the handle. Let him stand in the bottom of the ditch, with his face towards the hedge, and begin to cut away the grass under the line of hedge, with horizontal strokes of the spade, making progress up the ditch with his left side foremost Let a woman place herself upon the top of the bank, with her face also towards the hedge ; and taking the Dutch hoe, with her right hand upon the handle, work with it on the top and face of the bank behind the hedge, and there nimbly and dexterously, by 4 peculiar twitch given to the hoe by the wrist, eradicate the weeds, and raise as little of the earth as possible. She progresses on the top of the bank with her right side foremost One or two women, according to the quantity of weeds, follow with the crooked sticks ; and, stooping in the ditch, pull out the loosened weeds from between the thorns, and all that may be growing where the weeding-spade and Dutch hoe cannot enter. In this manner the cleaning process is carried on with great despatch. Tlie man has by far the severest work to do, but even he will move on rapidly if the grass is not allowed to be too old before it is cleared away. After all, it is very seldom that a hedge requires to be so thoroughly cleaned in the first season ; but in the second year it is absolutely necessary to be very vigilant in cleaning early in spring, before vegetation is much advanced. If weeding is delayed till the roots of the weeds take firm hold of the ground, the displacing of them bears away a great deal of earth from the face of the bank. There ia no I i 3 486 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IL 470 specific tfme of the season to clean a hedge, but the safe rule is always to clean it before the weeds in the least envelop it 'J'he most cnminon weeils which infest liuilgcs in loamy ground are, the tussUago, way thistle, corn sow-thistle, common docl.s, sorrel, ribwort, groundsel, hedge vetch (a traihng plant very like the vetch, but wiUi a bright yeUow pca-blossom), bindweed, sticking-grass, cow-clover, wild mustard, chickweed, dead-nettle, rest-harrow, great white ox-eye, corn poppy, white lychnis, blae- wort, and several of the grasses. The tussilago, rest-harrow, ox-eye, and docks, are most diihcult to eradicate: the bindweed, sticking-grass, vetch, and the yellow-flowering trailing plant, interlace the branches of the thorns, and are exceedingly difficult to eradicate ; and if there be but a single fibre ol the wild mustard attaching the plant to the ground, it will grow again with vigour. 3013. Prunivs. A hedge will hardly require pruning in the first year of its growth ; but should it grow very luxuriantly, it i> very proper to cut off the upper part of the tops of all overgrown plants, as it is very desirable for the well-being of a hedge that all the plants grow alike, and that no plant by its overgrowth overshadow its neighbours. On examining those luxuriant plants, they will be found to be of that variety to which I have given the preference. Any branch that may be straggling much in front, may also be curbed. The use of the bill at Uiis period of growth arises more from a precautionary feeling of preventing injury from weight of snow, than from any necessity that exists to check the growth of the plant. In the second winter, however, the lateral branches which have shot over the ditch should be twitched off, leaving those behind toward the bank untouched, and the tops should be so cut off as to make them all of the same height. The stroke of the switching-bill should be made upwards, and not across the top of the hedge. If switching is neglected this winter, the least load of snow which will easily lie upon the straggling branches, will inevitably crush the tops and lateral branches down : and, instead of being cut off; they will be forcibly broken off, — a kind of pruning which cannot be too much deprecated. One season, in the second year of a hedge, a piece of it was left unswitched for want of time, and not for experiment; and that part was so completely crushed down by the snow, that in the spring it was obliged to be cut down to the ground by the pruning-knife ; whereas that part which had been switched sustained very little injury, the sharp vertical points piercing through the snow when it was subsiding, which is the time it does the damage. Now, however, (which is five years after the accident), that part which was cut down by the pruning-knife is by far the strongest part, both in girth of stenl and height of fence. This fact tends to countenance the free use of the knife on hedges, though few would perhaps have the courage to cut down a fine thriving young hedge. It is certainly undeniable that a thorn plant is very tenacious of life ; and this tenacity is exhibited in no way more remarkably, than in the hedge conforming its shape to the will of the hedger. In this manner, let him continue to cut away part of the tender shoots on the top, and switch the lateral branches upwards in a sloping direction towards the top, so that the former shall present a uniform row of pointed spikes, till the hedge is six feet high, beyond which height he cannot use the bill to advantage. There is nothing done to the hedge behind. After it has acquired this height, the top should get leave to grow upwards, till the whole hedge shall be ten or twelve feet high, the lateral wood being still cut away to prevent the top overshadowing and baring the root of the hedge The object of thus allowing the top to grow up, is to increase the girth, and consequently the strength of the stem below, otherwise it will con. tinue puny for a long time. Indeed, if a hedge is not allowed to grow up at all, it will shoot out determinately in a lateral direction to a great extent, and then occupy a greater breadth of ground than will be convenient or profitable. The annexed figure (470.) will illustrate the appearance of the hedge when the top should be allowed to grow up, 3014. Water-tabling. When the grass below the thorn-bed, and the weeds on the faceofthebank,have been cleaned away, at least once, if not twice, in a season, and if the ground is loamy, it is probable that, during the course of four or five years of such work, the soil may have mouldered away, and left part of the root that was embedded in the bank exposed. Such will undoubtedly be the state of things in any kind of soil, in the course of time ; and its effects on the root of the hedge thus exposed, will be the same as pointed out before, in regard to the effects produced by leaving the young plants projecting fVom the face of the bank ; but if such an evil be concomitant with the necessary process of cleaning, how much more must it be aggravated in the case, when the plants are left, at first, projecting from the face of the bank ? But, happily, there is a remedy for this evil, which, if allowed to remain any length of time, would injure the hedge materially; and that is, by the simple process of 471 ,^ (^ water-tabling. The annexed ' figure (471.) will show the effects which weeding has upon the roots of thorns, in which the dotted line shows the state in which the bank and ditch came from the hands of the workman. The following figure ( 472.) will show the process of water-tabling. One man could do this work, but two men will carry it on more expe- ditiously, in proportion to the number. Let the hedger take a spade, and make a notch three inches deep in the side of the ditch, about a foot IjeTow the thorns (a), and then pare away all the loose earth from that notch up to the thorn root. In the mean time the other man raises sods from the bottom of the ditch, choosing the best parts of it for them, nine inches broad and four inches thick, and of a convenient length. The hedger takes these sods and puts them on their edge upon the notch (a), with the grass 472 y, , side outwards, and beats them to the bank with the back of the spade, making the upper edge of them level with the spade by paring and beating. The reason that the grass side is put out- wards is, that these sods may adhere to the bank ; whereas, if they were put with the grass side inwards, the frost of the en- suing winter, getting between them and the bank, would cause ||i'|l them to slide down ; and there need be no apprehension of the grass, though placed outwards, growing up so as to injure the hedge ; for by that time the latter will have acquired such a thicket of branches and foliage as to smother all weeds. This sod is called the "set^sod." The other man must also raise other sods, about six inches broad and four inches deep, and of a con- venient length. The hedger then takes them and inverts them, with the grass side downwards, upon the upper edge of the sod (6), and beats them even with it, and pushes them quite in contact, and below the roots (c). This sod is called the" table." The reason for inverting its grass side downwar-ds is obvious, as its grass would spring up immediately among the roots of the thorns. The other man, at intervals of leisure, if he have any, or both together, may then shovelaipall the fine mouldery earth they can get, and throw it between the stems, and form the sloping bank (rf) on the upper side of the roots. If more earth has been worn away than of the thickness the sods can be raised, the space must be filled up with earth before inserting the sod (as between the dotted line ae d^ and the sod i). Water-tabling tnoms, when the earth has been worn away by weeding from their roots, renovates their growth, so that the process of engrossing the stems proceeds after it with great rapidity, re-establishes their hold on the bank. Book IV. COMPOUND HEDGE FENCES. 487 473 so that no wind can shake the plant to injure its roots ; and the growth of the numerous twigs from the branches is so encouraged, that weeds ever afterwards can do little injury to the plants themselved. When thorns are planted on a scarccment, no water-tabling is required, because it preventij the mouldering away of the earth ; but such scarcemcnts are nurscnes for weeds, and it is impossible to clean a hedge thoroughly where they exist, — to " deracinate such savagery." Earth, to be sure, from the bottom of the ditch, can be thrown upon the scarcement, to smother the weeds upon them; but the acciunulation of earth there must be limited to " the height of the thorn roots, and upon tiiis earth weeds can, of course, grow as luxuriantly as uinm the scarcement itself In short in such a situation, weeds cannot be eradicated. They can be cut over like mown grass, but thtir roots will ever be ready to spring up afresh in favourable weather. A figure of a thorn hedge, planted on a scarcement, will at once show the incon- veniency of such a construction for the eradicating of weeds C/!ff. 47a.). „„. .-j. i,„ ,k„ .■SMS. Prokcliag/emx. Lord Kames says, " The hedge .5 lenced from cattle on the one side by the ditch ; but it is nliessary that it be fenced on both sides. The ordinary method of a paling is no sufhcicnt fence against cattle; the most gentle make it a rubbing-post, and the vicious break it down wantonly with their horns. The only eflectual remedy is expensive ; but better no lence than one that is imper- fect. The remedy is two ditches and two hedges, with a high mound of earth between them We are left to infer from this, that a paling is no protecUon to a hedge ; two ditches and a mound of rarth are. Other writers nearly hold the same opinion. It is astonishing to see persons who pretend to know the practice of husbandry, assert that hedge-ditches, or a mound, or a ditch of almost any dimensions, wiU protect a voung hedge from the depredation of cattle and sheep. U such notions at all prevail among iroprietore and farmers, it is no wonder that those hedges are so often seen in a ruinous state. If a good pahng is not a sufficient fence against cattle and sheep, it is not a ditch or two, nor a mound, that will prevent them committing depredations. If " two ditches "are to be fenced, they wiU require as much paling as a single hedge before and behind, besides the additional quantity of ground occupied by fencini^lfgaijs cannot be prevented in hedges but by double rows of thorns, their owners must be negligent hedgers indeed. As to makini; a rubbing-post of a pahng, rubbing-posts ought to be erected in every pasture field, and then neither the " genUe " nor the " vicious"' catUe will ever have accasion to use a iialing, which is at least a very inconvenient "rubbing-post" fhe truth is, a fence, ol whatever nature it may be, is absolutely necessary on both sides of a young thorn hedge, if that hedge separates adds that are to be pastured ; and what that fence may be made of depends, of course, on the nature of the materials which are most easily obtained for the purpose. ^. .. , ^ sola PraUeting by a paling. If talLgrown Scots pine of eight inches diameter, or weedings of larch planUtions, can be procured at no great distance, or grow upon the property that is to be inclosed^ better materials for temiiorary fencings need not be wished. The Scots pme of the above sue wiU cut up into six deals, besides the outside slabs, and divide again up the middle lor rads of jierhaps'lwenty-four feet long ; or twice up the middle, at right angles, for stakes, which should be sawn across, and pointed, four and a half feet in length. These stakes should be driven at least one foot from the edge of the ditch, by a mallet, into holes formed by the foot-pick, at a distance from one another not exceeding five or six feet, fifteen inches into the ground, and which will make the fence stand three feet three inches high. Two of the rails are sufficient for fencing cattle, but three are necessary to keep in sheep. To give additional strength to the fence, the rails should be placed on the face of the stakes next the field, and made to pass 474 u -a_. izni jn^ each other's ends, so that all the ends of the three rails ghouM not be nailed oo the same stake; nor should the rout or tliick end of the rails be nailed together, even after being thinned by the adze, but top and bottom ends nailed together alternately ; as this plan equalises the weight of the rails upon the stakes. The upjicr rail should be at the height of the stakes : the upper edge of the lowest one nine inches, and that of the middle one twenty-two inches, from the ground, as the best arrangement as a fence for Vjl i]j [y nr sheep (^^■. 474.). 'i'he best nails for such a purpose are called 'i3 W *k U' *' stout iialing-nails," three to three and a half inches long, • " ■ - made in Scotland ; for it seems the nails manufactured in the sister king:'om are not in good repute here, A similar lence may be erected on the sides of the bank behind the hc^ge ; but it is iiecesiary to keep in remembrance, that it should be placed clear of the hedge- mound altogether, 'i'here is a temptation to place it upon the hedge-mound, as more space is given to the plough, and shorter stakes will there make an equally high fence ; but when a fence is placed so near a young hedge as on any part of the mound, cattle, and particularly horses, after they have eaten their fill of grass, and on Sunday, when they are idle, will reach over, and bite off the tops of it, as if debghting in mischief, to the serious injury of the young hedge. 3017. Protecting by stake and rice {Jig, 475.). When trees are felled, or bought by a proprietor for the Afjc construction of paling to fence young * *^ n Li I _i £_i hedges, the top stems and branches may be made available to the same purpose, in " stake and rice," The branches should all be cut off the tops of the trees, and their stems, if large enough, converted into stakes of the al.ove di- mensions ; but as these will not sufiice altogether, other stakes must be sawn from the bole of the tree. These stakes should be driven into the ground in the same manner, and at the same distance, as recommended for paling. Take then the branches, and place their butt-end on the ground, and warp the upper parts backwards'and forwards round the alternate stakes, and give them an inclining position upwards, towards thetops of the stakes. This inclination must lie away in the direction in which the heaviest winds will blowj for instance, if the fence runs north and south, the inclination must be to the south, as the north winds are the most severe ; and for the same reason, an inclination to the east will avoid the heavy south-west winds. A strong wind acting against the tops. Is apt to ruffle and bend them back. A single rail nailed at the top of the stakes, completes this mode of fencing. I may remark, that any brushwood, provided it is so long as to reach from stake to stake, will serve this purpose as well as the tops of trees ; at least a mixture of them is excellent. Such a fence requires fewer nails, and less good wood, tlian a regular paling, and is therefore cheaper, and it will stand an equal length of time ; and, indeed, the stakes have less strain upon them, in this mode, than the other, as they have not the weight of the materials to bear, and the warping of the branches around them protects them from many accidents to which paling is liable; such as people trespassing over them, swingle-trees of ploughs rubbing upon them and catching hold of them, and the like. This is an excellent fence for sheep, affording them shelter from the sweepiijg blast behind its matted texture ; and, for this purpose, it is generally placed on the north and west sides of fields— the quarters from which the greatest winds prevail. There is one, and only one, greater objection to it than paling — that being close in its con- Ii4 483 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. 1'aiit II. etnictlon, il is liable to lodge more snow about a hedge than a paling, tlirough the rails of which the drill can make its way. 3018. Protecting hu n turf-wall and single rail [fig. «&) There is another mode of fencing yonng Ihorn.hedges, which I shall mention, and It is adapted to situations where there is plenty of turf and little ° ' ' ,„ood It is to build a turf-wall, that will stand three and '° . llIlM, a half feet high, after the sods have consolidated, to support J_ jS^m, the hedge-bank behind the thorns. This wall is built like ma.sonry, with heavy sods, with the grass sides downward, and finished at top with one sod nine inches broad, with its grassy surface uppermost The face of the wall should be built with an inclination backwards towards the top, in order ' that the grass may grow so luxuriantly upon it, as to protect it from iiiiurv, and strengthen the sods. A short stake, with a single rail' of paUng at top, is all the fencing the hedge requires from this side, till it can protect itself. Such a style of fence is well adapted to large fields of perpetual pasture, in exposed situations, and forms an excellent shelter to cattle and sheep. Cattle, however, will box with their heads against . „ ,. , • _* „»„ fhpv are satisfied with grass : but more likely in hot weather, such a wall, sometimes only >" sporty ^"^^'t^o former kinds of fences should be put up, only when the when .'"='¥'?/';"8^^"iS'^jn= 'hem J^^^^^ stock, and on whichever side the hedge may first adjoining fields to the ^'^^8'''"'= 'L^° '^^!,;'id when the lea ground was broken up, the fourth year is the =s-wiii^g5Si?S^^^"?^W;S5^"^ advisable to drive here and there, at the weakest parts, stakes ,n an inclined PO»t.on 'nto the ""o of the ditch next the paling, and to nail their heads against the upright stakes of the paling, to act as spurs to support the stakes against any violence. Tho rails will yet be quite fresh, though the stakes are apt to taak over at the ground, in consequence of their being exposed, »t that part to the alternate e^^^^ of wet and drought, _ effects which are injurious to every kind of wood. If this precaution be adopted the same paling will last to the commencement of a rotation, in which the hedge wil be «ble to defend itself Tlie paling will stand, with this assistance, which is not expensive, from the fourth to the twelah year of the ago of the hedge, that is, eight years. But should the pahng be com «ely useless beto^^^ hedge can defend itself, and if the l4tter has been planted in some very unfavourable situation this may be tta case, a few stakes driven on the top of the bank behind the hedge, with a single rail nailed at he top, will secure the hedge from all danger^ Cattle will not attempt to pass through the hedge on Ule ditch Sid4, on account of this rail above tSeir heads; and, f™™ the other side they will be deterred by the depth of the ditch, from leaping over it ; nor will horses browse readily »>> S", "". 'l Jl'jBe. As to sheep, thiy will not attempt it on eithir side ; and, if they are the only kind of stock that is pastured m the fields, even such a rail is not absolutely necessary for them, *u,.„.,„i, „,i,i„h .,„ 3019. Gates and gate-posts inhedges. Gate-posts, which are to support the gates through which an entrance is effectef into any fields, should be p'laced in the line of th^ -I^f^hedge, and not in that of the paling, which is only a temporary fence. Charring, by fire, the part of these gate-poste wh ch is to be sunk in the ground, and about a foot above it, will be found a preservative against rot tor a long time ; and even till common stakes of the pahng might be treated in the same manner by those who do not grudge a little more expense to insure greater security. In passing over a hedg&.ditch to a gateway in a field, it will be necessary to build a small square drain in the bottom of the ditch, in length equal to the breadth of the gateway, that is, ten feet ; anS the stones of the drain should be covered with other stones, broken small, like road metal, in order to form a firm road in and out of the field, at a place which is, in general, dreadfully cut up in winter, especially to a turnip field, to the great grievance of men, horses, tackle, and gates ; and also to allow the water in the ditch to flow away without intemiption. 3020 The management of hedges, after they have arrived at maturity, is often as dimcult a tasK, as ine training of the young hedge to maturity. If we judge of its difficulty, by the woful manner in which we see old hedges managed throughout the country, we might conclude that a thorn is so obdurate a plan^ that it is almost impossible to make it subservient to the purposes of a field fence, and that that man wouw confer a signal benefit on his country, who could discover another kind of plant more susceptible ol the fostering care of man ; and yet we would ask, and as we have already stated, Wliat hardy plant is so obedient to our will as thorns 1 The very miserably contorted state in which we daily see thorn-heages is strong evidence of their pliancy, and of the obduracy of their proprietors in keeping them m such a state If such effects are the offspring of ignorance, how is it that occupiers of land will permit ignorance to mismanage that which is so essential to the comfort and well-being of their stock, and, through them, their own profit ? And how is it, that if they, or their servants, arc ignorant of so necessary an operation, they do not apparently use the requisite means of acquiring a better knowledge of it? It ^^ not that experience has yet to teach such knowledge ; for I believe that, in certain districts of Scotland, the management of thorn-hedges is as well understood, and as successfully practised an operation, as any other in husbandrv, in which farmers and their servants take pride to excel. It is not, that it is so abstruse a subject, as tli'at the difficulty of acquiring it cannot be overcome, or that it can only be acquired by the learned ; for even a hedger, a common peasant, can understand the principles of hedge planting and management as clearly as any learned man. These principles are exceedingly simple ; for what is the main purpose of planting a hedge ? Surely to confine stock within the boundaries of a field, and to save the trouble and expense of keeping a person to herd them constantly. If they can be confined, that trouble may, of course, be dispensed with. How, then, can they be best confined ? Not by large bur- headed, bare-stemmed thorns, between which sheep and young cattle could easily creep, and snow crush down; but by plants, the management of which has encouraged nature to envelop their stems with matted branches, and twigs, and leaTes,.all forming so close a thicket of a pyramidal shape, as to obstruct the transmission of the solar ray, or even to avert the insinuating intrusion of the zephyr. The mystery is here disclosed ; for, to get a good fence, all that is necessary is to cut the thorns so as they may be kept thick near the ground ; for grow they will just as you please, and grow they will whenever they are cut But will cutting them over three feet above the ground, encourage the growth of small branches and twigs below that height ? Will cutting branches, and plashing them two feet above the ground, fill up gaps below the plashes ? Will permitting them to grow up as trees with heavy heads, the invariable tendency of which in other trees which are deciduous is, by their shade, to prune off the small branches on the trunks, and kill or curb the growth of weaker neighbouring trees, be the most proper method to encourage the growth of twigs around their base, where alone they can be used as a fence? Impossible. Indeed the very terms of these questions, and they are borrowed from the practice of those around us, show the absurdity of such a practice. But not only are old hedges thus abused ; young ones, which would thrive much better, and become a fence much sooner, if let alone altogether, are often hacked and cut over about eighteen inches from the ground, at which height a bush of weak stems grows up, the shade of which destroys the young twigs, and strips the stems quite bare. Nay, the cutting process is performed with the view, one would suppose, to destroy the plant, which it would inevitably do, were the thorn not pliant in its growth, and very tenacious of hfe ; for, instead of the strokes of the bill being made Book IV. COMPOUND HEDGE FENCES; 489 upwards, which would leave the standing and growing stem clean cut, they are made downwards by which the part of the stem which is taken away is cut clean^ but the part which is left growing is backed and split into many rents. As to weeding, it is seldom thought of till the hedge is almost choked to death ; but, indeed, the common practice which so much prevails, of leaving a broad scarce- ment before the thoni-bed, renders weeding so irksome, laborious, and frequent a task, that one may cease to wonder hat farmers will not incur the expense of it, though proprietors ought, rather than ruin their fences. It is easier, however, to train up a hedge from infancy, in the proper manner (a truth which many parents, as well as hedge planters, have bitterly experienced), than to renovate it into a superlatively good fence after it has been mismanaged ; but even that difficulty is not insur- mountable to those who will observe with common eyes, and be guided by common sense. 3021. Cutting down or breasting over an old top-heavy hedge. (Jig. 477.) When the hedge, which we left to grow some time ago, gets heavy in the top, and begins to affect the density of the foliage at the roots, and by which period the stems be. low will have acquired considerable strength, it should be cut down with the breasting- bill, in a sloping direction upwards, tVom the root in the face of the bank, to the back of the hedge on its top. This figure will illustrate the effect of this operation- The hedger stands on the face of the ditch, at the root of the hedge, with his right hand to it He carries the bill in his P" right hand, and his left is covered with a glove of stout leather. After he has cleared away all the small twigs about the main stem, that the cutting process may not be in the least obstruct- ed, he holds the bill with its edge inclined up- wards, and gives the stem a cut upwards with the whole length and swing of his right arm, a stroke in a direction not unlike cut four in sword exercise, but much stronger. His left hand, the left arm bemg half stretched out, is ready to receive the back of the bill, in order to steady it for a repeated stroke ; and as the main stems are the thickest, they may require repeated blows before they are cut through ; and even it may be necessary to give a cut downwards on the end of the stem that is cutting away, that a wedge-shap£d piece of wood may be removed, in order to allow the upward blows to take more effect If the main stems are strong, the cutting-bill should be used for them, and the breasting one for the lighter stems. If the man is left-handed, he, of course, goes in an opposite direction to that mentioned above. It is absolutely necessary to make the blows cut upwards, and not downwards, as parti- cularly and properly insisted on by Mr. Btaikie, in his little work On Hedges^ whose sentiments on that sulqect, I shall here transcribe : —" A moment's reflection," he says, " wilTshow that it is impossible for an edgetool to pass through a piece of timber, without causing a severe pressure against one or both of the sides of the wood, because the tool occupies space. The teeth of a saw drag the chips out of the cut, and give the space requisite for the tool to pass, but an edgetool can only pass by pressure ... In cutting the stem of a bush or young tree which is growing upright, if the blow is struck down, nearly the whole pressure falls on the stub (the growing stem), which is thereby shattered to pieces, while the stem cut off is left sound ; but when the blow is struck up (as it always should be), the effect is reversed, the slab is then left sound and smooth (cut clean), and the stem cut off is shattered ;" and when this practice obtains, "the wet does not penetrate through the stub into the crown of the roots, canker is not encouraged, and the young shoots grow up strong and healthy, and able to con&nd against the vicissitudes of the weather. The branches which grow out of the stem, many of them, not being thick, will be cut through by a dexterous cutter at one stroke. These cuts across the stems are not made in the plane of the line of the hedge, but at so considerable an angle with it, that they will not be seen, if viewed from the direcUon in which the hedger proceeds, but they will almost fece the spectator in the opposite direction. When this operation is performed by a man who is dexterous in the use of the bill, there is nothing in hedging, that looks liker a nice piece of art, than this way of cutting down a hedge, not even that of its original plant- ing. As the branches of a hedge interlace, the stems, as they are cut off, do not fall down like a tree. The hedger has to pull the end of the stem, that has been cut off, towards him with the bill, in order to seize it by the left hand, which having done, he pulls asunder the tops with the assistance of the bill, and lets the whole branch fell gently out of his hand, on the opposite side of the ditch to that on which he stands. 3022. Season of performing the operation. It should be kept in remembrance that this operation must not be performed during a hard frost I once saw a very fine hedge breasted over, and that part, which had been cut down during a hard frost, did not send out a stem next summer exceeding foxu: inches in length, whereas the parts of the hedge cut by the same hedger in fresh weather, pushed up strong and healthy stems three feet high. It was remarked at the time the hedge was being cut down, in frosty weather, that the stroke of the bill made a peculiarly ringing sound on the stems^ and that they were ■ more brittle, more easily split and cut over, than in fi-esh weather. Notwithstanding these peculiar symptoms, no suq)icions of an injurious effect were entertained at the time. After such an operation in seasonable weather, it is astonishing how luxurious a growth of stems is generally developed. This kind of young hedge is switched and trained in the same manner as described above for newly planted hedges, till it comes to maturity. The hedge should be cut down when the field next the ditch is to be broken up out of lea, as ttie young hedge will be a fence by the time the field is again in grass. As the field behind the hedge will not likely be in the same part of the rotation as the other, it will be necessary to employ the cut thorns as a dead hedge on the mound. If the hedge cut down was strong, the dead fence will not require all the thorns, a part of which may be taken away for other purposes, or a similar purpose in another plac& A dead hedge is made in the manner described. 3023. After-managmunt of a breasted over hedge. If, in the course of years, when this hedge has arrived at maturity, it is found that the stems arc so gross that few twigs grow from them, and that the bottom of it is too open as a fence for sheep, it will be necessary to cut the whole down within a few inches of the ground, with the axe or cutting-bill, according to the strength of the st^m. If the cutting- bill is used, it is managed like the breasting-bill, and at times with both hands ; but if the axe, then the hedger stands with his face in an opposite direction to the bent cutting one ; that is, he keeps his left hand next the hedge, and using the long-handled but light axe, with both bands, he cuts the thick stems in a sloping direction upwards. It may^ in the first instance, be necessary to cut away the small branches with the bill, which may interfere with the action of the axe, or injure his hands ; for, in this process, which requires strength and dexterity, gloves are not convenient pieces of dress. He pulls the thorns asunder, after they are cut, and deposits them on the same side of the ditch as when they were breasted over ; and it is just as absolutely necessary now as before, to leave the growing stem clean cut. Cutting with the axe is a very laborious operation at all times, but particularly when cutting down old thick-stemmed thorn hedges. Old thorns are sometimes so bulky and heavy, that it is necessary to drag them away with horses, instead of attempting to put them on carts. Both after this and the other process of cutting, the ground around all the roots should be thoroughly cleared of all weeds, and it would even be advisable to water-table the hedge, and to throw the shoveUings of the ditch upon the face of the mound. But should water-tabling not be necessary, there can be no doubt that the ditch will require scouring; and there cannot be a more favourable op|>ortunity for the work beingdone, than when the licdgc is cut down, amongst the stems of which tlie shovellings of the ditch can be deposited. 490 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 3Q9i. Rediff/ing the old age qf a thorn hedge hnpropcrlv treated in its youth. In this operation much care and judgment are required. It is found that in ordinary-sized gaps, which exist between the old stems of a thoin, young plants will not easily take root and thrive. This effect is produced, partly by the shadowing of the stems which grow quickly out of the old stem and overtop the young jjlant, and partly by the want of nourishment from the earth, the juices of which have been extracted ah-eady by the older tenants. To remedy such defects, plashing has been resorted to, and when that has been judiciously done, by laying the jplaishes near the ground, a small gap may be filled up for some time. But I agree perfectly with the following observations of T^ord Karnes on the nature of plashing in general : — -■JOSS. " Plashing an old hedge^" says his lordship, " an ordinary practice in England, makes indeed a good interim fence, but at the long run is destructive to the .plants ; and accordingly there is scarce to be met with a complete good hedge where plashing has been long practised, A cat is said among the vulgar to have nine lives. Is it their opinion that a thorn, like a cat, may be cut and slashed at without suflbring by it ? A thorn is a tree of long life. If, instead of being massacred by plashing, it were raisetl and dresso t in the way here described, it would continue a firm hedge, perhaps, fnr five hundred years." This merits attention. If plashing really be practised, and such an old practice cannot be easily forsaken, it may be necessary to remind the operator to cut the stem no deeper in than necessary to bend it down with considerable difficulty, as near the ground as possible ; for plashing at a great height above the ground defeats its own object, namely, that of filling up gaps below. Keep the end of the plash down, either by inserting it under a hooked branch of a neignbouring thorn, or by a hooked stick driven into the ground ; and push a bit of wedge-shaped stick into the cu^ to assist in preventing the plash from starting up. Stuff then some worked up clay into the cut, and thus close it up from the enects of wet and drought 3026. Laying an old hedge. It will be a much better practice to renew the earth in the gaps witli fresh soil, mixed with dung and lime, in the first year after the hedge has been cut down, and then in the second year to take a stem from each side of the gap which has shot up fVom the old stem, and lay them in the soil so prepared, as gardeners lay carnations and roses, by fastening them down to the earth with pins. These layers will strike root, and grow up as young plants ; and when they have acquired sufficient strength, they then can of course be cut away from the parent stem. When the gaps extend many yards between the old stems, and when of course it would not be practicable to fill up all the space with such layers, the old earth between them must be completely taken out, and new and fresh soil, prepared as above, substituted in its place, and young plants must be laid on a thorn-bed, and the whole work of repair carried on and finished in the same manner as described in the original planting. In training these renewed plants, it vrill be necessary to check the growth of the old stems, and encouratre that of the young plants, till both have acquired the same length, when both may be treated alike. An old gateway may be beat up in this manner ; but if still to be used on emergencies, a dead fence of thorns will protect the gap for a great length of time. In repairing hedges, of whatever age, it ought to be kept in remembrance, that a hedge ought never to be planted on the top of a mound thrown up from the ditch. It has, indeed, the advantage of an imposing situation ; but being planted in bad soil, and destitute of moisture, it cannot thrive; it is at best dwarfish, and frequently decays and dies. {Stepltens of Salmadies in Uttar. Jour. Agr., voL il p. 621.) 3027. The hedge and bank consists of a hedge planted upon the plain surface, with a bank or mound of earth raised behind it by way of protection. 3028. The hedge in the face of a bank differs from the former, principally in having the hedge in the front of tlie bank -considerably above the common surface, in place of having it at the bottom. 3029. The Devonshire Jence is a sort of hedge and bank, as it consists of an earthen mound, seven feet wide at bottom, five feet in height, and four feet broad at top, upon the middle of which a row of quicks is planted ; and on each side, at two feet distant, a row of willow-stakes, of about an inch in diameter each, and from eighteen inches to two feet long, is stuck in, sloping a little outwards : these stakes soon take root, and form a kind of live fence for the preservation of the quicks in the middle. This fence nearly resembles the hedge on the top of a bank, and is equally expensive in the erection : the formation of the bank deprives the adjoining surface of its best soil, and the plants made use of are liable to every injury that can possibly arise from drought, frost, and gradual decay or crumbling down of the mound. The addition of the willows to this fence is certainly a disadvantage ; if the quicks require pro- tection, dead wood is equal to every pui-pose that could be wished or expected, and . at the same time possesses the additional advantage of requiring no nourishment, and having no foliage to shade the thorns or other plants. 3030. In the hedge wUk posts and railsj the railings are employed for the protection of hedges, as well those that are planted upon the plain surface, as for the hedge and ditch united. The addition of a paling is, however, more immediately necessary in cases where the hedge is planted upon the plain surface, especially when the fields so enclosed are in pasture. 3031. The hedge and dead hedge is a fence that consists of a row of quicks or other hedge-plants, set either upon the plain surface, or in the face of a ditch or bank. The dead hedge answers a , double purpose, namely, that of protecting the young plants from the injuries they may receive from cattle or tlie inclemency of the weather, and at the same time forming a temporary enclosure which lasts till the hedge is grown up. 3032. The hedge and wall fence is of two kinds, namely, a coarse open wall, built of loose stones, on the top of the bank formed by the eartli taken out of the ditch j and when hedges are planted upon the plain surface, a thin and low wall regularly built alongside answers the double purpose of sheltering and encouraging the growth of the plants while they are in a weak tender state, and afterwards prevents the pos- sibility of the hedge becoming open below. Where gardens are entirely, or in part, surrounded by hedges, and in the enclosing of fields by the sides of highways, espe- cially in the vicinity of great towns, where dogs and other destructive vermin arc apt Book IV. COMPOUND HEDGE- FENCES. 491 to creep into the enclosures, and annoy the stock, the law wall forms a valuable addi^ tion to the fence. 3033. The hedge in the viiddle or in the face of a wall is executed in the following manner : — The face of the bank is first cut down with a spade, not quite perpendicularly, but nearly so ; a facing of stone is then begun at the bottom, and carried up regularly, in the manner that stone-walls are generally built: when it is raised about eighteen inches, or two feet high, according to circumstances, the space bet^veen the wall and the bank is filled up with good eartli, well broken and mixed with h'me or compost: the thorns are laid upon this earth in such a manner, as that at least four inches of the root and stem shall rest upon the earth, and the extremity of the top shall project beyond the wall. When the plants are thus regularly laid, the roots are covered with earth, and the building of the w^ continued upwards, filling up the space between the wall and the bank gradually, as the wall advance upwards : when completed the wall is finished with a coping of sod, or stone and lime. When the plants begin to vegetate, the young shoots appear in the face of the wall, rising in a perpendicular manner. This sort of fence is much in use in some of the western counties of Scotland, and wherever there is plenty of stones ; it is a good and cheap method, especially where wood for rails or paling cannot be got readily. (C.) 3034. TIte hedge and dUch, with row of trees, differs from those which have been descnibed only in having a row of trees planted in the line of the fence along with the hedge. The advocates for this practice say, that, by planting rows of trees in the direc- tion of the fence, the country is at once sheltered, beautified, and improved ; and that the interest of the proprietor is ultimately promoted by the increasing value of the timber r^sed in these hedgerows. It is also said, that such trees produce more branches for stack-wood, knees for ship-builders, and bark for the tanners, and they sell at a higher price per load, than trees grown in woods and groves. Besides, close pruning hedgerow trees to the height of twelve or fifteen feet, prevents their dMnaging the hedge ; the shelter which they afford is favourable to the vegetation both of grass and com ; it also tends to produce an equable temperature in the climate, which is favourable both to the production of, and greater perfection and beauty in, animals, and of longevity to man. Though the practice of planting hedgerows of tr^gs is very common, though its advo- cates are numerous, and though these arguments are urged in its favour, yet the objections are also entitled to very serious consideration. When trees are planted in the line of a fence, if that fence is a hedge, the plants of which it consists will not only be deprived of a great part of their nourisliment by the trees, but will also be greatly injured by the shade they occasion, and the drop that falls from them during wet weather : upon this point Httle reasoning is necessary ; for, if we appeal to facts, we shall find that no good hedge is to be met with where there is a row of trees planted along with it. The mischief is not, however, confined solely to hedges ; the effects are equally bad, perhaps worse, where the fence is a stone-wall ; for though in this case the shade or drop of the trees is hardly if at all felt, yet, when they have attained a certain height, the working and straining of the roots during high winds is such, that the foundations of the wall are shaken and destroyed; accordingly, wherever large trees are found growing near stone walls, the fence is cracked and shaken by every gale of wind, is perpetually falling into large gaps, and costs ten times the expense to keep it in repmr that would otherwise be required if no trees were near it. Admitting, however, that the trees in hedgerows were no way prejudiciid to the fence, which we have already shown is by no means the case, another argument may be successfully used against the practice. It is seldom, indeed, that trees planted in hedgerows arrive at any great size ; on the contrary, they are generally low and stunted : and while they occasion a visible loss by the mischief they do thefenc^ their utmost worth, when they come to be sold, will seldom be found ade- quate to the loss and inconvenience they have occasioned; 3(^. Stephens is decidedly inimical to planting trees in hedges. It is quite impossible, he says, even with the greatest care imaginable, to rear thorns to a good fence under forest-trees j even trees growing on the top of the mound of a double hedge, abstract the moisture from the earth and injure the foliage of both the hedges ; and though it may be probable that the two hedges may not be gapped by the trees in places exactly opposite, the injury the individual hedge suffers cannot be remedied under the over- shadomng pcrison. Lord KameR m^es the following judicious remarks on planting hedgerow trees :— " To plant trees in the line of the hedge, or within a few feet of it, ought to be absolutely prohibited as a per- nicious practice ;- it is amazing that people should fall into this error, when they ought to know that there never wag a good thorn hedge with trees in it: and how should it be otherwise? An oak, a beech, oi an elm, grows faster than a tiiom ; when suffered to grow in the midst of a thorn hedge, it spreads its roots every where, and robs the thorns of their nourishment Nor is this all : the tree overshadowing tlie thorns keeps the sun and air from them ; at the same time, no tree takes worse with being overshadowed than a thorn. Hedgerow trees certMnly give a closely fenced appearance to a country, and at a distance look not unUke trees in an orchard : but they are at best formal ; the trees in them, though they may be very hardy, and yield strong, tough timber, never attain to great size, and are often distorted in shape by the force of the winds, which bend them to their will ; and when thdr baneful efffects on the hedges and crops are considered, it is astonishing to see their cultivation so prevalent. It may be ungracious treat- ment, now that they are planted and growing, to root out every one of them without delay; but they may be treated as anniutants whose consummation may be devoutly wished for, and whose places will not be replenished t^ similar occupants. Plantations, and (dumps, and belts of trees, afford better shelter than fingle TOWS ; and when they can be judiciously planted, in situations where little use can be made of the 492 SCIENCE OF AGRICULllJRE. 1'aht 11. ground for culture— and there is no property without many suo-li situations upon it — and in otht-r situa- tions where tiiey would screen tields from the prevailing winds, they not onlv become usel\jl timber, but ornamental objects in the landscape, — objects which lill the eye, rivet tjic attention, and are vastly more tasteful than any single row of stunted trees can be." \(luar. Jour. Agr. vol.i. p. 623.) .SOSe. The hedge and ditch, or hedge and wall, tiiith belt of planting, in exposed situations, is strikingly useful and ornamental, while upon low grounds it is not only unnecessary, but in some instances absolutely hurtful. For instance, in deep and broad valleys surrounded by hills, and sheltered from severe blasts, belts of planting are not only unnecessary, but even hurtful and ruinous by the ground they occupy, which could certainly be employed to greater advantage, and the original expense of enclosing and planting saved, 3037. Tlie hedge and ditch, or wall, with the corners planted, is employed upon some estates instead of tlie belt of planting. According to some, it has a good eftect upon the scenery of the country, and answers the purpose of general shelter extremely well ; it is, however, greatly inferior to the belt of planting, for the purpose of sheltering particulai' fields ; but as in every field there is a space in each angle that cannot be ploughed, by planting these spaces, which would otherwise be left waste, many valuable trees are raised with little expense, and with scarce any waste of land. 3038. Tlie furze fence may be had recourse to with advantage whenever such plants are found to grow vigorously in a soil. Fences of this sort are mostly made upon mounds or banks of earth, by sowing the seed of the plant. Sometimes the bank is only sloped on one side, but at others on both ; in the former case the front is perpendicular, and faced with turf or stone. From these fences being raised so considerably above the common surface, they are very liable to injury from frosts and other causes in severe winters. In all cases where they are clipped or cut once a year, or once in every two years, the clippings may be bruised and given to horses or cattle, who are fond of them, and are found to tlurive and fatten on this food. SuBSECT. 4. Paling Fences. 3039. Palingfences are only to be considered in a secondary light; for, of whatever wood they are made, however substantially they may be executed, or in whatever situation they are placed, their decay commence the instant they are erected. Where permanent use therefore is required, palings ought never to be adopted ; but for ornament in pleasure- grounds, or for the protection of young thorns, they are highly valuable. In all cases where either dead hedges or palings are used, the decay and ultimate loss of the fence is owing to that part of it which is let into the ground being rotted by the moisture. Where dead hedges are planted, it is no easy matter to provide a remedy against this evil ; as the stems are so numerous, that, to give each of them a preparation that would completely defend it from the effects of moisture would be attended with an expense equal to, if not greater than, the value of the fence. Where palings, however, are used, especially the most expensive and substantial kind of them, and such as are meant both for duration and ornament, it is desirable to prepare the standards, or upright parts that are placed in the earth, in such a manner as vrill enable them to resist the moisture for many years. In the south of England, the post is always more bulky at the lower end than the upper, and is fixed in the ground by digging a hole, placing it therein, shovelling the soil in, and ramming it round the post till it be firmly fixed. It has been a practice from time immemorial, to bum or char that part of the standards or palings intended to be set or driven into the earth : the reason assigned for this practice was, that the fire hardened the parts thus subjected to it, and, by rendering them impervious to moisture, made them more durable than they would have been without such operation. But the best defence at present known against the effects of the weather is the bark of the tree. This covering it has from nature, and is possessed of every requisite, being impregnated with oil, resin, and other matters, which secure it completely, not only against moisture, but other injuries arising from the operation of air, light, heat, &c. ; of this we have strong proofs by observing what happens where, by cutting off a branch or otherwise, the bark of any tree is destroyed. If the surface laid bare by the wound is considerable, that part of tlie body exposed by it begins immediately to decay, and continues to waste, unless some covering be made use of to supply the place of the bark; for that purpose nothing has yet been found so effectual as a coat either of boiled oil, or of oil-paint, which, by completely excluding both air and moisture, not only preserves the tree from rotting, but also prevents it from bleeding and wasting itself by an effusion of juices from the wound. When trees are cut down and sawn into planks, whether for palings or any other purpose, and are afterwards exposed to the weather, the same thing happens that we have mentioned as taking place with the growing tree when deprived of its bark, but in a much greater degree, as the whole surface is then without a covering. To prevent this decay, the same remedy should be applied, viz. painting the whole of the wood, or otherwise filling the pores with oil, in such a manner as to prevent the entrance of moisture. There are now coarse oil-paints sold of all colours, so cheap as to enable persons erecting palings, or Book TV. PALING FENCES. 49t\ other works of wood, to paint tliera at a small expense. Other very good remedies are to be had at a moderate price, as the pyrolignous acid from gasworks, wliich, if tlie points of the standards that are to be driven into the eartli are dipped into it while the liquor is boiling hot, will preserve them from the bad effects of moisture for a very long time. Previously to the dipping, they should be properly sharpened, and that part which is to enter the ground, or even the entire post if convenient, moderately charred or burnt. Common tar, melted pitch, or gas liquor, may also be successfully employed for the purpose of defending the extremities of the upright parts of paling from moisture ; Unseed and train oils may also be used with success ; the great object being to fill the porK completely with some unctuous or greasy matter, or contract them by partial charring, so as to prevent the admission of moisture. The posts should be completely dry before they are dipped in any of these preparations : for if they ai-e either made of green wood, or have imbibed ipuch inoisture, or after being dipped are exposed either to the heat of the sun or to a severe frost, the moisture will become so much expanded thereby, as to biu^t through, and bring off the paint or other coating ; whereas, when they are made of well seasoned wood, and are at the same time perfectly dry, and the pitch, oil, or varnish boiling hot, it readily enters the pores, and, by filling them completely, prevents the access of moisture, and consequently the injurious effects produced by it. 3040. Tlie simple nailed pcUmg consists of upright posts, driven or set into tlie earth at certain distances, and crowed in three, four, or more places, with pieces of wood in a horizontal direction. This paling fa for the most part made of coarse sawn wood, with- out any dr^sing. 304 1 . The jointed horizontal paling consists of massy square poles, driven or set into the earth at regular distances, through which mortices or openings are cut for the reception of the extremities of the horizontal pieces which traverse them. 3042. The vpriglU lath paling is made by driving or setting a number of strong piles into the earth at regular distances, and crossing these at top and bottom with horizontal pieces of equal strength ; upon these last are nailed, at from six to twelve inches* distance, a number of square pieces of sawn wood, of the shape and size of the laths used for the roofs of tiled houses. This sort of paling, when properly executed, looks very well, and, notwithstanding . its apparent slightness, if well supported by props or rests at regular intervals, lasts a long time. Where there are plantations of young firs in the neighbour- hood, laths may be had at a trifling expense. 3043. Tlie horizontal paling of young Jirs, or the weedings of other young trees, may be had recourse to with advantage upon estates with extensive woods, or surrounded with belts of thriving plants ; the thinnings of such woods or belts being highly valuable for making palings, especially when the plantation consists chiefly of firs. The palings of . young firs are of two klncfa, either horizontal or upright. The horizontal resembles the jointed dressed paling already described, and the upright is similar to the lath paling. 3044. The chain horizontal fence is made by fixing a number of strong square piles into the earth at regular distances, in tlie direction in which the fence is to run ; each of these piles has three strong staples or iron hooks driven into it on each side, one near the top, one within eighteen inches of the bottom, and one in the middle ; to these staples or hooks chains are fastened and stretched horizontally, in the same manner as the pieces of wood are in a common horizontal wooden fence. When it is meant that the fence should be laid open for any temporary purpose, hooks ai'e driven into the posts in place of staples, and the chains bung upon them ; but where this is not wanted, the staples will be found the most secure method. In some cases the upright part of this fence, in place of wooden piles, such as have been described, consists of neat pillars of mason-work or cast iron, 3045. The rope fence is nearly the same as the former, that is, it consists of upright posts, driven into the earth at regular distances, with holes bored through them for the passage of the ropes ; in general there are three, and in some cases four, courses of ropes. This can only be used for confining cattle or horses ; for sheep it will be found quite incompetent ; for stretching across rivers, or pieces of water, like the chain fence, the' rope fence will be useful. 3046. Tlie movable wooden fence, flake, or hurdle. This has hitherto been principally employed in cases where sheep or cattle are fed vrith turnips in the field, to separate a ^lertain portion of their food at a time ; in that way hurdles are extremely useful, as the sheep or cattle, by having a given quantity of food allotted them at once, eat it clean up without any loss, which they would not do if allowed to ranged at large over the whole field. There are, however, many other purposes to which hurdles may be applied with equal advantage. In the subdivision of gentlemen's parks, in order to subject them to a course of aration, no fence is so suitable as the hurdle, which may be taken up and set down at pleasure, and in a short time. This circumstance being generally known, these fences never convey the idea of impassable barriers ; and, not being very common, they we never considered vulgar. Were it not for their expense, they would be far preferable 494 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt II. to common fences, in districts that do not require shelter ; because they occupy less space than hedges or walls, and do not, by attracting cattle, cause their manure to be unequally distributed ; nor do they haibour birds or insects. n a n J ^ 47« I — n -vr~' 11 11 II 11 . ._. II 1 ii-- II ]i _- . — u 479 ^^H 11 " k M 3ra 3047. Ornamental wooden hurdles {Jig. 478. and 479 .) may sometimes be formed at less cxi)cnse of material than the common sort, because they admit of being made strong by working up short pieces of wood. Those which are highest {Jig. 478. a h) may toe made of oak, and six feet high, so as to be a fence for cattle; others {jig. 479.) may he made of the common prunings and thinnings of young plantations. In general it is an improvement in the con- struction of hurdles to make the two sides so as to answer either as bottom or top {fig. 480.) ■ by which means, if a leg is broken off", it is only necessary to turn the hurdle upside down, ami we have still a perfect hurdle. For this purpose make the heads eighteen inches or two feet longer than usual, and sharpen both ends {Jig. 480.) ; then the side pieces should be always double, one on each side of the rails, and should shut in at their ends on the heads and the centre piece, that their bearings may be equally strong and firm whichever end is even uppermost. {Gmd, Mag. vol. iv.) 3048, Iron hurdles {-fig^ 481,)aie found a very elegant and durable fence, though more '* than double the expense of wood. For park or lawn fences they are admirably adapted; but occupy rather too much capital for a commer- cial farmer. 3049. The willow, or wattled, fence is made by driving a number of piles of any of the kinds of willow or poplar, about half the thick- ness of a man's wrist, into the earth, in the direction of the fence, and at the distance of about eighteen inches from each other. They are then twisted, or bound together along the top with small twigs of willow or poplar (Ji^» 482.). This kind of fence has some ad- vantages peculiar to itself; it not only forms a cheap and neat paling, but if it is done either about the end of autumn or early in the spring, with willows or poplars recently cut down, tlie upright parts or stakes will take root, grow, and send out a number of lateral branches ; and, if pains arc taken in the following autumn to twist and interweave these branches properly, a perma- nent and almost impenetrable fence maybe formed in two or three years. For the enclosing of marshy lands, or for completing any enclosure, where a part of the line in which the 483 fence ought to run is so wet as to be unfit for the growth of thorns, or the building of a wall, the willow paling will bo found an excellent contrivance, and the use of it will render many enclosures complete that could not otherwise have been formed. Sometimes stakes are used of a kind which do not take root and grow, in which case this form still makes a very neat and efficient temporary fence, (fig. 483.) I jirr — •' Book IV. PALING FENCES. 495 3050. ThepaUng of growing trees, or rails nailed to growing posts, is made by planting beech, larch, or other trees, in the direction of the fence, at about a yard distant from each other, more or less, as may be thought necessary : these trees should be pro- tected by a common dead paling, till they are ten or twelve feet high, when they should be cut down to six feet, and warped or bound together with willows at top and in the middle ; cutting off tlie tops will have the eflPect of making them push out a great number of lateral branches, which, if properly warped and interwoven with the upright part of the trees in the manner described for the willow fence, will both have a beautiful effect, and will at the same time form a fine fence, which, in place of deep decaying, will grow stronger with time, and may with very little trouble be kept in perfect repair for a great length of time. 305 1. Tlie upright and horimntal shingle fences are chiefly made of firs, coarsely sawn into deals of from half an inch to an inch thick, and of different breadths according to the diameter of the tree. Pretty strong square piles are driven or set into the eai-th, and the deals nailed horizontally upon them, in such a manner that the under edge of the uppermost deal shall project or lap over the upper edge of the one immediately below it ; the fence, when 'finished in tliis manner, will have nearly tlie same appearance as the bottom of a boat or cutter. An upright fence is made by fixing perpendicular posts in the earth, nailing three pieces of wood horizontally, and covering tliese with shingles placed perpendicularly ; in this case the shingles are not above three inches broad, and the extremittes of each are pointed at the top. 3052. The warped paling fence consists of pieces of wood driven into the earth, bent down in different directions, and their tops fastened together ; this fence resembles the chemtvic-defrise, with only this difference, that, in place of leaving the points standing up, as is the case with that part of fortification, they are bent down and tied together. When made of dead wood, this fence is equally perishable with others of the same description ; but when made of growing plants, it will be found very lasting. 3053. The light, open, paling fence, willi thorns, orthe branches of trees wove in {fig. 484.), 484 differs from the common paling fence already described, only in being warped either witli thorns, or the branches of trees. "When properly done, it forms at once a very complete fence; but, like all fences made with dead wood, it will be found very perishable, and will require many repairs. It has, however, one advantage, viz. that, when properly executed, it is proof against the entrance of animals of any kind. 3054. Primitive paling fences are formed without nails or ties of any sort, by 485 ^^ ^^ ^X\^ ^Aii^ ^W^ inserting the pales or stakes in the gi'ound in different di- rections {fig. 485.), and by using forked or hooked stakes. They are chiefly desirable in ' forest or park scenery for maintaining a particular cha- racter, and for separating horses, deer, &c. Such fences sometimes occur in Poland, Hungary, &c. ; but in a civilised country they are to be considered more in the light of effect than of practical utility. 3055. Park fences of iron are the most efficient and elegant, {fig. 486. and 487. ) Light cast-iron posts, with rails or round iron rods, five eighths of an inch in diameter, to the height of four feet, and, a foot higher, on the bent extremity of the posts, a chain instead of a rod (fig, 486.), are found to form a, barrier against any description of the 486 him larger quadrupeds kept in British parks, as horses, wild cattle, buffaloes, deer, &c. Painted green, or even with the paint called blue anticorrosion (ground glass and oil chiefly), or coated over with the pyrolignous liquor from the gasworks, such fences are not obtrusive, -and less liale to suggest ideas of limitation, confinement, restraint, &c., than walls or pales. Silarly characterised fences may be composed of connected hurdles {fig, 487), which are valuable, and probably the cheapest of all fences in 496 SCIENCE OF AGRICUWURE. Part H. dividing rich and extensive pastures, such as a park let out to a farmer for several years' a grazing. For poultry, or for excluding hares, rabbits, &c. the lower part of such fencca is covered with a wire netting. {Jig- 488.) SuBSEOT. 5. Wall Fences. 3056. Wall fences are constructed of different sorts of materials, and are of various kinds. They are for the most part good fences, though some of them, as those of the earthy kinds, are not by any means durable, and therefore should not be formed where better sorts can be used. In the construction of walls, it is essential that the stones be either taken from a quarry, or consist of the largest land-stones broken in such a manner as to have a good flat surface, in order that they may bind well; tliat tliey be built by masons, and well pinned ; that they have as dry and deep a foundation as possible, in order to guard against frosts, &c. ; that they be made wide at the bottom, and tapering upwards to about the breadth of ten inches, when the coping is to be applied ; that the coping consist of materials that cannot be readily overturned or removed, as, upon the manner in which it is finished, much of the future value and durability of tlie wall will be found to depend. 3057. Dry stone walls are of three kinds : those constructed of round stones gathered from the fields, and coped with turves ; of quarried stones, upon which some pains have been bestowed to put them into proper shape ; and the Galloway dike, so denominated from its being originally used in that country. 3058. The wall or dike made with round or land-st09ies, by labourers, and covered with a coping of turf, IS a very indifferent fence. In most instances, it is not only very ill constructed as to shape, being of one uniform thickness from top to bottom, but the stones, from their round figure, do not present a sufficient surface to each other to bind and give stability to the building. This fence has long been known, and is still very common in the remote parts of the country, upon estates where the first rude essay is made in the way of improvement, and where masons cannot readily be had. In such situations it has a two-fold benefit; the surface is cleared of many stones that would otherwise have presented a considerable obstacle to its cultivation, and the field is at the same time enclosed : but, though these Objects are accoin. plished for a time, their benefit is not permanent, as the wall is perpetually tumbling down j even the cattle rubbing against it make considerable gaps in many places; and in that way, great trouble and expense are annually required to keep it in repair. 48 9 SO.'jg. The wall in which the stones are quan-fed (fig. 489.), and put together by skilful masons, broad at bottom, tapering ^a- dually upwards, and finished at tojt with a substantial copmg, has a very neat appearance, and has been known to last thirty and even forty years without repairs. A good foundation is highly essential in the construction of this fence : from nine to twelve inches is the smallest depth that it should be below the .. common surface, especially if the soil is open and porous; and the largest and heaviest stones should always be laid undermost The best dikes of this kind are now built solid from bottom to top, and coped with stones resting upon others projecting beyond the width of the dike. (C.) 490 30G0. TVie Galloway dike or wall {fig. 490.) is principally employed for enclosing high grounds that are depastured with sheep, for the confining of which it seems well calculated. From two feet to two and a half, at the bottom, it is built in a regular compact manner with dry stones, in every respect the same as a dry stone wall with 1 a broad base, tapering gradually upwards : the building is then levelled with a course of flat stones, resembling a coping, in such a manner as that these flags or flat stones shall project two or three i.^^Z^^^£^^'?''^^y&''~-'iS^^^i^i^Y\^ \ ^"'^h^'' over the wall on each side. Above these flat stones is laid a } ' f'"*=C r'~ y^~^ p~-^^ V ^^^^ / course of rugged round oiies, placed upon each other in a way secure enougn to give stability to the building, but at the same time so oi>en as to leave a considerable vacuity between each ; by which means a free passage is afforded to the light and wind, which blows through them with a violent whistling noise. This rough open part of the building is generally raised three feet above the regular part of it, gradually tapering upwards, till it terminates in a top of about nine inches broad, every course of the rough stones being smaller ihan that immediately beneatn it. Its tottering appearance is so well calculated to prevent sheep, cattle, or other animals from approaching it, that it is seldom indeed that any attempt is made to leap over it. This circumstance, together with the ea.-^e with which the stones are procured, in most of the situations where the Galloway dike is used, renders it a valuable fence. Book IV. WALL FENCES. 497 306 1 . Stone and Ume walls, in order to be durable, should have a good foundation, deep enough to prevent them from being hurt by frosts, witli a broad base, tapering gradually upwards. Tliis fence, when properly executed, is, next to hedges, the most durable : it is, however, very expensive ; and its superiority over the dry stone-wall is so trifling in point of durability, as to render the latter the mors eligible, being much cheaper, and answering every purpose of a fence equally well. For the building of this wall, stones taken from the quarry are to be preferred to the common land-stones ; for though a mason may be able to remedy, in some measure, the inequality of surface in land-stones, by mixing plenty of lime with them, yet experience proves that walls made with such stones, notwithstanding every care on the part of the builder, are much less perfect, and last a much shorter time, tliaii where quarried stones are employed. This, like every other stone fence, should be secured at the top with a substantial coping. Stone fences of every description not only form^ complete enclosures at once, and by that means allow the proprietor to enter into immediate possession of every advantage that can arise from the enclosing of his fields, but, by the little room they occupy, a considerable portion of land is saved. 3062. In the construction qf walls qf stones and clay^ the clay is used like lime, and is meant to answer the same purpose. It requires slender observation to convince intelligent persons, that a wall made with such materials in the ordinary way cannot be a durable one \ for if the clay made use of in building the fence has been very moist, the summer's heat will dry it so much as to leave considerable chasms in the building j these chasms must necessarily deprive many of the stones of that support which they require, and in that way endanger the building. This, however, is not the only inconvenience with which this kjad of wall is attended ; the effect of the summer's sun upon the clay parches it so completely, that when the wet weather commences about the end of autumn, it absorbs the moisture like a sponge, and if it is overtaken by frost while in that state, the fabric swells, bursts, and tumbles down. . ^^Z. Walls of stone SplUtmg is an operation generally performed on roots of trees remaining in tlie soil for the purpose of facilitating their eradication. The wedge, in its simplest form, and of iron, is driven in by a hammer or mallet, till it produces fracture and separation, when the parts are removed as detached, &c. 3158. Pruning, or the amputation of part of a plant with the knife, or other instru- ment, is practised for various purposes, but chiefly on trees, and more especially on those of the fruit-bearing kinds. Of two adjoining and equal-sized branches of the same tree, if the one be cut off, that remaining wUl proiit by the sap wliich would have nourished the other, and both the leaves and the fruits which it may produce will exceed their natural size. If part of a branch be cut off which would have carried a number of fruits, those which remain will set, or fix, better, and become larger. On the observation of these facts is founded the whole theory of pruning ; which, though, like many other practices of culture, it canuot be said to exist very obviously in nature, is yet the most essential of all operations for the culture of fnut produced on trees. 3159. The objects of pruning raa.y he Ted\xceA. to the following: promoting growth and bulk; lessening bulk ; modifying form ; adjusting the stem and branches to the roots ; renewal of decayed plants or trees ; and removal or cure of diseases. 3160. Pruning for promoting the growth and bulk of a tree is the simplest object of pruning, and is that species which is chiefly employed by nursery-men with young trees of every description. The art is to cut oft' all the weak lateral shoots, that the portion of sap destined for their nourishment may be thrown into the strong ones. In some cases, besides cutting off the weak shoots, the strong ones are shortened, in order to produce three or four shoots instead of one. In general, mere bulk being the ol-ject, upright shoots are encouraged rather than lateral ones ; except in the case of trees trained on walls, where shoots are encouraged at all angles, from the horizontal to the perpendicular, but more especially at the medium of 4^1 degrees. In old trees, this object is greatly promoted by the removal, with the proper instruments, of the dead outer bark. 3161. Pruning for lessenirig the biUk of the tree is also chiefly confined to nursery practice, as necessary to keep unsold trees portable. It consists in little more than what is technically called heading dovm; that is, cutting off the leading shoots within an inch or two of the main stem, leaving, in some cases, some of the lower lateral shoots. Care is taken to cut to a leaf bud, and to choose such from among the side, upper, or under buds of the shoot, as the succeeding year's shoots may be wanted, in radiated lines from the stem, or in oblique lines in some places to fill up vacancies. It is evident that this unnatural operation persisted in for a few years must render the tree knotty and unsightly ; and in stone-fruits, at least, it is apt to generate canker and gum. 3162. Pruniv^for modifying the form qfthe tree embraces the management of the plant from the time of its propagation. In rearing trees planted for timber, it is desirable to throw the timber produced, as much as possible, into long compact masses; and hence pruning is employed to remove the side branches, and encourage the growth of the bole or stem. Where this operation is begun when the trees are young, it is easily performed every two or three years, and the progress of the trees under it is most satisfactory ; when, however, it is delayed till they have attained a timber size, it is, in all cases, much l^s conducive to the desired end, and sometimes may prove injurious. It is safer, in such cases, to shorten or lessen the size of lateral branches, rather than to cut them off* close by the stem, as the large wounds produced by the latter practice either do not cicatrize at all, or not till the central part is rotten, and has contaminated the timber of the trunk. In all cases, a moderate number of small branches, to be taken off as they grow large, are to be left on the trunk, to facilitate the circulation of the sap and juices. Where timber-^ees are planted for shelter or shade, unless intermixed with shrubs or copse, it is evident pruning must be directed to clothing them from the summit to the ground with side branches. In avenues, and hedgerow trees, it is generally desirable that the lowest branches should be a considerable distance from the ground; in trees intended to conceal objects, as many branches should be left as possible; and in others, which conceal distant objects desired to be seen, or injure or conceal near objects, the form must be modified accordingly. In all these cases, the superfluous parts are to be cut off with a clean section, near a bud or shoot if a branch is shortened, or close to the trunk if it is entirely removed ; the object being to facilitate cicatrization. SI63. Pruning for adjusting the stem and branches to the roots is almost solely applicable to transplanted trees, in which it is an essential operation, and should be performed in general m the interval between removal and replanting, when the plant is entirely out of the ground. Supposing only the extremities of the fibres broken off, as is the ease with very small plants and seedlings, then no part of the top will require to be removed ; but if the roots have been broken or bruised in any of their main branches or ramifications, then the pruner, estimating the quantity of root of which the plant is deprived by the sections of fracture and other circumstances, peculiar and general, will be able to form a notion of what was the bulk of the whole roots before the tree was disturbed. Then he may state the question of lessen, ing the top to adjust it to the roots, thus : — as the whole quantity of roots which the tree had before removal is to the whole quantity of branches which it now has, so is the quantity of roots which it now has to the quantity of top which it ought to have. In selecting the shoots to be removed, regard must be had to the ultimate character the tree is to assume, whether a standard, or trained fruit-tree, or orna- ments bush. In general, bearing- wood and weak shoots should be removed, and the stronger lateral and upright shoots, with leaf or shoot-eyes, left. 3164. Pruning for renewal of the head is performed by cutting over the stem a little way, say its own thickness above the collar, or the surface of the ground. This practice applies to old ozier-beds, coppipe woods, and to young forest-trees. Sometimes also it is performed on old or ill-thriving fruit-trees flvnich are headed down to the top of their stems. This operation is performed with the saw, and better after scarification, as in cutting off the broken limb of an animal. The live section should be smoothed with the chisel or knife, covered with the bark, and coated over with grafting-clay, or any convenient com- position, which will resist drought and rain for a year. Those who are advocates for pruning when the sap is dormant, will not of course be able to perform the operation of scarification, and covering the section with bark. ■ 3165. Pruning for curing diseases has acquired much celebrity since the time of Forsyth, whose amputations and scarifications for the canker, together with the .plaster or composition which he employed to protect the wounds from air, are treated of at large in his Treatise on Fruit-Trees, Almost all vegetable diseases either have their origin in the weakness of the individual or induce a degree of weakness ; hence to amputate a part of a diseased tree, is to strengthen the remaining part, because the roots remaining of the same force, the same quantity of sap will be thrown upwards as when the head and branches were entire. If the disease is constitutional, or in the system, this practice may probably, in some cases, communicate to the tree so much strength as to enable it to throw it off; if it be local, the amputation of the part will at once remove the disease, and strengthen the tree. 3166. Mowing is the operation of cutting down com, grass, and other herbage crops, with the scythe. It requires great force in the operator, and also a twisting motion of LI S14 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. the body which brings almost every muscle into action, and is in short one of the most severe of agricultural labours. The chief art consists in cutting the crop as close to tlie surface of the ground as possible, and perfectly level, pointing the swaths well out so as to leave scarcely any ridges under them. In the mowing of grain crops, scythes shorter in the blade than the common ones, and to which either a cradle or two twigs of ozier put semicircular-wise into holes made in the handles near the blades, in such a manner that one semicircle intersects the other, are made use of. Commonly, in mowing barley, oats, or other grain, the corn is on the right hand of the workman ; but M. de Lisle adopted something like the Hainauit method of mowing wheat (2479.), in which the corn was at his left hand: he mowed it inwards, bearing the com he cuts on his scythe, till it comes to that which is standing, against which it gently leans. After every mower a gatherer follows, who may be a lad, or a woman. The gatherer keeps within five or six feet of the mower, and being provided either with a hook or stick about two feet long, gathers up the corn, making it into parcels, and laying it gently on the ground ; this must be done with speed, as another mower immediately follows, and to every mower there is >i particular gatherer. To do this work properly, the mower should form but one track with his feet, advancing in a posture nearly as if he was going to fence, one foot chasing the other. In this manner the standing corn is mowed ; and the workman should take care to have the wind at his left, as it bears the com towards the scythe, and causes it to be cut nearer the ground. When wheat is bent, the work- man takes the corn as it presents itself to him, which has the same effect as if the wind was at his left side. When it is laid, it is more troublesome to the gatherer, because the cut com is apt to be mixed with that which is standing ; but a good mower takes the advantage of the wind, and cuts it against the way it is laid. No particular direc- tions can be given for corn that is lodged and entangled, unless it be to take it as it is inclined, as if the wind were on the back of the mower 3167. The usual method of mowing grain is the same as for grass, the scythe only having a cradle or bow fixed upon the heel of the handle. (^. 226.) In the " prac- tice of most districts, the scythe is swung horizontally or nearly level, leaving the stubble of almost an even height ; or if it rise on either side, forming what are called swath-balks : the butts of the swaths are suffered to rest upon them, the heads or ears of t}ie com falling into the hollow or close mown part of the preceding swath width. They ai'e of course liable, in a wet season, not only to receive an undue portion of rain water, but to be fouled with the splashings of heavy showers. But in the Kentish practice, which is said to excel those of other districts, the position of the swaths is different. Here, the heads of the com rest on the top of the swath-balk, provincially the beever, which is left of extraordinary height, as ten to fifteen inches ; so that the wind has a free circulation beneath the swaths. The workman, in performing this judicious operation, proceeds with his right foot forward, entering the point of his scythe with a downward stroke, and raising it as abruptly out, bringing the handle round to the left until it forms nearly a right angle with the line of the swath, carrying the corn in the cradle three or four feet behind the place where it grew, lifting it high, and letting it fall on the beever behind his left foot, and in the position above described. The disadvantages of this method are, the loss of some straw, the incumbrance arising from the length of stubble, and a little additional labour ; but in a district where cattle are not numerous, the loss of straw is not felt, and in any country the principle of laying the heads instead of the butts of the com upon the swath-balk, whether left high or low, might be well adopted." 3168. In the cutting of grass crops for the purpose of being conveited into hay, it is necessary that they be in the most suitable states of growth and maturity for affording the best and most nutritious fodder. With this view they should neither be cut at too early a period, nor suffered to stand too long ; as in the former case there will be consider- able loss in the drying, from the produce being in so soft and gieen a condition, and in the latter from a large proportion of the nourishing properties being expended. Grass, before it becomes in full flower, while the rich saccharine juice is in part retained at the joints of the flower-stems, is in the most proper condition for being cut down, as at that period it must contain the largest proportion of nutritious matter ; but in proportion as the flowers expand and the seeds ripen, the juice is taken up to constitute the meal or starch of the seed lobes, and is thus either dispersed upon the land, or fed upon by birds ; the grass stems with their leaves being left in a similar situation to that of the straw of ripened grain. But there are other circumstances, besides those of ripeness, to be attended to in determining the period of cutting crops of grass, as in some cases when they are thick upon the ground the bottom parts become of a yellow colour before the flowering fully takes place : under such circumstances it will often be the most advisable practice to mow as' soon as the weather will possibly admit ; for if this be neglected, there will be great danger of its rotting, or at any rate of its acquiring a disagreeable flavour, and of becoming of but little value. Where gr^s is very tall, as is Book V, OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. 515 often the case in moist meadows, it is liable to fall down and lodge, by which the same effects are produced. 3169. In cutting rouen or second crops of grass, more attention will be requisite than in the first, as tlie crops are mostly much lighter and more diiHcult to cut, the scythe being apt to rise and slip through the grass without cutting it fairly, except when in the hands of an expert workman. Crops of this sort should always be cut as much as possible when the dew is upon them, arid as soon as ever there is a tolerable growth ; as, by waiting, the season is constantly getting more unfavourable for making them into hay ; and when not well made, this hay is of little or no value. When the grass has been decided to be in the proper condition for being cut down, a set of mowers proportioned to the extent of the crop should be immediately provided. In some districts, it is the custom to pay these labourers by the day, but a better and more general practice is to let the work at a certain price by the acre. The extent or propor- tion of ground that can be mown in any given space of time must obviously vary much according to the nature of the ground, the fulness of the crop, and the goodness of the workman ; but in general an acre is supposed a full day's work for an expert mower. 3170. The mowing qf-weeds and coarse tussocks of grass in pasture should take place before they come into flower, or at all events before they ripen their seed. Bruising or clipping with a sort of blunt wooden shears is considered preferable for ferns, thistles, and nettles (3140.), as they are said not to spring up again the same season, which they are apt to do if cut over with the clean cut of the scythe. 3171. The mowing of weeds in rivers and ponds is done in the usual way from a boat, in which the operator stands, aiid is rowed forward by aiiother as required. Sometimes scythe-blades are tied or rivetted together* and worked by means of ropes like a saw froi]ti one shore to the other ; but the first mode is generally reckoned the best, even in public canals, and is unquestionably so in agriculture. 3172. Tlie Hainavit mowing is a process which is exclusively applicable to corn crops j it has been long practised in Flanders, and though various attempts have been made at different times and places to introduce it to this country, and notwithstanding the great advantages promised, it is still little known. We have already described the implement, and the mode of using it, and suggested reasons for its not being more generally employed. (2479.) The breadths of corn cut at evpry stroke, are carried forward by the joint operation of the blade and the hook, and collected at the left hand of the mower, where he leaves them standing almost erect, but leaning to the left against the standing corn. When as much is cut as will make a sheaf, the mower turns to the left so as to face the standing com, introduces his hook behind the tniddle of the leaning p^cels, and at the same time the scythe points near the bottom ; then mowing sideways to the left, returning over the ground he has mown, he draws and collects the cut com, still by means of the hook and scythe preserving the erect position of the straw, to the place where the last collecting operation ended ; then wheeling round to the left, with the hook still embracing the middle of the whole cut com, he stops the motion of the scythg, whilst the hook still moves forward to the left, so as to overset the corn and lay it evenly along on the stubble, with the ears towards the right, ready for the binder. In oversetting the col- lected corn he uses his left foot if necessary. The mower now advances to the front, and commences the cuts for a new sheaf as before, always working towards the standing com and not from it 3173. Reaping is the operation of cutting corn with the hook or sickle, the former called provincially bagging, the latter shearing or reaping. The operation of reaping is most general in the northern counties. The corn is cut in handfuls with the sickle t (2481.), and these are immediately deposited upon bands, formed by twisting together a few of the stalks of the corn at the ends next the ears, and afterwards hound up into sheaves, in order to their being set up into shocks or hattocks. Tile method is in most instances adopted with the wheat and rye crops in every part of the island, as it is difficult to cut without much loss'from the shedding of the grain ; and, in addition, it is of great advantage to have these sorts of crops bound up regularly into sheaves, the straw being much better. 3174. In bagging, the operator hooks up the com towards him, and then lays it on bands as in reaping. By this mode com is cut lower than by reaping ^ith the sickle but rather more straws drop unless great care is taken. 3175. Sheaving and shocking, or, as termed in the north, binding and stopking, are operations performed for the most part immediately aftgr the com is cut. In binding it is tied up in sheaves or bundles by the bands already mentioned; and in shocking or stooking, the sheaves are set on end in pairs leaning again^f each other, and covered or otherwise by what are called heading sheaves, laid on the ifpright ones so as to cover and protect the ears from the weather, and act as a roof to (he shock or stook. The number of sheaves brought together in a stook, and even the modes of placing them, vary in cljf- 516 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. ferent districts. The operation is performed with most care and neatness in the wet climates of the north. 3176. GaiHTig, or gaUning, as it is called in Northumberland, is an operation of much nicety in the performance, and in a damp climate of great consequence in its results. In the upland parts of Northumberland, it is performed in the following manner with the crops of oats, frequently with those of barley, and sometimes with those of wheat : — The gaitner follows immediately after about eight or nine sheaves have been cut and laid down ; the com being laid into the band near the tops or spikes of the corn, he seizes the ends of the band with each hand, brings the gaitning (sheaf) up to the left knee, gives the band a slight and peculiar twist, and then sets the sheaf up singly ; but in doing so he gives it a half turn round, which makes the skirts fly out and gives it exactly the ap- pearance of the straw cover of a bee-hive ; if properly done, the band should be so loose that the master can thrust his hand easily through the middle. The utility of this prac- tice is that no rain can lodge, and the corn therefore never sprouts unless the band has been tied too tight ; it also wins [dries] and is fit for the stack sooner. Gaitned sheaves are not good to keep standing in stormy weather ; some, therefore, now set three gaitned sheaves together, which keeps them up ; they are always sound before they are carted to the stack, but frequently they are not stooked. (J. C., R. near Alnwick.) 3177. An improved method of setting up sheaves rf com is thus described. Take a stake about twice the height of a sheaf, and drive it six inches into the ground at its thicker end, in an upright position, and around this place eight sheaves in the usual manner ; two more sheaves are then to be bound together at the straw end, and being inverted, are to be thrust down on the top of the stake, so that it shall pass up into the centre of the bound part, and their lower ends being then spread out so as to cover the lower sheaves will protect them from wet in the manner of a hood sheaf. ( Gard. Mag. vol. v. ) . 3178. In the reaping of grain crops, whether the sickle, hook, or scythe is employed for the purpose, there is much difference in the height at which the crops are cut in different places. In'some it is the practice to have the business performed in as close a manner as possible ; while in others a stubble of eight, ten, and fifteen inches or more is left. These different practices have their advocates ; one party supposing that the work pro- ceeds more slowly where it is executed in so close a manner, while the other contends that the contrary is the case. Bqt as the stubble which is left is not only useless to the land, but in many cases very troublesome in its succeeding culture, being frequently under the necessity of being removed, it would seem to be the best as well as cheapest practice, to have the business constantly executed in a close manner. By this means the agriculturist will not only have more litter at command for the bedding of his yards, stalls, and other places, and consequently an increase of manure, but with much less waste of grain, and at the same time be freed from the trouble and expense of removing the stubble. It has, indeed, been fully shown, by a careful trial, made with the view of ascertaining the difference between high and low reaping, that the advantage is con- siderably in favour of the latter. 3179. The sickle and the scythe in reapijig grain crops have each their advantages and ■ disadvantages. In the first manner, the crops are deposited with more regularity and - exactness, and consequently bound into sheaves with greater facility and despatch. Besides, in many cases, less loss is incurred by the shedding of the grain in the time the work is performing; but the labour is executed with greater difficulty and trouble. Reaping by the scythe possesses the superiority of being more expeditious, and of being performed to any degree of closeness that may be required ; while it has the evident disadvantage of leaving the cut grain in a more irregular and uneven situation, by which it is rendered less fit for being bound up into sheaves, which in many cases is an incon- » venience of great consequence. Another objection is, that the ears not being so regularly presented to the rollers of the threshing-mill, the threshing is not done so perfectly. When the grain has attained a high degree of ripeness, there may, likewise, be great loss sustained, by its being shed during the operation, in this way "of reaping or cutting the crop. Where this method is practised, it is, however, not unfrequently bound into sheaves, though the more common custom is to let it remain in the rows or swaths till fit for being put into the stack. It is generally the practice to cut it inwards against the crop on which it rests. In the other case, it is cut in the manner of grass for hay. It is obvious, therefore, that where operators are procured with difficulty, this mode of reaping is the most advisable ; while, under the contrary circumstances, the former may be had recourse to with more advantage, as the work may be executed in a neater and more exact way. 3180. Reaping, whatever mode be adopted, is often let by the acre to persons that go about for harvest work, and it may, in many cases, be best performed in this manner ; but great attention should be paid by the cultivator to see that the grain is cut and'bound up in a proper method, and that the work is not performed in improper weather. The prices vary according to the nature of the crops, the season, and other circumstances. In Eookv. mixed operations by Manual labour. 517 Forfarshire, smd in some otlier parts of the north of Scotland, reaping is performed by the Ihreave, which consists of twenty-four sheaves. By this practice it is the interest of the reapers to cut as close as possible, because they know, that the lower ends of the stalks fill the sheaf better than the upper parts. 3181. JWfin^ is a mode of taking a crop applicable chiefly to flax and hemp. These are pulled in handfuls, the earth beat and shaken from their roots, and after tlie handfuls have lain a day or more separately, they are collected together and tied in bundles. In the case of hemp, it being a dioecious plant, the male stalks are pulled some weeks before the others. Dry weather is preferable for the operation. 3182. Digging vp or forking up is occasionally resorted to for taking crops of roots, as potatoes, carrots, &c. In performing this operation, the principal thing is to avoid c utting or bruising the roots with the spade or fork, and to separate the roots from the soil by first lifting up the spitful and then throwing it down in such a way as to break and scatter it, and bring to light the roots or tubers. When crops of this sort are planted in rows, they are frequently raised by a plough, the coulter being withdrawn. Sect. IV. Mixed Operations performed by Manual Labour. 3183. The mixed agricultural operations differ little from the last as to the skill or strength required in the operator : they are chiefly ropemaking, thatching, turning straw or hay, drawing or sorting straw, flail-threshing, hedging and ditching, weigh- ing, measuring, stack-building, sheep-shearing, paring and burning turf, binning clay, and forming compost soils or manures. 3184. Straw rope making is an operation which requires two persons when performed in the usual manner vrith a crook. {Jig. 222. ) In this case the person who forms the rope is stationary, and the twister moves from him backwards the length of the rope ; but if the crook is turned by machinery, as, for example, by a movement from a threshing machine, or by a detached machine turned by hand (Jig. 223.), then the person who forms the rope moves backwards as he lets out the material to be twisted. These sorts of ropes are commonly made of oat or rye straw ; but they are also formed of coarse hay or rushes, long moss, ferns, &c. In all cases the material requires to be moistened and thoroughly mixed together before it is made use of by the ropemaker. 3185. Thatching is the operation of covering the roofs of buildings, stacks, &c. with some sort of thatch. It is an art that requires considerable care, attention, and practice, to perform it in a proper manner. Before this business is begun, it is necessary that the materials, of whatever kind they may be, should undergo some preparation. With articles of the straw kind the usual method is this; the substances, after being well moistened with water, are drawn out in handfuls perfectly straight and even, into regular lengths, and the short straw separated from them, leaving them placed in convenient bundles to be carried to the thatcher by the person who has the serving of him. 3186. The application of thatch to stacks of hay or corn is performed by different methods, according to the nature of the materials employed. Where long straw is made use of, the operator or workman usually begins at the eaves or bottom of the roof, deposit- ing it in handfuls in regular breadths till he reaches the top, the different handfuls being so placed endwise as to overlap each other, the upper ends being constantly pushed a little into the bottom parts of the sheaves. In this manner he gradually proceeds, breadth after breadth, till the whole of the roof is covered, which is usually done to the thickness of about four or five inches. In order to retain the thatch in its place, short sharp-pointed sticks are sometimes thrust in, in a slanting direction up- wards, and sometimes small sticks sharpened at the ends are bent and thrust in along the top parts and sides : but as the water is apt to follow the course of the sticks, it is a better practice to make use of ropes of twisted straw for this purpose. In some cases these are applied only round the bottom parts of the roof and the sides ; while in others, gig which is a much better and more secure method, they are applied in such a manner over the whole stacks, as to form a sort of net or lozenge work of nine or twelve inches in width in the meshes {Jig. 515.), file ends being well fastened either to the sides of the stack under the eaves, or to a rope carried round in that situation on purpose to fasten them to. This method of tying on the thatch should always be had recourse to where the stackyards are greatly exposed to the effects of wind, as withoiC such precautions much injury and loss may frequently be sustained by the farmer. It is in common use in Northumberland and north- wards. 3187. In the apjylicalion of stubble as a thatch for ricks, it is mostly put on by sticking one of its ends into the roof of the stack in a regular and exact manner, so that it may stand very close and thick ; when the other, with such loose straws as may occur, is to be cut over or pared off with the thatching knife, or a very sharp tool for the purpose, so LI 3 518 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part I L as to form a neat and impenetrable thatch, having the appearance of a newly thatched 516^ J. house-roof {Jig. 516.) ; the whole being well secured in its place by x'*^ sliort pegs made for the purpose, somewhat in the same way as in the /v^ / 1 ^k. other stacks. 3188. T/te time of commencing the thatching of hny and corn slacks in England is generally delayed until they have fully settled, as under the contrary circumstance it is sure to rise into ridges afterwards, and _. by that means admit the water to pass down into them, and of course ^^^^^^B- do much injury to the corn or hay- In Scotland, the stacks aie covered with all convenient speed after being built, and a great deal of loss is sometimes sustained, when they are left uncovered even for a few days. When the stack subsides, it is only necessary to tighten the ropes, or, in some instances, a part of the ropes are left to be applied, when this subsidence takes place. 3189. In thatching the roofs of houses or other buildings with any of the sorts of straw, the same rules are in some respects to be followed, only the materials are to be laid on to a considerable thickness, and be more firmly secured. They are applied in regular narrow slips, or what in some districts are termed gaftgs or coursesj from the eaves of the building to the ridges, the ladder being moved forward as the work proceeds. The thatch is secured by short sharpened sticks thrust in where necessary ; and bended sticks sharpened at each end are sometimes made use of near the ridges, being thrust in at each end. In finishing the work, the thatcher employs an iron-toothed rake, with which the whole ife raked over from tlie top to the bottom, so as to render it completely smooth and even, and take away all the short straws. 3190. The method of thatching with reed, according to Marshall, who seems to have paid much attention to the subject, in his account of Tfie Rural Economy of Norfolk, is this : " No laths being made use of, in laying it a little of the longest and stoutest of the reed is scattered irregularly across the naked spars, as a foundation to lay the main coat upon : this partial gauze-like covering is called the Jieaking. 3191. On this Jieaking the main covering is laid, and fastened down to the spars by means of long rods (provincially, sways) laid across the middle of the reed, and tied to the spars with rope yarn, or with bramble boithsy which formlerly were much in use, but which are now nearly laid aside, especially for new roofs. 3192. Reed is not laid on in longitudinal courses^ in the manner that straw thatch is usually y)Ut on, nor are the wholie eaves set at once. The workman begins at the lower corner of the roof, on his right hand, for instance, and keeps an irregular diagonal line or face, until he reach the upper corner to his left, a nar- row eaves-board being nailed across the feet of the spars, and &orae Jieaking scattered on ; the thatcher begins to * set his eaves,' by laying a coat of reed, eight or ten inches thick, with the heads resting upon the fleaking, and the butts upon the eaves-board. He then lays on his sway {a rod rather thicker than a large withy), about six or eight inches from the lower points of the reeds ; whilst his assistant, on the inside, runs a needle, threaded with rope yarn, close to the spar; and in this case, close to the upper edge of the eaves-board. The thatcher draws it through on one side of the sway, and enters it again on the contrary side, both of the sway and of the spar : the assistant draws it through, unthreads it, and with the two ends of the yarn makes a knot round the spar, thereby drawing the sway, and con. sequently the reed, right down to the roof; whilst the thatcher above, beating the sway and pressing it down, assists in making the work the firmer. The assistant having made good the knot below, he pro- ceeds with another length of thread to the next spar, and so on till the sway be bound down the whole length ; namely, eight or ten feet This being done, • another stratum of reed is laid on upon the first, so as to make the entire coat eighteen or twenty inches thick at the butts ; and another sway laid along, and bound down> about twelve inches above the first' 3193. The eaues are adjusted and formed, not square with the spars, but nearly horizontal ; nor are they formed by cutting; but by ' driving ' them with a ' legget* a tool made of a board eight or nine inches square, with a handle two feet long, fixed upon the back of it, obliquely, in the manner of the tool used by gardeners in beating turf The face of the legeet is set with large-headed nails, to render it rough, and make it lay hold of the butts of the reeds. Then another layer of reed is laid on, and bound down by another sway^ somewhat shorter than the last, and placed eighteen or twenty inches above it ; and above this another, and another, continuing to shorten the sways until they be brought ofF to nothing, and a triangular corner of thatching formed. After this, the sways are used their whole length, whatever it happens to be, until the workman arrives at the finishing corner. By proceeding in this irregular manner, seams between the courses are prevented, and unnecessary shifting of ladders avoided. 3194i The face of the roqf is formed and adjusted like the eaves, by driving the reed with the legget ; which operation, if performed by a good workman, not only gives the roof a beautiful polished surface, but at the same time fastens the reed, which being thickest towards the butts, becomes like a tapering pin, the tightei the farther it is driven. 3195. Finishing the ridge of the roof. In the case of reed running from four to six or eight feet long, the heads meet at the ridge of the roof, whilst the butts are still at a distance from each other. For this rea- son, as well as for that of the wear being less towards the ridge, the shortest (which is generally the worst) reed is saved for the upper part of the roof. But even sui)pDsing the uppermost courses to be only four feet long, and that the heads (belonging to the two sides) be interwoven in some degree with each other, the butts will still remain six or seven feet asunder; and the ridge of the roof consequently be left in a great measure exposed to the weather. In order to remedy this inconvenience, and to give a finish to the ridges, a cap (provincially, a roof) of straw is set on in a masterly, but in an expensive, manner. In this operation, the workman begins, it is observed, by bringing the roof to an angle, with straw laid lengthwise upon the ridge, in the manner in which a rick is topped up ; and to render it firm, to keep it in its place, and to prevent the wind from blowing it ofFor ruflaing it,"he pegs it down slightly with 'double broaches ;' namely, cleft twigs, two feet long and as thick as the finger, sharpened at both ends, bent double, and perhaps barbed by partial chops on the sides, to make them hold in the better after being thrust down. This done, the workman lays a coat of straight straw, six or eight inches thick across the ridge, beginning on either side at the uppermost butts of the reed, and finishing with straight handfuls evenly across the top of the ridge. Having laid a length of about four feet in this manner, he proceeds to fasten-.it firmly down, so as to render it proof against wind and rain. This is done by biying a * brochen UggeiC (a quarter-cleft rod as thick as the finger, and four feet in length) along the middle of the ridge, p^ing it down at every four inches with a double broach, which is thrust down with Book V. MIXED OPERATIONS BY MANUAL LABOUR. 519 the hands, and afterwards driven with the legget, or with a mallet used for this purpose,. The middle Ugger being firmly laid, the thatcher smooths down the straw with a rake and his hands, about eight or nine inches on one side, and at six inches from the first lays another Ugger, and pegs it down with a similar number of double broaches, thus proceeding to smooth tlie straw, and to fasten on liggers at every six inches, until he reach the bottom of the cap. One side finished, the other is treated in the same man- ner ; and the first length being completed, another and another length is laid, and finished as the first, until the other end of the ridge be reached. He then cuts off the tails of the straw square and neatly with a pair of shears, level with the uppermost butts of the reed, above which the cap (or most properly the roojtet) shows an eaves of about six inches thick ; and, lastly, he sweeps the sides of the main roof with a bough of holly i when the work is completed." 3196. Ti~ussing straw or hay is the operation of binding it in bundles for more con- venient deportation. In trussing hay from a rick, it is cut into cubic masses with the hay-knife (2484), and tied by a hay rope passing once across each of its sides. If the trusses are intended for the London market, they are weighed with a steelyard, and each truss of old stacked hay must weigh 56 pounds, and of new hay, dining June, July, and August, 60 pounds. We have described a very convenient machine for the operation of trussing. (2561.) 3197. Straw is commonly trussed by tying it into bundles by a band of a handful of straws, or a short rope across the middle of the bundle, or by a particular mode of twisting and turning back. the two straggling ends of a loose armful of straw, and tying these ends in the middle. This mode, more easily practised than described, is termed in the north bottling or windling. When wheat-straw or any other sort is to be trussed for thatch, it is first drawn into regular lengths, leaving out the refuse, as already alluded to . under thatching. In London, the straw sold for litter is always required to be trussed in this manner, and each truss is required to weigh 56 pounds. 3198. Threshing by the fiail is still a very general practice in most of the southern counties, though all intelligent men agree that it is more expensive and less effectual than threshing by a machine. Even on the smallest-sized farms, where a horse machine would be too expensive, either the hand machine or portable machine (2546.) might be employed. Besides threshing cleaner, and that too in a manner independently of the care of the operators, the work is performed without the aid of expensive threshing floors, goes on rapidly, is a more agreeable description of labour for servants, employs women and children, and, finally, exposes the corn to less risk of pilfering. 3199. In the flail ?node qf threshing y the produce is constantly exposed to the depredations of the persons employed in executing the business, which is a great objection, and in many cases this mode proves a source of great loss to the farmer, as he cannot by any means prevent the impositions to which it renders him liable. It has been observed by Middleton, in his Survey qf Middlesex, that " where threshers are employed by the day, they frequently do not perform half the work that ought to be done in the time, nor even that in a perfectly clean manner ;" and that if " it be executed by the quarter, or by the truss, the fre^t cori] is threshed out, and the rest left in the ear." The same thing takes place in a greater or less degree in every other mode that can be devised for having the work performed by the hand ; and it is consequently only by the general introduction and use of the threshing machine that the property and interest of the farmer can be fXilly secured, and work be executed with a proper degree of economy. 3200. In respect to the mode of threshing corn by the flatly it is the practice in some districts for only one person to be employed upon a floor, yet as two can thresh together with equal if not greater expedition and dispatch, it must be a disadvantageous mode ; but where more than two labourers thresh together, which is sometimes the case, there must be frequent interruptions, and a consequent loss of time. The fiail or tool by which this sort of business is performed should be well adapted to the size and strength of the person who makes use of it, as, when disproportionately heavy in that part which acts upon the grain, it much sooner fatigues the labourer, without any advantage being gained in the beating out of the grain. The best method of attaching the diffbrent parts of the implement together is probably by means of caps and thongs of good tough leather. Iron is, however, sometimes employed. In threshing most sorts of com, but particularly wheat, the operators should wear thin light shoes, in order tp avoid bruising the grains as much as possible. In the execution of the work, when the corn is bound into sheaves, it is usual for the threshers to begin at the ear-ends, and proceed regularly to the others, then turning the sheaves in a quick manner by means of the flail, to proceed in the same way with the other side, thus finishing the work. 3201. The quantity of corn that a labourer will thresh vnth the flaU in any given period of time, must depend on the nature of the grain, the freeness with which it threshes, and the exertions of the labourer; in general it may be of wheat, from one to one and a half quarter; of barley, from one and a half to two quarters ; and of oats mostly about two in the day. The exertions of labourers in this sort of work in the northern districts of the kingdom are, however, much greater than in those of the south ; of course a much larger proportion of labour must be performed. In some places it is the practice to thresh by the measure of grain, as the bushel, quarter, &a ; while in others it is done by the threave of twenty-four sheaves, and in some by the day. In whatever way the agricultor has this sort of business performed there is always much necessity for his constant inspection, in order to prevent the frauds and impositions that are too frequently practised upon him by the persons engaged in the execution of it. S202. The practice of whipjnng out grain is resorted to in some districts with wheat, when the straw is much wanted for thatch. The operator takes a handful, and strikes the ears repeatedly against a stone, the edge of a board, or the face of a strong wattled hurdle, till the com is separated. 3203. Burning out, i mode formerly practised in the Highlands of Scotland, and not yet obsolete, may be noticed here. It is to burn the straw with the com in it, instead of subjecting it to the flail. This has been described in several of the County Reports, particularly in Walker's Hebrides and Macdonald's Report of the Western Islands. The com is thus not only separated from the straw but sufficiently dried or parched to grind without being sent to the kiln. It is a bad practice, as the straw is lost, and consequently the soil, for want of manure, must soon become barren. LI 4 520 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paht II. 3204. Rippling is tlie operation of separating the boles or seed-pods of flax and hemp by striking in the manner of whipping, or more commonly by drawing them through an implement of the comb kind, constructed with several upright triangular prongs set near togetlier in a strong piece of wood. 3205. Hedging and ditching, the operation of making and mending fences and open water-courses of the different kinds already enumerated, consists of the combined application of digging, shovelling, cutting, clipping, and faggoting, described in this section and the two foregoing. 3206. Faggoting is a term applied to the dressing or binding of the prunings or superfluous branches and spray of hedges. The bundles are made of different sizes in different parts of the country, and in the same place according to the purpose to which they are to be applied. They are tied with willow, hazel, or some other pliable wood, twisted before application. 3207. Slacking wood for fuel occurs in the practice of common agriculture when hedges and pollard trees or tree-roots are stocked or dug up. The wood, whether roots or trunk, is cut into lengths of from eighteen inches to two feet with a saw, then split with iron wedges into pieces of not more than an inch and a half, or two inches in diameter, and built into an oblong stack generally three feet broad and high, and six feet long. 3208. Stacking wood for burning, stewing for tar or pyrolignous acid, charring, and similar purposes, are peculiar to forest culture, and will be treated of in the proper place. (See Part III. or Index.) 3209. Faring and burning is the process of paring off the surface of lands in a state of grass, in order to prepare them for arable culture by means of fire. In the method of performing the process there is some slight difference in different districts, and an attention to the nature of the lands is as necessary as in other husbandry oper- ations. It would seem that some soils, as those of the more clayey and heavy kinds, would be most benefited by having the fire as much as possible in contact with the whole of their superficial parts, without being carried too far, as by that means they may be rendered more proper for the reception of the roots of vegetables after being slightly ploughed, as well as more suitable for supplying nourishment to them ; while in oSiers, as those of the more light and thin description, it might be most advantageous merely to consume the thin paring of sward after being piled up for the purpose, without per- mitting the fire to exert its influence upon the mould or soil immediately below, as in this way there would not probably be so much danger of injuring the staple by destroy- ing the vegetable matters contained in such soils. Of course, in the first of these modes of burning the sward, the sods or parings should be piled up as little as possible into heaps, the advantage of a suitable season being taken to apply the fire to them in the state in which they lie or are set at first after being cut up, or after a few only have been placed together, as in some instances where they are, immediately after being cut, set on edge to dry, and placed in serpentine directions in order to prevent them from falling over. In the latter cases they should be formed or built up into little circular heaps or piles, somewhat in the form and size of the little cocks made in hay-fields, the sods being placed the grass-side downwards, in order to admit air ; but the openings both at the bottoms and tops, after they have been fully set on fire by some combustible substance, such as straw, &c., are to be closed up, and those in other parts covered by an addition of sods, so that the combustion may proceed in a slow smothering manner as practised in the making of charcoal. When the whole of the earth in each of the piles has been acted upon by the fire, the heaps may be suffered to extinguish themselves by slowly burning out. 3210. A variety qfthis operation, calted skirting or peat-buming, is practised in Devonshire and Corn wall, for breaking up and preparing grass lands for the reception of fallow crops. A part of the sward or surface is alternately left unturned, upon whicli the next thin furrow slice is constantly turned so that the swards of each come in contact, by which means the putrefactive fermentation is speedily excited and the greatest part of the grassy vegetable matter converted into manure. What ultimately remains undcstroyed being, after repeated cross-cuttings with the plough and harrowings. coUected into smaU heaps and burnt, the ashes are then spread evenly over the land. «'»"«>" 3211. With respec:t to the implements used in paring, different kinds are made use of in different narts of the island : that which was the most employed in the infancy of the art, was a kind of curved mattock or adze, about seven or eight inches in length, and five or six in breadth : and which from its shane would appear to have been better adapted for cutting up the roots of brushwood, furze broom or othei coarse shrubs, than for paring off the surface of a field free from such incumbrances Where tile sod is pared off by manual labour, the ordinary breasUspade, in some places called the breasUplough and in Scotland the flaughter-spade, is mostly employed. In working the tool, the labourer generally cuts the sods at about an inch or an inch and a half thick, and from ten to twelve inches broad- and when the snadc has run under the sod to the length of about three feet, he throws it off, by turning the instrument to one side; and proceeds in the same way, cutting and throwing over the sods, the whole length of the ridire In this way of performing the operation, the labourers, by following each other with a slice of the sward or surface of the land, accomplish the business with much ease, and in an expeditious manner 3212 In the Jennt/ districts, on the eastern coasts, where paring and burning is practised on a larce scale, the horse paring-plough is used, made of different constructions, accordin| to the circumstances of the ground to be pared. These ploughs are calculated for paring off the sward or sod of such grounds as are level, and where neither stones, brush-wood, anUhiUsj nor other impediments obstruct their Book V. MIXED OPERATIONS BY MANUAL LABOUR. 521 progress ; but where such obstacles present themselves, the breast-spade, or the common team.plough with a small alteration of the share, will be found preferable, both in respect to the extent of ground that can be pared, and the superior manner in which the worlc in such cases can be performed. Ploughs, fyom their great expedition and regularity of performing the business, should always be made use of where the nature and situation of the land will admit them, in preference to such tools as require manual labour. 3S13. In some of the western comUies^ the common plough only is used. There the old grass fields, when it is proposed to burn the sward, are rib or slob furrowed about the beginning of winter; and being again cross- ploughed the following spring, the sods are collected and managed in the manner mentioned in speaking of skirting. In those cases, the plough has, however, a wing turned up on the furrow side of the ploughshare, by which the furrow is cut any breadth required. 3214. Tke seaso7ifor paring and burning is in April, May, and June : the particular period must, how- ever, always depend much on the state of the weather and the nature of the crop. When the east winds prevail, in February and March, this sort of business may sometimes be carried on. But for accomplishing the work with the greatest dispatch, and also with the least trouble and expense, a dry season is obviously the best The prudent cultivator should not embark in the undertaking, unless there is a reasonable probability of his accomplishing it while tbe weather keeps dry and favourable. In the more northern districts, the latter end of May or the beginning of June, when the hurry of the spring seed-time is over and a number of hands can be most easily procured, may, upon the whole, be considered the best and most convenient season ; as at this period the green vegetable products are in their most succulent state, and of course may probably afibrd more saline matter : but, in the more southern counties, either a much earlier season must be taken, or the interval between the hay season and the harvest time must be fixed upon; the latter of which is, on the principle just stated, evidently the best, where the extent of ground to be burnt is not too large. In other seasons it would frequently be impossible to procure a sufficient number of hands for performing the business. In bringing waste lands into cultiva- tion, where an extensive tract of ground is to undergo this process, the autumn may, in many cases, afford a convenient opportunity for the operation. A good deal depends on the crops that are to be sown after paring and burning. When rape or turnips are to be cultivated, the end of May or the beginning of June will be the most proper time: but if barley or oats are to be sown, the paring and burning must be completed as early in spring as the nature of the season will admit : and when lands are pared and burned as a prei>aration for a crop of wheat, July, or even the beginning of August, may, in favourable seasons, answer ; but it is better to have the ground ready sooner if possible. 3215. In respect to the depth to which lands of different qualities may be pM-ed with the most advantage, it is obvious that, as it can hardly be proper to pare light thin-stapled soils to the same depths as those of the more deep and heavy kinds, it should, in some degree, be regulated by their particular nature, and their difference in depth and heaviness. Boys, who is in the habit of breaking up thin chalky soils, and such as have been in tillage, in this way, observes, that in Kent, where the method of paring most in use is with down~shares or breast-ploughs, they take ofi'turf as thick as the nature of the soil will admit, from half an inch to two inches; the thicker the better, provided there is a sufficient portion of vegetable matter contained within them to make them burn welL The most usual depths of paring are fVom about one inch to three. 3216. In regard to burnings when the season is not very wet, the turves will commonly be sufficientlv dried in about a fortnight or three weeks, even without being turned ; but in rainy weather they require a longer time, and must be turned more than once to prevent their striking out roots and shoots, which might hinder them from burning. 3217. Spreading the ashes. As soon as the turves have fully undergone the process of burning, and are reduced to the state of ashes and a powdery earthy matter, the whole should, as soon as possible, be spread out over the land in as regular and equal a manner as the nature of the work will admit of: for, without great attention in this respect, great inequality in the crops may take place ; besides, the soU will be made lighter in some places than in others, which may be disadvantageous in the same way. The spreading, where it can by any means be accomplished, should always be performed before any rain falls - as, where this point is not attended to, a great loss ma;^ be sustained by the saline matters being carried down in a state of solution, and their beneficial efi'ects in a great measure lost before the crops are in a condition to receive them. In order to secure the full influence of the ashes, the land is frequently slightly ploughed over immediately' after the ashes are spread out ; and it is stated by Donaldson, that those who are more than ordinarily attentive in this respect, only rib or slob furrow the field, so that the ashes after burning may be covered up with the greater expedition and dispatch. By this mode, how- ever, they probably cannot be so equally mixed with the soil as by that of ploughing the wiiole field with a very sUght furrow, so as just to cover them. , 3218. The expense of the operation ^paring and burning will vary according to the nature and situation of the land, the method in which it is performed, and the customs of the district in regard to the price of labour. On the thin sort of chalky soils it is stated by Boys, that the expense for paring at a moderate thickness, where the land is not very flinty, is about equal to four or five ploughings. 32 1 9. The operation of drying and burning clay for manure is in several respects similar to that of paring and burning the verdant surface. The practice of burning clay has at various times been pursued with energy and success, and at other times has fallen into neglect. The oldest book in which it is mentioned, is probably The Country Gentle~ man's Companion, by Stephen Switzer, Gardener, London, 1732. In that work it is stated that the Earl of Halifax was the inventor of this useful improvement; and that it was much practised in Sussex. There are engravings of two kilns for burning clay one adopted in England, and the other in Scotland ; where it is said to have been ascer- tained, that lands reduced by tillage to poverty, would produce an excellent crop of turnips, if the ground were ploughed two or three times, and clay ashes spread over it. In the same work, there are several letters, written in the years 1730 and 1731, stating that the plan of burning clay had answered in several parts of England ; and accounts were received from Scotland, that upon experiment it had answered better than either lime or dung, but was found too expensive. The practice is described at length in Ellis's Practical Farmer, or Hertfordshire Husbandman, 1732. In 1786 James Arbuthnot of Peterhead tried several successful experiments with burning clay and various others have since been made in different parts of the empire. In 1814 the practice was revived and written 6n by Craig of Cally, near Dumfries, and soon after by General Beatson, near Tunbridge ; by Curwen, Burrows, and several correspondents of agricultural journals. In Ireland, it would appear, the practice prevails in several places, and Craig says he adopted it from seeing its effects there. The result of the wliiile is, that the benefits of this moj^ of manuring have been greatly exaggerated * 522 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II, though they certainly appear to be considerable on clayey soils. Aiton {Far7ner*s Mng, vol. xxii. p. 423) compares this rage for burning clay, which existud in 1815, to the florin mania of a few years* prior date. In 1 822, he found few of the advocates for these improvements disposed to say much on the subject, and saw very few clay-kilns smoking. " To give my ultimatum upon this subject," he says, " I regret that the discoverers of florin grass, and of the effects of burnt clay, have so far overrated their value. Both are useful and proper to be attended to; — the grass to be raised on patches of marshy ground, and used as green food to cattle in winter ; and the burnt earth as a corrector of the mechanical arrangement of a stubborn clay soil ; and I have no doubt, but if they bad been only recommended for those valuable purposes, they would have been brought into more general use than they yet are, or will be, till the prejudices against them, arising from the disappointment of expectations raised high by too flattering descriptions, are removed.*' 3220. The action qf burnt clay on the soil is thus described by the same author : — " It must be obvious to every person who has paid attention to the subject, that when clay or other earth is burnt into ashes like Ijrick-dust, it will not (unless acids are applied to it) return again to its former state of clay, but will remain in the granulated state or ashes or friable mould, to which it was reduced by the oi>eration of burning. An admixture of that kind with a strong adhesive clay must evidently operate as a powerful manure, by changing the mechanical arrangement of the latter, and rendering it more friable; giving greater facility to the percolation of redundant moisture, and to the spreading of the roots of vegetables in quest of food. The application of as much water, sand, or any similar subsitance, would have exactly the same effect, in opening and keeping open the pores of an adhesive clay soil, and converting it into the quality of loam. Besides this, which would be a permanent improvement upon the staple or texture of every clay soil^ burnt clay or torrefied earth may sometimes acquire, in that operation, a small quantity of soot or carbonic matter, that may, in favourable circumstances, operate for one season as a manure, or as a stimulus, to a small extent, to the growth of vegetables. This at least may be the case, if the clay or earth burnt shall abound with vegetable matter, and if the burning is conducted in such a smothered tvay, as to prevent the smoke or vegetable matter from escaping. But as it is the subsoil that is recommended, and seems to be generally used for burning, it is impossible any considerable quantity of vegetable matter can be found in it. 3221. The calcareous matter in the soil, it is said, will be calcined and formed into lime by the operation of burning; but I am disposed to consider this argument as far more plausible than solid. Calcareous matter is no doubt found, on chemical analysis, to a certain extent in some soils ; perhaps some per- ceptible portion of it may be found in every soil : but it is seldom or never found in any soil, to such ah extent as to be of much use as a manure to other land. Even where the soil is impregnated with a large portion of calcareous matter, if it is not in the form of limestone, but minutely mixed with it, the burn- ing cannot either increase or much alter the lime. If it is in the form of stones, however small, or in what is called limestone gravel, there is little chance of its being calcined in the operation of burning the tlay : it would go through that ordeal unaltered. Any change, therefore, that can be made upon the small portion of calcareous matter in the soil by burning in the manner directed, can scarcely have any perceptible effect, when that matter is alpplied as manure to other soils. And though it is possible that some qualities in particular soils, unfavourable to vegetation, may be corrected by burning, and that in some other instances the fire may render the clay more nutritive to plants {though I have not been able to trace this, or even to conjecture how it can happen), yet I am much disposed to believe, that its effecl as a mechanical mixture in opening the pores of the soil, is the chief improvement that can be derived from the application of burnt clay as a manure. If it has any other effect, it must be f^om the soot oi carbonic matter collected during the operation of burning ; or perhaps it may acquire, by the torrefaction, something of a stimulating quality, that may for a short time promote the growth of particular plants : but these qualities can only be to a small extent, and continue to act for a very limited period." {Par, Mag. xxii. 422.) 3222. The action qf burnt clay, according to a writer in The Farmer's Journal^ is at least three-fold, and may be manifold. It opens the texture of stubborn clays, gives a drain to the water, spiracles to the air, and affords to the roots facility of penetrating. Clay ashes burnt from turves, containing an admixture of vegetable matter, consist, in some small proportion, of vegetable alkali or potass, a salt which is known to be a good manure. It also, in most cases, happens that a stiff cold clay is impregnated with pyrites, a compound of sulphuric acid and iron. Althougn the chemical attraction between these two bodies is so strong, that it is one of the most difficult operations in the art^s totally to free iron from sulphur, yet a very moderate heat sublimes a large portion of the sulphur. The iron is then left at hberty to re-absorb a portion of the redundant sulphuric acid, which too generally is found in these soils, and thereby sweetens the land ; and it is probable that the bright red or crimson calx of iron, which gives colouring to the ashes when over-burnt, is beneficiai to vegetation in the present case, insomuch as it is, of itself one of the happiest aids to fertility, as exemplified in the red marl strata and red sand strata throughout the kingdom. The evolution and recombination of diffferent gases, no doubt, materially afffect the question; but it is reserved for accurate chemical observers to give us an account of the processes which take place in this respect Curwen notices that clay ashes do no benefit as a top-dressing on grass, which is in part to be explained by reason that the ashes, when spread on thesurfaceof the grass, catmot exert mechanical action on the soil in the ways enumerated. Neither can the calx of iron come so immediately in contact with the particles of the soil, for the production of any chemical effect, as it would do if the ashes were ploughed in. In short, like many other manures which are laid on the surface, unless it contains some- thing soluble which may be washed into the ground by rains, it does very little good ; and the feeble proportion of vegetable alkali is probably the only soluble matter the ashes contain However sanguine may be the admirers of burnt clay, all experience confirms that the most beneficial clay ashes are those which are burnt from the greatest proportion of rich old turf, ancient banks, roots of bushes, and other vegetable matters ; and, I conceive, the value of mere powdered pottery {for such it is) may easily be overrated. {Far. Jaurn. 1819.) r ^ j 3 i 3223. The common method of burning clay is to make an oblong enclosure, of the dimensions of a small house (say 15 feet by 10) of green turf sods, raised to the height of 3§ or 4 feet. In the inside of this enclosure, air-pipes are drawn diagonally, which communicate with holes left at each comer of the exterior wall. These pipes are formed of sods put on edge, and the space between these as wide only as another sod can easily cover. In each of the four spaces left between the air-pipes and the outer wall, a fire is kindled with wood and dry turf, and then the whole of the inside of the enclosure or kiln filled with dry turf, which is very soon on *re ; and on the top of that, when well kindled, is thrown the clay, in small quantities at a time, and repeated as often as neces- Book V. MIXED OPERATIONS BY MANUAL LABOUR. 523. sary, which must be regulated by the intensity of the burning. The air-pipes are of use only at first, because, if the fire burn with tolerable keenness, the sods forming the pipes will soon be reduced to ashes. The pipe on the weather side of the kiln only is left open, the. mouths of the other three being stopped up, and not opened except the wind should veer about. As the inside of the enclosure or kiln begins to be filled up with clay, the, outer wall must be raised in height, always taking care to have it at least fifteen inches higher than the top of the clay, for the purpose of keeping tlie wind from acting on the fire. When the fire burns through the outer wall, which it often does, and particularly when the top is overloaded with clay, the breach must be stopped up immediately, which can only be eifectually done by building another sod wall from the foundation, opposite to it, and the sods that formed that part of the first wall are soon reduced to ashes. The wall can be raised as high as may be convenient to throw on the clay, and the kiln may be increased to any size, by forming a new wall when the previous one is burnt through. 3^4, The prmtxptU art in burning consists in having the outer wall made quite close and impervious to the external air, and taking care to have the top always lightly, but completely, covered with clay j because if the external air should come hi contact with the fire, either on the top of the kihi, or by means ' of its bursting through the sides, the fire will be very soon extinguished. In short, the kilns require to . be attended nearly as closely as charcoal pits. Clay is much more easily burnt than either moss or loam ; — it does not undergo any alteration ih its shape, ahd on that account allows the fire and smoke to get up easily between the lumps ; whereas moss and loam, by crumbling down, are very apt to smother the fire, unless carefully attended to. No rule can be laid down for regulating the size of the lumps of clay thrown on the kiln, as that must depend on the state of the fire ; but every lump has been found completely burnt . on opening the kiln, when some of them were thrown on larger than my head. Clay, no doubt, burns more readily if it be dug up and dried for a day or two before it be thrown on the kiln ; but this operation is not necessary, as it will burn though thrown on quite wet. After a kiln is fairly set a going, no coal or wood, orany sort of combustible, is necessary, the wetclay burning of itself; and it can only be extinguished . by intention, or the carelessness of the operator, — the vicissitudes of the weather having hardly any eiFect " on the fire, if properly attended to. It may, perhaps, be necessary to mention, that when the kiln is burning with great keenness, a stranger to the operation may be apt to think that the fire is extinguished. If, therefore, any person, either through impatience, or too great curiosity, should insist on looking into the interior of the kiln, he will certainly retard, and may possibly extinguish the fire ; for, as before men- ' tioned, the chief art consists in keeping out the external air from the fire. 'Where there is abundance of clay, and no great quantity of green turf, it would, perhaps, be best to burn the clay in draw-kilns, the ssimc as lime. 3225. An improved method of burning clay has been adopted by Colonel Dickson, at Hexham, and by other gentlemen in Northumberland 1 nstead of building a kiln, gratings or arches of cast iron are used to form a vault or funnel for the fUel, and over this funnel the clay is built. The grated arches are made about two feet and a half long, two feet diameter, and about fourteen inches high. One grating is to be filled with brushwood, stubble, or any other cheap fuel, and the clay, as it is dug, built upon it to a^ convenient hei^t, leaving small vacancies, or boring holes, to allow the heat to penetrate to the middle and outer parts of the clay. When a sufficient quantity is built upon the first grating, another- is added at either end, or at both , filled with similar fuel, and the clay built upon them as before. This process is continued until 10, 12, or . a greater number, of the gratings have been used, when one end is built up or covered with clay, and at the other, under the last grating, a fire is made of coals or faggot wood. The end at which the fire is made should face the wind if possible^ and if the process has been properly conducted the clay will be effectually burnt By, commencing with a centre grating in the form of a cross {Jig. 517.), the workman may build from four ends in the place of two j this contrivance will afford a facility in the work, and have a draft of wind at two entrances. 3226. The advantage of this mode ofbiirning clay is the saving of cartage, as the clay mav be always burned where it is dug. 3227. BumiTis clay and surface soil by time, wUhmtfuel, has been practised by Curwen {Fhvm Mag. vol xvi D 11 i^ ) in the followmg manner : — Mounds of seven yards m length, and three and a half ni breadth, are kindled with seventy-two Winchester bushels of lime. I irst, a layer of dry sods or parings, on which a quantity of lime is spread, mixing sods with it. then a covering of eight inches of sods, on which the other half of the lime is spread, and covered a foot thick ; the height of the mound being- about a yard. In twenty-four hours it will take fire. The lime should be immediately from the kiln. ■ It is better to suffer it to ignite itself, than to efffect it by the operation of water. When the fire is fairly kindled, fresh sods must be applied. Mr. Curwen recommends obtaming a sufficient body of ashes before, any clay is put on the mounds. The fire naturally rises to the top. It takes less time, and does more work to draw down the ashes from the top, and not to suffer it to nse above six feet The former practice of burning in kilns was more expensive, did much less work, and, in many instances, calcined the ashes,, and rendered them of no value. .. . ™,t tt , t 7 /t* ■.oo1^ ^ ^^. . « .,_ 3228 Use of pyrites in bwrning clay. A writer in The Farmer's Jota-nal (Dec. 18S1), asserts that " the greater part of many beds of com clay contain in them a substance, or ingredient, which is in itself, to a Ireat decree, combustible, as known to every brick-burner. This probably is, in most cases, the sulphur of the pyrites contained in the clay ; but be it what it mgy, it prevails to such a degree that a very small Quantity of fuel is sufficient to burn a very large body of clay. It is only requisite to have sufficient fuel to set fire to the heap at first, so as to raise a body of heat; and, for the rest, the clay will nearly burn of itself being judiciously arranged round and upon the burning centre. The ashes are in the best state when they have been exposed only to a moderate heat ; namely, to a heat not only far below what will toroduce vitrification, but even so low as not to produce a permanent red colour ; the black ashes, or dirty red and brownish red, being made superior in value to bright red ashes, that is, to well-burnt bricks. The heat is moderated chiefly by the judicious application of the crumbs and mouldering fragments of clay or soil so as to prevent the draft of the air through the apertures between the large clods or tufts fh)m beingtoo fre& A very small admixture of vegetable fuel suffices to keep up the fire. S229. The a^Hcation of burnt clay as a manure is the same as that of lime : it is spread over fallows or lands in preparation for turnips, at the rate of from thirty to fifty loads or upwards per acre. A few years ago this practice made considerable noise, but at present it has fallen into disrepute. 524 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt II. 3230. Tlie general manual operations common to British agriculture being now de- scribed, a variety of operations peculiar to particular departments, such as boring for water, puddling to retain water, building drains, &c. which belong to draining ; and barking timber, burning charcoal, distilling pyrolignous acid, which belong to planting ; will be found under these departments. Chap. II. Agricultural Operations requiring the Aid oj Labouring Cattle- 3231. Operations requiring the aid of labouring cattle axe in a peculiar manner entitled to the appellation of agricultural. Almost all the operations described in the former chapter, may be performed by common country labourers ; but those we are now to enter on, are exclusively performed by farm servants. They may be classed as operations for the use and management of live stock, laboiu's on the soil, and compound operations. Sect. I, Operations for tlie Care of Live Stock, 3232. Herding, or tending of cattle, as an operation, is the simplest which is connected with domestic animals. It consists in conducting them to a certain pasturage ; keeping them within the prescribed limits ; preventing them from injuring one another ; observing if any are diseased, and the like. It is conunonly performed with the aid of tlie dog, and by boys or girls for a small herd or flock, and aged or elderly men for larger herds. In modern times, the place of the cow and cattle herd is generally supplied by fences ; but where large flocks of sheep are kept, it is still necessary to have a shepherd ; not, in many cases, so much to keep the flock together and in its proper place, as to watch the progress of their growth, the approaches of disease, parturition, &c. In almost all cases, mild and gentle treatment ought to be made the sine qua non of the herdsman's conduct. The duties of the shepherd, who has the general care of either a flock or herd, are various and important, and, to be duly executed, imply no inconsiderable degree of physiological and veterinary knowledge. See Part III. Book VII. The EcoTwviy of Live Stock. 3233. Cleaning cattle is the operation of rubbing, brushing, combing, and washing their bodies, and picking their feet. The legs of cattle, when soiled by labour, are com- monly washed by walking them two or three times through a pond, formed on piu^ose in or near to farmeries. As soon as they are put in the stable and unharnessed, the legs, and such parts as are wetted, should be powerfully rubbed with dry straw, so as to <&y the hair ; and the same process should be applied to the rest of the body, if they have been in a state of copious perspiration. At the same time their feet should be picked, and their hoofs freed from any earth or small stones which may have lodged under the shoe, or in the case of labouring oxen between the hoofs. Combing and brushing can only be per- formed when the hair and skin are perfectly dry, and in farmeries is generally done in the morning when they are first fed, and in the evening when last fed. In general, it may be considered as experimentally decided, that cleaning cattle of every description, cows and oxen as well as horses, contributes much to their health as well as to their beauty. If swine were cleaned as regularly as horses, there can be no doubt they would be equally benefited by it. Some amateurs have their feeding swine regularly cleaned ; but the greater part of professional agriculturists content themselves with fixing one or more rub- bing posts in each sty, with frequent renewing of the litter. 3234. Feeding, or supplying food to cattle, is an operation which, like every other, however simple or humble, requires attention and a principle of action. Food ought to be given at stated times, in such quantities as to satisfy but not to glut the animals, and varied in quality so as to keep appetite alive. Water ought to be regularly supplied according to the kind of food, the state of the animal, and the season of the year. Cattle, that are fed in part on green food or roots, will require less water than those fed on dry hay, straw, or corn ; and cattle that have been at work and perspiring, vrill require more water than such as have been idle or at pasture. In summer, cattle fed on dry food obviously require more water than in winter, owing to the increased perspiration. The case of sick animals must be regillated by the nature of their disease, or directed by the veterinary surgeon. In treating of agricultural animals (Part III.), we shall give the diseases, and treatment of each. 3235. The harnessing of cattle requires attention, first, that the harness be in complete order ; and, secondly, that it fit the parts of the animal to which it is applied. Collars and saddles are the leading articles, and when they gall or in any way incommode the animal, they are ruinous to his comfort, and soon render him unfit for labour. Even when they fit properly, an improper mode of fixing the collar-blades (hames), and tying the girth of the saddle, may greatly annoy the animal, and render him restive during the whole period he is in yoke. Book V. OPERATIONS FOR THE CARE OF LIVE STOCK 525 32S6. TIte yoHng of draught animals requires still more attention than harnessing them. To know when an animal is properly yoked, or placed in proper circumstances to per- form the kind of labour assigned to him, it is necessary to have clear ideas as to the kind of power to be exerted by the animal, whether drawing, carrying, pushing, or two or all of these. The horse and ox draw from theii' shoulders, carry from their back, and push with their breech. The point of resistance in all weights, or objects to be dragged or pushed along the ground's surface, lies below the centre of gravity ; and in all cases of drawing, a line from this point of resistance to the collar of the animal should form a right angle vrith tlie plane of the collar-bone. Hence the necessity of allowing the plough chains from the back of the animal to hang freely, so as to form a straight line from the collar-blades through the muzzle of the plough to the point of resistance. Hence, also, the advantage of yoking two horses in a cart by means of the endless rope or chain already described! (27SS.) In yoking animals where the labour is principally carrying a weight, as in carting, great care is requisite that the weight be not oppressive, and that the sus- pending chain move freely in the groove of the saddle, so as to produce a perfect equipoise. Various opinions are entertained as to the weight which a horse can carry with or without drawing at the same time. According to the practice of experienced carters, if a one- horse cart is loaded with 20 cwt., 5 cwt., but not more, may be allowed to rest on the back of the horse by means of the traces, chain, and saddle. This is meant to apply where the roads are level ; in going up or down hill, to admit of the same proportion of weight, tlie traces, or shafts, or the bearing chain, must be lowered or raised according to circumstances. Yoking animals to push only is a case that seldom or never occurs ; but it will be useful to mention, that, as the line of the breech of animals is nearly per- pendicular to the horizon, and the principle being that the line of exertion should be at right angles to the exerting surface, so the direction of pushing or backing, as it is commonly called, may be a horizontal line, or a line parallel to the surface on which the animal stands. 3237. The hours of consecutive labour to which animals are subjected form a matter which deserves consideration. The advantage of short stages in drawing heavy loads has been proved by Mr. Stuart Menteath of Closeburn ; this gentleman, who is pro- prietor of one of the richest coal fields in the island, both as to quantity and quality, has very successfully employed horse power to the drawing of heavy loads, by dividing the roads into short stages. Before this expedient was resorted to, each horse could travel the distance of only IS miles, and return with a load of 24 cwt. thrice a week ; that is to say, the aggregate of the labour of each horse amounted to 3 tons 2 cwt. weekly : but by dividing that distance into 4 stages of 4^ miles each, 4 horses can make 3 trips daily, and draw a load of 33 cwt. each trip, or very nearly 5 tons daily, or SO tons weekly. Hence, according to this method, the aggregate of the labour of each horse amounts to about 7 tons weekly. Suppose 16 Jiorses are employed ; instead of making them travel 18 miles one day, and return with a load the following, the more advantageous plan is to arrange them in 4 divisions, and make each division travel only 4^ miles in succession ; were this distance divided into six stages, the load might be proportionally increased, with less fatigue to the horses ; for it will, invariably be found that the most profitable mode of applying the labour of horses, is to vary their muscular action, and revive its tone by short and frequent intervals of repose. Were stone rail-tracks laid down on the pulls between Sheriff Hall and Edinburgh, and the above plan adopted with waggons not exceeding 1 1 cwt. similar to those used by Mr. Stuart Menteath, the inhabitants might be supplied with coal at a cheaper rate than by any other existing mode of con- veyance. Mr. Stuart Menteath considers the same principle equally applicable to ploughing ; instead of 2 yokings, as at present, of 4 hours each, were 3 yokings of 2i hours each substituted, the horses would be less exhausted, and more work accomplished^ {^Scotsman, Jan. 6. 1830.) ' 3238. Tke labour iiftt horse in a daij , according to Professor Leslie, is commonly reckoned equal to that of five men ; but he works only 8 hours, while a man easily continues his exertions for 10 hours. Horses likewise display much greater force in carrying than in pulling ; and yet an active walker will beat them on a long journey : their power of traction seldom exceeds H41bs., but they are capable of carrying more than six times as much weight The pack-horses in the West Riding of Yorkshire are accustomed to transport loads of 420 lb. over a hilly country ; but in many parts of England, the miU.horses will carry the enormous burthen of 910 lbs. to a short distance. The action of a horse is greatly reduced by the duration of his task ; though not encumbered at all with any load or draught, he would be completely exhausted, perhaps, by a continued motion for 20 hours in a day. Though a horse might start with a cele- rity of 16 miles, this would be reduced in 4 hours to lOi, and in 8 hours to 5%. Hence the great advan- tages resulting from short stages, lately adopted for the rapid conveyance of the mail {Elements of Natural Philosophy.) , Sect. II. Labours with Cattle on the Soil. *3239. Ploughing is justly considered the most important of agricultural operations, as on the manner in which this is performed depends the facility of executing all succeeding operations on the same piece of land. The plough acts as a wedge, separating a portion of the soil, and turning it over at the same time. If this wedge were properly constructed, 526 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part LI. and if the soil presented everywhere the same resistance to it, it would require no holding, but would maintain its position when drawn along by the cattle ; but as tlie Jeast inequality of surface or tenacity, or the additional resistance of a root or stone, destroys the equili- brium of the forces acting against the wedge, the presence of the holder or ploughman becomes necessary to adjust its position. In two-wheeled ploughs, however, this is done in a great measure by the wheels, but not so rapidly as by the histantaneous movement of the holder on the ends of the handles acting as levers. The manual operation of hold- ing the plough in a proper position, and directing the horses or cattle wliich draw it at the same time, is only to be acquired by experience : when once attained, it is perhaps the most agreeable and healthy of agricultural exercises ; the body being kept upright, the arms and legs brought into action, and also the eye and the mind, to keep the furrow straight and of regular width and depth, and the voice to speak to the horses. It is almost needless to mention that the art of drawing a straight furrow with a plough in which the horses are yoked in pairs, consists in keeping each of the horses a small distance apart, so as to see forward between them ; and next to fix the eye on two or more objects beyond the land to be ploughed, and keep these objects and the coulter or muzzle of the plough always in one line. By far the best practical directions for ploughing have been given by the author of the article Agriculture in the Supplement to the Encydopesdia Brit. which we shall quote at length. *3240. Three different points require particular attention in ploughing : 1. The breadth of the slice to be cut ; 2. its depth j and 3. the degrpe in which it is to be turned over j -- which last circumstance depends both upon the construction of the plough, particularly the mould-board, and the care of the ploughman. 3241. The breadth and depth qf the furrow-slice are regulated by judiciously placing the draught on the nozzle or bridle of the plough ; setting it so as to go more or less deep, and to take more or less land or breadth of slice, according as may be desired. In general the plough is so regulated that, if left to itself, and merely kept from falling over, it would cut a little broader and a little deeper than is required. The coulter is also placed with some inclination towards the left or land side, and the point of the sock or share has a slight tendency downwards. 3242. The degree to which the furrow-slice turns over is in a great measure determined by the proportion between its breadth and depth, which for general purposes is usually as three is to two; or when the furrow is nine inches broad, it ought to be six inches in depth. When the slice is cut in this proportion, it will be nearly half turned over, or recline at an angle of forty or forty-five degrees ; and a field so ploughed will have its ridges longitudinally ribbed into angular drills orridgelets. But if the slice is much broader in proportion to its depth, it will be almost completely overturned, or left nearly flat, with its original surface downwards, and each successive slice will be somewhat overlapped by that which wa? turned over immediately before it And finally, when the depth materially exceeds the width, each furrow-slice will fall over on its side, leaving all the original surface bare, and only laid somewhat ob- liquely to the horizon. 3243. Ploughing with the breadth and depth nearly in tke proportion of three to two is best adapted for laying up stubble land after harvest, when it is to remain during winter exposed to the mellowing influ- ence of frost, preparatory to fallow or turnips. 3244. The shallow furrow of considerable width, as five inches in depth by eight or nine wide, is under- stood to answer best for breaking up old leys ; because it covers up the grass turf, and does not bury the manured soil. 3245. Ploughing with the depth of the furrow considerably exceeding the width is a most unprofitable and uselessly slow operation, which ttught seldom or never to be adopted. 3246. The most generally useful breadth of a farrow. slice is from eight to ten inches, and the depth, which ought to be seldom less than four inches, cannot often exceed six or eight inches, except in soils uncommonly thick and fertile. When it is necessary to go deeper, as for carrots and some other deep- rooted plants, a trench -ploughing may be given by means of a second plough following in the same furrow, 3247. Shallow ploughing ought always to be adopted after turnips are eaten on the ground, that the manure may not be buried too deep ; and also in covering lime, especially if the ground has been puj- verised by fallowing, because it naturally tends to sink in the soiL In ploughing down farm-yard dung, it is commonly necessary to go rather deep, that no part of the manure may be left exposed to the atmosphere. In the first ploughing for fallows or green crops, it is advisable to work as deep as possible ; and no great danger is to be apprehended, though a small portion of t^e subsoil be at that time brought to the surface. 3248. Thefurrow-slices are generally distributed into beds varying in breadth according to circumstances j these are called ridges or landsj and are divided from one another by gutters or open furrows. These last serve as guides to the hand and eye of the sower, to the reapers, and also for the application of manures in a regular manner. In soils of a strong or retentive nature, or which have wet close subsoils, these furrows serve likewise as drains for carrying off the surface water ; and being cleared out, after the land is sown and harrowed, have the name of water furrows. In wet lands, furrows are sometimes drawn orjdug across the .ridges, for the purpose of carrying off the surface water from hollows ; these are called crass water-furrows. 3249. Ridges are not only different in breadth, but are raised more or less in the middle, on different soils. On clayey retentive soils, the great point to be attended to is the discharge of superfluous water. But narrow ridges or stitches^ of from three to five feet, are not approved of in some of the best cultivated counties. In these a breadth of fifteen or eighteen feet, the land raised by two gatherings of the plough, is most commonly adopted for such soils ; such ridges being thought more convenient for manuring, sow- ing, harrowing, and reaping, than narrower ones \ and the water is drained off quite as effectually. 32.^0. ItiflgeSt on dry porous turnip soils, may be formed much broader ; and, were it not for their use in directing the labourers, may be, and sometimes are, dispensed with altogether. They are often thirty or thirty-six feet broad, which in Scotland are called band-win ridges, because reaped by a band of shearers, commonly six, served by one binder. If it be wished to obliterate the intermediate furrows, this may be done by casting up a narrow ridgelet or single bout-drill between the broad ridges, which is afterwards levelled by the harrows. 3251. The mode qf forming ridges straight and of uniform breadth is as follows : — Let us suppose a field perfectly level, that is intended to be laid off into ridges of any determinable breadth. The best ploughman belonging to the farm conducts the operation, with the aid of three or more poles shod with iron, in the following manner: The first thing is to mark off the head ridges, on which the horses turn in plough- ing, which should in general be of an equal breadth from the bounding lines of the field, if these lines are not very crooked or irregular. The next operation, assuming one straight side of the field, or a line that has been made straight, as the proper direction of the ridges, is to measure off from it, with one of the poles (all of them of a certain length, or expressing specific measures), half the intended breadth of the ridge if it is to be gathered, or one breadth and a half if to be ploughed flat; and there the ploughman sets up a pole as a direction for the plough to enter. On a line with this,. and at some distaiice, he plants a second pole, and then in the same manner ^ third, fourth, &c., as the irregularity of the surface may Book V. LABOURS WITH CATTLE ON THE SOIL. 527 render necessary, though three must always be employed, — the last or them at the end of the intended ridge, and the whole in one straight line; He then enters the plough at the tirst pole, keeping the line of poles exactly between his horses, and ploughs down all the poles successively ; halting his horses at each, and replacing it at so many feet distant as the ridges are to be broad ; so that when he reaches tlic end of the ridge, all his poles are again set up in a new line parallel to the nrst. He returns, however, along his former track, correcting any deviations, and throwing a shallow furrow on the side opposite to his former one. These furrows, when reversed, form the crown of the ridge, and direct the ploughmen who are to follow. The same operations are carried on until the whole field is marked out. This is called feiring in Scotland, and stHking or drawing out the furrows in England. It is surpiising with wliat accuracy these lines are drawn by skilful ploughmen. 3252. Another method has been adopted fbr the same purpose, which promises to be useAiI with less experienced workmen. A stout lath or pole, exactly equal in length to the breadth of the intended ridge, is fixed to the plough, at right angles to the line of the draught, one end of which is placed across the handles exactly opposite the coulter, while the other end projects towards the left hand of the plough- man, and is preserved in its place by a rope passing from it to the collar of the near side horse. At the outer end of the lath, a coulter or barrow tine is fixed perpendicularly, which makes a trace or mark on the ground as the plough moves onwards, exactly parallel to the line of draught. By this device, when the plough is feiring the crown of one ridge, the marker traces the line on which the next ridge is to be feired. {General Report qf Scotland^ vol. i. p. 354.) 3253. The direction and length of7-idges are points which must evidently be regulated by the nature of the surface and the size of the field. Short angular ridges, called butts or s/wrt worhy which are often necessary in a field with irregular boundaries, are always attended with a considerable loss of time, and ought to be avoided as much as possible. 3254. In plozighirig steep land it is advisable to give the ridges an inclination towards the right hand at the top, by which, in going up the acclivity, the furrow falls more readily from the plough, and with less fatigue to the horses. Another advantage of forming ridges in a slanting direction on such land is, that the soil is not so apt to be washed down from the higher ground, as if the ridges were laid at right angles. Wherever circumstances will permit, the best direction, however, is due north and south, by which the grain on both sides of the ridge enjoys nearly equal advantages from the influence of the sun. 3255. Sibbingy a kind of imperfect ploughing, was formerly common on land intended for barley, and was executed soon after harvest, as a preparation for the spring ploughings. A similar operation is still m use in some places, after land has been pulverised by clean ploughings, and is ready for receiving the seed. By this method only half the land is stirred, the furrow being laid over quite flat, and covering an equal space of the level surface. But, except in the latter instance, where corn is meant to grown in parallel lines, and where it is used as a substitute for a driU-machine, ribbing is highly objectionable, and has become almost obsolete; 3256. Land thus formed into ridges is afterwards cultivated without marking out the ridges artew, until the inter-furrows have been obliterated by a fallow or fallow crop. This is done by one or other of the following modes of ploughing : — 1, If the soil be dry, and the land has been ploughed flat^ the ridges are split out in such a way, that the space which the crown of the old ridge occupied is now allotted to the open furrow between the new ones. This is technically called crown and Jurrow 2)lougking, 2. When the soil is naturally rather wet, or if the ridges have been raised a little by fojrmer ploughings, the form of the old ridges, and the situation of the inter-furrows, are preserved by what is called casting, that is, the furrows of each ridge are all laid in one direction, while those of the next adjoining ridges are turned the contrary way f two ridges being always ploughed together. 3. It is commonly necessary to raise the ridges on soils very tena- cious of moisture, by what is called gathering, which is done by the plough going round the ridge, beginning at the crown and raising all the furrow-slices inwards. 4. This last operation, when it is wished to give the land a level surface, as in fallowing, is reversed by turning all the furrow slices outwards ; beginning at the inter-furrows, and leaving an open furrow on the crown of each ridge. In. order to bring the land into as level a state as possible, the same mode of ploughing or casting, as it is called, may be repeated as often as necessary, 3257. With respect to ploughing relatively to time, in the strongest lands, a pair of good horses ought to plough three quarters of an acre in nine hours ; but upon the same land, after the first ploughing, on friable soils, one acre, or an acre and a quarter, is a common day's work. Tliroughout the year, an acre a day may be considered as a full average, on soils of a medium consistency. The whole series of furrows on an English statute acre, supposing each to be nine inches broad, would extend to 19,360 yards; and adding 12 yards to every 220 for the ground travelled over in turning, the whole work of an acre may be estimated at 20,416 yards, or 11 miles and nearly 5 furlongs. 3258. In ploughing relatively to season, it is well known that clayey or tenacious soils should never be ploughed when wet ; and that it is almost equally improper to allow them to become too diy, especially if a crop is to be sown without a second ploughing. The state in which such lands should be ploughed is that which is commonly indicated by the phrase, « between the wet and the Axy" — while the ground is slightly moist, mellow, and the least cohesive. 3259. The season best for ploughing the first time, for faUow or green crops, is imme- diately after harvest, or after wheat-sowing is finished ; and when this land has been gone over, the old tough swards, if there be any, are next turned up. The reasons for ploughing so early are sufficiently obvious ; as the frosts of winter render the soil more friable for the spring operations, and assist in destroying the weed roots. In some places, however, the first ploughing for fallow is still delayed till after the spring seed-time. On extraordinary occasions land may be ploughed in the night as well as in the day, by hanging lanterns to the horses' collars This,^t is said, is sometimes done in East Lothian, during a hurried seed-time. {Farm. Mag* vol. ix. p. 55.) ^v S29 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paiit II. 3260. The cultivator, grubber, sctfffler, scarifiers, and such like implements (2650.), are used to lessen the number of ploughings in fallows or light free soils. Their operation differs from that of the plough in not reversing the surface, and therefore they can never, as some have proposed, become a substitute for that implement in all cases. Still the grubber is a valuable implement. William Lester, late of Northampton, who is said first to have invented an implement of this kind, declares himself con6dent that one man, a boy, and six horses, vrill move as much land in a day, and as effectually, as six ploughs ; meaning land in a fallow state, that has been previously ploughed. We have elsewhere pointed out the mode of using tliis description of tillage implements (2650. ), one great advantage of which is, that they may be used by the unskilful, and even by operators who cannot guide a plough. As soon as steam shall be employed as a moving power in this department of agriculture, implements of this kind, and especially Finlayson's harrow (2657.) and Wilkie's brake (2656.), will come into very general use. 3261. Tlie operation of harrowing is intended both to drag out weeds and to cover the seeds when sown. It is obvious that implements of different sizes are not only necessary, but even that these implements should be worked in different ways, according to the strength and condition of the soil on which they are employed, and the nature of the work to be executed. When employed to reduce a strong obdurate soil, not more than two of the old or common sort should be yoked together, because they are apt to ride and tumble upon each other, and thus impede the work, and execute it imperfectly. It may also be remarked, that on rough soils han'ows ought to be driven as fast as the horses can walk ; because their effect is in direct proportion to the degree of velocity with which they are driven. In ordinary cases, and in every case where harrowing is meant for covering the seeds, and the common implement in use, three harrows are the best yoke, because they fill up the ground more effectually, and leave fewer vacancies, than when a smaller number is 518 . o^ ^5~o — 7 employed : the improved forms, calculated to cover the breadth of two or more of the old harrows by one frame (^fig' 518.), are only calculated for flat ridges, or for working dry lands in which ridging is not requisite. 3262. The harrow-man's at- tention, at the seed process, should be constantly directed to prevent these implements from riding upon each other, and to keep them clear of every impediment, from stones, lumps of earth, or clods, and quickens or grass roots ; for any of these prevent the implement from working with perfection, and causes a mark or trail upon the surface, always unpleasing to the eye, and generally detrimental to the vegetation of the seed. 3263. Harrowing is usvaUy given in different directitms ; first in length, then across,' and finally in length, as at first. Careful agricultors study, in the finishing part of the process, to have the harrows drawn in a straight line, vrithout suffering the horses to go in a zigzag manner, and are also attentive that the horses enter fairly upon the ridge, without making a curve at the outset. In some instances, an excess of harrowing has been found very prejudicial to the succeeding crop ; but it is always necessary to give so much as to break the furrow, and level the surface, otherwise the operation is imperfectly performed. ' 3264. Horse-hoeing is the operation of stirring the ground between rows of vegetables, by means of implements of the hoe, coulter, or pronged kind, drawn by horses. Who- ever can guide a plough, \n\\ find no difficulty in managing any implement used for stirring ground. The easiest kinds are those which have few hoes, or coulters, or shares, and a wheel in front; and the easiest circumstances, wide intervals between the rows, and a loose friable soil. Wherever soil is hard, rough, and rounded, as in the case of high- raised ridges, there should not be more than three prongs or shares in the implement, because more than three points can never touch a curved surface, and be in one plane ; and if not in one plane, they will never work steadily, equally, and agreeably. 3265. Turnip hoeing al every kind is accordingly exceedingly easy ; but stirring the earth between rows of beans on a strong clay soil in a time of drought, is proportionally difficult, and sometimes, when the ground rises in large lumps, dangerous for the plants. In stirring the soil between rows of beans, cabbages, or other plants, on strong or loamy Book V. LABOURS WITH CATTLE ON THE SOIL. 529 soils, a small plough often answers better than any of the pronged or cdultered imple- ments, at least for the first and last operations of bean culture. Dr. Anderson, indeed, affirms with great truth, that nearly all the various operations of horse-hoeing may be executed by the common swing-plough, in an equally effectual manner as by any of the hoe-plouglK usually made use of. 3266. Drilling, or the deposition of seed in rows by means of a drill machine, is an operation that requires considerable care in the performance. The points that require particular attention are keeping the rows straight and at equal distances throughout their length, depositing the seed at a proper depth, and delivering the seed in proper quantity according to its Idnd and the nature of the soil. For these purposes the ground must have been previously well prepared by ploughings and harrowings, except in the parti- cular case of drilling beans vrith one furrow. This operation is generally performed in the course of ploughing, either by a person pushing forward a bean-drill barrow, or by attaching a hopper and wheel, with the necessary apparatus, to the plough itself. The mode of regulating the depth of the drill, and the quantity of seed delivered, must depend on the kind of drill used, and only requires attention in the holder. In drilling turnips the land is most generally made up into ridgelets twenty-seven or thirty inches centre from centre, by a ^ngle bout (go about), or return, of the common plough. The North- umberland machine, which sows two rows at once, is then drawn over them by one horse walking between the ridges without a driver, the holder at once performing that operation and keeping the machine steady on the tops of the drills. One of the two rollers of this machine smooths the tops of the ridges before the seed is deposited, and the other follows and compresses the soil and covers the seed. 3267. In drilling cam several rows are sown at once, and great care is requisite to keep the machine steady and in a straight line : for most soils two horses and a driver are required for this purpose ; the driver aiding in filling the hopper with seed, &c. 3268. In all cases of drilling it must be recollected that the principal intention of the operation is to admit of horse-hoeing the crop afterwards ; hence the necessity of straight rows and uniform distances ; and hence also the advantage of burying the manure under the drill or row, that it may not be exposed to the air in after-working. 3269. Boiling is the operation of drawing a roller over the surface of the ground with the view of breaking down the clods, rendering it more compact, and bringing it even and level ; or it may be limited to smoothing and consolidating the surface. It is prac- tised both upon the tillage and grass lands, and is of much utility in both sorts of husbandry. In the former case it is made use of for the purpose of breaking down and .reducing the cloddy and lumpy parts of the soil in preparing it for the reception of crops^ and in rendering Ught soils more firm, even, and solid, ^ter the seed is put in. It is likewise found beneficial to the young crops in the early spring, in various instances. In .order to perform this operation in the most complete and effectual manner a roller of considerable weight is necessary ; and in order as much as possible to prevent the ground from being injured by the feet of the animals that draw it, as may frequently be the case where they follow each other in the same track, it is the best practice to have them yoked double^ as by that means there will be less treading on the same portion of surface, Where two horses are sufficient to execute the work, more should never be made use of; but if a third should be found necessary, it may be attached as a leader in the middle before the other two : a greater number of horses can seldom or never be of any material advantage in this sort of work. It is necessary to see that every part of the surface receives the due impression of the implement, and that the head lands are hot injured by the turnings. Un lands where the work is regularly performed^ it will seldom be requisite to pass more than once in a place, but in other cases it may often be done more frequently with benefit, and in particular cases a more irequent repetition of the operation is abso^ lutely requisite, in order to bring the ground into a proper state. 3270. In rolling grass lands it is necessary to attend in a particular manner to the season, as it cannot be performed with advantage either when the surface is in too dry or too moist a condition. In these cases the work of rolling may be advantageously per- formed at different seasons, as in the beginning of the autumn, and in the commence- ment of the year, or very early spring months ; but the latter is the most common period. In the drier descriptions of land it may fi'equently be performed, in the most beneficial manner, after the land has been rendered a little soft by a moderate fall of rain ; but in those of the contrary sort it may be necessary to wait till the superabundant moisture be so much dried up, as to admit the animals employed in drawing the machine without subjecting the surface of the ground to poaching or other injury, while the process is going on. The rolling of watered meadows, it has been remarked by Boswell, should be executed towards the latter end of February or beginning of the following month, after the land has been left in a dry state for a week or ten days. The work should be performed along the panes, going up one side of the trenches and down the other ; and in tne case of rolling the common hay lands, it is a good mode to proceed up one side of M m 530 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. the field and down the other, somewhat in a similar manner, as by that means the work may be the most completely executed. 3271. Horse-raking, or the collecting of the scattered straws of com or hay crops by the rake; is an operation of little art or trouble in the execution. The proper imple. • ment being employed, it is generally drawn by one horse, conducted by a man, who walks behind, and, when the rake fills, lifts it up without stopping the horse, and always at the same place, so as to deposit the rakings in regular rows across the field. The same mode is followed whether in raking hay, corn, stubble, or weeds from fallow grounds. 3272. Driving carts and waggons, though the easiest of all operations, is very fre- quently shamefully performed by servants. Almost every body knows this ; and it is humiliating to consider that we are considered the most inhuman nation in Europe in our treatment of horses. In most other countries these animals, and even oxen, are taught to obey the word of the driver ; but in Britain he requires both halter or rein, and a whip ; and in most parts of England the slightest movement from right to left is indicated to the animal by the latter implement. Driving is more especially neglected, or wretchedly performed, near large towns, and especially round London, where little or no attention is paid to avoiding the ruts ; choosing the best part of the road ; going in a direct line ; altering the position of the load (by means of the back chain or the construc- tion of the cart where that admits of it) in goitig up or down hill ; or seeing whether both horses (where two are used) draw equally. The reverse of this conduct ought to be that of a careful and humane driver, who, being first certain that his cattle are pro- perly yoked, and his load fairly adjusted so as to be neither too heavy nor too light for the wheel or shaft horse, will see that they proceed along the best part of the road in a straight line, avoiding the ruts when deep or unequal ; that all the horses draw equally as far as practicable; that proper care and timely precautions be taken to avoid other machines meeting or passing ; and that no sudden motion orjerk of the horses be required on any occasion. In dividing the road where it is steep or in a bad state, the horses ought to be drawn aside gradually, and gradually led on again ; it being easier to descend or ascend either a good or bad convex road obliquely, than at an acute angle. Lastly, servants ought on no account to be allowed to ride on laden carts or waggons, especially the former ; or to walk at a distance from them either before or beliind. There are many other points which require attending to in this department of agriculture ; such as not striking animals on the head or legs, nor kicking them, nor using a pole or handle of any implement that may be at hand, in administering chastisement ; but these must be left to the care and discretion of masters, whose interest it is to be most vigilant in watching those who are engaged in this department, 3373. One mode of lessening the eiriis qf careless driving and inhumanityto animals consists in employing chiefly married servants, and, as is generally the case, letting each have the exclusive care and worKing of one pair of horses. Such men are steadier, and remain much longer in their situations, than single men, and are therefore more likely to feel an interest in the welfare and good condition of their horses, as well as in the good opinion of their employer. 3274. Driving cattle in a threshing-machine required particular care before the ingenious invention, described § 2755., to equalise the draught of the diflTerent animals ; where this invention is applied, it requires little more than calling to such of the cattle as have a tendency to relax in their exertions. Sect. III. Labours and Operations loith the Crop, performed with the Aid ofCaitU. 3275. Lahawrs with the crop chiefly comprise stacking and housing. 3276. Stacking is the operation of building or piling up unthreshed com, hay, straw, or other dried crops, in convenient forms, and so as to admit of their being thatched as a defence from the weather. Stacks are of various forms and dimensions, according to circumstances ; in some districts they are formed square or oblong, both for hay and com ; but where threshing-machines are in use, the circular base with cylindrical body, diverging a little at the eaves, and a conical top, ib decidedly preferred, as being more convenient in size and form, and better adapted for early stacking in wet seasons than any other. For hay the form of the stack is a matter of less consequence; the long square or oblong shapes are perhaps the most safe and convenient, especially when not too broad, as they are the most suitable to cut from in trussing hay for sale. 3277. In respect to the sizes of comnstacks of the square sort, they of course vary greatly according to circumstances ; but they should never be made too large, as there is a great deal hiore risk in securing and getting in the grain from them; and from their being built at different times, they do not settle altogether in so perfect a manner, or resist trie effects of the weather and keep the grain so well, as those of less dimensions that can be com- pleted at once : and, in .addition, they are less convenient in the threshing out, especially where the flml is employed. The chief advantages they possess, are those of taking some- thing less in thatch and labour in covering them. tiooK V. tABOURS WITH THE CROP. Ssl S278, The proper axe of the hay-stack should probably be different in some degree according to the state and nature of the hay ; but a middling size is perhaps the best, say from twenty to thirty loads of about one ton each, as tliere are inconveniences in both small and large stacks, the former having too much outside, while the latter are liable to take on too much heat, and at the same time permit less moisture to be preserved in the hay. In small stacks the bellying forms with very narrow bottoms have oflen much ad- vantage, and are in some districts termed sheep-stacks, probably from the slovenly prac- tice of sheep having been permitted to feed at them. 3279. In building every description of slack, the stem or body should be so formed as to swell gradually outwards, quite up to the part termed Hae eaves ; as by this method it is more perfectly secured against the entrance of moisture, and at tlie same time requires a less space of stand to rest upon ; and, when the building of them is well performed, they have equal solidity, and stand in as firm a manner. 3280. The stem should contain about two thirds, and the roof one third, of the whole stack. If it be built on a frame, the stem should contain less and the roof more ; if on a bottom, the reverse. The corners of the stem should not be built too sharp, but should be carried up rather roundish ; by which the sides will look fuller, and the swell given by the pressure will be more perceptible. 3S81. The erids (if the roqf shonXA have a gentle projection, answerable to the stem; and the sides should be carried up rather convex, than flat or concave. Perhaps a roof gently convex shoots off the rains better than any other. 3283. Where cam is stacked that has not been sheaved, and in building hay-stacks, it is the usual practice to have a number of persons upon the stack, the corn or hay being forked up and deposited on the diiterent sides all round in a similar method ; after this, other parcels are laid all round on the inside of these, so as to bind them in a secure manner from slipping outwards ; the operator proceeding in the same manner till the whole of the middle space is perfectly filled up : when he begins another course in the same method, and goes on in this mode, with course after course, till he -has raised the whole of the stem ; when he begins to take in for the roof, in a very gradual manner, in every succeeding course, until the whole is brought to a ridge or point according to the manner in which the stack is formed. But for the purpose that tiie roofs may throw off the water in a more perfect and effectual manner, they should be made so as to have a slight degree of fulness or swell about the middle of them, and not be made flat, as is too frequendy the practice with indifferent builders of stacks, 3283. In stacking where the com is bound into sheaves, there is seldom more than one person employed in managing the work of buildiiig the stack, except in cases where the dimensions are very considerable ; in which cases it is found necessary to have a boy to receive the sheaves from the pitcher, and hand them to the man who builds the stack. In executing the work, it is of the utmost importance that the centre of the stack be con- stantly kept in a somewhat raised state above the sides, as the sheaves have thus ^ sloping direction outwards, by which the entrance of moistiure is more effectually guarded against and prevented. To accomplish this in the most perfect manner, tlie workman begins in the middle of the stand or staddle, setting the sheaves together so that they may incline a little against each other, placing the rest in successive rows against them till he comes to the outside, when he carries a course of sheaves quite round, in a more sloping manner than in the preceding courses. The bottom of the stack, being formed in this way, it is afterwards usual to begin at the outside, and advance with different courses round the whole, placing each course a little within the other, so as to bind them in an exact and careful manner, till the stacker comes to the middle. All the different courses are to be laid on in a similar manner until the whole of the stem is raised and completed ; when the last outside row of sheaves is, in most cases, placed a very little more out than the others, in order to form a sort of projection for the eaves, that the water may be thrown off more effectually. But in cases where the stems of the stacks are formed so as to project outwards in the manner already noticed, this may be omitted without any bad consequences, as the water will be thrown off easily without touching the waste of the stack. The roof is to be formed by placing the sheaves gra- dually a little more in and in, in every course, until it comes to a ridge or point, according to the form of the stack, as has been already observed. But in forming and constructing this part of the stack, great care should constantly be taken to give the ear-ends of the sheaves a sufSdently sloping direction upwards, in order that they may be the better secured from wetness ; and to the outside should be given a rounded form, in the manner that has been already noticed. 3284. A funnel or chimney is frequently formed or left in circular stacks, especially in wet districts, in order to prevent their taking on too much heat : where these funnels are not formed with the basement of timber, iron, or masonry, as already shown (2908. ) they are produced by tying a sheaf up in a very tight manner, and placing it in the middle on the foundation of the stack, pulling it up occasionally as the building of the stack proceeds all round it. In setting up ricks in bad harvests, it is a practice in some places, particularly with barley crops, to have three or four pretty large poles tied together, by winding straw ropes round them, set up in the middle, round which the stacks are then M m 2 5S3 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Pam II. built But except the stacks are large, or the grain when put into them in an-imperfect condition, such openings are quite unnecessary. S285. The starUng of hay requires much care and attention in the person employed for the purpose, though less than that of building corn-stacks. There should constantly be a proper stand or foundation, somewhat raised by wood or other materials, prepared for placing the stacks upon ; but nothing of the coping kind is here necessary. In the business of stacking hay, the work should be constantly performed, as much as possible, while the sun is upon the hay, as considerable advantage is thus gained in its quaUty : and it is necessary to have a stacker that has been accustomed to the business, and a proper number of persons to help upon the stack, in order that it may be well spread out and trodden down. 3286. The building of hay-slacks should be conducted much in the same way as the building of stacks of loose grain (3282.) ; the middle of the stack being always well kept up a little higher than the sides, and the sides and ends well bound in by the proper ap- plication of the successive portions of hay as the work advances ; and during which it is' a good way, where there are plenty of hands, to have the sides and ends properly pulled into form, as by this means much after-labour is prevented. It is likewise of advantage, that the hay should be well shaken and broken from the lumps, during the operation of stacking. The form in which the stacks are built is not of much consequence ; but, if large, and made in the square form, it is better not to have them too broad, or of too great width, as by this means they are less apt to heat. With the intention of preventing' too much heat, sometimes in building hay-stacks, as well as those of the grain kind, holes, pipes, and chimneys, are left in the middle, that the excessive heat may be dis- charged ; but there is often injury sustained by them, from their attracting too much moisture. 3287. The hay-stacks ofMiiWlesex, it is observed by Middleton, are more neatly formed and better secured than any where else. At every vacant time, while the stack is carry- ing up, the men are employed in pulling it with their hands into a proper shape ; and about a week after it is finished the whole roof is properly thatched, and then secured from receiving any damage from the wind, by means of a straw rope extending along the eaves, up the ends, and near the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut evenly below the eaves of the stack, just of sufficient length for the rain water to drip quite clear off the hay. When the stack happens to be placed in a situation which may be suspected of being too damp in the winter, a trench of about six or eight inches deep is dug round, and nearly close to it, which serves to convey all the water from the spot, and renders it perfectly dry and secure. 3288. The stack guard {Jig. 519.), or covering of canvass, is employed in some dis- tricts to protect the stack while building in a wet season. In Kent and Surrey, the half worn sails of sliips are made use of for this purpose, though in most parts of the north a covering of loose straw or hay is found sufficient in ordinary cases ; but where, from a continued rain, the stack is penetrated some way down, a part is removed on recom- mencing, and dried before being replaced. It is observed by Marshal, that a sail-cloth thrown over and immediately upon the hay of a stack in Ml heat, is liable to do more injury by mcreasing the heat, and at the same time checking the ascent of the steam, than service in shooting off rain water. The improved method of spreading the cloth he de- scribes as follows: two tall poles [a, a) are inserted firmly in two cart wheels (A, i), which are laid flat upon the ground at each end of the stack, and loaded with stones to increase their stability. Another pole of the same kind, and somewhat longer than the stack, is furnished at each end with an iron ring or hoop, large enough to admit the up- right poles and to pass freely upon them. Near the head of each of the standards is a Book V; SCIENTIFIC OEERATIONS. 533 pulley (c, c), over which a rope is passed from the ring or end of the horizontal pole, by which it is easily raised or lowered to suit the given height of the stack. A cloth being now thrown over the horizontal pole, and its lower margins loaded with weights, a com- plete roof is formed and neatly fitted to the stack, whether it be high or low, wide or narrow ; the eaves being always adjusted to the wall plate, or upper part of the stem of the stack ; thus effectually shooting off rain water, wMle the internal moisture or steam escapes freely at either end as the wind may happen to blow. This contrivance is readily put up or taken away ; the poles being light, are easily moved from stack to stack, or laid up for another season, and the wheels are readily removed or returned to their axles.- On the whole, it answers as a good substitute for the improved construction brought into use by Sir Joseph Banks, and is much less expensive. This construction, instead of the ring running on the poles, has blocks and tackle (c, c), and instead of weights to dis- ' tend the cloth, ropes (ect, of the estate or its principal parts (y^. 530.), as seen from some elevated conspicuous hill, building, or object near it ; or if the estate, as is frequently the case, is situated on the side of a hill, or range of hills, a position on the plain or flat grounds opposite to it will be sufficient. 530 3358. Fortlie delineation of maps, the most desirable material in point of durability is parchment ; but where there is a chance of alterations being made on the estate, as in the lines of roads, fences, streams, &c., it is better to delineate on paper, as the correspond- ing alteraitions can be made on the map with greater ease. Such colours as are stains, and do not wash out, are proper for maps and plans on parchment ; out where alterations may require to be made, or where shadow, or any thing like picturesque effect is to be attempted, water colours alone must be used. To delineate estates and plans of every kind in a beautiful and expressive manner, much depends on having the very best in- struments and colours, and in knowing how to use them The sight of good models is also an important matter, and for this we may refer to Horner's elegant work. The Art of delineating Estates, 1813; and the very scientific work of Lehman, already mentioned. 3359. In the writing or printing on maps great want of taste is oilen displayed. No principle can be more obvious than that the name of a thing, or the ornaments of an object, should not be made more conspicuous than the thing or object itself. Yet this rule is constantly violated in plans of estates, by the large ornamental writing or print interspersed in and around them ; conspicuous blazonry of the name of the estate and Its owner at some corner, and of the compass and scale in others. All these adjuncts should be kept in due subordination to the main delineation. 3360. Models of very mountainous estates will be found preferable to any description of maps or views, for giving a correct idea of them. Such models might be formed in plaster of Paris, wax, or various other materials, and coloured afler nature. We con- structed such models in 1805 (See Farm. Mag. vol. vi. p. 126.) ; and Mr. Taylor of London has recently constructed them, both for the purpose of surface improvements and mineralogical examination. (See Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 213.) 3361. Reference books are essential accompaniments to maps or models, and are of various kinds. Sometimes they merely contain the names and contents of the fields or other parts or divisions, with the state of culture or condition in which they are ; in other cases the soil and subsoil are described ; but in the most complete cases each farm is Book V. PLANS AND MAPS OF ESTATES. 547 described, together with the history of its occupation or improvement under the following or similar heads : — Name, parish, extent, boundaries, when iirst enclosed, how let and managed hitherto, to whom and for how much let at present, description of the farmery and house, contents, fences, trees, ponds, soil, subsoil, surface, expense, &c. of each field ; number of timber trees on the fai'm, copse woods, and various matters. In addition to such a description as the above, some add in the reference book a separate map of each farm, which renders the whole very comprehensive ; and as nothing canbe more interest- ing than the contemplation of a man's own property on all sides, and in every possible bearing, these books are generally valued above all others by countiy gentlemen. 33(52. Tlie valuations of farming stock, tiUage, and leases, being of temporary use, are made out with little form. In most cases, the value of particular articles is not given, but only an enumeration of them, and the sum total. The valuators have the separate values in their private memorandum books ; and in cases where two valuators are em- ployed, one on each side, if an umpire is obliged to be called in, in consequence of dis- agreement, then tile parties have reference to their notes. In some cases of valuations by two parties, the umpire, being appointed beforehand, accompanies the valuators, hears their discussion on each article as it comes under review, and decides any difference that may occur as they go on. This is considered the best mode, and is that generally adopted in the case of valuations made by order of the Court of Chancery. SS6S. In making up valuations for purchasing or selling estates, a report is generally required to accompany the valuation, stating tlie ground on which it is made. Such a report embraces a great variety of objects according to the nature and extent of tlie property, and ought to be drawn up in a clear and systematic manner, with such a table of contents and an index as may render it of easy reference. 3364. In deHneating buildings for agricultural jmrposes, the ordinary plans, elevations, and sections, of architects and surveyors, should always be given, for the purpose oi forming estimates and working plans. But for the purpose of enabling the proprietor, or otiier person not sufSciently acquainted with pictorial effect on paper, to form a due estimate from any drawing of the effect it will have when executed, we recommend models c r isometrical views. The latter, in our opinion, ought to be in universal use air.ong irchitects. 3363. " Isometi-icalperepeclive U a term given recently, by FiofesGor Farish of Cambridge, to a projection 531 „,=fe^ made in rays parallel to the diagonal of a cube upon a plane perpendicular tliereto. This is a comprehen- sive and useful method of exhibiting the several parts of a homestead, and any person moderately acquainted with drawing, if they make the attempt, will find it extremely easy to perform ; nothing more N n 2 •^^8 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut II. being required than to diviile n circle into fix equal parta, which may be done with the radius ; and draw the hexagon and three radii, one radius to every other angle, to represent a cube (Jig. 531.). All the vertical or plumb lines in any design are then to be drawn parallel toab; all those in the direction, say north and south, parallel ton (7,. and all those at right angles, or perpendicular to the last, or in the direction east and west, parallel toad ; and the several heights, lengths, and breadths, being taken tVom a scale of equal parts, and set off, and lines drawn in these three directions, the projection is produced. The posi- tion of any point, or the direction of any other line, may be found,- by finding where the first would fall upon any plane parallel to either of the three sides of the cube, and where the latter, if produced, would cross any fines in the three directions." {JVafslefi's Drsigns, Sfc. p. 91.) The elevation which this mode of drawing produces is highly explanatory and expressive {J^. 531.) Sect. II. Operations of Order and Management. S.SSS. The business of agriculture, whether in the management of extensive estates or the culture of single farms, requires to be conducted in an orderly and systematic manner. For this purpose a certain establishment of operators, a certain style of books of accounts, and great attention in all commercial transactions, may be considered the fundamental requisites. 3367. The establishment of co-operators and servants must depend on the extent of the subject of management. An extensive landed estate, which, in addition to farming lands, contains woods, quarries, mills, mines, waters, manorial rights, game, and villages, will require a series of subordinate managers ; but in general a steward as a head manager, a steward's clerk or assistant, and in some cases a local steward, are all the managers requisite ; the subordinate care of quarries, woods, game, &c., being performed by a quarryman, forester, gamekeeper, or by common servants of tried fidelity. 3368. The gradation of operators required on farms depends on their size. When- ever the master does not labour himself, a foreman or operator having some charge is requisite ; and in very extensive cases, where there is a considerable extent of grazing ground as well as tillage lands, a head ploughman and a head herdsman will be found advantageous. There should also be a confidential labourer, or headman of all work, to superintend and accompany women and children in their operations, as in hoeing, weed- ing, planting potatoes, &c. The grand point to be aimed at by the steward of an extensive estate, and the occupier of a large farm, is to hit on the proper number of sub- managers ; and to assign each his distinct province, so that the one may never interfere with the other. Having attained this, the next thing is to keep the whole machine in regular action ; to keep every man, from the lowest operator to the highest, strictly to his duty. All operators ought to be adequately remunerated ; and it is better in general to pay a liberal price and require vigilant, skilful, and active exertion, than to cheapen labour, and so encourage indolence and bad execution. For the lower class of labourers, especially such as are hired by the year, it vrill often be necessary to attend as well to the food they eat, as to their constancy at work. In the case of farm servants, for example, it will generally be found preferable to board and lodge single men, than to substitute a sum of money, which they will in many cases either save or spend otherwise than so as to strengthen their bodies. Where labour is done by the job, all that is .requisite is to see that it is done well, and according to agreement ; and this, as we have already observed, is the best mode wherever it can be adopted. 3369. Orderly conduct in tlie lower classes of workmen is a point to which we would ■wish particularly to direct the attention of the bailiff and farmer. Regularity in their hours ; neatness and cleanness in their dress ; punctuality in cleaning and putting away in the proper places their implements ot labour or harness ; humanity to working and other animals ; decency in general deportment and conversation, and ambition to excel in their particular department. Neatness and order, whether on an estate, a farm, a stable, a dwelling-house, or in a man's dress and manner, form an index to every thing else. Estates and farms where these qualities prevail, are always well-managed and cultivated ; a neat and clean stable is a sure sign of well-conditioned horses, and of economical feeding ; a dwelling-house, with neatness around and within, is an index of comfort and peace ; and a decently dressed and well behaved man or woman is sure to be approved in every station. 3370. Tlie necessity of order and neatness we are most anxious to impress on the minds of all descriptions of masters and managers. Order, it has been well observed, is " Heaven's first law." It is, indeed, the end of all law : without it, nothing worth having is to be attained in life, even by the most fertile in resources ; and with it, much may be accomplished with very slender means. A mind incapable of an orderly and regular disposition of its ideas or intentions will display a man confused and disorderly in his actions ; he will begin them without a specific object in view ; continue them at random, or from habit, without knowing well why, till some accident or discordant result puts an end to his present progress, unmans him for life, or awakens reflection. But a well-ordered mind considers, arranges, and systematises ideas before attempting to realise them ; weighs well the end in view ; considers the fitness of the means for attain- ing that end, and the best mode of employing these means. To every man who has the regulation and disposal of a number of servants, this mode of orderly arrangement is essentially necessary in order to reap the full effects of their labours ; and to no man is it Book \. ORDER AND MANAGEMENT. 549 of more importance than to the agriculturist, whose cares are so various, and the success of whose operations, always connected with and dependent on living beings, depends so much on their being performed at the fitting moment. 3371. Propriety relates to what is fitting and suitable for particular circumstances ; it is the natural result of an orderly mind, and may be said to include that part of order which directs the choice and adaptation of means to ends, and of ideas and objects to cases and situations. It belongs to order for a master to allow workmen proper periods for rest and refreshment ; propriety dictates the time and duration of these periods ; and prudence suggests the wisdom of departing as little as possible from established practices. Decorum is the refinement of propriety. 3373. Neatnessy as opposed to slovenliness, is well understood ; it consists in having every thing where it ought to be ; and in attraiding to the decorum of finishing operations, and to minute things in general. 3373. As maxims of order and neatness which ought to be continually present to the minds both of masters and servants, we submit the following : — 3374. Perform every operation in the proper season. The natural, and therefore the best, indications for the operations of sowing and reaping, transplanting, &c are given by the plants themselves, or by the progress of the season as indicated by other plants. There are artificial calendars, or remembrancers, the use of which is to remind the master of the leading crops and operations of culture and management throughout the years ; but, even if such books were made as perfect as their nature admits of, still tliey are only calculated to aid the memory, not to supply the place of a watchful and vigilant eye, and habits of attention, observation, refiection, and decision. Unless a steward or farmer has these, either naturally, or partly from nature and partly from cultivation, in a considerable degree, he will be but little better than a common labourer, as to general management and culture. 3375. Perform every operation in the best rtmnner* This is to be acquired in part by practice, and partly also by reflection'. 3376. Comi^lele every part of an operation as you proceed. This is an essential point in field operations ; and though it cannot always be attended to, partly from the nature of the operation, partly from weather, &c., yet the judicious fanner or bailifT will keep it in view as much as possible. 3377. Finish one job before you begin another. This advice is trite, but it is of great importance ; and there are few cases where it cannot be attended to. 3378. In leaving off' working at any job, leave your work atid tools in an orderly Tnanner, 3379. Attend strictly to the hours of coTnfnejicing labour, and equally so to those of leaving off, unless extraordinary exertion is required. 3380. Whenever extraordinary exertions are required, extraordinary irtdulgences or rewards must be given as compensations. 3381. A regular system of accounts is an obvious part of order and correctness ; and it is equally obvious that the extent to which this must be carried will depend on the subject of management. In the case of extensive landed estates, the regular set of books usual in mercantile concerns becomes requisite, with the addition of some, as a forest-book, time-book, &c. rendered necessary by particular departments of the subject. On small farms, on the other hand, some memorandum-books, a cash-book, and a ledger, are all that will be found necessary. Our business here is to give the form of the time-book, which is or maybe common to every department of agriculture and scale of management, though most necessary for bailiffs, where a number of day labourers are employed on improvements. In giving the practice of the different branches of agriculture, the books peculiar to each will be described. There is nothing, indeed, that should be more strenuously pressed upon the attention of farmers, than the importance of a good system of keeping their accounts, in whicli they are, generally speaking, very deficient. 3382. The time-book is a large folio volume, ruled so as to read across both pages, with columns titled as in the specimen annexed. In this the bailiff or master inserts the name of every band ; and the time in days, or proportions of a day, which each person under his care has been at work, and the particular work he or she has been engaged in. At the end of each week the bailiff' or master sums up the time from the preceding Saturday or Monday, to the Friday or Saturday inclusive ; the sum due or to be advanced to each man is put in one column, and when the man receives it he writes the word received in the column before it, and signs his name as a receipt in the succeeding column. The time-book, therefore, will show what every man has been engaged in during every hour in the year for which he has been paid, and it will also contain receipts for every sum, however trifling, which has been paid by the bailiff" for rural labour. In short, it would be difficult to contrive a book more satisfactory for both master and servant than the time-book, as it prevents, as far as can well be done, the latter from deceiving either him- self or bis employer, and remains an authentic indisputable record of work done, and of vouchers for money paid during the whole period of the bailifi''s services. Nn 3 550 SCIENCE OF AGUICULTURE. Part II. Book V. Q < ^ B m t3 V3 2 B. O g « 2 Ho lllflilp;i^,Mi1:^i| I I. Ill I 11 HI li i.i -! 5 11 ll II c Tl c « §■8 i,i ■^- if II I: III Si ms. 9o Sa s-g ^"lilli -^ p.- - »^ i^M sn.S5a s » III III I ill. Is 11 las sn §' ■ nsh < S Ssess ■lying lands are not only troublesome and expensive, under the operations of tillage, but in carrying on manures and getting off' the produce. Lands lying with an easy descent, or on a gently billowy surface, may be worth more hy many pounds an acre, purchase money, than others of the same intrinsic quality, hanging on a steep. 3419. A supp^ qf water for domestic purposes, for the uses of live stock, and for the purpose of irrigation, is another consideration of some weight in valuing an estate. There are situations in which a copious stream of calcareous water would enhance the fee-simple value of a large estate some thousand pounds. 3420. A sufficient supply qfrnanurcy whether dung, lime, marl, or other melioration, at a moderate price, and within a moderate distance of land carriage, materially adds to the intrinsic value of lands. 3421. The established practice of the country in which an estate lies, is capable of enhancing or depressing the value of it exceedingly. Even the single point of practice of ploughing light and loamy lands with two oxen, or two active horses, instead of four heavy ones, is capable of making a difference on good land, which is kept alternately in herbage and corn crops, of five to ten shillings an acre a year ; or ten pounds an acre purchase money. 3422. The price o/ labour is another regulator of the marketable price of land in a given district. It is always right, however, to compare this with the habits of exertion and industry which prevail among fann workmen, before the net amount of labour can be safely set down. 3423. 7"Ac/)nceo//iwn^, or expense of housekeeping prevalent among farmers, has its share of influence on the value of lands. In the more recluse parts of the north of England, farmers and their servants are fed, clothed, and accommodated, at nearly half the expense of those of a similar degree in many parts of the more central and southern provinces. It is not here intended to intimate how husbandmen, their servants, and labourers, ought to Uve. As they are the most valuable members of the community, they are weU entitled to such enjoyments as are compatible with care and labour. All that is meant, in stating this fact, is to convey a hint to the piu-chasers of estates. For, in a country where frugality prevails, lands of a given quality will ever bear a higher rent than they will where a more profuse style of living has gained a footing. Rent is higher, in proportion to the gross produce, on the small farms in Ireland, and the west of Scotland, than in other parts of the united kingdom ; and yet the landlord is seldom a gainer. Book 1. VALUATION OF LANDED PROPERTY. 555 as such rente are not so regulaily paid, and the tenant, having no reserve of capital, la in bad seafion* often unable topay any rent at ml 3424l a spint of improvement^ or the prejudice against it, which prevails in a district of sale, is a cir- cumstance of some value to a purchaser : for if the former is in a progressive state, especially if it is still in the earlier stages of its progress, a rapid increase of rent may, with a degree of certainty, be expected ; whereas, under the leaden influence of the latter, half a century may pass away, before the golden chariot of improvement can be profitably put in motion. 3425. In markets^ more than in any other circumtances, we are to look for the existing value of lands. Their influence is not confined to towns and populous places of manufacture : for in ports, and on quays, whether of inlets, estuaries, rivers, or canals, narkets are met half way ; even by good roa^, their distance from the farm-yard may be said to be shortened. 3426. In this detail of the particulars of situaium, with respect to the value of landed property, we perceive tiie attentions requisite to be employed by a valuer who is called upon to act in a country that is new to him. A provincialist, or even a professional valuer, who acts in a district, the existing value of whose lands he is sufficiently ac- quainted with, determines, at sight and according to the best of his judgment, on their respective values : for he knows, or ought to know, their current prices ; what such and such lands let for in that neighbourhood ; what he and his neighbours give, or would give, for lands of the same qu^ty and state, without adverting to the particular circumstances of situation (they being given, in the established current prices which have arisen out of these circumstances) ; resting his judgment solely on the intrinsic quality and existing state of each field or parcel as it passes under his eye. But let his skill be what it may, in a country in which he has acquired a habit of valuing lands, he will, in a distant district, the current market prices of whose lands may be ten, twenty, or fifty per cent, above or below those which he has been accustomed to put upon lands of the same intrinsic qualities and existing .states, find himself at a loss, until he has learnt the current prices of the country, or has well weighed the cir- cumstances of situation ; to which, in every case, he must necessarily attend, before he can determine their value under an improved practice, or venture to lay down general rules for their improvement. 3427. The existijtg staJe of lands, or the manner in which they lie, at the time of sale, is the next class of circumstances which influences their marketable value. 34S8. Their state with respect U> enclosure is a matter of great consideration. OpeA lands, though wholly appropriated, and lying well together, are of much less value, except for a sheep walk or a rabbit warren,^ than the same land would be in a state of suitable enclc^ure If they are disjointed and intermix ed in a state of common field, or common meadow, their value may be reduced one third. If the common fields or meadowsarewhatistermed Lammas land, and become common as soon as the crops are off, the depression of value may be set down at one half of what they would be worth, in well fenced enclosures, and unen- cumbered with that ancient custom. Again, the difference in value between lands which lie in a detached state, and those of the same quality that Ue in a compact form, is considerable. The disadvantages of a scattered estate are similar to those of a scattered fann. Even the single point of a want of convenient access to detached fields and parcels is, on a farm, a serious evlL And it is on the value of farms that the value of an estate is to be calculated. 34^. The stateofthe roads^ whether public orprivate, within an estate, and from it to the neighbouring markets, or places of d^very of produce, is an object of consideration to a purchaser. ^30. Jlie state of the watercourses, or shores and ditches, within and below an estate, requires to he ex- amined into ; as the expense of improvement or reparation will be more or less, according to their existing state at the time of purchase; or, perhaps, by reason of natural causes, or through the obstinacy of a neighbour, and the defectiveness of the present laws of the country in this respect, the requisite improve- ment cannot be eflTected at any expense. 3431. The state qf drainage of lands that lie out of the way of floods or collected water requires to be taken into consideration ; for although the art of draining is now pretty well understood, it cannot be practised, on a large scale, without much cost 343S. The state of the lands, as to tillage and manure, is entitled to more regard than is generally paid to it, in valuing them. But even to a purchaser, and still more to a tenant for a term, their state, in these respects, demands a share of attention. Lands that are in a high state of tillage and condition, so as to be able to throw out a succession of full crops, may be worth five pounds of purchase money an acre more than those of the same properties, which are exhausted by repeated crops, and lie in a useless state of foulness, from which they cannot be r^sed, but at a great expense of manure and tillage. 3433. 'I%e state, as to grass or arable, is better understood, and generally more attended to. Lands in a state of profitable herbage, and which have l^n long so, are not only valuable, as bearing a high rent while they remmn in that state; but after the herbage has begun to decline, will seldom fail to throw out a valuable succession of corn crops. Hence, the length of time which lands, under valuation, have lain in a state of herbage, especially if they have been kept in pasturage, is a matter of enquiry and estimation. 3134. Lastly, the state of farm buildiTigs and fences is a thing of serious consideration. Buildings, yards, and enclosures, that are much let down, and gone to decay for want of timely reparation, incur a very great expense to raise them ^ain to their proper state. And, when great accuracy of valuation, is called for- as when the purchase value of an estate is left to reference, and when the tenants are not bound, or if bound are not able, to put them in the required state, it becomes requisite to estimate the expense which each farm, in that predicament, will require to put it in sufficient repair, so as to bring the whole into a suitable state of occupation. And the same principle of valuation nolds good in ordinary purchases. 3435. DeduclioTis, encuTnbrances, and outgoirigs, are leases, tithes, taxes, fixed payments, repairs, and risks. 3436. Leases. In considering the nature of leasehold tenures, it appears that, by a long lease, the fee-simple value of an estate may be, in effect, annihilated. Even a lease for lives, with a mere conventional rent, may reduce it to nearly one third of its fee- simple value; and every other kind of lease, if the rent payable be not equal to the 558 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. P*bt III. fair rental value at the time of sale, is an encumbrance, even to a purchaser who has no other object in view than that of securing his property on land, and receiving interest, in rent, for the money laid out. If personal convenience be immediately wanted, or im- provements required to be made, a lease, though the tenant pay a full rent, becomes an obstacle to the purchase. 3437. Tithes. If in valuing lands they are considered as tithe free, the tithe, or modus, if any, requires to be deducted as an encumbrance ; and seeing the great variation in the values of tithes and moduses, according to customs and plans of occupation, it is the plainest way of proceeding, to value all lands as free of tithe, and afterward to make an allowance for whatever they may be estimated to be worth : an allowance which, in some cases, as on corn-land estates, forms a considerable portion of the fee-simple value of the lands ; while on grass-land estates, especially such as are pastured by cattle, this encumbrance, so galling to the com grower, is in great part avoided. ,'?438. Taxes. Although it may be called the custom of England for proprietors to pay the land tax, and the occupier all other taxes, yet this is not the universal practice. Nor Is it, in valuing an estate on sale, and to be let at will, a matter to be enquired into. The annual amount of the payable taxes and other outgoings is the fact to be ascertained : for whosoever discharges them, they come as a burthen upon the gross value of the lands, out of which they are payable ; for if. a tenant pays them, his rent is, or ought to be, estimated and fixed accordingly. If, however, an estate on sale is already let under lease for a term to come, it is highly requisite to ascertain what parts of the annual outgoings and repairs are discharged by the tenants, and what the pro- prietor will be liable to, during the term to run. The land tax, where it still exists, is extremely uncertain as to its value, and the poor tax is equally variable in different situations. The church, highway, and county rates are, taking them on a par of years, less liable to local uncertainty, and are consequently less entitled to enquiry from a valuist. 3439. Fixed payments, or rent charges, such as chief rents, quit rents, annuities, en- dowments, schoolmasters' salaries, charitable donations, &c. to which an estate is liable ; also 3440. Repairs of public works, buildings, roads, &c. incumbent on the estate on sale, are subjects of enquiry and estimation ; as well as the ordinary repairs above noticed. And, moreover, 3441. The hazard, or risk, which naturally or fortuitously attends the lands imder valuation, as that of their being liable to be inundated in summer, or to be torn away by floods at any season, is entitled to mature consideration : for, although these evils may generally be remedied by river breaks and embankments, the erecting of these is mostly attended with great expense ; and the estimated value of this becomes, of course, a fair deduction. 3442. Appurtenant to an expensive estate, there are generally other valuable considerations, besides the purchase value of the lands. These are, 3443. Minerals and fossils, whether metals, fuels, calcareosities, or grosser earths. 3444. Waters, whether they are valuable for fisheries, decoys, mills, domestic purposes, or the irrigation of lands. 3445. Timber, of woods and hedgerows. 3446. Buildings that are not let with the farms, but which bear rent, independent of the lands ; yet which, when scattered over an estate, may well be considered as belonging to landed property. 3447. The estiTnated value of evideTit improvements. 3448. Ttie abstract riglits which arise out of appropriated lands, or their appurte- nances ; as 3449. The right qf commonage, which is generally of some value even when commons lie open, and may be of more when they shall be enclosed ; provided the cost of enclosure do not turn out to be more than the extra value of the appropriated lands, above that of the common right in their open state. 3450. The right qf seigniority to fee.farm rents, or other chief rents, payable to the possessor of the lands on sale, out of the lands of other proprietors. These rents, though small, are of certain value in themselves ; and the idea of superiority which they convey to some men's minds may be worth more than the pecuniary value ; which, indeed, where the sums are very small (as is often the case), is much lowered by the expense of collecting thera : besides the trouble, vexation, private quarrels, and lawsuits they are liable to excite, when, through neglect, they are half forgotten, and the vassal is willing to catch at the circumstance, to try to get rid of the teazing and humiliating encumbrance. This, however, may serve to account for their having been handed down with reverential care, through a succession of ages j until, in many instances, even their origin, and much more the circumstances attending it, are difficult or impossible to trace. But, surely, a man of a liberal turn of mind, who has no interest in legal contests, and who prefers solid gold to a trinket, would not hesitate to collect these scattered wrecks of property, and to convert them to a more civilised, rational, and profitable purposa On the other hand, any man of an independent spirit would pay more than a fair price— would pay liberally— to be exonerated from so base a burthen. If, however, avassal's chains sit easy upon him, let him wear them. What is here meant to be intimated is, that he ought to have, in liberality, if not in law, a fair opportunity of throwing them off. S45I. The rights /etutalUij, or manorial rights, are at present, if not in their origin, very diflTerent from those last mentioned. In the day of their establishment, they appear to have been founded in wisdom and a degree of political necessity i and, by the correcting hand of time, they arrived at a high degree of Boor I. PURCHASE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 557 EoUtical perfection. The simple and easy mode of transferring property, wiiich the feudal system esta- iished, was well adapted to the illiterate age in which it had its rise. Kven in these lettered days, and among the ruins of feudal rights, the copy of a court-roll is considered as the clearest title a man can have to his possession I what a hint is this to modem legislators ! The value of feudal rights is to be estimated by the quit rents, fines, heriots, escheats, and amerciaments, which long custom and a train of circum. stances nave attached to the given court ■, and besides what relates to the appropriated lands of the manor, the lord has a profit arising from the commonable lands (if any lie within it), as lord of the soil, wh ich cannot be brolten without his permission. Hence the fossils and minerals, which it covers, belong to him ; as well as the timber which grows upon* the waste, and the waters that are annexed to it He is moreover, in ordinary cases, lord of the game which inhabits or strays upon this manor. This, however, being a right of pleasure, rather than of profit, has no fixed standard of estimation. 3452. The right of tithe, when attached to an estate, is the most desirable of abstract rights arising out of landed property : for, as far as the right extends (whether to a lay rectory, or a vicarial improprietorship), the lands which it covers become, in effect, tithe free ; as every judicious proprietor incorporates the rents of the tithe with those of the lands out of which it is payable, thus (if the right, as it generally is, be rectorial) freeing them wholly &om the encumbrance of tithes, as a tax on improvements, and as an obstacle to the growth of com. The value of tithes, as has been intimated, is so various, that nothing but local information can enable a valuist to estimate them vrith sufficient truth. 3453. The tight of advovison, or the privilege of appointing a pastor to propagate religion and morali^ upon an estate, properly enough belongs to its possessor ; as no other individual is so intimately concerned in the moral conduct of its inhabitants. 3454. The right of represeatatian or election, or the appointment (in whole or in part) of a legislator to assist in promoting good order in the nation at large, equally belongs to the owner of territorial surface. Chap. III. Purchase or Transfer of Landed Property. S455. In hargainingfor an estate there are two methods in use ; the one by public bid- dings, and the other by private treaty. In either a certain degree of caution is requisite ; and in both an accurate valuation is the best safeguard. 3456. ATnong the preliminaries of purchase by private contract, the particulars which may be requu-ed to be furnished by a seller are first to be enumerated. These are ; the quantities of the several pieces of the lands on sale, together with the maps, or rough drafts, of the same : the tenure under which they are holden : some assurance as to the title of the seller, and his right of alienation : the tenancy under which the several farms are let ; and, if on lives, the ages of the nominees ; if for a term of years, the number unexpired ; if at will, the notices (if any) which the tenants have had. 3457. An abstract if the covenants under which they are let ; particularly of those which relate to taxes and repairs, to the expenditure of produce, to the ploughing of grass lands, &c. 3458. The existing rents and profits receivable; whether for tenanted lands, appurte- nances, or abstract rights ; with the estimated value of the demesne, and the woodlands in hand ; together with the estimated value of the timber growing upon the estate on sale, as well as of the minerals and fossils which it may contain ; the outgoings to which the estate is liable : the proposed time of the delivery of possession : the price, and the mode of payment expected^ 3459. The particulars of instruction to be given to a surveyor, or other valuer, of an estate to be purchased, may next be particularised ; it wiU be right, however, to premise, that much, in this respect, depends on the probability of purchasing, and on the time allowed for maldng the estimate. 3460. In cases of sale by jrubUc auction, where there can be no certainty as to purchase, and where the time for valuation is limited, a rough estimate of each farm, and a general idea of the value of the timber and other appurtenances, may be all that can be prudently ascertained. 3461 . IBut, in a sale by private contract, where the refusal of an estate is granted, and time allowed for deliberate survey, a more minute investigation may be proper, especially when there is every reason to believe that a bargain will take place. For the same report will not only serve as a guide to the purchase, but will become a valuable foundation on which to ground the future management of the estate. For these, and other reasons, a purchase by private contract is most to be desired, by a gentleman who is not in the habit of personally attending public sales, and is unacquainted with the business of auction rooms. 3462. The particulars to be required from a surveyor, or surveyors, are principally these : the rental value of each field or parcel of land, with the state in which it lies, as to arable, meadow, pasture, or woodland; the value of the timber and other appur- 558 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pa»t HI. tenances ; the characteristic, and the state of management, of each farm or tenement, with the eligibility of its occupier, together with the state ot repair of buildings, gates, fences, watercourses, and roads ; the amount of tlie encumbrances and outgoings ; and, lastly, the probable value of the improvements of which the estate may appear to be cap^le, whether by ordinary or extraordinary means. 3463. Tlie sulgects of treaty after these particulars of information are procured are few. The two statements having been duly compared, so that no misunderstanding can take place between the parties, the price, with the times and mode of payment, are the prin- cipal matters of agreement. A clear understanding respecting the custody of title deeds, and the expenses of conveyance, require, however, to be enumerated among the preli- minaries of purchase. 3464. The budiiess of negotiation is best carried on by letters, which become vouchers of facts. Whatever is done by interview requires to be reduced to writing, and to be read by, or to, the parties, before they separate, that no possibility of misconception may arise; and, added to these precautions, it is proper, in large purchases, and when abstracts of intricate title deeds are to be made out and examined, that a legal contract, or memorandum of agreement, should be entered into, for the mutual satisfaction and surety of the parties. 3465. This contract, and the deed of conveyance (namely, the instrument which is legally to transfer the property from the seller to the purchaser), may be said to conclude and ratify the business of purchase ; and in this part of it legal assistance is essentially necessary, to examine existing deeds, and see that the seller has a legal right and clear title to the land, and a legal power to dispose of it, as well as to draw up or examine the fresh deed of conveyance, and see that it is sufScient to transfer the property, legally and adequately, to the purchaser. 3466. Tlie preservation of titles may be adverted to before dismissing this subject. In Scotland, deeds of conveyance and other deeds are registered in one magnificent build- ing, whose internal economy is as admirably adapted to its design, as its outward form is beautiful : and, in England, there are two counties (Yorkshire and Middlesex) which are termed register counties ; in which abstracts of deeds are preserved, and so arranged as to be readily referred to. Hence, in cases where the original deeds are destroyed or lost, these registered abstracts are sufficient evidences of their having existed, and capable of securing the titles of estates to their rightful owners ; and are moreover valuable, in preventing fraudulent practices, particul^ly respecting mortgages. Never- theless, the other counties of England remain, from reign to reign, destitute of these advantages. BOOK II. OF THE LATINO OCT, OH GENERAI, ARRANGEMENT, OF LANDED ESTATES. 3467. The laying out of an extensive landed estate embraces a variety of subjects, and requires extensive information and enlarged views of political, agricultural, and even of moral improvement. In new countries, such as America, where an estate is laid out from a state of nature, this is more particularly the case ; but the observation will also apply to many parts of the British Isles, where estates, long since appropriated, require re-arrangement and improvement. 3468. Among the d^erent objects of attention in laying out or re-arranging a landed estate, one of the first is its consolidation, or the rounding ofif or simplifying tlie outline so that the_ whole may be brought into a compact form. This enme de s'arromlir seems to have existed, and the proximity and intermixture of property to have been felt as an evil by landed proprietors, in all ages. Ahab desired the field of Naboth, because it was near to his house ; and Marvel, the attorney (Massinger's New Way to pay Old Debts, 4;c.) advised his client to « hedge in the manor of Master Frugal," because says he, " his land, lying in the midst of yours, is a foul blemish." 3469. In consolidating property in Britain, an equally desirable object is the appro- priation of commonable lands; which, in England, can only be effected under the autho- rity of a special act of the legislature, but is accomplished with less difficulty in Scot- land, and is rarely necessary in Ireland. It is believed, indeed, that there are now no commons in Scotland, unless, perhaps, one or two belonging to the crown or the church, which cannot be divided by the general law, but must be done either by consent of parties or a special act of parliament. (C.) 3470. The arrangement of the interior of an estate naturally follows the determination of the ring-fence, and the complete possession of all that is witliin. Here the first thing Book II. CONSOLIDATING PROPERTY. 559 will probably be to determine tlie demesne lands, or site of the proprietor's residence, and the extent of territory he means to attach to it and retain in his own occupation. Then follows the intersection of the estate with roads, and probably a canal ; the choice or determination of the sites for towns, villages, manufactories, and mines, mineral quarries, or fisheries, if such exist naturally. Lastly, the grounds to be planted being determined on, the remaining part of the property will consist of the lands to be let out for cultivation by farmers, or other tenants of the soil. In conformity with this view of the subject, we shall consider, in succession, the consolidating of estates, the appropriating of commonable lands, the choice of demesne, road-making, canal-making, the establish- ment of villages and manufactories, the working of mines and quarries, the establish- ment of fisheries, the formation of plantations, the planting of orchards, and the laying out of farms and farm-lands. Chap. I. Consolidating detached Property, 3471. The advantages of a compact estate over one whose lands lie scattered and inter- mixed with other men's properties are evident. The management, whether of detached farms as parts of an estate, or scattered fields as parts of a farm, is conducted with inconveniency : beside the unpleasant altercations to which intermixed lands are liable to give rise. The different methods of compressing landed property into the required state are by exchange, by purchase, and by sale. 3472. Where the lands of two proprietors lie intermixed vnth each other, an amicable exchange is the most eligible; and were it not for the childish piques and petty jealousies which so frequently take root between neighbouring proprietors (and are cherished perhaps by their officious friends), lands of this description could not long exist ; the evil, in almost any case, being easily removed. £ach party having chosen one, or, in extensive concerns, two referees ; and the two or four so chosen, having named a third or fiflh, the required commission is formed ; and bonds of arbitration being signed, the commissioners proceed, as under an act of appropriation of common- able lands, to assign each proprietor his rightful share, in the most profitable situation which the given circumstances will permit. This mode of proceeding might be adopted by the most distant parties, or the most inveterate enemies; and, doubtlessly, with advantage to the property and peace of mind of each. 3473. Where an estate or a farm is disjointed by the intermediate lands of others, it is not only pleasurable to be possessed of them, but profitable to purchase them, even at a higher price than they are intrinsically worth ; consequently at much more than their value, as detached lands, to their proprietor. Yet such is often the waywardness and ill-judged policy of the holders of lands so situated, tliat they will rather continue to hold them with disadvantage, than sell them at a fair price. An equitable way of deter- mining a matter of this sort is, to ascertain the value of the lands to the holder as detached lands, and likewise their value to the candidate as intermixed lands; and to let the mean between the two values be the selling price. By this method, both parties become actual and equal gainers. If the possessor of such lands should lie in wait for an exorbitant offer, the most efficient mode of proceeding is to offer a high number of years' purchase on their fair rental value, indifferently considered, in the situation in which they lie, and to propose to settle such rental value by arbitration. This is a sort of offer which every honest man can readily understand; and, if the holder has any character to lose in his neighbourhood, he cannot refuse it; if he has not, a calculation of the difference between the rent he is receiving and the interest of the money offered, consequently of the annual loss which he is sustaining by not accepting the offer, wiU, sooner or later, bring him to a sense, if not of his duty as a member of society, at least of his own interest. 3474. it IS, in general, right management to dispose of the detached paHs (f an estate, and to add to the rtmin body. The whole is then more easily superintended, and ma- naged at less expense ; while small properties, if suitable -steps be taken, and proper seasons of disposal caught, will generally fetch more than larger parcels, of equal rental value, timely and judiciously purchased. 3475. In selling, as in pvrchaamg, estates, two methods present themselves. They may be sold by auction or by private contract To raise a sum of money expeditiously, the former may be the most eligible, though attended with more expense and more notoriety than the latter, which, for the purpose under view, and when expedition is not neces- sary, will generally, if property conducted, be found preferable. To conduct a sale of detached lands with judgment and reputation, the first step is to have them deliberately 560 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. valued by at least two men of character and ability, and to divide them into parcels or lots, according to situation, and so as to render them of superior value to adjacent pro- prietors. Then fix upon each parcel such value as it is fairly worth to the owner of the lands with which it is naturally united ; and give him the refusal of it. Such parcels as are not disposed of in this way, may either lie open to private contract, or be sold by public auction, the motive for selling being, in every case, openly declared. It is to be remarked, however, that for a sale by auction, a fresh arrangement of lots will be required, the principle of allotment being in this case the reverse of the former. At an auction, a certain degree of competition is requisite to raise the article on sale to its full value ; and it is no more than common prudence in the seller to make up his lots in such a manner as will bring together the greatest number of competitors. Chap. II. Appropriating Commonable Lands- S476. Commonable lands, or such as lie intermixed, or are occupied in common by the inhabitants according to certain laws and customs, may be considered in regard to their ori^n and km/is, and their appropriation or division. Sect. I. Origin and different Kinds of Commonable Lands, 3477. A very few centuries ago, nearly the whole of the lands of Britain lay in an open, and more or less in a commonable, state. (See Fitzlierbert on the Statute Extenta Manorii.) Each parish, or township (at least in the more central and northern districts), comprised diiferent descriptions of lands ; having been subjected, during successive ages, to specified modes of occupancy, under ancient and strict regulations, which time had converted to law. These parochial arrangements, however, varied somewhat in diiferent districts ; but, in the more central and greater part of the kingdom, not widely ; and the following statement may serve to convey a general idea of the whole of what may be termed com- mon-field townships, throughout England : — 3478. Each parish, tyr township, was considered as one common farm ; though the tenantry were numerous. (See also Blackstone's Commentnries, art. Tithing of l^ownsh.) Round the village in which the tenants resided lay a few small enclosures, or grass yards, for rearing calves, and as baiting and nursery grounds for other farm stock. This was the common farmstead, or homestall, which was generally placed as near the centre of the more culturable lands of the parish or township as water and shelter would permits 3479. Bound the homestall lay a suite of arable fields, including the deepest and soundest of the lower grounds, situated out of water's way, for raising com and pulse, as well as to produce fodder and litter, for cattle and horses in the winter season ; and, in the lowest situation, as in the water-formed base of a rivered valley, or in swampy dips, shooting up among the arable lands, lay an extent of meadow grounds, or ings, to afford a supply of hay, for cows and working stock, in the winter and spring months. 3480. On t/te outskirts of the arable lands, where the soil was adapted to the pasturage of cattle ; or on the springy slope of hills less adapted to cultivation ; or in the fenny bases of valleys which were too wet, or gravelly lands thrown up by water which were too dry, to produce an annual supply of hay with sufficient certainty ; one or more stinted pastures, or hams, were laid out for milking cows, working cattle, or other stock which required superior pasturage in summer. 3481. The bleakest, worst-soiled, and most distant lands oftlie towmUp, were left in their native wild state, for timber and fuel, and for a common pasture, or suite of pastures, for the more ordinary stock of the township, whether horses, rearing cattle, sheep, or swine, without any other stint or restriction than what the arable and meadow lands indirectly gave ; every joint tenant or occupier of the township having the nominal privilege of keeping as much live stock on these common pastures, in summer, as the appropriated lands he occupied would.maintain in winter. 3482. The approjmated lands of each township were laid out with equal good sense and propriety. That each occupier might have his proportionate share of lands of different qualities, and lying in different situations, the arable lands, more particularly, were divided into numerous parcels of sizes, doubtless, according to the size of the given township, and the nimiber and rank of the occupiers. 3483. The whole was sulgected to the same plan of management, and conducted as one common farm ; for which purpose the arable lands were divided into compartments, or " fields," of nearly equal size, and generallj' three in number, to receive, in constant Book II. APPROPRIATING LANDS. 561 rotation, the triennial succession of fallow, wheat (or rye), and spring crops (as barley, oats, beans, and peas : thus adopting and promoting a system of husbandry, which, howsoever improper it has become in these more enlightened days, was well adapted to the state of ignorance and vassalage of feudal times. When each parish or township had its sole proprietor, the occupiers being at once his tenants and his soldiers, or meaner vassals, the land^ were, of course, liable to be more or less deserted by their occupiers, and left to the feebleness of the young, the aged, and the weaker sex : but the whole township being, in this manner, thrown into one system, the care and management of the live stock, at least, would be easier and better than they would have been under any other arrange- ment ; and, at all times, the manager of the estate was better enabled to detect bad hus- bandry, aftd enforce that which was more profitable to the tenants and the estate, by hav- ing the whole spread under the eye at once, than he would have been had the lands been distributed in detached unenclosed farmlets, besides avoiding the expense of enclosure. Another advantage arose from this more social arrangement, in barbarous times ; ^— the tenants, by being concentrated in villages, were not only best situated to defend each other from predatory attacks, but were called out by their lord, with greater readiness, in cases of emergency. Therefore, absurd as the common-field system is, in almost every particular, at this day, it was admirably suited to the circumstances of the times in which it originated ; the plan having been conceived in wisdom, and executed with extraordinary accuracy, as appears in numberless instances, even at this distance of time. 3484. UniTiIiabUed tracts or forests- In different parts of Britain there were, and still are, extensive tracts of land, some of them of a valuable quality, lying nearly in a state of wild nature, which were never inhabited unless by freebooters and homebred savages. These uninhabited tracts are styled forests ; and, heretofore, many or most of them have been attached to the crovpn; and some of them are still under royal patronage. Whether they were originally set out for royal pastime merely ; or whether the timber which stood on them was of peculiar value ; or whether, at the time of laying out town- ships, those tracts were impenetrable woods inhabited by wild beasts, and, when these had been destroyed, or su£Sciently overcome to render them objects of diversion, were taken under the protection of the crown ; is not, perhaps, well ascertained. There were also tracts of that description in different parts of England, but which appear, evidently, to have been enclosed from a state of woodland or common pasture ; though it is pos- sible they may have been nominally attached to neighbouring parishes. Of this descrip- tion, principally, are the Wealds of Kent and Sussex, and many other old enclosed lands, in different parts of the kingdom, whose fields or enclosures are of irregular shapes, and their fences crooked. These woodland districts are, like the forest lands, divided into manors, which have not an intimate connection or correspondence with parishes or town- ships ; — a further evidence that they were in a wild state when the feudal organisation took place. 3485. In the western extreme cf the island, the common-Jield system has never, per- haps, been adopted; it has certainly never been prevalent, as in the more central parts of England. There, a very different usage would seem to have been early established, and to have continued to the present time, when lords of manors have the privilege of letting off the lands of common pastures to be broken up for com, the tenant being restricted to two crops, after which the land is thrown open again to pasturage ; and it is at least probable, that the lands of that country have been cleared from wood, and brought into- a state of cultivation, through similar means. At present, they are judiciously laid out, in farms of different sizes, with square straight^lined enclosures, and with detached farm- steads situated within their areas ; the villages being generally small and mean— the mere residences of labourers. Circumstances these are, which strongly evince that the com- mon-field system never took place in this part of the island, as it did in the more central parts of England. Ireland, also, has been enclosed (though not fenced) from time inunemorial. 3486. 7'he feudal organisation, having lost its original basis, has itself been mouldering away, more particularly during the last century. A great majority of the appropriated common-field Isuids and commons have been partially or wholly enclosed ; either by . piecemeal, each proprietor enclosing his own slip, — a very inconvenient mode of enclosure • or by general ccmsent, the whole of the proprietors agreeing to commit their lands to the care and judgment of arbiters, or commissioners, who, restoring the fields to their original entirety, reparcelled them out in a manner more convenient to the several proprietors, and laid each man's portion, which had consisted of numberless narrow slips, in one or more well shaped grounds. 3487. Jn England this requires to be effected by a separate act of parliament for each enclosure. In these acts commissioners are named, or directed to be chosen by the proprietors, who according to certain instructions in the act or law, and the general principles of equity, divide the township among all who have an interest in it It appears by the statute books, that from the year 177* to the year 1813, no fewer than two thousand six hundred and thirty.two acts of enclosure have been passed : the average in the first twenty years being thirty-seven, and in the last twenty years ninety-four. O o 562 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 3488. In Sco/land a general bill ol enclosure was passed by the parliament in 1695, arid in consequence of it the whole country has for nearly a century past been in distinct possessions. In Ireland, as we have, already remarlted, no enclosure act became necessary, and the country is considered as suffering from the long continued minute division of landed property. 3*89. As a contrast to the general eagertutsfor enclosing, it may be useftil to present the moderate, and in our opinion Judicious, observations of Loch, to whom it appears very doubtful how far the mdiscrimmate enclosure of commons, arising out of the high nominal prices of grain, has been m every mstance of ad. vantage to the nation. Many of them, he says, certainly, could never pajr the expense of obtaunng the act, of the commissioners' fees, of the construction of the fences, and of brmging the land uito cultivation. In this respect there has been a dead loss of capital to the country. It is conceived that it is not carrying this feeling too far, to regret the destruction of some of those beautiful and picturesque forests and chases which once surrounded London, and to hope that this may go no l\irther. It may even be permitted, perhaps, to include within this regret as a national loss, the destruction of Windsor forest, the most appro- priate accompaniment of the noblest royal residence in Europe. The preservation of some ofthese chases u as essential to the poorer classes of the metropolis as to the rich. To the former they allbrd health, exercise, and amusement ; in the latter they produce and cherish that love of the country, and of rural sports, so Important in a constitutional point of view. They nourish that feeling for, and knowledge of, the beauties of nature {freed from the love of gain as connected with the productions of. the soil), which enlarge our understandings, and exalt every better sentiment of the heart — encouraging the practice of the social virtues, and checking those more seltish habits which the general distribution of great wealth is too apt to engender. There cannot be a doubt, that not only for these reasons would the abstaining from some of these enclosures have been beneficial, but, in an economical point of view, it would have been most advantageous to the nation. In how many ways could not the capital, thus lost, have been beneficially applied both for the individual and the country ! How much a richer man would the land-owner have been, if he had saved much of this expense, and permitted a more liberal importation of foreign coml How much better would it have been for the country! In this, as in every other instance, it might be demonstrated, that that which would have been best for one, would have been so for alt, and that the same system must always benefit equally the English landlord, tenant, merchant, manu. focturer, and artisan. {Marquess qf StaffiinVs Improvements^ 8jc^ Sect. II. General Principles of appropriating and dividing Cormnonahle Lands. 3490. There are few lands in Britain unnppro^niatedt except in England, and these may be classed as forest lands, and other extensive wastes, on which several manors, or adjacent townships, hare a, right of common pasturage ; commonable lands of distinct townships or manors, whose appropriated lands are wholly enclosed, and in a state of mixed cultivation ; commonable lands of townships, whose arable fields, &c. are partially enclosed ; and commonable lands of townships, whose arable fields remain wholly open. 3491 Tlie principles on which tlie appropriation of those lands requires to be conducted are thus laid down by Marshal. By an established principle of the general law or con- stitution of the country, immemorial custom establishes right. Hence the original rights and regulations respecting the lands under view are not now the proper subjects of investigation ; nor are the changes that may have taken place during a succession of centuries, from the origin of forests and townships to the latest time which is no longer within memory, objects of enquiry; but, solely, the acquired rights which exist in a given case at the time of appropriation, and which would continue to exist were it not to take place. The possessor of a cottage which has enjoyed, from time immemorial and without interruption, the liberty of pasturage, though such cottage were originally an encroach- ment of a freebooter or an outlaw, has indisputably as legal a claim to a proportionate share of the commonable lands, as the possessor of the demesne lands of the manor has, merely as such, although they may have descended from father to son from the time of their severalty ; for it is evidently on the estimated values of the respective rights which exist, and which can be rightfully exercised in time to come, and on these alone, that a just and equitable distribution can be effected. 3492. Bvt before the distribution of coTmrumable lands among the owners of common pasturage can take place, the more abstract rights which belong to commons require to be estimated, and the just claims of their possessors to be satisfied. These are principally manorial rights, and the rights of tithes. 3493. Manorial claims are to be. regulated by the particular advantages which the lord of a given manor enjoys, and which he will continue to enjoy while the commons remain open and unappropriated ; whether they arise from mines, quarries, water, timber, alien tenants, fuel, estover, pannage, or game. His claim as guardian of the soil that is pro- ductive of pasturage only is, in most cases, merely honorary ; and it remains with par- liament to fix the proportional share of the lands to be appropriated, which he shall be entitled to as an equivalent for such honorary claim,' 3494. But in the case of thriving timber standing on the property, the claim of the lord of the manor in right of the soil is more substantial; for out of this he has in effect a real yearly income, equal to the annually increasing value of the timber ; — a species of advan- tage which, if the commons remain open and ui^appropriated, he will of course continue to enjoy so lOng as the timber continues to increase in value. His claim, therefore, in this respect, depends on the quantity of timber and its state of growth, taken jointly. Young thriving timber not only affords an annual increase of value at present, but will continue its benefits for many years to come, if it be suffered to remain undisturbed on tlie soil ; and its owner, doubtless, has a prospective claim on the soil which supports it during the estimated period of its future increase ; whereas dotards and stunted trees. Rook II., DIVIDING COMMONABLE LANDS. 553 which afford no increase of value, do not entitle their owner to any share of the soil tliey stand upon. All that the lord has a right to claim appears to be limited to the trees themselves or their intrinsic value. 3495. The claims of tithe owners, aggregately considered, are more complex and obscure. In cases where the great and small tithes are united, and in which the tithe of wool and lambs, and that of grain, roots, and herbage, belong to the same owner, it may seem to be reasonable that he should have the option of receiving land of equal value to the existing value of the tithes, or of taking the chance of their value, in the state of culti- vation. But seeing the evil tendency of corn tithes, and the impropriety of laying on so harmful a burthen, as they are now become, upon lands that have never borne it, there can be little risk in saying that it would be at least politic in parliament to prevent it. -Besides, it stands part of the statute law, that lands which have never been under tillage shall not pay tithes during the first seven years of their cultivation ; during which time the incumbent's income might, by leaving the tithe to take its course, be materially abridged, and his circumstances thereby be rendered distressful. On the whole, there- fore, it appears to be proper in this case, that the law to be enacted should instruct com- missioners to set out lands equal to the existing value of the tithes at the time of apprO'. priation ; and where much corn land shall be appropriated, to set out a farther quantity equal to the estimated reversion of their extra value (if any arise in the estimate), seven years after the appropriation shall have taken place. 3496. Again,-in cases in which the titJte of lambs and wool, and the tithe of com, ^c. beh^ig to separate owners, the line of rectitude and strict justice to all parties appears to be still more difiicult to be drawn. The former is clearly entitled to land, or a money payment equal to his loss of tithe ; but the right of the latter is less obvious. To cut lum off -entirely irom any share of the lands, and likewise from any share of tithes to arise from them after they shall have been appropriated, may seem unjust ; he may be a lay rector, and may have lately purchased the tithes, or a clerical rector who has recently bought the .advowson, under the expectation of an enclosure. On the other hand, it appears to be hard, that the proprietors of the parish should Hrst give up land for the tithe of wool and Iambs which vrill no longer exist, and then be liable to a corn tithe on the same lands, after they shall have bestowed on them great expense in clearing and cultivation. In- deed, the injustice of such a measure is evident. A middle way, therefore, requires to be sought ; and it will be difficult, perhaps, to find one which has more justice in it than that which is proposed for the first case. Thus, after the value of the lamb and wool tithe, &c. has been ascertained, and land set out as a satisfaction for it, estimate the value of the corn tithe, &c seven years after the time of appropriation ; and set out a further quantity for the reversion of the extra value (if any) of the latter over the former, and tiius free the lands entirely from this obstacle to their improvement. 3497. If any other abstract claim on the landsto be appropriated be fairly made out, or any alien right (as that of a non-parishioner, or extra-manorial occupier, who has acquired, by ancient grant or by prescription, the privilege of depasturing them) be fully proved, its value requires to be accurately estimated, and land to be assigned in its stead. 3498. The remainder of the vnstinted commons of a given township or manor belong to the owners of its common-right lands and houses ; but in what propoition, it may be difficult to determine with mathematical precision* Nevertheless, by adhering strictly to the general principle, on which alone an equitable appropriation can be conducted, — namely, that of determining each man's share by the benefit which he has a right to receive at the time of appropriation, and which he might continue to receive were it not to take place, — truth and justice may be sufficiently approached. 3499. One of, the first steps toward an equitable distribution of unstinted commons is to ascertain the common-'right houses, and to distinguish them from those which have no right of commonage ; and which, therefore, can have no claim to any share of the lands of the unstinted commons, further than in the right of the lands they stand upon. By an ancient and pretty generally received, though somewhat vague, idea respecting the rights of commonage, the occupier of every common-right house has the privilege of depasturing as many cattle, sheep, or other live stock, on the common in summer (provided, it must be understood, that it is large enough to permit every occupiei to exercise this right), as the grounds he occupies within the township or manor can properly maintain in winter ; and no one can exceed that proportion ; for the surplus of the pasturage, if any, belongs to the lord of the soil. (See Fitdierbert and Ulaclt- stone.) 3500. Under this regulation, the appropriated lands of a common-field tonmship, which are not occupied jointly with a common-right house, may be said to' be deprived, durin"- the time they are so occupied, of their right of commonage ; and in some of the private bills of enclosure, which have been suffered to pass through parliament, the lands which happened to be in this state of occupancy, at the time of passing the bills, were deprived Oo 2 564 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, of their interest in the common lands for ever ; notwithstanding, perhaps, they had a few years preceding this accidental circumstance an undoubted right to their portion of them, — a right wliich, a few weelcs or a few days afterward, might have reverted to them, without the smallest taint by the temporary alienation. If any of the appropriated lan^s of a township or manor have been estranged from its commons, during time immemorial ; have never been occupied jointly with a common-right house, or in any way enjoyed, of right, the common pasturage within memory ; they may with some reason be said to have lost their right, and be excluded from a participation. 3501. By this ancient and in a degree essential usage, comrmyiu^right houses have a clear right to the lands of the commons, superior to that of the ground they stand upon ; especially if they rightfully enjoy a privilege of partaking of the fuel and pannage (as acorns, masts, &c.)they afford, for these properly belong to the houses, not to the lands : and still more especially, if they aie conveniently situated for enjoying the several benefits which the commons afford in their wild state. And whatever a common-right house is worth, merely as such ; that is to say, whatever it will let or sell for, over and above a noncommon-right house of the same intrinsic value ; it certainly ought to participate in the distributix)n, according to such extra value. 3502. The true proptyrtiormte shares oftlte coTnTnon-right lands are to be ascertained on the same principle ; for although the ancient regulation respecting common-rights may continue in force, while the commons remain open and unappropriated, it would be found troublesome or unmanageable as a rule to their just appropriation. ' There are few, if any, commons (of common-field townships at least) that now afford pasturage in summer for all the stock which the appropriated lands are capable of maintaining in winter ; so that their several proportions only could be used ; and these proportions may be calculated with much greater certainty and despatch on the respective rental values of the lands, than on the more yague and troublesome estimation of the quantities of stock they would winter, which, indeed, would be best calculated by the rental value of tlie land. Consequently, in adopting this as the basis of calculation, the ancient rule is, in effect, complied with. (Blaelestone, book iii. c. xvi. sect. 2.) 3503. But although each arnirmjn-right occupier has a right to stock in proportion to the productiveness or rental value of his appropriated lands, every one could not do this with equal profit, and of course could not receive equal benefit. Lands situated on the side of a common are much more beneficial in this respect, than lands which lie a mile or two from it, vrith bad roads between them ; and it is the real advantage which an occupier can fairly receive, that is the true guide in the partition, which consequently ought to be conducted, not on the rental value of the laud, abstractly considered, but on this and its situation with respect to the commonable lands jointly. In other words, it is the rental values of the common-right lands while the commons remain open, not what they will become after the commons are enclosed, which I conceive to be the proper groundwork of appropriation. 3504. In cases where commonable lands are wJiolly attached to manors, and not common to the parish or township in which they are situated, as in forests and woodland districts, the selfsame principle of distribution is applicable. The remainder of the commons (after the owners of abstract rights have been satisfied) belong to the common-right lands and houses ; no matter whether such lands and houses belong to copyhold tenants exclusively, or to copyholders and freeholders jointly, provided the immemorial custom of the manor make no distinction in their respective rights ; the well established customs of manors being in all cases rules of conduct, and unerring guides to commissioners. Here may be said to end the greater difficulties ia to the principles of appropriation : the rest is merely technical ; the works of admeasurement, estimate, and calculation, — operations that are familiar to professional men in every district, and want nothing but application and integrity to render them sufficiently complete. 3505. Tlie technical routine of the business of conducting an enclosure is as follows : — The act being passed, and two or more commissioners named, these commissioners meet on a certain day at a certain place within the township or parish, having previously given public notice of their intention. The chief business of that day is the fixing of a land surveyor and an attorney to the commission. At a second meeting the commissioners, surveyor, attorney, and some of the principal proprietors or their agents, attend and make a general perambulation of the township, in order to point out to the surveyor the different properties, with their limits, &c. The surveyor now proceeds to make a correct map of the whole. This done, the commissioners, attended by the surveyor, proceed to value each separate lot or piece; and having done this, they next advertise different meetings for the purposes of hearing the rights of townsmen, &c. Next they set about dividing the lands according to these rights, reserving proper roads for footpaths, quarries, gravel-pits, wells, springs, &c. for public purposes. When this is done, and set out on the ground, contractors are next employed to carry the whole into es icution, the expense of w hich and also of the commission is generally paid by the sale o.' a part of the lands. Book II. CHOICE OF DEMESNE LANDS. S6t, Chap. III. Choice of the Demesne or Site far the Proprietor's Residence. SS06. The most desirable situationfor the mansion of the owner of a landea estate will, in almost every case, be somewhere near its centre. The advantage of being at an equal distance from every part of the boundaries ; of having as much as possible on every side that which we can call our own ; of not being overlooked by near neighbours ; and of reposing as it were in the bosom of our ovni tenantry, cottagers, cattle, and woods ; aie obvious, and felt by every one. There may be instances where, from a public road passing through the centre of an estate, or of a town or village there situated, or raining works carried on, and similar circumstances, it may not be desirable to form a central residence ; but such cases are not common, and, in laying out an estate newly appro- priated, or re-arranging an old one, may always or very generally be avoided. It may happen, however, that an estate may be so extensive, or its surface so hilly or mountainous, that a central situation may be dispensed with for other advantages. When an estate is .situated near an extensive lake, at the foot of high mountains, or includes an extent of sea-shore, it vrill generally be found preferable, in point of effect and enjoyment, to .place the mansion near these interesting features. Proximity to the sea, though it be on the margin of our estate, can never be offensive ; for if the ocean does not belong to us, neither does it belong to any one else ; nearly the same thing may be said of an im- mense lake, which at least is for the greatest part devoid of visible appropriation, and the same thing may often be observed of rivers and mountains, especially if the latter are of a savage, or wooded character. 3507. Various other circumstances must also be taken into view, in fixing on the situ- ation of a mansion and demesne ; such as its healthfulness, prospects, exposure, water, the nature of the soil, and the extent of territory. 3508. To be healthy, a situation should in almost all cases be somewhat elevated above the adjoining surface ; and though this cannot be the case with respect to the whole of the demesne lands, it should at least apply to the spot intended for the. dwelling-house. Even a level situation is objectionable in point of health, because, when the usual plantations have grown up round the house, they tend to stagnate the air and generate moisture, and thus deteroriate tlie atmosphere to their own height, which generally equals or exceeds that of the house. Besides, a flat situation can never have views of much beauty, and can only be interesting from the plants or other objects immediately under the eye, and the elevated grounds or hills, if any, in the extreme distance. On an ele- vated situation, even though surrounded by trees higher than the house, the frequent and varying winds will always prevent the stagnation of the air, and sweep away the moisture accumulated from the evaporation of so many leaves. 3509. Tlie nature of the soil requires to be attended to, even with a view to health. On a level, a gravelly or sandy soil is generally more apt to generate damp in the lower parts of a house, than a clayey soil ; but on an eminence gravel has not this objection ; in the former case, the water lodged in the stratum of gravel finds its way from all sides to the excavation made for the foundations of the house ; in the latter, the declivity on every side carries it away. Clay not too adhesive, chalk, and rock, are the best surfaces to build on in a flat : on an elevated situation any soil will do ; but chalk, rock, or gravel, is to be preferred. 3510. The prosjiects from the immediate site of the mansion, and from those parts of the adjoining grounds which will be laid out as pleasure-ground, or recreative walks, demand some consideration. Such prospects should consist of what painters call middle and third distances, bold, distinct, and interesting ; the for&-ground, or first distance, being formed by the artificial scenery of the pleasure-ground. Noble features in prospects are, rivers, lakes, or mountains : interesting ones are, churches or their spires, bridges, aqueducts, ruins of ancient castles or abbeys, water-mills, distant towns or cities, distant canals, and sometimes roads, &c. : pleasing rural objects are, picturesque cottages, neat farmeries, field barns, and sometimes distant windmills; for objects offensive, when near, often become valuable features at a distance. Something depends on the state of civilisation of the country, and its general character ; the sight of a road, sea-port, canal, or even a neighbouring mansion, would be preferred to most others in many parts of Ireland, Russia, or America. 3511. The exjiosure with regard to the sun and the prevailing winds of a country, also requires attention. It was the custom of former times, in the choice of domestic situations, to let comfort and convenience prevail over every other consideration. Thus the ancient baronial castleswere built on the summits of hills, in times when defence and security suggested the necessity of placing them there, and difficulty of access was a recommendation : but when this necessity no longer existed (as mankind are always apt to fly from one extreme to the other), houses were universally erected in the lowest situ- Oo 3 i66 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III ations, with a probable design to avoid those inconveniences to which lofty positions had been subject ; hence the frequent sites of many large mansions, and particularly abbeys and monasteries, the residence of persons who were willing to sacrifice the beauty of prospect for the more solid and permanent advantages of habitable convenience ; amongst which, shelter from wind, and a supply of water for store fishponds, were predominant considerations. {Enquiry, ^c. by Reptrni, p. 83.) In liilly countries, or in any country where the surface is varied, the choice is neither made in the bottoms [Jig. 532. o) nor on i. the summits of hills (c), but generally on knolls, or on the south or south-east side of considerable eminences (6;, upon an elevated platform, either natural or raised by art from the earth of the foundations ; and the rising grounds behind (d) are planted both for effect and shelter. 3512. The proximity of water is essential to the comfort of every country residence. Where there are none in springs or surface streams, it may, indeed, be collected from the roofs of buildings and otherwise, and filtered, and preserved sweet and cool in tanks underground ; but supplies obtained in this way are precarious and expensive, and the water is inferior to that obtained from the soil by contiguous wells, or from a distance by pipes or drains. Water is also extensively required in country residences for the use -of gardeners, sometimes for fishponds ; at a moderate distance, and on a lower level, it is always desirable in considerable quantity for the purpose of forming artificial lakes, or river-like reservoirs. Few home features are finer than where the house is situated on a knoll which slopes down on two or more sides to one encircling piece of water. Uk- 533.) 533 3513. The nature of the soil is a consideration inferior to the others, because all bad soils are susceptible of great improvement ; but, still, it should be taken into consider- ation along with other objects. A soil retentive of surface water, such as some clayey and soft peaty soils, is the worst, as it is always unpleasant to walk on after rains, and easily poached by cattle and horses. Such soils also require more expense in driunage and roads, and are much less suitable for garden and farm culture, than firmer soils, and such as are naturally friable or dry. 3514. The subsoil is sometimes of more importance than the soil ; for the former in general can only be improved by draining, and subsoils differ materially in their sus- ceptibility of this improvement, A bad subsoil is an effectual barrier to the thriving of timber trees ; and as these constitute the finest ornament of every country seat, the im- portance of choosing a subsoil either naturally congenial to them, or capable of being -endered so by art, is sufficiently obvious. Book II. FROMATION OF ROADS. .567 35 15. Wliere the mrface-soil is dry and poor, but on a dry subsoil, and all other cir- cumstances are favourable, it may often be desirable for a proprietor to fix on such a situation for his demesne ; because such a siurface is probably among the least valuable as farm lands, because land to be laid out as a park is not required to be rich, and because it will not be difficult to ameliorate all tliat part wanted as farm and garden ground. 3516. The extent that shovM be kept as a demesne is more easily determined than any of the foregoing points. The general wealth of the proprietor, and his style of living, are here tlie leading guides. The extent of the demesne may bear very different relations to tlie extent of the estate ; because the proprietor may have other estates and other sources of wealth. He may have chosen a small estate, on which to fix his residence, from its local advantages ; or he may prefer a small demesne on a large estate, from his style of life and the habits of liis establishment. 3517. The park, in general, occupies much the largest part of the demesne lands. In a civilised and populous closely cultivated country, like Britain, notlung can be more noble than a large forest-like park surrounding ^e mansion. In partially cultivated countries, or open field countries, it is less imposing ; and in countries scarcely appro- priated and but thinly distributed with spots of culture, the park becomes a less noble feature, and less a mark of wealth and distinction than a well-hedged and regularly cropped farm. 3518. The apparent extent of a park depends much less on its contents in acres, than on the inequalities of its surface, the disposition of its woods and waters, and the conceal- ment or unobtrusiveness of its boundaries. An extensive fiat, surrounded by a belt, and interspersed with clumps, may be great, but can hardly be felt as grand or interesting by any but the owner : the acres it occupies wall be guessed at by hundreds, and the estimate will generally be found to fall short of the reality. On the other hand, a hilly park, ingeniously wooded, with a piece or pieces of water, and probably rocks, bridges, and other objects, will appear to a stranger of much greater extent than it really is, and sets rational estimate at defiance ; such a park is certainly much more grand and picturesque than one of mere ** bulk without spirit vast." 3519. Thehome or demesne farm and farmery wiU be regulated in extent and style of cultivation by the wants and wishes of the proprietor. It is sometimes a determinate space in the least picturesque part of the demesne ; and sometimes, the greater part of the park is brought in succession under the plough and the sickle. 3520. T/ie kitchen-garden is the next and only remaining large feature in the demesne : it is generally placed near tlie house and stable offices, so as to have a convenient and unobtrusive communication with the kitchen court, and the livery-stable dung heap. 3521. The pleasure-ground, or lawn and shrubbery, often surrounds the house, offices, and kitchen-garden ; and sometimes embraces them only on two or three sides. 3522. The details of all these and other parts of the demesne belong to landscape- gardening and architecture, and require no further notice in this work. (See Encyc. of Gard. part iii. book iv.) Chap. IV. Formatinn and Managemeni of Roads. 3523. TIce advantages of good roads are so obvious and so generally acknowledged, as to need no comment. Roads, canals, and navigable rivers, have been justly called the veins and arteries of a country, through which all improvements flow. The Romans, aware *of their importance, botii in a military and civil point of view, constructed them from Rome to the utmost extent of their empire. With the dismemberment of that empire^ the roads became neglected, and continued so during the dark ages. In modern times attention was first paid to them on a large scale by the government of France, in the seventeenth century ; and in England in the beginning of the century following. About the middle of the eighteenth century, considerable expense had been incurred in road- making, in several districts, and the expenses of toll-gates began to be felt as oppressive. This produced ^n Enquiry into the State of the Public Roads, by the Rev. H. Homer, &c. 1767, which may be considered as the origin of scientific research on the art of road- making in England. 3524. In Scotland, the first turnpike act, as we have seen (771.), was passed in 1750 ; since which period existing public roads have been improved, and many new ones formed : but the great impulse there was given, after the act for abolishing heritable jurisdictions, by the money advanced by government, and the able military engineers sent from England to conduct the roads in the Highlands. The appearance in Britain, about this time, of a new order of professional men, under the name of civil engineers, also contributed to the same effect. O o 4 568 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. PaRt III. 3525. In Ireland, very little attention was paid to the art of road-making before the establishment of the Dublin Society ; but the subject was treated of in the early volumes of their Tramactions, and some useful instructions there given, as it is generally under- stood, by R. L. Edgewortli ; and the surface as well as substrata of that country being singularly favourable for road-making, the art soon began to make considerable progress. This was greatly owing to the exei-tions of Edgeworth, well known as a scientific engineer, and as the author of a tract on roads published in 1810. 3526. Tlie extraordinary increase of toll duties in England, having been felt as a very heavy burthen by the landed interest during the last twenty years, has drawn the attention of various persons to the subject of roads, and given rise to important improvements, both in laying them out, and in forming and repairing tliera. By far the most useful of these may be considered the mode of forming practised since 1816, by L. M'Adam of Bristol ; for which its author was rewarded by pailiament. That mode is now, with more or less variation, adopted in a considerable number of districts in the three kingdoms, and, together witli the attention and emulation it excites, promises to effect an entire revolution in the state of the public roads every where. At the same time it is but candid to state, with Paterson of Montrose, author of two tracts (1819 and 1822) on the subject, that in many districts a considerable improvement had taken place, previously to the time of M'Adam, in the state of the roads, simply from a greater attention being made to keep them dry by under-drainage, to break the stones small, and constantly to obliterate tlie ruts. 3527. But M' Adam's plan of making roads promises to be valuable as a substitute for pavement or causeways in towns ; at the same time its value, as compared with the most improved methods of paving, cannot be considered as finally determined. 3528. In th£ following view of the present state of knowledge as to roads we shall avoid entirely that part of the subject which relates to national or parochial management, and confine ourselves to the kinds, the direction or line, the form, the materials, the execu- tion, and the repairs. Skct. I. Different Kinds of Roads^ 3529. Though all roads agree in being tracks of passage from one point to another, yet they differ in their magnitude, construction, and other modes of adaptation for that pur- pose. Most good roads consist of two parts ; one " metalled " or coated with stones for go^ Q ... the use of carriages and horses {Jig. 534. a) ; another of common earth or soil, as a "border to the metalled part (6), or for the use of pedestrians ; and probably a footpath for the latter (cj. Several kinds of roads are distin- guished by the relative proportions of these two parts ; but some also are characterised by other circumstances. 3530. National roads, or highways, are such as communicate between the capital cities and sea^ports of a country, and are those of the greatest magnitude. In Britain, the metalled part of such roads, where they are most frequented, as within a few miles of large towns, is from 30 to 50 and even to 60 feet wide, with footways on each side of 1 2 feet wide or upwards, and in no case is the metalled part of the road narrower than 20 feet; that ividth being requisite to admit of one loaded waggon passing another. Many or most of these narrower national roads are without footpaths, and often want a sufficient bordering of earth road, or footpath. 3531 . Parochial roads may be considered as secondary highways, deriving their name from the circumstance of being made and supported by the parish in which they are situated ; whereas the others are the work of government, or of the counties in which they are situated, and are supported by tolls levied on carriages and animals passing over them. 3532. Lanes are parish or private roads, generally narrow, and often either not me- talled at all, or very imperfectly so ; sometimes they are called drift-ways, but that term is more properly applied to the green or unmetalled space which runs parallel to any made road, for the passage of flocks and herds, 3533. Estate roads axe such as are made by landed proprietors on their own territory, for the purpose of intercommunication and connection vrith public roads. 3534. A farm-road is either one which leads to a farmery, from a public road, or which leads from the farmery to different parts of the farm. Such roads are never narrower than 16 feet, to admit of two carriages passing each other ; but they are often only half metalled, presenting a turf road for summer, dry weather, and for empty carriages and foot passengers, and a metalled or winter road for winter and loaded carriages. In a road from a highway to a farmery, it may often be advisable to place the metalled road in the middle, and keep the earth road at each side, on account of admitting the sun and ?ir more readily to the metalled road ; but in roads within a farm, it is found a great convenience in carting out manure or bringing home produce, for the loaded carts to have Book II. KINDS OF ROADS. 569 / uninterrupted possession of the metalled road, and the others of the earth road. In many cases, farm roads of this description are only metalled in the horse tracks (Jig. 53S. a) and wheel ruts S3S (be), which, on dry firm- bottomed land, and with care- ful preservation, is found to answer very well. 3535. Ojten Jarm roads, Beatson observes, should be, as much as possible, placed on the headlands of the fields ; that is, the portion of land adjacent to the hedge, on which the plough is turned ; and every opportunity should be taken of placing gates, so that either 536 side of a hedge may be used as a road (fig. 536.), to avoid driving over a field in tillage. This may be r easily effected by a few gates being placed in the line of the headland or nearly so, and not too near each hedge or to each other, so that a waggon may easily drive through them on the right or left, as the crops may require ; a few hurdles (o) may guard each field in grain alternately, and will furnish a useful fold or enclosure to detain sheep, colts, &c. 3536. Hm-se roads are paths for the transit of single horses vrith a rider, or a back load : thpy are commonly of earth, and from six to ten feet wide : the statute width is eight feet. 3537. Footpaths are tracks for pedestrians ; some- times metalled to the width of tiiree or four feet; but often of the natural surface. 3538. Paved roads are of tliree kinds : those with small stones, or causeways, which are most common; those with large blocks of stone, or what is called ashlar pavement ; and those with sections of timber The first, though almost peculiar to towns, yet form the whole of the metalled road in some cases of country road*% ; and in others a space of ten or twelve feet in the middle, or at each side, is causewayed for the use of the heavier carriages. Broad stones are sometimes used for covering part of a road, destined for the greatest part of the traf- fic, or for forming wheel tracks. In the latter case they are always squared or regularly jointed, but in the former the most irregular forms may be used. Timber causewaying is only used in entrance courts to town mansions, for the sake of avoiding the noise' made by the wheels of carriages and horses' feet on stone ; or on suspension bridges, for the sake of lightness. For these purposes timber paving is excellent, and lasts for a very long time. On the ContinentV fir timber is used for this sort of paving ; but oak or larch would, no doubt, last longer. 3539. Street roads with stone tracks (Jig. 537.) have been proposed by Mr. Stevenson, a distinguished engineer. These tracks may either be laid in connection with common 537 or rubble causeway (a), or with common road metal (6). Mr. Stevenson proposes to lay these stone tracks upon a firm foundation, if not throughout the whole extent to S70 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. our principal roads, at least upon all their acclivities which exceed a greater rise than at the rate of 1 perpendicular to 26 horizontal feet ; — an undulating line of road which obliges the carrier, iu most instances, to modify his load to one half of what his horse can take along the more level parts. It is likewise proposed, that the leading streets of all towns and villages situate upon the principal highways should be laid with these stone tracks. The traveller would then glide smoothly along, instead of being accom- panied with a thundering noise and jolting motion most unpleasant to himself and the inhabitants of the respective places through which he passes. 3540. The advantages qf stone tracks in roads " cannot be better exemplified than by noticing an experi- ment made in presence of some of ttie Directors of the Fortli and Clyde Canal Company, upon a set of cast-iron tracks, laid upon an acclivity rising at the rate of about 1 in 15 to Fort Dundas, near Glasgow. Here one horse actually drew up a load of three tons on a cart weighing nine cwt In this case, the horse proceeded up hlU without much apparent ditiiculty till he reached the top, and was about to enter on the common causeway, when he could proceed no further, although the road had now become level. The carters frequenting this road agree that their horses had formerly greater difiicutty in talcing up twenty, four cwt. on the causeway, than was now experienced with three tons. How great, therefore, must be the beneficial effects of such an immense acquisition of power, as even thepartial introduction of wheel-tracks is calculated to affbrd to the traffic of the country !" 3541. Mr. Siuart Menteath of Ciosebum *' has had single-horse waggons with four wheels applied to the ordinary purposes of his estate. These waggons are constructed upon theprinciple of those of Switzerland ; they are ten cwt on which a horse, weighing about eleven cwt, takes a load of thirty cwt between Edin- burgh and Closeburn, a distance of sixty-six miles. This gentleman, whose knowledge in such matters is extensive, estimates, that if wheel-tracks were laid upon the principal acclivities of the road, as above recommended, his horses could work with a load of about two tons." {Stevenson's Plan for Track Roads. Edin. 4to. 1826, p.4.) 3542. Planked roads are formed over morasses ; or in particular cases by laying down a flooring of flanks, on which carriages pass for temporary purposes. A permanent kind of road of this description has been made by weaving (or wattling) an endless hurdle of the breadth of the road, and covering it with a coating of gravel or broken stones. The advantage of this mode is, that the road may be made on a bog before the substratum dries, and even if it is so soft as not to bear a man, By the time the hurdle rots, the base will be consolidated and fit to bear any thing. 3543. Rail roads are roads exclusively for the use of carriages, and are characterised by a rail, commonly of iron, but sometimes of wood or stone, laid along the track of each wheel, in order to produce the effect of a perfectly even surface. There is also a recent invention of this kind, named a suspension railway, which, under particular circumstances, promises very considerable advantages. In general the carriages for such roads have their wheels low, and of a particular construction to fit the rails ; but in some cases the rails have grooves for the use of common narrow wheels. Such roads are almost ex- clusively in use at coal and other great mineral works ; but it has lately been proposed to introduce them as side roads to the more public highways, for the purpose of loco- motive steam-engines, and it seems highly probable that this may be done before long on several of our main roads. (See Sect. V.) Sect. II. Litie of Direction, or laying out ofRoadS' 3544. before carriages of burthen were in use, little more was required than a path upon hard ground, that would bear horses. AH marshy grounds were therefore shunned ; the fords of rivers were resorted to, and the inequality or circuit of the road was of much less consequence, that when carriages, instead of pack-horses, began to be employed. When carriages were first employed, they probably were light and narrow, and did not require to have roads of any considerable breadth or firmness ; and when roads had once been thus traced, indolence and habit prevented any great exertions to lay them out in better lines, or to repair them in any manner beyond what present convenience absolutely required. When heavier carriages and greater traflSc made wider and stronger roads necessary, the ancient track was pursued : ignorance and want of concert in the proprietors of the ground, and, above all, the want of some general effective superintending power, conti- nued this wretched practice. {Edgeworth on Boads, p. 3.) At length turnpikes were es- tablished, and laws passeiinvesting magistrates with authority to alter established lines, so that now the chief obstacle to the improvement of the lines of public roads is the expense. 3545. In laying out roads, a variety of circumstances require to be taken into consi- deration ; but the principal are evidently their line or direction, and its inclination to the horizon. 3546. Tlie most perfect Une, according to Marshal, is that which is straight and level. But this is to be drawn in a country only which is perfectly flat, and where no obstruc- tions lie in the way ; —joint circumstances that rarely happen. Where the face of the country, between two points or places to be connected by a road, is nearly but not quite level, by reason of gentle swells which rise between them, a straight line may be perfect, — may be the most eligible under these circumstances: but where the intervening country is broken into hill and dale, or if one ridge of hill only intervenes, a straight line of carriage road is seldom compatible with perfection. In this case, which is nearly general, the best skill of the surveyor lies in tracing the midway between the, Book II. DIRKCTION OF ROADS. 5T1 strught iind the \tvel line. The line of perfection, for agricultural purposes, is to be calculated by the time and exertion, jointly considered, which are required to convey a given burthen, with a given power of draught, from station to station. On great public roads, where expedition is a principal object, time alone may be taken as a good criterion. 3547. According to Stevenson, " although in road-making the line of direction must always be suborc^ate to the line of draught, yet the former is notwithstanding of importance, both as it regards the safety of the traveller, and the trackage of the load. Independently of the numerous accidents wliich occur from the sudden collision of carriages travelling at speed upon a tortuous line of road, it were even better to go up a moderate acclivity, tlian to introduce numerous turns, which, to a certain extent, are not less detrimental to the effective power of the horse, than die uphill draught. Every turn in the road, which ultimately amounts to a right angle, does, in effect, suppose the carriage to have been brought from a state of motion to a state of rest, and from rest to motion again. Turns in a road, where they are unavoidable, ought to be formed on curves of as large a radius as the situation will admit. There ought, in laying out a road, to be a kind of compensating balance between the lines of direction and draught ; and wherever weighty reasons occur for varying the direct line, such as an acclivity to be avoided, more proper soil to be obt^ned, the avoiding of valuable property, or the including of a village or town, — where such motives present themselves, the judgment of the engineer vrill, of course, be exercised in varying the line of direction." (jEd. Enc, art. JRoads.) 3548. A regular method of finding out the true line of road between two stations, where a blank is given, and where there is no other obstruction than what the surface of the ground to be got over presents, is to ascertain, and mark at proper distances, the straight line, which is the only certain guide to the surveyor. If tlie straight }ine be found to be ineligible, each mark becomes a rallying point, in searching on either side of it for a better. If two lines of equal facility, and nearly of equal distance from the str^ght line, present themselves, accurate measurements are to determine the choice. If one of the best two lines which the intervening country affords is found to be easier, the other shorter, the ascent and the distance are to be jointly considered ; the exertion and the time required are to be duly weighed. 3549. The nature efthe grouruU the source of materials, and the comparative- ex]iense of forming the road, by two doubtful lines, as well as their comparative exposure, are also to be taken into consideration. Although, in some places, Faterson observes, it may be of little consequence, either to the traveller or to the public in general, which way the bendings are turned, provided the level is nearly obtained, yet a great deal may depend upon those turns or bendings for the real benefit and advantage of the road. In bend- ing it one way, you may have no metals that will stand any fatigue, unless at a great distance and expense ; while, in turning it the other way, you may have metals of the very best quality in the immediate vicinity. In the one way, too, you may be led over ground of a wet bottom, where, even vrith twelve or fourteen inches deep of metals, there would be difficulty in keeping a good road ; while, in the other, you may have such a dry bottom, that the road would be much easier upheld with seven or eight inches of metals. So that the track that may appear most eligible to the eye, at first sight, may not always be the one that should be adopted. " A combination of all the requisites I have already mentioned should be studied, as far as possible ; and where these cannot be found all to unite, the one possessing the most of diese advantages, and subject to no other material objection, should, of course, be adopted." {Treatise on Roads, p. 19.) S550. Roads, £dgeworth observes, should be laid out as nearly as may he in a straighi line; but, to follow with this view the mathematical axiom, that a straight line is the shortest that can be drawn between two points, will not succeed in making the most, commodious roads : bills must be avoided, towns must be resorted to, and the sudden bends of rivers must be shunned. All these circumstances must be attended to ; there- fore a perfectly straight road cannot often be found of any great length. It may, perhaps, appear surprising, that there is but little difference in the length between a road that has a gentle bend, and one that is in a perfectly straight line. A road ten miles long, and perfectly straight, can scarcely be found any where ; but if such a road could be found, and if it were curved, so as to prevent the eye from seeing further than a quarter of a mile of it, in any one place, the whole road would not be lengthened more than one hundred and fifty yards. It is not proposed to make serpentine roads merely for the entertain- ment of travellers j but it is intended to point out, that a strict adherence to a straight line is of much less consequence than is usually supposed ; and that it will be frequently advantageous to deviate from the direct line, to avoid inequalities of ground. It is obvious, that, where the arc described by a road going over a hill, is greater than that which is described by going round it, the circuit is preferable ; but it is not known to every overseer, that witliin certain limits it will be leis laborious to go round the hilli 572 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. though the circuit should be much greater than that which would be made in crossing the hill. Where a hill has an ascent of no more than one foot in thirty, thethiitieth part of the whole weight of the carriage, of the load, and of the horses, must be lifted up, whilst they advance thirty feet. In doing this, one thirtieth part of the whole load con- tinually resists the horses' draught ; and in drawing a waggon of six tons' weight, a resistance equal to the usual force of two horses must be exerted. 3551. A perfectly level road is not always the best for every species of draught. Slight and short alternations of rising and falling ground are serviceable to horses moving swiftly ; the horses have time to rest their lungs, and different muscles : and of this experienced drivers know well how to take advantage. Marshal concurs in this opinion, and also Walker, Telford, and most engineers ; and Paterson considers that it would not be proper to line a road upon a perfect level, even to the length of one mile together, although it could be quite easily obtained. It is a fact, he says, well known to most people, at least every driver of loaded carriages knows by experience, that where a horse, dragging a load over a long stretch of road, quite level, will be exhausted with fatigue, the same length of a road, having hei-e a gentle acclivity, and there a declivity, will not fatigue the animal so much. This is easily accounted for. On a road quite level, the draught is always the same, without any relaxation ; but on a gentle ascent, one of his powers is called into exercise ; on the descent, another of his powers is called into action, and he rests from the exercise of the former. Thus are his different mus- cular powers moderately exercised, one after another ; and this variety has not the same tendency to fatigue. A perfectly level road, both with respect to its direction and its breadth, is always dirty in wet weather ; because the rain water can neither run off to the side of the road, nor along the ruts. Such roads, therefore, as are level in their line of direction, should always have a fall from the middle to the sides, and should be kept as much as possible free from ruts. 3552. According to Stevenson, and we believe to all the most scientific road engineers, a level straight road is decidedly the best He says, " in an uphill draught, a carriage may be conceived as in the state of being continually lifted by increments proportional to its rise or progress upon the road. Every one knows that on a stage of twelve miles the post-boy generally saves, as it is termecl, at least half an hour upon the level road, because on it he never requires to slacken his pace as in going uphill Now, if he, or his com- pany, would agree to talce the same time to the level road that they are obliged to do upon the undulating one, the post-master would find no difficulty in determining which side of the argument was in favour of his cattle. With regard to the fatigues or ease of the horse, Mr. Stevenson upon one occasion submitted the subject to the consideration of a medical friend (Dr. John Barclay of Edinburgh, no less eminent for his knowledge, than successful as a teacher of the science of comparative anatomy), when the Doctor made the following answer : — ' My acquaintance with the muscles by no means enables me to explain how a horse should be more fatigued by travelling on a road uniformly level, than by travelling over a like space upon one that crosses heights and hollows ; but it is demonstrably a false idea, that muscles can alternately rest and come into motion in cases of this kind. The daily practice of ascending heights, it has been said, gives the animal wind, and enlarges his chest. It may also, with equal truth, be affirmed, that many horses lose tfieir wind under this sort of training, and irrecoverably suffer from imprudent attempts to induce such a habit' In short, the Doctor ascribes *much to prejudice originating with the man, continually in quest of variety, rather than the horse, who, consulting only his own ease, seems quite unconscious of Hogarth's Line of Beauty.' " {Heport on the Edinburgh Railway.) 3553, A dry foundation, and clearing the road from water, are two important objects which, according to Walker {Minutes of Evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, 1819.), ought to be kept in view in lining out roads. " For obtaining the first of these objects, it is essential that the line for the road be taken so that the foundation can be kept dry, either by avoiding low ground, by raising the surface of the road above the level of the ground on each side of it, or by drawing off the water by means of side drains. The other object, viz. that of clearing the road of water, is best secured by selecting a course for the road which is not horizontally level, so that the surface of the road may, in its longitudinal section, form in some degree an inclined plane ; and when this cannot be obtained, owing to the extreme flatness of the country, an artificial incli- nation may generally be made. When a road is so formed, every wheel-track that is made, being in the Une of the inclination, becomes a channel for carrying off the water much more effectually than can be done by a curvature in the cross section or rise in the middle of the road, without the danger or other disadvantages which necessarily attend the rounding of a road much in the middle. I consider a fall of about one inch and a half in ten feet to be a minimum in this ease, if it is attainable without a great deal of extra expense. 3554. The ascent of hills, it is observed by Marshal, is the most difficult part of laying out roads. According to theory, he says, an inclined plane of easy ascent is proper ; but as the moving power on this plane is "neither purely mechanical, nor in a sufficient degree rational, but an irregular compound of these two qualities, the nature and habits of this power " require a varied inclined plane, or one not a uniform descent, but with levels or other proper places for rests. According to the road act, the ascent or descent should not exceed the rate or proportion of one foot in height to thirty-five feet of the length thereof, if the same be practicable, without causing a great increase of distance. Book II. DIRECTION OF ROADS. 573 3555. A» prfcednUt for roadt through hilly countries,, Telford (Minutes before the Committee of the House qfCommonSt £c. 1819.), referc to those which he has lately made through the most difficult and pre. cipitous districts of North Wales. " The longitudinal inclinations are in general less than one in thirty ; in one instance for a considerable distance there was no avoiding one in twenty-two, and in another, for about two hundred yards, one in seventeen ;_ but in these two cases, the surface of the road-way being made peculiarly smooth and hard, no inconvenience is experienced by wheeled carriages. On flat ground the breadth of tlie road. way is thirty.two feet ; where there is side cutting not exceeding three feet, the breadth is twenty-eight ; and along any steep ground and precipices it is twenty-two ; all clear within the fences : the sides are protected by stone walls, breast and retaining walls and parapets ; great pains have been bestowed on the cross drains, also the draining of the ground, and likewise in constructing firm and substantial foundations for the metalled part of the roadway." 355S. The road between Capet Cerig and Lord Penrhyn^s slate quarries may also be adduced as an example of a very perfect enclosed plane in which the ascent is accurately divided on the whole space. 5557. Cutting through low hilts to obtain a level is recommended by some, who, as Paterson observes, will argue, "that where the hill of ascent is not very long, it is better, in that case, to cut through it in a straight line, and embank over the hollow ground on each side, than to wind along the foot of it This, however, should only be done where the cutting is very little indeed, and an embankment absolutely necessary. Few people, except those who are well acquainted with the subject, are aware of the great expense of cutting and embanking ; and the more any one becomes acquainted with road-making, the more, it majr be presumed, will he endeavour to avoid those levels on the straight line that are obtained only by cutting and embanking, and will either follow the level on the curved line round the hill, or, where this is impracticable, will ascend the hill, and go over it by various windings, avoiding always abrupt or sudden turnings." (Treatise, Sfc. p. 15.) 3558. All crossings, intersections, and atmttings of roads, should be made at right angles, for the obvious piupose of facilitating the turning from one road to the other, or the more speedily crossing. Where roads cross each other obliquely, or where one road abuts on another at an acute angle, turning in or crossing can only be conveniently performed in one direction. 3559. In laying out a road over a hill or mountain of angular figure and considerable height, much practical skill, as well as science, is requisite. In order to preserve a moderate inclination, or such u, one as will admit of the descent of carriages without locking their wheels, a much longer line will be required than the arc of the mountain. In reaching the summit or highest part to be passed over, the line must be extended bj winding or zig-zagging it along the sides, so as never to exceed the maximum degree of steepness. This may occasion a very awkward appearance in a ground plan^ but it is unavoidable in immense works. If a hill, 50 feet in perpendicular height (fig. 538.), has an arc (o, h, c), or would require 1 50 feet of road (a, 6,- c) to go over its summit in a straight line ; then to pass over the same hill, on a road rising at the rate of two inches in six feet (the slope of the Simplon road), would require a length of 600 feet. If this length were extended in a straight line (d, b, e) on each side, it would require an enormous mound, and an immense expense ; but by being conducted in h winding direction (6), up the hill on one side, and down the other, the same end is gained at a moderate cost. Such works show the wonderful power and ingenuity of man ; and perhaps no example exists where this power is so strikingly displayed in road-making as in the case of the Simplon. 3560. In laying out a road towards a river, stream, ravine, or any place requiring a bridge or embankment, an obvious advantage results from approaching them at right angles ; and the same will apply in regard to any part requiring tunnelling or crossing by an aqueduct, &c. SS61. In tracing out winding railroads, or mch carriage roads as are only to be metalled in the horse track and paths of the wheels, some management is necessary in the case of quick bends. Where the line is straight, the horse path ought to be exactly in the middle between the wheel tracks ; but, where the road winds, and most especially at a quick bend, the horse track ought ever to incline toward the outer side of the curve, by which the wheels will be uniformly kept on the middles of the supports prepared for them. Hence, it is advisable to dig the trench for the horse path (fig. 535. o) first ; and to draw a carriage for which the road is intended, with the horses walking in this middle trench : thus marking out, by the impressions of the wheels, the precise middle lines of the outer trenches, in every part of the road, from end to end. 3562. The directions of roads through an extensive estate cannot be determined on without having in contemplation the other fundamental improvements, such as the situations of villages, farmeries, mills, or other objects ; and these artificial improvements must be taken in connection with the natural surface, soil, materials, waters, &c., the probable system of agriculture that will be pursued, and the external intercourse. A hilly country under aration, will evidently require more roads than if chiefly under 674 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part lit. pasture ; and, indeed, other circumstances the same, a country- abounding in hills and valleys requires many more roads than one of a more even surface. The roads in such a country are also more expensive, on account of the bridges, and extra work at their abutments. On an estate composed of gentle hills chiefly intended for arable or con- vertible husbandry, the best situation for the roads will generally be found about half way between the bottoms and highest surfaces. By this means the labour of carting up the produce from the fields below the road, and carting up the dung to the fields above it, is evidently much less than if the road were either entirely on the highest ground or the lowest. Bridges over the brooks or open ditches necessary for drainage ill valleys, are also rendered less frequent, 3563. Accurate sections of the rises and falls of the natural surface on which a road is to be formed should always be taken before the line is finally determined on. As the figure of an exact section of this sort, on any ordinary scale, would convey no data sufiiciently accurate for execution, it is usual to adopt one scale for the length, and another for the rises and falls of the road, and to mark the latter with the dimensions as taken on the survey. Sect. III. Form and Materials of Roads- 3564. On the structure aTid composition of roads, men of science and practical road- makers are much more divided than on their laying out. The subject is of itself of greater importance in old countries, because it more frequently occurs that a road is to, be enlarged or renewed, than that a new Une is to be devised. We shall first lay down the fundamental principles of the formation, and wear of roads ; and next treat of forming them, and of the difiTerent kinds of road materials. SuBSECT. 1. ForTnanon of Roads, and of their Wear or Xr^ury» 3565. A road may be defined a path of transit on the earth's surface, for men, animals, and machines; of sufficient width for the given traffic; of sufficient strength and solidity for the given weight ; of sufficient smoothness to offer no impediment ; and of as great durability as possible. 3566. The width is obviously determinable by the nature and extent of the traffic : every road should be made sufficiently broad to admit two of the largest sized carriages which are in use in the country or district to pass each other ; and highways, and roads near towns, should be made wider in proportion to their use. The maximum and minimum can only be determined by experience ; sixty feet is the common and legal width of a turnpike-road in Britain, and this includes the footpath. 3567. The strength of a road depends on the nature of the material of which it is formed, and of the basis on which it is placed. A plate of iron or stone of the road's width placed on a compact dry soil would comprise every thing in point of strength ; but as it is impracticable to employ plates of iron or stone of such a size to any extent, recourse is had to a stratum of small stones or gravel. The great art, therefore, is so to prepare this stratum, and place it on the basis of the road, as that the effect may come as near as possible to a solid plate of material. To accomplish this, the stones or gravel should be broken into small angular fragments, and after being laid down of such a thickness as experience has determined to be of sufficient strength and durability, the whole should be so powerfully compressed by a roller as to render it one compact body, capable of re- sisting the impression of the feet of animals and the wheels of carriages in a great degree, and impermeable by surface water. But the base of the road may not always be firm and compact ; in this case it is to be rendered so by drainage, artificial pressure, and per- haps in some cases by other means. 3/ifi8. In cases qf a wet or soft foundation, where from the nature of the soil and the pressure of the springs lying on a higher level, as on the great north road, near Highgate, draining has been found incflectual in drying the foundation of the road; the same object has been attained by laying down, and joining by cement, bloclcs composed of course gravel and Roman cement The water is thus prevented from oozing up, and a foundation formed, at once firm, durable, and dry. This invention, with many others in modern road-making, belongs to Mr. Telford. {Newton^s Juumat, vol ii. p. 28.) 3569. The durabiliti/ of a road, as far as it depends on the original formation, will be in proportion to the solidity of its basis, the hardness of the material of which the surface- stratum is formed, its thickness, and the size and form of the stones which compose it. The form and size of the stones which compose the surface-stratum have a. powerful influence on a road's durability. If their form is roundish, it is evident they will not bind into a compact steatum ; if they are large, whether the form be round or angular, the stratum cannot be solid ; and if they are of mixed sizes and shapes, though a very strong and solid stratum may be formed at first, yet the wheels of carriages and the feet of animals operating with unequal effect on the small and large stones would soon derange the solidity of the stratum to a certain depth, and, consequently, by admitting rain and frost to penetrate into it, accelerate its decay. A constant state of moisture, even without any derangement of surface, contributes to the wearing of roads by friction : helice Book II. WEAR OF ROADS. 575 one requisite to durability is a free exposure to the sun and air, by keeping low the side fences ; and another is keeping a road clear of mud and dust — the first of which acts as a spunge in retaining water, and the second increases the draught of animals, and of course their action on the road. Both the strength and the durability of a road will be greater when tlie plate or surface-stratum of meti^ is flat or nearly so, than when it Ls rounded on the upper surface : first, because no animal can stand upright on such a road with a regular bearing on the soles of its feet ; and, secondly, because no wheeled carriage can have a regular bearing, except on the middle or crown of the road. The consequence of both these states is the breaking of the surface of the plate into holes from the edges of horses' feet, or ruts from the plough-like effect of wheels on the lower side of the road, or the reiterated operation of those which pass along the centre. 3570. Tlie smoothness of a road depends on the size of the stones, and on their com- pression either by original rolling or the continued pressure of wheels. The continued smoothness of a road during its wear depends on small stones being used in every part of the stratum ; for if the lower part of it, as is generally the case in the old style of forming roads, consists of larger stones, as scon as it is penetrated by wheels or water ftom above, these stones will work up and produce a road full of holes and covered vrith loose stones. 3571. The wear or decay of roads takes place in consequence of the friction, leverage^ pressure, grinding, and incision of animals and machines, and the various effects of water and the we^er. 3572. Friction will in time wear down the most durable and smooth material. Its effects are more rapid when aided by water, which insinuates itself among the particles of the surfaces of earthy bodies, and, being then compressed by the weight of feet or wheels, ruptures or wears them. Even when not compressed by wheels or other weights, the action of trost, by expanding water, produces the same effect. This any one mav prove, by soaking a soft brick in water and exposing it to a severe frost. A road in a state of perfect dryness is, under the action of wheels, as liable to be injured in its soliditv^ as when too wet; because it loses its elastic tenacity under the pressure, and becomes broken into a loose superstratum. This is the greatest advantage of watering roads, as proved by the experience of trustees, and shown in their annual accounts of expenses ; besides the comfort to travellers, of laying the dust, for which alone watering was first thought necessary. 3573. The leverage of the feet of animals has a tendency to depress one part of the sur.: face and raise up another. The line which forms 539 ^ A, the sole of every animal's foot may be considered as a lever of the second kind, in which the fulcrum ^„ is at the one extremity (^fig. 539. a), the power at ° K. St \ »L» ,1 the other (6), and the weight between them (c). t .^^ f\ rlence the mjury done to the roa(^ even if formed on the best construction, will be as the pressure „,X on the fulcrum : this amounts to from the half to ''' the whole of the weight of bipeds and their loads, and from a fourth to a half of tliat of quadrupeds. But if the stones of the road are large, that is, if they are more than two inches in breadth, the horse's foot acts as a com- pound lever, and, by depressing one end of the stones and raising the other, deranges the surface of the stratum, and renders it a receptacle for water, mud, or dust. 3574. The leverage of wheels is of a nature to be less injurious to roads than that of the feet of animals, because the ^^'^ fulcrum (Jig. 540. o), is continually changing its position : but if the stones of the road are large, then the wheel acts as a compound lever, raising up the one end (i), and depressing the other (a), of every stone it passes over ; and in this case becomes more injurious on a bad road than the feet of loaded animals. The reiterated operation of this effect, by wheels fol- lowing in the same track, soon destroys badly constructed roads. 3575. Such being the effect of leverage, and especial!^ of compound leverage, in wealing roads, it becomes of the first importance to ascertain tiiat size and shape of stone on which its effects will be least ; that is to say, how short a compound lever may be made use of consistently with other advantages. 'This must in general be a matter of experience, and chiefly depends on the hardness of the stone. The ^ize must always be suflSciently large, and tiie shape sufficiently angular, to form, when embedded, a compact, hard, and 576 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt HI. immovable'^tratuin ; and the smaller the size the better, provided that object be obtained. One inch in diameter may be considered the medium size. 3576. Tlie mere pressure of bodies on a smooth road does little mischief; and hence the advantage of perfectly cylindrical wheels, and a road as nearly level as practicable. But if the surface of the road is rough, tlie pressure both of cylindrical wheels and the feet of animals may do mischief, by forcing down a loose stone among others' of dif- ferent sizes, and thus loosening the latter and raising the largest to the surface. Where a road, however, is composed of materials of small size, and the surface is clean and dry, the advantage derived from the pressure of cylindrical wheels acting as rollers will, it is probable, always be greater than the injury sustained from their friction. 3577. Grinding is produced by the twisting motion of the feet of horses or other animals when pulling hard or carrying a heavy weight, and by the twisting, dragging, or sliding of wheels from whatever cause. The grinding of wheels, Fry observes, " may in every case be defined to be the effect produced on any substance interposed between two bodies, one of which has a sliding motion, yet so firmly confined or pressed between them, that the moving body cannot slide over the interposed substance ; but, in conse- quence of the pressure, the interposed substance, adhering firmly both to the fixed and to the moving body, is necessarily lacerated or torn asunder, and reduced to atoms. This is the process in corn-mills, in drug-mills, and in every other mill, properly so called. I remember," he adds, '* frequently when a boy, to have trodden with one heel on a piece of soft brick, or of dry old mortar, which was firm enough to bear the weight of my body, uninjured ; but, on giving my body a swing round with my other foot, 1 have instantly reduced it to powder. The action in this case is very obvious : the weight of my body confined the piece of brick firmly to the ground ; my heel was also pressed by the same weight firmly upon the brick ; one part of the brick therefore re- maining confined to the ground, and the other part being carried round by my heel, the brick of course was torn asunder and reduced to powder. This I conceive is a simple elucidation of the difference between pressing and grinding \ and this is the difference of the effects on the materials of our roads, produced by the use of upright cylindrical wheels, which act only by pressures by the use of conical wheels, which, by their constant twist, act also by grinding ; and by very convex roads, by which means the wheels of all carriages, except such as occupy the crown of the road, whether cylindrical or other- wise, act in the same twisting, sliding, and grinding manner." (06s. on Roads, ^c. 1819.) 3578. Sy the incision ofolgects passing along roads, we allude to the dividing operation of wheels, which, independently of their effect as moving levers, act also as moving wedges, or perhaps, more properly, as endless saws, in forming ruts or deepening such as are already made. Flat roads, so as to produce less temptation to follow in the middle track, watchful repair, and broad wheels, are the mitigators of this description of wear. 3579. Water, is one of the most serious causes of tlie wear of roads. As we have already observed (3572.), it acts, aided by pressure, like gunpowder, in rending the sur- face of bodies. Frozen, it acts exactly in the same manner ; and when it has penetrated deeply into a stratum of materials, a thaw produces their entire derangement. Mud is formed in consequence of the presence of water and dust or earth, and acts as a sponge to retain it, and perpetuate its bad effects, A well composed and thoroughly com- pressed substratum will not imbibe water, unless it rests in ruts or other hollows. To form such a stratum, therefore, and obliterate all hollows as soon as they appear, and to remove mud and dust, are the palliatives of this mode of wear. On such a road heavy showers may do good, by washing away the earthy particles, dung, and other injurious earthy or vegetable matters. 3580. Wind is mostly a favourable agent to roads, by drying them and blowing off the lighter dust ; but in some cases, in very exposed situations, it has been known to blow the dust into heaps, and sometimes to carry off larger particles than could be spared. The last evil is fortunately rare ; the other only requires the removal of the accumulated heaps of dust, SuBSECT. 2. M' Adam's Theory and Practice of Road-maMng. 3581. iPAdam agrees with other engineers, that a good road may be «jnsidered as an artificial flooring, forming a strong, solid, smooth-surfaced stratum, sufficiently flat to admit of carriages standing upright on any part of it, capable of carrying a great weight, and presenting no impediment to the animals or machines which pass along it. In forming this flooring, M' Adam has gone one step beyond his predecessors, in breaking the stone to a smaller size than was before practised, and in forming the entire stratum of this small-sized stone. By the former practice a basement of large stones is first laid ; then stones a degree smaller ; and, lastly, the least size on the surface. It is in this point of making use of one small size of stones throughout the stratum, that the origin- ality of M'Adam's plan consists, unless we add also his assertion, " that all the roads in Book II. M'ADAM'S ROADS. 577 the kingdom may be made smooth and solid in an equal degree, and to continue so at all seasons of the year." It is doubted by some, whether this would be the case in the northern districts at the breaking up of frosts, and especially in the case of roads not much in use, and consequently consisting of a stratum less consolidated, and more pene- trable by water. M'Adam, probably, has much frequented public roads in view. " The durability of these," he says, " will, of course, depend on the strength of the materials of which they may-be composed ; but they will all be good while they last, and the only question that can arise respecting the kind of materials is one of duration and expense, but never of the immediate condition of the roads." (^Remarks on SoadSt ^c. p. II.) The following observation of Marshal is worthy of remark, as tending to confirm, to a certain extent, the doctrine of M'Adam: — " It may seem needless to repeat, that the surface of a road which is formed of well broken stones, binding gravel, or other firmly cohesive materials, and which is much used, presently becomes repellant of the water which falls upon it ; no matter as to the basis on which they are deposited, provided it is sound and firm enough to support them.*' S582. M' Adam's theory of road-making may be comprised in the following quotation from his Report to the Board of Agriculture (vol. vi. p, 46.) : — " Roads can never be rendered perfectly secure until the following principles be fully understood, admitted, and acted upon : namely, that it is the native soil which really supports the weight of traffic ; tliat while it is preserved in a dry state it will carry any weight without sinking, and that it does, in fact, carry the road and the carriages also ; that this native «oil must previously be made quite dry, and a covering impenetrable to rain must then be placed over it to preserve it in that dry state ; that the tliickness of a road should only be regu- lated by the quantity of material necessary to form such impervious covering, and never by any reference to its own power of carrying weight. There are some exceptions to this rule ; a road of good naturally binding gravel may be laid on a sub-bed of bog earth, which, from its tenacity, will carry all kinds of carriages for many years." 3583. The erroneous opinion so long acted upon, and so tenaciously adJtered to, that by placing a large quantity of stone under the roads, a remedy will be found for the sinking into wet clay or other soft soils ; or, in other words, that a road may be made sufficiently strong, artificially, to carry heavy carriages, though the subsoil be in a wet state, and by such means to avert the inconveniences of the natural soil receiving water from rain or other causes ; has produced most of the defects of the roads of Great Britain. At one time M'Adam had formed the opinion that this practice was only a useless expense ; but experience has convinced him that it is likewise positively injurious. 3584. ff strata of stone of various sixes be placed as a road, it is well known to every skilful and observant road-maker, that the largest stones will constantly work up by the shaking and pressure of the traffic ; and that the only mode of keeping the stones of a road from motion is, to use materials of a uniform size from the bottom. In roads made upon large stones as a foundation, the perpetual motion, or change of the position of the materials, keeps open many apertures, through which the water passes. 3585. Roads placed upon a hard bottom, it has also been found, wear away more quickly than those which are placed upon a soft soil. This has been apparent upon roads where motives of economy or other causes have prevented the road being lifted to the bottom at once ; the wear has always been found to diminish, as soon as it was pos- sible to remove the hard foundation. It is a known fact, that a road lasts much longer over a morass than when made over rock. The evidence produced before the committee of the House of Commons showed the comparison on the road between Bristol and Bridge- water to be as five to seven in favour of the wearing on the morass, where the road is laid on the naked surface of the soil, against a part of the same road made over rocky ground. 3586. The co^jrwn practice, on the formation of a new road, is, to dig a trench below the surface of the ground adjoining, and in this trench to deposit a quantity of large stones ; after this, a second quantity of stone, broken smaller, generally to about seven or eight pounds' weight : these previous beds of stone are called the bottoming of the road, and are of various thickness, according to the caprice of the maker, and generally in proportion to the sum of money placed at his disposal. On some new roads, made in Scotland in the summer of 1819, the thickness exceeded three feet. That which is properly called the road is then placed on the bottoming, by putting large quantities of broken stone or gravel, generally a foot or eighteen inches thick, at once upon it. Were the materials of which the road itself is composed properly selected, prepared, and laid some of the inconveniences of this system might be avoided ; but in the careless way in which this service is generally performed, the road is as open as a sieve to receive water which, penetrating through the whole mass, is received and retained in the trench, whence the road is liable to give way in all changes of weather. A road formed on such prin- ciples has never effectually answered the purpose which the road-maker should con- stantly have in view ; namely, to make a secure level flooring, over which carriages may pass with safi^ty and equal expedition at all seasons of the year. S78 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. .SS87. An artificial road in liritain is only required to obviate tlic inconvenience of a very unsettled climate. Water, with alternate frost and thaw, are the evils to be guarded against ; consequently, nothing can be more erroneous than providing a reservoir for water under the road, and giving facility to the water to pass through the road into this trench, where it is acted upon by frost to the destruction of the road. As no artificial road can ever be made so good and so useful as the natural soil in a dry state, it is only necessary to procure and preserve this dry state of so much ground as is intended to be occupied by a road. 3588. The first operation in making a road should be the reverse of digging a trench. The road should not be sunk below, but rather raised above, the ordinary level of the adjacent ground ; care should at any rale be taken, that there be a sufficient fall to take off the water, so that it should always be some inches below the level of the ground upon which the road is intended to be placed : this must be done, either by making drains to lower ground ; or if that be not practicable, from the nature of the country, then the soil upon which the road is proposed to be laid must be raised by addition, so as to be some inches above the level of the water, 3589. Having secured tlie soil from under-ivater, the road-maker is next to secure it from rain water, by a solid road made of clean dry stone or flint, so selected, prepared, and laid, as to be perfectly impervious to water; and this cannot be effected unless the greatest care be taken that no earth, clay, chalk, or other matter, that will hold or conduct water, be mixed with the broken stone ; which must be so prepared and laid, as to unite witli its own angles into a 6rm, compact, impenetrable body. 3590. The thickness of such road is immaterial, as to its strength for carrying weight; this object is already obtained by providing a dry surface, over which the road is to be placed as a covering or roof, to preserve it in that state ; experience having shown, that if water passes through a road, and fills the native soil, the road, whatever may be its thickness, loses its support, and goes to pieces. In consequence of an alteration in the line of the turnpike road, near Rownham Ferry, in the parish of Ashton, near Bristol, it has been necessary to remove the old road. Tins road was lifted and re-laid very skilfully in 1806; since which time it has been in contemplation to change the line, and conse- quently it has been suffered to wear very thin. At present it is not above three inches thick in most places, and in none more than four : yet on removing the road, it was found that no water had penetrated, nor had the frost affected it during the winter pre- ceding, and the natural earth beneath the road was found perfectly dry. 3591. Several new roads have been constructed on this principle within the last three years. Part of the great north road from London, by Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire; two pieces of road on Durdham Down, and at Rownham Ferry, near Bristol ; with several private roads in the eastern part of Sussex. None of these roads exceed six inches in thickness ; and although that on the great north road is subjected to a very heavy traffic (being only fifteen miles distant from London), it has not given way, nor was it affected by the late severe winter (1819-20), when the roads between that and London became impassable, by breaking up to the bottom, and the mail and other coaches were obliged to reach London by circuitous routes. It is worthy of observation, that these bad roads cost more money per mile for their annual repair, than the original making of this useful new road. 3592. Improvement of roads, continues M'Adam, "upon the principle I have endeavoured to explain, has been rapidly extended during the last four years. It has been carried into effect on various roads, and with every variety of material, in seventeen different counties. These roads being so constructed as to exclude water, consequently none of them broke up during the late severe winter (1819-20); there was no interruption to travelling, nor any additional expense by the post-office in conveying the mails over them, to the extent of upwards of one thousand miles of road." 3593. On M'Mam's theory the only practical road-maker who has published his opi- nion is Paterson of Montrose. He says [Letters and Communications, ^c. 1822.), " These certainly ought to be considered as the grand first principles of road-making." He commends M'Adam's reasoning on these principles ; but objects, as we think with reason, to his drainage of three or four inches, as being insufficient. He adds, however, that though he considers M'Adam's system as erroneous and defective in draining and preparing the road for the materials, yet, in regard to the materials themselves, the method of preparing and putting them on, and keeping the road free from ruts by constant at- tention, has his entire approbation. These principles, however, he adds, " are not new ; but have been acted upon before. In regard to small breaking, he certainly has had the merit of carrying that mode to greater extent than any other individual that I have heard of; and the beneficial effects arising from it have consequently been more extensively seen and experienced." (^Letters on Road-making, p. 49.) Book II. ROADS OF VARIOUS ENGINEERS. 579 SoESECT. 3. Road-making, as treated of and practised by various eminent Eitgineers and Surveyors. 3594. The mlgect of forming a road may be considered as to breadth, drainage, fences, base of the liard materials or artificial stratum, upper line of the stratum, composition of the stratum, size of the materials, laying, and compressing. 3595. With respect to breadth, the site of evei^ public road, according to Marshal, ought to be sufficiently ample to admit of its division into three travelable lines : namely, 1. A middle road of hard materials, for carriages and horses in winter and wet seasons ; 2. A soft road, formed with the natural materials of the site, to be used in dry weather, to save the unnecessary wear of the hard road, and to favour the feet of travelling animals, as well as for the safety, ease, and pleasantness of travelling in the summer season ; and 3. A commodious patii, for the use of foot passengers, at all seasons. There are few roads, even in the environs of populous towns, so public as to require a hard road of more than two statute poles (thirty-three feet) in breadth ; and every public road ought, under ordinary circumstances, to have a line which is travelable at any season, and of ample width to permit two carriages to pass each other witli freedom and safety. This ample width let us set down at one statute pole. In deep clayey districts, where hard materials are difficult to be procured, a single road, of half a pole in breadth, with dila- tions at proper distances, to let carriages pass each other, may, in many recluse situations, be advisable. 3596. Seventy Jeet in width seems to be considered by Farey, Walker, Telford, and most engineers, as sufficient near the largest towns ; and in the case of the metropolis and some others, they consider that ten or twenty feet in width may be paved. The London Commercial road, executed under the direction of Walker, is seventj' feet wide ; ten feet on each side are occupied as footpaths, twenty feet in the centre are paved for heavy carriages, and there are fifteen feet of gravel road at each side for light carriages and saddle horses. This road has been executed for sixteen years, and has given the greatest satisfaction ; but Walker thinks that considerable improvement would be found from paving the sides of a road, upon which the heavy traffic is great in both directions, and leaving the middle for light carriages. The carmen or drivers, walking upon the foot- paths or sides of the road, would then be close to their horses, without interrupting or being in danger of accidents from light carriages, which is the case when they are driving uponrthe middle of the road ; and the unpaved part being in the middle or highest part of the road, would be more easily kept in good repair. But unless the heavy traffic in both directions is great, one width, say ten or twelve feet, if very well paved, will be found sufficient ; and in this case, the paving ought to be in the middle of the road. The width of many of the present roads is, besides, such, that ten or twelve feet can be spared for paving, while twice that width would leave too little for the gravelled part. Although the first cost of paving is so great, he does not think that any other plan can be adopted so good and so cheap in those places where the materials got in the neigh- bourhood are not sufficient for supporting the roads. A coating of whinstone is, for instance, more durable than the gravel with which the roads round London are made and repaired, but much less so than panng ; although the freight and carriage of the whinstone, and of the paving stones, which form the principal items of the expense, are nearly the same. 3597. Roads ought (0 be wide and strong, Edgeworth observes, in proportion to their vicinity to great towns, mines, or manufactories. As they approach the capital, they should be wider and stronger than elsewhere. When a number of roads leading to a great city combine and fall into one, the road from that junction should be proportion- ably solid and capacious. Near the capital, the width of roads is however often restricted by bnildings, that cannot with propriety be suddenly removed ; but every opportunity for removing these buildings, and for vridening the road, should be attended to, and no future buildings or encroachments should be allowed. And, though in some cases it appears reasonable to permit the erection of new buildings, and the making new plant- ations, nearer than thirty feet from the centre of a road, upon condition that security should be given to the public for the constant preservation of the road that is thus injured ; it is, however, far safer to prohibit what is injurious to public convenience than to compromise with individuals : cases of private hardship may and must occur, but it is part of the true glory of Britain that there exists no exemption in our laws in favoiu- of the rich. 3598. Froportiordng the breadth of roads to the traffic for which they may be employed is not sufficiently attended to. In remote places, where there is but little traffic, the waste of ground, occasioned by superfluous width of roads, is an error of considerable magnitude. There are many places where roads of twenty feet in breadth would suit the public convenience, as well as if they were twice as broad. Now it is clear, that if a road is one pole or perch wider than is necessary, there is a waste of 320 perches in a Pp 2 580 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut III. mile, equal to two acres of ground, which, at the rate of three pounds per acre, v/ould, if the road had been once well made, keep half a mile of such road as is here alluded to in good repair. 3599. Tlie breadth of the road and the width of the metals, according to Paterson, should depend on circumstances different from the former. For a few miles in the vicinity of such cities as London or Edinburgh, the most proper breadth at which a road should be formed, is properly from sixty to seventy feet, and the metals from twenty-five to thirty-five feet. While in the neighbourhood of such towns as Newcastle or Perth, it will be sufficient that it be formed forty feet broad, and that the width of the metals be about eighteen or twenty feet. These are the breadths presumed to be the most eligible in such situations. But rules cannot be given to suit every situation : tile breadth ought to be regulated according to the extent of the run of commerce, or traffic, upon the road. As a general rule, however, for public roads over the different counties of Great Britain, he " should suppose the following might, in most cases, be adopted. Take, for instance, the road betwixt Edinburgh and Glasgow, or betwixt Edinburgh and Aber- deen by the way of Dundee. These roads are formed in general from thirty-five to forty feet wide ; and the breadth of the metals is from foui*teen to sixteen feet, for the most part. Such roads as these would be found to answer very well, in general, over the kingdom." A breadth sufficient for the general purposes of country travelling, according to M'Adam, is sixteen feet of solid materials, with six feet on each side formed of slighter materials. The Bristol roads, he says, are made with stone about the width of sixteen feet. 3600. The increased breadth which is now given to our public roads, according to Stevenson, independently of the safety and convenience of the traffic, is favourable to the more speedy drying of the road by evaporation, and is calculated to render less injurious the rising growth of the hedgerows, and the ultimate erection of buildings along the line. " The highways or great lines of road should, in no instance, be formed of a less breadth than forty feet, and the metal bed not less tlian eighteen feet broad, with at least one footpath of five feet in breadth along the side ; especially within a few miles of all towns and villages. It would be difficult to ■give any scale of breadths for public roads, the local circumstances of which vary so ■much. But, without presuming to be fastidious, we notice, that, within six or eight rniles of all large cities or towns, the approaches should not be formed at less than sixty feet between the fences. In such situations the whole breadth should be metalled, x>r laid with broken stones. In the vicinity of towns of about 50,000 inhabitants, the breadth should be at least fifty feet between the fences, and be in like manner metalled from side to side. Where the population does not exceed 30,000, the statutory breadth of forty feet may be adopted, the metalling being still continued of the whole breadth, with paved side-drains. At intermediate distances, where it is not thought advisable to have the metal of a greater breadth than eighteen feet, the compartments between the metal bed and the side-drains may be laid with gravel or chips of stone to the depth of not less than half the thickness of the central part of the road. In the vicinity of London, and the capitals of Dublin and Edinburgh, and other great towns, as Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, &c. it would be desirable that the principal approaches were at least seventy feet in breadth, fully metalled between the side-drains, which ought to be neatly formed, and paved, and the roads provided with a footpath on each side." (Ed. Encyc. art. Roads. ) 3601. Narrow roads, it is judiciously observed by Fry, are almost always in bad con- 4lition, which is to be accounted for from the circumstance of every carriage being -obliged to go in the same ruts ; and as each rut is generally only six inches wide, one foot of the road only is worn by the wheels instead of the whole breadth of it ; which would be the case if the road were of a proper width, and if it were well constructed. If a road be laid out, from twenty to thirty feet wide, so iiat as that a carriage may stand nearly upright on every part of it, and if moderate care be taken by the surveyor to prevent the first formation of ruts, such a road will be worn by the wheels nearly alike on every part of it : provided also that the ground on each side, for at least four or five feet, be mode- rately flat, so as not to excite fear in the drivers of carriages ; but if there be deep ditches close to the sides of the road, or if the circumjacent land fall off very abrujitly to the depth of two or three feet, whereby fear of approaching the edges would operate on the minds of the drivers, every driver will instinctively avoid the danger on either band ; and a road so circumstanced vn]i, in spite of any care of the surveyor, inevitably be worn into ruts in the middle. There is a remarkable instance of this kind in a piece of road on Durdham Down, near Bristol. This road is a causeway over a piece of sofil ground ; and although it is from twenty to twenty-five feet wide, yet, as the ground falls away abruptly on both sides of it, it has been found impossible, for more than twenty years past, to his knowledge, to prevent deep ruts being formed along the middle of it ; notwithstanding the Down itself consists of hard limestone, and the other roads upon Book II. ROADS OF VARIOUS ENGINEERS. 581 consolidated as to fonn a solid body, and to be impervious to water. Bushes, however, the Down are as fine and even as any roads in England. Were this piece of road widened out on each side, in an easy slope of about iive feet, by rubbish of any kind, and by the scrapings of the road itself, whereby the instinctive operation of fear of approaching the sides of the present road would be obviated, that piece of road would be found to wear as fairly as the other roads on the same Down. S602. In regard to the drainage of roads, Marshal directs to examine the site in every part, to ascertain whether offensive waters lodge beneatli it, or quicksands, and land springs, which break out in a wet season. If defects of this kind be found, effectual drains are to be run up to them, from the ditches or outer side drains of the site. 3603. When roads run through marshy ground, Edgeworth observes, "the substratum must be laid dry by proper drainage ; and where the road is liable, from the flatness of the country, to be at times under water, the expense of raising it above the water must be submitted to in the first instance. All drains for carrying off water should be under the road, or at the field-side of the fences, and these drains should be kept open by con- stant attention, and should be made wide at the outlet." 3604. The method of draining which Paterson has found tlie most effective is thus described : — " Before the materials are put on, nm a drain along the middle of the road, aU the way, from two to three feet deep ; then fill it with stones up to the surface, mak- ing those at bottom of a pretty good size, and those at the top fully as small as the road materials. And, in order that the quantity of stones used for the said drain may be as little as possible, and every way to save expense, it may be made as narrow as it can possibly be dug. From this leading drain make a branch here and there, to convey off the water to the canals on the sides of the road." This mode of draining he has found, from experience, to ' be so beneficial, that a road so drained would be better and more durable with eight inches, than it would otherwise be with twelve inches of materials ; and not only so, but that on such a road there would be a saving on the incidental repairs, ever afterwards, of about one half of the labour, and at least one third of the material. 3605. All moisture from under the road materials must be carried off by such drains. Then, if the materials are properly broken, they will become so firm and solid that little or no water will get through them ; and if it should, this drain would carry it away. So that, under any view of it, the utility of these drains must be very apparent ; but when we consider that, to have the ground under the road materials perfectly dry is to insure a good road, the'se drains become indispensably necessary, and the expense is a mere trifle. There are two miles of road, which were made on this plan under Paterson's directions, which have stood all the winter rains without injury, and which promise to make one of the finest roads in the kingdom. There is another road of ten miles, that he has lately planned, for the greater part of which he has specified two such drains, runrdng parallel to each other, and five feet apart ; and he would even recommend three or four parallel drains where th»e is a great breadth of metals, except where the road is formed over dry sand or open gravel. Although the effect of such drains will be at all times beneficial to the road ; in time of a thaw, after there have been a few weeks of frost, it will be peculiarly so. In frost, the surface of the road, though wet before, becomes dry, the water being absorbed by the road, or otherwise condensed by the frost ; but no sooner is this succeeded by a thaw, than the absorbed or condensed water again makes its appearance all over the surface of the road. This is the time that these drains are so peculiar^ beneficial. 3606. Where such drains are wamJ&ng, the road, on the return of a thaw, throws up to the surface all the water it had imbibed ; and in many places, the materials, swelling up, become quite loose and open. This is a natural consequence, where the material is not thick, and where the soil under the road is not perfectly dry ; but where a road is dried in the way described, it will be uniformly seen, that the water, instead of spewing out on the return of a thaw, is sucked in by the drains, so leaving the surface of the road quite dry. It may be observed, that at such times, the places of the road where a few roods of such drain had been introduced, presented to the eye, at a quarter of a mile distant quite a contrast to fJie other parts of the road : the one opaque and dry, from the moisture being sucked in ; the other all wet and glistering, _/»-om its being thrown out to the surface, {Paterson's Letters, ^c. 44. 4». 84.) 3607. Thorough drainage, Stevenson observes, " should pervade the whole system of the formation of roads. The smaller drains, connected immediately vrith the road must vary in their number, direction, and description, according to the judgment of the engineer. They consist of what are technically termed box and rumbling drains ; the former of which are built, and the latter consist of a stratum of rubble stones, simply thrown into an excavation made for their reception, through which the moisture is allowed to percolate. Where the road is to be made through a boggy or marshy soil, wliich is generally pretty level, the opportunities for drainage are less "obvious ■ nor Pp 3 582 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. IS this so material, as ground of this description is capable of containing a great quantity of water without endajigering the flooding of the road. In such situations it also fortunately happens that land is seldom of much value, and therefore, in making a road through a morass, a much greater breadth should be includedbetween the lateral drains than where the ground has an undulating surface. Attention should also be paid to cut the ditches of a moderate depth, as the tenacity of such soils depends upon their being kept in a somewhat moist state. If a section of such ground be exposed to th6 sun and air, by deep side cutting, it soon pulverises, and loses its elasticity, when the level of the road falls, and its surface gets into disorder. The drainage of a road should rather be made across than in a lateral direction, as being less apt to be injured by the traffic upon it." {Ed. Encyc. art. Roads.) 3608. The side drains Telford and Walker recommend to be, in every instance, on the field side of the fence. In cases, Telford observes, where a road is made upon ground where there are many springs, it is absolutely necessary to make a number of under and cross drains to collect the water and conduct it into the side drains, which should always be made on the field side of the fences. The orifices of these cross drains should be neatly and substantially finished in masonry. 3609. The surface-drams, or water-tables, should be made a few inches lower than the side of the road, and of the common width of a spade at the bottom, and they should have frequent cross drains under the path and fence, back into the outer side drain. 3610. Water-tables across the road become requisite in some cases, as in flat roads on a steep slope. These should always be made at right angles to the road, with their sides gently sloping, to occasion as little obstruction to carriages as possible. In some few cases, where roads are liable to floods, or are deficient in drainage, these surface-tables may require to be made of a considerable breadth, and paved ; in this case Greig [App. to Strictures on Road Police, p. 219. ) directs to lay six feet at the bottom of it flat, and twelve feet on each side to rise at the rate of one inch in the foot, which will make the depth one foot ; and from the size, no carriage will feel any jerk or shake in passing it. The pavement should be made of hammered stones, of nearly equal depth, each stone from nine to twelve inches long on the surface, and four to eight inches broad, and nine inches to a foot deep ; the under-side to be flat in the under-face, and not of an irregular or angular under-surface, as in that case it would "not be solid. 36 11 . Bridges and embankm£7Us, of differevi degrees of Tnagnitude, are required in all lines of road of any length or variety of surface. The subject of large bridges we leave to the engineers, no department of their art having attained higher perfection ; of which the wonderful erections by Telford, in almost ever)- mountainous district in Britain, may be referred to as proofs. "We confine ourselves entirely to such stone arches as may be designed by road-surveyors, and built by country masons. In many cases, cast-iron might be substituted for stone vrith economy and advantage as to waterway ; but tliough the principle of constructing both cast and wrought iron bridges is perfectly simple, the execution, and especially the putting up, requires more skill, and are attended with much more risk than the erection of either stone or timber bridges. 3612. One low arch is in general the most desirable description of common road- bridge. But most of the country bridges, as Clarke observes, consist of several small, high, semicircular arches : where there is a single arch, the stream passes without inter- ruption ; if there are two or three in the same situation, the space through which the water is to pass is necessarily contracted by the width of the piers. Ice, and large bodies carried down by floods, frequently stop up the small arches, and the accumulated water carries away the bridge ; but if such accidents should not happen, the constant currents rushing against those piers wash out the mortar, loosen the stones, and very soon under- mine the work, if not extremely well put together, which is seldom the case. Unless the river or stream is narrow, or the banks very high, a semicircle is an inconvenient shape for an arch ; it has been adopted on account of the insufficiency of the abut- ments, and because the pressure is more perpendicular ; but scientific engineers, in all countries, now construct their bridges with wide openings, and make the arches either semi-ellipses, or segments of large circles — so that the space above the highest floods is comparatively little, and the ascent over the bridge inconsiderable. In country bridges in Ireland, Clarke continues, the foundations are invariably, and often intentionally, defective: the mason considers himself an honest man, if his bridge lasts seven years; whereas, from the durability of materials in that country, it ought to endure for ages. "Whatever is under water is out of sight, and is generally composed of loose stones, thrown promiscuously together, on which the masonry is erected, and all the pains and expense are bestowed on the cut-waters and wings, when the heaviest stones, and those accurately jointed, ought to be laid in the foundations. The greatest attention should be paid to the quality of the materials : the stones should be large, and laid in level courses, in the best mortar, composed of sharp sand, free from loam, and quick- lime, accurately mixed together; the coping of the parapet is generally so slight, that it is Book II. ROADS OF VARIOUS ENGINEERS. 583 broken down as soon as built, and the entire parapet quickly follows; — it ought to be of large heavy stones, roughly hammered, and there should be substantial quoins at ttie ends of the parapets with an immovable stone over them. 3613. Arches not exceeding eight feet sjjonmay be semicircular; tunnels not exceeding eighteen inches wide may be covered with strong flags, and either flagged or paved under, and there ought to be across either end a deep long stone, sunk below the surface of the current, and under the walls, to prevent the water from undermining the work ; if the stones are square and heavy, those small conduits may be built without mortar, except at the ends. 3614. In building tunnels or arches across a road in a flow-bog, great pains must be taken with the foundation, or the whole structure vrill inevitably sink : the building of those should be deferred as long as possible, till the peat has subsided, and has obtained a tolerable consistence ; then make an opening equal to the whole work, and sink it eigh- teen inches below the intended bottom of the arch or gullet ; collect a quantity of black- thorn bushes, and tie them in faggots of the same size ; place these in regular courses in the direction of the road, and lay across them a platform of strong plank three inches thick, the whole length and width of the intended mason work ; on this build your arch, and make an allowance in the height of the abutments for sinking. Wherever walls are necessary to support banks, and prevent their crumbling down upon the road, if large even stones can be procured, they will not require any mortar ; when mortar is used, there ought to be a great many apertures in the work to give vent to the water, otherwise the peut-up moisture from behind will push out the wall. In many cases, where embank- ments can be made of earth and sods, they are to be preferred to masonry, which is ex- tremely expensive at tlie commencement, and very perishable ; for mortar soon loses its cementing quality, when exposed alternately to frost and damp. 3615. Draining tlie site of a road on ajtow-bog, according to Clarke, is a tedious oper- ation, and often requires some years. A single drain at each side will not be sufficient, as the water from the adjacent moss would fill it up as fast as it was made. Lay out the road here sixty feet wide, which will allow for the banks when the whole shall be finished ; make a drain at each side six feet wide, and at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet more, parallel drains of the same width. If the interval between the parallel drains be after- wards cut away regularly for fuel, it will tend still to the condensation of the moss. 361 6. Open drains, in the case cf ground liable id sink or to moulder down by frost, ought to be made very much sloped on the sides, especially the side next the road, otherwise, after repeated scouring out, the road will be found to have sunk at the sides ; — a very common case, and highly injurious in the case of narrow roads. "Whenever this tendency to sink is observed, it should be made up by the scrapings of the road, or by other mate- rials. Roads made over bogs and artificial mounds are particularly liable to sink at the sides, which should be immediately counteracted to prevent the bad consequences. 3617. Fences along the sides of roads are essential in all enclosed countries; and all engineers and rond-makers agree that they should never be allowed to rise of a greater height than what is necessary for a fence. To give free admission to the sun and air by keeping the fences low, Marshal considers as providing an unexpensive, yet most accurate, method of cleaning roads — incomparably more so than washing or scraping. The legis- lature, Edgeworth observes, has limited, in several instances, the height of hedges to five feet ; but this limitation is neglected or evaded. -Even were it strictly adhered to, it would not be sufficient for narrow roads : the hedges would be still too high ; for it is the sweeping power of the wind which carries off dust in dry weather, and which takes up moisture in wet In fact, roads become dry by evaporation ; and when they are ex- posed to the sun and wind, the effect of heat and ventilation is more powerful than any surface drainage that could be accomplished. 3618. Walker observes, that the advantage of having the hedge next the road consists in its greater safety to the traveller, particularly if a ditch of any considerable depth is necessary, and in the hedge being supported in its growth from the ground under the road, without drawing upon the farmer's side of the ditch. 3619. lyie fences, Telford observes, form a very material and important subject, with regard to the perfection of roads ; they should in no instance be more than five feet in height above the centre of the" road, and all trees which stand vrithin twenty yards from the centre of it ought to be removed. I am sure that twenty per cent, of the expense of improving and repairing roads is incurred by the improper state of the fences and trees along the sides of it, on the sunny side more particularly : this must be evident to any person who will notice the state of a road which is much shaded by high fences and trees, compared to the other parts of the road which are exposed to the sun and air. My observations vrith regard to fences and trees apply when the road is on the same level as the adjacent fields : but in many cases, on the most frequented roads of England, more stuff has been removed from time to time than was put on ; the surface of the road is consequently sunk into a trougli or channel from three to six feet below the surface of Pp 4 584 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. the fields on each side : here all attempts at drainage, or even common repairs, seem to be quite out of the question, and by much the most judicious and economical mode will be to remove tlie virhole road into the field which is on the sunny side of it. (^Exanu before the House of CoTnnwns, ^c.) 3620. In the junction (^ roads, whether of a by-road with a principal road, or of two by or principal roads, their respective levels ought, if possible, to be the same, and the materials ought to be rather broader than usual at the point of turning. In like manner the communication of fields by gates ought to be carefully managed, so as not to injure the public road, the footpath, the water-table, or the inner drain. All gates should open inwards to the fields, and not to the road. 3621. That plantations of trees should not be made close to roads, all- are agreed. What the distance ought to be must depend on the elevation of the country, the soil and sub- soil, the breadth of the road, its direction, whether the plantation is to be made on the north or south side of the road, its thickness, kind of tree, &c. An elevated situation is always more exposed to the wind than a level or hollow ; and a dry soil and subsoil will always, other circumstances being the same, have a favourable effect on the roads which pass over them. A broad road, and a road winding in its direction, have chances of the direct influence of the sun and wind, according to the width of the former and obliquity of the latter ; a road running north and south, though planted closely on both sides, will enjoy the sun during a part of every day in the year ; one running east and west, planted on the south side with trees forty feet high, will enjoy no sun but through the interstices of the branches during the three winter months. Supposing the average height of the sun from ten to two o'clock during these three months to be 20 degrees, then a tree forty feet high will throw a shadow every day during that period, upwards of 1 00 feet long, which may show that no plantation should be made nearer the south sides of roads than 80 or 100 feet. On the north-east and north-west sides, they may be nearer, accord- ing to the elevation and natural tendency to dryness of the site, and also taking into consideration whether the trees are evergreens, and with or without underwood. The least injurious trees are single rows trained to liigh stems, properly pruned in, or foreshortened. 3622. The jn-eparation of tlie base of a road, for the reception of the metals or hard materials, is a matter of primary importance. Marshal, Edgeworth, and some other writers, with almost all practical men, seem to have entertained much less enlightened notions on this subject than M'Adam. 3623. Marslial's preparation consists in striking off the protuberances, and filling up the hollow parts ; the footpath and the higher side of the soft road being raised with the earth which is required to be taken off the bed of the hard road, whose base or founda- tion ought to be formed with peculiar care. Every part is required to be firm and sound, dry earth, or hard materials, being rammed into every hollow and yielding part. In a dry situation, as across a gravelly or stony height, little more, he says, is required, than to remove the surface mould, and lay bare the rock or bed of gravel beneath it ; and then to give the indurate base a round or a shelving form, as the lying of the ground may require. In this way, a travelable road may be made, and kept up, at one tenth of the expense incurred by the ordinary practice in this case ; which is to gather up the surface-soil into a ridge, and, on this soft spongy bed, to lay, coat after coat, some hard materials, fetched perhaps from a distance. 3624. A soft bed is now found by far the best; and M'Adam has proved, in the case of part of the road between Bridgewater and Cross, that a stratum of hard materials covering a morass will lait longer than a similar stratum laid on rock : indeed, it may be questioned whether a properly made road on a bog, which yields by its elasticity, will not last longer than one on a firm surface. We have been told by a gentleman of some experience in road-making, that in Ireland this is actually found to be the case. " Precisely," as Fry observes, " for the same cause that a stone placed upon a woolpack would bear a greater pressure before it would be broken, than it would if placed on an anvil." (Essay on Wheel Carnages, ^c. App. 129.) 3625. Covering the base of an unsound road with faggots, branches, furze, or heath, is recommended by Edgeworth. Flat stones, he adds, if they can be had, should then be Jaid over the faggots, and upon them stones of six or seven pounds' weight, and, lastly, a coat of eight or ten inches of pounded stone. If the practicability of consolidating a mass of stones each of six or eight ounces' weight and under, so as to act as one plate or floor- ing, be admitted, then the faggots and flat stones must at least be useless, and the stones of six or seven pounds' weight injurious ; because, whenever the upper stratimi had worn down a few inches, some of these stones, and eventually the greater number, would be worked up to the surface, and the road destroyed, or put in a state to require lifting, breaking, and relaying. 3626. A basement of trees, bavins, or hushes, is made use of by Walker when the ground is very soft. They carry off the water previously to tlie materials of the road being so Book II. ROADS OF VARIOUS ENGINEERS. 585 should not be used, unless they are so low as always to be completely moist. When they are dry and excluded from the air they decay in a very few years, and produce a sinking in place of preserving the road : a thickness of hard chalk has been recommended for the same purpose ; the chalk, mixing with the gravel or stones, becomes concreted, and presents a larger surface to the pressure. It is alleged on the othei* hand, that chalk is one of the worst materials for roads, as it absorbs water, which, when frozen, never fails to break up the road. 3627. The hose of the road is c an - ~f^ ^ ^ -+ A ^ 3693. The mode of depositing materials by Paterson is as follows : — " Bottom metals should be broken on the road. When they are thus broken, they are, by the force of the hammer, firmly bedded into the bottom, and are so closely and compactly beaten together, that they become like pavement. In this state they are not only less liable to sink, but they form a much better bed for the top metals than when they are thrown loosely on. And besides this, when they are put on in a loose manner, as is frequently done, the mud more readily works up through the metals in time of rains, and makes a disagreeable road : the top metals also are easily beaten down, by the horses' feet and the carriages, through the bottom stones, when loose and open ; so that the small metals frequently get undermost, and the large ones make their appearance at the surface, very much to the injury of the road. T^ing all these circumstances, therefore, into consideration, it is of the greatest importance that the bottom metals should not only be much larger in size, but that they also be broken on the road." This may be considered as at variance with several parts of Paterson's second publication. Letters, ^c. The road being drained and prepared for the materials, he then directs (p. 80.) to put them on in the following manner: — " M' Adam's mode of putting them on, in coats of three or four inches, though good in particular instances, will not do as a universal rule. If the bottom is wet, and the weather rainy, the earth will poach and work up through the materials, in spite of all the attention and care that can be bestowed. I would, therefore, recommend in such cases to put on the first course from five to six inches thick. But then to leave these materials to consolidate, or rather to move and shift about by the wheels ; and then to be levelled by the rakes, alternately, according to M' Adam's plan, wears away the corners of the stones, by which means they do not unite together and make such a firm road. There were upwards of two miles of road made under my directions lately, on which I caused a course of about six inches to be put. But before opening it to the public, I got a heavy stone roller to ply upon it for four days. This beat and firmed the materials so much, that the wheels of the carriages made little impression upon it. Of course the materials retained their angular points more than in rolling and shifting by every carriage-wheel that passed ; and there was less labour in raking and levelling the road. This plan, which carries reason on the face of it, I would strongly recommend. As to M'Adam's plan of putting on the materials in shovelfuls, it is certainly good. I used to prohibit putting them on with carts (as in that case you never have the small and the great properly mixed together), and generally put them on with wheelbarrows ; but even this does not mix them quite 60 well as scattering them with the shovel ; and as it is of considerable importance to have them well mixed, I would by all means recommend the mode best calculated for that purpose." 3694. Rolling newly laid on me*als is generally approved of. The roller used should not be less than four or five fi;et in diameter ; a smaller size, especially in the use of gravel, being apt to drag and force the loose materials before it. Some have attempted to keep roads in order by occasionally harrowing and then rolling them ; but the beat Book II. PAVED ROADS. 597 judges are of opiiiion with John Farey {Evidence, ^c- 1819.), that a roller cannot be be- neficially used upon a road at any other times but after new coating it with materials, or after a frost, or when the sticking of materials to the wheels may have loosened up the stratum. 3695. Beatson's Tiew theory of roads, as given in vol. i. of the Communications to the Board of Agriculture, is as follows : — Water percolates through porous strata, and is re- tained by compact strata. Whatever may be the form of the surface, therefore, if there is a porous stratum underneath, the surface will be generally dry. When a new road is to be formed, reduce the natural surface so as the lines of a section of it may meet in an angle or ridge in the middle of the road (Jig. 550. a), having a slope from thence of 550 about an inch in a foot The road being thus formed, must be allowed to harden and settle for some time, and then covered to a level, by a stratum (6 b) sufficiently porous to admit water to pass through it; small drains (c c) being formed at the sides, to lead the water from the gutters (d d), into the open ditches (e e). Over this is to be laid the coat of hard materials (/), which need not be more than 6 or 7 inches in thickness, of stones broken very small, or of the best'gravel : it is then to be rolled with a roller, which admits of being loaded, so as to render the surface harder and harder by degrees. The advantages of this construction, Mr. Beatson tells us, ai-e, every part of the road being equally commodious for carriages, and very little repair required. These advan- tages, however, are by no means obvious. Sect. IV. Paved Roads. 3696. Causeways and pavernents are chiefly made use of in towns, and may therefore be considered as belonging more to architecture than to agriculture. But as it is the 'opinion of some of the first engineers, that pavements might be introduced with'advantage on the public roads for some distance from the larger towns, we shall shortly consider this subject with reference to that object. Paving, as applied to roads, is therefore to be considered as a substitute for a part or the whole of the metalled part of the road, and not as occupying every part of its width or site, as in the case of streets, 3697. For roads near capital or great commercial towns, paving, according to Edgeworth, is the only certain method yet known that gives sufficient hardness, smoothness, and permanency. B. and J, Farey are of the same opinion, and the latter considers it would be proper to pave the sides of all the principal entrances into London. Walker, who was the engineer of the Commercial Hoad, ten feet of the centre of which is paved with granite, and has given great satisfaction for upwards of 16 years, is a great advocate for paving. " The advantage," he says, " of paving part of a road where the traffic is great, and 'the materials for making roads bad or expensive, is not confined to improving the conveyance for heavy goods and reducing the horses* labour ; but as the paving is always preferred for heavy carriages, the sides of a road are left for light carriages, and are kept in much better repair than otherwise they could possibly be. It is not overstating the advantage of the paving, but rather otherwise, to say, that, taking the year through, two horses will do more work, with the same labour to themselves, upon a paved road, than three upon a good gravelled road ; if the traffic upon the gravel road is at all considerable, and if the effect of this, in point of expense, is brought into figures, the saving of the expense of carriage will be found to be very great when compared with the cost of the paving. If the annual tonnage upon the Commercial Road is taken at 250,000 tons, and at the rate of only 3s. per ton from the docks, it could not upon a gravelled road be done under 4s. 6d., say however 4s., or Is. per ton difference, making a saving of 12,500^., or nearly the whole expense of the paving in one year. The introduction of paving, there- fore, would, in many cases, be productive of great advantage, by improving, the gravel road, reducing the expense of repairs, and causing a saving of horses' labour much be- yond what there is any idea of." 3698. Telford considers that it would be of advantage to pave a part of the centre of great public roads; and in conformity with this principle, when forming a gravel road, he lays eight or ten feet of it in the centre with stones. 3699. Tlie parts of the road most desirable to be paved, according to B. Farey, are the sides. " If the centre were paved," he says, " the light carriages would be much an- QqS 598 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Fart III. noyed ; when the gravel road was good on the sides, tlxc heavy carriages would go there, and the light carriages would be driven on the stones from the sides again : if the centre were paved, the carters would be obliged to walk on that road to manage their horses, and would be considerably annoyed by carriages, horsemen, &c. passing ; but if the sides of that road were paved, the carters would be enabled to walk on the footpath, and to manage their horses without annoyance." 3700. Paving the sides is also preferred by J. Farey, " but not the middle, as has been done on the Commercial Road, the Borough Road and others. My reasons for prefer- ring the sides being paved are, that it is next to impossible to compel the carters to keep upon the pavement in the middle of the road ; in too many instances, the fear of damage, from the swift going carriages, occasions them either to draw their carts close to tlie sides, and walk upon the footpaths, or, what is worse, to leave their horses in the middle, beyond a train of carriages. The sides being paved would enable one of those trains of carriages to enter London on one side of the road, and go out of it on the other, without many occasions to turn out of their tracks ; which circumstance of keeping nearly to the same tracks, upon a well-paved road, would not be pr^udicial ; but on a road formed of gravel is entirely ruinous." 3701. Walker (dso prefers paving the sides, though in the case of the Commercial Road he paved the centre, as already described (3699.). 3702. Stevenson, as we have seen (3539.), is an advocate for wheel-tracks or stone, as greatly lessening the draught of heavy carriages in the country, and especially in ac- clivities, and avoiding the irksome noise and jolting motion of causeways in town. Specimens of these tracts have been laid down in Glasgow, and they may be seen in various towns in Italy. ** The stones of the tracks recommended by Mr. Stevenson, are of a cubical form (Jig. 551.), measuring only from 6 to 8 inches in the lengthway of the track, and 12 to 14 incnes in depth, 18 inches in breadth at the base, and twelve inches on the top or wheel-track. The stones are therefore proportionate in all their dimen- .■ ft. 551 Bin, sions; for, unless they contain a mass of matter f \ ^^^B corresponding to their length, they will be found /\ ^^^B *" ^''"* strength and stability. It would hardly \ ^^^fl ^^ possible to keep slender stone rails in their ^ \ ^^^^^ places, and hence the cliief benefit of a connected / 1 ^^^B railway would be lost. On the other hand, Ts! very large materials are difficult to be got,. and are also more expensive in carriage and in workmanship than stones of a smaller size. The Italian wheel-tracks are composed of stones 2 feet in breadth, and of various lengths. To lessen the risk of horses falling, these broad stones are kept in a rough state, by occasionally cutting grooves with a pick-axe upon their upper surface." (Edin. Bncyc, art. Roads.) 3703. Mathews also has proposed a plan for a stone railway ; he proposes that the stones should be in pieces measuring 4 feet 2 inches in length, 1 1 inches in breadth at the top, 14 inches at the base, and 10 inches in depth. He has various modes of connecting these stones •. by a mortice and tenon joint {jig. 552.), bevelled so as to prevent the joint from sinking; by a bevelled joint in which the ends of the two rails are made to rest on a centre or inter- vening block (Jig. 553.); and with bevelled and grooved joints, so as to prevent lateral derangement, as well as sinking. (Jig. 554.) The manner of placing stones on these dif- ferent methods together, of securing them by a row of rubble causeway stones on each side, andpreserving the horsepath between, may be easily conceived, (fig. 555.) Mr. Mathews intended these railways for all the principal highways in the kingdom ; but the expense of the plan was one of its chief objections,. It has been alleged also, that unless the cubic contents of these blocks bore a greater proportion to their length, they would be deranged by the pressiue of very heavy carriages. (Ed. Encyc. ait. Boads.) 3704. Pamng the whole or any part of a road is entirely disapproved of by M^Adanu " The measure, ' he says, " of substituting pavements, for convenient and useful roads, is a kind of desperate remedy, to which ignorance has had recourse." The badness or scarcity of materials cannot be considered a reasonable excuse, because the same quan- tity of stone required for paving is fully sufficient to make any excellent road any where; Book II. PAVED ROADS. 599 S5S X: •^ W * "1 \ X i L. u I- .J n H r s 1 and it must be evident that road materials of the best quality may be procured at less cost than paving stone. The very bad quality of the gravel round London, combined with want of skill and exertion, either to obviate its defects, or to procure a better material, has induced several of the small trusts, leading from that city, to have recourse to the plan of paving their roads, as far as their means will admit. Instead of applying their ample funds to obtain good materials for the roads, they have iifiported stone from Scotland, and have paved their roads, at an expense ten times greater than that of the excelleut roads lately made on some of the adjoining trusts. Very few of these pavements have been so laid as to keep in good order for any length of time, so that a very heavy expense has been mciured without any beneficial result ; and it is to be lamented that this wasteful and ineffectual mode is upon the increase in the neighbourhood of London. 3705. The practice of paving roads has also been adopted in places where the same motive cannot be adduced : in Lancashire, almost all the roads are paved at an enormous cost, and are, in consequence, proverbially bad. At Edinburgh, where they have the best and cheapest materials in the kingdom, the want of science to construct good roads has led the trustees to adopt the expedient of paving to a considerable extent; and at an expense hardly credible, when compared with what would have been the cost of roads on the best principles. 3706. The advantages of good roadsj when compared with paveTnents, are unioerstdly ac- knowledged ; the extension of pavement is therefore to be deprecated as an actual evil, besides the greatness of the expense. Pavements are particularly inconvenient and dan- gerous on steep ascents, such as the ascent to bridges, &c. A very striking example of this may be observed on the London end of Blackfriars bridge, where heavy loads are drawn up with great difficulty, and where more horses fall and receive injury tiian in any other place in the kingdom. The pavement in such places should be lifted, and con- verted into a good road, which may be done with the same stone at an expense not exceeding lOd. per square yard. This joad would be more lasting than the pavement, and, when out of order, may be repaired at less than one tenth of the expense which relayiug the pavement would require. This measure has been adopted with great success, and considerable saving of expense, in the suburbs of Bristol, where the pavements were taken up, and convei'ted into good roads, about three years ago. The same thing has lately been successfully adopted on Westminster and Black&iars bridges. 3707. In preparing for laying down pavements, the first thing to be attended to, Edgeworth observes, is the foundation.- This mujt be made of strong and uniform materials, well rammed together, and accurately formed to correspond with the figure of the superincumbent pavement. This has no where been more effectually accomplished, than in some late pavement in Dublin. . Major Taylor, who is at the head of the Paving Board, before he began to pave a street, first made it a good gravel-road, and left it to be beaten down by carriages for several months ; it then became a fit foundation for a good pavement. The Romans, in preparing for pavement, laid a substratum of masonry, in some cases two or more feet thick, and never less than a foot or eighteen inches. This mode is adopted in one or two cases near St. Petersburgh, and might be advantageously used in this country, were not the expense an objection. Planking, broad stones, iron plates, slates, tiles, and brickwork, have also been proposed in this country ; but a con- solidated stratum of broken stone of ten inches In thickness is perhaps the simplest and best preparation, especially for the sides of roads. A substratum of sand is sure to be deranged after the first tains. S708. The lands of stone used in paving are chiefly granite, whinstone or trap, Qa 4 600 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, Guernsey or other pebbles, or water-worn granitic or trapstones. Walker prefers tlio granite of Guernsey to that of Aberdeen. 3709. Tlie size of tlie stones used in road pavements is commonly from five to seven inches long, from four to six inches broad, and from six to eight inches deep. Walker prefers stones nine inches deep ; and Telford is of opinion that the general shape of the stones at present used for paving, and the mode of distributing them, are very imperfect ; the lower part of the stones being of a triangular wedge-like shape, whicli, instead of enabling them to resist the weights which come upon them, easily penetrate into the substratum : the stones are also broken of an unequal sizei The remedies for these defects are obvious : they should be as nearly as possible of a cubical form, the lower bed having an equal surface with the upper face ; they should be selected as nearly as possible of an equal size, and they should never be of unequal length on the face. In quarrying and preparing the stones there would certainly be an additional expense in the prepara- tion, because there would be more work required in the dressilng, and many stones must be rejected which are now used ; but the additional expense would be very well bestowed, 3710. In laT/ing down the stones, each stone, according to Edgeworth, should bear broadly and firmly on its base ; and the whole should be rammed repeatedly, to make the joints close ; the upper and lower sides of the stones should be as near each other as pos- sible, but they should not touch each other laterally, except near the top and bottom, leaving a hollow in the middle of their depth, to receive gravel, which will serve to hold them together. This method of paving may be easily executed by common workmen, who may throw in gravel between the stones as they are laid down. It may be easily conceived, that if a grain of gravel inserts into holes "that are in stones opposite to each other, it will dowel them together. It will be useful to cover a newly made pavement with gravel, which will preserve the fresh pavement for some time from the irregular pressure of wheels, till the whole is consolidated. The stones should be of equal hard- ness, or the soft ones will be worn down into hollows. In every species of paving, no stones should be left higher or lower than the rest ; for a wheel descending from a higher stone will, by repeated blows, sink or break the lower stone upon which it falls. 3711. The requisites for laying down the stones and forming a good pavement are, according to Walker, to have the stones properly squared and shaped, not as wedges, but merely as rectangular prisms; to sort them into classes according to their sizes, so as to prevent unequal sinking, which is always the effect of stones, or rows of stones, of unequal sizes being mixed together ; to have a foundation properly consolidated before the road is begun to be paved ; to have the stones laid with a close joint, the courses being kept at right angles from the direction of the sides, and in perfectly straight lines ; the joints carefully broken, that is, so tliat the joint between two stones in any one course shall not be in a line with or opposite to a joint in any of the two courses adjoining. After the stones are laid they are to be well rammed, and such of the stones as ap- pear to be rammed loose should be taken out and replaced by others; after this the joints are to be filled with fine gravel, and, if it can be done conveniently, the stability of the work will be increased by well watering at night the part that has been done during the day, and ramming it over again next morning. The surface of the pavement is then to be covered with an inch or so of fine gravel, that the joints may be always kept full, and that the wheels may not come in contact with the stones while they are at all loose in their places. Attention to these points will very much increase both the smoothness and the durability of the paving. He has found great advantage from filling up, or, as it is called, grouting the joints with lime water, which finds its way into the gravel between and under the stones, and forms the whole into a solid concreted mass. The purpose served by the lime might also be efl'ectually answered by mixing a little of the borings or chippings of iron, or small scraps of iron hoop, with the gravel used in filling up the joints of the paving. The water would very soon create an oxide of iron, and form the gravel into a species of rock. He has seen a piece of rusty hoop taken from under water, to which the gravel had so connected itself, for four or five inches round the hoop, as not to be separated without a smart below of a hammer ; and the cast-iron pipes which are laid in moist gravel soon exhibit the same tendency. 3712. As substitutes for paving stories, plates of cast iron moulded into the form of the surface of a pavement of different sizes (Jig. 558. c, d, e) have been tried ; but on the whole they are not considered as likely to succeed. They are very hot in summer, and more slippery than stone in winter ; but what is most against them is, that the water finds its way beneath them and softens the substratum. This, at any time of the year, tends directly to produce holes by the leverage of wheels and the feet of animals (3573.) ; but after a severe frost the effects are ruinous. At all events, this description of pavement does not appear so well adapted for the sides or middle of public roads as that of granite stones prepared in Telfoid's manner (ZIOS.). Book II. PAVED ROADS. 601 3713. Varimis improvements in lai/iiig pavements have recently been devised, such as laying' the stones dry on clay ; using square stones, or stones equally wide at bottom as 556 at top ; using stones alternately vfider at bottom and top, '^W^^!^^M^0 ^'"^ joining them with cement {Jig. 556.)jfpaving on plates / ^^&^^^^^^^ "^ iron, wood, or stone, or on a mass of masonry, &c. If / ^^f^^^^M ^^ pavements in towns did not requite to be frequently lifted , ^^^^^^^^^^ on account of sewers, and water and gas pipes, paving in — "''asi^^^^^^^*^ this manner on a solid foundation would certainly be the best mode; but as things are, and even probably if pavements did not require to be frequently lifted, M'Adam's roads are found .greatly preferable for all broad streets, and where care is taken to keep them clean and in complete repair. In Britain, at least, they will probably soon supersede all common pavements, and all other descriptions of conunon roads. 3714. Large blocks of granite {fig. S57.) have been substituted for common-sized paving 557 J _ stones ; each block is two or more feet square, nine inches deep, and channelled on the surface in imitation of common-sized paving stones. These are found to answer much better than the cast-iron plates ; but they are liable to the same objection as to leverage ; are difficult to replace properly ; and as the raised pannels between the grooves will in time wear dowti to the level of the grooves, they cannot be considered so durable as common square stones, which, after all, appear the best for general purposes, and, at all events, for paving the middle or 'sides of highways. 3715. Blocks of stone, and also of timber, have been proposed to be laid in iron boxes ; but the effect of the granite blocks laid down in Fleet-street does not warrant the ex- pectation of any advantage from either of these modes. Where nothing but light car- riages pass over a road, no material is more agreeable than blocks of wood set endways, as is done in many parts of Russia and Germany ; and this mode of paving may, there- fore, be considered very suitable for private court-yards, or stable-yards in country resi- dences. {Newton's Journal, vol. vii. p. 197.) 3716. 77ie defects of common pavement, and the tJieory of its wear, axe thus given by Edgeworth. " Stones, in a common pavement, are usually somewhat oval, from- five to seven inches long, and from four to six inches broad. They are laid in parallel rows on the road-(_^g. 558. c, d), or alter- s/p nately (a, S), as bricks are laid in a wall. On the first sort ^ of pavement, wheels slip from the round tops of the stones into the joints between, and soon wear away the edges of the stones, and their own iron tire. By degrees, channels are thus formed between some of the stones, and in time the pavement is ruined. 371 7. On the second sort of pavement (a), b, where the stones are placed alternately, to prevent the injury to which DrjSQ CfV-T rrn '^^ former method is liable, the wheel {f) sliding sideways, 01 [03 D|^ J^\X, makes a channel between two stones, and is then obliged to mount from the groove which it has made, to the top of the stone opposite to it ; when it has attained this situation, the wheel may slide sideways, or may go forwards over the top of the stone, till it drops into the interstice between the two next stones. By con- tinual wearing, these ruts become so wide and deep, that the wheel does not touch the stones on either side, nor does it reach the ground between them, but it bounds from one stone to the other, thus jolting the carriage in every direction. Itds method is not at present in use. 3718. In the pavements last described, the stones are but of a small size ; but if flat stones of twelve or fourteen inches long (e) are well laid, wheels are not liable to slide into the joints ; and if such stones are l^d with their longest sides crossing the road, they are less liable to injury; but still narrow wheels sometimes fall into the joints between the largest stones, and having in time worn away their own edges, and those of the stones, they will act like wedges, and will displace the stones. No pavement, of the best stone that could be procured, can long resist this action of a narrow wheel. And the only effectual means of preserving pavements is, to increase the breadth of all wheels to at least three inches. Were no wheels narrower, a cheap and durable pavement might be made of flat stones, not more than three inches square, provided they were eight or nine inches deep, to give them reciprocally lateral support ; for the tire of such broad wheels could never sink between the joints of the stones." {Edgeworth.) 3719. Various improved methods of paving have been lately brought into notice. About 1811 or 1812; we suggested the idea of placing the stones on a foundation cacacD SS8 602 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. _5„ of flag-stones or cast-iron plates on a bed of mortar, {fig. 559.) When this mode is adopted in the streets of cities, the gas and water pipes (a) may be placed in drains, covered with large blocks of granite (A), channelled on the surface to prevent f^ ' ■■•"Igjw"'*^"" -■■rgS horses from slipping. Access to the pipes might be had by simply lifting these stones, without disturbing any other part of the pavement. {Gard. Mag. vol. V. p. 79.) 3720. George Knight has suggested the idea of placing the paving stones with the broadest surface undermost, on a Macadamized foundation ; and some streets in tlie metropolis have been so paved. The improvement has been found considerable ; but as the rain- water sinks to the Macadamized stratum, and cannot run off through it for want of drains, the mud still works up to the surface. With adequate under-drainage, or with the stones so compact as that the surface-water would run off instead of running through, this plan would be one of the most perfect which has been suggested. 3721. ColoTiel MaciroTie TecoramQni& pressure, "which maybe applied in three different stages of the work : first, to harden the ground previously to laying the stones ; secondly, to fix and depress them when laid ; thirdly, to equalise and perfect a pavement after it has been some time in use, by applying the pressure only on the protuberant parts. The machine he proposes for the above purpose is similar to a pile-driver of the smaller kind ; the weight being drawn up by a rope passing over a single pulley-wheel at the top of the slide shafits, and terminating on the other side in a cluster of smaller ropes or cords, one for each of the six, eight, or ten men employed to work the machine." {Hints to Paviours, 8vo. 1826.) 3722. Lieutenant Brown suggests " that, after the foundation has been formed in the necessary shape, and the surface rolled or rammed hard, the paving stones, dressed so as to fit close together, should be laid or set in a thick coat of good mortar, and the joints grouted with cement ; the whole mass would thus become a solid body, and the rain would be effectually prevented from penetrating to the foundation, which would remain dry and firm in the position in which it was originally placed. By bedding the stone in mortar, properly placed in the situation in which it is to remain^ then grouting the joint, and allowing it to set hard, without afterwards raTnming or disturbing it, the pavement will remain immovable and water-tight, until fairly worn out, and save all the expense of an artificial foundation of Macadamized stones or other matter. A grand objection to a Macadamized pavement, in this and every cold climate is, that a severe frost setting in after wet, does incalculable injury, owing to its porous state j now, as no water can penetrate beneath the surface of this pavement, if properly made, this serious fault is ob- viated." {Quar. Jour. Science, Jan. 1830.). Sect. V. Milestones, Guide-posts, and Toll-gates. 3723. Milestones of the most infproved kind are generally formed of diu*able stone, or cast iron. They ought to have two faces {fig. 560.) ; one to contain the distance from the metropolis of the country to the stone, and the distance from that stone to the next market town, and village or place ; and the other the distance from the extremity of the road to the stone, and from the stone to the next market town, and village or place, in proceeding to the metropolis. On a face on the apex of the stone may be the name of the county and hundred, and on the base, the name of the township, parish, and hamlet or village. In some countries of the Continent, as in Wirtemburg and Bava- ria, a small open area of 10 or 12 feet in diameter is preserved round the milestones; a bench of stone or turf forms a semicircle, in the radius of which is the milestone, and immediately beyond the bench a row of ornamental trees or shrubs. In several places, every milestone is formed in three steps, the lowest 2 feet 6 inches, the next 3 feet 6 inches, and the last or top of the milestone 4 feet 6 inches. The use of these steps is, to enable people of different heights, travelling alone, and carrying burthens on their backs or heads, to set down these burthens, rest themselves on the benches, and resume the burthens without assistance. In England such an arrangement is unnecessary; but various plans have been suggested for rendering milestones interesting : names of benefactors to mankind who lived near ; dates of remarkable events ; monuments, tombs, statues, small burial places, cott^es, alehouses, &c. &c. (See Gard. Mag. vol. v.) We should prefer a cottage or a burial place at every milestone, because, as the majority of travellers are on horses or in carriages, they can have little time to peruse milestones ; but the cottage might afford protection to the foot traveller, and a glance at the burial BooKll. MILESTONES, GUIDE-POSTS, AND TOLL-GATES. 603 place would afford matter of reflec- tion to all. " It has been sug- gested to us tliat milestones might be made larger, in the form of an obelisk or sarco- phagus, on the model of an an- cient classical or other building, or in other forms ; aiid that there might be in- scribed on them the names and dates of events which took place, or of great men who lived, in the neighbourhood ; and that, in ad- dition to these, there might be inscribed on each milestone, or structure serving the same end, maxims of con- duct, or funda- mental principles of science. Thus, on some roads, the milestones might exhibit sculptured reliefs, re- presenting a historical series, either of events in the history of that part of the country, in the life of some eminent character who had lived there, in the progress of discovery in some art or science of the human mind generally, or in general history. If all the proprietors on a line of road were agreed, a group of exotic trees and shrubs might be planted as a back ground to a small area, which might con- tain the milestone ; and by limiting every group to one genus of timber tree, and one or two fruit trees, considerable variety would be produced, and the botanical interest of the rpad kept up for many miles. Small burial-grounds round milestones would, we think, be unobjec- tionable ; and, indeed, we do not think they could be better placed : and tombstones there, or any where along the road-side, would attain their end more effectually than in churchyards, and, at any rate, would be what is called classical; which is an excel- lence to be aimed at, and which is beneficial in a certain stage of progress, but too often, in architecture and in sculpture for example, an impediment to improvement, by being considered the highest degree of excellence. Some one has proposed to build cottages as milestones, and to that plan and to various others we have no objection, to a certain extent ; the danger being the production of sameness, by adopting the same plan every where." {Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 117.) 3724. Gwde-posts. Wherever one road branches from another there ought to be a guide-post ; and it is not a little remarkable that in this improving age, when every street and lane In towns is so carefully named, that so little has been done in the streets and lanes of the country. The posts which bear the names ought, where the expense is not an insuperable object, to be of iron, on account of its durability. Swaine proposes to have the posts hollow cylinders of cast iron, and the letters to be also of iron, with the space between them open, " so that the light may be seen through them ; by which means the characters of this hand-post vrill be legible at night, by viewing them against the sky, unless it should be exceedingly dark. The direction of the road is. denoted by the manner of disposing the letters : thus, in a guide-post between London and Windsor (_fig. 561 . o), the letters of the word London are reversed, to denote that the direction of London is to the left hand ; the word Windsor in the line beneath is not reversed. 604 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. as that town must be understood to lie to the right hand : the number of miles to each place is shown by figures placed beneath each word. The same object may also be effected in the more obvious manner in general use (Jig. 561. 6). 561 3725. Toll-gates and gate-houses have also partaken of the improvement of the age. The form and hanging of the gates have been scientifically treated of by Parker, who may be considered as having arrived at a high degree of practical excellence. For his general principles, and the details of his compensation hinge for turnpike-gates, see § 3081, 3082.), and his valuable Essay on Hanging Gates, &c., ed. 3., 1826. ■3726. Gate or toll-houses have been materially improved, both in point of internal comfort, and as objects of taste. Some of those in the neighbourhood of London are elegant objects. As an example we shall select that at Edgeware. (^.562.) On 562 ^ &' ^ ■ ' the summit of the cupola of this house there was originally a lamp with three burners and three separate reflectors. Two of the reflectors directed the light along the road in opposite directions, to show what might be coining or departing on either hand ; the third reflector threw the light directly across the road, and down on tlie gate, for the purposes .Book II. PRESERVATION AND REPAIR OF ROADS. 605 of the gate-keeper and those passing through. After this light had remained between two and three years, it was taken down, as being too brilliant and as having frightened some horses ; but it might surely have been softened, so as to be retained. Where there are two gates, as in various examples, a lamp post is very properly placed between them, which thus answers all the purposes of the cupola and triple lamp at Edgeware, Sect. VI. Freservation and Repair of Roads. 3727. The preservation of a road depends in a great measure on the description of ma- chines and animals wliich pass over it, and on keeping it dry and free from dust and mud. The repair of a road should commence immediately after it is finished, and consists in obliterating ruts the moment they appear, filling up any hollows, breaking any loose stones, and correcting any other defect. After cleaning and tliis sort of repair have gone on hand in hand for a longer or shorter period, according to the nature of the materials and traffic on the road, a thorough repair or surface-renewal, by a coating of metal of three or more inches in thickness over the whole of the road, may be required. 3728. To preserve a road, by improving the wheel carriages which pass over it, all agree that the wheels should be made broader than they usually are, and cylindrical ; that carts with two horses abreast are less injurious tlian such as are drawn by two horses in a line ; and that it would be an advantage to have the axletrees of different lengths. 3729. Edgewartli, upon a careful examination, concludes that the system of rolling roads by very broad wheels should be abandoned ; and that such a breadth only should be insisted upon, and such restrictions made as to loading, as will prevent the materials of the road from being ground to powder, or from being cut into ruts. With this view the wheels of carriages of burthen should have felloes six inches broad, and no more than one ton shoidd be carried upon each wheel. 3730. Farey is of opinion, tliat six-inch cylindrical wheels, or under, are the most practicable and useful, provided the projecting nails are most rigidly prohibited, which can never be done but by a penalty per nail upon the wheelers who put in those nails, and upon the drivers of the carriages who use such roughly-nailed wheels. 3731. Telford thinks that no waggon or cart wheel ought to be of less breadth than four inches, and that in general no carriage ought to be allowed to carry more than at the rate of one ton per wheel : " when it exceeds that weight," he says, " the best materials for road-making must be deranged and ground to pieces." 3732. Faterson is a warm advocate for broad wheels. " If the wheels were used double the breadth that they are at present," he says, " they would act as rollers upon the materials, binding them together ; and consequently the surface would remain always smooth and free from ruts, and the waste or decay would, of course, be exceedingly little." All broad wheels, however, should be constructed differently from those that are in common use (Jig. 563. a). Those in common use, whether broad or narrow, are generally dished (as it is called) on the outside, and the ends of the axle- tree bent a little downwards. This causes the wheels to i-un wider above than below; and the reason, I believe, for adopting this plan was to allow people to increase the breadth of their car- riages, and yet the wheels to run in the same track. Upon this plan, the edges of the wheel, to run flat upon tlie road, must be of a conical shape, the outer edge being of a less diameter than the inner one. Any bad effect arising from this is. Indeed, very little felt from th^ narrow wheels ; but as they increase in breadth, the evil increases in the same proportion. " A conical wheel," says Edgeworth, " if moved forwards by the axletree, must partly roll and partly slide on the ground, for the smaller circumference could not advance in one revolution as far as the larger. Suppose," says he, " the larger revolution sixteen feet, and the smaller thirteen feet, the outer part must slide three feet, while the carriage advances sixteen, i. e. it must slide neaily one fifth of the space through which the car- riage advances, — thus, if loaded with ten tons, the horses would have two tons to drag, as if that part of the weight were placed on a sledge." The same thing has been ably and beautifully demonstrated by Gumming {^Essay on the Principles of Ulieels and Wlieel Carriages, &c.), and is very easily illustrated ; take, for instance, the Jrustrum of a cone, or a sugar loaf from which you have broken off a little bit at the point ; then set this a rolling upon a table, and instead of going straight forwards it will describe a circle • and if you will put a pin or axletree right through the centre of it, and upon that axle cause it to move straight forwards, the smaller diameter must slide instead of rolling. It is evident, therefore, that the rims of the wheels ought to be of a cylindrical form (6). Edgeworth states, in relation to this, that, from the testimony given to the committee of parliament, cylindrical wheels and straight axletrees have been unequivocally pre- ferred by every person of science and judgment. 606 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paet III. 3733. Farey finds the Whitechapel road more injured by broad wheels than any other, owing to these wheels being barrelled and conical, and not running flat, and tlie middle tier projecting above tlie others, with rough nails, 3734. Cumminghas proved experimentally before the committee of 1808, that when the rim of a wheel is made truly cylindrical, so as to have an equal bearing on its whole breadth, the resistance to its progress on a smooth road is not increased by increasing its breadth. With regard to the immense saving that would accrue to the nation, Jessop, in his report, says, " I may venture to assert, that by the exclusive adoption of cylin- drical broad wheels and flat roads, there would be a saving of one horse in four, of seventy-five per cent, in repairs of roads, fifty per cent, in the wear of tire ; and that the wheels with spokes alternately inclined would be equally strong with conical ones, and wear twice as long as wheels do now on the present roads." But, over and above the preference due to such wheels, in respect of public roads, they are no less preferable when applied to purposes of husbandry. Besides the great resistance to the draught occasioned by the sinking of the narrow wheels on soft land, every farmer knows what injury is fre- quently done to subsequent crops by such poaching and cutting up of the land. But this is not all. Many a field of beautiful pasture, when subjected to the destroying operation of the narrow wheels, is very much injured, both in respect of the appearance and of the crop, which would be entirely prevented by using broad wheels. Thus it has been stated, with regard to the introduction of the use of broad wheels, that the saving on the incidental repairs of the road would be immense ; that the roads would uniformly retain a smooth and even surface, which would greatly contribute to the comfort of the traveller and the ease of the draught; that in husbandry also the advantages would be great ; in short, that, in every point of view, the benefits which would be derived in consequence would be paramount to every thing that could be urged in favour of the narrow wheels. 3735. M'Adam thinks a waggon wheel of six inches in breadth, if standing fairly on the road with any weight whatever, would do very little material injury to a road well made, and perfectly smooth. The injury done to roads is by these immense weights striking against materials ; and, in the present mode of shaping the wheels, they drive the materials before them, instead of passing over them. If a carriage passes fairly over a smooth surface, he says, it cannot hurt the road, but must rather be an advantage to it, upon the principle of the roller. On being asked, " Are you not of opinion that the immense weights carried by the broad-wheeled waggons, even by their perpendicular pressure, do injury by crushing the materials ?" he answered, ** On a new-made road the crush would do mischief, but on a consolidated old road the mere perpendicular pressure does not do any. But there is a great deal of injury done by the conical form of the broad wheels, which operate like sledging instead of turning fairly. There is a sixteen- inch wheel waggon, which comes out of Bristol, that does more injury to our roads, than all the travelling of the day besides." 3736. With regard to regulating the weight to be carried on wheels, Farey judiciously observes, that though it is not easy to state any one scale which would be generally appli- cable for each breadth of wheels below six inches, there should be a rate fixed, which would apply to ordinary or gate tolls ; and at the weighing machines additional or what may be called machine tolls should be levied upon all carriages which exceeded the weight, to be regulated in an increasing scale for each breadth of wheel, so as very greatly to discourage, but not ruinously to prohibit the occasional carrying of large weights upon any wheels. 3737. Axletrees of different lengths have been proposed by some engineers vrith a view to preserving the roads. On tliis subject Paterson observes, " At present the axles of all kinds of carriages are made to one length, so that their wheels all run at the same vridth, and in the same track, than which nothing could be more fitly devised for the destruction of the roads. I would, therefore, propose, that the length of the axletrees should be so varied, that the wheels of the lighter description of carriages should run two inches narrower than the present track ; and that the axles for the more weighty carriages should be increased in length, so that their wheels should run from one to four inches beyond the present track. I would also propose, that mails, and other heavy coaches, should be so constructed, that the hind wheels should follow, either two inches within, or two inches outside, the track of the fore wheels, as might be considered most proper. Were the axletrees of all kinds of carriages to be of various lengths, as here proposed, we should have no rutted roads. The stones now displaced by the wheels of one carriage, would be replaced again by the next carriage that came up, having its axle of a different length ; and in the same manner would the hind wheels repair the injury done by the fore wheels of a carriage. If this plan were to be acted upon all over the kingdom, it is evident that it would have a very beneficial effect on the roads ; and if it should be found thus to contribute to keeping the roads smooth and even, it is also evident that it must contribute, in the same proportion, to the comfort of travellers of every description, and also to the ease of the beast of draught." BooeII. preservation and repair of roads. 607 3738. J. Farey is of opinion that varying tlie length of axles, so as to prevent their running in the same track, would be very beneficial. This he particularly stated to the Board of Agriculture, with an example of the tolls over a new road in Derbyshire," which are regulated according to the length of the axle. 3739. The division of weight has been proposed by Fry as a means of preserving roads : that is to say, the division of the power, which any carriage may possess, to crush or destroy the materials of the roads ; and the division of the power, which any carriage may possess, to resist the power of the horses drawing such carriage. " A man can break an ordinary stick, an inch in diameter, across his knee ; but if he tied ten of these sticks together, he could not break tliem if he tried ten times, nor if he tried a thousand times ; although, by these thousand efforts, he might have broken a thousand such sticks sepa- rately. A stone might be of such a size and texture that a strong mau with a large hammer might break it into pieces at one blow ; while a boy with a small hammer, striking it with one tenth part of the force, might strike it a thousand times, applying in the whole one hundred times the power upon it that the man would have done, without producing the same effect. So it is with the pressure of wheels on the materials of the roads. Suppose a stone, the size of a man's fist, to be detached on a firm part of the road, and a waggon-wheel, pressing vrith the weight of two tons, were to pass over it, the consequence would be that it would crush it to powder. But suppose these two tons to be distributed into forty wheelbarrows, of one hundred weight each, and they were to pass over over it succession, the only effect likely to be produced would be a trifling rounding of its corners ; nor would probably five hundred such wheelbarrows, of twenty-five tons, crush the stone so completely as the single waggon-wheel. Nor do I think that five hundred gig or one-horse chaise wheels, of four hundred weight each, in all one hundred tons, would so completely destroy the cohesion of the stone, as the single crush of the heavy wheel. Conceiving, tiierefore, that the destructive effect of pressure on the roads increases, from the lowest weights to the highest, in a very rapidly increasing ratio, I think that all reasonable ingenuity should be exercised, so to construct our car- riages, as for each wheel to press the road with the least possible weight that the public convenience will allow." 3740. ^ great weight in one rolling mass {Jig. 564.), Fry continues, " has a tendency to disturb the entire bed of the road, whether it be on a six-inch wheel or on one of sixteen inches, and whether on conical (Jig. 563. a) or on cylindrical wheels (Jig. S63. b). Under all these considerations, I am satisfied that the only grand desideratum, on behalf both of the roads and the horses, is light pressure ; and therefore any dependence on breadth of wheels, as a security against the destructive effects of pressure, is in my opinion fallacious. I wish here to be understood as applying these remarks upon a supposition that wheels were made upon the most philosophical construction ; that is to say, perfectly cylindrical (Jig. 563. b) ; and that they stood perfectly upright or vertical. The present system of broad wheels I consider a system of mere mockery. " 3741. Fry proposes to attain his principte Qf the division of power by the adoption of light one-horse waggons with six or eight wheels ; which in our opinion are of very questioname advantage, all things considered, compared to one-horse carts, to carry one ton, and four-wheel waggons to carry four tons. " One-horse waggons," he says, ** fully embrace the principle : and the laliour of the horses would be much more efficiently applied than at present. If light one-horse waggons were constructed, to weigh eight hundred weight each, and these were charged with a load of sixteen hundred weight each, a good ordinary cart-horse would travel England over with such a load ; drawing just as much net weight as the ten horses in a heavy waggon take each in gross weight ; and the roads would never have a pressure, on one point, exceeding six hundred weight The only objection to such carriages that I see is, that each must be attended by a man- tThere is no reason for this ; in Scotland one man always drives two single- horse carts.] But, were they adopted, roads would last, I will not say ten times as long, I think they would last a hundred times as long, as they now do. Carriages so constructed ought therefore to pass at the lowest possible rate of toll. The next mode is by the use of carriages with six or eight wheels About twenty years ago there were several stage-coaches constructed in this manner. Two eight-wheel coaches plied some years between Bath and Bristol ; and they were so constructed that each wheel supported jts share of the load, carrying its proportion, and no more, over every obstruction : the consequence was, that when a wheel passed over a stone two inches high, the middle part of the carriage rising only an eighth part of two mches, or one quarter of an inch, they were perhaps the easiest coaches to passengers that ever were sat m. They had, however, one defect in their construction ; which was, that the two hinder axles being fixed, whenever the coach varied from a straight line on the road, the hindcrmost pair of wheels must have been dragged sideways. How the six-wheel coaches were circumstanced in this respect, I had no opportunity of observing." 608 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 3742. Double shafts have been proposed by Edgeworth, Morton, and some others, as iikely to divide the traction of draught cattle. B. Farey considers single shafts in waggons very injurious; the horses follow in one track, in the centre of the carriage; and the wheels also follow each other in their tracks, and cut ruts. If there were double shafts, they would naturally avoid former wheel tracks, which would be less injurious to the road. 3745. J, Farey concurs in opinion with his brother,, and thinks that some abatement of tolls might be made to those carriages which now generally use single shafts, like the farmers' carts and waggons, on their adopting double shafts, so that all their horses may draw in pairs ; this bemg applicable even to three- horse carts, as far as the two foremost are concerned. Stage-coaches, for the reasons here alluded to, as they all draw in pairs, and very seldom follow in any previous and deep rut, do far less damage to ^he roads than otherwise would happen ; their springs also, and swiftness of motion, contributmg, very materially, to lessening their wear of the road. • 3744. Roads are generaUy repaired by ma7iual labour; but various machines have been contrived for this purpose. The snow-plough is a well known implement, consisting simply of two boards placed on edge in the form of two sides of a triangle, and drawn by a hook attached to the apex. The common harrow, followed by the common roller, has been used for levelling roads broken up by ruts, and a studded roller has also been lately invented for this purpose, $Q5 ^.^si^^^ ^''*^' ^orrioWs road , harrow ( Ji^. 565.) lias been use4 in some places, for dragging over roads when much out of repair, to replace the stones or gravel disturbed by wheel carriages. " A man, a boy, and two horses, will do three miles in length in one day; completely harrowing down the quarters, and drawing the stones together, which, by means of the mould-boards, are drop- ped into the ruts far bet- ter than a man can stub them in " 374fi. To prevent the formation of ruts in noads, and for use in lanes and unmetalled farm roads, Beatson suggests the idea of placing a roller between 5oo |g| the other wheels {fig. 566^, and so strongly secured to the axle tree, as to be able to sup- port the whole weight in the cart when neces- sary. This roller he proposes to call a pro- tector, and he thinks it will be much more easily drawn than two wheels running in deep ruts. {Com. to B. of Ag. voL i. p. 154). 3747. The cleaning of roads is effected by scraping, sweeping, water- ing, and washing. 3748. Scraping is an operation uni- versally necessary to keep roads clean, by the removal of mud in wet weather, dust in a very dry season, and snow in winter. It has been performed by machinery ; and on a well made road, this mode might be attended with a considerable saving of labour. Were the scraping board edged witli a brusli of wires, or even of birch spray, the work, even on a road some- what irregular, might be done to great perfection. Both in scraping and sweeping, care should be taken as soon as possible to dispose of the mud or dust, either in making or keeping up the sides of the road or fence mounds, or in such other way as circum- stances may direct. Hand scrapers are commonly made with iron plates ; but a piece of board is considered less likely to raise the surface of the road. 3749. The scraping machine {Jig, 567.) is the invention of John Boase, Esq,, and consists of an oblcn? frame of iron, supported on three wheels, two of which are common carriage-wheels, about three feef in diameter, working on an axle fixed to the frame ; the third is a small cast-iron one, placed under the centre of the front bar of the frame. Below the frame, and obliquely to it, is placed the flexible scraper, Book II. PRESERVATION AND REPAIR OF ROADS. 6Ud consisting of a number of plates of sheet-iron, arranged in a line, and connected to each other by smaU bolts. On the back of each plate is bolted a piece of iron, in the shape of the letter T inverted : the stem of this iron is continued to the upper end of the plate, and then l)ent forward in a horizontal direction to a shaft (secured to the fVame) parallel to the scraper, at the distance of about eighteen inches from i^ to which it is joined. By this arrangement, when the machine is moved forward, the shaft draws after it the series of plates fornung the scraper, which being attached to each other by joints, or bolts acting aa. such, each plate has sufficient fVeedom of action to adapt itself to the inequalities of the surface. Springs, equal in nuoiber to the plates, are fixed to the shaft, by which any degree of pressure required can be f'lven to the scraper. As the machine proceeds, a portion of rf>ad, equal in width to the quadrilateral gure of which the scraper forms the di^onal, is aeared ; and the mud or dirt, as fast as it collects, is slid offby the oblique surface of the scraper, and finally left in a line on*the off-side of the machine This process is commenced near the centre of the road ; and the machine, having gone a convenient distance in a straight line, is turned and brought back on the other side of the centre, removing the dirt in an opposite direction. For the next course the machine is brought to the side whjere it first acted, and removes the dirt from a like portion of ground, and with it the line formed by the preceding course. Th is is continued until the scrapings are brought to the side of the road. The manager is enabled to lift the scraper, by turning a wooden roller fixed above it, and attached to each plate by a corr^ponding chain. This is done in order to pass over parts of roads recently repaired ; and, when going to work or returning, the plates are kept in this elevateid position by a ratchet and catch at the end of the roller. A curved scraper is attached to the back part of the f^ame at the off-comer, to be used only during the last course of the machine, for the purpose of collecting the scrapings into heaps ready for removal This machine, drawn by two horses, and attended by one man, will clean five nules of road, twenty-four feet wide, in eight hours. Two additional men will be required to throw the scrapings off* the road, and clear the water, courses. The same work would require twenty-five men per diemt with scrapers, according to the present method. (Gard. Mag. vol v.) 3750. Sweeping^ as a mode of cleaning roads, is chiefly applicable to pavements, to side railways, whether of stone or iron, and to footpaths. On country roads, sweeping might be required to keep the paved or rail-laid parts, where such eadsted, free from small stones or gravel, which the feet of cattle, &c. might scatter over it from the metalled part. *3751. T7ie sweeping machine {Jig. 568.), also the invention of Mr. Boase^ has a ftame similar to that of the scraper, supported iu front by two common wheels about four feet m diameter, and behind by two small iron wheels with vertical axles, one under each comer. Within the frame, and diagonal to it, is the cylinder of brooms, consisting of five rows of heath, each row secured between two boards by screws, and attached to an axle by radiating arms of cast-iron. This receives a rotatory motion fi-om the carriage wheels, by means of a bevelled tfMth wheel fixed on their axletree, working in another half its size on the axle of the brooms. When the miachine is drawn forward, the brooms are thus made to revolve twice to each revolution of the carriage wheels, and in an opposite direction to them. The brooms are regulated so as to bear more or less on the ground, according to the state of the dirt ; and, as the heath wears shorter, they can readily be drawn out from the centre, in order to preserve a proper bearing. The dirt is removed from the space over which the brooms pass to the right or off-side of the machine. Like the scraper, the work is commenced near the centre of the road or sti eet, and carried on in a similar manner. When this machine is wanted to proceed without sweeping, tlie larger bevelled tooth wheel is drawn out of gear by a lever for that purpose. The brooms are covered and the frame enclosed by oiUcloth, to prevent any splashing or dirt from escaping beyond the machine. This machine, with the same power and attendants as the scraping machine, is capable of cleaning three miles, twenty feet wide, daily. (GfordL Mag. vol. v.) 3752. Waterings where applied to roads, is more for the sake of laying the dust than of cleaning or preserving them. Some consider it injurious. B. Farey considers that water- ing the Whitechapel-road in summer, and especially before May and after August, is very injurious, by separating the stones, owing to the softening of the loam, and so making the road spongy and loose. In vrinter, however, he waters, and for the following reasons : — « After the most carefid sifting of the gravel, a small quantity of loamy dirt will unavoidably still adhere to the stones ; and this loam, togertier with a glutinous matter which accumulates in the summer from the dung and urine of the cattle (which accumulation the summer watering has a tendency to increase), occasions the wheels to Btick to the materials, in certain states of the road, in spring and autumn, when it R r 610 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE Part III. is between wet and dry, particularly in heavy foggy weather, and after a frost ; by which sticking of the wheels, the Whitechapel-road is often, in a short time, dreadfully torn an4 loosened up ; and it is for remedying this evil that I have, for more than eight years past, occasionally watered the road in winter. As soon as the sticking and tearing up of the materials is observed to have commenced, several water-carts are employed upon these parts of the road, to wet the loamy and glutinous matters so much, that they will no longer adhere to the tire of the wheels, and to allow the wheels and feet of the horses force down and again fasten the gravel-stones: the traffic, in the course of four to twenty-four hours after watering, forms such a kludge on the surface, as can be easily raked off by wooden scrapers, which is performed as quickly as possible ; after which the road is hard and smooth. The advantages of this practice of occasional winter watering have been great ; and it might, I am of opinion, be adopted with like advantages on the other entrances into London, or wherever else the tra6fic is great, and the gravel-stones are at times observed to be torn up by the sticking of the wheels. 3753, One of the best constructed watering barrels (Jig- 569.) is that used on the Uxbridge-road, in which the water is delivered with the greatest regularity from a cast iron trough (a), so as to cover a space of nine feet in width. The water is turned off and on by a lever at the fore-end of the barrel (6) in the usual manner. 3754. Washing orjlooding roads, with a view to cleaning them, has been proposed by Jessop and some other engineers ; but it is evidently a mode that can only be adopted in particular situations, and the advantages which it would have over clean scraping does not appear. 3755. Rolling, as a mode of preserving roads, is recommended by various writers on the subject ; and appears to be useful on some roads after being loosened by frost. In general, however, it is chiefly applicable after repairs, such as filling in ruts or laying on a coat of new materials. Rolling has also been employed to consolidate snow on roads : it is said to indurate the snow so much, that it becomes a smooth hard body on which the wheels of carriages make but little impression, and the materials of the road are pre- served. When a thaw happens, the whole of the snow is scraped off by snow-ploughs or scrapers, and not being allowed to melt on the metals, they are said to remain un- loosened. This plan is said to be general in America, and appears to have been tried, m one mstance, in the north of Scotland, with success. 3756. A road roller should be of large diameter, perhaps not less than five feet : to facihtate Its turning, it may be made in three lengths ; and the only material is cast iron, with a large wooden box over. .S^\^^'iZ"^*Z'A^Z'S'i"'^ ""^ Cfe- 570.) consists of three cylindrical rollers, mounted upon «les, IB a frame, to be drawn by one or more horses. The rollers are placed obliouefv side bv s de b»t running ,n paralle positions ; their axes receding a little behind eS other? t£W rollers are mtended to pass over the surface of the road, for thi purpose of pressing the broken styesCTa"l jad other matemls. dose together, so as to produce a solid or compact road with a fmoo™ su?face Yn the front of the rollers a long scraper ^ placed, crossing the frame obliquely, for the pureose of conecting up jod eoiujucting away the mud, and the slush, to the side of the road ; and at the ba?k Srt of the apparatM there » a perfiirated cyUnder, intended to take up the softer, or muddy parU of t£e rSd, and^de^t Book IL PRESERVATION AND REPAIR OF ROADS. 61 r it in a swinging box withia Fig. 57(X ia a view of the machine, or apparatus, as seen on the toJ> i aa n are the three cylin.' ders for pressing the' loose stones of the road together. As the apparatus is drawn along, these cylinders revolve upon their axles, wtiich are mounted in the frame bbb. There is a small guide roller, or wheel in front of the frame to which the shafts are at- tached, and by which the appara. tus may be turned round, or guided in a curved course ; rf (2 is a thin plate of iron placed ob- liquely across the machine, in front of the rollers; it is ; attached to the framing by rods and screws, and is thereby made adjustable to any height, so as to scrape the surface of the road evenly. The foremost end of the scraper is curved, for the purpose of preventing the escape of the mud, which, being collected as the machine advances, runs along the inclined surface of the scraper, and is conducted to the side of the road. Thus the mud is proposed to be scraped off the surface as the apparatus advances ; and the materials of the road compressed and hardened by the traversing of the rollers. It may be added, ; that in order to increase the pressure of the rollers, a box, to be affixed to the framework, is proposed to be placed over the rollers, which may carry stones, or otherheavy materials, that might be used in making or repairing of the road. Under some circumstances, the patentee proposes to adapt to the apparatus the auxiliary cylinder e, which is made to revolve upon its axle as it rolls along the road, and is attached to the former by a frame //: this cylinder (e) is perforated all over its surface with holes, or slots j and when it passes along theroaH^the mud, which fs conducted to it by the scraper ^g, presses through these holes, or slots, to the interior. Fig. bll. is a side view of this cylindrical roller \e) attached to the frame//"; within , this cylindrical roller the box A is suspended, swinging upon pivots; and as the roller goes round, tl^e brush t removes the mud flrom the cylinder, and causes it to »U into the box below. When the box is filled with mud, it may be discharged through the door£. {Newtori's Journal^ voL xiii. p. 37.} 3758. Marshal, on the subject of repairing roads, observes, that the best service of the surveyor is to keep their surfaces smooth and even, so that rain-water may iind -a. free and ready passage to its proper drain. Ruts and hollow parts are to be filled up, level or even with the general surface, as often as they are formed. This attention is more especially requisite to a new-made road, whose bed and foundation are not yet fully con- firmed. But in every case, and at all times, a solicitous regard is due to this most im- portant, yet most neglected, part of road-surveying. Much expense of materials and labour may thereby be saved, and the great end of road-making be fully obtained ; namely, that of rendering the road, in all seasons, easy, safe, and pleasant to the traveller. *3759. To keep a road in repair, Edgeworth observes, it will for some time require the attention of the maker : ruts will be continually formed in the loose materials ; th^se must be sedulously filled up, and a small sprinkling of river gravel should be added. All stones larger than the rest should be removed and broken smaller, and no pains should be spared to render the whole as compact and smooth as possible. At a moderate dis- tance from the capital, if no wheels of a smaller breadth than six inche's, and if no greater load than one ton on each wheel, be permitted to pass on it, a road will last a long time, and may be kept in constant repair at a moderate ycEuly expense. 3760. The repair of a road which has been well made, or after it has been put into a good state of repair, Paterson observes, requires attention more than expense. " No more metals ought to be used for the incidental repair of that road ever afterwards, than are just equivalent to the decay of the road. And in order that the decay of the old, • and of course the supply of new, metals may be as little as possible, it is of the greatest consequence that the road never be allowed to get rutted ; for, besides the unpleasant- ness of such a road to the traveller, it is a fact not generally thought upon, that the lateral rubbing of the wheels into the ruts vrill wear and grind down more than double the metals that would be destroyed on a smooth road, where tte only friction of the wheels is that of rolling over the metals. Besides, when a road is much rutted, it not only retains the water, and consumes a greater quantity of metals (as has been noticed) ; but the rubbing and jolting of the wheels into the ruts wears down the iron of the wheels, fatigues the beast of draught, and also wears harness &c., much sooner than when the road is smooth. All these, and much more, are the bad effects of a rutted road. Having premised thus much, I shall next advert to the method to be adopted in order to keep the road free from ruts, at as little expense and labour, and with as few metals, as possible." Rr 2 612 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part 111. S761. In otder to prevent any road from getting rutled. It is indispensable that it be kept free from wate» by under-drainage. No road, Patcrson continues, " that has any tendency to rut, should be, for many day^ together, from under the eye of one who has a general charge, and who is ready to withdraw a workman to this or that part, as need may require. 3762. So soon as newly put on metals begin to shift by the wheels, or form into ruts, they should be irnme. diately replaced, every nttle ridge broken down, and every rut, hole, or inequality, filled up: and the road kept in proper shape until the metals become bound and consolidated together. When the road ii attended to in this manner, it has the efTect, too, of subjecting the whole of the metals to an c^uo/ fatigue. Every time that a little new metals are put on to fill up any hollow parts of the road, those parts being then, from the new metals, a little rougher than the rest of the road, the horses naturally avoid travelling on them for a while at first, until they have become t little smoother, or until the other parts begin to get rutted. This shifting upon the road wears down the metals equally, and prevents those regular tracks of the horse and of the wheels which would otherwise be the consequence. By adopting this method, it will be found that less labour and fewer metals will be reauired in the course of the year, and the road will always be in good ordei. But, on the other hand, to allow the road to get rutted, and then to fill these ruts with new metals every time they get into this state, as is frequently done, raises the track of the wheels, leaving hollow the track of the horse, and so gives the road a concave, instead of a convex, shape in the middle : this retaius the water, and injures the road very much. The same thing occurs again, and the same process is rejieated : and in this way the most extravagant quantity of metals may be put on, and yet the road never be in good order." 3763. For the repair of an old road, the following directions are given by M* Adam, in his Report of the Comrnitteet ^c, of 1811, corrected however to 1819 : — 3761. " No addition qf materials is to be brought upon a road, unless in any part it be found that there is not a quantity of clean stone equal to ten inches in thickness. 3765. The stone already on the road is to be loosened up and broken, so as no piece shall exceed six ounces in weight The road is then to be laid as fiat as possible; a rise of three mches from the centre to the side is sufficient for a road thirty feet Wide. The stones, when loosened in the road, are to be gathered off by means uf a strong heavy rake, with teeth two and a halfinches in length, to the side of the road, and there broken ; and on no account are stones to be broken on the road. 3766. When the great stones have been removed^ and none left in the road exceeding six ounces, the road is to be put in shape, and a rake employed to smooth the surface, which will at the same time bring to the surface the remaining stone, and will allow the dirt to go down. 3767. When the road is so ^epared, the stone that has been broken by the side of the road is then to be carefully spread on it : this is rather a nice operation, and the future quality of the road will greatly de- pend on the manner in which it is performed. The stone must not be laid on in shovelfuls, but scattered over the surface, one shovelful following another, and spreading over a considerable space. 3768 Onli/ a small space of road should be lifted at once ; five men in a gang should be set to lift it alt across ■ two men should continue to pick up and rake off the large stones, and to form the road for receiving the broken stone; the other three should break stones; the broken stone to be bid on as soon as the piece of road is prepared to receive it, and another piece to be broken up; two or three yards at one lift are enough. The proportioning of the work among the five men must of course be regulated by the nature of the road ; when there are many very large stones, the three breakers may not be able to keep pace with the two men employed in lifting and forming, and when there are lew large stones the contrary may he the case ; of all this the surveyor must judge and direct But to lift and relay a road, even if the materials should have been originally too large, would in many cases be highly unprofitable. The road between Cirencester and Bath is made of stone too large in size, but it is of so friable a nature that in lifting it becomes sand ; in this case I recommended cutting down the high places, keeping the surface smooth, and gradually wearing out tlie materials now in the road, and then replacing them with some stone of a better quality properly prepared. A par' of the road in the Bath district is in like manner made of free- stone, which it would be unprofitable to lift. 3769. At Egham in Sm-rey it was necessary to remove the whole road, to separate the small portion of valuable materials from the mass of soft matter of which it was principally composed, which was removed at considerable expense, before a road could be again made upon the site. 3770. Other cases of several kinds have occurred, where a different method must be adopted, but which it is impossible to specify, and which must be met by the practical skill of the officer whose duty it may be to superintend the repair of a road, and who must constantly recur to general principles. These principles are uniform, however much circumstances may differ, and they must form the guide by which his judg- ment must be always directed. When additional stone is wanted on a road that has consolidated by use, the old hardened surface of the road is to be loosened with a pick, in order to make the fresh materials unite with the old. 3771. Ruts. Carriages, whatever be the construction of their wheels, will make ruts in a new.made road until it consolidates, however well the materials may be prepared, or however judiciously applied ; there- fore a careful person njust attend for some time after tne road is opened for use, to rake in the tracks made by wheels. 3772. The tools to be used are, strong picks, but short from the handle to the point, for lifting the road ; small hammers of about one pound weight in the head, the face the size of a new shilling, well steeled, with a short handle; rakes with wooden heads, ten inches in length, and iron teeth about two inches and a half in length, very 8trong,,for raking out the Urge stones where the road is broken up, and for keeping the road smooth after being relaid, and while it is consolidating; very light broad-mouthed shovels, to spread the broken stone and to form the road 3773. Every road is to be made of broken stone, vnthout miTtureqf earth, clay, chalk, or any other matteT that wiU imbibe water and be affbcted with frost : nothing is to be laid on the clean stone on pretence of binding; broken stone will combine by its acute angles into a smooth solid surface that cannot be affected by vicissitudes of weather, or displaced by the action of wheels, which will pass over it without a jolt, and consequently without injury." 3774. Telfor(Cs directions for repairing roads differ little from his instructions for forming roads, already quoted. 3775. Where a rond has no solid and dry foundation, he breaks it up, lays bare the soil, drains it, and bottoms with soft stones or cinders, — the former set by hand with the broadest end down, in the form of a neat pavement [Jig. 572.) ; over this foundation he, as usual, lays on six inches of stones broken so at cpjn ^ P^s through a ring two inches and a half in diame ^'■^ ter, &C. ■ r I M I \ ^'^ Where a road has some foundation, but an im- \ / V / ( perfect one, or is hollow in the middle, all the large t i \ .1 I stones appearing on the surface of it must be raised and \ fl \ /[ \ broken ; the eighteen centre feet of it must be so treated, and then covered with a coating of broken stones, suf- ficient to give it a proper shap^ and to make it solid and hard. S777. Where a road already has a good foundation, and also a good shape, no materials should be laid upon itj but for the purpose of filling ruts and hollow placesa in thin layers, as soon as they appear. Stones Book II. RAILROADa 61d uroken small, as above described, being angular, will fasten together. In this way a road, when once well made may be preserved in constant repair at a small expense. '3778, Partial wetallit^. Where the breadth of that part of a road, wh ich alone has been formed of hard materials, and over which the carriages commonly pass, is less than eighteen feet, it must be widened with layers of broken stones to that breadth, first digging away the earth, and forming a bed for them with pavement and broken stones at least ten inches deep^ N^ar large towns the whole breadth of the road- way should be covered with broken stones. . 3779. Alt labour by day wages ought, as (ir as possible, to be discontinued in repairing roads. The surveyors should make out specifications of the work of every kind that is to be performed in a given time Tills should be let to contractors; and the surveyors should take care to see it completed according to the sped H cations, before it is paid for. Attention to this rul^ is most essential, as in many cases not less than two thirds of the money usually expended in day labour is wasted. 3780. T/ie best seasons Jar repairing roads are generally considered to be autumn and spring, when the weather is moist rather than otherwise. 3781. B. Farey prefers laying on gravel when the road is in a moist state, immediately after the road has had a scraping, in consequence of there being upon the surface of the road a small quantity of dirty matter and broken gravel, which then form a sort of cement for the gravel to fix in. 3782. Walker considers the best season/or repairing roads to be the spring or very early in the summer, when the weather is likely neittier to be very wet nor dry ; for both of these extremes prevent the mate, ricds from consolidating, and therefore cause waste, and at the same time either a heavy or a dusty road : but if done at the time he has recommended, the roads are left in good state for the summer, and become consolidated and hard to resist the work of the ensuing winter. 3783 Tlie seasons for repairing preferred by Paterson are also spring and autumn. " Although it is proper," he says, " at all times of the year, to put on a little metals whenever any hole makes its appear- ance, yet in the drought of summer this will seldom be necessary. In summer, the roads are less liable to cut ; but if, at some places, a little fresh metals may be necessary, no more should be put on than are barely sufficient to bring those holes to the level of the rest of the road. Metals that are put on in the drought of summer do not soon bind together. Until such time as there is rain sufficient to cause them to bind, they will keep shifting and rolling about, and make a very unpleasant road to travel on. The most proper times of the year to put on any quantity of metals are about the months of October and April, as they always bind best when the road is neither too wet nor too dry. "When they are put on about the month of October, they become firm before winter ; and with a little constant attention, the road will be easily kept in good order until the spring : and if it has been the case that the road has not been sufficiently attended to during the winter, and that it has got into a bad state towards the spring, by putting on fresh metals about the month of April, sufficient to bring it into smooth surface order, it will be very easily kept in this good state throughout the summer." 3784. M'Adarn, on being asked, " Would you prefer repairing old roads in dry weather or in wet weather ? " answers : " In wet weather always ; I always prefer mending a road in weather not very dry." Sect. VII. HaUroads^ S785. HaUways or tramroads are not intended to be considered here as connected with mines, canals, or other works which come directly under the province of the higher branches of engineering ; but merely as substitutes for the whole or a part of the metalled surface of common roads. The necessity of an expeditious and cheap mode of conveying coals from the pits to the ships had, as early as the year 1676, intro- duced the use of wooden railways for the waggons to move upon between the Tyne river and some of the principal pits ; and these by degrees became extended to a great number of other coal-works. They were first solely employed for transporting coals to a moderate distance from the pits, to the places where they could be shipped, being universally made of wood. By degrees they were, however, carried to a farther extent ; the scarcity of wood, and the expense of their repairs, suggested the idea of employing iron for the purposes of improving these roads. At the first, flat roads of bar iron were nailed upon the original wooden rails, or, as they were technically called, sleepers j and this, though an expensive process, was found to be a great improvement. But the wood on which these rested being liable to rot and give way, some imperfect attempts were made to make them of cast iron ; but these were found to be liable to many objections, until the business was taken in hand by Outram, an engineer at Butterly Hall, Derby- Siure, who contrived, at the same time, so far to diminish the expense, and improve tlie strength of the road, as to bring them to a degree of perfection that no one who lias not seen them can easily conceive could have been done. This having been carried into execution in a few cases, and found to answer, h^ been improved upon and sim- plified by practice, till it is now brought to such a state of perfection as to have given proofs that it admits of being carried much beyond the limits of what was for many years conceived to be possible, and to afford demonstrative evidence that it may be in future employed to a wider extent still, to which no limits can be at present assigned or foreseen. 3786. JtaUways are of three kinds i flat, edged, and suspension railways. The flat railway is composed of pieces of timber, four or five inches square, called rails ; or of pieces of cast iron, of about four inches in breadth, and one or more inches in thickness according to the weight they are to carry. The edge rail is formed of pieces of cast or wrought iron (the latter is now generally preferred), with a ledge or flanch rising at right angles in the inner side of the rail. Tlie flat rails are generally laid on pieces of timber called sleepers, and the edge rails on solid blocks of stone, from nine to twelve inches in thickness. The suspension rail consists of a line of vertical edge, elevated on posts; across this line the load is placed, like the panniers on the back of ahorse, by a suitable contrivance for diminishing friction, and adjiiiiting the weight so as it may be 614 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pait I IT. equally balanced on both sides. As we have before obseired, this subject belongs more properly to engineering than to agriculture, and therefore we shall confine ourselves to railroads, as substitutes for, or as connected with, common country roads. [Trans. Highl. Soc. vol. vi.) 3787. /»^ countries, the surfaces of which are rugged, or where it is difficult to obtain water for lockage, where the weight of the articles of the produce is great in comparison with their bulk, and where they are mostly to be conveyed from a higher to a lower level — in these cases, Telford observes, iron railways are, in general, preferable to canal navigation. .■3788. On a railway weU constructed, and laid with a declivity of iifty-five feet in a mile, it is supposed that one horse will readily take down waggons containing from twelve to fifteen tons, and bring back the same waggons with four tons in them. This declivity, therefore, suits well, when the Imports are only one fourth part of what is to be exported. If the empty waggons only are to be brought back, the declivity may be made greater ; or an additional horse applied on the returning journey will balance the increase of de- clivity. If the length of the railway were to be considered, it may, it is supposed, with- out much inconvenience, be varied from being level to a declivity of one inch in a yard ; and by dividing the whole distance into separate stages, and providing the number of horses suitable for each portion of railway, according to the distance and degree of de- chvity, the whole operation may be carried on with regularity and despatch, 3789. Railways may be laid out so as to suit the surface of very irregular countries, at a comparatively moderate expense. A railway may be constructed in a much more ex- peditious manner than a navigable canal ; it may be introduced into many districts where canals are wholly inapplicable ; and in case of any change in the working of mines, pits, or manufactories, the rails may be taken up, and laid down again in new situations, at no very great expense or trouble. 3790. The whole load to be drawn by one horse upon railways was at first put into one waggon ; but now, when the load is so much augmented, it has been found eligible to divide it into many parts, so that no one waggon shall carry more than one or two tons ; by this method the weight is so divided, that the pressure is never so great upon one ^^1^ point as to be in danger of too much CY3 { "^"^y^ ' ij~ ,. f ji crushing the road; the carriages can be made much more limber and light in all their parts {Ji^. 573.), and they are much more easily moved, and more manageable in all respects, than they otherwise would have been. And another advantage of this arrangement, which deserves to be particularly adverted to, is, that it admits of shifting the carriages, so as to leave a load, as it were, in parcels at different places where they may be required, without trouble or expense. This, when it comes to be fully understood and carried into practice, will be a convenience of inestimable value ; a thing that has been always wanted, and never yet has been found, though it has been diligently sought for. 3791. Of tlie advantage of railways a striking proof is given by Anderson {Recre- ations, ^c. ), in the case of one formed by Wilkes near Loughborough. Its extent was about five miles, and it led from a coal-mine to a market. He found it so fully to answer his expectations after it was finished, that he communicated to the Society of. Arts an account of some trials he had made of it, requesting that such of the members of that respectable institution as were desirous of information on that head would do him the honour to witness some experiments that he wished to make upon it for the in- formation of the public. A committee of the nierabers was accordingly deputed for that purpose, and before them he showed that a moderate-sized horse, of about twenty pounds value, could draw upon it with ease down hill (the descent being one foot in a hundred) thirty-two tons, and without much difficulty forty-three, and seven tons up hill, inde- pendent of the carriages. The doctor concludes from these facts, that upon a perfect level a horse could draw with ease from ten to twenty tons. It is observed that Wilkes's railway; on which the experiments were made, was, from local circumstances, laid upon wooden sleepers, and is not so perfect as those done upon stone. But it is added, that twenty tons constitute the load which such a horse could draw with ease, travelling at the usual waggon rate, in boats upon a canal ; so that the number of horses required in this way will not be much, if at all, greater than on a canal. Certain advantages attach to this mode of conveyance, which do not so well apply to a canal, and vice versa ; but it is not his intention to draw a parallel between these two modes of conveyance. Nobody can entertain any doubt, he thinks, about the utility of canals where they are easily practicable. He only wishes to point out this as an eligible mode of conveyance, where canals cannot be conveniently adopted. Book iF.: RAILROADS. 615 3792. , In firming and constructing railwaa/s, the best line the country afibrds should be traced out, having regard to the direction of the carriage of ai-ticles, or trade to be expected ; and if such trade be both ways in nearly equal quantities, a line as nearly horizontally level as possible should be chosen. If the trade is all in one direction, as is generally the case between mines and navigation, then the most desirable line is one with a gentle gradual descent, such as shall make it not greater labour for the horses employed to draw the loaded waggons down, than the empty ones back ; and this will be found to be the case on a railway descending about one foot vertical in one hundred feet horizontal : or, if tlie railway and carriages are of the very best construction, the descent vertical may be to the length horizontal as 1 to SO, where there is little or no upgate loading. In cases between mines and navigations, the descents will often be found greater than could be wished. On a railway on the improved plan, where the descent is more than as 1 to SO, six or eight waggons, loaded with thirty or forty hundred weight each, will have such a tendency to run downwards, as would require great labour of one horse to cheek and regulate, unless that tendency were checked by sledging some of the wheels. On such, and steeper roads, iron slippers are applied, one or more to a gang of waggons, as occa- sion may require. Each slipper being chained to the side of one of the waggons, and, being put mider the wheel, forms a sledge. Where the descent is very great, steep inclined planes, with machinery, may be adopted so as to render the other parts of the railway easy. On such inclined planes the descending loaded waggons being applied to raise the ascending empty, or partly loaded ones, the necessity of sledging the wheels is avoided, and the labour of the horse greatly reduced and lessened. (Fulton.) 3793. In order to obtain the desired levels, gentle descents, or steep inclined planes, and to avoid sharp turns and circuitous tracks, it will often be found prudent to cross valleys by bridges and embankments, and to cut through ridges of land ; and, in very rugged countries, short tunnels may sometimes be necessary. The line of railway being fixed, and the plans and sections by which the same is to be executed being settled, the ground for the whole must be formed and effectually drained. The breadth of the bed for a single railway should be, in general, four yards ; and for a double one six yards, exclu- sive of the fences, side drains, and ramparts. 3794. The bed of road being thus formed to the proper inclination, and the embankments and works thereof made firm, the surface must be covered with a bed of stones broken small, or good gravel, six inches in thickness or depth. On this bed must be laid the sleepers, or blocks to fasten the rails upon. These should be of stone, in all places where it can be obtained in blocks of sufficient size. They should be not less than eight, nor more than twelve, inches in thickness ; and of such breadth (circular, square, or trian- gular) as shall make them ISO lbs. or 200 lbs. weight each. Their shape is not material, so as they have a flat bottom to rest upon, and a small portion of their upper surface level, to form a firm bed for the end of the rails. In the centre of each block should be drilled a hole, an inch and a half in diameter, and six inches in depth, to receive an octagonal plug of dry oak five inches in length : for it should not reach the bottom of the hole ; nor should it be larger than so as to put in easily, and without much driving ; for if too tight fitted, it might, when wet, burst the stone. These plugs are each to receive an iron spike, or large nadl, with a flat point and long head, adapted to fit the counter-sunk notches in the ends of two rails, and thereby to fasten them down in the proper position or situation in- which they are to lie. 8795. With regard to the rails, they should be of the .stoutest cast-iron, one yard in length each, formed with a flanch on the inner edge, about two inches and a half high at the ends, and three and a half in the centre ; and shaped in the best manner to give strength to the rails, and keep the wheels in their track. The soles of the rails, for general purposes, should not, he thinks, be less than four inches broad; and the thickness proportioned to the work they are intended for. On railways for heavy burthens, great use, and long duration, the rails should be very stout, weighing 40 lbs., or in some cases nearly half a hundred weight, each. For railways of less consequence, less weight of metal will do; but it will not be prudent to use them of less than 30 lbs. weight each, in any situation exposed to breakage above ground. But it is observed that in mines, and other works under ground, where very small carriages only can be employed, very light rails are used, forming what are called tramroads, on a system introduced by Carr; and these kinds of light railways have been much used above ground in Shropshire, and other counties where coals and other minerals are obtained. 3796. Infidng the blocks and rails, great attention is required to make them firm. No earth or soft materials should be used between the blocks and the bed of small stones or gravel, on which the rails must all be fixed by an iron gauge, to keep the sides at a regular distance, or parallel to each other. The best width of road, for general purposes, is four feet two inches between the flanches of the rails; the wheels of the carriages running in tracks about four feet six inches asunder. Rails of particular forms are necessary, where roads branch out from or intersect each other, and where Rr 4 616 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IlL carriage roads cross the railways ; and, at turnings of the rmlways, great care is required to make them perfectly easy. The rails of the side forming the inner part of the curve should be fixed a little lower than the other; and the rails should be set a little under the gauge, so as to bring the sides nearer together than in the straight parts: these deviations in level and width to be iu proportion to the sharpness of the curve. The blacks and rails being fixed and spiked fast, nothing more remains to be done than to fill the horse-path, or space between the blocks, with good gravel, or other proper materials; a little of which must also be put on the outside of the blocks, to keep them in their proper places. This gravel should always be kept below the surface of the rails on which the wheels are to run, to keep the tracks of the wheels free from dirt and obstructions. The form of the rails must be such as will free them from dirt if the gravelling is kept below their level. 3797. Tliejbrmation of edge railways, on the middle or sides ^public roads, has been re- commended by Dr. Anderson, Fulton, Edgeworth, Middleton, Stevenson, Mathews, Baird, and others. A flat railway, with the rail ten or twelve inches broad, we conceive, might be laid down along the sides of a road with advantage. It would require a rib below of sufiBcient strength to bear waggons of any weight. This strength would be communicated partly by the mass of material, but chiefly by the rib (Jig. 574. a, a), resting on a bed of bricks or masonry below (6). Such a railroad might be used by any description of carriage, 574 light or heavy. But the best description of railroad for the sides of a highway is pro- bably some of those formed of blocks of stone, already described. Stone railways of this sort appear to have been suggested by Le Large (Machines Approuvees, vol. iii.) in France ; and afterwards by Mathews (Committee Examinations, May 1808.) in England, but they have never been fairly tried. The best specimen we have seen is in a street in Milan, where it is not so necessary, the whole breadth being very well paved. Chap. V. Formation of Canals^ 3798. Though the subject of canals ts not inchtded in that of agriculture, yet it is so intimately connected with territorial improvement, that it would be improper in a work of this description to pass it over. Canals of any extent are never the work of an indi- vidual ; they are always formed by public bodies, constituted and empowered by public acts : but it is of importance to individuals to know the sort of effect which a canal passing through their property may have, both on its appearance and value ; not merely as a medium of conveyance, -but as a source of population, of water for irrigation or mills, or the use of stock, and even as an object of ornament. For this purpose we shall submit some remarks on the utility of canals, the choice of lines, the powers granted to canal companies, and the mode of execution. Sect. I. Utility and Rise of Navigable Canals, 3799. Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, Dr. Smith observes ( Wealth of Nations, i. 229.), by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with those in the neighbourhood of large towiJs ; and on that account they are the greatest of all improvements. They encourage the cultivation of the remote parts, which must always be the most extensive circle of the country. They are advantageous to towns, by breaking down the monopoly of the country in its neighbour- hood ; and they are advantageous to all parts of the country, for though they introduce some rival commodities into the old markets, they open many new markets to its produce. " All canals," says an intelligent wiiter on this subject (See Phillips's General History of Inland Navigation, Intiod.), " may be considered as so many roads of a certain kind, on which one horse will draw as much as thirty horses on ordinary turnpike roads, or on which one man alone will transport as many goods as three men and eighteen horses usually do on common roads The public would be great gainers were tliey to lay out upon the making of every mile of a canal twenty times as much as they expend upon a mile of turnpike road ; but a mile of canal is often made at a less expense than Book II. CANALS. 617 the mile of ttirnpike ; consequently there is a great inducement to multiply the number of canals." 3800. General arguments in favour tf canals are superseded by the rapidly Improving and thriving itate of the several cities, towns, and villages, and of the agriculture also, near to most of the canals of the kingdom ; the immense number of mines of coal, iron, limestone, &c., and great works of every kind» to which they have been conducted, and to which a large portion of them owe their rise, are their beat recommendation. In short, it may be concluded, that no canal can be completed and brought into use, but the inhabitants and the agriculture of the district will shortly feel great benefit ftom it, whatever may be the result to the proprietors. 3801. The great advante^es of canals as means qf transport result iVom the weight which may be moved along by a small power. The velocity with which boats can be drawn along a canal is confined within very narrow limits, owing, as Edgeworth has observed, to the nature of the resistance to which they are exposed ; this resistance increasing in a geometrical proportion, as the squares of the velocity with which the moving body is impelled : whereas, on roads or railways, an increase of velocity requires only an arithmetical increase of power. Or, in other words, to draw a boat with ten times a given velocity, would require a hundred times as much power as was requisite to draw it with that given velocity ; whereas, to draw a carriage on a road or railway with ten times a given velocity, would require only ten times the given power. For this reason, however advantageous canals may have been found, for transporting heavy loads, they will be found upon trial inferior to roads in promoting expedition. 3802. Canals appear to have been first made in EgypU Though less attended to by the Romans than roads, yet they formed some in this country near Xiincoln and Peterborough. 3803. China is remarkable for its canalSy and there are said to be many in Hindostan, though we believe they are principally for the purpose of irrigation. In Russia there are some, and several in Sweden ; one or two in Denmark ; some in Germany; and a great many in Holland The canal of Bui^undy in France was commenced under Henry IV. ; and that of Languedoc finished by Riquet, the Erindley of France under Louis XIV. Some attempts have been made to form canals in the hilly country of Spain ; and a great many excellent ones are executed in America. 3804 Navigable canals in Britain took their rise between 1755 and 1760, by the Sankey Brook Com- pany in Lancashire ; but the great impulse was given by the duke of Bridgewater about 1757, when he first commenced, under the direction of Brindley, the canal between his coal-works at Worsley and Salford. The duke of Bridgewater has, in consequence, not improperly been called the father of canals in England ; while his en^neer, Brindley, by his masterly performances on the duke of Bridgewater's c^nal, altered and extended as the scheme thereof was by the three subsequent acts of parliament, has secured to himself, and will, it should seem, (fVom a comparison of the great features and minutim of execution in this the first canal, with most others in this country, even of the latest construction,) Jong continue to hold that rank among the English engineers, to which Riquet seems entitled among foreigners. ^05. Since the duhe qf Bridgewater'' s timey the extension of canals in the British Isles has been rapid. A number of scientific engineers have arisen, of whom we need only mention Smeaton, Rennie, and Tel- ford, and point to the Caledonian canaL Sect. II, Of discovering the most eligible Hovie for a Line of Canal, 3806. The first olgect, when the idea of a canal is determined on by a few landed pro- prietors, is the choice of a skilful and experienced engineer. Such an artist should undoubtedly possess a considerable degree of mathematical knowledge. Calculations, of which some are of the most abstruse and laborious kind^ will frequently occur* and he should, therefore, be well acquainted with the principles on which all caJculations are founded, and by which they are to be rightly applied in practice. An engineer should also have studied the elements of most or all of the sciences immediately connected with his profession ; and he should particularly excel in an acquaintance with the various branches of mechanics, both theoretical and practical. His knowledge should compre- hend whatever has been written or done by other engineers ; and he should have inform- ation in every department of his business, from an accurate examination of the most considerable works that have been executed, under all the various circumstances that are likely to occur. It is necessary that he should be a ready and correct, if not a finished, draughtsman. He should also be conversant with the general principles of trade and conunerce ; with the various operations and improvements in agricultiure; with the interests and connection of the diflFerent owners and occupiers of land, houses, mills, &c. • and with all the general laws and decisions of courts pertaining to the objects connected with his profession. By an extensive acquaintance with the disposition, inclination, and thickness of the various strata which compose the soil or land of the British Islands he will be able to avoid many errors incident to those who are destitute of this knowledge. As the last, though not the least, of these qualiiications of an engineer, which we shall enumerate, he should be a man of strict integrity, 3807. A proper ei^ineer being fixed upon^ the adventurers should not tie him down too closelv bv restrictions as to time ; but allow him leisure to consider, digest, and revise, again and again the different projects and ways, which will, in most instances, naturally present themselves to him in an extensive xnA thorough investigation. The engineer should be allowed to choose and employ the most comneteni acc'iatunfc anH tncaW in and occasionallv to consult thp nninmnc nf aivifnan* ,«. i.: i j/ciciii men the engineer should be authorised liberally, and at once, to remunerate for their services and intpili gence. Previously to the beginning of any minute survey or system of levelUng, the entrineer m eht t« visit all the objects withm the district under consideration, and endeavour to make a iust estiina^ ^ItiH preserve memorandums of them; as of the trade and importanceof all the towns likelv tohe afflwXi hv the undertakmg ; of all mmes of coal, iron, &c.. quarries of limestone, freestone, slate, &c or the StuTtion where such can be found ; of al the manufactories of heavy and cumbrous goods, fnd other exteS works ; and generally of every thmg likely to furnish tonnage for a canal. T^ most eliemirrSffOT .-anal being settled in the engineer's mind, he will then proceed to make a rough Sufatfin of thfouan tity of goods of each kind which may be expected to piss upon the line in a given S he w1l?X 618 PRACTICE OP AGRICULTURE. Part III, examine all the canals and rivers witli which the proposed canal is to connect, and ascertain the widthi and depths thereof, the sizes of their locks, and of the vessels usually navigating them. 3808. The dimensions^ number^ and kind (flocks or inclined planes, length of levels, &c., may now be determined on, and how far railways or branch canals or roads may be connected with the main line. * Many engineers, and especially Fulton, have warmly advocated the formation of small canals. On this subject Chapman, a most judicious artist, observes, " that the system of small canals is particularly eligible in all countries where limestone, coal, iron ore, lead, and other ponderous articles, not liable to damage firom being wet, or not likely to be stolen, are the objects chiefly to be attended to ; and where the declivity of the country runs transversely to the course of the canal, which will generally be the case along the sides of mountains, at an elevation above the regular ground at their feet In those situations, the great falls or inclined planes may be made at the forks of rivers, so that the upper levels may branch up both the vales, and thus give the most extended communication. A situation suited for those canals will often bo found in countries that are not absolutely mountainous, but where the ground regularly declines to^ wards the vales or large rivers." 3809. A rotigh section qfthe proposed line will enable the engineer to see the places of the heights, and breadths of the various summits, or ranges of high land, that are to be passed, and whether any two or more adjacent ones can be connected by a long summit level, without deserting any considerable town or point of trade, which will diminish the ditficulties of supplying the canal with water ; as every such junction of summits preserves the water of two lockages, besides presenting so many more points at which the canal can be supplied with water from springs and rivulets above its level, or where, in less favourable situations, the same can be collected in a lower level, to be pumped up. From one end of the proposed summit level it will be right now to proceed with the survey, tracing the level accurately, and marking the same by pegs or stakes, that will last for some time, and be known by the surveyor, who is to follow and make a plan of the line ; the levels being frequently transferred to what are called bench marks, upon the trunk of a tree, a large post, or a building, the same being noted so particularly in the field or survey book, that they may be readily found for years afterwards. We suppose the engmeers, by this time, to have settled the rise that each lock should have, according to the dinwnsions adopted for the canal, the probable supply of water on the summit, and other circumstances ; the summitlevel will be traced as above, till the proper place occurs for making a fall of two or more locks, at about 100 yards, or a little more from each other; and the places of these falls being marked, the level is again to be pursued and traced from the bottom of them, and marked out as before, till the opportunity occurs for another pair or more of locks, or till some obstacle, as a gentleman's park, houses, gardens, orchards, mills, roads, &c. present themselves at a distance ; when it will be proper, after transferring the level arrived at to a proper and permanent mark, to proceed forwards, and to examine and well consider the difFbrent ways and levels, if more than one present themselves, by which the obstacle can be passed. From the most confined part of the course for the canal, owing to the obstacle, it will be right to level back, till the former work is met, and to determine the most eligible mode of bringing the two levels together, upon the principles before stated j if they can be applied, either by adding another lock, or taking one from any of the sets which had been before marked out, as occasion may require, and marking out the new levels thereby occasioned : the line be- tween the summit and the first obstacle, or confined part of the course, being thus adjusted, a new point of departure is to be taken from such obstacle, and the level pursued as before, till the fall for a pair or more locks can be gained, at the proper distance from each other. In this way, the patience, perseverance, and abilities of the engineer must be exercised, until a practicable line of some length is obtained, and staked out; when the assistant land-surveyor must follow, and make a correct and particular plan of the line of the several proposed locks, embankments, tunnels^ &c upon the same, and of the several fields, or pieces of land through which it passes, or that come withm 100 or 150 yards of it in any part : it will likewise be the business of the surveyor to ascertain, with the utmost care, the boundary of every parish and town- ship ; what county each is in ; the proper names of the owners and occupiers of every piece of land in each, however small, upon or within that distance of the line, with reference to the same upon his plan ; and to describe correctly all public and private roads and paths that cross or intersect the line, and to and from what places they lead ; the course of all brooks or streams of water, and particularly such as lead to, and contribute to the supply of, any mill ; the situation of the houses and towns upon the line, or within some miles of it, should also be determined j the nearer they are the greater accuracy will be necessary. A complete plan of the line, and all the projected collateral cuts, feeders, reservoirs, && being finished, the engineer will enteronamostcarefulrevisalofthe whole scheme, with this plan in his hand; on which all the places where culverts or drains will be required are to be marked, as also the proper places for the bridges, and the necessary alterations of the roads and paths, which will be cut off* by the canal, so that the public may not be inconvenienced and turned long distances round about, and still, that as few bridges as possible, and those in the least expensive places, may be erected. In some instances new channels will require to be cut for brooks and water-courses, to a considerable extent, in order to save culverts, or bring them to the most desirable spots. For proper security against accidental errors, the whole of the levelling should now be gone over again, and the several bench marks compared, and renewed with the utmost care b; the engineer's assistants, while he is proceeding with the necessary enquiries and calculations for an estimate of the whole exx)ense of the undertaking. 3810. The supplying qfa canal with tauter, in a great number of instances, occasions no inconsiderable share of the whole expense, either in the first cost of mills or streams of water ; in land for, and labour in constructing, reservoirs , engines to pump water, &c. ; or annually, ever afterwards, in the fuel for, and repairing of, engines ; hire of water from mills in dry seasons, &c. : this subject should, the'refore, employ the most sedulous attention of the engineer, to make the most economical use of what streams he finds, to procure other supplies of water at the least expense, and above all, to secure abundance. The dimensions and heights of the locks, and breadth of the canal, being settled, an accurate calculation should be made of the quantity of water required to fill a lock ; and, with the largest probable number of boats that will pass in a day, of the quantity required daily in every part of the canal: this, with a due allowance for the evaporation, from the surface of the whole canal and its reservoirs, and for the soakage that will take place into the banks, however well they are constructed, will show the number of locks full of water that will be required, from the different sources. 3811, In estimating the expense of all such works, it will be necessary to have the lengths and solid contents of the several embankments, and the distance from which the stuff or soil must be fetched for the same ; the lengths and dimensions of all the deep cuttings, and the distance to which the stuff must be removed ; the lengths of the tun- nels, and number and depths of the several shafts or tunnel pits ; the lengths or head- ings of soughs that will be wanted to drain the tunnelling work : these, and all the great variety of other works, some of which we have already mentioned and others we shall have occasion to mention in the sequel, being particularly stated, and prices affixed to each species of work and kind of material (which prices ought not to be below the current prices of the best articles at the time, and due allowance should also be made for the advance of prices which will take place during the progress of the work) ; the total probable expense, with a due allowance for contingencies, will be thus obtained, on which Book II. CANALS. 619 the engineer will prepare his general report and estimate, to be laid) with the plan, before a meeting of the adventurers or proposed proprietors. Sect. III. Powers granted to Canal Companies by Government, 3813. As a canal must pass through a great variety of private property, and necessarily affect different individuals in very opposite ways, considerable powers arc requisite to carry it into execution. The first steps to attain these are the appointment of a solicitor, and an application to parliament for an act of incorporation and regulation. 381 3. A canal bill contains numerous clauses } but the following may be considered the most general heads : — _A^^aAbR« as to raising money by shares or other- Removing the suifacesoil, and damping it, for wise. thepurposeof being again laid on the surface of the Election of committees, and general meetings of exterior banks of the canal; or for other pur- proprietora poses. Enactments relative to purchasing lands, &c. Eomdng watering places for cattle or irrigation. Powers for erecting wharfs, and enforcing certain Regulations as to miUs, Sfc, equitable rates of wharfage. Power to make by-laws. Tolls, or rates of tonnage, with exemptions, if any. Worm of conveying land to the canal company. Fixing mile-stones, for regulating distances and Regulations as to depositing plans of the canal. ' tonnage. and malting variations from them, &c. 3814. The act i^ parliament Jbr a canal being passed, and therein the time and place for the first meeting of the subscribers or proprietors thereof being fixed; the first business of such meeting will be the election of a general committee of management, consisting of the most independent, respectable, and generally informed persons among the proprietors. The committee of management will then proceed to elect a chairman and subordinate ofiicers ; to fix upon their place of meeting, and to arrange the order of their business. 381 5. A resident engmeer and lamd-suroeyor and valuer should now be fixed on, and pro- bably also a local or select committee: -auditors of accounts will be appointed, and salaries determined. The chief engineer will now revise the line, and divide it into different parts, assigning names to each for convenient reference. Of these distinct parts, or divi- sions, a separate account of the expenses should be strictly kept by the resident engineer j the overseers, or counters, as they are generally called, that the engineer is to recommend or employ upon the works ; and by the office clerks, in a ledger, with proper heads for each length of canal, set of locks, tunnel, embankment, deep cutting, reservoir, aqueduct, or other great work, that may form a, separate division : such particular and divided accounts of the works will prove of the most essential service to the committee, and to all others concerned, in informing and maturing their judgment on the actual or probable expense of every different kind of work ; and will enable the committee to explain to the proprietors how great, and sometimes unavoidable, as well as unexpected, expenses may- be incurred. 3816. Such lands as are wanted should now be treated for by the land-surveyor, . and the purchase and conveyance concluded with the approbation of the committee, and the aid of the solicitor, with or without the aid of the sheriif and a jury, as the case may re- quire. In general, the ground for reservoirs and locks ought to be the first purchased, to permit the embankments and masonry to be proceeded with. Sect. IV. Execution of the Works, 3817. The first operation of execution is the setting out of the work by the resident engi- neer and surveyor. He will accurately trace and indicate the levels of each pound or level reach of the canal, marking them with stakes, and comparing his work with the bench marks ; he will also make two or more of the men who assist him perfectly acquainted with the position of the stakes, to provide against their derangement by cattle or from other causes. 3818. The calculations for excavation form the next part of execution. The great desi- deratum in canal-digging is, that the stuff dug from one part of the work shall, with the least labour of moving, exactly supply or form the banks that are to be raised in another so that, on the completion of the work, no spoil banks, or banks of useless soil, shall remain, nor any ground be unnecessarily rendered useless by excavations or pits. 3819. Six different cases will be found frequently to occur in the cutting or forming of a canal. In each case the towing-bank {Jig. 575. a) is wider than the off-bank (6) • 575 „ ^ and, in all, the sides slope one foot and a half for one foot in depth, that being found the; least slope which can be given. €20 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 3820. ^2>era there i» deep cutUne on one tide (c), or both (rf, e), a bench or berm (d, e) Is provided to retain and prevent the loose earth that may ;noulder down from the upper bank from falling into the c&nal. The banks are usually made one foot higher than the water is intended to stand in them. 3821. In level cutting (Jig. SJB. a, b), the height of the canal should be so contrived, that in any cross section the sum of the areas of the made banks {a, b) should just equal that of the area of the section of excavation (i). 3822. In side Jving ground ifig- ^5. c, andj^. 576./), the same object may be attained with a little extra calculation j and in all other cases (g. A), the engineer will show the perfection of his skill in so conducting 576 the line, that every embankment shall have deep cutting at both, or at least at one of its ends, to f\irniih the extra stuffwith least expense in moving itj in like manner, every deep cutting (i^ e) should have embankments at one or both of its ends, to receive the extra stufC 3823. Before cutting out the lock-spitt or small trench between the several slope holes, as a guide to the men who are to dig, the engineer ought to cause holes to be dug in the line of the canal, near every second or third level peg, or oftener, if the soil be variable, in order to prove the soil to a greater depth, by two or three feet, than the cutting of the canal is to extend ; and each of these the engineer ought carefully to inspect, in order to determine what puddling or lining will be necessary ; and what will be the diffi- culties of digging, owing to the hardness of the stuff, or to water that must be pumped out, &c. ; all which circumstances, as well as the extra distance that any part of the stuff may require to be moved, must be well considered before the work can be let to the contractors. 3824. The pvddling or lining of the canaU to make it hold water, is a matter of the greatest importance, and we shall consider five csfees that are likely to occur or present themselves in the search into the soil that is to be dug, by sinking holes as above mentioned. ' The first case we suppose to be that in whicli the whole is clay, loam, or other water-tight stuff; all soils that will hold water, and not let it soak or percolate freely through them, are called water-tight. Our second case is that in which the whole cutting will be in sand, gravel, loose or open rock, or any other matters that will let water easily through them, and such are called porous soils or stuffs. The third case, we suppose to have a thin stratum of water-tight stuff on the surface, and to have porous stuff for a considerable depth below. The fourth case may have porous stuff near the surface, and water-tight stuff at the bottom of the canal. The fifth case is that where water-tight stuff appears on the surface ; and below this a stratum of porous stuff, but having again water-tight stuff at no great distance below the intended bottom of the canal. The new-raised banks are always to be considered as porous stuffy as, indeed, they will always prove at first, and in a great portion of soils they would ever remain so, unless either puddling or lining were applied ; all ground that has been dug or disturbed, must also be considered as porous. It should also be remarked, that any kind of soil which is perforated much by worms or other insects, should, in caual-digging, be consi- dered as porous stuff. 3825. Puddle is not, as some have attempted to describe it, a kind of thin earth mortar, spread on places intended to be secured, and suffered to be ^uite dry before another coat of it is applied : but it is a mass of earth reduced to a semifluid state by workmg and chopping it about with a spade, while water, just in the proper quantity, is applied until the mass is rendered homogeneous, and so much condensed that water afterwards cannot pass through it, or but very slowly. 3826, The best puddling stz^ is rather a lightish loam, with a mixture of course sand or fine gravel in it ; very strong clay is unfit for it, on account of the great quantity of water which it will hold, and its disposition to shrink and crack as this escapes ; vegetable mould, or top soil, is very improper, on account of the roots and other matters liable to decay, and leave cavities in it j but more on account of the tempt, ation that these afltord to worms and moles to work into it, in search of their food. Where puddling stuff is not to be met with, containing a due mixture of shai^ sand, or rough small gravel stones, it is not unusual to procure such to mix with the loam, to prevent moles and rats from working in it; but no stones larger than about the size of musket bullets ought to be admitted. ^27. Tkat the principal operation qA p«rfrf^«ng consists in consolidating the mass, is evident from the great condensation that takes place; it is not an uncommon case, where a ditch is dug, apparently in firm soil, that though great quantities of water are added during the operation, yet the soil which has been dug out will not, when properly worked as puddle, fill up more than two thirds of the ditch. Tt should seem, also, that puddle is rendered by that operation capable of holding a certain proportion of water with great obstinacy, and that it is more fit to hold than transmit water. It is so far from true, that puddle ought to be suffered to get quite dry, that it entirely spoils when by exposure to the air it is too much dried ; and many canals which have remained unfilled with water during a summer, after their puddling or lining has been done, have thereby become very leaky, owing to the cracks in the puddle-ditches or lining. One of the first cares of an engineer, when beginning to cut a canal, is to discover whether good puddling stuflf is plentiful; and, if it is not, it must be diligently sought for, and carefully wheeled out or reserved wherever any is found in the digging ; or, perhaps, it must be procured at considerable distances fVom the line, and brought to it in carts. It has happened in some stone brash or loose rocky soils, that all puddling stuff'for several miles of the line required to be brought to it; hut even this expense, serious as it may be, ought not to induce the imitating of those, who have left miles of such banks without puddling, and have made a winter canal, but one which no stream of water that is to be procured can keep full in the summer months. It is usual in canal acts to insert a clause, for the security of the landowners, to require the company to cause all the banks that need it to be secured by puddling, to prevent damage to the land below by leakage ; and it would have been well for all parties, in many instances, if this clause had been enforced. Book II. CANAXiS. fiSl S82& If we compare our firsts fourth, andfifth cases (3S24), we shall find in all of them a water-tight Btratum, as the basis ; and Uie practice in these cases is to make a wall of puddle, called a puddle>ditch, or puddle-gutter, within the bank of the canal : these middle-gutters are usually about three feet wide, and should enter about a foot into the water-tight stuff, on wnich they are always to be begun ; and they should be carried up as the work proceeds, to the height of the top water-line, or a few inches liigher. Our second and third cases (3824) evidently will not admit of the above mode, because we have no water, tight stratum on which to begin a puddle-gutter, as a bottom : in these cases, therefore, it is usual to apply a Uning of puddle to the sides and bottom of the canal 3829. Histori/ of puddling. It appears that the Dutch have been in the habit of making mud ditches jto secure the banks of their canals and embankments, from time immemorial ; and that operations similar to our puddling have been long known on the Continent, but it is not clear at what period it was introduced into this country. We think that the fens in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, in which so many works have at different times been executed by Dutchmen, are the most likely places in which to search for early evidence of its use. We cannot think that Brindley was the ftrst who ever used it in this country, although we might admit that the Bridgewater canal was the first in which it was systematically employed as at the present day. 3830. uid^ustmeni of materials. Canals set out with the care that we have recom- mended, will always have the proper quantity of stuff to allow for the settlement of the banks ; since the united sections of the loose banks will always equal the section of excavation in the same settled or consolidated state in which it was before the digging commenced. The slopes of made banks, it is to be observed, on account of their settling, should be steeper in the first instance than they are ultimately required to be. 3831. The letting of the cutting of certain lengths of the canal to contractors, who will employ a number of navigators under them, in digging and puddling the canal, is the next business. 3832. Ti is usual to let the work at a certain price per cubic yard of digging, and to pay for the puddling or lining either at a certain price per cubic yard or per yard run of the canal. The engineer ought to inform himself thoroughly of the difficulties and facilities which attend the work he is about to let, and to draw up a short but explicit contract to be signed by the contractor. The prices allowed ought to be fair and liberal, according to the circumstances, so that the contractor may have no pretence, nn account of low prices, to slight his work, particularly the puddling; and they ought in every instance to be strictly looked after and ^ade to undo and renew immediately any work that may be found improperly per- formed. We recommend ittotheengineerto keeps strict account, by means of his overseers or counters,, of the time of all the men employed upon the works ; distinguishing particularly the number upon each work, and wheUier employed under the company by the day, or upon the work let to contractors. These particulars are most essential towards knowing what money ought to be advanced to the contractor during the progress of his job, and towards informing and maturing the judgment of the engineer, with regard to the length of time that a certain number of men will be in performing any future work he may have to direct A calculation should also be made of the day-work in every instance, and compared with the con- tract price, by which alone a correct judgment can be formed of the proper prices at which work ought' afterwards to be let, so that the labourers may receive wages proportionate to their exertions, and the contractor be amply paid for his time, skill, and superintendence; and yet economy, and the Interest of the company, be duly consulted. 3833. Barrmvs and wheeling planks^ horsing-blocks, and other implements, are generally found by the company ; and it is usual to consider twenty to twenty.five yards a stage of wheeling, and td fix a price per cubic yard according to the number ot stages that the soil is to moved. Where this distance exceeds 100 yards, it will rarely be eligible to perform it by wheel-barrows ; therefore runs of plank with an easy descent, if the same is practicable, should be laid, for large two- wheeled barrows or trucks to be used thereon. 3834; Where the line of a canal is to cross an extensive stratum of valuable brick earthy or one of good gravel for making roads, it will often be advisable, especially if the line can be thereby rendered more direct, when setting out the canal, to cut pretty deep into such materials, and even quite through the gravel, if the same is practicable ; for although considerable expense will in the first instance be incurred in digging and in damage done for spoil banks, yet such materials as good brick earth and gravel will, in almost every instance, find amarketas soon as the canal is opened. Such a situation may prove of essen- tial service to the trade of the canal, by enabling the adjoining proprietors to work the whole thickness of their brick earth, gravel, or other useful matters, with but little detriment to the surface of the ground, and without being annoyed by water ; this the canal, instead of losing water by preserving a high level through porous stuff, would, it is probable, catch in very considerable quantities. In districts where stone and gravel for making and repairing roads are scarce, it will be proper to pay the labourers certain rates per cubic yard for all the stones or gravel that maj^ be collected by thera during the work, and stacked in proper places. These will form resources for making the towing-path, and for making good the landing or ascent to the several bridges, and the several pieces of new road that the engineer will have to form near to the canal bridges. The lock banks, and all wharfs and landing places, should also be covered with good gravel, to render them safe and convenient for use. If good gravel can in places be intersected in deep cuttings, much of the above expense, as well as that of cartage, may be saved, by an early use of dirt boats in the bottom of the canal. 3835. How important and various the duties of the resident engineers are, must have struck every reader ; but it would be much more apparent, could we enter into the sub- ject of reservoirs, feeders, aqueducts, embankments, culverts, safety gates, weirs, tunnels, deep cuttings, locks, Substitutes for locks, inclined planes, railways, bridges, towing- paths, fences, drains, boats, towing or moving boats and trams, cranes and implements ; but these, as less important for otir purpose, we must leave the reader to study in the- works of Philips. Fulton, Chapman, Plymley, Badeslade, Kindersly, Anderson, Telford, and from the article Canal, in the three principal Encyclopeediaa. - : 622 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTUUE. Part III Chap. VI. ImprovemerU of Estates In/ the Establishment of Mills, Manufactories, VUlages, Markets, ^c. 3836. Connected with the laying out of roads and canals, ts the establishment of different scenes of mamfactorial industry. The forced introduction of these will be attended with little benefit ; but where the natural and political circumstances are favourable, the im- provement is of the greatest consequence, by retaining on the same estate, as it were, the profits of the grower, the manufacturer, and to a certain extent of the consumer. 3837. The establishment of mills and manufactories to be impelled by water, neces- sarily depends on the abundance and situation of that material ; and it should be \^'ell considered beforehand, whether the water might not be as well employed in irrigation, or how far irrigation will be hindered by the establishment of a mill. In the state of society in which water corn-mills were first erected, they were doubtlessly considered as blessings to the country. There were then no fiour manufactories : and it was more convenient for the inhabitants to carry their corn to a neighbouring mill, than to grind it less effectually, by hand, at home. Hence, the privileges and immunities of manorial mills. To secure so great a comfort, every tenant of a manor would willingly agree to send his corn to be ground at the lord's mill ; and, perhaps, was further obliged to stipu- late to pay toll for the whole of his growth ; though it were sent out of the manor unground. 3838. In Scotland, this impolitic, and now absurd, custom was only lately given up : till when no farmer dared to send his corn to market, until he had delivered a proportional quantity to the proprietor or the occupier of the mill to which he was thirled, or had previously stipulated to pay him thirlage for what he might send away; this arbitrary regulation operating, like tithes, to decrease the growth of corn. 3839- In England and Ireland, however, no restriction of this sort at present exists : but, in the remote parts of the north of England, there are mills which claim (or lately claimed) the exclusive right of grind- ing the whole of the corn which the inhabitants of the respective parishes or manors required to be ground for their own use, suffering none to be sent out of the parish for the purpose of grinding. In the more western counties, where grist mills are still the schools of parochial scandal, something of this sort remains, and is piously preserved in modem leases : but, in the kingdom at targe, grist mills are now going fast into disuse. Even working people purchase flour, instead of corn : and, whether in a private or a public light, this is an eligible practice. They can purchase a sort which is suited to their circumstances, and they know the quality and the quantity of what they carry home ; whereas, in the proverbial rascality of grist millers, they have no certainty as to either: besides, iu a flour mill there is no waste j every particle may be said to be converted to its proper usa 3840. A valuable property belonging to modern Hour manvfadoriea, is their not requiring every brook and rivulet of the Kingdom to work them. In Norfolk, a great share of the wheat grown in that corn county is manufactured into flour by the means of windmills : and such are modern inventions, that neither wind nor water is any longer necessary to the due manufacture of flour ; the steam engine affording, if not the most eligible, at least the most constant and equable power. 3841. The most eligible kinds of water-mills are, the tide-mill and the current null : the former placed in creeks, inlets, bays, estuaries, or tide rivers; and the latter in the current of a river. There are many situations, Marstial observes, in which these species of mills may be erected with proflt to proprietors, and the community ; and without any injury to the landed property, or the agricultural produce of the country. He is of opinion that numerous river mills existing in different parts of the country are unnecessary to the present state of society. 3842. Grist miOs may be still required in some remote situations: but, seeing the number of flour mills which are now dispersed over almost every part of the kingdom, seeing also the present facility of carriage by land and water, and seeing, at the same time, the serious injuries which river mills entail on agricul- ture. Marshal recommends land proprietors to reduce their number, as fast as local circumstances will allow. 3843. TJie inducement to establish manufactories depends on a variety of circum- stances, as well as on a supply of water. Among these may be mentioned the price of labour, convenience for carriage, export or import, existence of the raw material at or near the spot, as in the case of iron works, potteries, &c. In England, while the poor laws exist, the establishment of any concern that brings together a large mass of population will always be attended with a considerable risk to land-owners ; though it is a certain mode, in the first instance, of raising the price of land, and giving a general stimulus to every description of industry, 3844. A populous manufactory, even while it flourishes, according to Marshal, operates mischievously in an agricultural district by propagating habits of extravagance and immorality among the lower order of tenantry, as well as by rendering farm labourers and servants dissatisfied with their condition in life ; and the more it flourishes, and the higher wages it pays, the more mischievous it becomes in this respect. Lands bear a rental value in proportion to the rate of living in the district in which they lie ; so that while a temporary advantage is reaped, by an increased price of market produce, the foundation of a permanent disadvantage is laid; and, whenever the manufactory declines, the lands of its neighbourhood have not only its vices and extravagances entailed upon them, but have the vicious, extravagant, helpless manu. facturers themselves to maintain. This accumulation of evils, however, belongs particularly to that description of manufacture which draws numbers together in one place ; where diseases of the body and the mmd are jointly propagated ; and where no other means of support is taught than that of some parti- cular branch or branchlet of manufacture. But all these evils, belonging to the first introduction of manufactures on a great scale, will be cured with the progress of education and refinement among the operative manufacturers : it is already improved in comparison with what it was in Marshal's time. 3845. Cottages* Wherever cottages for any class of men are built, whether singly or congregated, they ought never to be without an. eighth or a fourth, of an acre of garden ground. It is observed in the The Code of Agriculture, that ** where a labourer or coimtry tradesman has only a cottage to protect him from the inclemency of the weather, he can- not have the same attachment to his dwelling, as if he had some land annexed to it ; nor is such a state of the labourer so beneficial to the community. When a labourer has a garden, his children learn to dig and weed, and in that manner some of their Book II. MILLS, COTTAGES, VILLAGES, && 62S time is employed in useful industry. If he is possessed of a cow, they are taught early in life the necessity of taking care of cattle, and acquire some knowledge of their treatment. But where there is neither a garden to cultivate, nor any cows kept, they are not likely to acquire either industrious or honest habits. So strongly were these ideas formerly prevalent, that, by the 43d of Elizabeth, no cottage could be built on any waste without having four acres attached to it. This is in general too rauch« If the quantity were reduced to half an acre for a garden, and if no person could gain a set- tlement who was not a native, or, if a stranger, who did not fairly rent in the same parish a house and land worth twenty, instead of ten pounds per annum, both the poor and the public would thence derive very essential benefit." S846. The most advant^eous system for keeping a cottage cow is that adopted in grazing districts, where a cottager has a sufficient quantity of enclosed land in grass, to enable him to keep one or two cows both summer and winter, grazing the one half, and mowing the other, alternately. Nothing tends more materially to teach the poor honesty, than allowing them to have property. Feeling how intensely they would deprecate all infringement upon it, they are less tikely to make depredations upon that of others; and this will produce more honesty among them than the best delivered precepts can instil. By the culti- vation of a small spot of land, a cottager not only acquires ideas of property^ but is enabled to supply himself with that variety of food, as &esh vegetables in summer and roots in winter, which comfort and health require. If he should fortunately be able to keep bees in his garden, and if its sUrplus produce should also enable him to rear, and still more to fatten, a hog, his situation would be much ameliorated. Rut if, in addition to all these advantages, he can keep a cow, the industrious cottager cannot be placed in a more comfortable situation. Goats have recently been recommended {British Farmer^s Magazine, vol. liL) as a substitute for a cow, as being more easily kept, costing less at first, and producing milk the greater part of the year. The chief difficulty of introducm^ them is the want of sufficient enclosures, as no animal is more inimical to shrubby vegetation of any kmd. Some useful hints on the subject of cottagers, and the means by which they may be enabled to keep a cow, will be found in CdtitieiVi^Cottage Econo7ny, though his statements are in many cases highly exaggerated. 3847. Cottages and villages necessarily result from manufactories, as well as from extensive mines, quarries, or harbours. A few cottages will necessarily be scattered over every estate^ to supply day labourers and some description of country tradesmen. Villages are seldom, in modern times, created by an agricultural population : it being found so much more convenient for every farm to have a certain number of cottages attached to it. ^848. AviUage may be created any where, by giving extraordinary encouragement to th^first settlers ; but unless there be a local demand for their labour, or they can engage in some manufacture, the want of comfortable subsistence will soon throw the whole into a state of decay. Fishing villages, and such as are established at coal and lime works, are perhaps the most thriving and p»*manent in the kingdom. Some iine example of fishing villages, recently establisbed, occur on the Marquess of Stafford's estates in SuUierland. 3849. Informing the plan qfa toion or village, the first thing, if there is a river or other means of com- munication by water, is to fix on a proper situation for a quay or harbour ; and next, at no great distance from it, on an open apace as a market Round the latter ought to be arranged the public buildings, as the post-office, excise or custom-house, police-office, the principal inn and the principal shops. Near the har- bour ought to be placed the warehouses and other depositaries for goods ; in a retired part of the town the school ; and out of town on an eminence (if convenient) the church and the cemetery of garden of burial. There ought to be a field or open space, as a public recreation ground for children, volunteers or troops exercising, races, washing and drying clothes on certain days, &c. Public shambles ought to be formed in a retired and concealed spot, so should public necessaries. Proper pipes, wells, or other sources of good water, with the requisite sewers and drainage should also be provided. Buckets, to be used in case c£ fire, ought to be kept at the market-house, 577 624 PRACTICE OF AGRtCm.TiniK. Part III. 3850. TAe vt'Uase qf Sn'dekirk on the Annan, in Dumflrleshire C/te. 577.). was begun in 1800, by Oea Dirom^ and is thus described by him in the survey of the county : — " It is situated at a part of the river which affords falls and power capable of turning any weight of machinery j and I have had it in view to give encouragement to manufacturers, to whom such a situation is an important object A woollen manu- factory (a) upon a large scale, and the most approved plan, has been established there for ten years, and is gradually increasing its machinery. In this village there are already, in the course of that time, about two hundred and fifty industrious inhabitants ^"d it has every appearance of a further sapid increase. On the opposite side of the river a situation is fixed on for corn-mills (fi), where a complete set has been built upon the best construction, including wheat and barley mills. Half of the water there is reserved for any other works, and is likely to be let for a mill for dressing and for spinning flax, and for machinery required in bleaching, there being at the foot of the mill-race a holme of six acres (c), well calculated for a bleach field ; and I propose to let part of it for such a manufactory. 3851. ** The lots for building and gardens in the vUtaee^ each consisting of from nine to ten falls of ground, are granted in perpetuity at the rate of six pounds the English acre, cither upon leases for 999 years, or feu-rights, as the settlers choose ; the former being generally preferred, as being the holding or title attended with least expense. This rent would of itself be no object when the waste of ground in streets and enclosures is considered ; but the great advantage to be derived from such an establishment is, the increased value that lands acquire from having a number of industrious people settled in the heart of an estate. Each person who feus a house-stead is obliged to build with stone and lime, according to a regular plan ; and a common entry is left between every two lots for access to their offices, which are built imme- diately behind their houses ; and the whole of the buildings are covered with slate. The feuers are also bound to make a common sewer through their property when required; to pave ten feet in fVont of their houses, between them and the street ; and to pay at the rate of a penny per fall yearly, according to the extent of their lots, to form a fund for keeping the streets and roads in repair, and for making small im. provements. No person is allowed to sell liquor of any kind without my permission ; nor can any shop or chandlery, tannery, nr other work, that might be considered as a nuisance, be set up or built, unless in places allotted for these purposes; and to prevent all interference on the part of the feuers, I reserve to myself full liberty to make such alterations as may appear to me or my successors to be proper in the plan of the village. These regulations are the best security against having vagabonds in such a place, as none but industrious people can afFord to build or rent such houses." 3852. A new village sea-port in Devonshire was formed by Sir Lawrence Falk, in the northernmost part of Torbay. A new pier, projected south-westwardly from the eastern cliff, affords complete protection to shipping flrom the south-east winds. The regularity of the buildings lately raised for the accommodation of company resorting hither for the convenience of sea-bathing, adds neatness and beauty to the wild and picturesque scenery of its natural situation ; and, from the size of the vessels the harbour is now capable of protecting whilst they receive and discharge their cargoes, there are well-grounded expectations that this place will become of some maritime consequence on a future day. A plan of this sea-port {fig. 578.) 578 is 0ven in the Bevon Survey^ and is described as containing a pier (1), quay (2), harbour (31 ware- houses (4), inn and garden (5), stables (6), strand (7), cove for building ships and timber yard (8). beacon (9), cove for bathing machines (10), new carriage-way to the park (11), terrace (12), the park (13), plant- ation (14), road to Torwood (15), road from Newton, &c. (16), meadows (17), circus in the park (18) Chap. VIL O/MtTies, Quarries, Pits, and Metalliferous Bodies. 3853. Against ndnes, as a species of property, considerable prejudice has long existed, from the variation of their produce, and the uncertainty of their extent and duration*^ Modem discoveries in geology, hov7ever, have thrown great light on the subject of mining, and introduced into the art a degree of certainty not before contemplated. In proof of Book IL MINES, QUARRIES, PITS, &c. 6^2$ this, we may instance coal and limestone : of these mineral^, tradition asserts the existence in various parts of the island, where from the strata on the surface the modem geologii^t well knows it is impossible. 3854. Among the various mineral substances found in quantUy in BriXain, the chief are coal, lime, building and other stone, 'gravel, clay, fuller's earth, marl, &c. among the earths; salt, among saline substances; and lead, copper, and tin, among the metals. Cobalt, manganese, and some other metals and earths, are found in some places^ but in small quantities. No saline or metalliferous bodies ought to be sought for, or attempted to be worked, but with the advice and assistance of an experienced and skilful mineral surveyor ; nothing being more common than for proprietors to be induced by local re- ports or traditions to fancy their lands contain coal, lead, or some other valuable subter- raneous product, and to incur great expense in making abortive trials. To ascertain the Dature and value of the minerals of an estate of any magnitude, or of one of small size but of peculiar exterior organisation, it will always be worth while for the proprietor to have a mineral survey, map, and description, made out by a professional man. 3855. Coed is at present perhaps the most valuable British mineral ; because, among other reasons, it does not appear to be worked in any other country in such quantity as to lessen by importation the home produce. There are three species of coal, the brown, the black, and tlie uninflammable* To the first belongs the Bovey coal or bitumenised wood, found chiefly at Bovey, near Exeter; to the second the slate coal, which includes the pit and sea-coal, and all the kinds in common use, and also the canal coal, which occurs only occasionally in the coal pits of Newcastle, Ayrshire, and Wigan in Lanca- shire; to the third belong the Kilkenny coal, and Welsh culm, or stone coaJ, which bum to ashes without flaming. 3856. The rndicatis, and also in BakeweWs Geology. 3859. Limestone, chalk, and building or other stones are found in strata either on o> near the surface. At a great depth it is seldom foiind worth while to work them. When stones of any kind are procured by uncovering the earth and then working them out, they are said to be quarried ; but when a pit or shaft is sunk, and the materials are procured by working under ground, they are said to be mined. 3860. Gravely chalky clayt marl, and other loose matters^ when worked from the surface, are said to be worked from a pit, and hence the terms stone, quarry, gravel, clay, or marl pit Little Knowledge of geology is in general required for the discovery of gravel or marl ; but, still, even a little would be found of the greatest advantage. 3861. The working o/ quarries is a simple operation, and one depending more on strength than skill. In quarrying sandstone, consisting of regular layers, the work is performed chiefly bv means of the pick, the wedge, the hammer, and the pinch or lever ; recourse being seldom had to the more violent and Irregular efTects of gunpowder. But for many kinds of limestone, and for greenstone and basalt, blasting With gunpowder is always resorted to j and some of the rocks called primitive, such as granite, gneiss, and siehite, could scarcely be torn asunder by any other means. 3862. The burning qfUme may be considered as belonging to the subject of quarrying. This operation is performed in what are called draw kilns, or perpetual kilns. These should always be close to or near the quarry, and either situated at a bank, or furnished with a ramp or inclined plane of earth for carting up the coal and lime to the top of the kiln. Lime-kilns may be built either of stone or brick ; but the latter, as being better adapted to stand excessive degrees of heat, is considered preferable. The external form of such kilns is sometimes cylindrical, but more generally square. The inside should he formed in the shape of a hogshead, or of an egg opened a little'at both ends and set on the smallest; being small in circumference at the bottom, gradually wider towards the middle, and then contracting again towards the top. In kilns constructed in this way, it is observed, fewer coals are necessary, in consequence of the great degree of reverberation which is created, above that which takes place in kilns formed in the shape of a sugar-loaf reversed. Near the bottom, in large kilns, two or more apertures are made- these are small at the inside of the kiln, but are sloped wider, both at the sides and the top, as they extend towards the outside of the building. The uses of these apertures are for admitting the air necessary for supplying the fire, and also for permitting the labourers to approach with a drag and shovel to draw out the calcined lime. From the bottom of the kiln W'.thin, in some cases, a small building called a horse is raised in the form of a wedge, and so constructed as to acr^el rate the operation of drawing out the burned limestone, by forcing it to fall into the apertures which have been mentione 1 above. In other kilns of this kind, in place of this building there is an iron gate near Chebottond, wh'ch ccmes close to the inside wall, except at the apertures where the lime is arawr- out. When the kjln .6 lc be filled, a parcel of furze or faggots is laid at the bottom, over this a layer of coals, then a layer of limestone (which is previously broken into pieces, about the sixe of a man's fist), and so on alternately, ending with a layer of coals, which is 8om» S s 626 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 580 times, though seldom, covered with sods or turf, in order to keep the heat as Intense as possible. The fire IS then lighted in the apertures; and when the limestone towards the bottom is completely calcined, the fuel being considerably exhausted, the limestone at the top subsides. The labourers then put in an addi. tion of limestone and coal at the lop, and draw out at bottom as much as they find thoroughly burned; and thus go on, till any quantity required be calcined. When limestone is burned with coals, from two bushels and a half to three and a half of calcined 1 mcstone are produced for every bushel of coal used. Lime will, in all cases, be most economically burned by fuel which produces little or no smoke; because the necessary mixture of the fuel with the broken limestone renders it impossible to bring it in contact with a red heat, which may ignite the smoke. Dry fuel must also, in all cases, be more advantageous than moist fuel, because in the latter case a certain quantity of heat is lost in expelling the moisture in the form of vapour or smoke. 3863. Booker's lime-kiln {fig 519.) is the best of all forms that have hitherto been brought into notice for burning lime with coke or other dry smokeless fuel. The kiln of this description at Closeburn is built vn the side of a bank ; it is circular within, thirty-two feet high from the fbrnace, three feet in diameter at top and bottom, and seven feet in diameter at eighteen feet from the bottom ; it has cast-iron doors to the fuel-chamber (fig. 580. a) and ashe taken off hand fresh, they are tlien salted, pickled, or dried, for winter consumption at home, and for the foreign markets. Perhaps tlie fishery of the Tweed is the first in point of the quantity caught, whicli is sometimes quite £^tonishing, several hundreds being taken at a single draught of the net. , 3886. The salmon as they are caught are packed in ice, and sent away in vessels well known under the name of Berwick smacks. Formerly it was all pickled and kitted, after being boiled, and sent to London under the name of Newcastle salmon ; but the present mode has so raised the value of the fish, as nearly to have banished thi? article of food from the inhabitants in the environs of the fishery, except as an expensive luxury. Within memory, salted salmon formed a material article of economy in ill tlie farm-houses of the vale of Tweed, insomuch that in-door servants often bargained that they should not be obliged to take more than two weekly meals of salmon, it could then be bought at 2s. the stone, of nineteen pounds' weight; it is now never below 12s.» often S6s., and sometimes two guineas. ^87. HYW respect to the improuement <^ sahmnjisherieat admitting that the individual fish which are bred in any river instinctively return to the same from the sea, the most obvious means of increase in any ■particular river is that of suffering a sufficient number of grown salmon to go up to the spawning grounds; protecting them while there, and guarding the infant shoals in their passage thence to the ocean. Even admitting that those which are bred within the British Islands, and escape the perils that await them, return to these islands, it is surely a matter of some importance, viewed in a public light, to increase and protect the breed. It is a well ascertained fact, that salmon pass up toward the Ei>awning grounds 6f different rivers at diffbrent seasons or times of the jjear ; consequently, no one day in the year can be .properly fixed by law to give them free passage up rivers in general. Perhaps every river of the island should have its particular day of liberation, which ought to be some weeks before the known close of the spawning season in a given river. 5888. In a d>y season, and for want qf flood water to assist them in their extraordinary efforts to gain the higher branchlets of a river, the salmon will spawn in its lower deeper parts. But here, it isprobable, few of their progeny escape the voracity of fish of prey, which inhabit deep waters. While, in the shal- low pebbly streams, at the heads of which they dtJlight to lay their spawn, the infant shoal is free from danger; and it is for this security, no doubt, that the instinct of the parents leads them to the greatest attainable height, at the peril of their own lives. Thus far, as to the protection of the parents, and their infant spawnlings ; it now remains to guard these from their native streamlets to the sea. 5889. The enemies ojyoun^ sahnon are fish of prey, as the pike, and trouts of size j both of which ought to be considered as vermin, in rivers down which samlets are wont to pass. 3890. The heron is another destructive enemy of young salmon, especially in the higher branches of rivers ; yet we see these common destroyers nursed up in heronries. But more wisely might the cormo. rant be propagated and protected. The heron is tenfold more destructive of fresh-water fish, than is the cormorant 3891. The otter is a well known enemy to fish, but more so to grown salmon than to their young. 3892. The angler is a specif of vermin which is much more injurious than the otter to young salmon ; during minor floods, when the young " fry " are attempting to make their escape downward to the lea, the angler counts his victims by the score ; and might boast of carrying home, in his wicker basket, a boat load of salmon. The net fisher is still more mischievous. But most of all the miller, who takes them in his mill traps, by the bushel, or the sack, at once. 3893. The pm-poise, the most audacious marine animal of prey in northern latitudes, is said to be a great devourer of salmon and other fish on the sea-coast, and in narrow seas and estuaries. It is assert^ by those who have had opportunities of ascertaining the fact, that they not only destroy salmon in the har- row seas, and open estuaries, but that they have been seen guarding the mouth of a river,, in the salmon season, and destroying them in numbers, as they attempted to enter. If these are facts, it might be worth while for the proprietors of fisheries, or perhaps government, to offer rewards for catching this animal, and thus lessen their number, on the same principles as wolves were extirpated. The author of The British naturalist affirms, from his own experience, that the seal Is very easily rendered as docile and aff'ectionate as the dog, and that it might be rendered as useful to man in fishing, as the dog is in shooting and hunting. 3894. Jfby wise regulations, formed into a law, the present supply of salmon could be doubled, the ad. vantage to the community would be of some importance. When we see the great disparity of the supply, between the rivers of the north, and those of the south, of this island, it might not be extravagant to imagine, that the supply from the rivers of England might be made five or ten times what it is at present. One of the first steps towards regulations of this nature is to endeavour to ascertain the causes of this, disparity, and to profit by such as can be subjected to human foresight and control. Accurate exa- minations of the Tay, the Tweed, the Trent, and the Thames, would, perhaps, be found adequate to this purpose^ 3895. There are various modes qf taking salmon, some of which may be mentioned ; though it is foreign from oiu- plan to enter into the art of fishing, which is practised by a distinct class of men, created, as it may be said, more by circumstances than regular apprenticeship or study. The situations in which salmon first attract the particular attention of fishermen, are narrow seas, estuaries, or mouths of rivers ; in which they remain some time, more or less,- probably, according to their states of forwardness with respect to spawning ; and in which various devices are practised to take them. 3896. In the wide estuary of Solutay FHth, which separates Cumberland and Dumfriesshire several ingenious methods are practised^ two of which are entitled to particular notice here. Besides the open channels worn by the Esk, the Eden, and other rivers and brooks that empty themselves into this com- mon estuary, the sands, which compose its base and are left dry at low water, are formed into ridges and valleys, by the tides and tempestuous weather; The lower ends of these valleys, or false channels are wide and deep, oi>ening downward towards the sea^ their upper ends grow narrower and shallower terminating in points, at the tops of the sand-banks. As the tide flows upward, the salmon either in search of food, or the channel of the river to which they are destined, enter these valleys or •' la'kes: "but finding, on the turn of the tide, that their passage farther upward is stopped, they naturally return with it into deep water ; where they remain until the next tide. The manorial proprietors of these sand-banka having discovered this fact have, from time immemorial, run lines of nets, during the fishing season across the lower ends of these lakes or valleys, half a mile, or morCj perhaps, in widUi ; the nets being S s 4 632 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, luspcnded in'iuch a manner, tliat tKeyare lifted from the ground by the current of the tide In flowing upward ; no that the Hah Rnd no ditHculty In passing beneath them into the lake : but» on the tide's turn, ing, their lower edgea fall down close to the sand, and effectually prevent the salmon ftom retreat- ing. They are, in consequence, left dry, or in shallow water, and are easily to be taken, by hundreds, per. haps, at once. 38&7. The other remarkable method, which is practised in the Frith of Solway, is founded on a well- known habit of salmon, when they first make the land, and enter into narrow seas and estuaries, to keep much along the shore: no matter whether to hit, with greater certainty, their native rivers; to rub off the vermin with which, in general, they are more or less infected, when they return from the ocean j or to seek for food. This method of taking salmon, if not a modern invention, has recently been raised to its present degree of perfection, by an enterprising salmon fisher and farmer in the neighbourhood of Annan; who has turned it to great profit At a snort distance below the mouth of the river Annan, he has run out along lineof tall net-fence, several hundred yards in length, and somewhat obliquely ft-om the line of the shore, with which it makes an acute angle, and closes in with it, at the upper end : thus form- ing, in effect, an artificial lake ; one side of which is the beach, the other the net fence. The lower end is ingenious!}^ guarded, with nets of a more trap like construction than those which are in use for natural lakes i in which fish are found to lie more quietly, until the turn of the tide. In this immense trap, great quantities, not of salmon only, but of cod, ling, soles, and other white fish are taken. Marshal knows no place in the island where sea fishing, for salmon, can be studied with so much profit as on the shores of .Annandale. ' ' 3898. River fishing for salmon is chiefly done with the seine, or long draught net, the construction and use of which are universally known. In rivers liable to frequent and great cnanges of depth and strength of current, by reason of tides and floods, it is desirable to have nets of different textures, as well as of different depths : as, one of the construction best adapted to the ordinary state of the water, and to the size of the fish that fVequent it (salmon peels, trouts, mullets, and other small-sized fish are, in some rivers, commonly taken with salmon) ; and another with more depth, and wider meshes, to be used during high water and strong currents, when the larger salmon do not fail to hasten upward : and the same strength of hands which is able to draw a close net on it, can work a deeper one with wider meshes. In wide rivers, with flat shores, a variety of nets are required of different lengths as well as depths, to suit every height and width of the water. 3899. In rivers, traps are set for salmon. The most common device of this kind is the weir, or salmon leap ; namely, a tall dam run across the river, with a sluice at one end of it, through which the principal part, or the whole, of the river at low water, is suffered to pass with a strong current; and in this slujce the trap is set 3900. The construction qf salmon weirs. Marshal conceives to be, in all cases, dangerous, and in many highly injurious to the propagation of salmon : and although it would be altogether improper to demolish those which long custom has sanctioned, yet he is of opinion that it would be equally improper to suffer more to be erected ; at lea&t, until some judicious regulations are made respecting them ; regulations which cannot be delayed without injury to the public 3901. It now only remains to speak of poaching^ or the illegal taking of grown salmon. There are already severe penalties inflicted for this crime ; which, compared with that of destroying young salmon, might, in a public light, be deemed venial, the latter deserving tenfold, punishment : for the grown salmon taken in season by poachers becomes so much wholesome food ; there is no waste of human sustenance by the practice. Never- theless, as theft, the crime is great, and ought to be punishable ^ such. As an improve- ment of the present law. Marshal proposes to make the receiver, in this as in other cases of theft, equally punishable with the thief. If poachers were not encouraged by pur- chasers of stolen salmon, the practice would not be followed. 3902. Lake fisheries are of small extent, and are chiefly confined to one or two moun- tainous districts ; and, even there, unless where char or trout abound, as in Keswick and Itochlomond, their value is small, and their improvements few. The Lochfine fishery is to be considered as marine, it being in fact an inlet of the sea. 3903. Pool-fishing is, in most parts, peculiar to the seats of men of fortune, and the country residences of minor gentlemen. Surrey and Berkshire are, perhaps, the only districts in which fish-pools are viewed as an object of rural economy. On every side of the metropolis, something of this kind is observable. But it is on the south side, in adjoining parts of Surrey and Sussex, where the practice offish-breeding may be said to be established. There fish-pools have been, and still are, formed with the view of letting them to dealers in carp and other pond fish ; or of stocking them and disposing of the produce as an article of farm stock. In a general view of the kingdom, fish-pools can scarcely be considered as an object worthy of consideration, in the improvement of landed estates : yet there are situations in which they may be formed with profit ; as in the dips and hollows of extremely bad ground ; especially if waters which are genial to any of the species of pond-fish happen to pass through them, or can be profitably led to them. Even where the water which can be commanded is of an inferior quality, a profitable breeding-pool may be formed to stock ponds of a more fattening nature. Feeding and fiittening fish for market is commonly practised in China, and no doubt might be prac- tised in England, with the same ease as fattening pigs. In China, boiled rice, mixed up with the blood of animals, kitchen wash, or any greasy rich fluid of animal offal, is the food with which they are fed once or twice a day : they fatten quickly and profitably. 3904. The crawfish, though most delicious eating, and a native of England, neither abounds in suflicient quantities to be brought to market nor is reared by individuals. It requires warm rich marshy lands, and a calcareous soil. 3905. The leech is an amphibious animal of the Mollusca order, common about some of the lakes in the north of England, as Keswick. Formerly considerable quantities used to be packed up and sent to London, and other places j but the market is now cliiefly s^pplied from the Continent. Book 11. SOILS FOR TREES. 633 Chap. IX. Plantations and Woodtandt. S9CM). Withoia trees, a landed estate may be very profitable, on account of its mines, waters, and farm lands ; but it will be without the noblest characteristic of territorial surface. It may possess the beauty of utility in a high degree, and especially to the owner ; but it will not be much admired by the public, nor contribute greatly to the ornament of the country — for what is a landscape without wood? It is not meant, however, that plantations of trees should be made on estates for the sake of ornament ; on the contrary, none need ever be made which shall not be at the same time useful, either from the products of the trees individually, or their collective influence on surrounding objects. 3907. Trees have been planted and cherished in all countries, and from the earliest ages i but the formation of artificial plantations chiefly with a view to profit appears to have been first practised in Britain, about the end of the sixteentti century, when the insufficiency of the natural forests, which had hitherto supplied civilised society in Eng- land vrith timber and fuel, rendered planting a matter of necessity and profit. In the century succeeding, the improved practice of agriculture created a demand for hedges, and strips for shelter ; and the fashion of removing from castles in towns and villages to isolated dwellings surrounded by verdant scenery, led to the extensive employment of trees both as objects of distinction and value. For these combined purposes, planting is now universally practised on most descriptions of territorial surface, for objects principally relating to utility ; and, in all parks and grounds surrounding country residences, for the joint purposes of utility and beauty. It has often been suggested, that an agreement might be made between landlord and tenant, under which it would be the tenant*s interest to plant trees upon suitable parts of his farm, of little value for other purposes, and to protect them when planted. Tliis would not only promote the interests of both, but add much to the ornament of the country. We cannot but regret that some such plan is not devised and generally adopted. 3908. Woodlands are lands covered with wood by nature, and exist more or less on most extensive estates. Sometimes it is found desirable partially or wholly to remove them, and employ the soil in the growth of grass or com ; at other times, tlieir character is changed by art, from coppice or fuel woods, consisting of growths cut down periodically, to trees left to attain maturity for timber. 3909. In our view of the subject of trees, we shall include some remarks on improving and managing woodlands, which might have been referred to the two following books ; but, for the sake of unity, we prefer treating of every part of the subject together. The ornamental part of planting we consider as wholly belonging to gardening, and indeed the subject of timber trees may be considered as equally one of gardening and of agricul- ture, being the link by which they are inseparably connected. For a more extended view of the subject, therefore, we refer to our EncyclopiBdia of Gardening, and Encyclopedia of Plants ; in the former will be found all that relates to the culture of trees collectively ; in the latter, all that relates to their botanical character, history, uses, height, native country, and other subjects, with their individual propagation, soil, and culture. We shall here confine ourselves to the soils and situations proper for planting, the trees suitable for particular soils and situations, the operations of forming and managing artificial plant- ations, and the management of natural woods. Skct. I. Soils and Situations which may be most profitably employed in Timter Plantation, 3910. ^s a general principle of guidance in planting, it may be laid down, that lands fit for the purposes of aration should not be covered with wood. Where particular pur- poses are to be obtained, as shelter, fencing, connection, concealment, or some other object, portions of such lands may require to be wooded ; but, in regard to profit, these portions will generally be less productive than if they were kept under grass or com. The profits of planting do not depend on the absolute quantity of timber produced, but on that quantity relatively to the value of the soil for agricultural purposes. Suppose a piece of ground to let at 20s. per acre, for pasture or aration, to be planted at an expense of only 101. per acre ; then, in order to retum the rent, and 51. per cent, for the money expended, it ought to yield 30s. a year ; but as the returns are not yearly, but say at the end of every fifteen years, when the whole may be cut down as a copse, then, the amount of 30s. per annum, at 51. per cent, compound interest, being S2Z. 8s., every fall of copse made at the interval of fifteen years ought to produce that sum per acre clear of all ex- penses. Hence, with a view to profit from the fall of timber, or copse wood, no situation capable of much agricultural improvement should be planted. 634 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt III. 3911. Tlie fitted situations fir planting extensmdy are hilly, mounbunous, and rocky surfaces; where both climate and surface preclude the hope of ever introducing the plough ; and where the shelter afforded by a breadth of wood will improve the adjoining farm lands, and the appearance of the country. Extensive moors and gravelly or sandy soils may often also be more profitably occupied by timber trees than by any other crop, especially near a seaport, collieries, mines, or any other source of local demand. 391 2. On all hiUy and irregular surfaces various situations will be indicated by the lines of fences, roads, the situations of buildings, ponds, streams, &c., where a few trees, or a strip, or mass, or row, may be put in with advantage. We would not, however, advise the uniform mode of planting recommended by Pitt in his Survey cf Staffordshire, and in The Code of Agriculture; that of always having a round clump in the point of intersection of the fences of fields. Tliis we conceive to be one of the most certain modes ever suggested of deforming the surface of a country by planting ; the natural character of the surface would be counteracted by it, and neither variety nor grandeur substituted ; but a mono- tony of appearance almost as dull and appalling as a total want of wood. 3913. Near all buildings a few trees may in general be introduced ; carefully however avoiding gardens and rick-yards, or shading low buildings. In general fewest trees should be planted on the south-east side of cottages ; and most on their north-west side ; farms and farm buildings in very exposed situations (Jig. 588. ), and also lines of cottages, may be surrounded or planted on the exposed side by considerable masses. 588 3914. Wherever shelter or shade is required, plantations are of the first consequence, whether as masses, strips, rows, groups, or scattered trees ; all these modes may occa- sionally be resorted to with advantage even in farm lands. 3915. Wherever a soil cannot by any ordiTiary process be renderedjitfir com or grass,. and will bear trees, it may be planted, as the only, or perhaps the best, mode of turning it to profit. There are some tracts of thin stony or gravelly surfaces covered with moss, or very scantily with heath, and a few coarse grasses, which will pay for no improvement whatever, except sowing with the seeds of trees and bushes. These growing up will, after a series of years, form a vegetable soil on the surface. The larch, Scotch pine, birch, and a species of rough moorland willow (j^alix) are the only woody plants fit for such soils. Those who have subjected to the plough old woodland, Sir Henry Steuart remarks, well know how " inconceivably even the poorest soils are meliorated by the droppings of trees, and particularly of the larch, for any considerable length of time, and the rich coat of vegetable mould which is thereby accumulated on the original surface." It would ap- pear indeed, that on certain surfaces the growth and decay of forests are the means adopted by nature for preparing the soil for the culture of com ; as on certain other soils, a stock of nutritive matter is created by peat moss, or marsh, as on the barest rocks, the rudiments of a soil are formed by the growth and decay of lichens. 3916. Wherever trees will pay better tlian any other crop, they will of course be planted. This does not occur often, but occasionally in the case of willows for baskets and hoops, which are often the most profitable crop on moist deep rich lands ; and ash for hoops and crate ware, on drier, but at the same time deep and good, soils. Sect. II. Trees suitable fir different Soils, Situations, and Climates. 3917. Every sjKcies of tree vnll grow in any soil, ■providei it be rendered sufficiently dry; but every tree, to bring its timber to the highest degree of perfection, requires to be planted in a particular description of soil, situation, and climate. The effects of soils on trees are very different, according to the kind of tree and the situation. A rich soil and low situation will cause some trees, as the larch and common pine, to grow so fast that their timber will be fit for little else than fuel ; and the oak, elm. Sic, planted in a very elevated situation, whatever be the nature of the soil, will never attain a timber size. In general, as to soils, it may be observed that such as promote rapid growth, render the timber produced less durable, and the contrary; that such soils as are of the same quality for a considerable depth are best adapted, other circumstances being alike, for ramose-rooted trees, as the oak, chestnut, elm, ash, and most hard-wooded trees ; and that such soils as jure thin, are only fit for spreading or horizontal-rooted trees, as the pine and fir tribe. SOOK II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 635 3918. A natutal succession in the kind of tree has been found \o take plaoe where natural forests have been destroyed. Evelyn noticed that, at Wooton, where goodly oaks grew and were cut down by his grandfather 100 years before, beech succeeded, and that, when bis brother had extirpated the beech, birch rose up. (Gard, Mag* vol. iii. p. 351.) In Dwight's TVavels in New Englandt a number of instances are given, in some of which the pine and iir tribe were succeeded by deciduous trees, and in others the reverse. Soulange-Bodin also, and some other French and German writers, have observed the same thing to take place on the continent of Europe, and use the fact as an argument for the introduction of exotic trees to succeed the natives. S91 9. A table of soils and the trees suitable to them, which may be of some use, is given in Tlie Agricultural Survey of Kei^, It indicates the trees which grow naturally on a variety of soils and subsoils ; and, next, the sorts which yield most profit on such soils. Stttface&HL Subsoil. Common Growth. Planted Growth. Uses of . Heavy and gravel- ly loams. Sandy loama. Flinty strong loam. Gravelly and sandy loams. Gravelly, sandy, and flinty loams. Flinty, dry, poor grav^y loams. Flinty and gravelly loams. Ditto. Lightish black loam. FDnty gravelly loams. Chalky, flinty, gra- velly loam. Gravelly loam. GraveDy and chalky loams. Gravelly loam. Ditto. Sandy graveL Stone, shatter, and gravelly loam. Stone, shatter, and gravelly loam. Gravelly loam. Sandy loam. Sandy loam and stone shatter. Gravelly loam and stone shatter. Ditto. Gravelly and sandy loani. Gravelly loam flinty. Wet spongy land. Drier ditto. Light sandy loam. Light gravelly loam. Heavy loam with chalk. Heavy loam. Heavy loam. Gravelly loam. Heavy-,' gravelly, flinty loam. Chalk at two feet depth with gra- velly loam. Chalk 4 feet with deep gravelly loam. With a few flints, but nearly as above. Dry sandy gravel. Strong loam with flints. Chalk, with some gravelly loam. Heavy flinty and poor loam. Gravelly loam with chalk. Ditta Gravelly loam and heavy loam. Gravdly anif sandy loam. Strong loam with ragstone. Gravelly loam with some ston& Gravelly loam with some stones. Gravelly loam. Gravelly loam with ragstone Deep loam, heavy clay and graveL Gravelly loam. Strong clay and loam. Gravel with clay and some flint Moist and boggy earth. Ditto more dry. Dry gravelly earth. With dry gravel. Birch, hornbeam, oak, ash, hazel, beech, &c. Ditto. Ditto. Ash, beech, oak, hazel, &C. Asb, beech, horn- beam, and oak. Beech, oak, &c; - Ash, oak, hazel, &C. Oak, hazel, beech, and ash. Birch, elm, ash. Oak, asb, beech, &c. Ditta Oak, ash, hazel, and beech, Oak, ash, &c. Ash, oak, & beech. Ditto. Ditto, Scotch pine. Oak, hazel, birch, &c. Oak, birch, aspen, hazel, and asn. Oak. Birch, oak, horn- beam, &c. Oak, beech, birch, hazel, ash. Ditto. Ditto. Oak, and ditto. Scrubby oak, hazel, &c. Alder, willow. Poplar. Mountain ash, ash. Ash. Oak, ash, chestnut,' willow, lime, wal- nut Elm, beech, Wey- mouth pine, com- mon spruce. Willow and chest- nut Chestnut, ash. Timber, hop-poles^ cord wood,hur dies, bavins for bakers; and lime-workg.'* Ditta Ash, beech, larch, &c. Beech, larch, &c. Ash, larch, &c. Chestnut, ash, and willow. Ash, elm, &c. Ash, &a Ditta Ash, oak, && Ash and chestnut Oak, larch. Scotch pine. Larch, chestnut, &c. Birch, oak, &c. Ash, chestnut, and willow. Chestnut Chestnut, &a Ditta Ditto, Ditto. Ash, larch, &c. Oak, ash. Alder, osier, wil- low, &a White poplar, wll- low. Scotch pine, silver fir. Sycamore, Timber, fennng. poles, and as above. Hop-poles', fencing- poles, and all as abov& Timber, fencing, hop-poles, ■ cord- wood for charcoal^ bavins,'&c. Cordwood, baVina,' and hop-pol». Cordwood, hop- poles, bavins, stakes, ethers, &a Hop-poles, fencing poles, stakes, cord- wood, &C. Various uses in husbandry. Poles, bavins, cord- wood, &a Ditto, Common produce a few poles, cord- wood, bavins, &c. plantation many poles, and the above, Poles, cordwood, &a Ditto, The same. Poles, stakes, ethers, &c. &c. Oaken tillers, , small timber pcues. &c. Fencing-poles, hop. poles, cordwood. &C. Hop-poles, fence poles, &c. Fence poles, hop- poles, &c. Ditto. Ditto. Ditta Poles, fire-wood, &c< as above. Timber and ditto. Hurdles, hop-poles, Hop-poles, &c. Hop-poles. Timber-turnery, &c. 636 PRACTICE OF AGKICULTUUE. Part III. 3920; fTttA respect (o climate, the trees which grow nearest the regions of perpetual snow are the birch, common pine, white beam, larch, mountain ash, and elder. A warmer zone is required for the sycamore and hornbeam ; and still more for the beech, ash, elm, and maple. The exotic pines and firs prefer dry sheltered dingles and ravines, not far up the sides of hills j and the oak, chestnut, lime, poplars, tree willows, and. a variety of American trees, will not thrive at any great elevation above the sea. The hardiest shore trees are the sycamore, beech, and elder ; but on sheltered shores, or such as are little subject to the sea-breeze, pines, firs, and most sorts of trees will thrive. 3921. The lorl qf product desired from planting, as whether shelter, effect, or timber, copse, bark, fbel; &c and what kinds of each, must be, in most cases, more attended to than the soil, and in many cases even than the situation. The thriving of trees and plants of every kind, indeed, depends much more on the quantity of available soil, and its state in respect to water and climate, than on its constituent princi- ples. Moderately sheltered and on a dry subsoil, it signifies little, as far as growth is concerned, whether the surface straU be a clayey, sandy, or Calcareous loam : all the principal trees will thrive nearly equally well ; in any of these, so circumstanced ; but no tree whatever in these or in any soil saturated with water, and in ableak exposed site. The durability of the timber of difterent trees, produced under sudl circumstances, 1 will also be very different. For durability, as already observed, it seems essential that every species of tree ' should be planted in its natural soil, situation, and climate. For hedge-row timber, those kinds which ' grow with lofty stems, which draw their nouiishment from the subsoil, and do least injury by their shade, are to be preferred. These, according to Blaikie, are oaks, narrow-leaved elm, and black Italian poplar ; beech, ash, pines, and firs, he says, are ruinous to fences, and otherwise injurious to farmers. (On Hedges and Hedgerow Timber, p. 10.) Sect. III. Fprming Plantatums, .^922. The formation of plantations includes the enclosing, the preparation of the soil, and the mode of planting or sowing. 3923. The enclosing of plantations is too essential a part of their formation to require enlarging on. In all those of small extent, as hedges and strips, it is the principal part; of the expense ; but to plant in these forms, or in any other, without enclosing, would be merely a waste of labour and property. The sole object of fencing being to exclude the domestic quadrupeds, it is obvious, that whatever in the given situation is calculated to effect this at the least expense, the first cost and future repairs or management being taken into consideration, must be the best. Where stones abound on the spot, a wall is the best and cheapest of all fences as such ; but, in the great majority of cases, recourse is, obliged to be had to a verdant fence of some sort, and generally to one of hawthorn.' This being itself a plantatioi^ requires to be defended by some temporary barrier, till it arrives at maturity ; and here the remark just made will again apply, that whatever tempo-, rary barrier is found cheapest in the given situation will be the best. Hedge fences are in general accompaiued by an open drain, which, besides acting in its proper capacity, fiunishes at its formation a quantity of soil to increase the nutriment of the hedge plants ; rf^ -j^*? ^^ excavation ^-^ '*^ (Je- 589. a)„ and an eleva-' tion {/), to aid in the^ form- ation of a tem- porary fence. A hedge enclosing a plantation requires only to be guarded on the exterior side ; and of the various ways in which this is done, the following may be reckoned among the best and most generally applicable : — an open drain and paling, or line of posts and rails ; the plants inserted in a facing of stone, backed by the earth of the drain (6), an excellent mode, as the plants generally thrive, and almost never require cleaning from weeds ; an open drain and paling, and the hedge on the top of the elevation (c) ; no open drain, but, the soil being a loam, the surface-turves formed into a narrow ridge, to serve as a paling, a. temporary hedge of furze sown on its summit, and the permanent hedge of thorn or holly within (d); and an open drain, but on the inside, the exterior being protected by a steep bank sown with furze (e). The first of these modes is the most general, the second the best, and the fourth the cheapest, where timiber is not abundant. Separation fences are commonly formed in the first, second, or third manner, but with a paling on both sides. (See Fences, Part II. Book IV.) 3924. In the preparation of the soil for planting, draining is the first operation. What- ever may be the nature of the soil, if the plants are intended to thrive, the subsoil ought to be rendered dry. Large open drains may be used, where the ground is not to undergo much preparation ; but where it is to be fallowed or trenched, under-drains become re- quisite. It is true they will in time be choaked up by the roots of the trees ; but by that period, as no more culture will be required, they may be opened and left open. Many situations, as steep sides of hills and rocky irregular surfaces, do not admit of preparing the soil by comminution previously to planting ; but wherever that can be done, either by trenching, digging, or a year's subjection to the plough, it will be found amply to repay Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 637 the trouble. This is more especially requisite for strips for shelter, or hedge-rows, as the quick growth of the plants in these cases is a matter of the utmost consequence. The general mode of planting hedges by the side of an open drain renders preparation for them, in many cases, less necessary ; but for strips of trees, wherever it is practicable, and diere is at the same time no danger of the soil being washed away by rains or thaws, as in some chalky hilly districts, or blown about by the wind, as in some parts of Norfolk and other sandy tracts, preparation by a year's fallow, or by trenching two spits deep, cannot be omitted without real loss, by retarding the attainment of the object desired. Mr. Withers of Norfolk not only prepares poor light land by paring, and burning, and trenching, but even spreads on it marl and farmyard dung, as for a common agri- cultural crop ; and at the same time keeps the surface perfectly free from weeds by hoeing, till the young trees have completely covered the ground. The progress tliat they make under this treatment is so extremely rapid, as apparently to justify, in an economical point of mem, the extraordhiaty expenses that attend it. In three years, even oaks and other usually slow-growing forest trees have covered the land, making shoots of three feet ia a season, and throwing out roots well qualified, by their number and length, to derive from the subsoil abundant nourishment, in proportion as the surface becomes exhausted. (Trans. Soc for Encour. yirts, vol. xlv.) Cobbett (The Woodlands, 8vo. 1825.) recom- mends trenching the ground two feet deep at the least, keeping the old soil still at the top, unless there is plenty of manure, when, he says, the top soil may be laid in tlie bottom of the trench. There are instances statedj of promising oak plantations, from acorns dibbed into soil altogether unimproved, and of plantations of Scotch pine raised by merely scattering the seeds, without covering, on a headi or common, and excluding cattle (General Report of Scotland, ii. 269.) ; but these are rare cases, and the time required^ and the instances of failure, are not mentioned. The practice is obviously too rude to be recommended as one of art. The best situations for planting, without any other culture but inserting the seeds or plants, are surfaces partially covered with low woody growths, as broom, furze, &c. " The ground which is covered, or rather half covered, witl^ juniper and heath," says Bufibn, " is already a wood half made." Gordon, Emmerich, Hayes, Speechly, Marshall, Cruikshank, and others, have shown that the most eifectual method of raising oak plantations is by sowing patches of 3 or 4 acorns on dug spots, as far distant from one another as is to be the distance of the trees when half grown. The intermediate spaces, if not covered with furze, broom, or native copse, are to be planted with birch, larch, spruce, or Scotch pine. (See § 3923.) 3925. A controversy on the sv^ect of the preparation of the soil previously to planting,- has lately arisen between Sir Henry Steuart, Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Withers, Mr. Bil- b'ngton, and others, which it might be deemed improper to pass over here without notice. Scott contends, that preparing the soil accelerates the growth of the tree for a few years only, and, in as far as it has that effect, renders the timber of a less durable quality. Stuart admits the rapidity of the growth of timber on soils which have been prepared, but seems to allow, with Scott, that the timber will be less durable. Withers and Bil- lington assert, that the preparation of the soil accelerates the growth of timber without impairing its durability ; and the former has cited some experiments to show that oak, which has grown on good soils and rapidly, has proved stronger than oak which had grown on worse soils slowly. The result of general experience, or what may be called the common sense of gardeners and foresters on this subject, seems to be this : .—Pre- paration of the soil greatly increases the rapidity of the growth of trees, and it has not been found to lessen the strength of the timber produced ; on the contrary, oak, ash, willow, and poplar, when freely, or rapidly rather than slowly grown, seem to produce stronger timber, than when slowly and stintedly grown on poor soils. But strength and durability are properties that depend on different qualities of organisation, and it is gene- rally considered that slowly-grown timber is the most durable. We have, ourselves, no doubt of the fact, and more especially in the case of the resinous timbers. We have seen both larch and Scotch pine of a timber size, which had been rapidly grown in rich soil, and which, when cut down, had begun to decay in the heart. We would not, however, on that account cease to prepare the soil for resinous trees, as much as for the other kinds where practicable ; but we would take care to plant resinous trees only on poor soils. We have reason to believe that these opinions on the preparation of the soil for trees and the durability and strength of timber, are those of the practical men of the present day of greatest science and experience ; such, for example, as Sang, Gorrie, Main, Bil- lington, and Cruikshank ; and therefore we consider them as more especially entitled to attention in a work like the present. 3 926. Whether extensive plantations should be sown or planted is a question about which planters are at variance. Miller says, transplanted oaks will never arrive at the size of those raised where they are to remain from the acorn, (Diet. Quercus.) Marshal pre- fers sowing where the ground can be cultivated with the plough. (Plant and Rur. Ont. i. 123.) Evelyn, Enjmerich, and Speechly, are of the same opinion; Pontey andNicol 638 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. P*kt III' practise planting, but offer no arguments against sowing wliere circumstances are Suiu' able. Sang says, " It is an opinion very generally entertained, that planted timber can never, in any case, be equal in durability and value to that which is sown. We certainly feel ourselves inclined to support this opinion, although we readily admit that the matter has not been so fully established, from experiment, as to amount to positive proof. But although we have not met with decided evidence, to enable us to determine oh the com- parative excellence of timber raised from seeds, without being replanted, over such as has been raised from replanted trees, we are left in no doubt as to the preference, in re- spect of growth, of those trees which are sown, over such as are planted." {Planl. Kat. 43.) He particularly prefers this mode for raising extensive tracts of the Scotch pine and larch (p. 430. ), and is decidedly of opinion, " that every kind of forest tree will suc- ceed better by being reared from seeds in the place where it is to grow to maturity, than by being raised in any nursery whatever, and thence transplanted into the forest." (p. 344.) Dr. Yule {Ceded. Hort. Mem. ii.), in a long paper on trees, strongly recom- mends sowing where the trees are finally to remain. "■ It is," says he, *' a well ascer- tained fact, tihat seedlings allowed to remain in their original station, will, in a few seasons, far overtop the common nursed plants several years older." 3927. The opinion of Dr. Yule seems to be founded on the idea that the tap-root is of great importance to grown up trees, and that when this is once cut otf by transplanting, the' plant has not a power of re-' newing it. Xhat the tap-root is of the utmost consequence for the first three or four years, perhaps for a longer period, is obvious, from the economy of nature at that age of the plant'; but that it can be of no great consequence to full-grown trees, appears highly probable from the fact, that when such trees are cut down, the tap-root is seldom to be distinguished from the others. The opinion that young plants have not the power of renewing their tap-root, will, we believe, be found inconsistent with fact ; and we may appeal to nurserymen, who raise the oak and honie-chestnut from seed. It is customary when these are sown in drills, to-cut off their tap-roots without removing the plants at the end of the second year's growth, and when, at the end of the third or fourth year, they are taken up, they will be found to have acquired other tap-roots, not indeed so strong as the first would have been had they remained, but suf-. frcient to establish the fact of the power of renewal We may also refer to the experiment recorded by Forsyth, which at once proves that trees have a power of renewing their tap-roots, and the great ad- vantages from cutting down trees after two or three years* planting. Forsyth •* transplanted a bed of oak-plants, cutting the tap-roots near to some of the side-roots or fibres springing fVom them. In the second year after, he headed one half of the plants down, and left the other half to nature, in the first season, those headed down made shoots six feet long and upwards, and completely covered the head of the old stem, leaving only a faint cicatrix, and produced new tap-roots upwards of two feet and a half long. That half of the plants that were not headed, were not one fourth the size of the others. One of tjie former is now eighteen feet high, and fifteen inches in circumference, at six inches from the ground : one of the largest of the latter measures only five feet and a half in height, and three inches and three quarters in circumference, at six inches from the ground," (TV, on Fruit Trees, 4to, edit 144.) The pine and fir tribes receive most check by transplanting ; and when removed at the age of four or five years,, they seldom arrive at trees afterwards ; those we should, on most occasions, prefer to sow, especially upon mountainous tracts. But for all trees which stole, and in tolerable soils and situations, planting strong, plants, and cutting them down two or three years afterwards, will, we think, all circumstances considered, be found preferable to sowing. If we made an exception, it would be for. the oak in poor soils, which we would raise from the acorn in Cruikshank's manner. Sir Henry Steuart {Ptanter's Guide, 2d edit p. 4Q3.y concurs in this opinion, with respect to deciduous trees, and considers that as the pine and fir tribes receive " the greatest check from transplanting; and as, when planted at four and five years old, they do not' readily grow to timber, it is clear that they should always be sowed, or at least planted, very young, in. high and cold regions." 3928. On the subject of disposing the plants in plantations, there are different opinions ; some advising rows, others quincunx, but the greater number planting irregularly. According to Marshal, " the preference to be given to the row, or the random culture, rests in some measure upon the nature and situation of the land to be stocked with plants. Against steep hangs, where the plough cannot be conveniently used in cleaning, and cultivating the interspaces, during the infancy of the wood, either method may be adopted ; and if plants are to be put in, the quincunx manner will be found preferable to any. But in more level situations, we cannot allow any liberty of choice : ihe drill or row manner is undoubtedly the most eligible." (Platit. and Rur. Om. p. 123.) Pontey considers it of much less consequence than most people imagine, whether trees are planted regularly or irregularly, as in either case the whole of the soil will be occupied, by the roots and the surface by the shoots. Sang and Nicol only plant in rows v here culture with the horse-hoe is to be adopted. In sowing for woods and copses, the former places the patches six feet asunder and in. the quincunx order. " It has been demon- strated {Farmer's Mag. vol. vii. p. 409,), that the closest order in which it is possible to place a number of points upon a plain surface, not nearer than a given distance from each other, is in the angles of hexagons with a plant in the centre of each hexagon." Hence it is argued, that this order of trees is the most economical ; as the same quantity of ground will contain a greater quantity of trees, by 15 per cent, when planted in this form than in any other. (Gere. Rep. ii. 287.) It is almost needless to observe, that hedge plants should be placed at regular distances in the lines, and also the trees, when those are introduced in hedges. Osier plantations, and all such as like them require the soil to be dug every year, or every two years, during their existence, should also be planted in regular rows. 3929. The distances at which the plants are placed must depend on different cireum. stances, but chiefly on the situation and soil. Book IL: .TORMING PLANTATIONS. . 639 3980. Planting thick, according to Nicol, is the safer side to err on, b^ause a numbgt of plfints will fail, and the superfluous ones can be easily removed by thinning. For bleak situations, he observes, from thirty to forty inches is a good medium, varying the distance according to circumstances. For less exposed situations, and where the soil is above six inches in depth, he recommends a distance of fVom four to five feet. For belts, clumps, and strips of a diameter of about one hundred feet ; the margin to be planted about the distance of two feet, and the interior at three feet In sheltered situations of a deep good soil, he recommends a distance of six feet and no more. {Pract, Plant.) 3931. According to Sang, " the distances at which hard-timber trees ought to be planted arc from six to ten feet, according to the quality of the soil, and the exposed or sheltered situation. When the first four oaks are planted, supposing them at right angles, and at nine feet apart, the interstices will fall to be filled up with five nurses, the whole standing at four feet and A half asunder. When sixteen oaks are planted, there will necessarily be thirty-three' nurses planted; and when thirty-six oaks arc planted, eighty-five nurses ; but when a hundred principal trees are planted in this manner, in a square of ten on the side, there will be two hundred and sixty-one nurse-plants required. The English acre would require five hun- dred and thirty-six oaks, and one thousand six hundred and ten nurses." {Ptanl. Kal. 163.) Poniey says, " in general cases, a distance of four feet is certainly close enough ; as at that space the trees may aU remain till they become saleable as rails, spars," &c. S932. The number of plants which mny be planted on a statute acre = 1 60 rods, or poles, = 4840 yards = 43560 feet, is as follows : — Feet apart No. of Plants. 1 „ 43,560 1} 19,360 2 ..„ 10,890 Si 6,969 3 4,840 3} 3,556 4 2,722 4] .,.. 2,151 5 1,742 Feet apart 6 7 No, of Plants. 1,210 889 Feet apart. 15 16 No. of Plants. 193 170 g -680 537 17 150 9 18 134, 10 435 19 120 JI . .» 360 20 108 12 „ 302 25 69 30 48 14 222 3933. The sixe of the plants depends jointly on the site and the kind of tree ; it is universally allowed that none of the resinous tribe succeed well when removed at more than two years* growth ; but if the soil is of tolerable quality, prepared by digging or sum- mer pitting, and the site not bleak, plants of such hard woods as stole may be used whose stems are an inch or more in diameter. ' 3934. Nicoi is of opinion, '* That, generally, trees three, or at most four, ;^eaTS old from the seed, and vhich are from twelve to twenty-four inches high, will, in any situation or soil, outgrow those of any size under eightor ten feet, within the seventh year." {Pract. Plant. 130.) 3935. Satig observes, '* the size of plants for exclusive plantations must, in some measure, depend on their kinds ; but it may be said, generally, that the plants being transplanted, they should be from a foot to eighteen inches in height, stiff in the stem and well rooted. Plants for this purpose should seldom be more than three years from the seed; indeed never, if they have been raised in good soil. Many of them may be sufficiently large at two years f^om the seed ; and, if so, are to be preferred to those of a greater age, as they will consequently be more vigorous and healthy. The larch, if properly treated, will be very fit for planting out at two years of age. A healthy seedling being removed from the seed-bed at the end of the nrstyear, into good ground, will, by the end of the second, be a fitter plant for the forest, than one nursed a second year. The next best plant for the purpose is that which has stood two years in the seed- bed, and has been transplanted for one season. This is supposing it to have risen a weakly plant : for, if the larch rise strong from the seed the first season, it should never stand a second in the seed-bed. The ash, the eln^ and the sycamore, one year from the seed, nursed in good soil for a second season, will often prove sufficiently strong plants. If they be weakly, they may stand two years in the seed-bed ; and then, being nursed one season in good soil, will be very fit for planting out in the forest The oak, the beech, and the chestnut, if raised in rich soil, and well furnished with roots at the end of the first year, and having been nursed in rows for two years, will be very tit to be planted out : but if they be allowed to stand two years in the seed-bed, and be planted one year in good ground, they will be still better, and the roots will be found well feathered with fine small fibres. The silver fir and common spruce should stand two years in the seed-bed. If transplanted into very good soil, they may be fit for being planted out at the end of the first year ; but, more generally, they require two years in the lines. The Scots pine should also stand for two years in the seed-bed, and should be nursed in good ground for one year; at the end of which they will be much fitter for being planted, than if they were allowed to stand a second year in the lines. They are very generally taken at once from the seed-bed ; and, in land bare of heath or herbage, they succeed pretty well ; nevertheless, we would, prefer them one year nursed. The above are the hardy and most useful forest trees ; and from the observations made, whatever respects the age or size of oUier kinds may easily l)e inferred." {Plant. Kal. 158.) ^36. According to Pontey, ** the best general rule is, to proportion the size of the plants to the good- ness of the soil ; the best of the latter requiring the largest of the former. Still, on bleak exposures, this rule will not hold good, as there the plants should never be large, for otherwise the greater part would fail from the circumstance of wind-waving, and, of those that succeeded, few, if any, would make much pro., gress for several years ; pines and firs of a foot, and deciduous trees of eighteen inches, are large enough for such places. As in extensive planting, soils which are good and well sheltered but seldom occur the most useful sizes of plants, for general . purposes, will be pines ahd firs of a foot^ and deciduous trees of eighteen inches, both transplanted. None but good-rooted plants will succeed on a bad soil while on a good one, shelt^ed, none but very bad-rooted plants will fail. A large plant never has so good a root in proportion to its size, as a small one ; and hence we see the propriety of using such on good soils oiilv Small plants lose but few of their roots in removal ; therefore, though planted in very moderate sized holes of pulverised earth, they soon find the means of making roots, vn proportion to their heads It should never be forgotten, that, in being removed, a plant of two feet loses a greater proportion of its roots than a tree of one, and one of three feet a greater proportion than one of two, and so on in proportion to its former strength and height; and thus, the larger the plants, so much greater is the degree of languor or weakness into which they are thrown by the operation of transplanting." {Prof. Plata. 161.) 3937. TIte seasons for planting are autumn and spring : the former, when the soil and situation are moderately good, and the plants large ; and the latter, for bleak situations. Necessity, however, is more frequently the guide here than choice, and in extensive designs the operation is generally performed in all moderately dry open weather from October to April inclusive. « In an extensive plantation," Sang observes, « it will hardly happen but there will be a variety of soil, some parts moist and heavy, and otlicrs diy and Kght The lightest parts may be planted in December or January; and the 640 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. more moist, or damp parts, Jn February or March, It must be observed, however, that if the ground be not in a proper case for planting, the operation had better be delayed. The plants will be injured, either by being committed to the ground when it is in a sour and wet, or in a dry parched, state. At a time when the soil is neither wet nor dry, the operation of planting is most successfully performed. The mould does not then ad- here to the spade, nor does it run in ; it divides well, and is made to intermingle with the fibres of the plants with little trouble ; and in treading and setting the plant upright, the soil is not worked into mortar, which it necessarily must be, if in a wet state, evidently to the great detriment of the plants. It is therefore improper to plant on a retentive soil in the time of rain, or even perhaps for some days afterwards, or after a fall of snow, until it has for some days disappeared. Whereas, in a dry absorbent soil, it may be proper to plant in the time of gentle showers, immediately after heavy rains, or as soon as the snow is dissolved," {PlarU. Kai^ 157.) S938. Pontey is a decided advocate for autumn preparation of the soil, and spring planting. *' Autumn planting," he says, '* is advisable only in few cases, while spring planting majr properly apply to all." 39S9. According to Sang, the proper time for planting the pine and fir tribes, and all evergreens, is April, or even the first fortnight in May. ** Attention should be paid, that no greater nuin-jer of plants be lifted from the nursery than can be conveniently iilanted on the same day. Damp weather is the best 'When very dry, and the plants rise destitute of earth at their roots, their roots should be dipped in mud (puddle) so as to be coated over by it In all cases, care should be taken not to shake off' any adhering earth from plants at the time of planting." (Pl/int Kal. TAX.) 3940. A jnuUUefor trees is made by mixing water with any soil rather tenacious, so intimately as to form a conii>lete puddle, so thick that when tne plants are dipped into it, enough may remain upon the roots to cover them. The process of puduling is certainly simple, and its expense too trifling to deserve notice : its effects, however, in retainnig, if not attracting, moisture are such that, by means of it, late planting is rendered abundantly more safe than it otherwise would ba It is an old invention, and hence It is truly astonishing that it is not more frequently practised. If people were to adopt it generally in spring planting, Pontey believes the prejudice in favour of autumn practice would soon be done away. (Prqf. Plant. 167.) 3941. Cobbett prefers spring planting. " It is a great error,'* he says, " to suppose that you gain time by autumnal or winter planting. You do, indeed, see the buds come out a little more eariy in the spring ; but it is the efTect at the end, and not at the beginning, of the summer, at which you ought to look. I f you., plant in the autumn or winter, the plants get blown about for several months, and, in very wet weather, their stems work a sort of hole round themselves ; and thus the root itself is shaken ; and if left thus, they, will, by March, be generally leaning on one side, with the hole open on the other side ; and when the harsh winds of March come upon the long-time battered ground, it will present a surface nearly as hard as a road. In such a case, the ground ought to be dug or spaded up between the trees in March or in April ; for nothing can thrive well in ground thus baked, however good the ground may be in its nature.'* {The Woodlands, 44.) 394^ Pruning previously to planting. If the plants have been brought from a distance, and the fibrous roots are dried up, they should all be cut ofT, because, like the leaves of a tree which has been taken up in the growing state and become withered, they have lost their vitality. The larger fibres, which are only dead at the points, should be shortened. The tap-root, also, should be shortened, perhaps in most cases two thirds of its length. Cobbett observes, and with truth, as far as our experience goes, that if the longest tap-roots ** were put into the ground at full length with an iron bar, they would be sure to die all the way nearly up to the top." (Woodlands, 68.) Many trees, however, have no tap-roots, and these only require attention to the fibres. When the plants are newly taken up from the seed-bed, or nursery lines, they may be nlanted without cutting off the fibres ; because these will retain their vitality uninjured. 3943, Tke operation of inxerting the plants in the soil is performed in various ways ; the most general mode, and that recommended by Marshal and Nicol, is pitting ; in which two persons are employed, one to operate on the soil with the spade, and the other to insert the plant and hold it till the earth is put round it, and then press down the soil with the foot. Where the plants are three feet high or upwards, this is the best mode ; but for smaller plants modes have been adopted in which one person performs the whole operation. This method of planting by pitting is what Withers calls the Scotch system, but which Sir Henry 'Steuart has shown (Planter's Gui/le, 2d edit. p. 468.) is not peculiar to Scotland, but is common in every country where trees are cultivated. 3944. Sang describes five kinds of manual operation employed by him in planting, and in part in sowing trees : by pitting ; by slitting simply, or by cross or T slitting ; by the dia- mond dibber ; by the planting-mattock ; and by the planter or ground adze. In filling an area vnth plants, he first plants those intended as the final trees, and afterwards the nurses ; or one set of operators plant the former, while another follow with the latter, unless the time for removing the nurses, as in the case of evergreen pines and firs, should be later than that for planting the principals. " The plants, if brought from a distance, should be shoughed, i. e. earthed in ; or they may be supplied daily from the nursery, as circumstances direct. All the people employed ought to be provided wdth thick aprons, in which to lap up the plants, the spadesmen, as well as the boys or girls ; the latter being supplied by the former as occasion may require. All of them should regularly fill their aprons at one time, to prevent any of the plants being too long retained in any of the planters* aprons. One man cannot possibly set a plant so well with the spade, unless in the case of layingi as two people can ; nor, supposing him to do it as well, can he plant half as many in the same space of time as two can. A boy ten years of age is equal, as a holder, to the best man on the field, and can be generally had for less than half the money. Hence this method is not only the best, but the least expensive." (Plant. KaU 167.) Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 641 3945. BypitHne. " The pit having been dug for several months, the surface will therefore be en- crusted by the rains, or probably covered with weeds. The man first strikes the spade downwards to the bottom, two or three times, in order to loosen the soil ; then poaches it as if mixing mortar for the builder ; he next lifts out a spadeful of the earth, or, if necessary, two spadefuls, so as to make room for all the fibres, without their being anywise crowded together ; he then chops the rotten lurf remaining jn the bottom, and levels the whola The boy now places the plant perfectly upright, an inch deeper than when it stood in the nursery, and holds it firm in that position. The man trindles in the mould gently ; the boy gently moves the plant, not from side to side, but upwards and downwards, until the fibres be covered. The man then fills in all the remaining mould ; and immediately proceeds to chop and poach the next pit, leaving the boy to set the plant upright, and to tread the mould about it This in stiff wet soil he does lightly; but in sandy or gravelly soil he continues to tread until the soil no longer retains the impression of his foot The man has by this time got the pit ready for the next plant, the boy is also ready with it in his hand, and in this manner the operation goes on. On very stee^ hangs which have been pitted, the following rule ought to be observed in planting :-~To place the plant m the angle formed by the acclivity and surface of the pit ; and in finishing, to raise the outer margin of the pit highest, whereby the plant will be made to stand as if on level ground, and the moisture be retained in the hollow of the angle, evidently to its advantage." (Plajii. Kal. 167.) 394& Sir Henry Steuart states that the pitting system, as already practised by most nations, though by some ignorantly and erroneously designated the Scotch method, if duly regulated by science, must be the best method for the planting of waste lands, or, in general, for large designs of wood, where the quality of timber is the main object ; although particular spots, in alt extensive woodlands, might be advantageously trenched and manured under peculiar circumstances. {Planter^s Guide, 2d edit. p. 479.) * 3&il. The slii method, either simply or by tlie T method, is not recommended by Sang ; but necessity may justify its adoption occasionally. " We would not recommend planting by the slit, unless where there is no more soil than is absolutely occupied by the fibres of the herbage which grows on the place. Except on turf, it cannot be performed j nor should it be practised, if the turf be found three or four inches thick. By pitting in summer, turf is capable of being converted into a proper mould in the space of a few months ; and the expense of pitting, especially in small plantations, can never counterbalance the risk of success in the eyes of an ardent planter. The most proper time to perform the operation of slitting in the plants is when the surface is in a moist state. On all steeps the plant should be placed towards the declivity, that the moisture may fall to its roots : that is to say, in planting, the spadesman* should stand highest, and the boy lowest on the bank, by wnich arrangement the plant will be inserted at the lower angle of the slit." {Flant. Kal. 170.) 3948. Planting with the diamond dibber, he says, " is the cheapest and most expeditious planting of any we yet know, in cases where the soil is a sand or gravel, and the surface bare of herbage. The plate of the dibber (^.590. a) is made of good steel, and is four inches and a half broad where the iron handle is welded to it ; each of the other ttvo sides of the triangle is five inches long ; the thickness of the plate is one fifth part of an inch, made thinner from the middle to the sides, till the edges become sharp. The length of the iron handle is seven inches, and so strong as not to bend in working, which will require six eighths of an inch square. The iron handle is furnished \(ith a turned hilt, like the handle of a large ^ml^ both in its form and manner of being fixed on. The planter is furnished with a planting.bag, tied round his waist, in which he carries the plants. A stroke is given with the dibber, a little aslant, the point lying inwards ; the handle of the dibber is then drawn towaifds the person, while its plate remains within the ground ; by this means a vacuity is formed between the back of the dibber and the ground, into which the planter, with his other hand, introduces the roots of the seedling plants, being careful to put them fully to the bottom of the opening : he then pulls out the dibber, so as not to displace them, and gives the eased turf a smart stroke with the heel ; and thus is the plant completely firmed. The greatest error the planter with this instrument can run into, is the imperfect introduction of the roots. Green or unpractised hands are apt to double the roots, or sometimes to lay them across the opening, instead of putting them straight down, as above directed. A careftil man, however, will become, if not a speedy, at least a good planter in one day j and it is of more importance that he be sure than quick. A careless or slovenly person should never be allowed to handle a dibber of this kind." 39^. Planting with the planting-ynaitock fjig. 590. b) is resorted to in rocky or other spots where pitting is impracticable. " The helve or handle 590 <-=i ^ three feet six inches long j the mouth *^^- is five inches broad, and is made sharp ; the length from it to the eye, or helve, is sixteen inches ; and it is used to pare off" the sward, heath, or other brush that may happen to be in the way, previously to easing the soil with the other end. The small end tapers from the eye, and terminates in a point, and is seventeen inches long." By this instrument the surface is skimmed off" for six or eight inches in diameter, and with the pick- end dug down six or eight inches deep, bringing up any loose stones to the sur- face ; by which means a place wiU be prepared for the reception of the plant little inferior to a pit This instrument may be used m many cases, when the plants to be planted are of small size, such as one-year larch seed- lings, one year nursed ; or two-year Scots pines, one year nursed ; and the expense is much less than bv the spade." (Plant. KaL 385.) ' •jg/iO. Planting with the/orest-planter or ground adze (Jig. 590. c). « The helve is sixteen inches lone the mouth is four inches and a half broad, and the length of the head is fourteen inches The instrument is used in plantmg hiUy ground, previously prepared by the hand-mattock. The person who oerforms tl.P work carries the plants in a close apron ; digs out the earth sufficiently to hold the roots of the ulant ■ anrf sets and firms it without help from another : it is only useful when small plants are used and in hiliv or rocky situations." {Pldra. Kal. pref. xxiv.) ' ' "*^ 395] . PoTOet/ prefers planting by pUHng, in general cases, the holes being made dunng the preceding summer or winter, sufficiently large, but not so deep into a reten tive subsoil as to render them a receptacle for water. When the plant^ have been brought from a distance, he strongly recommends puddling them previously to plantine • if they seem very much dned, it would be stiU better to lay them in the eround for eieht or ten days, givmg them a good soaking of water every second or third day. in order to restore theu vegetable powers ; for it weU deserves notice, that a degree of moisture in soil sufficient to support a plant recently or immediately taken from the nursery, would in the case of dry ones, prove so far insufficienl^ that most of them would die in it, Tlie 642 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. puddling Iisie recommended may also be of gre.it service in all cases of late planting where small plants are used ; Pontey's metliod is (after puddling) to tie them in bundles of two or three hundreds each ; and thus send them, by a cart-load at once, to their destination ; where, being set upright close to each other, and a little straw carefully applied to their outsides, such bundles may remain without damage in a sheltered situa- tion for any reasonable time necessary to plant them. Where loose soil happens to be convenient, that should be substituted in the place of straw. 39S'2. Pontei/s melhods of planting are in general the same as those of Sang : he uses a mattock and planter of similar shape ; and also a two or three pronged instrument, which we have elsewhere denominated the planter's hack, lEncyc. of Gard. % 1305.) " This in- strument," he says, " has been introduced of late years as an improvement on the mattock and planter, being better adapted to soils full of roots, stones, &c. ; it is likewise easier to work, as it penetrates to an eqiial depth with a stroke less violent than the for- mer : it is also less subject to be clogged up by a wet or tenacious, soil. The length of the prongs should be about eight inches, and the distances between them, when with three prongs, one and a half, and with two prongs, about two inches : the two-pronged hack should be made somewhat stronger than the other, it being chiefly intended for very stony lands, or where the soil wants breaking, in order to separate it from the herbage, &c. These tools are chiefly applicable to plants of any size up to about two feet, or such as are generally used for great designs, and they are used as substitutes for the spade, in tlie following manner : — The planter being provided with a basket holding the plants re- quired (the holes being supposed prepared, and the earth left in them), he takes a tree in one hand, and the tool in the other, which he strikes into the hole, and then pulls the earth towards him, so as to make a hole large enough to hold all its roots; he then puts in the plant with the other, and pushes the earth to its roots with the back of the planter ; after which, he fixes the plant, and levels the soil at the same instant with his foot, so that the operation is performed by one person, with a degree of neatness and expedition which no one can attain to who uses the spade. It is known to all planters, that but few labourers ever learn to plant well and expeditiously in the common method, without an assistant ; this method, however, requires neither help nor dexterity, as any labourer of common sagacity, or boy of fifteen, or even a woman, may learn to perform it well in less than half an hour. The facility with which thesetools will break clods, clear the holes of stones, or separate the soil from herbage, the roots of heath, &c. (the foiiner being previously mellowed by the frost), may be easily imagined." {Prof. Plant. IIS.) The adoption of a small mattock for inserting plants, we recollect to have seen recommended in a tract on planting in the Highlands, by M'Laurin, a nurseryman, published at Edinburgh upwards of twenty years ago. 395.3. .tin expeditious mode of slit-planting is described in the General Eeport of Scot- land, as having been practised for many years on the duke of Montrose's estate. It is as follows : ** The operator, with his spade, makes three cuts, twelve or fifteen inches long, crossing each other in the centre, at an angle of sixty degrees, the whole 591 having the form of a star. (^. 591.) He inserts his spade across one of the rays (a), a few inches from the centre, and on the side next , himself; then bending the handle towards himself, and almost to the ground, the earth opening in fissures from the centre in the direction of the cuts which had been made, he, at the same instant, inserts his plant at the point where the spade intersected the ray (a), pushing it forward to the centre, and assisting the roots in rambling through the fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing his spade, having pressed it into a compact state with his heel ; the operation is finished by adding a little earth, with the grass side down, completely covering the fissures, for the purpose of retaining the moisture at the root and likewise as a top-dressing, which greatly encourages the plant to push fresh roots between the swards." (Vol. ii. p. 283.) 3954. The transplantation of large trees is a subject more properly belonging to landscape-gardening than to agriculture ; but it may not be improper shortly to notice the principles of the practice in this place. As the stability of a large tree depends in a great measure on its ramose roots extending themselves on every side, as a base to the super- structure, so, in preparing the tree for removal, these roots should be cut at as great a distance from the stem as can conveniently be accomplished. As the nourishment drawn up by a tree depends on the number of its fibrous roots, it is desirable, a year or two before removal, to concentrate these fibres, by limiting their oroduction to such ramose roots as can be removed with the tree. Cut a circular trench, therefore, round the tree to be removed, at a greater or less distance, according to the size of the tree, and the exposure in which it is to be planted. Remove the earth from this trench, and also a good part of that which covers the roots which remain between the trench and the trunk. Substitute well pulverised rich soil ; or mix the better part of what was taken out of the trench and off the surface with rich soil ; replace it, and press the Book II. FORMING PLANTATIONS. 64*J whole firmly down. Let the tree remain two years, or three if very large, and then remove it, and carefully plant it where it is finally to ^^^-^ 3955. SiVi^rySfeuffr^whohashadmuch experi- ence in removing large trees, and who thinks that hehasdiscoveredanew theory or principlefor doing so, recommends that no branches should be pruned from the head ; and that to prevent the tree trom being blown over by the wind, its position rela- tively to the prevailing wind of the locality should be reversed. The principle of not reducing the head in the same proportion as the roots may be reduced, was hinted at by Miller, but has been first systematically defended by Sir Henry Steuart. Experienced planters agree, that nothing ought to be cut from the head of a beech tree when .it is removed ; but they do not seem willing to con- cede to Sir Henry's theory, so far as ic respects most other ramose trees. We are inclined to think that he may he right with respect to resinous trees, the beech, and perhaps one or two others ; but that, as a general principle, whether in young trees or old, the top must be lightened more or less in proportion to the roots. When the tree has made a stock of fresh roots, and become firmly established in the soil, if an extraordinary exertion in its growth be then wanted, it may either be cut in or pruned severely, or cut down to the ground ; and in either case, if it be a tree that stools, it will throw out vigorous shoots. 3956. The principle qf reversing t/te position of the tree relatively to the tpindt appears to be good ; since, the broauer the base of the head of the tree relatively to its height, the more obliquely will it receive the j.mpulse of the wind. Those trees are fittest for being transplanted, which have grown in free open situations; because in them the bark is thick and coarse to resist the cold; the stems stout and short, and the head extensive with the lower branches spreading, to resist the wind. 39^. The machine for transplanting large trees adopted bv Sir Henry Steuart, is an improvement of one which has been very long in general use. It consists of a pole (Jig. 592. a a) 15 feet long, attached to an axle and a pair of wheels, on which is placed a block (6), which may be of any convenient* height, with a pillow (c), and two rings for attaching the draught chains (rf). It is easy to conceive the application of this pole, axle, and wheels, to a large tree, and its removal by men or horses to its intended desti- nation Uig- 59^)* [^Planter's Guide, sect viii. Hd edit) 592 641 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paut III. Sect. IV. Mixture of Trees in Plantations- C9.')fl. The ofifect of mixing trees in plantations is threefold : that of sheltering the weaker but ultimately more valuable kinds by the stronger and hardier ; that of di'awing as much profit from the soil as possible ; and that of producing variety of appearance. 3959. With respect to sJielter, many situations are so exposed, that it is extremely diffi- cult to rear trees without some mode of protecting them from the cold winds of spring during their early growth. This is sometimes done by walls, the extent of whose influ- ence, however, is but very limited ; by thick planting ; or by planting the more hardy and rapid-growing species, to nurse up and protect such as are more tender, but ultimately more valuable. The proportion of nurses to principals is increased according to the bleakness of the site : Pontey says, '* Both authors and planters are in the habit of err- ing egregiously, in regard to the proportion of principals and nurses, as they generally use as many or more of the former than the latter, though it is very easy to show, that they ought to use three times as many of the latter as the former. For instance, when trees are planted at four feet apart, each occupies a surface of sixteen feet ; of course, four of them will occupy sixty-four, or a square of eight feet ; and, therefore, if we plant three nurses to one principal tree, all the former might be displaced gradually, and the latter would still stand only eight feet apart." 3960. Nurse plants should, in every possible case, be such as are most valued at an early period of growth. The larch and spruce fir should be used liberally, in every case where they will grow freely; still it is not intended they should exclude all others, more particularly the birch, which has most of the properties of a good nurse, such as numerous branches and quick growth, on any tolerable soil or situation. It is not, however, like the others, a wood of general application. {Profitable Planter, p. 1 13.) Sang also adopts the proportion of three nurses to one principal, and employs chiefly the resinous tribe, and looks to them for reimbursement till the hard timber has attained to a foot in diameter, under which size hard timber is seldom of much value. His principals are planted at from six to ten feet apart, according to the soil and situation. {Plant. Kal. p. 166.) 3961. In procuring shelter, Tnuch depends on the mode of commencing and continuing plantations on bleak sites. Sang, who has had extensive experience in this part of planting, observes, that "every plain, and most tields and situations for planting in this country, have what may be called a windward side, which is more exposed to the destructive blast than any other. It is of great importance to be apprised of this circumstance, and to be able to fix upon the most exposed side of the proposed forest plantation. Fix, then, upon the windward side of the space which is to be converted into a forest, mark off a horizontal stripe or belt, at least a hundred yards in breadth. Let this portion of ground be planted thick, say at the distance of thirty inches, or at the most three feet, with a mixture of larch, sycamore, and elder, in equal quantities or nearly so, if the soil be adapted for rearing these ; but if it be better adapted for Scots pines, then let it be planted with them at the distances prescribed for the above mixture. We have no other kinds that will thrive better, or rise more quickly in bleak situations, than those just mentioned. When the trees in this belt or zone have risen to the height of two feet, such hard-wood trees as are intended ultimately to fill the ground should be introduced, at the distance of eight or ten feet from each other, as circumstances may admit. At this period or perhaps a year or two afterwards, according to the bleak or exposed situation of the grounds, let another parallel belt or zone, of nearly equal breadth, be added to the one already so far grown up, and so on, till the whole grounds be covered. It is not easy here to determine on the exact breadth of the subsequent belt or zones; this matter must be regulated by the degree of exposure of the grounds, bv the shelter aflTorded by the zone previously planted, and by such like circumstances." {Plant. Kal. p '29.) 3962. In situations exposed to the sea breeze a similar plan may be successfully followed, and aided in effect by beginning with a wall ; the first zone having reached the height of the wall, plant a second, a third, and fourth, and so on till you cover the whole tract to be wooded. In this way the plantations on the east coast of Mid Lothian, round Gosford House, were reared ; in Sang's manner, the mountains of Blair and Dunkeld were clothed ; and examples, we are informed, might be drawn from the Orkney and Shetland Islands. 3963. The practice of miring trees, with a view to drawing as much nourishment from the soil as possible, and giving, as it used to be said, more chances of success, was till very lately generally approved of. Marshal advises mixing the ash with the oak; be- cause the latter draws its nourishment chiefly from the subsoil, and the former from the surface. Nicol is an advocate for indiscriminate mixture (^Practical Planter, p. 77.), and Pontey says, " Both reason and experience will fully warrant the conclusion, that the greatest possible quantity of timber is to be obtained by planting mixtures." {Prof- Planter, p. 119.) "We are clearly of opinion," says Sang, "that the best method is to plant each sort in distinct masses or groups, provided the situation and quality of the soil be properly kept in view. There has hitherto been too much random work carried on with respect to the mixture of different kinds. A longer practice, and more ex- perience, will discover better methods in any science. That of planting is now widely extended, and improvements in all its branches are introduced. We, therefore, having a better knowledge of soils, perhaps, than our forefathers had, can with greater certainty assign to each tree its proper station. We can, perhaps, at sight, decide that here the oak will grow to perfection, there the ash, and here again the beech ; and the same with respect to the others. If, however, there happen to be a piece of land of such a quahty, that it may be said to be equally adapted for the oak, the walnut, or the Spanish chestnut, it will be proper to place such in it, in a mixed way, as the principals ; because each sort will extract its own proper nourishment, and will have an enlarged range of pastur- age for its roots, and consequently may make better timber trees, " Book II, INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON TREES. 645 3964. Cobbett, who, though by no means a scientific cultivator, has in general very sound practical views is decidedly in favour of planting in masses ; and would have all the trees not only of one and the same sort, but of the same size and height {Woodlands, § 85.) 39SS. By indiscriminately mixing different kinds of hard wood plants in a plantation, there is hardly a doubt that the ground will be fully cropped with one kind or other ; yet it very often happens, in cases when the soil is evidently well adapted to the most valuable sorts, as the oak perhaps, that there is hardly one oak in the ground for a hundred that ought to have been planted. We have known this imperfection in several instances severely felt It not unfrequently happens, too, that even what oaks or other hard- wood trees are to be met with, are overtopped by less valuable kindSj or perhaps such, all things considered, as hardly deserve a place. Such evils may be prevented by i>lanting with attention to the soil, and in distinct masses. In these masses are insured a full crop, by being properly nursed for a time with kinds more hardy, or which afford more shelter than such hard-wood plants. There is no rule by which to fix the size or extent of any of these masses. Indeed, the more various they are made in size, the better will they, when grown up, please the eye of a person of taste. They niay be extended ftom one acre to fifty or a hundred acres, according to the circumstances of soil and situation : their shapes will accordingly be as various as their dimensions. In the same manner ought all the resinous kinds to be planted, which are intended for timber trees ; nor should these be intermixed with any other sort, but be in distinct masses by themselves. The massing of larch, the pine, and the fir of all sorts, is the least laborious and surest means of growing good, straight, and clean timber. It is by planting or rather by sowing them in masses, by placing them thick, by a timely pruning and gradual thinning, that we can with certainty attain this object {Plant Kal. 162 and 166.) Our opinion is in perfect consonance with that of Sang, and for the same reasons ; and we may add, as an additional one, that in the most vigorous natural forests one species of tree will generally be found occupying almost exclusively one soil and situation, while, in forests less vigorous, on inferior and watery soils, mixtures of sorts are more prevalent This may be observed by comparing New Forest with the natural woods round XiOchlomond, and it is very strikingly exemplified in the great forests of Poland and Russia. 5966. With respect to the appearance of variety, supposed to be produced by mixing a number of species of trees together in the same plantation, we deny that variety is pro- duced. Wherever there is variety, there must be some marked feature in one place, to distinguish it from another ; but in a mixed plantation the appearance is every where the same ; and ten square yards at any one part of it will give nearly the same number and kinds of trees as ten square yards at any other part. ' " There is more variety," Repton observes, " in passing from a grove of oaks to a grove of firs, than in passing through a wood composed of a hundred different species, as they are usually mixed together. By tins indiscriminate mixture of every kind of tree in planting, all variety is destroyed by the excess of variety, whether it is adopted in belts, clumps, or more extensive masses. For example, if ten clumps be composed of ten different sorts of trees in each, they become so many things exactly similar ; but if each clump consists of the same sort of tree, they become ten different things, of which one may hereafter furnish a group of oaks, another of elms, another of chestnuts or of thorns, &c. In hke manner, in the modem belt, the recurrence and monotony of the same mixture of trees of all the different kinds, through a long drive, make it the more tedious, in proportion as it is long. In part of the drive at Wobum, evergreens alone prevail, which is a cir- cumstance of grandeur, of variety, of novelty, and, I may add, of winter comfort, that 1 never saw adopted in any other place, on so magnificent a scale. The contrast of passing from a wood of deciduous trees to a wood of evergreens must be felt by the most heed- less observer ; and the same sort of pleasure, though in a weaker degree, would be felt, in the course of a drive, if the trees of different kinds were collected in small groups or masses by themselves, instead of being blended indiscriminately.'* {Enquiry into Changes of Taste, ^c^ p. 23.) 5967. Sir William Chambers and Price agree in recommending the imitation of natural forests in the arrangement of the species. In these. Nature disseminates her plants by scattering their seeds, and the offspring rise round the parent in masses or breadths, depending on a variety of circumstances, but chiefly on the facility which these seeds afford for being carried to a distance by the wind, the rain, and by birds or other animals. At last that species which had enjoyed a maximum of natural advantages is found to prevail as far as this maximum extended, stretching along in masses and irregular portions of surface, till, circumstances changing in favour of some other species, that takes the precedence in its turn. In this way it will be generally found, that the number of species, and the extent and style of the masses in which they prevail, hear a strict analogy to the changes of soil and surface; and this holds good, not only with respect to trees and shrubs, but to plants, grasses, and even mosses. Sect. V. Culture of Plantatimis, 3968. A tree, when once planted, most men consider to be done mth; though, as every one knows, the progress and products of trees, like those of other plants, may be greatly increased or modified by cultivating the soil, by pruning, and by thinning. Before pro- ceeding to these subjects, we shall submit some remarks on the influence of culture on the progress of the growth of trees, and on the strength and durability of timber. SuBSECT. 1. General Xrtfluence of Culture on Trees- 3969. The effect of culture on herbaceous vegetables is so great, as always to change their appearance, and often, in a considerable degree, to alter their nature. The common culinary vegetables, and cultivated grasses, assume so different an appearance in our fields and gardens, from what they do in a state of wild nature, that even a botanist might easily be deceived in regard to the species, TTie same general laws operate upon the whole kingdom of vegetables ; and thence it is plain, that the effects of culture on trees, though different in degree, must be analogous in their nature. ( Treatue on Count/ry Tt 3 646 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTUaE. Part III Resid. vol. ii.) In tlie samu manner, the absence of culture, or the removing of the vegetable to a colder climate and a worse soil, tends to contract or consolidate the parts of the plant. {Planter's Guide.) 3970. Tlie effect of culture on woody plants is similar to that on culinary vegetables and cultivated grasses ; but the law operates of course less rapidly, owing to the less rapid growth of trees, from the lowest bush to the oak of the forest. In all of these, the cul- ture of the soil tends to accelerate vegetation, and, by consequence, to expand the fibre of the wood. It necessarily renders it softer, less solid, and more liable to suffer by tile action of the elements. 3971. Tlie effect of culture on the ligneous plants in common use in planting and gar- dening is readily exemplified. Every forester is aware how much easier it is to cut over thorns or furze trained in hedges, than such as grow naturally wild, and are exempt from culture. Gardeners experience the same thing in pruning or cutting over fruit trees, or shrubs ; and the diflference in the texture of the raspberry, in its wild and in its cultivated state, is as remarkable ; for, although the stem, in the latter case, is nearly double the thickness to which it attains in the former, it is much more easily cut. On comparing the common crab, the father of our orchards, with the cultivated apple, the greater softness of the wood of the latter will be found not less striking to every arbori- culturist. The common oak in Italy and Spain, where it grows faster than in Britain, is ascertained to be of shorter duration in those countries. In the bame way, the oak in the highland mountains of Scotland or Wales is of a much harder and closer grain, and therefore more durable, than what is found in England ; though on such mountains it seldom rises to the fifth part or less of the English tree. Every carpenter in Scotland knows the extraordinary difference between the durability of Highland oak, and oak usually imported from England, for the spokes of wheels. Every extensive timber dealer is aware of tlie superior hardness of oak raised in Cumberland and Yorkshire, over that of Monmouthshire and Herefordshire ; and such a dealer, in selecting trees in the same woods in any district, will always give the preference to oak of slow growth, and found on cold and clayey soils, and to ash on rocky cliffs, which he knows to be the soils and climates natural to both. If he take a cubic foot of park-oak, and another of forest- , oak, and weigh the one against the other, (or if he do the like with ash and elm of the 'same descriptions,) the latter will unifonnly turn out the heavier of the two. The Scotch pine does not stand longer than forty or fifty years on the rich and fertile land in both England and Scotland, where it is often planted, and where it rushes up with extraordi- nary rapidity. In the northern districts of Scotland, on the other hand, the difference between park pine and Highland pine is universally known and admitted, and the supe- riority of the latter is proved by its existence in buildings of great antiquity, where it is still found in a sound state ; a difference which can be ascribed to no other cause than the mountainous situations (that is, the natural state) in which the former timber is pro- duced, and where, the trees being of slower growth, the wood is consequently of a harder texture. A friend of Sir Henry Steuart's felled some larch trees, which had grown nearly fifty years in a deep rich loam, close to some cottages and cabbage gardens. The wood was soft and porous-, and of no duration ; it was even found to bum as tolerable fire- wood, which larch of superior quality is never known to do. (Tr. on Coun. Jies,, and Planter's Guide.) 3972. The general effect of pruning is to increase the quantity of timber produce. The particular manner in which it does this is by directing the greater part of the sap, which generally spreads itself in side-branches, into the principal stem. This must consequently enlarge that stem in a more than ordinary degree, by increasing the annual circles of the wood. Now, if the tree be in a worse soil and climate than those which are natural to it, this will be of some advantage, as the extra increase of timber will still be of a quality not inferior to what would take place in its natural state ; or, in other words, it will correspond with that degree of quality and quantity of timber, which the nature and species of tlie tree admit of being produced. If the tree be in its natural state, the annual increase of timber, occasioned by pruning, must necessarily injure its quality, in a degree corresponding with the increased quantity. If the tree be in a better climate and soil than that which is natural to it, and, at the same time, the annual increase of wood be promoted by pruning, it is evident that such wood must be of a very different quality from that produced in its natural state (that is, very inferior). Whatever, there- fore, tends to increase the wood in a greater degree than what is natural to the species, when in its natural state, must injure the quality of the timber. Pruning tends to increase this in a considerable degree, and, therefore, it must be a pernicious practice, in as far as it is used in these cases. Pruning is not here considered in regard to eradicating dis- eases, preventing injuries, or increasing the natural character and tendency of trees : for those purposes it is of great advantage. Mr. Knight has shown, in a very striking manner, that timber is produced, or rather, that the alburnum or sapwood is rendered ligneous, by the motion of the tree, during the descent of tJie true (or proper) sap. It Book II. CULTURE OF THE SOIL AMONG TREES. 647 is also sufficiently known to all who have attended to the physiology of vegetables, and is greatly confirmed by some experiments laid before the Royal Society (Pkil. Trans. 1 803, 1 804), that the "solid textme of the wood greatly depends upon the quantity of sap which must necessarily descend, and also on the slowness of its descent. Now, both these requisites are materially increased by side branches, which retain a large quantity of sap, and by their junction with the stem occasion a contraction, and twisted direction of the vessels, which obstrutts the progress of tlie (proper) juice. That this is true, in fact, is- well known to those accustomed to make wine from maple and birch trees ; for in this business it is found, that those trees which have fewest side branches bleed more freely than the others, but during a much shorter space of time. These hints, therefore^ afford additional evidence against pruning, and particularly against pruning fir-trees ; which, as Mr. Knight justly observes, have lai'ger vessels than the others, and, therefore, when in an improved soil and climate, side branches, for the purposes above mentioned, are essentially necessary to them, if solid, resinous, and durable timber be the object in view. (Sir Henry Steuart's Planter's Gvide, p. 444.) 3973. Sir Henry Steuart, concurring in these facts and observations, deduces the fol- lowing practical conclusions respecting the influence of culture : — 397*. First J that all timber trees thrive best, and produce wood of the best quality, when growing in soils and climates most natural to the species. It should, therefore, be the anxious stud^ of the planter, to ascertain and become well acquainted with these, and to raise trees, as much as possible, in such soils and climates. 3975. Secondly j that trees may be said to be in their natural state, when they have spnuig up fortuU tously, and propagated themselves without aid from man, whether it be in aboriginal forests, ancient wootllands, commons, or the like. That in such trees, whatever tends to increase the wood, in a greater degree than accords with the species when in its natural state, must injure the quality of the timber. 3976. Thirdly ; that whatever tends to increase the growth of trees, tends to expand their vegetable fibre. That when that takes place, or when the annual circles of the wood are soft, and longer than the general annual increase of the tree should warrant, then the timber must be less hard and dense, and more liable to suffer from the action of the elements, 3977. Fourthly J that a certam slowness of growth is essentially necessary to the closeness of texture and durability of all timber, but especially of the oak ; and that, whenever tlie growth of that wood is unduly accelerated by culture of the soil (such as by trenching and manuring), or by undue superiority of climate, it will be injured in quality in the precise ratio in whidi those agents have been employed S978. Fifthly i that, as it is extremely important for the success of trees, to possess a certain degree of vigour in the outset, or to be what is technically called, " well set off," the aid of culture is not in every case to be precluded, by a consideration of the general rule. That if trees be in a soil and climate worse than those that are natural to them, then culture will be of some advantage ; as the extra increase of wood will be of a quality not inferior to what, in its natural state, it would obtain ; or, in other words, it will correspond with that degree of quality and quantity of timber, which the nature of the species admits of being obtained ; but culture in this case must be applied with cautious discrimination, and a sound judgment. That, on the other hand, if trees be in a better soil and climate than are natural to them, and, at the same time, that the annual increase of wood be promoted by culture (as already said), it will be a decided disadvantage, and deteriorate the wood. In the same way, if trees be in their natural state, the annual increase of timber, obtained by culture, will injure its quality, in a degree corresponding with the increased quantity. 3979. Sixthly ; that such appears to be a correct, though a condensed view of the operation of those general laws respecting growth, which govern the whole vegetable kingdom, and especially of their effects on woody plants, and of the salutary restraints, which science dictates to be laid oh artificial culture, of which pruning, as well as manuring, forms a constituent part, as has been explained above, atso much length. That it is by a diligent study of the peculiar habits of trees, and the characters of soils, illustrated and regulated by facts drawn from general experience, that rash or ignorant systems of arboriculture are to be best corrected, and science brought most beneficially to bear on general practice." (.Planter's Guide, 2d edit p. 478.) SuBSECT. 2. Culture of the Soil among Trees. 3980. fFith respect to the culture of the sml, it is evident, that young plantations should be kept clear of such weeds as have a tendency to smother the plants ; and though this is not likely to take place on heaths and barren sites, yet even these should be looked over once or twice during summer, and at least those weeds removed which are con- spicuously injurious. In grounds which have been prepared previously to planting, weeding, hoeing by hand or by the horse hoe, and digging or ploughing (the two latter rarely), become necessary according to circumstances. The hoeings are performed in summer to destroy weeds, and render the soil pervious to the weather; the ploughing and diggings in winter are for the same purpose, and sometimes to prepare the soil for spring crops. These, both Pontey and Sang allow, may be occasionally introduced among newly planted trees ; though it must not be forgotten that, relatively to the trees, the plants composing such crops are weeds, and some of them, as the potato, weeds of the most exhausting kind. Sang uses a hoe of larger size than usual. (Jig. 590. n by the branches of another tree or trees overhanging its stem." (Forest Pruner^ 174.) 4003. Coi'pice woods, in so far as grown from poles or bark, require pruning on the same principle as timber trees, in order to modify the ligneous matter into stem, and produce clean bark. In as far as they are grown for fence wood, fuel, or besom spray, no pruning is required. 4004. Osier holts require the laterals to be pinched off the shoots intended for hoops ; those of the basket-maker seldom produce any. The stools, also, require to be kept free from dead wood, and stinted knotted protuberances. 4005. Hedges require side pruning, or switching, from their first planting, so as gra- dually to mould them into " the wedge shape, tapering from bottom to top on both sides equally, till they meet in a point at the top. Two feet at bottom is a sufficient breadth for a five feet hedge ; a greater or less height should have the bottom wider or narrower, accordingly. In dressing young hedges, either of the deciduous or evergreen kinds, the sides only should be cut till the hedge arrives at the proposed height, unless it be necessary, for the sake of shelter, to cut their tops over, in order to make the hedges thicker of branches. Such cutting of the upright shoots, however, is not of any great use in this respect ; because every hawthorn hedge sends out a number of side shoots, which, if encouraged, by keeping the top wedge-shaped as above, will make it abun- dantly thick." {Sang, 44*7.) In pruning hedges, some use shears-; but the hedge- bill is the most proper instrument, producing a smooth unfractured section, not so apt to throw out a number of small useless shoots which generally follow the crushing cut of the sheers. 4006. Hedge-row trees require to be pruned to a tall, clean, erect stem, as at once producing more timber, and doing least injury io the ground under their drip and shade. 4007. Trees in strips for shelter, or screens for concenlment, ought to be furnished with branches, from the bottom upwards; unless undergrowth supply this deficiency. Where this is not the case, care should be had that the trees be pruned into conical shapes, so as that the lower branches may be as little as possible excluded from the influence of the weather by the upper ones. 4008. Trees for shade, where shelter from winds is not wanting, should be pruned io ample spreading heads with naked stems ; the stem should be of such a height tliat the sun's rays, at midday, in midsummer, may not fall within some yards of the base of the trunk ; thus leaving under the trees, as well as on their shady side, a space for the repose of men or cattle. SuBSECT. 5. Thinning young Plantations. 4009. The properly thinning out of plantations, Sang observes, *' is a matter of the first importance in their culture. However much attention be paid to the article of pruning, if the plantation be left too thick, it will be inevitably ruined. A circulation of air, neither too great nor too small, is essential to the welfare of the whole. This should not be wanting at any period of the growth of the plantation ; but in cases where it has been prevented by neglect, it should not be admitted all at once, or suddenly. Opemng a plantation too much at once, is a sure way to destroy its health and vigour. In thinning, the consideration which should, in all cases predominate, is to cut for the good of the timber left, disregarding the value of the thinnings. For, if we have it in our choice to leave a good, and take away a bad plant or kind, and if it be necessary that one of the two should fall, the only question should be, by leaving which of them shall we do most justice to the laudable intention of raising excellent and full-sized timber for the benefit of ourselves and of posterity? The worst tree should never be left, but with the view of filling up an accidental vacancy." 4010. Salmon, from observations on the most orderly and thriving plantations at Woburn, deduces the foUowmg rule for thmning : —"Keep the distance of the trees from each other equal to one-fifth of their heigh;. In the application of this rule for.thinning, it is evident that each individual tree can never be made to comply; lor the original distance (even if jilanted in the most regular order) will allow only of Book II. THINNING YOUNG PLANTATIONS. 653 certain modificalions, by taking out every other tree, and so on ; but even if the obtaining of such equal distance were practicable, experience would show that another way should be preferred, of which tlie eye must be the judge, by taking out such trees as are least thriving, stand nearest another good tree, &c. &c. ; at the same time keeping in view the rule prescribed. By measuring a chain square, or any quantityof land, and counting the trees thereon j then trying the height of two or three trees in that quarter, and taking one fifth of such for the distance, it would he readily seen how many trees should be contained in the piece measured : or the practice may more simply be regulated by taking the distance of eight or ten trees added together, the average of which should be equal to a fifth of the height of the trees." {Smithes Mechanics, voL iL pt 358.) 40n. In thinning mixed plantations, the removing of the nurses is the first object which generally claims attention. This, however, should be cautiously performed ; other- wise the intention of nursing might, after all, be thwarted. If tiie situation be much exposed, it will be prudent to retain more nurses, although the plantation itself be rather crowded, than where the situation is sheltered. In no cases, however, should the nurses be suffered to overtop or whip the plants intended for a timber crop ; and for this reason, in bleak situations, and when perhaps particular nurse plants can hardly be spared, it may be sometimes necessary to prune off the branches from one side entirely. At subsequent thinnings, such pruned or disfigured plants are first to be removed ; and then tliose which, from their situation, may best be dispensed vrith. 4012. At what period qf the age of the plantation the nurses are to be removed, cannot easily be deter- mined; and, indeed, if the nurses chiefly consist of larches, it may with propriety be said, that they should never be totally removed, while any of the other kinds remain. For, besides that this plant is admirably calculated to compose part of a beautiful mixture, it is excelled by few kinds, perhaps by none, as a timber tree; But when the nurses consist of inferior kindH, such as the mountain ash or Scots pine, they should generally be alt moved by the time the plantation arrives at the height of fifteen or twenty feet, in order that the timber trees may not, by their means, be drawn up too weak and slender. 4013. Bejoj-e this time it may probably be necessary to thin out a part of the other kinds. The least valuable, and the least thriving plants, should first be condemned, provided their removal occasion no blank or chasm ; but where this would happen, they should be allowed to stand till the next or other subsequent revision. 4U14. At what distance of time this revision should take place cannot easily he determined ; as the mat- ter must very much depend on the circumstances of soil, shelter, and the state of health the plants may be in. In general the third season after will be soon enough ; and if the plantation be from thirty to forty years old, and in a thriving state, it will require to be revised again, in most cases within seven years. But one invariable rule ought to prevail in all cases, and in all situations, to allow no plant to overtop or whip another. Respect should be had to the distance of the tops, not to the distance of the roots, of the trees : for some kinds require more head room than others j and all trees do not rise per- pendicular to their roots, even on the most level or sheltered ground. 4015. With respect co the final distance to which trees, standing in a mixed plantation, should be thinned, it is hardly possible to prescribe fixed rules ; circumstances of health, vigour, the spreading nature of the tree, and the like, must determine^ Whether the trees are to be suffered to stand till full grown, which of the kinds the soil seems best fitted for; whether the ground be flat or elevated ; and whether the situation is exposed or sheltered, are all circumstances which must influence the determination of the ultimate distance at which the trees are to stand. It may, however, be said, in general, that if trees be allowed a certain distance, of from twenty-five to thirty feet, according to their kinds and manner of growth, they will have room to become larger timber. 4U16. Pontey shows, that forty feet distances are necessary (or only about twentv-se^en to the acre) to the unassisted growth of large oak trees, owing to the flat, spreading, and close form of their heads ; but that the properly trained, open, high, and conical heads of such trees will admit of their standing at twenty-five feet distances, or about seventy trees on the acre, and of the most profitable kind. What an inducement to pruning and management ! {Farey's Derbyshire, voL i, p. 989.) 4017. Plantations of Scots pine, if the plants have been put in at three, or three and a half, feet apart, will require little care until the trees be ten or twelve feet high. It is necessary to keep such plantations thick in the early part of their growth, in order that the tre^ may tower the faster, and push fewer and weaker side branches. Indeed, a pine and a soft wood plantation should be kept thicker at any period of its growth, than plantations consisting of hard wood and nurses already mentioned ; and it may sometimes be proper to prune up certain nurse plants, as hinted at above (401 1.), for nurses in amixed plantation. Those pruned-up trees are of course to be reckoned temporary plants, and are afterwards to be the first thinned out ; next to these, all plants which have lost their leaders by acci- dent, should be condemned ; because such will never regain them so far as afterwards to become stately timber ; provided that the removal of these mutilated trees cause no ma- terial blank in the plantation. Care should be taken to prevent whipping ; nor should the plantation be thinned too much at one time, lest havock be made by prevailing winds ; an evil which many, through inadvertency, have thus incxured. This precaution seems the more necessary, inasmuch as Scots pines, intended for useful large timber, are presumed never to be planted except in exposed situations and thin soils. At forty years of age, a good medium distance for the trees may be about fifteen feet every way. It may be worthy of remark, that after a certain period, perhaps by the time that the plantation arrives at the age of fifty or sixty years, it will be proper to thin more freely, in order to harden the timber; and that then this may done with less risk of danger, from the strength the trees will have acquired, than at aii earlier period ; but still it should be done gradually. 4018. Plantations qf spruce and silver firs, intended for large useful timber, should be kept much in the manner above stated, both in their infancy and middle age. As already remarked, planting and keeping them as tliick as is consistent with their health are the best means of producing tall, straight, clean stems, and valuable timber. When planted for screens or for ornament, they require a different treatment. « To larch 654 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. plantations, the above observations will also apply, and indeed tliey are applicable to plantations of all kinds of resinous trees. 4019. Tlie exposed margin of all young planlations should be kept thicker than the in. terior. The extent to which this rule should be carried must be regulated according to the degree of exposure of the situation, the age of the plants, the tenderness of the kinds, and other circumstances." 4020. T/ie proper season for thinning is autumn, or very early in the spring, where the trees are to be taken up by the root and replanted elsewhere ; winter for thinning for timber and fuel : but such trees as are valuable for their barks should be left un- touched till the sap rises in April or May. 4021. Copse-woods require thinning when young, like other plantations, and when once established the stools require to be gone over the second year after cutting, and all superfluous suckers and shoots removed. This operation should be repeated annually, or every two or three years, in connection with pruning, till within three or four years of the general fall of the crop. Sect. VI. Improvement of Neglected Plantations. 4022. Neglected and mismanaged plantations will include the greater number in Bri. tain. The artificial strips and masses have generally never been thinned or pruned ; and the natural woods, or cops^-woods, have for the most part been improperly thinned or cut over. It is often a difficult matter to know what to make of such cases, and always a work of considerable time. " Trees," Sang observes, " however hardy their natures may be, which have been reared in a thick plantation, and consequently have been very much sheltered, have their natures so far changed, that, if they be suddenly exposed to a circulation of air, which, under different circumstances, would have been salubrious and useful to them, they will become sickly and die. Hence the necessity of admitting the air to circulate freely among trees in a thick plantation, only gradually, and with great caution." This precaution is particularly necessary in tliinning plant- ations of Scotch pine. Trees which have been screened by each other for forty or fifty years, cannot bear the loss of their near neighbours. 4023. A plantation whirh has become close and crowded, having been neglected from the time of planting till perhaps its twentieth year, should only have some of tlie smallest and most unsightly plants removed ; one, perhaps in every six or eight, in the first season ; in the following season, a like number may be removed ; and in two or three years afterwards, it should be gone over again ; and so on till it be sufficiently thinned. It will be proper to commence the thinning at the interior of the plantations, leaving the skirts thicker tiU the last ; indeed, the thinning of the skirts of such a plantation should be protracted to a great length of time. "With thinning, pruning to a certain extent should also be carried on. ** If the plantation," Sang observes, " consists of pines and firs, all the rotten stumps, decayed branches, and the Eke, must be cut off close by the bole. It will be needful, however, to be cautious not to inflict too many wounds upon the tree in one season ; the removing of these, therefore, should be the work of two or three years, rather tlian endanger the health of the plantation. After the removal of these from the boles of the firs and larches, proceed every two or three years, but with a sparing hand, to displace one or perhaps two tiers of the lowermost live branches, as circumstances may direct, being careful to cut close by tba trunk, as above noticed. In a plantation of hard wood, under the above circumstances, the trees left for tlie ultimate crop are not to be pruned so much at first as might otherwise be required ; only one or two of their competing branches are to be taken away, and even these with caution. If it be judged too much for the first operation to remove them entirely, they may be shortened, to prevent the progress of the competition ; and the remaining parts may be removed in the following season ; at which time, as before observed, they must be cut close by the bole. ( Flant. Kal. 467. ) We cannot agree to that part of these directions which respects the removal of " perhaps two tiers of the lowermost live branches ; " but, paying great deference to the opinion of Mr. Sang, we have judged it right, in a work of this nature, to lay it before our readers, and allow them to judge for themselves. 4024. The operation qf tldnnim and pruning, tkickening or filling up, or renewing portions that cannot be profitably recovered, should tnus go on, year after year, as appearances may direct, on the general principles ol tree culture ; and for this purpose, the attentive observation and reflection of a judicious manager will be worth more than directions which must be given with so much latitude. 4025. Poniey has noticed various errors in Kennedy's Treatise on Planting, and even in Sana's Kalen. dar, on tiie simple subject of distances, which have originated in their giving directions for anticipated cases which had never come withm their experience. " Most people," he says, " take it for granted, that if trees stand three feet apart, they have only to take out the half to make tlie distances six feet, though, to do that, they must take down three times as many as they leave. By the same rule most people would suppose that twelve feet distance was only the double of six ; but the square of the latter is only thirty-six, while that of the former is one hundred and forty.four, or four times the latter : so that, to bring six feet distances to twelve, three trees must be removed for every one left " {.Profilahlt Planter, ^6 i and Forest Pruner, 21.) ^ • \ •y B33K II. TREATMENT OF INJURED TREES. 655 4026. Copse-woods are sometimes improved by turning them into woods, which requires nothing more than a judicious selection and reservation of the strongest of those shoots which proceed from the stools, and which spring more immediately from the collar. But a greater improvement of copse-woods consists in cutting over the overgrown and protuberant stools by the surface of the soil (Jig. 595. a, b, c, d), which has been found by Mon- tcith completely to regenerate them. The operation is performed with a saw, in a slanting direction, and the young shoots, being properly tliinned and pruned, soon establish themselves securely on the circumference of large and perhaps rotten-hearted roots. {Forester's Guide, 60.) 4027. Neglected hedge-row timber may be improved by pruning according to its age. Blaikie recommends what he calls foreshortening, or cutting-in, as the best method both for young and old hedge-row timber. " This operation is per- formed by shortening the overlux- uriant side-branches {Jig. 596. o), but not to cut them to a stump, as in snag-pruning; on the con- trary, the extremity only of tlie branch should be cut off, and the amputation effected immediately above where an auxiliary side- shoot springs from the brancli on which the operation is to be per- formed (A) ; tliis may be at the distance of two, four, or any other number of feet from the stem of the tree ; and suppose the auxiliary branch which is left (when the top of the branch is cut off) is also over-luxuriant, or looks unsightly, it should also be shortened at iu sub-auxiliary branch, in the same manner as before described. The branches of trees, pruned in this manner, are always kept within due bounds ; they do not extend over the adjoining land, to the injury of the occupier, at least not until the stem of the tree rises to a height (out of the reach of pruning , when the top branches can do compara- tively little injury to the land. By adopting this system of pruning, the bad effects of close pruning on old trees, and snag-pruning on young ones, will be avoided, the country will be ornamented, and the community at large, as well as individuals, benefited." Sect. VII. TreatTnent of Injured and Diseased Trees, 4028. With respect to wounds, bruises, casualties, arid defects of trees, such small wounds as are required to be made by judicious pruning, easily heal up of themselves ; large wounds, by amputation of branches above six inches in diameter, should, if possible, never be made. Even wounds of six inches diameter or under will heal more quickly by the application of any material that excludes the air and preserves the wood from corriiption ; and we agree with Sang in recommending coal-tar, or the liquor produced from coals in manufacturing gas. It is, however, less favourable to the progress of the bark over the wound than a coating of clay or cow-dung Covered with moss to keep it moist. Pontey recommends putty and two coats of paint over it. In case the wood, at a bruised or amputated place, has by neglect become already corrupted, the rotten or dead wood is to be pared out quite into the quick, and the wound is then to be dressed with tar or clay, covered with a piece of mat, sacking, or moss. A wound, hollowed out as above, may at first appear an unsightly blemish ; but, in subsequent years, nature will lay the coats of wood under the new-formed bark thicker at that place ; and pro- bably may, in time, fill it up to be even with the general surface of the tree. 4029. All fractures, by whatever means produced, are to be managed as the circum- stances of the case require. If a large branch be broken over at the middle of its length, it should be sawn clear off close by the lateral which is nearest to the bole of the tree : but if there is no lateral, or branch capable to carry forward the growth, cut tlie main or fiacturcd branch in quite to the bole. In both cases, treat the wound as above recommended. 4030. Interior rotting, arising from the dampness of the soil, cannot, by the art of man, be ciu-ed ; though it might have been prevented by timely draining. The hearts of trees frequently rot, where there is no excess of moisture, and especially of such as have been produced from old roots left in the ground by a previous felling. Such roots, when in good ground, send up very great shoots, with few leaves in proportion to their size ; from «56 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. the absence of a profusion of these, properly to concoct the juices so abundantly sup- plied by the roots, the fibre of the wood is loose and imperfect; the next season will produce more leaves in proportion to the supply of juices, yet not a sufficient number for making timber; several years may pass before this event will arrive : this crude and ill-digested timber, disposed to premature decay, is the foundation over which subsequent coatings of wood are laid : yet, however perfect these may be, they do not prevent the progress of decomposition going on in the interior. Nature thus teaches how necessary numerous leaves are to the preparation of the solid wood: the cotyledons and subsequent leaves of a one-year old tree are a thousand times greater, compaied with its solid con- tents, tlian are the leaves to the solid contents of the first year's shoots from roots like the above. Sang. 4031. Shakes often arise from the weight and multiplicity of top branches, and might have been prevented by timely pruning. Shakes or rents in the boles of trees, however, often happen where there is no excess of tops. Sometimes the rain, running down from the brandies, wets one part of the bole, while the rest is comparatively diy. If this cir- cumstance is succeeded by an intense frost, before the wetted side becomes dry, the bole may be rent for- a length, and perhaps to the depth of the core. Shakes or rents, like the above, are difficult to cure. The best method of helping them is to trace out their upper extremity, caulk it up with oakum, and pitch it over, to prevent the rain descend- ing that way in future. (Sang.) 4032. Ill cases of hoUowness, Pontey recommends probing to the bottom, letting out the water, if any, with an auger, drying the cavity with a cloth, filling it with dry sand, plugging it with wood and oakum, and then painting it over. 4033. Stems or branches decorticated by lightning or otherwise, if the soft wood is not much injured, will heal over and become covered with bark ; and this the more certainly and rapidly if the air be excluded by a coating of adhesive matter, as cow-dung and quick- lime, or by tying on moss or bandages of mat or cloth. Pontey gives an instance in which such treatment was successful in the case of an apple tree. {Pruner, 230.) We have witnessed it on an extensive scale on the trunk of a pear tree ; and we are informed, on the best authority, of other cases now under progress, in the government garden of the Luxembourg, at Paris. 4034. Withered or decayed tops miay arise from age and incipient decay ; but also, as Pontey states, frorai improper pruning, or the want of it. We often see it from the im- proper pruning of elms, which, after having been close pruned to their summits for many years, are left entirely to nature ; in that case they branch out luxuriantly below, and tlie top withers. By neglecting to thin out the branches on the stems of non-resinous trees the same effect may be produced. 4035. Stunted bushy tops, on very tall naked stems, show a deficiency of nourishment, from these circumstances ; and those on short stems from defects of the soil. Obliquely placed misshapen heads, in detached trees, commonly proceed from the same causes and from want of shelter. Stinted growth, both in tops and stems, is also produced by ivy, and by lichens, mosses, mistletoe, and other parasites. Ivy compresses the bark, and precludes its expansion, as well as excludes air and moisture, by which the outer bark becomes rigid and corky. — Happily, both men and trees will live a long time under the influence both of deformity and disease. 4036. JExcessive exudations of gmti and resins are peculiar to resinous and some other trees when over-pruned, or pruned at improper times. Mildew, honeydew, and blight, three popular names applied to the effects of certain insects of the A^phis kind, attack the oak, beech, poplar, and many trees : all that can be said is, if proper regimen has been regularly attended to, trees will overcome these and all other enemies. 4037. Insects and vermin. Almost every tree has its particular insect of the Hemipte- rous and Dipterous families, and many of the Coleoptera are common to all. The foliage of the small-leaved elm of hedges is often almost entirely destroyed in the early part of the season by renthredinidae ; and those of the larch and Scotch pine have suffered ma- terially in some seasons from aphides. The A^his laricea L. (Eriosoma of Leach) in- creased to an alarming extent, from 1800 to 1802, on the larch, on account of three dry seasons following each other ; but, though it retarded their growth, it ultimately de- stroyed very few trees. Sang says, he has known it since 1785 ; that it dirties more than injures the tree, and is now (1819) thought little of. Indeed, almost every species of tree has been known to have suffered in some one season or more, and in particular dis- tricts, from insects ; for which, on so large a scale, there seems to be no applicable remedy, but patiently waiting till their excess, or the increase of other vermin their natural enemies, or a change of seasons, causes them to disappear. Trees properly cultivated and managed generally overcome such enemies. The hare is well known to be injurious to young trees, and especially to laburnums, by gnawing off their bark. Coating their stems with dung and urine, fresh from the cow-house, is said to be an effectual remedy. It may be put on with a brush to the height of two feet ; a barrow-load will suflice for a hundred Book II. PRODUCTS OF TREES. 657 trees, with stems of tliree or four inches in diameter ; and its virtue, after being laid on, endures at least two years. {BvM- in Cold. Hort. Menu iv. 190.) Sect. VIII. Products of Trees, and tlieir Preparation for Use or Sale. •4038. The ordinary products of trees made use of in the arts are leaves, prunings or spray, thinnings, seeds, flexible shoots, bark, branches, roots, and trunks. Trees also afford sap for wine and sugar, and extract for dyeing ; but these products are of too accidental or refined a nature for our present purpose. 4039. The brush-wood or spray of trees may be turned into charcoal, substituted for thatch in roofing cottages, used as common fuel, formed into fences, or distilled for pyrolignous acid. Some sorts, also, as the spray of the oak, the willow, the birch, tlie mountain ash, and others, may be used in tanning. In a. green state with the leaves on, the spray of the elm, the poplar, the lime, and others, may be used in feeding cattle ; or the spray may be dried like hay, and stacked for that purpose, as in Sweden ; or it may be rotted for manure. The spray of all trees not resinous may be used in the distillation of pyrolignous acid. This acid is much used in calico-printing works ; and, according to Monteith, sold in 1819, in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, at from 1/. 2s. to It 10». per ton. The distillation is carried on in a cast or malleable iron toiler {Jig. 597.), which should be from five to seven feet long, three feet wide, and say four feet deep from the top of the arch, built with fire-brick. The wood is split or round, not more than three inches square in thickness, and of any length, so as to go into the boiler at the door. When full, the boiler door (6) is properly secured, to keep in the steam ; then the fire is put to it in the furnace below, and the liquid comes off* in the pipe above {d), which is condensed in a worm, in a stand (e) filled with cold water, by a spout Qf), and empties itself, first into a gutter below (g), and from that it is let into barrels, or any other vessel ; and thus the liquid is prepared. One English ton weight of any wood, or refuse of oak, will make upwards of eighty gallons of the liquid. There is also a quantity of tar extracted, which may be useful in ship-building. (_Gard. Mag. vol. ii.) 4040, The thinnings, when not beyond a suitable age, and taken up properly, and at a proper season, may be planted in other situations, or as single trees and groups ; or they may be Used as hoops, hop-poles, poles for garden training, for fencing, for props in collieries ; and for a great variety of purposes ; those of which the bark is useful for tanning should not be cut dovm or rooted up till May, but the others at any time during winter. It is common to sort them into lots, according to their kind or size ; and to faggot up the spray for fuel, besom stuff, or for distilling for bleachers* liquid. 4041. The seeds of trees in general cannot be considered of much use beyond that of continuing the species. The seeds of the oak, beech, and sweet chestnut, however, are valuable for feeding swine, and where they abound may either be swept together after they drop, and carried away and preserved dry in lofts or cellars for that purpose ; or, if other circumstances are favourable, swine maybe driven under the trees to collect them. These and ether seeds, as the haw and holly, are eaten by deer. The seeds of the trees mentioned, and of aU the resinous tribe, are in general demand by the nurserymen, for the purposes of propagation ; and the seeds of almost all other trees and shrubs are in limited or occasional demand : they may also be collected for private sowing. Tree seeds generally ripen late in the season, and are to be collected in the end of autumn or Uu 658 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. beginning of winter, with the exception of a few, such as the elm, poplar, willow, and one or two others, which ripen their seeds in May and June. 4042. In osier grounds^ willows produce flexible shoots, and, whether intended for the basket-maker or cooper, should not be cut till the second season after planting, in order to strengthen the stools : but by the tliird autumn the crop will be fit for the basket- maker ; and in the fourth, plantations intended for the cooper (hoops requiring the growth of two years) will be ready. The seasons for cutting are November and March ; after the former period the wounds are apt to be injured by frost, and afler the latter the sap is too far advanced ; some is lost by bleeding, and the buds are developed too suddenly to admit of proper strength in the shoots. The cut should be made within three buds of the point whence the shoot issued, in a sloping direction, and the section on the under- side. In cutting hoop-willows, the swell at the bottom of the shoot only should be left, that being furnished with abundance of buds for future growth. After being cut, the hoops are trimmed from any side-shoots, and tied up in bundles of a hundred, of six scores each, which, in 1820, sold for from four sliillings to five shillings a bundle. The willows are sorted into three sizes and tied in bundles two feet in circumference, within a foot of the lower ends. When to be peeled, they are immediately after cutting set on their tliick ends in standing water, a few inches deep, and there they remain till the sap ascends freely, which is commonly by the end of the succeeding May. ** The apparatus for peeling is simply two round rods of iron, nearly half an inch thick, sixteen inches long, and tapering a little upwards, welded together at the one end which is sharpened, so as that it maybe easily thrust down into the ground. When thus placed in a piece of firm ground, the peeler sits down opposite to it, and takes tiie willow in the right hand by the small end, and puts a foot or more of the great end into the instrument, the prongs of which he presses together with the left hand, and with the right draws the willow towards him ; by which operation the bark will at once be separated from the w^ood : the small end is then treated in the same manner, and the peeling is completed. Good willows, peeled in the above manner, have been sold, for some seasons past, at from six shillings and sixpence to seven shillings the bundle of four feet in circumference. After being peeled, they will keep in good condition for a long time, till a proper market be found." 4043. Copse-woods are generally cut over when the shoots of the stools have attained from three to five inches' diameter at their bases ; some grown chiefly for hop-poles, and ware or stuff for crates^ hampers, or wattled hurdles, are cut over earlier ; and others, where small timber for fencing and other country purposes is wanted, arc left later. In some parts of Herefordshire, where the oak grows vnth great rapidity, copse-woods are cut over every twelve years ; in the highlands of Scotland, where it grows much more slowly, the time varies from twenty to twenty-five or thirty years. " The bark is there considered as having arrived at its utmost perfection and at its highest value, at the age of between twenty and thirty years : under that age, its virtues are weak ; above it, the bark becomes coarse, and loses its sap. Another important reason for cutting down oak coppice-wood about the above period is suggested in the Stirlingshire Report, p. 218. ; namely, 'that it is a tact established by experience, that it will not renew itself, if it remains uncut beyond the space of about forty years.* " {Gen. Rep. of Scotlmid, 218.) Where there is a considerable tract of copse- wood, it is common to divide it into portions, in number according to the period of cutting. These are to be cut in rotation, so that, when the last portion is cut over, the first is again ready for cutting. 4044. The seasons for cuffing the kinds of trees whose barks are not made use of, are winter and early in spring ; but the oak and other trees which are peeled, are left till the middle of April or May. Birch and larch woods will peel nearly a month earlier than the oak. Should there be no frost, birch and larch may be peeled about the beginning of April; but the birch is commonly allowed to stand till July, and the peeling of it is commenceti after that of the, oak has been completed. The reason is, there is an outer skin upon birch-bark which requires to be taken off, as it is of no use to the tanner, and renders that part which is of use more difficult to be ground; the month of July is the only time at which the two barks can be separatetl with ease, as at this time the juice or sap has made its circu- lation through the tree and bark, and this circumstance renders the separation more easy. From the beginning of May to the middle of July is the usual time for barking the oak. The earlier in the spring this operation is performed on the oak, both for the growth if a natural wood, and for the bark, the better. When the sap has begun to rise, the bark will easily be detached from the wood, and it ought then to be taken off without loss of time ; and, if the whole could be taken off before the leaf is completely developed, the bark would be better. After the sap has arisen to the leaf and new growth, the bark becomes more dry, and requires more beating to separate it from the wood : and when what is called the black sap is descending the tree, the bark taken off is black, and loses its original colour; at this time also the bark begins to throw off a scurf, more especially youn^ bark without much cork on it ; this outer skin having less of the proper sap or juice, and being much drier when taken off, will weigh less, and consequently will not be so valuable. If possible, oaks should be barked by the middle of June, as every ton of bark taken off after the first of July will be deficient two cwt per ton, compared with the same quantity taken off in May or early in June. 4045. T/te ter7nination of cuffing is generally fixed for the fifteenth day of July, and after this date there should not be a single stool of oak wood cut that is intended for the growth: and as soon as possible after the fifteenth, the whole of the wood and bark should be carried away, that the young growths may not be disturbed or injured, as at this time they will have made considerable progress ; at any rate, there should neither be wood nor bark remaining witliin the new cut hag after the first of August - Book II. PRODUCTS OF TREES. 659 nor Eliould cither horse or cart be permitted to enter It after that period ; for, after the beginning of August, oalcs make whatJs termed a Lammas growtli, and the ftiture prosperity and health of the coppice in a great measure depend on the first year's growth, as far as regards form and vigour of the shoots. {Forester^s Guide^ 69.) 4046. The best mode oj ctitting is evidently that of using a saw, and cutting the shoots over in a slanting direction close by the surface. When the stool, after having been cut several times, has acquired con- sidcrable diameter, it is customary in the midland counties. Marshal states, to hollow it out in the centre, from a notion that, by rotting away the central roots, the circumferential stems will grow more vigor- ously, and become as it were separate plants. This is in fact the case in very old copses. For several cuttings, however, it must evidently be the safer policy to keep the stool highest in the middle to throw oft' the lain, and preserve it sound. 4(H7. Monteith says, " It will be found, upon experiment, perfectly evident, that stools dressed down to the surface of the ground (taking care alwi^ys not to loosen the bark ft-om the root, or allow it to be peeled off in the smallest degree below the earth, but rounded down level to itj will send forth the most vigorous shoots, and stand the weather, and be the stoutest and best throughout the age of the coppice." {Forester's Guide, 61.) From the late season at which the trees to be barked are generally cut, they often receive considerable injurv, both from that circumstance, and the manner in which the operation is performed. Monteith appears to us to have furnished the best directions for executing the work in a safe manner. He first sends a person furnished with an instrument with a sharp cutting edge 0?ff. 598. a) through the copse, whose business is, "to trample down the long grass or foggage all round the root, and then to make a circular incision into the bark so deep as to reach the wood, at about aa inch above the surface of the earth : thus the bark when taken off, will injure no part of that which is below the circular incision.'* 404S. The root qf the tree being thus prepared, the cutters ought to proceed to their part of the work, not with an axe, however, as is most generally recommended, but with a saw ; because, in cutting with the axe, unless the root of the tree be so small in diameter as to be severed in one or two strokes at most, the axe loosens the root to such a degree, tliat it not only loses the present year's growth, but often fails alto- gether to grow. Therefore^ if the diameter of the root be six inches, or upwards, it should always be cut with a cross-cut saw, entering the saw about half an inch above where tne circular incision has been made Into the bark, if a small tree ; but if the tree be ten or twelve, or more inches in diameter, the saw ought to be entered two indies above it 4049 There are two advantages to be derived from cutting with the saw : it has no tendency to loosen the root of the tree, but leaves it in such a condition as to be more easily and properly dressed ; it also saves a portion of the wood that would otherwise be destroyed by the axe. On no pretence should oaks of six inches' diameter be cut with an axe, but always with a saw. Having cut through the tree with a saw, take a sharp adze, and round the edges of the stool or root, going close down to the surface of the earth, taking with the adze both bark and wood, sloping it up towards the centre of the stool, taking particular care always that the bark and wood both slope alike, as if thejr formed one solid body, being sure always that the bark be not detached from the root. An objection has been made to this mode of cutting with the saw, as taking up too much time; but I have found that two men with a cross-cut saw, kept in good order, will cut as much as two men will with an axa (Forester's Gvide, 58.) 4050. In the operation qf barking trees^ " the barkers are each furnished with light short-ha'.]ded mallets, made ot hard wood, about eight or nine inches long, three inches square at the face, and the other end sharpened like a wedge, in order the more easily to make an incision in the bark, which is done all along the side of the tree which happens to be uppermost, in a straight line : and as two barkers are generally employed at one tree, it is proper, that whilst the one is employed in making an incision with tlie mallet, as above, the other being furnished with the barking-bill (./?g. 598. a), cuts the bark across the tree, in lengths of from two feet six inches to three feet Having thus made the in- cision in the bark, both ways, thebark- ers being also each furnished with peeL. ing irons of different sorts (6, c, rf, e) ; if the tree or piece of timber to be barked is such as the two barkers can easily — lift one end of it, this 18 placed on two pieces of wood three feet long, and called horses ; these are about the thickness of a paling-stake, and have a forked end on each about six inches long, the other end being sharpened to go into the ground ; two of these horses are placed in a triangular form against one another, one end of the piece to be peeled being raised on the horses, the two barkers standing opposite to each other, and enter- ing the peeling-irons into the incision made by the mallet, and pressing the iron downwards between the bark and the timber. In tliis way it will be found very easy to take the bark off in one whole piece round the tree : and, if possible, let these pieces be as long as the incisions made in the bark. In some cases, where there is not much sap, the bark may require a little beating with the square end of the mallet, to cause it to separate easily from the wood ; but the less beating with the mallet the better, as it has a tendency to blacken the bark in the inside or fleshy part of it, so that, when the tanner sees it, he sup- poses It to be damaged, and undervalues it Thebranches of the tree being previously all lopped off with the axe, the persons, in number according to the extent of the work, with the bill smooth all the branches cutting them in lengths of from two feet six inches to three feet, down as small as one inch in circum- ferenca The barkers, principally women, are each provided with a smooth hard stone of about six or eight pounds' weight, beside which they sit down, and having collected a quantity of saplings, branches, or twigs, they hod the piece on the stone with one hand, and with the mallet in the other, they beat it till the bark be split from the wood, from the one end to the other, and taking it off all the length of the . piece, if possible, then lay it regularly aside, till a bundle of considerable size is formed " ^)Si. Drtfmg the bark. Tti^ point most particularly to be observed in this art is, putting the bark up to dry ; which is done by setting it upon what are called the lofts or ranges. These are erected by taking forked pieces of the loppings called horses, the one three feet long, the other two feet six inches, and driving them about four inches into the ground, opposite one another, about two feet asunder in the breadth, and as much betwixt them lengtTiways as will admit long small pieces of wood to be put upon *''T;.^"il'" ^^^^ these must be put together as will hold the bark ot" every day's peeling These ought to be erected in as dry and elevated aspot ascan be found in the margin of the wood, or better on nf ffrfn™^n^^iy« being caiTied and laid on this loft, with the thick ends of it all laid to the high side ^LfZ^?^'. ^tl? T^^ ^V\ ^^'^ ?? *? ^^^ thickness of about six inches ; and the bark taken off the largest of the wood laid regularly on the top, which serves fora covering, and the lofts or ranges having a declivity of about six inches, the ram will run off them readily, and if properly put up in this manner, they will keep out a great deal of rain After it has lain in this state for three days, if the weather is good U u 2 660 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. *"*? ^""y, it ought to be all turned over, and the small bark spread out, so as not to allow it to sit together, which, if much pressed, it is apt to dO; and if it does so with the natural sap in it, it has a chance of moulding, which is extremely hurtful to the bark, and both lessens it in weight and in value. After the bark has stood on the ranges about eight or ten days, if the weather be good, it may either be put mto a house or a shed, or if intended to be put up into a stack it may now be done. A stack of barlt ought never to exceed eight feet in width, and twelve or fifteen feet in height, raised in the middle like a haystack. If it is to stand any length of time in the stack, it ought to be thatched, and in that state may remain all winter. The greatest care ought to be taken to preserve the colour of the inner Sarts of the bark, because the colour of it is generally looked to as a principal criterion of its value. ■efore being put into the stack, the natural sap ought to be dried out of it, in order to prevent its fermenting; because, if a fermentation takes place in one part of the stack, it generally goes through and spoils the whole. The same mode of treatment will do for all kinds of bark as well as ftie oak : but the birch has an outer or shreddy skin upon it, that is rejected by the tanner, and, as already observed, must be peeled ofE 4052. Chopping the bark. " When the bark is ready for the tanner, it has to undergo the work of chopping, which is done by driving in two or more stakes into the ground, with a fork on the upper end of each, leaving them about two feet six inches from the ground, and laying a long small piece of wood across between the two, where a number of people stand, and the bark is carried and laid down behind them, which they take up in their hands and lay on the cross tree, and then, with a sharp whittle or bill in the other hand, they cut it into small pieces, about three inches in length : when this is done, It is trampled into bags, which hold about two hundred weight each, and in these bags it is weighed when sold by the ton, in tons, hundred weights, quarters, and pounds, and in the above manner delivered to the merchant or tanner." {Foresie?-'s Guide, 199.) 4053. The disbarked timbei' is prepared for sale by being sorted into straight poles of the largest size, stakes and other pieces fit for palings, faggots, fuel, &c. The unbarked wood is similarly sorted, and affords, where there is much hazel or ash, cord wood or bundles of clean shoots for making packing crates, hampers, &c., poles for hops, larger poles for fences, rails, paling-stakes, stakes and shoots for hurdles, besom stuff, spray for distillation, and a variety of other objects, according to the local demand, or the opportunity of supplying a distant market by land-carriage. The brush or spray of non-resinoua trees is called in some places ton-wood, and is used for distilling the pyrolignous acid used in bleachfields and calico print-works. " When wood of this description is sent to Glasgow, where there are extensive works for the purpose of distilling it, it sells readily at from 1^. 2«. to II. 10*. per ton; but when there are large cuttings, particularly of young woods, it is worth while to erect boilers near the wood to distil it, as these boilers can be erected at no great expense, and in this case the liquid is easily carried in casks to where it is consumed, at less expense than the rough timber could be; of course it will pay much better. Small wood of this description ia also used for charcoal : but in distilling it, there is part of it made into charcoal, which will supply the demand of that article, so that it is by tar the most profitable way, when there is any great quantity to dispose of, to erect boilers and distil it ; unless where the local situation of the wood will admit of its being shipped at a small expense, and carried to where the works mentioned are carried on. All kinds of non-resinous woods will give the extract in question ; but oak, ash, Spanish chestnut, and birch, are tbe best" {Forester^s Guide, IS.*).) Where the oak grows slowly, as in the Highlands, the but-ends of the poles are used for spokes for chaise wheels. " Long spokes are from thirty to thirty-two inches long by three inches and a half broad, and one inch and a half thick, and the short ones for the same purpose, from twenty-two to twenty-four inches long, and the same sizes otherwise. Cart-wheel spokes, from twenty-six to twenty-eight inches long, four inches broad by two inches thick. These are the sizes they require to stand when rough blocked from the axe. Small wood, when sold for this purpose, brought^ in 1820, Hs. a cubic foot, measured down to three inches square," {Monteith.) 4054. In some cases copse-woods are sown with grass-seeds, and pastured by sheep, horses, and cattle. Some admit the animals the fifth year after the last cutting ; others, not till the eighth : but Monteith thinks this should never be done till the fifteenth year. If the ground is properly covered with trees, it can seldom be advantageous to admit any species of stock, unless during a month or two in winter. 4055. PoUard-treesj which may be considered in most cases as injurious deformities, ■ are lopped at stated periods like copse-woods ; and the lop, whether to be barked or other- wise, is to be treated in all respects like that of copse. 4056. The period at which trees are felled, for the sake of their timber, is determined by various causes. By maturity of growth, or where the annual increase is so trifling as to render their standing no longer worth while in point of profit; when wanted for pri- vate use or sale ; or when defects in the tree, or new arrangements in its situation, point out the necessity of its removal. " A timbered estate,'* Marshal observes, '* should fre- quently be gone over by some person of judgment ; who, let the price and demand for timber be what they may, ought to mark every tree which wears the appearance of decay. If the demand be brisk, and the price high, he ought to go two steps farther, and mark not only such as are full-grown, but such also as ai'e near perfection.*' In trees, as in the human species, there are three stages, youth, manhood, and old age. In the period of youth, the growth is rapid ; in manhood, that growth is matured ; and in old age, it begins to decay. 4057. Tfte most profitable season for felUTig timber is at what may thus be termed the beginning of man- hood. After that time, though the tree may appear sound and healthy, its annual increase is so little, that it would be more profitable to cut it down and replant The number of years that a tree may stand, before it arrives at this period, must vary in different soils and situations; but the period itself may easily be ascertained by the annual shoots, the state of the bark, and by taking the circumference of the tree at the same place for two or three successive seasons, and comparing the difference. In the view of profiting ft-om timber produce, it is of great consequence to cut down plantations at maturity. Many trees will stand half, others a whole ctntury, after they are full-grown, appear quite healthy, and at the same time make little or no increase of timber. But there are particular cases, arising from the nature and state of the markets, where it may even be more profitable to cut timber before it is arrived at a full growth. {Treat, on Countr. Res. ii. 577.) 4058. Preparations for felling. It has been strongly recommended to disbark trees a year or more before they are taken down, in consequence of the result of certain experiments commenced by Euffon in 1737. In May of that year, he disbarked three oak trees, forty feet in height, where they stood. In the coarse of three years they died, and, on cutting them down, the outer wood was found hard and dry, and the internal wood moist and softer. After trying its strength, &c., he concludes that " timber which has been disbarked and dried while standing, will weigh heavier, and prove stronger, than timber cut in its bark." Bosc and other French authors Un Cours Compl. d'Agr. &c. art. Aubier, Bois, Quercus, &cc.) strongly recommend this practice, which is followed in some places on the Continent, and in this countrj Took II, PRODUCTS OF TREES. 6m with the oak and larch; but not, as far as we have learned, with any other tree. Monteith finds it by far the most efficient way of seasoning larch tinber. He barlced some trees in spring, and did not cut them down till autumn, and others stwd in the peeled state for two years. After various and extensive trials, he is " decidedly of opinion, that the larch treated in this way at thirty years of age will be found equally durable with a tree cut down at the age of fifty years, and treated in the ordinary way." (Forester's Guide, 152.) 4059. As the dry rot (Merhlius lachrymans Schum.) is found to arise in a great measure from want of seasoning, or at least to proceed with the greatest rapidity in timber not well seasoned, this practice seems to deserve adoption in that point of view. {Encyc. Brit Suppl. art Dry Rot.) In some parts of the north of Europe, the trees are divested of their bark for a foot or two feet in height from the ground a year or more previous to tliat on which they are to be I'elled. We saw this done in Poland and Lithuania ; but, though we made diligent enquiry there and in Sweden, we could not learn distinctly the extent to which it was practised in the latter country and Norway. It is occasionally practised in Poland, for the ostensible purpose of hardening the soft wood : but also accompanied by a deep incision made for the purpose of extracting tar j a practice evidently iiyurious to the timber, and therefore generally, in these countries, kept out of view. When trees stand close together, a very obvious preparation for felling is lightening the tops of such branches as would, in falUug, do injury to the trees that are to be left, or to other ad- joining objects. 4060; The season qf Jelling is commonly winter, for timber not to be disbarked ; but some, for the re- slnous tribe, recommend summer, as being the season in which it is generally felled in the north of Europe and in the Alps. But the summer season is there adopted from necessity, as in winter the woods are so filled up with snow that felling is hardly practicable. As the timber of these countries is generally squared for the market, the soft wood is chiefly removed; so that the season of felling does not seem to them to be of much consequence. Besides, the timber is never so fUU of sap in summer as it is in spring and autumn, and therefore, next to midwinter, midsummer may be the best time for felling all kinds of timber trees. Where the trees are disbarked at the base a year or more before felling, the soft wood will be partially hardened ; but this practice is by no means general in the North. 4061. KnowleSj in a recent work on preserving the British navy, and on dry rot, &a, after collecting the opinions of all the ancient and modem authors who have written on felling timber, concludes that the common notion that trees felled in winter contain less of sap or of the vegetable juices, than those cut down at any other season of the year, is not true; and that the method of barking standing trees in spring, and not felling them till the succeeding winter, has not in any way realised the expectations formed of the* plan. After describing all the modes that have been adopted for seasoning timber, he concludes that the best is to " keep it in air, neither very dry nor very moist ; and to protect it from the sun and rain by a roof raised sufficiently high over it, so as to prevent, by this and other means, a rapid rush of air." (/n- quiry into the Mearis qfpi-eservmg the_ British Navy from Dry Rat, S[C. by Knowles, Sec. to the Com. qf Surveyors, chap, iit) *4062. The operation, qf felling is performed either by digging an excavation round the stem, and cutting the roots at two or three feet in distance from it, or by cutting over the stem at the surface. By the former mode the root is obtained for use, and the ground more effectually cleared and prepared for the roots of adjoining trees, orwhatsver crop is to follow. Where the tree is intended to stole, which can very seldom be advisable in the case of cutting full-grown timber, or where there is some nicety requisite in taking it down, so as not to injure other trees or adjoining objects, it is cut or sawn over, and the root, if to be re- moved, dug out afterwards. *' In cutting large trees, in order to make the tree fall the way required, enter the cross-cut saw on that side of the ti'ee it is intended to fall, and cut it about a third part through ; then enter the saw at the other side, and when it is cut so far as to admit a wedge, place the wedge exactly opposite the way you want the tree to fall, and keep driving it slowly till the tree is nearly cut through.** {MoTiteitli.) The tree, being felled, is next divested of its branches, which are sorted into fence wood, fuel, ton-wood, &&, according to the kind of tree ; and the trunk is generally preserved as entire as pos- sible for the purchaser. Sometimes it is cut in two, and the root-cut, or but-end, being the most valuable, sold for one class of purposes at a higher price, and the top-cuts for others somewhat lower. 4063. The seasoning q/ timber consists in evaporating the fluid matter or sap by the natural warmth of the atmosphere, with the precaution of screening the timber both from the direct action of the sun and wind, otherwise it cracks, and receives much injury. As this process proceeds slowly and irregularly when conducted in the ordinary way, Mr. Langton has discovered a new method of seasoning timber, consisting in the removal of the greater part of the atmospheric pressure, and the application of artificial heat, by which the time necessary to season green timber, and render it fit for use, is only about twice as many weeks as the ordinary process requires years. In this process the power of an air-pump is added to draw the sap out of the interior of the wood ; and the tendency of the fluid to the outside being thus increased, a higher temperature than that of the atmosphere can be applied, with less risk of causing the timber to split ; consequentiy the process may be completed in less time, and a few trials will show the best relation between the time and heat for the different kinds of wood. The late Mr. Tredgold's opinion being asked he gave it as decidedly in favour of Mr. Langton's process; and timber is now completely seasoned by Mr. Langton in eight or ten weeks after the tree is cut down, (Newton's Journal, vol. i. 2d series, p. 144.) 4064. Seasoning timber by steeping. " Some remarkable facts respecting the durability that may be g^ven to timber by artificial means have been observed at Closebum. The proprietor of that estate has, for thirty years, been in the constant practice of soaking all fir and larch timber, after it is sawed into planks, in a pond or cistern of water strongly impregnated with lime In consequence of this soaking, the saccharine matter in the wood, on which the worm is believed to live, is either altogether changed, or completely destroyed. Scotch fir-wood, employed in roofing houses, and other indoor work, treated in this manner, has stood in such situations for thirty years, sound, and without the vestige of a worm. In a very few years fir-timber so employ^, without such preparation, would be eaten through by that insect." {Menteith qf Closeburn, in Edin. New Phil. Jomiu June, ISsiS.) 4065. Tlie roots of trees are the last product we shall mention. These should, in almost every case, be efi'ectually eradicated; to aid in which, in the case of very large roots, splitting by wedges, rifting by gunpowder, tearing up by the hydrostatic press, or by a common lever, may be resorted to. Some compact ash or oak roots are occasion- ally in demand by smiths, leather-cutters, and others ; but, in general, roots should be reduced to pieces not exceeding three feet long, and six inches in diameter, and put up in stacks not less than three feet every way, but commonly containing two cubic yards. These, wiien dry, are sold for fuel, or reduced to charcoal on the spot. In eradicating and stacking up coppice-woods, it is common to allow a certain sum per stack, and something for every acre of ground cleared; if there are no trees to bark, allowances are also made for the poles, faggots, &c., so that no part of the operation is performed by day work. 4066. The usual method of charring wood is as follows : — The wood being collected near the place intended for the operation, and cut into billets, generally about three feet Uu 3 '& ^ 662 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. in length, the pits or stacks are usually formed in this manner : — A spot adapted to the purpose, of from'about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, of a conical form, is selected, and after being properly levelled, a large billet of wood, split across at one end, and pointed at the other, is fixed in the centre of the area, witli its pointed extremity in the earth, and two pieces of wood, inserted through the clefts of the other end, forming four right angles ; against these cross-pieces, four other billets of wood are placed, one end on the ground, and the other leaning against the angles. A number of large and straight billets are afterwards laid on the ground, to form a floor, each being, as it were, the radius of the circular area ; on this floor, a proper quantity of brush or small wood is strewed, to fill up the interstices, when the floor will be complete : and in order to keep the billets in the same position in which they were first arranged, pegs or stumps are driven into the ground, in the circumference of the circle, about a foot distant from one another ; upon this floor a stage is built, with billets set upon one end, somewhat in- clining towards the central billet, and on the tops of these another floor is laid, in a horizontal direction, but of shorter billets, as the whole is intended, when finished, to form a cone. The pile is then coated over with turf, and the surface generally plastered with a mixture of earth and charcoal dust. 4067. Previously to the operation of setting fire to the pUe, the central billet in the upper stage is drawn out, and pieces of dry combustible wood substituted in its place, to which the fire is applied. Great attention is necessary during the process, in tlie proper management of the fire, and in immediately covering up the apertures through which the flame obtrudes itself, until the operation be concluded, which is generally effected in the space of two or three days, according to circumstances. When the char- coal is thought to be sufficiently burnt, which is easily known from the appearance of the smoke, and the flames no longer issuing with impetuosity through the vents, all the apertures are to be closed up very carefully, with a mixture of earth and charcoal dust, which, by excluding all access of the external air, prevents the coal from being any further consumed, and the fire goes out of itself. In this condition it is suffered to remain, till the whole is sufficiently cooled ; when the cover is removed, and the charcoal is taken away. If the whole process is skilfully managed, the coals will exactly retain the figure of the pieces of wood : some are said to have been so dexterous as to char an arrow without altering even the figure of the feather. (^Encyc. Brit. vol. v. art. Charcoal.) 4068. The Tnethod qfcliarring wood, for the ma/cing of gunpowder, accovding to an improved system, adopted not many years ago, is however a much more costly operation, though the expense attending it is amply compensated by the superior excellence of the article when manufactured. It is done in iron cylinders, and in so complete a manner, that every particle of the wood is charred. The oily or tarry matter is also preserved, and may, so far as the quantity goes, be made use of instead of foreign tar or pitch. This mode of charring wood for making gunpowder is carried to the greatest perfection near Petworth in Sussex, and there is a manufacture of a similar nature near Chester. {Gen, Sep. for Scot. land, voL ii. p. 342.) Sect. IX. EstimaitTtg the Value of Plantations and their Products, and exposing them to Sale. 4069. The valuation of timber forms a distinct profession, and can only be acquired by continued observation and experience : like other valuations of property, it depends on a great variety of considerations, some of » general, but the greater part of a local nature. We have already offered some remarks on valuing young plantations, as a part of what may be called the inherent value of landed estates (3330.), and shall here confine ourselves to the valuation of saleable trees. 4070. In valuing saleable trees of any kind, their number per acre or their total number by enumeration being ascertained, and the kinds and sizes classed, then each class is to be estimated according to its worth as timber, fence-wood, fuel, bark, &c. 4071. In a coppice wood which canTiot readily he ineasured, '* the readiest method of counting the stools is, to cause two men to take a line, say about a hundred feet long or more, and pass it round as many of the stools as it will enclose, the one man standing while the other moves round a new number of stools : then count always the stools betwixt the two lines, causing the one man to move while the other stands still, and so on alternately. The valuator at the same time taking care to average every twenty stools as they go on, before losing sight of the counted stools. This way, too, is a very speedy and sure method of counting the number of trees in any plantation." 4072. Or the stools of a coppice wood may he counted and avej aged " by two men going parallel to each other, and the person valumg going betwixt them ; the two men putting up marks with moss, or pieces of white paper, on a branch of the stools j the one man always going back by the last laid marks, and the valuator always counting and averaging the stools betwixt the newly laid and the late made marks ; counting and averaging the stools always as the men go on, taking only twenty, or even ten stools at a time, lo those who have been in the practice of doing this fVequently, it will be found very easy, and will be done very speedily, and with a very considerable degree of accuracy. The proper method of learnmg to do this correctly is, when a person cuts an oak wood for the first time (or, even were the work repeated several limes) ; he should then, in order to make himself perfectly acquainted with ascertainmg the quantity of bark that a stool, or even the stump of a stool, will produce, go before the peelers, and select a stool or stem ; after having examined it narrowly, he supposes it to produce a certain quantity of bark, and marks this down in his memorandum book. He then causes a person to peel It by itself, dry it, and carefully tie it up and weigh it, and compare it with the weight he supposed it would produce, and he wdl at once see how far his calculation approaches the truth. A stem of oak, from a natural stool, suppose it to measure in girth two inches, by seven feet long, will contain two solid inches, and one thud ot an inch, according to the measurement of Hoppus. This stem or shoot will pro- duce two pounds two ounces of bark. Again, a stem or shoot of natural oak, measuring four inches in Book II. VALUING PLANTATIONS. 663 girth, by nine feet in lengtli, will be found to contain one solid foot of wood, and will produce thirteen pounds and a Iialf of bark." {Forester's Guide, 170.) 4073. Wfien groiving trees are valued, an allowance is made from their cubic contents for the bark. The rule given by Monteith is, " When the girth or circumference is any thing from twelve inches up to twenty-four inches, then deduct two inches ; from twenty-foiu" to thirty-six, three inches ; from thirty-six to forty-eight, four inches ; from forty-eight to seventy-two, five inches; and above seventy-two, six inches. Tliese deductions," he says, " will be found to answer in almost aU trees ; unless in such as are very old, and have rough and corky barks, or barks covered with moss, when an extra allowance is to be made." [Forester's Guide, 180.) 4074. T7t valuing measurable oak-trees, many persons proceed on tlie data that every cubic foot of timber will produce a stone (sixteen pounds) of bark, " This," Monteith says, « is not always correct ;" and he states the following facts from his own expe- rience, with a view to assist beginners in ascertsuning the quantity of bark from different trees. " An oak-tree, about forty years old, measured down to four inches and a half as the side of the square, and weighing only the bark peeled off the timber that is nieasured, without including the bark of the spray, &c., every foot of measured timber will produce from nine to eleven pounds of bark. An oak-tree of eighty years old, weighing only the bark peeled off the measiurable timber, as above, every foot will produce from ten to thirteen pounds of bark. Every foot of large birch timber, peeled as above, will produce fourteen pounds of bark. Every foot of mountain-ash, as above, will produce eleven pounds and a half of bark. Every foot of the willow, unless a very old one, will produce from nine to eleven pounds of bark. Every foot of larch fir, not exceeding thirty years old, will produce from seven to nine pounds of bark. The bark of trees, particularly the oak, is peeled off, every branch and shoot, down as small as an inch in circumference." {Forester^s Guide, 189.) ,4075. To facilitate the measuring qf staiiding timber^ various ingenious instruments and machines have been invented, by Monteith, Gorrie, Rogers, and others. Perhaps the most generally useful is Broad's callipers (jig. 599). This instrument is composed of two thin pieces of deal about thirteen feet long, with 600 a brass limb or index (a), on which are engraven figures denoting the quarter girth in feet and inches. Raising the instrument, the index end (o) is taken hold of, and t^e other applied to that part of the trunk where the girth is to be taken, opening it so wide as just to touch at the same time both sides of it, keeping the graduatHl index uppermost, on which the quarter girth will be shown, allowing one inch in thirteen for the bark. For taking the height of a tree, rods of deal or bamboo, seven feet long, made so as to fit into ferules at the end of each other, tapering as in a fishing-rod, may be used. Fiveofthem with feet marked on them would enable a man quickly to measure the height of a trunk of more than forty feet as he would reach above seven feet. Mon- teith's machine being described in the Encyclopisdia of Gardening (2d edit.' % 6970), and Gorrie's in the Gard. Mag. (vol. ii. p. 9.), we shall here confine our- selves to the invention of Mr. Rogers. 4076. Rogers's detidroTTieter {fig. 600) consists of a tripod stand, and a machine for taking angles horizontally as well as vertically. An upright stem arises from the top plate, at the end of which is a ball, with a hole perforated through it, to receive the horizontal stem of the in- strument; b c may be called the base limb of the instrument, which is to be placed in a truly horizontal position, and adjusted by the suspended level {d). The limb (e) rises on a joint at cr, and slides upon a vertical arch (/) which is graduated. At the joint (cj there is an eye-piece, through which the surveyor looks along the side of the bar {b) to a small point, or rising edge, at the end of the bar ; the part of the tree cut by this ■ line of observation will, if the instru- ment is properly adjusted, be perfectly horizontal with the eye-piece. An eye- piece is also placed at c, on the upper Uu 4 664 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III. side of the rising limb, for the purpose of looking along this limb to a point or rising edge (e) in its extremity. The surveyor elevates this limb, until th.it part of the tree intended to be noticed is exactly cut by the line of observation, and the angle subtended between tii.it and the horizontal is shown upon the vertical arch (/). It is here to be rnmarked, that the gradu.itions upon the arch if) are not angles of altitude, but marks or graduations answering to feet and inches of a tangent line, extending from the horizontal point upwards, taken at a given distance from the tree ; consequently, there are two or more rows of divisions, answering to the several distances at which the instrument may be planted, inventy. four feet and fortv-eight feet are proposed distances, and the graduations upon the arch (/) are made accordingly. For lofty trees, the longer distance is to be used ; but for shorter trees, the distance of twenty, four feet will be sufficient. The horizontal angles which are to determine the diameter of the trunk, at the several points of observation, are ascertained by the limb (g), which slides laterally upon an arch or graduated plate (A) divided upon the same principles as the arch (/). The limbs (ft) or (e) being fixed, so as to coincide with one side of the trunk, the limb (g) is then moved until it coincides with the other side of the trunk, and the angle subtended between the two shows, by the graduated plate (A), the diameter in feet and inches of the trunk at the points of observation. The length of the trunk, and its diameter in the several parts being thus ascertained by the improved instrument, recourse must then be had to tables, cal- culations, or the ordinary sliding rule, for the purpose of obtaining from these admeasurements, the solid content of timber in each portion of the tree. There are adjusting screws, and circular racks and pinions for moving the limbs of the instrument, and altering their position, as circumstances may require ; and when crooked arms, or bent parts of the trunk present themselves, the instrument may be turned upon its pin, in the ball at the top of the stem (o), and used in an inclined position. iNewton*s Jour, vol ix. p. 360.)' 4077. The price of timber, like that of every other article in general use, varies with the supply and demand, and is easily ascertained from the timber-merchants at the different sea-ports ; as is that of bark, charcoal, and fire-wood, from the tanners and coal-merchants. 4078. Tlie usual modes of disposing of timber trees are, selling the trees standing, by auction, by receiving written proposals, or by bargain and sale ; 2d, cutting down the trees, and selling them in the rough, by either of these methods; 3d, con- verting the fallen trees ; that is, cutting them up into the planks or pieces to which they are best adapted, or which are most eligible in the given situation. ITie first method seems the best, especially on a large scale, and also for the disposal of copse -wood or osier crops. Chap. X. Formation and Management of Orchards. 4079. The formation of orchards is to be considered among tlie permanent improve- ments of an estate ; and should be kept in view in its first arrangement or laying out No temporary occupier could afford to plant an orchard without extraordinary encouragement from his landlord. Orchards in this respect may be ranked with timber plantations, and both subjects together agree in belonging equally to agriculture and gardening. Orchards have doubtless existed in Britain for many ages as appendages to wealthy religious establishments ; but, as objects of farming or field culture, they do not appear to have been adopted till about the beginning of the seventeenth century. (Lawson.) They were then introduced by Lord Scudaraore in Herefordshire, in which county, and in such parts of those adjoining as exhibit a red marly soil, are the best farm orchards in England. The chief produce of these orchards is cider and perry ; but as these liquors are not in very general demand in this country, and are confessedly less wholesome and nourishing than malt liquors, their formation cannot be carried to any great extent. It seems desirable, however, that orchards of moderate size should be as generally intro- duced as possible ; as tlie use of the fruit in pies, tarts, and sauces would add considerably to the comforts of the lower classes. Besides, there are some situations, as steep sheltered banks of good soil, which cannot be so profitably employed in any other branch of hus- bandry. The subject of orchards may be considered in regard to soil and situation, sorts of trees, planting, cultiure, and the manufacture or disposal of the produce. Sect. I. Soils and Situations most suitable for Orchards, 4080. The sites of all the best apple orchards, and all the chief cider districts, have been discovered by W. Smith to be on the same stratum of red marl which stretches across the island from Dorsetshire to Yorkshire. Fruit of no kind, indeed, can be raised with much success on a soil that does not contain in its composition a portion of calcareous matter : though apple trees will thrive well on any description of clay which has a dry bottom, and pears and plums on any dry-bottomed soil wliatever. 4081. The most desirable aspect is unquestionably a somewhat elevated and naturally sheltered declivity, open to the south and south-east; but, as the author of Tlw Hereford- shire Survey remarks, orchards are now foimd " in every aspect, and on soil of every quality, and under every culture." The most approved site, lie says, is that which is open to the south-east, and sheltered in other points, but particularly in that opposite. Book II. SORTS OF TREES, AND MANNER OF PLANTING. 663 Much however depends on the character of the winds of a country ; for in some parts of the island, the west, and in others the east or north wind, is the most injurious to vegetation. 4082. Tlie soil which in Herefordshu-e is considered best adapted to most kinds of apples is a deep and rich loam when under the culture of the plough ; on tliis, the trees grow with the greatest luxuriance, and produce the richest fruit. Some tiees however, the stire and the golden pippins in particular, form exceptions to this general rule, and flourish most in hot shallow soils on a lime or sandstone. The best sorts of pear-trees also prefer the rich loam, but inferior kinds will even flourish where the soil will scarcely produce herbage. An orchard is generally raised with most success and at least expense in a hop-yard, the gi'ound under this culture being always well tilled and manured, as well as fenced against every kind of enemy. 4083. The soils and situations devoted to farm orchards in Scotland are steep clayey banks sheltered from the more violent and injurious winds; and in whatever part of that country such situations occur, they can scarcely be more profitably employed. Fruit trees of the apple, peai*, and cherry kind, especially of the hardier and tall vigorous- growing varieties, might be introduced in the hedge-rows of dry and moderately sheltered grass-lands in most parts of the British Isles. By thus rendering these fruits universal, there would be a considerable accession of enjoyment to the lower classes, and less tempt- ation to break into gardens and orchards. 4084. The commercial situation most desirable for an orchard is, of course, near a market town, or near a ready conveyance to one ; because though the making of cider affords a profit, yet the fruit sold for culinary or table use yields a much more consi- derable one. In The GloucestersJnre Report it is stated that the fruit, which would fetch 8i 16s. unground, would only bring in cider 3^. 15s. Sect. II. Sorts of Trees, and Manner of Planting. 4085. The most generally useful fruit that can be grown in farm orchards is the apple ; next the pear ; then the plum for tarts or wine ; and to these may be added the cherry, filbert, walnut, chestnut, and elder. In the cider countries, where the climate is more certain than in some others, it is customary to plant but a few good sorts ; and not to mix above one or two sorts together in making cider : in the northern districts, on the contrary, it is a maxim to plant a considerable number of different sorts, both of those which blossom early and late ; because, should the blossom of one variety be destroyed by a frosty wind, that of another may escape. In cold districts, it is advisable to plant orchards in sheltered hollows, exposed to the sun, and to plant thick : but in the warmer southern counties, many descriptions of cider and perry fruits may be grown to perfection in the hedge-rows, or as cultured trees in permanent pastures. The fittest trees for such purposes are those which grow tall, with upright shoots, and which bear fruit of a small size; such as the Sibeiian pippin apple, and squash teinton pear; such trees shade the hedges or pastures less than the spreading kinds, and their fruit, being small, is less likely to be blown down by high winds. 4086. The most approved sorts of cider apples we have enumerated and partially described in the accompanying table 4089). It will be particularly observed that some of the sorts form much more handsome trees than others, and should therefore be preferred for hedge-rows, and indeed in all cases-where the quality of the fruit is not objectionable. Some also have smaller-sized fruit than others, and these are to be preferred for situations exposed to much wind. 4087. The colours of good cider fruit are red and yellow ; the colour to be avoided is gi'een, as affording a uquor of the harshest and generally of the poorest quality. The pulp should be yellow, and the taste rich and somewhat astringent. Apples of a small size are always, if equal in quality, to be preferred to those of a larger, in order that the rind and kernel, which contain the aromatic part, may be the more easily crushed with the pulp. 4088. The sorts of baiting apples most suitable for orchards are the calvilles, of which there are several varieties, including the Hawthornden for early use; the: reinettes pearmains, and Northern greening for autumn use, and the russets and l?adlt;y's pippin for winter and spring. Many other sorts might be named, but au inspection of the fruit markets will prove that these are the best; and further details belong to books on gardening. Whoever intends to plant an orchard will do well to describe the soil situation, climate, and object in view, to the nearest resident gardener or nurseryman of science and great experience ; because the nomenclature of fi-uits is at present too uncertain to justify any one in trusting entirely to a selection of names taken from books. Ronalds of Brentford, Gibbs of Ampthill and Old Brompton, and Pearson of Chilwell near Nottingham, are very extensive growers of apple trees for sale, and have paid great attention to the merits of the different sorts. GG6 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III liil I 8 o »_g .a § i 111 4 1 ' K5 aa £>> ■Si'! I 1 r^ " "S in p a* s s " 5 n' IS ill i| 1 II 1111 1 1111111 '1 I II oa caaa m aaaaoao a o aa o H H t). PU H Pi Q W aj I— f fq H o to w P4 Ph w O o 1-1 ■< H ^S S III II I n (fl 3 S n A ecf3 ed d _||_ as all' "Cd 'd'w'd 11 III l! 1111 IJ Ijll 1 liiitil -3 ' I' I l.^llllill I II .■SI .■§ -s |1 »»i. 6s aa^B 1 I S if«'«^ Sill s Is ^1 ^8 §"i 8 SisM^iS' a -J e,H. ><-) O env. • -e-d ° ekg boo o ■a B'^ si „ irp sas? 3 So E S 9 4^ 'g] pa Ma«>i i- •^■■■■•s.'| • ll ■s-s 11 h sis gj lis xa Quo Sd aljM >d'0'dT3'3T3T)'d I €*« S O q O o <; O Q-S « 6 q ,is| SB a e 1* aS, S,B' la I l.3aa.3ggla ■!■! aa m n uj o> . J « « »^..5.^OWc0« Si ■ii-ii-l w If Iff Iff o Oooqooooo a aB.aaaii.aa,ei o o o o ill OO O 01 , s s.gs S! B & S f s :5 lit ^^1 d 'SB as a Isl-i^-s ■ •g ■< fi I ^ I 'I ■|; eg I t i 111 I 11 So^a - ^£ sc i: .f 5 "3 a:? 3c» t Bic .j°) M a & f! «J Book II, PLANTING ORCHARDS. 667 4090. Tke dessert apphsJU for orchards are the rathripes or Margarets for earliest use ; the juneating, pomeroy, summer pearmain, and Kentish codling for summer use ; the golden, Downton, and other pippins, especially the rihston pippin, with the nonpareil and other small russets, for autumn, winter, and spring use. Tlie following list is given by Nicol as including a fit collection both of kitchen and dessert apples for a private orchard ; those marked thus * being preferable : — Ribston pippin, * oslin ditto, * eogar ditto, * KenUsh dittoi "royal codling, *Kentisli dilto, * Carlisle ditto, * roval nisset, Wheelei-'s ditto, * royal pearraain, *Loan'B ditto (good),*Kolden reinette, * Kentish ditto (good), * grey Leadington, scarlet ditto, summer greenlncr, winter ditto, * Yorkshire greening, * margil [very go(>^)> JUargaret apple (good), * white Haw- thomden, * Norfolk beaunn (good), stxawbenry, * purse- mouth (very good). 4091. The most ajtproved sorts of cider pears are the following : — very austere, hardy free-growing tree. Her. 1. 13., Forsyth, p. 144., "^ " — and great bearer. Squash teinton. Pom. fruit very austeiv, upright tree. ucuiBuu, i,uiu. nwr. \. Xl^, ffOISyUl, p. 140., ITUlt VCTT austere, hardy upright tree. Hdlmore, Pom. Her. t. 20., For- sytti, p. 144., upriglit tree. Huftbap, Pom. Her. t. 24., Forsyth, p. 144., fruit austere (Kge, hardy trees. Oldfield, Pom. Her. 4092. In choosing pears for planting in orchards, the description of the plant is a matter of very considerable importance, as pear trees attain a much greater age and size than apples. In our opinion the planting of pears in hedge-rows ought to be more encouraged than the planting of apples, as they are calculated, when dried, to be used in soups ; or, when stewed green, to aiFord a light and agreeable nourishment ; and perry is at least a more wholesome and exhilarating liquor to most constitutions than cider. 4093. The baking and dessert jyears Jit for orchards, according to Nicol, are the following : — "kJargonelle, Crawford or lammas, * camoclc ox Drummond, * Rrey achan, swan's Qjg, * mooifowl's egg, * yiur, * golden knap (good), Longueville, * summer bergamot, * autumn ditto. * Scot's ditto, musk robin (good), saffron, * hanging leaf (very good), the pomid pear, cadillac, warden (for baking). 4094i Gorrie {Gard. Mag. vol iv. p. 11.) recommends the Benvie (^g. 601. o). Golden Knap (6), 601 Elcho (c). Busked Lady (d), and Pow Meg (tf), as handsome trees. But where high-flavoured fruit is the object, and the climate is not unfavourable, the Beurres, the Bergamots, and other new French and Flemish sorts, should be preferred. The following sorts will succeed as standards in the neigh- bourhood of London. Their time of ripening is indicated, and also their qualities : very good (v, g.) j good (g.) ; and moderate (ra.). July. * Muscat Robert (m.), gros muscat, (g.) Aug- Epine verte A'4t6 (g.), * jaTgoneUe- (v. g.) Aiitumiu *Bergamote silvange (g.), *beurr^ rouge (g.). Sept. ^Ber^mote paysanne (v.g.), ronsselet de Rheims. (v.g.) Sept. and Oct. Fondante d'Havay (v. g.), * bon Chretien Orf. Foi Od. and Nov. * Beurr^ Une. (v. e.) Nov. Bei . . „ „ beurrd d'Afflighem (v.g.), Marie Louise {^ surrd Capiaumont (v. g.j, beurr^ crapaud (v. g.), ■ '- . -- .jg Louise (v.g.), * Napoleon (V-g.), *UrhaniBte. (▼•g-) pastorale (g.), * present de Ma- Dec. Beurx^ diel ines. (»- g. 4095. T/te best sorts of baking plums are the following : — Damson, buUace, muscle, winesour, and magnum bonum. Of these the damson is by far the best, and next the ~' Winter. Josephine (v. g.), poire Canning, (v. g,) Dte. mid Jan. *(ilauz morceaux (v. g.), Roide Rome, fg.) Jan. Bezi Vaat (v. g.), * Louise Bonne, (g.) Jan. and Feb. * Passe Colmar (v.g.), * Passe Colmar gris dit Prtfcel. (v.g.) "^ Feb. and March. Orange deliver (m.), rincommonicable. (m.) March, Duchesse de Mars, (g.) March and April. Gros Komain (m.), ^bergamote de PSques (m.), *beurr^ ranee, (v. g.) April. Fondante Batave (g.), la favorite, (g.) April and May. Muscat Allemand (m.), bezi de Caiwoy. (g.) May and June, *Bergamote de PeutecSte (g.), Ranie- uer. (m.) which thrives onlv on a calcareous soil, and grows wild in abundance in Jie West Riding of Yorkshire. 4096, The following are excellent dessert plums for an orchard ; — * Green gage, Orleans, * damask (black, good), white perdri- ditto, or imperial, * drap d'or (yellow, good). Of these the gon, *blue ditto, blue gage, * white magnum bonum, red green g?ge, Orleans, and damask are much the best. 4097. Gibbs of Brompton gives the following select list of orchard fruits from his own experience : — Svmrmr Table Applet. Early Margaret, red Astrachan, oslin. Mason's early, Kerry, yellow Ingestrie, Carter's seedling, Thorle, red Quarenden, early Ampthill pippin. Summer Kitchen Apples, Keswick codlin, Mauldcn codlin Carte's mons'er. Frpnch codlin, yellow harv st, Hollandbury Autumn TtUe Apples. Ribston, Margafl, court pendu, UowatoUf Kewtovm Spitzenburg, English peech ajiple. Feame's pippin, Wyfcen, Gravenstein, Ross nonpareil, pomme de neige. Avivmn KUdien Apples. Alexander, Howbury pippin, H:»wlhornden, Duchess of flklenburgh. Nelson, dominie, Blea'idm orange, JTu'ch and French codlins (good for autumn 36 w 'II as Mimincr use). W.nfer atul Spring Table Apples. Scarlet nonpareil, old ^C8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Tart III. noniiareil, old Rolden pippin, Newton |»lppin, Wheeler's nis- beurrt!, Marie Lovuse, Napoleon, bcurrd Spence, sans pippin, ^t, nonpareil msset, Giob'a pippin, court of WicW. i^moti puirt; A nana. RTcemng ot very good quality, Oooper'a nisscl, Sykeliouse Aulmnn preieme anU bakiiin Peara. Cliaumontelle, rcinc de w* / ^^^ ^^" seek no mrilier, golden Harvey. •pmvc. Scutch Cornuck, lilack achan, EUIn(;h&n, Aston-town. *yfmer and Sprine Kilchat Apples. French crab, Norfolk w(nler and Sprini; Talde Peart. ^St, Geimafn, beurrt beaolin, Norfolk Paradise, paywell, winter queen, winter d'hiver, poire Braddirk d'lilver, fwire d'Auch, bonolirtfUen Rreeninff, liorkshire Breemne, roval russst, beauij of Kent, d'hiver, beigamoie d'lilver, VvnuB d'hiver, beurrt ranee, white l>eadington, PuIIwoikTs apple, lemon pippin, skinlcss winter verte longue, b rganiote de F&que, Van Monfi, present pippin, marmalade pippin, winter pearmaiu. de Malines, bon Malinoi»e, Dillcn. Cider Apples. Itedslreak Sonit-r.-itt, redstreak Devon, fViiUer ami S/irinff baking aud preacrve Peart. Cadillac, Kdstreak late white Parson's, ciicfa^ee, Dulllin, woodcock, black pear of Worcester, Uvedalcs St. Germain, oiange Stjrc, Downton, Solebury elder apple, liingaton black, d'hiver, rou-aelet pros, mwveille. bom ersct sweeting. Perry Peart. Aston-town, achan red, achan green, swan't Summer Table Peart. Citrnn des carmes, jargonelle, sum- e;;g, wmdsor, grey lieurr^, orange bcrgamot. mer bon clirdtien, early bergaiiiot, JuUen aichiduc d'^t^. Cherries. Couronne, black heart, black eagle, Elton, bige- green cliisel, Lammas. reau, white heart. Summer baking and preserve Peart. Windsor, Jiklelcrantz, Pluma. Orleans, green gage, winesour. Cooper's large red, swan's throat, Crawford, lemon. bonum magnum, Coe's golden drop. Avtumit Table Peart. Gausel's bergamot, Cresanne, brown 4098. Uonalds of Brentford, who is perhaps better acquainted with English apples than any other inddvidual, reconunends the following sorts : — Summer Table Applet. Hicks's fancy. Bell's fine scarlet, red pippin, brandy apple, Ho binaon's pippin, new scarlet nonpareil, Quarenden, peach apple, lafameuse, summer oslin, summer Ferns pippin, Fedley':i pippin, CroRon pippin, nutmeg cockle golden pippin, Duchess of Oldenburgh, Kerry pippin. pippin, Wykin pippin, russet pearmain, Parry's pearmain. Summer baking Applet. Nonesuch, Spring-grove, Manks new green nonpareil, new go'den pippin, tulip apple, court codlin, Hawthomden, fine striped General Arabm, Wormsley pendu plat rubra, golden Worcester, Dredge's golden pippin, pippin, Carlisle codlin, early Julian, early spice apple. Winter batdng Apples. Large russet, transparent, golden Autumn Table Applet. Margil, Downton pippin, Keddle- russet, French crab, Minshull crab, Norfolk paradise, French stone pippin, Franklin's golden pippin, Delaware, aromatic pippin, London pippin, new hcarlet pearmain. Kirk's fame, russet, summer nonpareil, grange apple. JJuke of Wellington, Yorkshire greening, llyiner. Deeping Aulumii baking Apples. Hollandliury, beauty of Kent, Sa- pippin, pound apple (American). Inpian apple, golden burr, Russian apple. Emperor Alexander, Cider Applet. Bitter sweet, hiberian Hervey, Foxley apple, CaTlislecodlin,Gravenstein, yellow bow (American). coccagee, Pyrufi t>"^<|u«> Tartarian crab), Siberian bitter Winter Table Applet. Nonpareil, Morris's russet, Bringwood sweet crab, transparent crab. Deeping pippin, Downton pippin, pippin. King George, Sykehouse, Court Wyke pippin, Christie's Brentford crab, Girdler's large striped. 4099. Pearson of Chilwell recommends the following apples as very select: — For early Destert, the Efjglestone summering, Waterloo Manks codlin, American summering, and Hawthomden. pippm, and Perfect's juneating. For miildle Season, the Bur- For middle Season, Greenup's pippin, malster, and Barton gin, Jjord Lennox, Pike's pearmain, and Blenheim orange, free-bearer. Fur lojig Keeping, Caldwell, Nor manton wonder, For late Keepttig, Wollaton pippin, Bess Pool, Kcddlestono and northern green inw. All the foregoing will do well as dwarft pippin, and Hartford's russet. I'ar Kilclten U^e, early, the on Paradise stocks. (Gard. Mag. \o\. \\.) 4100. The cultivation of the plum a.^pea.rs to us deserving of more encouragement than it generally meets with. Not only does the fruit make excellent pies and tarts, but it may be kept in large quantities, so as to be ready for that purpose at any period pf the year. They also make a sort of wine, and with other fruits and ingredients form one of the best substitutes for port. The damson, buUace, and some other varieties, will grow and bear very high-flavoured fruit in hedges where the soil is dry below and not too thin. The fruit of the sloe is, for wine-making, superior to that of the plum, and nearly as good for tarts. 4101. The cherry is of more limited culture than any of the foregoing fruits; because cliiefly used for eating, and not being of a nature to keep. Near large towns they may be cultivated to a certain extent. In Kent and Hertfordshire are tlie cherry orchards which afford the chief supplies for the London market. The sorts are chiefly the caroon, small black or Kentish, the May-duke, and the morello ; but Holman*s duke, tlie black heart, and the large gean, will do well in orchards. 4102. The walnut and Spanish chestnut may be advantageously planted on the outskirts of orchards to shelter them, and a. few of them in hedge-rows where the climate is likely to ripen their fruit. The chestnut can hardly be considered as ripening north of London, or the walnut north of Newcastle. Both trees, however, may be planted for their timber in moderately sheltered situations, in most parts of the British Isles. 4103. The elder is not beneath notice as an orchard tree. It need seldom be planted as a. standard ; but in unpruned hedges on a soft, deep, and rather rich soil, it yields great quantities of fruit, which is readily manufactured into a sort of wine esteemed by many persons when warmed, and forms a comfortable evening draught for the cottager. No tree requires less care : it propagates readily by cuttings or seeds, and requires little or no pruning ; but, though it will grow in any soil whatever, it will produce no fruit worth mentioning on any but one tolerably deep and rich, and must be cut down when it begins to show indications of age. 4104. The flbert, currant j gooseberry , raspberry j and some other fruits, are cultivated extensively near large towns ; but the treatment they require renders them in our opinion unfit for farm orchards. 4105. In choosing trees for orchards, standards, sufficiently tall to admit of horses and cattle grazing under them, should always be preferred. Maiden plants, or such as are only two years from the bud or graft, are the most certain of success ; the apples being worked on crab, the pears on wilding, and the cherries on gean stocks. The common baking plums need not be grafted at all, but the better sorts should either be grafted or budded on damson stems. Where budded or grafted chestnuts and walnuts can be got, they should always be preferred as coming much sooner into bearing. The former may be had from the Dcvonsliire nurseries, and some public gardeners about London are now attempting to inarch and bud the walnut. 4106. With respect to the distance at which orchard trees may be planted ^ every thing will depend on tlie use which is intended to be made of the ground. Where the soil is Book II. CULTIVATION OF FARM ORCHARDS. 669 to be pastured or dug, they may be planted in quincunx and close : but where it is to be ploughed, tliey should either be planted in rows with sufficient space between for one broad ridge, or two ordinary ones ; or they should be planted in squares to admit of ploughing both east and wes^ and north and south. 4107. The Hertfordshire orchardists recommend that the rows should extend fi-om north to south, as in that direction each part of every tree will receive the most equal portions of light and heat The distance between each row, as well as the space between each tree, should depend on the situation and soil. Where the former is high and exposed, the trees should be closely planted to afibrd each other protection ; and where the latter is poor and shallow, their growth will of course be less luxuriant, and they will consequently require less room. But in low and sheltered situations, and in deep and rich soils, wider intervals should be allowed. In the fonner instances, twelve yards between each row, and six between each tree, are sufficient ; in the latter, twenty-four yards between each row, and eight between each tree, will not be too much. 4108. As a general guide with regard to distance, Nicol states the extreme limits at which apple and pear trees should stand, in a properly planted and close orchard, as from thirty to forty feet, less or more, according to the quality of the soil, taking, as the medium, thirty-six feet In a poor soil and a bleak exposure, where tlie trees may not be expected to grow very freely, thirty feet are sufficient ; whereas in good soil, and a,sheltered situation, forty may not be too much. Cherries and plums may be planted at from twenty-four to thirty-six feet, according to soil and situation, as above, taking as a me- dium, thirty feet for the ultimate distance at which they are to stand clear of one another. But it would be advisable, in the first instance, to plant four trees for one that is intended ultimately to remain, planting the proper kinds at the above distances first, and then temporary plants between them each way. These temporary plants should be of the free-growing sorts that begin to bear early ; such as the nonesuch and Hawthomden apples, the May-duke cherry, and the Crawford and yair pears; or any others known to produce fruit sooner after planting. Tiiese should be considered and be treated as temporary plants f^om the beginning, and must give place to the principal trees as they advance in growth, by being pruned away bit by bit, and at last stubbed up entirely. In bleak situations, if forest and other hardy trees be planted among the fruit trees, it may not be necessary to plant so many (if any) temporary fruit trees; or these may chiefly consist of the hardier sorts, such as the Hawthornden apple, the May.duke and morelto cherries, and the Scotch geans, which produce fruit the soonest 4109. In the operation of planting, great care ought to be taken not to insert the plants deeper in the soil than they were before removal. This is a ■very common error in every description of tree planting ; and in retentive soils is ruinous to the tree. Sir C. M. Burrel recommends, as a useful practice, in wet soils, or where tlie substratum is not suited to the apple or Hie pear, to plant the trees on hillocks of easy ascent, as for instance one foot higher in the centre than the level of the field, and sloping gradually to that level for three or four feet every way from the centre. By this practice, the roots will naturally follow the good surface earth ; whereas, if they are planted in holes, the roots are apt to shoot into the prejudicial subsoil, to the eventual injury of the plants by canker and other diseases. When trees are thus planted on small hillocks, the under-drains may pass between the rows with greater utility. Sect. III. Cultivation of Farm Orchards* 4110. The trees being carefully plantedj watered, and tied to tall strong stakest require little more than common attention for several years. Every autumn or spring they should be looked over, and all cross irregular shoots made during the preceding summer cut out, suckers (if any) removed from their roots, and side growths cleared from their 4111. TJie ol^ect in pruning young trees, Nicol observes, is to form a proper head. Generally speaking, the shoots may be pruned in proportion to their lengths, cutting clean away such as cross one another, and fanning the tree out towards the extremities on all sides ; thereby keeping it equally poised, and fit to resist the effects of high winds. When it is wished to throw a young tree into a bearing state, which should not be thought of, however, sooner than the third or fourth year after planting, the leading branches should be very little shortened, and the lower or side branches not at all ; nor should the knife be used, unless to cut out such shoots as cross one another. 4112. Afier an orchard'tree is come into bearing, Abercrombie says, continue at the time of winter pruning either every year, or every two, three, or four years, as an occasion is perceived, to cut out unproductive wood, crowded spray, and decayed parts. Also reduce long and outrunning ramblers and low stragglers, cutting them to some good lateral that grows within its limits. Where fruit-spurs are too numerous, then cut the strongest and most unsightly. Also keep the tree pretty open in the middle. If it be necessary to take off large branches from aged trees, use a chisel or saw, and afterwards smooth the wound with a sharp knife. In case old wood is to be cut down to young shoots springing below, to make the separation in summer will be of more advantage to those young shoots, though it is not a common practice, on account of the liability of many stone-fruit bearers to exude gum, when a large branch is lopped in the growing season. Observe to keep the stem clear from all lateral shoots, and eradicate all suckers from the root. 4113. On aged trees that have run into a confusion of shoots and branches, and whose spurs have become clustered mid crowded, the saw and the knife may be exercised with freedom, observing to cut clean away all useless spray, rotten stumps, and the like useless excrescences. Thin out the spurs moderately to let the air circulate freely among the 670 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. leaves and fruit in tlie summer season, and to admit tlie rays of the sun, so as to give tlic fruit colour and flavour. 4114. In pruning the apple tree nnd all otiier standard trees, Knight observes, the points of the external branches should be every where rendered thin and pervious to the light, so that the internal parts of the tree may not be vi-hoUy shaded by the external paits : the light should penetrate deeply into the tree on every side ; but not any where through it When the pruner has judiciously executed his work, every part of the tree, internal as well as external, will be productive of fruit ; and the internal part, in unfavourable seasons, will rather receive protection than injury from the external. A tree thus pruned will not only produce much more fruit, but will also be able to support a much heavier load of it, without danger of being broken : for any given weight will depress the branch, not simply in proportion to its quantity, but in the compound proportion of its quantity and of its horizontal distance from the point of suspension, by a mode of action similar to that of the weight on the beam of the steel-yard ; and hence a hundred and fifty pounds, suspended at one foot in distance from the trunk, will depress the branch which supports it no more than ten pounds, at fifteen feet in distance, would do. Every tree will, therefore, support a larger weight of fruit without danger of being broken, in proportion as the parts of such weight are made to approach nearer to its centre. 4115. Wliere a tree is stunted, or the head iU-shnped, from being originally badly pruned or barren, from having overborne itself, or from constitutional weakness, the most expedi- tious remedy is to head down the plant to witliin three, four, or five eyes (or inches, if an old tree), of the top of the stem, in order to furnish it with a new head. The recovery of a languishing tree, if not too old, will be further promoted by taking it up at the same time, and pruning the roots ; for as, on the one hand, the depriving too luxuriant a tree of part even of its sound healthy roots will moderate its vigour ; so, on the other, to relieve a stunted or sickly tree of cankered or decayed roots, to prune the extremities of sound roots, and especially to shorten the dangling tap-roots of a plant affected by a bad sub- soil, are, in connection vrith heading down, or very short pruning, the renovation of the soil, and draining, the most availing remedies that can be tried. 4116. ^ tree often becomes stunted from an accumulation of moss, which affects the functions of the bark, and renders the tree unfruitful. This evil is to be removed by scraping the stems and branches of an old tree ; and on a young tree a hard brush will effect the purpose. AVherever the bark is decayed or cracked, Abercrombie and Forsyth direct its removal. Lyon, of Edinburgh, has lately carried this practice to so great a length as even to recommend the removal of part of the bark of young trees. Practical men, in general, however, confine the operation to cracked bark, which nature seems to attempt throwing off ; and the effect in rendering the tree more fruitful and luxuriant is acknowledged by Neill in his Account of Scottish Gardening and Orchards, and by different writers in The London and Caledonian Horticultural Transactions. 4117. Tlie other diseases to which orchard trees are svjgect are chiefly the canker, gum, mildew, and blight, which, as we have already observed, are rather to be prevented by such culture as will induce a healthy state, than to be remedied by topical applications. Too much lime, Sir H. Davy thinks, may bring on the canker, and if so, the replacing a part of such soil with alluvial or vegetable earth would be of service. The gum, it is said, may be constitutional, arising from offensive matter in the soil ; or local, arising from external injury. In the former case, improve the soil ; in the latter, apply the knife. The mildew, it is observed by T. A. Knight and Abercrombie, " may be easily subdued at its appearance, by scattering flour of sulphur upon the infected parts." As tliis disease is now generally considered the growth of parasitical fungi, the above remedy is h'kely to succeed. For caterpillars and other insects in spring, Forsyth recommends burning rotten wood, weeds, potato-hulm, wet straw, &c., on tlie windward side of the trees when they are in blossom. He also recommends washing the stems and branches of all orchard trees with a mixture of "fresh cow-dung with urine and soap-suds, as a whitewasher would wash the ceiling or walls of a room." The promised advantages are, destruction of insects and " fine bark ;" more especially, he adds^ " when you see it necessary to take all the outer bark off." 4118. With the Herefordshire orchardists pruning is not in general use ; the most ap- proved method is that of rendering thin and pervious to the light the points of the external branches, so that the internal branches of the tree may not be wholly shaded by the external parts. Large branches should rarely or never be amputated. The instrument generally used for the purpose of pruning is a strong flat chisel, fixed to a handle six feet or more in length, having a sharp edge on one of its sides and a hook on tlie other. {Kniglu's Treatise on the Apple and Pear.) 4119. The culture of the soil among orchard trees is always attended with advantage; though it can so seldom be properly conducted in farm orchards, that in most cases it is better to lay them down with grass seeds for pasture. To plough between the trees and take com crops, even if manure is regularly given, cannot be any great advantage, unless Book II. GATHERING AND KEEPING ORCHARD FRUITS. 671 a radius of six or eight feet is left round each tree. If such a space is left, and yearly dug but not cropped, the trees will tlirive well ; and a ridge between each two rows may be sown with com. The greater number of orchards in Herefordshire and Gloucester- shire are under pasture ; but the most productive are those trees grown in hop grounds. In Kent, in some instances, the interspaces of young orchards are occupied by hops, in others by filberts, and in grown orchards the latter are sometimes seen. Some old orchards are likewise in permanent sward, others under arable or garden crops, and some in saintfoin, while others are in lucern.. In all cases where the subsoil is moist, or other- wise unfavourable, the ground of an orchard should neither be dug nor ploughed, in order not to prevent the roots from spreading themselves immediately under the surface. The effect of repeatedly stiiTing the surface to six or eight inches or more in depth is to cause the roots to descend. In all soils, this descent, by fumisliing them more abundantly with moisture, tends to prolong the growth, and prevent the ripening of the wood and tlie formation of blossom buds ; but, in the case of noxious subsoils, it biiugs on canker and other diseases. This is the reason why standard fruit-trees in kitchen gardens are gene- rally less productive than in grass orchards : the productive trees in certain hop-grounds in Kent and other counties may seem an exception ; but they are not so, the subsoil in these cases being good and dry. Sect. IV. Gathering and Keejnng of Orchard Fruit. 4120. TIte gathering of orchard Jruit, and especially apples, should be performed in such a maimer as not to damage the branches, or break olf the fruit spurs or buds. Too frequently the fruit is allowed to drop, or it is beat and bruised by shaking the tree and using long poles, &c. Nicol directs that it should never be allowed to drop of ilself, nor should it be shaken down, but should be pulled by the hand. This may be thought too troublesome a method ; but every body knows that bruised frmt will not keep, nor will it bring a fuU price. The expense of gathering, therefore, may be more than defrayed, if carefully done, by saving the fruit from blemish. 4121. JVith regard to the keeping of kernel JTuitSj the old practice, which is recommended by Marshal and Forsyth, commences with sweating, though Nicol and other modern gardeners omit this process. It is evident from the general practice of both commercial and private gardeners, that sweating fruit is not essential to its keeping, though some persons continue to allege that, in consequence of that operation, it keeps better. Marshal, the author of An Introduction to Gardening, observes, that those fruits which con- tinue long for use should be suffered to hang late, even to November, if the frost will permit; for they must be well ripened or they will shrink. Lay them in heaps till they have sweated a few days, when they must be wiped dry. Let them then lie singly, or at least thinly, for about a fortnight, and be again wiped, and immediately packed in boxes and hampers, lined with double or treble sheets of paper. Place them gently in, and cover them close, so as to keep air out as much as possible. Preserve them from frost through the winter : never use hay for the purpose. Kernel fruits and nuts keep no where better than when mixed and covered with sand in a dry cool cellar, in the manner of potatoes. Buried in pits well protected from moisture, russets have been found to keep perfecdy fresh a year from the time of their being gathered. The keeping of cider fruits is not approved of, it being found best to crush them after they have been thinly spread for a few days on a dry boarded floor. Many of the Herefordshire growers carry them direct from the tree to the crushing-mill. Sect. V. Manufacture of Cider and Ferry. 4122. GAer is coTwrnonly mamfactured by the grower of the fruit, though it would cer- tainly be better for the public if it were made a distinct branch of business like brewing or distilling. " The true way to have excellent cider," Marshal observes, " is to dispose of the fruit to professional cider makers. The principal part of the prime cider sold in London and elsewhere is manufactured by professional men ; by men who make a business of manufacturing and rectifying cider, even as distillers, rectifiers of spirit, and brewers follow their businesses or professions, and like them too conduct their operations, more or less, on scientific principles." (Rev. of Agr. Rep. vol. ii. p. 294.) It is allowed on all hands that the operation is performed in a most slovenly manner by the farmer, and that it is very difiScult to procure this liquor in good quality. The operation of cider-making is as simple as that of wine-making or brewing, and will be perfectly un- derstood from the following directions, chiefly drawn from the treatises of Crocker and Knight ; so that any person possessing an orchard, or a few hedge-row fruit trees, may make a supply for his own use. The first business consists of gathering and preparing the fruit ; the second, of grinding and pressing ; and the last, of fermenting and bottling. 4123. In gathering dder apples, care should be taken that they are thoroughly ripe before they are taken from the tree ; otherwise the cider will be of a rough, harsh taste, in spite of all the endeavours of the operator. It is observed by Crocker, in his tract 672 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III. on Tlie Art of Making and Managing Cider, that the most certain indications of the ripe- ness of apples are the fragrance of their smell, and their spontaneously dropping from the trees. Wlien they are in this state of maturity, in t. dry day, the limbs may, he says, be slightly shaken, and partly disburdened of their golden store ; thus taking such apples only as are ripe, and leaving the unripe longer on the trees, that they may also acquire a due degree of maturity. It may not, he thinks, be amiss to make three gather- ings of the crop, keeping each by itself. The latter gathering, as well as wind-falls, can, however, only be employed in making inferior cider : the prime cider must be drawn from the former gatherings. 4124. Onlhe proper mixture nf fruits, or rather on their proper separation, the merit of cider will always greatly depend. Those whose rinds and pulp are tinged with green, or red without any mixture of yellow, as that colour will disappear in the first stages of fermentation, should be carefully kept apart from such as are yellow, or yellow intermixed with red. The latter kinds, which should remain on the trees till ripe enough to fall without being much shaken, are alone capable of making fine cider. Each kind should be collected separately, as noticed above, and kept till it becomes perfectly mellow. For this purpose, in the common practice of the country, they are placed in heaps of ten inches or a foot thick, and exposed to the sun, air, and rain, not being ever covered, except in very severe frosts. The strength and flavour of the future liquor are increased by keeping the fruit under cover some time before it is ground ; but unless a situation can be afforded it, in which it is exposed to a free current of air, and where it can be spread very thin, it is apt to contract an unpleasant smell, which will much affect the cider produced from it. Few farms are provided with proper buildings for this purpose on a large scale, and the improvement of the liquor will not nearly pay the expense of erecting them. It may reasonably be supposed, that much water is absorbed by the fruit in a rainy season ; but the quantity of juice yielded by any given quantity of fruit will be found to diminish as it becomes more mellow, even in very wet weather, provided it be ground when thoroughly dry. The advantages there- fore, of covering the fruit will probably be much less than may at first sight be expected. No criterion appears to be known, by which the most proper point of maturity in the fruit can be ascertained with accuracy ; but it improves as long as it continues to ac- quire a deeper shade of yellow. Each heap should be examined prior to its being ground, and any decayed or green fruit carefully taken away. The expense of this will be very small, and will be amply repaid by the excellence of the liquor, and the ease with which too great a degree of fermentation may be prevented. ( Crocker. ) In Ireland a mixture of every sort of apple is considered as producing the best cider, A propor- tion of crabs is always admitted. " The taste, in consequence, is very sour, and less sweet than English cider : but this is matter of fancy ; and, a relish for rough cider once acquired, the sweet kind loses much of its attractions. Owing to a considerable admixture of crabs, the Irish cider is always more sour than the English, and this is a quality, when not too predominant, for which it is valued by the natives." {Lardners Cyc. Horn. Econ.) 4125. In grinding, the fruit should be so reduced that the rind and kernel should be scarcely discernible. In such a complete mixture it seems probable that new elective attractions will be exerted, and compounds formed which did not exist previously to the fruit being placed under the roller. The process of slow grinding, with free access of air, gives the cider good qualities it did not possess before, probably by the absorption of oxygen. To procure very fine cider, the fruit should be ground and pressed im- perfectly, and the pulp spread as thin as possible, exposed to the air, and frequently turned during twenty-four hours, to obtain as large an absorption of air as possible. The pulp should be ground again, and the liquor formerly expressed added, by which the liquor will acquire an increase of strength and richness. (Lardner's Cyclo. Dom. Econ.') 41 26. Whetlier the pomrjiage should, immediately after grinding, be conveyed to tlie press, there to be formed into a kind of cake, or what is called the cheese ; or whether it should remain some time in that state before pressing, ciderists have not agreed. Some say it should be pressed immediately after grinding ; others conceive it best to suffer it to remain in the grinding trough, or in vats employed for the purpose, for twenty-four hours, or even two days, that it may acquire not only a redness of colour, but also that it may form an extract with the rind and kernels. Both extremes are, Crocker thinks, wrong. There is an analogy, he says, between the making of cider from apples, and wine from grapes ; and the method which the wine-maker pursues ought to be followed by the cider-maker. When the pulp of the grapes has lain some time in the vats, the vintager thrusts his hand into the pulp, and takes some from the middle of the mass ; and when he perceives, by the smell, that the luscious sweetness is gone off, and that his nose is affected with a slight piquancy, he immediately carries it to the press, and by a light pressure expresses his prime juice. In like manner should the ciderist determine Book U. MANUFACTUKE OF CIDER AND PERRY. 673 the time when his pulp should be carried to the press. If he carried it immediately from the mill to the press, he might lose some small advantage which may be expected from the rind and kernels, and his Uquor might be of lower colour than he may wish. If he suffer it to remain too long unpressed, he will find to his cost that the acetous ferment- ation will come on before the vinous is perfected, especially in the early part of the eider- making season. He will generally find that his pulp is in a fit state for pressing in about twelve or sixteen hours. If he must of necessity keep it in that state longer, he will find a sensible heat therein, which will engender a premature fermentation ; and he must not delay turning it over, thereby to expose the middle of the mass to the in- fluence of the atmosphere. Knight's opinion is, however, that it should remain twenty- four hours before it is taken to the press ; and in this opinion the author of the Art of Cider Making, in Lardmr's CydoptBdia, JDamestic Economy, vol. i. also concurs. 4127. The pommage being carried to the press, and a square cake or cheese made of it, by placing very clean sweet straw or reed between the various layers of pommage ; or by putting the same into the hair-cloths, and placing them one on another. It is of importance that the straw or weed be sweet, and perfectly free from any fustiness, lest the cider be impregnated therewith. Particular care ought also to be taken to keep hair-cloths sweet, by frequently washing and drying, or the ill effects of their acidity will be communicated to the cider. To this cake or cheese, after standing awhile, a slight pressure is at first to be given, which must be gradually increased until all the must or juice is expressed; after which, this juice must be strained tlirough a coarse hair sieve, to keep back its gross feculences, and be put into proper vessels. These vessels may be either open vats or close casks ; but as, in the time of a plentiful crop of apples, a number of open vats may by the ciderist be considered an incumbrance in his cider-rooms, they should be generally carried immediately from the press to the cask. Thus far, says Crocker, cider-making is a mere manual operation, performed with very little skill in the operator ; but here it is that the great art of making good cider commences ; nature soon begins to work a wonderful change in this foul-looking, turbid, fulsome, and unwholesome fluid ; and, by the process of fermentation alone, converts it into a wholesome, vinous, salubrious, heart-cheering beverage. 4128. Fermentation is an internal motion of the parts of a fermentable body. This motion, in the present case, is always accompanied with an evident ebullition, the bub- bles rising to the surface, and there forming a scum, or soft and spongy crust, over the whole liquor. This crust is frequently raised and broken by the air as it disengages itself from the liquor, and forces its way through it. This effect continues whilst the fermentation is brisk, but at last gradually ceases. The liquor now appears tolerably clear to the eye, and has a piquant vinous sharpness upon the tongue. If in this state the least hissing noise be heard in the fermenting liquor, the room is too warm, and atmospheric air must be let in at the doors and at the windows. Now, continues Crocker, is the critical moment which the ciderist must not lose sight of; for, if he would have a strong, generous, and pleasant liquor, all further sensible fermentation must be stopped. This is best done by racking off the pure part into open vessels, which must be placed in a more cool situation for a day or two ; after which it may again be barrelled, and placed in some moderately cool situation for the winter. The Herefordshire cider-farmers, after the cider has perfected its vinous fermentation, place their casks of cider in open sheds throughout the winter ; and, when the spring advances, give the last racking, and then cellar it. In racking, it is advisable that the stream from the racking-cock be small, and that the receiving-tub be but a small depth below the cock, lest, by exciting a violent motion of the parts of the liquor, another fermentation be brought up. The feculence of the cider may be strained through a filtering-bag, and placed among the second-rate ciders ; but by no means should it be returned to the prime cider. In this situation the cider will, in course of time, by a sort of insensible fermentation, not only drop the remainder of its gross lees, but will become transparent, highly vinous, and fragrant. 4129. According to Knight, after the fermentation has ceased, and the liquor is become clear and bright, it should instantly be drawn off, and not suffered on any account again to mingle with its lees ; for these possess much the same properties as yeast, and would inevitably bring on a second fermentation.. The best criterion to judge of the proper moment to rack off will be the brightness of the liquor ; and this is always attended with external marks, which, serve as guides to the cider-malier. The discharge of fixed air, which always attends the progress of fermentation, has entirely ceased ; and a thick crust formed of fragments of the reduced pulp, raised by the buoyant air it contains, is col- lected on the surface. The clear liquor being drawn off into another cask, the lees are put into small bags, similar to those used for jellies : through these whatever liquor the lees contain gradually filtrates, becoming perfectly bright ; and it is then returned to that in the cask, in which it has the effect, in some measure, of preventing a second ferment* ation. It appears to have undergone a considerable change in the process of filtration. Xx 674 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Tart III. Its colour is remarkably deep, its taste harsh and flat, and it has a strong tendency to become acetous ; probably by having given out fixed and absorbed vital air. Should it become acetous, which it will frequently do in forty-eight hours, it must not on any account be put into the cask. If the cider, after being racked off, remains bright and quiet, nothing more is to be done to it till the succeeding spring ; but if a scum collects on the surface, it must immediately be racked oft' into another cask, as this would pro- duce bad effects if suflered to sink. If a disposition to ferment with violence again appears, it will be necessary to rack oiF from one cask to another, as often as a hissing noise is heard. The strength of cider is much reduced by being frequently racked off; but this arises only from a larger portion of sugar remaining unchanged, which adds to the sweetness at the expense of the other quality. The juice of those fruits which pro- duce very strong ciders often remains muddy during the whole winter, and much atten- tion must frequently be paid to prevent an excess of fermentation. 4130. The casks, into which the liquor is put whenever racked off, should always have been thoroughly scalded, and dried again ; and each should want several gallons of being full, to expose a larger surface to the air. 41.S1. The above precautions neglected by the ciderist, the inevitable consequence will be this : — Another fermentation will quickly succeed, and convert the fine vinous liquor he was possessed of into a sort of vinegar ; and all the art he is master of will never restore it to its former richness and purity. When the acetous fermentation has been suffered to come on, the following attempts may be made to prevent the ill effects of it from running to their full extent: — A bottle of French brandy, half a gallon of spirit extracted from the lees of cider, or a pailful of old cider, poured into the hogshead soon after the acetous fermentation is begun : but no wonder if all these should fail, if the cider be still continued in a close warm cellar. To give effect to either, it is necessary that the liquor be as much exposed to a cooler air as conveniently may be, and that for a con- siderable length of time. By such means it is possible fermentation may, in a great measure, be repressed : and if a cask of prime cider cannot thence be obtained, a cask of tolerable second-rate kind may. These remedies are innocent : but if the farmer or cider-merchant attempt to cover the accident, occasioned by negligence or inattention, by applying any preparation of lead, let him reflect, that he is about to commit an absolute and unqualified murder on those whose lot it may be to drink his poisonous draught. 4132. Stumming, which signifies the fuming of a cask with burning sulphur, may some- times be advantageous. Itis thus performed: — Take a stripe of canvas cloth, about twelve inches long and two broad; let it be dipped into melted brimstone : when this match is dry, let it be lighted, and suspended from the bung al a cask (in which there are a few gallons of cider) until it be burnt out. The cask must remain stopped for an hour or more, and be then rolled to and fro, to incorporate the fumes of the match with the cider ; after which it may be filled. If the stumming be designed only to suppress some slight improper fermentation, the brimstone match is suflicient ; but if it be required to give any additional flavour to the cider, some powdered ginger, cloves, cinnamon, &c. may be strewed on the match when it is made. The burning of these ingredients with the sulphur will convey somewhat of their fragrance to the whole cask of cider ; but to do it to the best advantage, it must be performed as soon as the vinous fermentation is fully perfected. 4133. Cidsr is genertMy in the best state to be put into the bottle at two years old, where it will soon become brisk and sparkling ; and if it possesses much richness, it will remain with scarcely any sensible change during twenty or thirty years, or as long as the cork duly performs its office. 4134. In maMng cider for the coTnmon use of the farm-house, few of the foregoing rules are attended to. The flavour of the liquor is here a secondary consideration with the farmer, whose first object must be to obtain a large quantity at a small expense. The apples are usually ground as soon as they become moderately ripe : and the juice is either racked off at once as soon as it becomes bright, or more frequently conveyed from the press immediately to the cellar. A violent fei-mentation soon commences, and continues until nearly the whole of the saccharine part is decomposed. The casks are filled up and stopped early in the succeeding spring, and no further attention is either paid or re- quired. The liquor thus prepared may be kept from two to five or six years in the cask, according to its strength. It is generally harsh and rough, but rarely acetous; and in this state, it is usually supposed to be preferred by the farmers and peasantry. When it has become extremely thin and harsh by excess of fermentation, the addition of a small quantity of bruised wheat, or slices of toasted bread, or any other farinaceous substance, will much diminish its disposition to become sour. 4135, Madeira Cider. Take new cider from the press, mix it with honey till it bears an egg, boil it gently for a quarter ut an hour, but not in an iron pot ; take off the scum as it rises, let it cool, then barrel it, without filling the vessel quite full : bottle it off in March. In six weeks afterwards it wiU be ripe for use, and as strong as Madeira. The longer it is afterwards kept, the better. {Mech. Mag.) Book II. MACHINERY FOR CIDER MAKING. 675 4136. Perry is manufactured on exactly tlie same principles as cider. The pears should not be quite ripe, and the admixture of some wildings will add much to the sprightliness of the taste. ** It is thought by some to resemble champagne more than gooseberry wine does ; and it is said, when of the best quality, to have been at times sold instead of champagne." {Lardner's Q/c. Dom. Econ.) 4137. The produce of cider or perry by the acre can only be guessed at, by first ascer- taining the number of trees. From an orchard of trees in full bearing, half a hogshead of cider may, in seasons ordinarily favourable, be expected from the fruit of each tree. As the number of trees on the acre varies from ten to forty, the quantity of cider must vary in the same proportion, that is, from five to twenty hogsheads. Pear-trees, in equally good bearing, yield fully one third more liquor ; therefore, although (he liquor extracted from pears sells at a lower price than that produced from apples, yet the value by the acre, when the number of trees is the same, is nearly on a par. Sect. VI. Machinery and Utensils necessary for Gder-malcing. 41 38. The machinery of the common ciderist includes the mill-hoMe, mill, press, cloth, vat, and cask, with their appiu*tenanccs. 4139. Marshal, in The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire, remarks, that a mill-house, on an orchard-farm, is as necessary as a bam. It is generally one end of an out-build- ing, or perhaps an open shed, under which straw or small implements are occasionally laid up. The smallest dimensions, to render it any way convenient, are twenty-four feet by twenty ; a floor thrown over it, at seven feet high ; a, door in the middle of the front, and a window opposite ; with the mill on one side, the press on the other side, of the window, as much room being leh in front, towards the door, for fruit and utensils, as the nature of the mill and the press wiU allow. The utensils belonging to a mill-house are few : the fruit is brought in carts or baskets, and the liquor carried out in pails. 4140. Of the common cider-mill there are several varieties, formed on the principles of the bark, mills of tanners. The circle enclosed by the trough is in Devonshire generally in one division (Jig. 602.), and is sometimes divided into compartments for containing different varieties of the same fruit (Jig. 603.) The size of the runner varies from two and a half to four and a half feet in diameter, and from nine to twelve inches in thickness; whicli in general is equal, like that of a grindstone, not varying, like that of a mill, stone ; the weight one or two tons. The bottom of the cliace is somewhat wider than the runner, that this may run freely. The inner side rises perpen- dicularly, but the outer side spreads, so as to make the top of the trough some six or eight inches wider than the bottom, to give ireedom to the runner, and room to scatter in the fruit, stir it up while grinding, and take out the ground matter. The depth is nine or ten inches. The outer rim of the trough is three or four inches wide ; and the diameter of the inner circle, which the trough circumscribes, from four and a half to five feet, according to the size of the mill. This is sometimes raised by a table of thick plank fixed upon the stone, with acurbof wood, lessening to an angle, fixed upon the circumference of the trough, making the whole depth of the trough about equal to its width at the bottom This lessens tlie quantity of the stone; and the plank upon the.^ntre answers other purposes. The entire bed of a middle-sized mill is about nine feet ; some are ten, and some few twelve, in diameter ; the whole being composed of two, three, or four stones, cramped together as one; and worked, or at least finished, after they are cramped together. The best stones are raised in the Forest of Dean : they are mostly a dark, reddish gritstone (non-calcareous), working with sufficient freedom, yet sufficiently hard for this intention. The bed of the mill is formed, and the trough partly hollowed, at the quarry, leaving a few inches at the edge of each stone uncut out, as a bond to prevent its breaking in carriage. Much depends on the quality of the stona It ought not to be calcareous, in whole or in parti as the acid of the liquor would corrode it Some of the Herefordshire stones have calcareous pebbles in them, which being of course dissolved leave holes in the stone Nor should it be such as will communicate a disagreeable tinge to the liquor. A clean-grained gnndstone grit is the fittest for the purpose. ««. The runner, as it has been seen (fig- 602.), is moved by means of an axle passing through the centre, with a long arm, reaching without the bed of the mill, for a horse to draw by ; and with a short one passing to an upright swivel, turning upon a pivot, in the centre of the stone, and steadied at the top, by entering a bearing of the floor above. An iron bolt with a large head, passes through an eye in the lower part of the swivel, into the end of the inner arm of the axis. Thus the requisite double motion- is obtained, and the stone kept perfectly upright (which it ought to be) with great simplicity, and without stress to any part of the machine. 1 his is the ordinary method of hanging flie runner. There is a more complex way of doing it, but Marshal says he sees no advantage arising from it. There are some mills, it seems, with two runners, one opposite the other. On the inner arm of the axis, about a foot from the Xx 2 676 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTUnE. Part III. runner, is fixed (or ought to be, though it U frequently wanting) a cogged whee) working in a circle of cog8, fixed upon the bed of the mill 4142. TAe diaTncter qf the wheel is determined by the height of the axis above the bed of the mill ; the diameter of the ring of cogs, by the distance of the wheel from the centre of motion. The use of cog wheels is to prevent the runner from sliding, to which it is liable when the mill is full ; the matter, when nearly ground, rising up in a body before the stone. Besides, by assisting the rotatory motion of the stone, it renders the work more easy to the horse. These wheels require to be made with great exact- ness ; and in a country where carpenters are unaccustomed to them, a millwright should be employed in fixing them. The mill is placed so as to leave a horse-path, about three feet wide, between the bed and the walls ; so that a moderately sized mill, with its horse-path, takes up a space of fourteen or fifteen feet every way. 414a A cider-mitt in use in the south of France {Jig. 604.) is worked on a circular platform of boards, and instead of stone the wheel or conical roller {a) is of cast-iron. The fruit is spread thinly over the pldtCorm, and the roller moved round by one man or a womiin. From the roller's covering more breadth than the narmw bark wheels in use in England, more fruit is crushed in a short time by this sort of mill than would at first sight be supposed 4144. An eligible description o^ 7nill, where cider is only made for private use, consists of a pair of fluted rollers working into each other. These rollers are of cast-iron, hollow, about nine inches in diameter, with flutes or teeth, about an inch wide, and nearly as much deep. In general they are worked by hand, two men working against each other. Between these the fruit passes twice; the rollers being first set wide to break it into fragments, and aflerwards closer to redui-e the fragments and the seeds, the bruising of the latter being of essential use in making high- flavoured cider. 4145. The apple.mill\% an iron machine. Where iron-mills have been tried, this metal has been found to be soluble in the acid of apples, to which it communicates a brown colour and an unpleasant taste. No combination has been ascertained to take place between this acid and lead ; but as the calx of this metal readily dissolves in, and communicates an extremely poisonous quality to, the acetous juicext' the apple, it should never be suffered to come into contact with the fruit or liquor. [Knight on the Apple and Pear.) In Ireland the cider-mill is composed of two horizontal wooden cylinders, covered with studs of iron like an organ barrel. These work into each other and crush the apples, which are afterwards beat in a vessel with wooden pestles. 4146. The cider-press in Herefordshire is a modification of the common screw-press. In Ireland the press bears a considerable resemblance to the common wine-presses of France, that being effi^cted by a long lever which in England is effected by a screw. It will save some subsequent trouble if, in pressing out the juice, the action of the press be applied gradually, and very slowly inireased. In this way the juices, at first running muddy, will at length come off perfectly transparent {Lardner's Cpcio. Dom. Econ.) 4147. Cider cloths are used for containing tiie pommage in order to its being pressed. They are usually made of common hair-cloth ; but such as is rather close in its texture is the best. The size is generally about four feet square ; and they hold about two or three bushels, or as much as the mill can grind at once : and these are heaped over each other till the press is full. The larger presses will hold from eight to fifteen bags, which yield from one to two hundred gallons of liquor, according to the largeness of what is termed the cheese. To perform the work neatly, it is necessary to have two sets of these bags : for they clog and fur in pressing, and consequently become unfit for use till they have been washed and dried ; so tha^ while this is doing, either the press must stand still or another set be ready to employ it. But some, instead of hair bags, lay long straw under the pommage, the ends of which they turn up over it; then cover the pommage entirely with fresh clean straw, upon which they spread another layer of pommage, and so on alternately, till the press is full. Either of the methods will "do ; but those who are desirous of doing the work in the neatest and best manner generally use bags. 4148. The cider^at is a vessel made for the purpose of receiving the pommage, or the cider before it is racked off into the cask. Vessels of this kind should be made of wood, as where lead is employed it is liable to be corroded by the malic acid. 4149. Cider casks, when new, though the wood be ever so well seasoned, are apt to give a disagreeable relish, unless due caution be used before-hand. Frequent scalding with hot water, into which some handfuls of salt have been first throvm, or vrith water in which some of the pommage has been boiled, and washing afterwards with cider, are the usual remedies against this evil, and seldom fail of removing it effectually. Of old casks, beer-vessels are the worst, as they always spoil cider ; and, in return, cider-casks infallibly spoil beer. "Wine and brandy casks do very well, provided the tartar adhering to their sides be carefully scraped off, and they are well scalded. Chap. XI. Laifing out of Farm and other CuUurable Lands, 4150. The farming lands of an estate are in general the grand source of its annual rental. The demesne lands are chiefly for enjoyment ; the roads afford no direct in- coiiie ; the Villages, manufactories, commonly the mines and fisheries, and often also Book II. SIZE OF FARMS. 677 the woods, yield no income of consequence ; but there remain the lands to be let out to the professional farmer, market-gardener, nurseryman, and cottagers : from these the landlord generally derives his principal return for the capital laid out on the estate. Having therefore disposed of all the other parts of the territory, it remains only to arrange the farming or culturable lands in farms of different characters and sizes, in cottage lands, gardens, or orchard grounds : these may be considered in regard to their extent and arrangement. Sect. I. Extent or Sixe of Farm and Cottage Lands. 41SI. The proper sixe of farms, or of land to be let in any vrny, must necessarily be that which best suits the markets : not altogether the market of the moment, for there may be a run for large or for small farms; but the market on an average of years, times, and circumstances. 4 1 52. 2'Ae enlargement or diminution off arms can proceed only for a time, and to a limited ex*nt. The interest of the landlord, which gave the first impulse, is ever vigilant to check its progress, when it is attempted to carry the measure beyond due bounds. It is in this that the security of the public consists, if it were ever possible that the public interest should be endangered by the enlargement of farms. Accordingly, in most of our coun- ties, a few tenants, of superior knowledge and capital, have been seen to hold consider- able tracts of land, which, after a few years, were divided into a number of separate farms. The practice of these men is a lesson to their neighbours ; and their success never fails to bring forward, at the expiration of their leases, a number of competitors. When- ever skill and capital come to be generally difiused, there can be few instances of very large farms, if a fair competition be permitted. No individual, whatever may be his fortune and abilities, can then pay so high a rent for several farms, each of them of such a size as to give full room for tlie use of machinery, and other economical arrangements, as can be got from separate tenants. The impossibility of exercising that vigilant super- intendence, which is So indispensable in agricultural concerns, cannot long be compen- sated by any advantages which a great farmer may possess. His operations cannot be brought together to one spot, like those of the manufacturer ; the materials on which he works are seldom in the same state for a few days, and his instruments, animated and mechanical, are exposed jo a great many accidents, which bis judgment and experience must be called forth instantly to repair. 415S. If we examine the various sixes if farms in those districts where the most perfect freedom exists, and the best management prevails, we shall find them determined, with few exceptiqns, by the degree of superinteudenice which they require. Hence, pastoral farms are the largest ; next, such as are composed both of grazing and tillage lands ; then such rich soils as carry cultivated crops every year; and, finally, the farms near large towns, where the grower of corn gradually gives way to the market gardener, cut tivating his little spot by manual labour. The hills of the south of Scotland are distri- buted into farms of the first class ; the counties of Berwick and Roxburgh into those of the second ; and the smaller farms of the Lothians and of the Carse of Gowrie, where there seems to be no want of capital for the management of large farms, are a sufficient proof of the general principle which determines the size of farms. {Si^, Ena/c. Brit. art. Agr.) Sect. II. Laying out Farms and Farmeries. 4154. The arrangement of farms naturally divides itself into whatever relates to the farmery or home-stall, and what relates to the arrangement of the fields, roads, fences, and water-courses. In a country like Britain, long under cultivation, it is but seldom that these can be brought completely under the control of the improver; but cases occur where this may be done without restraint, as in the enclosure of large commons ; and in Ireland and the highlands of Scotland the opportunities are frequent. SuBSECT. 1. Situation and Arrangement of the Farmery. 4155. The general principles of deigning farmeries and cottages having been already Ueated of: we have in this place chiefly to apply them to particular cases. Though the majority of farms may be described as of mixed culture, yet there are a number which are almost exclusively devoted to pasture, as mountain farms ; to meadow culture as irrigated or overflown lands, lands in particular situations, as in fenny districts and those situated on the borders of some description of rivers : there are others in which peculiar crops are chiefly raised, as in the case of the hop and seed farms of Kent, Essex and Surrey. All these require a somewhat diflferent kind and extent of accommodation in the farm buildings. 4156. The requisites for a farmery common to most characters of farms are, a central situation, neither too high nor too low, shelter, water, exposure to the south or south- X» 3 678 PRACTICE OF AGRICUtTURE. Part III. tsAst, in preference to other points ; a level or flat area of sufficient extent tor the build- ings, yards, and gardens ; grass-land sufficient for one small enclosure or more ; and suitable outlets to the different parts of the farm, and to public roads and markets. 4157. Some of these requisites may be supplied by art, as shelter, by plantations ; water, by wells and ponds ; a flat, by levelling ; and grass-lands, by culture : the direction of the roads depends entirely on the designer. But in some cases the situation of the farmery cannot be rendered central, as it frequently happens in the fenny districts of Cambridgeshire, where danger might be incurred from extraordinary floods ; and in the case of mountainous sheep farms, where a central situation might be so elevated as to be deprived of most of the other requisites. Still, even in these cases, the general re- quisites ought to be attained as far as practicable ; and there are degrees of attainment, as to a central situation, to be arrived at even among fens and mountains. 4158. ExceUent examples of different descriptions of farmeries are to be found in Ber- wickshire, Northumberland, East Lothian, and on the Marquis of Stafford's estates in Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Sutherland. Besides a great number of cottages qjjd farmeries of different descriptions, thirty-seven new farmeries have been erected by the Marqms of Stafford in Shropshire alone. Loch, Lord Stafford's agent, in describing these {Account of Improvements ontlie M. of Steward's Estates, ^c*), states, that " much attention and consideration have been given to the plans of these buildings, with the view of com- bining as many advantages as possible, and of arranging the different parts in such a way as to save the time of the tenant and his people, and in order that their extent might be reduced to the least size practicable, securing at the same time the accommo- dation required. The most approved plans in both ends of the island were consulted, and a gradual improvement has been made on them. The latter ones combine the ad- vantages of the English and Scotch buildings, avoiding, it is hoped, their respective defects. To almost every one of these homesteads is attached a threshing machine, constructed on the best principles ; wherever water could be obtained, that has been made use of as the impelling power ; and, of late, some of the more extensive farms have been provided with steam-engines for that purpose." 4159. In selecting a few of these examples, the first we shall mention is that of Sidera, or Cider Hall, in Sutherland, erected in 1818. The soil of this farm is of alight and excellent quality, particularly suited to the Norfolk rotation of husbandry, which is followed by Rule, the new tenant, a native of the county of R6xburgh. The house and homestead cost 2200/. It is built, in the most sufficient manner, of stone and lime, and covered with Easdale slate, from the west coast of Scotland. In the garden, which is an old one, there are some of the finest holly trees to be met with any where, with several apple, pear, and gean, or small black cherry, trees, of so considerable a size as to show that there is nothing in the climate to prevent the growth of even the more delicate kinds of timber, if not exposed to the sea breeze. 4160. Tlie accommodations of the house aie, on the ground floor, a parlour, lobby, and staircase, family room, pantry, and kitchen ; behind may be an open yard, and in front a flower-garden ; the chamber story, a bedroom and bedcloset, two bedrooms, maid servant's room, and bedroon!i. The offices contain a cart-house, stable, tool-house, threshing- mill, and straw-house, horse-course, cattle-sheds, dairy, calf-pen, cow-byre, feeding-byre, boofhy (i. e. booth or lodge) for ploughmen ; pigsties, and poultry above ; paved way, and cattle-yards. 4161. jis an example of a Northumberland farmery iov a fiam of from 400 to 500 acres, we have recourse to The General Report of Scotland. The accommodations are as follows : In the dwelling-house are the entrance, stairs to chambers and cellars, and lobby, dining-room, pantry, coal-closet, parlour, business-room, kitchen, back-kitchen, dairy, store-room, poultry, farm-servants' kitchen, boiling-house, root-house, riding-horse stable. In the economical buildings are a cart -shed, straw -bam, and granary over ; corn-bams, hinds, byre for three cows, byre for ten cows, with feeding passage in the centre ; calf-house, loose-horse place, stable, feeding sheds for cattle, vrith feeding passage along the centre ; pigs, dung-places, straw-yards, cart-shed, and open court. The aspect of the house is south, and the garden and orchard are in front of it. 4162. As an example of a very complete farmery for a turnip and barley soil, we give that of Fearu (fg. 605.), erected by the Marquis of Stafford in the parish of Escall Magna, in Shropshire, in 1820. The farm contains 460 acres of turnip soil; and the farmery the following accommodations, including a threshing machine driven by steam. In the house are two parlours (o, a), family-room (6), brew-house, two stories (c) ; pantry (d), milk-house (e), kitchen (/), bedrooms (g), menservants' bedroom (A). In the court offices a hackney-stable (i), stair under cover (4), waggon-shed and granary over {I), tool-house (m), cow-house (n), places for turnips and straw (o, p), steam-engine (y), parn {r), straw or other cattle-food (s), stall-fed cattle ((), stables («), turnip-houses (o), biggeries, poultry, tools, and necessary (lu), cattle-sheds to each yard (i). Book II. ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES. 679 ^ n :^ o □ to 5 ■* W V jL-J a U □ D U D dUU L-IJ 4163. ^s an example of a farmery to be managed by a bailiff", we give that of Skelbo, also in Sutherland. The farm consists of 4S0 acres, the' greater part taken from a heathery waste. It contains a suitable house for the grieve or bailifl', and attached to the office is a thresliing machine, combining a corn or meal-mill. Its accommodations X X 1 680 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. PaetIII, BEiiE^ are, a chaff-house, corn-rooms, threshing-mill, with water-wheel and straw-house; cattle-sheds, poultry-houses, and piggery; stables, byres, cart-shed, cattle-shed, dairy, meal-house, lodge for ploughmen, paved way, and cattle-yards. 4164, As o?i example of a smatl farmery in the county of Stafford, we select that of gQg Knollwall. (Jig. 606.) The extent is 104 acres ; the soil is strong and rather wet, and there are some water and other meadows. The house and yard-buildings are of brick and tile, and their accommodations are, a kitchen (o), a brew-house (6), parlour (c), sit- ting-room (rf), pantry (e), milk-house (f), court-yard open (g), coals (A), hackney- stable (i), turkey-house (4), pigsties (/), wag. gon-horse stable (m), corn-bay (n), barn (u), straw-bay (j>), cow-tyings(y), fodder-bins (r), calf-houses (s), and waggon-shed, granary over, connected with bam (/). 4165. As an example of a middle-shced farmery on a clayey soil, we may refer to that of Newstead, in Staffordshire. This farm contains 314 acres, and the tenant. Ford, is said to be an example to the whole country. The accommodations of the farmery are, in the dwelling-house, an outer kitchen, and kitchen, master's room, brew-house, dairy, pantry, parlour, bedrooms, cheese-room, attics. In the court a shed for waggons, with granary over, hackney stable, waggon-horse stable^ cattle-sheds, turnip-houses, fodder-house, straw-bays, threshing-mill with water-wheel, corn-bay, tool-house, workshop, bay for unthreshed corn, small granary, and pigsties, 4166. As an example of an econo7nical farmery for a farm of 50 or 60 acres, we copy from The General Report of Scotland. The accommodations are : — in the house, a kitchen, parlour, store-room, pantry, with three bedrooms, and a light closet over ; closet, milk-room, and scullery. In the economical buildings are, a stable with a loose stall, byre for ten cows, cattle-shed, barn, cart-shed, with granary over ; pigsties and cattle- yard. This appears one of the most compact and eligible plans for the farmeries of arable farms under 100 acres. 4167. As an ijnproved Berwickshire farmery, we submit another specimen from The General Meport. Its accommodations are calculated for a farm of 600 acres, and consist, in the dwelling-house range, of a porch, lobby, dining-room, parlour, kitchen, scullery, coal-place, store-room, dairy, pantry, business-room, poultry, stcaming-house, bailiff's room. The economical buildings contain a riding-horse stable, tool-house, cart-shed, with granary over ; corn-barn, straw-bam, feeding-house for 36 head of cattle, root- house, byre for cows, calf-pens, stable for ten horses, pigs, with yard and troughs, cattle- sheds, dung-basin, and urinarium under ; cattle-yards, cart-road paved, rick-yard, mill track, open court, lawn, garden, and orchard. 4168. A farmery for a turnip soil of from 600 to 900 acres, from the same work, deserves consideration as a very complete specimen of arrangement. Omitting the farm-house, the economical buildings contain a stable, cow-house, servants' cow, root- house, young horses' stable, straw-bam, corn-barn, stable, cart-shed, place for pickling wheat, killing sheep, or otlier odd jobs ; feeding-house, carpenter's workshop, pigs, geese, common poultry, turkeys, pigs, cattle-sheds, dung and straw courts, with urinariums in the centre of each, paved cart-road round, open court between the yard and dwelling- house, rick-yard, paddocks of old pasture, ponds for drinking and washing the horses' legs. 4169. The accommodations for a farm-house, suitable to such a design and to the style of life which the person who can occupy such a farm is entitled to enjoy, are as follows : — In the parlour story there is a loliby, with staircase to chambers and cellars, drawing-room, bedroom, a family work-room, dining-room, business-room, kitchen, barrack-room or manservant's room, store-room, dairy, &c. On the first floor are two best bedroom^, two other bedrooms, bed-closets, another closet, and a water-closet ; over are servants' rooms. 4170. As a farmery for an arable farm near London of 350 acres (fg. 607.), we shall give as an example one erected (with some variations) in the county of Middlesex, in 1810. It is to be observed, that in Middlesex farming a great object is hay, especially meadow hay, for the London market, which gives rise to the covered spaces for loaded cartii (i) ; it being the custom to load the carts at night, place them under cover, and yoke and go on the road early the following morning. The accommodations of this farmery Book I J. ARRANGEMENT OF FARMERIES. 607 631 l« are, in the dwelling-house, a lobby and stair (a), dining-room (i), drawing-room and green-house (c), a housekeeper's room, nursery or butler's pantry (d), dairy (e), kitchen (/), back kitchen and brew-house (g), gig-house or coach-house (A), small stable (i), harness-room and stair to men's room and hay-loft {&), In the economical buildings are a granary (I), pigs (m), carts or odd articles (n), water-closet (o), poultry (;)), litter for the stable (y), stable for twelve horses (r), chaif-room (s\ litter (t), room for cutting hay into chaff («), places for horse food, or straw, hay, &c. (v), cattle-sheds (w), open colonade for loaded hay-carts (i), straw end of bam fy), corn-floor (z), unthreshed com and corn-floor (^), machine (1), mill course (2), cows (S), cow-food (4), calves (5), bailiff's house (6), implements (7), wood-house, coals, &c. (8), kitchen-court to master's house (9), garden (10), poultry-yard (11), bailiff's garden (12), lawn, shrubbery, and sheep-walk''(l 3), pond (14), rickyard (15), stack-stands (16), urinarium (17). 4171. In the elevations of this farmery {Jig. 608.), sonie attention has been paid to effect, by intermingling trees, chiefly oaks, with thorns and honeysuckles. 608 ;om the farmery • and the enclosures are four times the size of the grass-fields, each shift forming one large enclosure, containing four fields, divided only by open ditches for carrying off the surface water. The two small central fielcu shown under aration, are supposed alternately in turnips, potatoes, cabbages, &C. for cows, &c. and wheat The paddocks and closes are for calves or colts. 4209. The chief, and almost sole, products of this farm will be wheat and beef: the former best worth sending to a distant market i the latter easily transported to any dis- tance ; and both staple commodities. 4210. With reaped to roads, sometimes a farm is situated on both sides of a highway; in which case all the fields may be made to open into it, either directly or through an inter- vening field- Hence no private road is wanting, excepting a few yards to reach the farmery. But when, as is most generally the case, the lands are situated at a distance from a great road, and approached by a lane or by-road, then from that by-road a private road is re- quired to the farmery, and a lane or lanes from it so contrived as to touch at most of the fields of the farm. In wet and clayey soils, these lanes must be formed of durable mate- rials ; but in dry soils, provided attention be paid to fill in the cart ruts as they are formed (by the leading out of dung, or home of corn), with small stones, gravel or even earth, the lane may remain green ; and, being depastured by sheep or cattle, will not be altogether lost It is essentially necessary to make a piece of road at the gate of every enclosure, that being the spot which is most frequently in use. Without this precaution, it often becomes a mire where com is thrown down and spoiled in harvest, or, if it is attempted to avoid the mire, the gate-posts and neighbouring fence are often damaged. {^Commu* nicatioTis to the Board of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 251.) 690 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 4S11. JVith good private roads a farmer will perform his operations at mucii less expense ; the labour of the horses will be much easier j a greater quantity or weight of grain and other articles may be more ex- peditiously carried over them ; mjinure can be more easily conveyed to the fields j the harvest can be carried oii more rapidly ; and wear and tear of every description wiU be greatly reduced. {Code qfAgri. culture, p. 15a) BOOK III. OF impSoving the culturable lands of an estatf, 4212, Having completed the general arrangement of an estate, the next thing is to improve the condition of that part of it destined to be let out to tenants^ which, as already observed, constitutes the chief source of income. The farm lands being enclosed and subdivided, and the farmeries and cottages built in their proper situations, in many cases no other improvements are wanted on the soil than such as are given by the tenant in the ordinary course of culture. But there are also numerous cases, in which improve- ments are required which could not be expected from an occupier having only a temporary interest in his possession; and these form the present subject of discussion. Such improvements are designated by agriculturists permanent, as conferring an increased purchasable value on the property, in opposition to improvements by a temporary occupier, the benefits of which are intended to be reaped during his lease. The latter class of improvements includes fallows, liming, marling, manuring, improved rotations, and others of greater expense, according to the length of lease, rent, and encouragement given by the landlord : the former, which we are now about to discuss, includes draiiiing, embanking, irrigating, bringing waste lands into cultivation, and improving the condition of lands already in a state of culture. Chap. I. Draining Watery Lands, *4213. Draining is one of those means of improvement, respecting the utility of which agriculturists are unanimous in opinion. Though practised by the Romans (143.), and in all probability in some -cases by the religious fraternities of the dark ages, it was not till after the middle of the last century that its ilnportance began to be fully understood in Britain ; and that some individuals, and chiefly Dr. Anderson and Elkington, began to practise it on new principles. About the same time , the study of geology became more genera], and this circumstance led to the establishment of the art on scientific principles. The public attention was first excited by the practice of Elkington, a farmer and self- taught professor of the art of draining in Warwickshire and the adjoining counties. On the practice of this artist most of the future improvements have been founded ; and they have been ably embodied in the account of his practice by Johnston, from whose work we shall draw the principal materials of this section, borrowing also from the writings of Dr. Anderson, Marshal, Smith, Farey, Stephens, and some others on the same subject, and from the sixth and seventh volumes of the Highland Society's Transactions- After submitting some general remai-ks on the natural causes of wetness in lands, we shall consider in succession the drainage of boggy lands, hilly lands, mixed soils, retentive soils, and mines and quarries ; and then the kinds of drains, and draining materials. Sect. I. Natural Causes of Wetness in Lands, and the general Theory of Draining, 4214. The successful practice of draining in a great measure depends on a proper knowledge of the structure of the earth's upper crust, that is, of the various strata of which it is composed, as well as of their relative degrees of porosity, or capability of admitting or rejecting the passage of water through them, and likewise of the modes in which water is formed, and conducted from the high or hilly situations "to the low or level grounds. In whatever way the hills or elevations that present themselves on the surface of the globe were originally formed, it has been clearly shown, by sinking large pits, and digging into them, that they are mostly composed of materials lying in a stratified order, and in oblique or slanting directions downwards. Some of these strata, from their nature and properties, are capable of admitting water to percolate or pass through them ; while others do not allow it any passage, but force it to run or filtrate along their surfaces without penetrating th«n in any degree, and in that way conduct it to the more level grounds below. There it becomes obstructed or dammed up by meeting with impervious materials of sonje kind or other, by which it is readily forced up into the superincumbent layers where they happen to be open and porous, soon rendering them too wet for the purposes Book III. THEORY OF DRAINING. 691^ of agriculture ; but where they are of a more tenacious and impenetrable quality, they only become gradually softened by the stagnant water below them ; by which the surface of tfie ground is, however, rendered equally mbist and swampy, though somewhat more slowly than in the former case. It may also be observed, that some of the strata which constitute such hilly or mountainous tracts are found to be continued with much greater regularity than others ; those which are placed nearest to the surface, at the inferior parts of such hills or elevations, being mostly broken or interrupted before they reach the tops or higher parts of them ; while those which lie deeper, or below them at the bottom, show themselves in these elevated situations. Thus, tliat stratum which may lie the third or fourth, or still deeper, at the commencement of the valley may form the uppermost layer on tlie summits of hills or mountainous elevations. This arrangement or distribution of the diiferent strata may have been produced partly by the circumstances attending the original elevation of such mountainous regions, and partly from the materials of the original exterior strata being dissolved and carried down into the valleys by successive rains and other causes, and thus leaving such as were immediately below them in an ex- posed and superficial state in these elevated situations. (Danmn's Phi/iologia, p. 258.) 4215. These elevated strata frequently prove the Tneans lyf rendering the grounds below wet and swamp?/; for the general moisture of the atmosphere being condensed in much greater quantities in such elevated situations, the water thus formed, as well as that which falls in rain and sinks through the superficial porous materials, readily insinuates itself, and thus passes along between the first and second or still more inferior strata which compose the sides of such elevations, until its descent is retarded or totally obstructed by some Impenetrable substance, such as clay : it there becomes dammed up, and ultimately forced to filtrate slowly over it, or to rise to some part of the surface, and constitute, according to the particular circumstances of the case, different watery appear- ances in the grounds below. These appearances are, oozing springs, bogs, swamps, or morasses, weeping rocks from the water slowly issuing in various places, or a large spring or rivulet from the union of small currents beneath the ground. This is obvious from the sudden disappearance of moisture on some parts of lands, while it stagnates, or remains till removed by the effects of evaporation, on others ; as well as from the force of springs being stronger in wet than in dry weather, breaking out frequently after the land has been impregnated with much moisture in higher situations, and as the season becomes drier ceasing to flow, except at the lowest outlets. The force of springs, or proportion of water which they send forth, depends likewise, in a great measure, on the extent of the high ground on which the moisture is received and detained, furnishing extensive reservoirs or collections of water, by whikh they become more amply and regularly supplied. On this account, what are termed bog-springs, or such as rise in valleys and low grounds, are considerably stronger and more regular in their discbarge, than such as burst forth on the more elevated situations or the sides of eminences. (Johnston's Account of EUdngton's Mode of Draining hand, p. 15.) 4216. The waters condensed on elevated regions are, sometimes found to descend, for a very considerable distance, among the porous substances between the different conducting layers of clayey or other materials, before they break out or show themselves in the grounds below ; but they are more frequently found to proceed from the contiguous elevations into the low grounds that immediately surround them. 4217. The nature of the stratum cf materials on which the water descending from hills has to proceed must considerably influence its course, as well as the effects which it may produce on such lands as lie below, and into which it must pass. Where the stratum is of the clayey, stiff marly, or impervious rocky kind, and not interrupted or broken by any other materials of a more porous quality^ the water may pass on to a much greater distance, than where the stratum has been frequently broken and filled up with loose porous materials, in which it will be detained, and of course rise up to the surface. 4218. These sorts of strata extend to very different depths in different siluations and districts, as it has been frequently noticed in the digging of pits, and the sinking of deep wells, and other subterraneous cavities. The clayey strata are, however, in general found to be more superficial than those of the compact, tenacious, marly kind, or even those of a firm, uninterrupted, rocky nature, and seldom of such a great thickness ; they have, nevertheless, been observed to vary greatly in this respect, being met with in some places of a considerable thickness, while in others they scarcely exceed a few inches. 4219. The intervening jiorous substances, or strata, where clay prevails, are found, for the most part, to be of either a gravelly or loose rocky nature. Stiff marly strata, which approach much to the quality of clay, though in some instances they may present them- selves near the surface, in general lie concealed at considerable depths under the true clayey strata, and other layers of earthy or other materials ; they have been discovered of various thicknesses, from eight or ten feet to considerably more than a hundred. (Dannn's Phylologia, p. 259.) The intervening materials, where strata of this nature predominate, are most commonly of the more sandy kinds ; possessing various degrees' Yy 2 B92 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt III. of induration, so as in some cases to become perfectly hard and rocky, but with frequent breaks or fissures passing through them. The loose, friable, marly strata are capable of absorbing water, and of admitting it to filtrate and pass through them. 4220. Thus the vaileys nnd more level grounds must constantly be liable to be overcharged with moisture, and to become, in consequence, spouty, boggy, or of die nature of a morass, accordingly as they may be circumstanced in respect to their situation, the nature of their soils, or the materials by which the water is obstructed and detained in or upon them. 4221. W/iere lands have a sufficient degree of elevation to admit of any over-proportion of moisture readily passing away, and where the soils of them are of such a uniform sandy or gravelly and uninterrupted texture, as to allow water to percolate and pass through them with facility, they can be little inconvenienced by water coming upon or into them, as it must of necessity be quickly conveyed away into the adjacent rivers or small runlets in their vicinity. 4222. But where grounds are in a great measure Jlat, and without such degrees of ele- vation as may be sufficient to permit those over-proportions of moisture that may have come upon them from the higher and more elevated grounds to pass readily away and be carried off, and where the soils of the lands are composed or constituted of such materials as are liable to admit and retain the excesses of moisture ; they must be exposed to much injury and inconvenience from the retention and stagnation of such quantities of water. •Such lands consequently require artificial means to drain and render them capable of affording good crops, whether of grain or grass. 4223. Lands of valleys and other low places, as well as, in some cases, the level tracts on the sides or borders of large rivers and of the sea, must also frequently be subject to great injury and inconvenience from their imbibing and retaining the water that may be thus forced to flow up into or upon them, either through the different conducting strata from the hills and mountainous elevations in the neighbourhood, or the porous materials of the soils. In these ways they may be rendered swampy, and have bogs or morasses produced in them in proportion to the predominancy of the materials by which the water is absorbed and dammed up, and the peculiarity of the situation of the lands in respect to the means of conveying it away. 4224. To perform properly the business of draining, attention should not only be paid to the discrimination of the differences in regard to the situation of the lands, or what is commonly denominated drainage level ; but also to the nature, distribution, and depth of the materials that constitute the soils or more superficial parts of them, as upon each of these some variety, in respect to the effects arising from water retained in them, may depend. 4225. The general origin of that wetness of land which it is the object of under-draining to remove, "will be found to be the existence of watei' in substrata of sand, gravel, open rock, or other porous substances, which either lead to the surface, or, having no natural outlet, become filled or saturated, while the pressure of more water coming from a higher source, forces that which is in the lower part of the stratum upwards through the superior strata to the surface ; thus occasioning either bursts and springs, or a general oozing through the soil. The object in under-daining, therefore, is not to catch the surface- water, but that which flows through their inferior strata ; and, for this purpose, it is necessary to make a sufficient channel, either at the lower parts of the porous stratum, or in such part of it as may most conveniently carry off the water, so as the pressure referred to may be relieved, or the water intercepted before it reaches the surface. U must always be kept in mind, then, that under-draining and surface-draining are oper- ations essentially distinct ; and every care must be used in practice not to blend them in the execution. If surface-water be allowed to get into covered drains, the sand and mud which it will carry into these subterraneous channels will soon choke them up, and occa- sion bursts, creating, as may be conceived, new swamps ; while the expense of taking up and relaying the under-drains will be very great, and the execution imperfect, the sides being found never to stand a second time so well as when first formed." {Higldand Society's Trans, vol. vii. p. 218.) 4226. Wetness of land, so far as it respects agriculture, and is an object of draining, may generally depend on the two following causes : first, on the water which is formed and collected on or in the hills or higher grounds, filtrating and sliding dovm among some of the differ(!nt beds of porous materials that lie immediately upon the impervious strata, forming springs below and flowing over the surface, or stagnating underneath it; and, secondly, on rain or other water becoming stagnant on the surface, from the retentive nature of the soil or surface materials, and the particular nature of the situation of the ground. The particular wetness which shows itself in different situations, in the forms of bogs, swamps, and morasses, for the most part proceeds from the first of these causes ; but that superficial wetness wliich takes place in the stiff, tenacious, clayey soils, with little inclination of surface, generally originates from the latter. 4227. The most certain and expeditious method of draining, in suclt cases, is that of BUOK III. DRAINING BOGS. 693 derable length across the declivities of the hills, about where the low grounds of the valleys begin to form, and connecting these with others (6 1 made for the purpose of con- veying the water thus collected into the brooks or runlets (c) that may be near. Where the spring has naturally formed itself an outlet, it may frequently only be necessary to bore into it (e), or render it larger, and of more depth ; which, by affording the water a more free and open passage, may evacuate and bring it off more quickly, or sink it to a level so greatly below that of the surface of the soil, as to prevent it from flowing into or over it. 4228. Where the uppermost stratum is so extremely thick as not to be easily penetrated, or where the springs, formed by the water passing ^om the higher grounds, may be con- iined beneath the tlurd or fourth strata of the materials that foiin the declivities of hills or elevated grounds, and by this means lie too deep to be penetrated to by the cutting of a ditch, or even by boring (^Darwin's Phylologia, p. 263.) ; the common mode of cutting a great number of drains to the depth of jive, six, or more feet, across the wet morassy grounds, and afterwards covering them in such a manner as that the Water may suffer no interruption in passing away through them, may be practised with advantage, as much of the prejudicial excess of moisture may by this means be collected and carried away, though not so completely as by fully cutting off the spring. 4229. ^s water is sometimes found upon thin layers of clay, which have underneath them sand, stone, or other porous or Assured strata, to a considerable depth ; by per- forating these thin layers of clay in different places, the water which flows along them may frequently be let down into the open porous materials that lie below them, and the surface land be thus completely drained. 4230. Where morasses and other kinds of wetnesses are formed in such low places and hollows as are considerably below the beds of the neighbouring rivers, they may, pro- bably, in many instances, be effectually drained by arresting the water as it passes down into them from the higher grounds, by means of deep drains cut into the sides of such hills and rising grounds, and, after collecting it into them, conveying it away by pipes, or other contrivances, at such high levels above the wet lands as may be necessary ; or where the water that produces the mischief can, by means of drains, cut in the wet ground itself, be so collected as to be capable of being raised by means of machinery, it may in that way be removed from the land. 4231. The drainage of lands thai lie below the level of the sea can only be effected by the public, and by means of locks erected for the purpose of preventing the entrance of the tides, and by windmills and other expensive kinds of machinery constructed for the purpose of raising the stagnant water. 4232. The superficial wetness of lands, which arises from the stiff retentive nature of the materials that constitute the soils and the particular circumstances of their situations, is to be removed in most cases by means of hollow surface drains, judiciously formed, either by the spade or plough, and filled up with suitable materials where the lands are under the grass system ; and by these means and the proper construction of ridges and furrows where they are in a state of arable cultivation. 4233. Having thus explained the manner in which soils are rendered loo wet for the purposes of agricutture, and shown the principles on which the over-proportions of mois- ture may, under different circumstances, be the most effectually removed, we shall pro- ceed to the practical methods which are to be made use of in accomplishing the business in each case. Sect. II. The Methods of Draining Boggy Land, 4234. In the drainage of wet or boggy grounds, arising from springs of water beneath them, a great variety of circumstances are necessary to be kept in view. Lands of this Yy 3 694 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. description, or such as are of a marshy and boggy nature, from the detention of water beneath the spongy surface materials of which they are composed, and its being absorbed and forced up into them, are constantly kept in such states of wetness as aru highly im- proper for the purpose of producing advantageous crops of any kind. They are, there- fore, on this account, as well as from their occupying very extensive tracts in many districts, and being, when properly reclaimed, of considerable value, objects of great interest and importance to the attentive agricultor. Wet grounds of these kinds may be arranged under three distinct heads : first, such as may be readily known by the springs rising out of the adjacent more elevated ground, in an exact or regular line along the higher side of the wet surface ; secondly, those in which the numerous springs that show themselves are not kept to an exact or regular line of direction along the higher or more elevated parts of the land, but break forth promiscuously throughout the whole surface, and par- ticularly towards the inferior parts {fis- 625. a), constituting shaking quags in every direction, that have an elastic feel under the feet, on which the lightest animals can scarcely tread without danger, and which, for the most part, show themselves by the luxuriance and verdure of the grass about them ; and, thirdly, that sort of wet land, from the oozing of springs, which is neither of such great extent, nor in the nature of the soil so peaty as the other two, and to which the term bog cannot be strictly applied, but which in respect to the modes of draining is the same. (Johnston's Account of EVdngton' s Mode oj Draining Land, p. 19.) 4235. In order to direct the proper mode cf cutting tlie drains or trenches in draining lands of this sort, it will be necessary for the draining engineer to make himself perfectly acquainted vrith the nature and disposition of the strata composing the higher grounds, and the connection which they have with that which is to be rendered dry. This may in general be accomplished by means of levelling and carefully attending to what has been already observed respecting the formation of hiUs and elevated grounds, and by in- specting the beds of rivers, the edges of banks that have been wrought through, and such pits and quarries as may have been dug near to the land. Rushes, alder-bushes, and other coarse aquatic plants, may also, in some instances, serve as guides in this business ; but they should not be too implicitly depended on, as they may be caused by the stagnation of rain-water upon the surface, vrithout any spring being present. The line of springs being ascertained, and also some knowledge of the substrata being acquired, a line of drain {Jig. 625. ft, 6) should be marked out above or below them, according to the nature of the strata, and excavated to such a depth as will intercept the water in the porous strata before it rises to the surface. The effect of such drains will often be greatly heightened by boring holes (c) in their bottom with the auger. Where the impervious stratum (fg. 626. o), that lies immediately beneath the porous (i), has a slanting direction through a hill or rising bank, the surface of the low lands will, in general, be spongy, wet, and covered with rushes on every side (c). In this case, which is not unfrequent, a ditch or drain {d), properly cut on one side of the hill or rising ground, may remove BuOK III. DRAINING BOGS. 69S the wetness from both. But where the. impervious stratum dips or declines more to one side of the hill or elevatiou than the otlier, the water will be directed to the more de- pressed side of tliat stratmn ; the effect of wliich will be, that one side of such rising ground will be wet and spongy, while the other is quite free from wetness. 4236. Wlme water issues forth on the surface at more places titan one, it is necessary to detennine which is the real or principal spring, and that from which the other outlets are fed ; as by removing the source, the others must of course be rendered dry. When on the declivity or slanting surface of the elevated ground from wliich the springs break forth, they me observed to burst out at different levels according to the difference of the wetness of the season, and where those that are the lowest down continue to run, while the higher ones are dry, it is, in general, a certain indication that the whole are connected, and proceed from the same source ; and consequently that the line of the drain should be made along the level of the lowermost one, which, if properly executed, must keep all the others dry. ■ But if the drain were made along the line of the highest of the outlets, or places where the water breaks forth, without being sufficiently deep to reach the level of those below, the overflowings of the spring would merely be carried away, and the wetness proceeding from that cause be removed ; while the main spring, still co9tinuing to run, would render the land below the level of the bottom of the drain still preju- dicially wet, from its discharging itself lower down over the surface of the ground. This, Johnston states, was the custom, until Elkington showed the absurdity of the practice of drainers beginning to cut their trenches wherever the highest springs showed themselves between the wet and the dry ground, which not being of a depth sufficient to arrest and take away the whole of the water, others of a similar kind were under the necessity of being formed at different distances, to the very bottom of the declivity : these being afterwards in a great measure filled with loose stones, merely conveyed away portions of surface water, without touching the spring, the great or principal cause of the wetness. The effects of drains formed in this manner he asserts to be that of ren- dering the surface of the land in some degree drier, so long as they continue to run with freedom ; but as they are liable soon to be obstructed and filled up by sand or other materials, the water is often forced out in different places and directions, and thus renders the land as wet as before, if not wetter. In addition to this, it is a more diffi- cult task to drain the ground a second time in a proper method, from the natural appear- ance of the ground being so much changed, and the bursts of the old di'ains, as well as the greater difBculty of ascertaining the real situation of the springs. 4237. It may soTnetimes liappen, however, tJiat wJiere the higliest are the strongest outlets, tliey may be tlie main or leaOmg uprings; those which show themselves lower down in the land being merely formed by the water of the main spring overflovwng, and finding itself a passage into the earth through an opening in the surface, or through the porous materials of the soil near to the surface, and being obstructed somewhat further down in the ground by some impervious stratum. This circumstance must, therefore, it is observed, be fully ascertained before the lines for the ditches or drains are marked out. 4238. In cases where the baTiks or rising grounds are formed in an irregular manner (Jig. 6'27.), and, from the nature of the situation, or the force of the water underneath, 627 springs abound round the bases of the protuberances, the ditches made for the purpose of draining should always be carried up to a much higher level in the side of the ele- vated ground than that in which the water or wetness appears; as far even as to the fii-m unchanged land. By this means the water of the spring may be cut off^ and the ground completely drained ; which would not be the case if the trench or drain were formed on the line of the loose materials lower down, where the water oozes out, which is liable to mislead the operator in forming the conducting trench, or that which is to convey the water from the cross-drain on the level of the spring to the outlet or opening by which it is discharged. But where the main or principal spring comes out of a perpendicular or very steep bank, at a great height above the level of the outlet into which it may discharge itself by means of a drain, it will neither be necessary nor of any utility to form a deep trench, or make a covered drain, all the way from such outlet up to it ; as from the steepness of the descent the water Yy 4 696 PRACTICE Of AORICULTURE. PaktIIT. would be liable, when the drain was thus cut, from the thin strata of sand and other loose materials, always found in such cases, to insinuate itself under the bricks, stones, or other substances of which the drain was formed ; to undermine and force them up by the strength of the current, or probably, in some instances, block the drain up by the loose sand or other matters, which may be forced away and carried down by it. In situations of this kind, Johnston observes, it is always the best way to begin just so far down the bank or declivity as, by cutting in a level, the drain may be six or seven feet below the level of the spring ; or of such a depth as may be requisite to bring down the water to a level suitable to convey it away without its rising to the surface, and injuring the lands around it. The rest of the drain, whether it be made in a straight or oblique direction, need not be deep, and may, in many instances, be left quite open ; it should, however, be carefully secured from the treading of cattle, and, where the land is under an arable system of cultivation, also from the plough. Where it is covered, the depth of about two feet may be sufficient. There will not, in such drains, be any necessity for the use of the auger in any part of them. 4239. Where there is a difficulty in ascertaimtig the line of the spring, and consequently that of the cross-drain, either from its not showing itself on the surface, or from there, not being any apparent outlet, it may, generally, be met with in carrying up the con- ducting drain for conveying away the water. As soon as the operator discovers the spring, he need not proceed any further, but form the cross-drain on the level thus discovered to such a distance on each side of the tail, or terminating part, of the strata, of whatever sort, that contains the water, as the nature of the land, in regard to situation or other circum- stances, may demand. Where, in forming a cross-drain, the line indicated by the spirit or other level is found to be in some places below that of the spring, and where, in boring in this direction, water is not found to follow, it will be necessary to make short drains or cuts of the same depth with the cross-drain, from it quite up to the soiu'ce of the spring ; for, if the drain be cut below the Une of the spring, the possibility of reaching it by means of an auger is lost, as where the under stratum is clay, and there is no under water, the use of the auger cannot be effectual ; and if it be made above the line of the spring, it will be requisite to cut and bore much deeper, in order to reach it, the ground being in general higher in that part : besides, the portion of porous stratum below the drain may contain a sufficient quantity of water to render the land wet, and that may readily get down underneath the trench, between the holes formed by boring, and break out lower down. 4240. In situations lufiere the extent of bog in the valley between two banks or eminences is so narrow and limited as that the stratum of rock, sand, or other materials, that contains the water, may unite below the clay at such a depth as to be readily reached by the auger ( fig. 628. a), it will seldom be necessary to have more than one trench up the middle, 628 ^iiiii^S well perforated with holes (6) by means of the auger, cross or branching drains being unnecessary in such cases. For notwithstanding the springs, that render the land in- juriously wet in these cases, burst out of the banks or eminences on every side, for the most part nearly on the same level, the reservoir from which they proceed may be dis- covered in the middle of the valley, by penetrating with the auger through the layer of clay that confines and forces the water to rise up and ooze out round the superior edge of it, where it forms a union with the high porous ground. From the drain being made in the hoUowest part of the land, and the porous stratum containing the water being then bored into, it is obvious that, the ditch or drain thus formed being so much lower than the ordinary outlet of the springs, the pressure of water above that level, which is the bottom of the drain, must be such as to force that which is under the drain or trench through the holes made by the auger, and in many instances, until a considerable quantity of tlie Book III. DRAINING BOGa 697 water is evacuated, make it rise to a greater lieight than the level of its natural outlet. The effect of which must be, that the water forming the spring, having found by these means a fresh and more easy passage, will quickly relinquish its former openings, and thus be prevented &om running over and injuring the ground that previously lay lower down tlian it. 4241. But in sivamps or bogs that are extensive and very wet, other drains or cuts than such as convey off the springs must be made ; as, notwithstanding the higher springs which chiefly cause the wetness may be intercepted, there may be lower veins of sand, gravel, 'or other porous materials, from which the water must likewise be drawn off. In cases of this nature, where the land is to be divided into enclosures, the ditches may be formed in such directions as to pass through and carry off collections of water of this kind, as well as those that may be retained in the hollows and depressions on the surface of the land. There are in many places very extensive tracts of ground that are rendered wet, and become full of rushes and other coarse plants, from causes of such a nature as cannot be obviated by the making of either open or covered drains, however numerous they may be. Lands in this situation are frequently termed holms, and mostly lie on the sides of such rivers and brooks as, from the frequency of their changing and altering their courses between their opposite banks, leave depositions of sand, gravel, and other porous materials, by which land is formed, that readily admits the water to filtrate and pass through it to the level of the last-formed channels, and which preserves it constantly in such a state of moisture and wetness, as to render it productive of nothing but rushes and other aquatic plants ; and if a pit or ditch be made in lands under these circumstances, it quickly fills with water to the same level as that in the watercourse. This effect is, however, more liable to be produced, as well as more complete, where the current of the water is slow, and its surface nearly equal with tliat of the land, than where its descent is rapid. Under such circumstances, while the river or brook remains at the ordinary height, no advantage can be gained, whatever number of drains be formed, or in what- ever direction they may be made. The chief or only means of removing the wetness of land proceeding from this cause is, that of enlarging and sinking the bed of the stream, where it can be effected at a reasonable expense : where there is only one stream, and it is very winding or serpentine in its course, much may however be effected by cutting through the different points of land, and rendering the course more straight, and thereby less liable to obstruct the passage of the water. But in cases where there are more than one, that should always be made the channel of conveyance for droning the neighbour- ing land, which is the lowest in respect to situation, and the most open and straight in its course. It may likewise, in particular instances, be advantageous to stop up and divert the waters of the others into such main channels, as by such means alone they may often be rendered deeper, and more free from obstruction : the materials removed from them may serve to embank and raise up the sides to a greater height, as while the water can rise higher than the outlets of the drains, and flow backwards into them, it must render the land as wet as it was before they were formed, and the expense of cutting them to be thrown away. 4242. The collected rain-water, becoming stagnaTit on a retentive body of clay, or some other impervious material, as it can have no outlet of the natural kind, causes such lands to become soft and spongy, thus forming bogs of a very confined kind. As such bogs are often situated very greatly below the ground that surrounds them, the opening of a main drain, or conductor, to convey off the water collected by smaller drains, would be attended, in many instances, with an expense greater than could be compensated by the land afiter it had been drained. The thickness of the impervious stratum that retains and keeps up the water in such cases is often so great, that though the stratum below be of a porous and open nature, such as sand, rock, or gravel, the water cannot of itself penetra'e or find a passage from the one into the other ; consequently, by its continued stagnation above, aU the different coarse vegetable productions that have for a great length of time been produced on its surface, and probably the upper part of the soil itself, are formed into a mass or body of peat earth, equal in softness to that of any bog originating from water confined below, and less productive, and which is only capable of sustaining the weight of cattle in very dry seasons, when the wind and sun have exhaled and dried up a great part of its surface moisture ; but even then it is incapable of admitting the plough upon it. 4243, As these hinds of bogs differ matenally in their origin from those which have been already noticed, tlieir drainage must of course be accomplislied in a ditTerent way. The following method of proceeding is recommended as perhaps the least expensive : — In the middle, or most depending part of the ground, the first drain {Jig. 629. o), may be cut, iifto which all the others should be made to lead ; the number and direction of which must be regulated by the extent of the bog. They should be cut through the peat, or moist spongy upper soil, to the surface of the clay, or other retentive stratum of materials, which must then be perforated or bored through in order to let the water down into the pervious stratum below, by which it may be absorbed and taken up. The same effect might be produced by digging one large welL or pit, in the middle or lowest part of the bog, through into the porous stratum below, ard connect- ing the other drains with it, as by such a method the trouble and expense of boring along the drains would 698 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. be saved. In these cases, when drains are made, they should always be cut as narrow as it is possible to make them, and, after the holes have been formed in thembv boring, filled up with loosestones to within about a foot and a half of the surface, which space may be made up by a portion of the earth that had been taken out, putting in turf with the green side to the stones before the earth is thrown in By this means the water and prejudicial moisture of the peat, or upper soil, may be taken away by the drains, and pass off through the holes that have been formed in their bottoms. But where pits are employed, these should only be filled with small stones to the level of the bottom of the drain, the filling being performed as soon as possible after they are formed. {Ander- son's Treatise on Draining^ p. 8S.) Where there is a chalky stratum below, after taking it nut, the flints contained in it may be made use of in this way with much advantage; and where the drains can be carried into quarries, where the stone is much fissured no- thing more will be necessary. Where land of this sort is afterwards to be ploughed, great attention should he given to the forming of the ridges and giving them a regular descent towards the main drain, which will contribute greatly to the assistance of the others in conveying oflf heavy falls of rain. water when they occur. 4244. But a necessary precaution previously to any attempt to drain lands of this kind in the way (hat has been described, is to ascertain whether the porous stratum under the clay be dry, and capable of receiving the water when let down into it ; or already so loaded with moisture itself, as, instead of receiving more from above, to force up a large quantity to the surface, and thus increase the evil it was intended to remove. This may be the case in many instances, and the substratum contain water which affords no appear, ances of wetness on the surface, at the place, on account of the compact body of clay that is placed over it, but which, from its being connected with some spring that is higher, may flow up when an oiiening oi passage is given it, either by means of a pit or the auger. In this way a greater quantity of water might be brought to the surface, which, from its being con- fined by the surrounding banks, would render the ground much more wet than before, and in particular situations produce very great degrees of wetness. When the surrounding high ground declines lowei than the bog, though it may be at a considerable dis. tance, by the aid of the level, and the appearance of the surface, the nature of the stratum underneath may, in some degree, be ascertained ; and, notwith- standing it may already contain water, a drain may be ; formed into it to carry off that water, and what may : likewise be let down into it from the retentive stratum that lies above it. It must be confessed, however, that cases where surface water can be let down through wv^iS^^^ ^ retentive stratum to a porous one that will actually ^I^^^^ carry it off, are very rare. When these occur, it is JP**'^ chiefly in limestone or coal districts, where the surface Wff/f |i|!il'(Hi'tt^^^ is hilly or rugged {Jig. 630.), and more calculated for the pursuits of the mineralogist than those of the agricultor. Sect. III. Drainirig HUly Lands. 4245. Draining hUty lands is not in general attended with great expense, as the drains need seldom be covered or filled up, only in such places as may be sufficient for passages for the animals to cross by : and though, vv^here the depth of the trench does not come to the water confined below, it may be necessary to perforate lower, there need not be any fear that the holes will fill up, even where the drain is left open ; as the impetuosity of the water itself will remove any sand or mud that may fall into them, where much ifood or surface water does not get in. Small openings may, however, be made along the upper side of the trench, in order the more effectually to secure them against any obstructions ; and in these the perforations maybe made, leaving the mouth of the holes about six inches higher than the bottom of the drain, which will be without the reach of the water that may be collected during the time of heavy rains. 4246. One of the greatest improvements of the hillt/ skeep.pastures of Holland has been effected by drainage, while the expense is comparatively sraalL The depth and width of the small ones are only those of the spade. They are usually carried across the face of the hills in a slightly inclined direction, so as to avoid the injury of too rapid a descent after heavy rains ; and these small cuts open into a few larger, formed with due regard to the same principle ; the whole at last, for an extent of several hundred acres, being led into one still larger, which discharges itself into the nearest rivulet Improvements of this kind are, perhaps, of greater benefit to the individual proprietors of land who undertake them than any other. 4247. The sides or declivities of many hills, from the irregularity of the disposition of the strata that compose them, are often covered with alternate portions or patches of wet and dry ground. By the general appearance of the surface and the vegetable products that are grown upon it, the nature and direction of the internal strata may frequently be ascertained with so much certainty as to determine the line or direction of a drain without the necessity of examining below the surface of the land. As the ease or difficulty Book III. DRAINING MIXED SOILS. 699 of draining such grounds depends solely on the position of the diflTerent strata of which the hill or elevation may be formed, and upon the erect or slanting direction of the rock, or other retentive body in which the water is contained ; where the rock has a slanting or horizontal inclination, the whole of the different springs or outlets, that show themselves on the surface, may originate from or be connected with the same collection or body of water, and may be all drained and dried up by cutting off, or letting out, the main body of water, by which they are supplied, at the inferior part of the reservoir, or that part where the water would of its own accord readily run off if it were not confined beneath an impervious covering of clay or some other material. 4248. But in cases where the rock lies in an erect or perpendicular Jorm, and contains only psu-tial collections of water, in some of the more open cracks or fissures of the stone, which discharge themselves at various openings or outlets that have not the least connec- tion with each other, it would be an idle and fruitless endeavour to attempt the cutting of them off by means of one drain {Jig. 631. a), or by boring into any one of them in g„, particular, without cutting a drain into each (n, b, c). In , ^ this case it is more advisable '^.e- to make the main drain wholly in the clay, with small cuts SV*?'i25'-S?i'?^iii^^-^9=S'\^i^sJ^^ c made up to each outlet, than :^gg:^ V:^-^\":::i^^-p:.i ;r-, s>\a£;£:jfV.-j/ ^^^^^^ IP ^ J4fc along the place where the ^^"^ii/; ;'?-IH''-I.T.t.- // ^ CTiinTifTC Vini^cf nut . aa iTi tTiQ*- springs burst out ; as in that line of direction it would be too much in the rock, and consequently be extremely difficult to cut, on account of the nature and disposition of the stone. When the water passing out on tlie line of the springs can be found by the auger in the main drain, at the point of junction, it will be the more completely cut off; but where this is not practicable, the depth of the small cuts may reduce it to such a level as will prevent its flowing over and injuring the surface of the land below it. 4249. In such hills as are constituted of alternate strata of rock, sand, and clay, the surface of the last may frequently be wet and swamp, while that of the sand is dry, and capable of producing good crops of grass ; in all such cases, in order to drain the land completely, as many cuts will be necessary as there may happen to be divisions of wet and dry soU. The sunmiit, or most elevated part of such hills, being mostly formed of loose porous materials, the rain and other water descends through it till its passage becomes obstructed by some impervious bed or stratum, such as clay, when it is forced up to the surface, and runs or oozes over the obstructing stratum; after having overflowed the upper clay surface, it is immediately absorbed and taken up by the suc- ceeding porous one, and, sinking into it in the same way as before, passes out again at the lower side, rendering the surface of the next clayey bed prejudicially wet, as it had done that of the first. In this way the same spring may affect all the other strata of the same kind, from the highest part down the whole of the declivity, and produce in the bason, or hollow at the bottom, a lake or bog, should there not happen to be a passage or opening to take away the water. In order effectually to drain Mils of this kind, it will be most advisable to begin by forming a trench along the upper side of the upper- most rushy soil, by which means the highest spring may be cut off; but as the rain and other water that may come upon the next portion of porous soil may sink down through it to the lowest part, and produce another spring, a second cut must be made in that part, to prevent the water from affecting the surface of the succeeding clayey bed. Similar cuts must be formed so far down the declivity as the same springs continue in the same way to injure the land, and in some cases a sufficiency of water may probably be obtained to irrigate the land below, or for some other useful purpose. Sect. IV. Methods of draining JlSxed Soils. 4250. Where the soil is of a mixed and varied nature, but the most prevailing parts of the clayey kind, the business of draining is considerably more tedious and difficult than where the superficial and internal parts have greater regularity. In such lands, as the collections of water are completely separated by the intervening beds of clay, each becomes so much increased in the time of heavy rains, as to rise to the level of the sur- rounding surface ; when the water, finding a free passage, as it would over the edges of a bowl, overflows and saturates the surface of that bed of clay, rendering it so wet and sour that its produce becomes annually more scanty, and the soil itself more sterile and unproductive. 4251. From the sand-beds (Jig- 632. a, a, a) in such cases having no communication with each other, it must evidently require as many drains (6, 6, 6) as there are beds of this kind, in order fully to draw off the water from each of them. A drain or trench is therefore reconunended to be cut from the nearest and lowest part of the field intended 700 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. to be drained (c), up to the highest and most distant sand- bank {d), in such a line of direction as, if possible, to pass through some of the in- termediate sand-beds, and pre- vent the labour and expense of making longer cuts on the sides, which would otherwise be requisite. 4252. trhere the (liferent beds of sand and clay are of less extent, and lie together with greater regularity, they can be drained in a more easy manner with less cutting, and of course at less expense. Below the layers or beds of sand and clay that lie, in this manner, alternately together, and nearly parallel to each other, is generally a body of impervious clay, which keeps up the water contained in the sand, which sand being constantly full, the adjacent clay is thereby rendered moist, and in wet seasons the water runs or trickles over it. As in these cases, the principal under-stratum of clay is rarely more than foiu: or five feet below the surface, it is eidvisable to cut a drain (^. 633. o) ^^Sj^ to that depth through the middle of the field, if it have a descent from both sides ; but if it decline all to one side, the drain must be made on that side (£), as the water will more readily discharge itself into it ; and, unless the field be of great extent, and have more than one depression or hollow in it, one drain may be quite sufficient for the pur- pose, as by crossing the diiFerent beds that retain the water, it must take it off from each. 4253. ^ principal difficulty in draining ground of this nature, and which renders it impracticable by one drain, is when the direc- tion of the alternate layers, or beds of clay and sand, lies across the declivity of the land (Jig* 634. a, a), so that one drain can be of no other service than that of conveying away the water after it has passed over the different strata, and would naturally stagnate in the lowest part of the field, if there were no other passage for it. Where flie land lies in this way, which is fre- 9 4 ^ quently the case, it will therefore be necessary, J 4^ besides the drain in the lowest part (6), to have others cut up from it in a slanting direction across the declivity (c, c), which, by crossing the different veins, or narrow strata of sand (d, d, d), may be capable of drawing the water from each of them. 4254. Informing the drains in these cases, it is recommended that, after laying the bottom in the manner of a sough, or in the way of a triangle, it be filled some way up with small stones, tough sods with the green side downwards being placed upon them before the mould is filled in. But where stones cannot be readily procured, faggots may be employed, the under part of the drain being laid, or coupled, with stones, so as to form a channel for the conveyance of the water that may sink through the faggots, and for the purpose of rendering them more durable ; as, where the water cannot get freely off, which is generally the case where there is not an open passage made of some solid material, it must, by its stagnation, soon destroy the faggots, and choke up the drain. 4255. The estateof Spottiswoode in Berwickshire affbrdsan inceresting example of succeesful drainage of mixed soil and strata. It was begun in 1815, under the direction of Mr. Stephens, an eminent draining engineer, and author of a useful work on the subject {The Practical Irrigator, &c,, Edin. 8vo. 1829) ; and eighteen miles and a half of drains, some parts of which were thirteen feet deep, but the medium depth of which was from five to seven feet, had, in 1820, rendered between five and six hundred acres of land most valuable, which had been before of little value. 4256. The grounds to be drained at Spottiswoode " consisted of a soil of various depth, under which commonly lay a stratum of clay from two to three feet deep, then a thin bed of sandy or gravelly substance, ofafootdeep, or more, containing water ; after that another bed-of clay, of two or more feet deep; and lastly, a bed of sand, gravel, or slaty rock, containing the larger quantity of water. Upon reaching the Book III. DRAINING MIXED SOILS. 701 lower of th^e porous strata, the water disappeared in the upper one : and hence generally the expediency of not stopping atthefirstjbutof working down till the main stratum was reached. Several instances occurred where the strata lay too deep to be reached by a drain ; in which cases it was deemed necessary to sink wells or pits at certain distances along the line of the drain, from ten to eighteen feet deep, or more, in order toreachtheopen strata, so that the water, rising through the wells to the bottom of the drains, might be conveyed away without reaching the surface. It was never thought sufficient to have reached the first seam containing water, unless it were at the depth of four feet or more, and evidently appeared to be that containing the main body of water which occasioned the wetness of the surface." {Trans. Highl. Soc.) 4257. The Jh-st operation in the pt-ocess of draining ** was to ascertain the depth and nature of the Btrata in which the water was contained, and the overflowing of which, where no outlet existed, produced, as was before remarked, either springs or bursts of water, or a general oozing. Along the line of these springs, or in the upper part of the wet ground, pits were sunk in various places. The place of each being marked out, a man was sent to dig each pit, breaking the ground nearly in the direction of the intended drain, six feet long and three feet wide, which is sufficient space to allow a man, or sometimes two, to work freely. The earth was then thrown to the lowest side, and well offfrom the pit, to prevent the sides from breaking in : these pits were made to the depth of five or six feet, or to a greater depth if necessary, according to the nature of the ground, or until the bed of sand, gravel, or rock, which contained the water, was reached. Sometimes it became necessary, after having gone as deep as a man could work, and wJien no water appeared, to bore down with boring-rods, in order to ascertain at what depth the stra- - turn containing the water lay. In some instances, where the surface was wet from a general oozing, and no regular spring appeared, it became necessary to go down to the depth of thirteen feet, when, in break, ing through a thin cake of freestone, not above an inch in thickness, the water borst up, and filled the pit to the brim in the following morning. This species of examination prevents the working at random in laying out the lines of drains, affords data forjudging of the depth and dimensions to which they should be formed ; and, by giving a knowledge of the substances to be dug through, enables one to enter into con- tracts with the workmen with greater certainty." (Trans. HighL Soc.) 4^. A generalidea being thus obtained qf the g}-ound to be drained^ and men employed to sink the pito, the next operation is to mark out these lines on the ground. In doing this, a nand sketch [Jig. 635.) indicating the direction of the drains and their depth will be found usefuL " On the ground, the lines may be marked in various ways. When the land is in grass, a plough may be made to follow the di- rector, as he walks deliberately along his intended line, a man leading the horses by the head, if necessary, and walking be- tween them. If it is inconvenient to use a plough, the lines may be marked by pins, or small pits, a spade's breadth square, made at convenient distances, by cutting out a turf clean by four cuts of a spade, and laying it upside down at the side of the hole, in tlie line of the drain." The drains were next dug out, and formed ; some of them three feet wide at the top, six feet deep, and two feet wide at bottom, and others of different widths and depths, but generally in the same proportion. The following are Mr. Stephens's directions for building : — 4559. The side walls of the drain^ supposing it to be six feet deep, and two feet wide at bottom, ** must be well built with dry stone, all laid on the proper bed (and not set up edgeways], nine inches thick by six inches high, forming an aperture of six inches square, the covers for which must be sufficiently strong to sustain the presspre of the incumbent weight of stone and earth ; and should project, at least, three inches over the inside of each side wall, — two feet of stone must be well packed above the cover of the aperture The first foot of stone above the cover of the aperture may be put into the drains from three to four pounds weight, the upper part must be broken as small as common road-metal, and should be made quite smooth or level, so that every part of the drains may have an equal depth or thickness of stone, A thin covering of straw should be laid on the top of the broken stones, to prevent the loose earth from falling through the aperture of the drains. The drains may be then filled with earth, nine inches above the natural level of t)ie surface of the ground. AV^Is must be sunk along the lowest side of the lines of drains, in every place where the above mentioned depth of six feet does not reach the porous bed that contains water. These wells may be made from five to six feet square, or sufficiently wide to allow a person to work with freedom ; and must be sunk through the impervious strata into the pervious stratum of *WiQ9Cff*3Q5a sand, gravel, or rock, where the water fiows freely. The wells may then be "3o KEft£CCS^?^l filled with small clean stones, thrown in promiscuously, till the stones in the wells come in contact with the stones in the drains. The upper part of the wells above the level of the stones in the drains may be filled with earth." .^..,^_ (^. 636.) {Tratus. HighL Soc. vol vii. p. 222.) 4560. 7%e stones of which the drains at the bottom of the conduit are to be built, and with which the drain is afterwards to be filled to the depth of two feet or more, as is shown above, should be laid down on the upper side of the line, as near to it as possible, that they may be the more easily handed in. They are laid on the upper side, for the convenienceof throwing out the earth on the lower side. It is very desirable that the stones should be, if possible, laid down before the drain is begun to be dug, as it is often neces- sary to build and fill it as fast as it is dug, to prevent the sides from falling in, which, when it occurs, occasions a very great deal of extra work, and the drains themselves are never so well constructed. This most frequently happens in ground under tillage, the sides being more tender than when in grass, where the turf is the means of preserving the sides from the pressure of the earth thrown out, and of the stones laid down. When the sides are evidently likely to fall in before the drain can be built, they may be kept up for a time by a board laid flat to each side of the drain near the top, and cross sticks put in to keep the boards asunder. Circumstances frequently occur, which prevent the stones from being laid down before- hand and they are then brought forward as the work of cutting the drain is going on. Under the eye of an intelligent and attentive director, this may be done without danger ; but, even then, unforeseen occurrences aoraetimes prevent the possibility of getting the material* forward for several days ; and if any rainy wea- ther intervene, and the drains are in a clayey soil, there is a certainty of slips and falls, occasioning much extra labour and requiring, in consequence of the additional breadth of the drain, a much larger quantity of stones to fill the opening. Where a piece of drain seems likely to fall in, it should always, if possible, be built and filled before night, or the sides kept asunder by means of boards, as before mentioned." {Trans. Highl. Soc. vol. vii.) 4261. Drains may be dug, and, when built, the earth may be filled in by contract work • but in general day work is to be preferred. " The conduit is built in the bottom of the drain by a confidential person, either a mason, or any other workman 702 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. who, by practice, is equally competent ; this person always working at daily wages, to prevent him from having any interest in hurrying over this most important part of the operation." 4262. The drains may be cut only " two feet wide, with the sides perfectly perpen- dicular, provided that, irom the tenacity or hardness of the substances dug through, the sides will stand till the stones are put in. It is usual, however, to break the ground somewhat wider at the top, and so to give it a slight slope to the bottom. The work of cutting is always done by contract at so much per rood or yard, and se- veral labourers generally join in making one drain, and arrange the work among themselves. The casting or cutting, it is scarcely necessary to observe, is always commenced by the workmen at the lower end, and worked upwards to the higher ground, and never downwards. They usually begin by working about two feet deep in the first instance, several roods in length, then going over the ground again, deepening it to four or five feet, and afterwards going over it the last time, and finishing the bottom, by making it perfectly level and ready for the mason to build the conduit in the bottom. The bottom must, for this purpose, be completely two feet wide, though, when free-stone is employed, the width may be less." (2'rans. HigU. Soc.) 4263. In builSng the dram, " the mason has an assistant, generally a female, at the top, who hands him the stones he requires. He begins with small flat stones to build the wall on each side of the bottom of the drain, nine inches broad, and six inches high, so as to leave six inches for the conduit in the middle. This he does roughly, but in such a manner that the stones shall be laid solidly on one another. When the ground at the bottom is solid, either dry gravel, or clay, or rock, the mason's foot, with his ordinary clog or shoe, standing in the centre, is the measure of the width of the conduit. When the land is inclined to be wet and soft, a plank six inches broad is used for him to stand upon. When the bot- tom is a wet spongy clay, or sand of the nature of a quicksand, or very soft, it is often necessary to flag the bottom of the conduit with very thin stones or slates." {Trans. Highl Soc. vol. vii.) •4264. Wlien a perfect quagmire lias been met with, " which has happened chiefly in red clay, the faster ttie wet clay has been thrown out, the faster it has boiled up from below. In these cases, it has been found necessary to lay planks on the bottom of the drain, and build upon them. But this will very seldom be necessary where proper pre- cautions are used. On first meeting with quagmires of this kind, attempts were made to dig them out ; for which purpose a strong wooden frame was made, large enough for four men to work in with freedom, composed of dififerent pieces, so that the workmen might add to the sides of the frame as they worked downwards. Notwithstanding the frame's being made very strong, the pressure became so great, that the sides came together, and stopped the operation. The consequence was, that, after great labour and active exertion in taking out large quantities of wet clay, which thus continued to boil up (but the very taking out of which undermined the banks from beneath), the sides of the drain fell in masses, and made great gaps, which increased the longer the work was carried on. In these circumstances, it became necessary to use planks to build the con- duit, and to fill in the stones as fast as possible, by employing a great number of persons at once. The weight of these superincumbent stones then kept the planks and conduit at their proper place, so much so that the worst of these parts never exhibited any symptom of imperfection, though made ten years ago. On all occasions afterwards, however, when any of these quagmires were found, the process of taking out the bottom of the drain was followed, yard by yard, by flagging the bottom, building the conduit, covering it, and filling the stones over it ; and in this way the quagmire was prevented, by the immediate pressure from above, from boiling up. It never failed to be seen that the longer these operations were delayed, the softer and more intractable the interior of the drain became. After building the side walls for a yard or two in length, the mason, according to circumstances, cleans out the conduit with a narrow hoe, and then covers it with such large broad stones as he can procure, from fifteen inches in length to two feet, being the utmost width of the drain itself. These are handed down carefully to him by his attendant ; and, after he has laid three or four of them, he takes smaller flat stones, as the larger are always uneven at the edges, and covers every interstice ; and afterwards, with similar stones, packs carefully the ends of the covers, before finishing any particular portion of the work so as to prevent them from shifting ; and still further to cover every hole through which any thing might be carried into the conduit, he has a rolled up wisp of straw which he puts in the mouth of the conduit, which allows the water to pass out, but prevents mud and sand from getting in. His attendant then throws the remainder of the stones in promiscuously to the depth of two feet, or some- times more, if the materials are plentiful, and particularly where there are two seams con- Book III.: DRAINING RETENTIVE SOILS. 703 637 taining water ; for in this case it is gene_~- rally desirable to raise the stones above the level of the bottom of the upper seam, so as to convey away any water which may remain in it, to the conduit beneath ( fe. 637. a, sand or gravel ; 6, clay) j ard it was a circumstance very generally observed in the course of operations, that where the upper stratum containing water was only a few feet in depth or thickness^ another open stratum was generally found a few feet deeper. 4265. Stones. When the stones to be used are only brought forward at the time of cutting the drain, the carts are often run back to the edge of it, and the stones, after the conduit is built, tumbled straight out of the cart into the drain ; but, in this case, it is necessary to take care that the sides of the drain be not injured by the cart-wheels or otherwise, lest the earth should fall into the drains, and so through the intervals of the stones. A part of the stones for filling were recommended by Mr. Stephens to be broken like large road metal. This, however, is very expensive, and was found by experience not to be necessary, though usually large stones should be broken. When the stones are smdll, that is, ten or twelve ounces, it is as well j but no inconvenience 'has been found from the constant use of stones of a much larger and very unequal size. When a sufficient quantity of stones has been thrown in, the mason levels them at the top, filling up the intervals of larger stones with smaller ones, so as to make the top of them level. If the sod which has been cut off the surface of the drain is sufficiently solid, it should be laid carefully by itself on the upper edge of the drain at the side of the stones. It should again be laid with its grassy side undermost, on the top of the stones, as a: covering, to prevent the earth from getting down amongst them. If the sods are not sufficiently coherent or plentiful to cover the whole completely, old coarse hay, or straw, or heath, may be used as a substitute. When all this is completely done, the earth is shovelled in upon the top, until the drain is full. It is then heaped up, somewhat after the manner of a grave, to allow for the earth's sub^ding to the level of the surface. It is a circumstance deserving of notice, that, in digging the trial-pits, the earth taken out is in most cases insufficient to fill them again, if allowed to lie open for any time ; so that, in fact, contrary to what would be naturally inferred, the earth must become more compact by being removed. 4266. Repairs. When the drain is thus completed, it is still necessary, and parti- cularly when the land is under tillage, carefully to inspect it from time to time, and to see that no surface-water finds its way into it. If any hole is found, it ought to be im- mediately stopped up, as a channel of tliis kind will sometimes very speedily carry enough of mud into a conduit to choke it entirely, and spoil the drain. Under- draining, it will be kept in mind, will not supersede the necessity of surface-drains, where these are necessary to carry off water stagnant upon the ground. Besides the danger to drains by the flowing in of surface-water, there are other sources of injury which must be guarded against by =« vigilant care; Animals, by burrowing in the earth, or finding their way from any course in the conduit, are sometimes apt to injure it, and cause the earth to crumble in ; but a more frequent source of injury is from vegetable substances, as roots of trees, and particularly of the ash. As an instance of this, there happened, on this property, to be an ash tree growing near a drain, the fibres of which took possession of the conduit, and so obstructed the passage of the water, as to produce a new swamp, in consequence of which it became necessary to lift the ma- terials of the drain, and form it anew. It is often very difficult to eradicate certain plants, whose long and creeping roots get intervened in the interstices of the conduit. The advance of those larger animals which enter the conduits for safety, or in pursuit of prey, may be prevented by an iron grating at the outlet. {Tram. Higlil. Soc. vol. vii.) Sect. V. Methods of draining Betentii'e Soils. *4267. T/ie mode of draining retentive soils is materially different from that which has been described above. Many tracts of level land are injured by the stagnation of a superabundant quantity of water in the upper parts of the surface materials, which does not rise up into them from any reservoirs or springs below. The removal of the wetness in these cases may, for the most part, be effected vritliout any very heavy expense. From the upper or surface soil, in such cases, being constituted of a loose porous stratum of materials, to the depth of from two to four or five feet, and having a stiff retentive body of clay underneath it, any water that may come upon the surface, from heavy rains, «v other causes, readily filtrates and sinks down through it, until it reaches the obstruct- 704 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pari III. ing body of clay ; the consequence of which is, that the porous open soil above is so filled and saturated with water, as to be of little utiUty for producing crops of either grain or grass. Land thus situated is frequently said by farmers to be wet-bottomed. In order to remove this kind of wetness, it seldom requires more than a few drains, made according to the situation and extent of the field, of such a depth as to pass a few inches into the clay, between which and the under surface of the porous earth above there will obviously be the greatest stagnation, and consequently the largest collection of water, especially where it does not become much visible on the surface. In these cases there is no necessity for having recourse to the boring instrument, as there is no water to be dis- charged from below. 4268. When the field to be drained has only a slight declination, or slope, from the sides towards the middle, one drain cut through the porous superficial materials into the clay, in the lowest part of the ground (Jig. 638. o), may be suflficient to bring off the whole of the water detained in the porous soil. This effect may likewise be greatly promoted, by laying out and forming the ridges so as to accord with the direction of the land, and by the use of the plough or spade in removing obstructions, and deepening the furrows. In such 63S situations, where the drain has been formed i W i n mm 1 ^1 wi tm ^ in this manner, the water vrill flow into it ^ :sz i through the porous surface materials, as £ well as if a number of small trenches were ^ cut from it to each side, as is the practice f in Essex and some other parts of the coun- } try ; but which is often an unnecessary J; labour and expense. The drain made in the I; hollow may frequently serve as a division of the field (o), in which case it may be open ; but in other circumstances it may be more proper to have it covered. 4269. Ifhere afield of this description has Tnore than one hollow in its surface {_jig. 639. o, b), it will obviously be requisite to have more than one main drain ; but when it is nearly level, or only inclines slightly to one side, a trench or drain along the lowest part, and 639 the ridges and furrows formed accordingly, may be sufficient for effecting its drainage. There may, however, be cases, as where a field is large and very flat, in which some side- cuts from the principal drain may be necessary, which must be made a little into the clay, and as narrow as they can be wrought, and then filled up with stones or other suit- able materials. 4270. What is called the Essex method of draining in ploughed springy lands, where the surface soil is tenacious, is described by Kent, and consists in substituting small under- drains {fig. 640. a) for open furrows ; or in some cases having a small under-drain beneath 640 IMIriliji^iillhMTIilJI (J) every other or every third furrow. These drains lead to side or fence ditches (c), where they discharge themselves. 4271. Where the clay constitutes the surface, and the porous body is underneath, the in- jiuious stagnant water cannot possibly get off, without the assistance of drains formed for the purpose. Soils of this nature are drained with difficulty, and require a much greater number of trenches or cuts than those of any other kind, as they must be marked out and disposed in such a way as to collect and convey the water every where from the surface ; because it can only force itself off into them from above, being prevented from Book in. DRAINING MINES, QUARRIES, LAKKS, &c. 70S sinking in through the clay, as in soils of a contrary kind. Where there happen to be hollows or irregularities in the surface of the land, water may often be observed to con- tinue standing in them, at a distance of but a few feet from the drain. .In draining such lands, it will always be necessary, in the first place, to make a large or conducting drain at the lowest part, or the end of the field, for the purpose of receiving and conveying away the water collected by the smaller collateral cuts which it may be necessary to make on each side of it. Where it suits for the purpose of dividing the land, this principal drain may be better open than covered, as by tiiat means the mouths or outlets of the different small drains that come into it may be conveniently examined, and cleared out when necessary. 4272. The construction of the ridges in such soils, so that they may accord with the declivity, is a matter which must be carefully kept in view. They should in all such cases have a degree of elevation or roundness in the middle, sufficient to afibrd the water a ready fall into the furrows, which likewise should have such a depth and faU as may take it quickly into the drains. The ridges, besides being well laid up, should have small open drains formed in a slanting direction across them, in such a manner as to form communications with one another, and with the furrows ; by which means they are made to perform the office of drains ; the water coming upon the ridges being thus readily conveyed into the furrows, along which it proceeds till impeded in its course by the rising of the ground or other cause ; it then passes through the open cross-drains into others where the descent is greater, and is ultimately conveyed off into the ditch, or other passage, at the bottom of the enclosure. The elevation of the ridges should probably, too, be made greater for the winter than the summer crops, as there must be much more injurious moisture at the former than the latter season. This may be easily accomplished at the time of ploughing the land. Some useful observations on this description of drainage will he found in Marslial's work on Landed Property, and in Dr. Anderson's Treatise on Draining. Sect. VI. Methods of draining Mines, Quarries, Fits,. Ponds, and LaJces. 4273. Where pits, mines, or quarries, happen to be formed at the bottom of declivities, and are inconvenienced or wholly obstructed, either in the digging or working, by the water contained in them, it may be possible, in many cases, to prevent its coming into such mines or pits, by cutting or boring into the lower parts of the porous strata {Jig- 641, a). In order to accomplish this object, it will be necessary to ascertain if any LtiAfl -af. porous stratum presents itself higher up the elevation than the place where the mine or pit is formed, that may conduct the water it contains to the porous body below it ; as by cutting into such stratum, where discovered, much of the water may be drawn off and prevented from passing down. But notwithstanding the water from above may be cut off in this way, a quantity sufficient to inconvenience the working of the mine or pit may still filtrate from the sides of the porous bed, even though it may incline in the direction of tlie lower ground. When this is th'S case, it may, however, be readily taken away at some place in the bed. To accomplish this, and thereby obviate the effects of the water, the termination of the porous stratum (fe. 641. o) below the pit must be ascertained ; and where there is any mark of a natural outlet at the place, a large drain should be formed, in order to permit the water to flow off with more expedition. Where, however, there is a thick bed of some impervious substance, such as clay, placed upon 706 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part Hi. the tcntiination of the porous material, tlie drain need only be cut a little way into that, as by boring througli the rest a sufficient passage may be given to discharge the water. In this way, the draining of such grounds as Ue above or near to mines or pits may be of great advantage. 4274. ly/iere a quarri/ or oilier pit to be dried (Jig. 642. a) is situated above a porous .._^ ,.....r...„^^„.^^ 'tratum, whether 642 ^,' ■-■■^•^'~^"''^^^^^^''^''''°''-~'i''''' <:■•"'•- "'"-^^^ ° '"'"^'' '"' 8™- .'„^^ ■■Sar^-r'-fe -""""-'"^' aa^-'l vel, it may some- ^"■^/Sy^ 1^ times be drained ^.i''¥^'^ ^ ''y "■onng into -■p/'Z |_J LJ ■■ the latter (A). " In this way dif- ferent chalk ]iit3 and lime quar- ries have been drained in Kent and Hertfordshire. {See the Sports of these Counties- ) In marl-pits also, which, from the nature of their situation, mostly require much cutting through some part of their sides, in order to remove the water that prevents their being wrought, the mode of letting the water down by means of pits dug through the upholding stratum below the bed of marl into the porous materials underneath, might be economically practised. In such cases, the number of the pits must be proportioned to the space occupied by the marl ; and when they are required to be of such depths as to be liable to give way, they should be built up, or nearly filled with loose stones, so as to admit the water to pass off, such lateral drains as are necessary communicating with them. In some situations of the pits, as where the bank slopes lower on the contrary side than the level of the water, an easier mode may be practised ; such as by forming a drain in it, and then perforating with a horizontal boring-instrument into the terminating part of the stratum that holds the water ; thereby removing and keeping it below the level of the marl. In addition to these, in some cases, as where the water of such pits proceeds from springs in the high grounds above them, it may be useful to intercept and convey it away before it reaches the marl-pits. 4275. The drainage or drying up of lakes or ponds comes occasionally within the practice of the drainer, especially in countries with an irregular surface. There are, perhaps, few natural lakes indeed^ the surface of the water of which might not be very considerably lowered, by deepening their natural outlets, the consequence of which would be, in many cases, a very considerable accession of generally rich land round their mar- gins, a better drainage for the surrounding country, and an improved climate. Much, it is said, might be done in this way in Ireland ; but there can be no doubt that in every country in the world a great deal may be done. In flat countries nearly on a level with the sea, like Holland and parts of the counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon, the water will in general require to be raised by machinery ; but in by far the greater number of cases, deepening the natural outlet will be found amply su£5cient. 4276. Bar Loch, in the county of Renfrew, was reduced in size by drainage and embanking, in 1814, at an expense of nearly 10,000/., which lias since returned 13 per cent per annum ; 280 acres have been laid dry upwards of 200 of wliicil have been since under crop. A very interesting account of this drainage will be found in the Highland Society's TransactioTts, vol vlL p. 375. 4277. Steam-engines have lately been employed, both in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, as suljstitutes for the very uncertain power of wind, to raise the water from the low lands, and deliver it into the drains and rivers by means of scoop wheels worlcing liice a grinding-stone in its trough. Wheat and other corns have thus Ijeen sown on lands never before ploughed. The improvement indeed is one of the greatest that has talcen place in fenny countries, since they were first attempted to be drained and embanked. {Meek. Mag, voL v. p. 179. and Gard. Mag. vols. iv. and v.) Sect. VII. Formatwn ofDrainSy and Materials used injUling thenu 4278. Drains should be formed with as much truth and exactness as possible.' such labourers as are not dexterous in using their tools seldom make them well. The most general method of performing this sort of work is by admeasurement, at so much a rod, or a score of rods, wliich necessarily induces the workmen to do as much as they possibly can : they should, therefore, be frequently inspected, to see that they keep to tiie proper and required depth, that the earth taken out be laid in such a manner as not to fall down again into the drains in time of filling them, and that the surface mould be kept on one side free from' the clayey or other mateiial of the inferior stratum. 4279. fy^lien t/iere is any declivity in the ground, drains should be made in a slanting direction across it, instead of the old method of conducting them according to the nature or inclination of the slope. By attending to the former mode of cutting the drains, the wetness is not only more effectually removed, but, by allowing the water to pass away in an easy current, they are rendered less liable to be choked, or, as it is frequently termed, blown up, by which artificial oozings of water are sometimes formed in such places. But where grounds are either quite or nearly level, it has long been a general practice to cut the drains at the different distances of about sixteen, twenty-four, and Book III. FORMATION OF DRAINS. 707 thirty-two feet irom each other, across the fields irom the different ditches, according to the circumstances of the lands ; or, indeed, where the drains, either from some slight unevenness of the surface, or other causes, can only be made to flow at one end, to avoid cutting them further on one side than where the ditch is capable of taking away the wetness. In cases where the declivities of a piece of ground are various, and have different inclinations, the drainer should constantly attend to them, and direct the lines of his drains in such a manner as that they may cross the higher sides of the different declivities in a slanting direction. 4280. TIte depth of drains must depend upon the nature of the soils, the positions of the land, and a great variety of other more trifling circumstances. It was formerly the custom to make them three or four feet in depth, but by modem drainers the most general depth is two and a half to three feet. As the main dioins have more water to convey away, and are generally of greater length than the lateral ones, they should always be cut somewhat deeper ; and where the materials of the soils are porous, the deeper they are cut, the more extensively they act In lowering the wetness of the land : when, however, the operator reaches any material through which the moisture cannot pass, it will be useless to dig the trench to a greater depth. If it be clay, by going a few inches into it, a more safe passage for the moisture may however be secured. It must notwith- standing be invariably attended to, that the depth of the drains be such as that the treading of heavy cattle may not displace, or in any way injure, the materials employed in constructing or filling them. It may be noticed too, where the horses in ploughing tread in the bottom of tlie furrow, at the depth of four inches or more below the surface, that, if eight or ten be allowed for the materials wdth which the drains are filled, when the depth of the trenches does not exceed twenty-four inches, there vvill only be nine or ten inches of earth for the support of the horses when ploughing. Where the earth has. been stirred, such a depth itlust undoubtedly be too little, and this in some measure proves that drains of such a depth are not sufficient. By cutting them down to the depth of two feet and a half in the stiffer soils, they will seldom be penetrated to, or have too great a depth ; and in the pervious ones a still greater depth is highly useful, and constantly to be practised. * 4281. Cutting the drains as narrow as possible, which has of late been much practised, is of importance, as it causes a considerable saving of the matters employed in filling them up, whether wood or straw ; but in cases where bricks or stones are used, this cannot be so much attended to ; however, a greater width than about a foot is seldom necessary, provided the stones be coupled at the bottom, or thrown in in a mixed way ; nor more than sixteen inches where laid in the manner of a sough or channel. But of whatever depth the materials may be, the earth or mould by which they are covered up should not be less in depth than a foot ; in arable lands it should be more. 4282. The different sorts of drains in use may be classed in two divisions ; drains of conveyance {Jig. 643. a, b,) alone, and drains of conveyance and collection jointly. {Jig. 643. c,d.) In the former, all that is neces- sary is a channel or passage for the water, of sufficient dimensions, which may be formed by pipes of different kinds, arched or barrel I drains (6), and box or walled drains (a). The construction of the latter requires not only an opening for conveying the water, but a superincumbent or surrounding stratum (e,f, ) of sufficient porosity to permit and induce all latent water to find its way to the channel of conveyance. The most complete drain of conveyance is a large pipe of metal, masonry, or brick-work; and the most complete col- lecting drain, one formed of a channel built on the sides, and covered with flat stones, with a superstratum of round stones or splinters, diminishing to the size of gravel as they rise 645 to the surface, and there covered with the common soil. As the best constructions, however, are not always practicable, the fol- lowing are a few of the leading sorts adapted for different situations. 4283. For drains qf convetfance,there are the walled or box drain (j!^. 643. a), the barrel drain lb), the walled or tlie triangular drain (c), and arcbed drain. (A- 6*4.) 4284. Drains of collection &ie formed of stone, brick gravel,cinders,wood, spray.straw, turf, and eartb alone. 4285. T/ie boxed and rubble drain {fig, 644 ) has.been already described as a dram of conveyance and col- Z z 2 708 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. ^M^! lection. The common rubble drain is formed of rough land-stones of any sort, broken so as not to exceed two or three inches in diameter. No good drainer uses stones six or eight inches in diameter in any part of a rubble drain, least of all at the bottom. The point kept in view is to use such small stones at the hot- torn as may allow the water a great many channels ; so that, if a few should become impermeable, there should be many others remaining. The nearer the bottom of a drain of this kind approaches to the cha- fi46 a racter of a natural bed of gravel, the more certain will be the fVee passage of the water. Gravel or ashes should be laid on the top of the stones, on these a thin layer of straw or haulm of any kind, and the remainder filled up with the surface soil '286. The brick drain is formed in a great variety __ ways, either with common bricks and batd in imitation of the boxed and rubble, or rubble drain ; or with bricks made on purpose, of which there is great variety. {Jig. 646. a to k.) Draining tiles, to be used with em^ct as collecting drains, should generally be covered a foot in depth fir more with stones or gravel. But if the land to be drained be in grass, laying the sod over the tile is sufficient : if the land l}e not in grass, and be loose in texture, a little straw may be profitably laid over the tile, to prevent the soil from running in. The pantile {d) is the best for general purposes, but ought not to have holes at top ; but sometimes such holes are made. In very loose soils, plain tiles are wanted to place the draining tiles on : in other soils, old broken pieces of plain tiles are sufficient for the ends to rest on. Sometimes, even at depths of six feet, these tiles, though of five inches in the clear, will be entirely blocked up by the fibrous roots of trees, especially of the blacK poplar. A variety of this tile, of a more ample capacity, has lately been brought into use in Lincolnshire, [fig. 647.) The best draining tiles in England are manu- factured at the Staffordshire potteries \ and Feake, of Tunstall, may be named as eminent in this line. (Gard. Mag.'^cU. v. and vi.) 4287. On the Marquis qf St^ffbrd's estate, " an allowance of draining tiles is made, wherever the exertions of the tenants spem to merit such a reward. In order to secure the drains being properly filled up with stones above the tiles, the tenant is obliged to drive a sufficient quantity of stones or cinders from the furnaces, and lay them on the ground, previously to an order being made for the delivery of the tiles. Without attending to this important circumstance, mu(^ draining would be thrown away. Tlie park at Trentham is a complete illustration of this remark. The draining of this spot was conducted under the direction of Elkington. The wetness with which these lands are affected does not arise from any line of springs bursting out from the upper grounds, to which that gentleman's system of deep drains could be applied ; but is occasioned almost entirely by the retentive oature of the subsoil, and by its being in- termixed with small basins of sand, which lie detached and unconnected with each other, in the bed of clay. To cure this species of wetness, a number of small drains, well filled up, with one cut into each of these beds of sand, is necessary. In pursuance of this plan, a great part of the park at Trentham has been lately drained over again, by making a number of small shallow drains, about fifteen feet asunder, in some instances above the old ones, taking particular care to fill them up as well as possible, and not to permit any clay to be laid over the stones. This has proved effectual." {Loch.) 4288. The gravel or cinder drain is seldom made deep, though, if the materials be large, they may be made of any size. In general they are used in grass lands ; the section of the drain being an acute-angled triangle, and the materials being filled in, the smallest Tipperraost, nearly to the ground's surface. 4289. The wood drain is of various kinds. A very sufficient and durable construction consists of poles 648 or young fir-trees stripped of their branch.es and laid in the bottom of the drain lengthways. They are then covered with the branches and spray. Another form is that of filling the drain with faggot- wood with some straw over. A variety of this mode {Jig. 648.) is formed by first setting in cross stakes to prevent the faggots fVom sinking ; but they are of no great use, and often occasion such drains to fail sooner than common faggot drains, by the greater vacuity they leave after the wood is rotten. In some varieties uf this drain the brushwood is first laid down alongside the drain, and formed by willow or other ties into an endless cable of ten or twelve inches in diameter, and then rolled in ; which is said to form an excellent drain with the least quantity of materials, and to last a longer time than any of the modes above men- tioned. Some cut the brushwood into lengths of three or four feet, and place them in a sloping direction with the root end of the branch in the bottom of the drain ; others throw in the branches at random, with little preparation, and cover them with spray, straw, or rushes, and finally the surface soil 4290, The spray drain is generally, like the gravel drain, of small size, and formed, like it, with an acute-angled bottom. In general, the spray is trod firmly in j though in some cases it is previously formed into a cable, as in the brush-wood drain. Brains of this sort are much in use in grass lands, and when the spray of larch wood, heath, or ling can be got, they are of great durability. 091. The straw draiUt when reeds, rushes, and bean straw are used, is sometimea made like the spray 649 ' ■'^AM^Z/M/A f mmjj^m p MMM, drain, by pressing the loose material down. ^^P or forming a cable; but in general the straw is twisted into ropes as big as a man's leg,bytheaidofamachine(2562.),andthree or more of these {fig. 649. a) laid in the bottom of a triangular drain, with or with- out the protection of three turves (6). Where some sorts of moss, as Sphagnum or Lycop6dium, can be got, these drains are of unknown durability. Drains formed in this manner, through tough and reten- tive clays, will be found, in a short timt after the work is finished, to have formed over the straw with which the drain was filled, an arch of sufficient strength to sup- port the incumbent weight of the soil and the casual traffic of the field. In twelve or eighteen months it may be observed that the straw, being of one uniform substance, is all rotted and carried away, leaving a clear pipe through the land in every drain, Xlie passage of the water into th^e drains Book III. FORMATION OF DRAINS. 709 may be much facilitated by a due attention to filling them with the most friable and porous parts of the surface the field may afford. 4292. Tli£ turf drain Uks. 650. and 6Sl.)s may be made of any convenient depths but it must be at least g55r». mnjiJi RCO bj™ the breadth of a turf at bottom. The drain being ^51 ^^ v/l/l/h Vllllli ^^S out as if it were to be filled with stones or any ordinary material ; the operator next, with a spade three Inches wide, digs a narrow channel along its centre (a), clearing it out with the draining scoop j and over this the turves (6) are laid without any other preparation, or any thing put over them but the earth that was excavated. This is found to be a very cheap, and, considering the materials, a surprisingly durable method of draining; answer- ing, in pasture-fields especially, all the purposes Uiat the farmer can expect to derive from drains constructed with more labour, and at a much greater expense. They are said to last frequently twenty years and upwards : but the period which it can be supposed they will continue to prove efFbctual, must depend on the natuieof the soil and the current of water. 4293. The wedge or trfangular sod drain (J^. 652.) is thus made : — When the line of drain is marked out, a sod is cut in the form of a wedge, the grass side being the narrowest, and the sods being from twelve to eighteen inches in length. The drain is then cut to the depth reqmred, but is contracted to a very narrow bottom. The sods are tiien set in with the grass side downwards, and pressed as far 653 fl as they will go. As the figure of the drain does not suffer them to go to the bottom, a cavity is left which serves as a watercourse; and the space above is filled with the earth thrown out The work is performed by ^eans of three spades of difFbrent sizes. The first may be a common spade of moderate breadth, with which the surface clay may be taken off to the depth of eight or ten inches, or not quite so much, if the clay be very strong. The breadth of the drain, at top, may be from a foot to fifteen inches ; but it never should be less than a foot, as it is an advantage that the sides should have a considerable slope; and the two sides should slope as equally as possible. Another workman follows the first, with a spade six inches broad at t;he top, and becoming narrower towards the point, where it should not exceed four inches, (fig. 653.a.) The length of the plate of this second spade should be fourteen inches, and with it a foot or four- teen inches in depth can easily be gained. A third workman, and he should be the most expert, succeeds the second, and his spade should be four inches broad at top, only two inches broad at the point, and fourteen or fifteen inches in length (b). With this spade a good workman can take out at least fifteen inches of clay. A sort of hoe or scoop, ma(!1 vating the earth or strata through which it .J passes, is generally from two and a half to three and a half inches in diameter ; the J hollow part of it one foot four inches in length, and constructed nearly in the shape of the wimble used by carpenters, only the sides of the shell come closer to one another. The rods (a) are made in separate pieces of four feet long each, that screw into each other to any assignable length, one after another, as the depth of the hole requires. The size above the auger is about an inch square, unless at the joints, where, for the sake of strength, they are a quarter of an inch more. There is also a chisel and punch (A), adapted for screwing on in going through hard gravel, or other stony substances, to accelerate the passage of the auger, which could not otherwise perforate such bodies. The punch is often used, when the auger is not appliei, to prick or open the sand or gravel, and give a more easy issue to the water. The chisel is an inch and a half or two inches broad at the point, and made very sharp for cutting stone ; and the punch an inch square, like the other part of the rods, with the point sharpened also. There is a shifting handle of wood (d), fastened by means of two iron wedges affixed to it, for the purpose of turning round the rods in boring ; and also two iron keys {/, c), for screwing and unscrewing the rods, and for assisting the handle when the soil is very stiff, and more than two men required to turn it 4316. To judge when to -make use of the borer is a difficult part of the business of draining. Some have been led into a mistaken notion, both as to the manner of using it and the purpose for which it is applied. They think that if, by boring indiscriminately through the ground to be drained, water is found near enough the surface to be reached by the depth of the drain, the proper direction for it is along these holes where water has been found ; and thus they make it the first implement to be used. The contrary is the case; and the auger should never be used till after the drain is cut; and then for the purpose of per- forating any retentive or impervious stratum, lying between the bottom of the drain and the reservoir or strata contammg the spring. Thus does it greatly lessen the trouble and expense that would other- wise be requisite in cutting the trench to a depth which, in many instances, the level of the outlet will not admit 431& The manner of using it is simply thus : — In working it, two, or rather three men are necessary. Two, standing above, one on each side of the drain, turn the auger round by means of the wooden handles, and when it is full they draw it out ; and the man in the bottom of the trench clears out the earth, assists in pulling it out, and directing it into the hole, and he can also assist in turning with the iron handle or key, when the depth and length of rods require additional force to perform the operation. The workmen should be cautious, inbormg, not to go deeper at a time, without drawing, than the exact length of the shell ; otherwise the earth, clay, or sand through which it is boring, after the shell is full, makes it very difficult to pull out For this purpose the exact length of the shell should be regularly marked on the rods, from the bottom upwards. Two flat boards, with a hole cut into the side of one of them, and laid side by side across the drain, are very useful for directing the rods oerpendicularly in going down, for keeping them steady m boring, and for the men to stand on when performing the operation. 4317. TA^ hori-xantal auger {fig. 663.) is another boring instrument employed in particular cases. It was invented by Halford^ of Hathern, in Leicestershire, but is little used. The advantages of it are, in some cases, considerable, by lessening the expense of cutting, and performing the work in a much shorter time. Where a drain or water-course has to pass under a bank, road, hedge, wall, rivulet of water, »r for Book III. EMBANKING. 713 drying marl-iuts, Ac., it may be used to advantage in excavating a sufficient passage for the water, without opening a trench. In layiug leaden pipes for the conveyance of water, it is also useful in making a bole ID which the pipe may be laid, without opening a cut on purpose. For tapping springs, or finding water at the bottom of a hill, either for the supply of a nnuse, or for draining the ground, it may bkewise be used with success ; as the water of the spring, when fait on, will flow more easily and in greater abundance through a horizontal or level, than through a perpendicular outlet 4318. 7%emafmerq/'unngt/ is this:— Suppose a lake or pond of water, surrounded with high banks, to be emptied, if the ground declinra lower on the opposite side, find the level of the bank where Uie per- foration is to be made: There smooth the surface of the ground so as to place the ftame nearly level with the auger, pointing a little upwards. It requires two men to turn the handles at top (a), in order to work it ; and when the auger or shell is fuU, the rods are drawn back by reversing the lower handle ifi). Other rods are added at the joint when the distance requires them. In boring through a bank of the hardest clay, two men will work through from thirty to forty feet in a day, provided there is no interruption from hard stones, which will require the chisel to be fixed on in place of the shell, and longer time to work through. If the length to be bored through is considerable, or longer than the whole length of the rods, a pit must be sunk upon the line, down to the hole, for placing the frame when removed, and the operation carried on as befora Chap. II. JSmhaTUdng and otkervnse protecting Lands Jrom the Overflovdng or Encroachme'nt of Rivers or the Sea, 4319. Lands a^oining rivers or the sea are frequently liable to be overflowed or washed away, or to be injured by the courses of rivers being changed during great floods. These evils are guarded against by embankments and piers ; or by these constructions joined to deepening or straightening the courses of rivers, and we shall therefore treat in succession of embankments and of improving the courses of rivers. Sect. I. ErnbanHng Lands Jrom Rivers or tJte Sea* 4320. The great value of alluvial soil to the agriculturist no doubt gave rise to the invention of banks, or other barriers, to protect soils from the overflowing of their accom- panying rivers. The civilised nations of the highest antiquity were chiefly inhabitants of valleys and alluvial plains ; the soil, moisture, and warmth of which, by enlarging the com- ponent parts and ameliorating the fruits of the vegetable kingdom, afibrded to man better notuishment at less labour than could be obtained in hilly districts. The country of Para- dise and around Babylon was flat, and the soil saponaceous clay, occasionally overflowed by the Euphrates. The inhabited part of Egypt was also entirely of this description. His- torians inform us that embankments were flrst used by the Babylonians and Egyptians, very little by the Greeks, and a good deal by the Romans, who embanked the Tiber near Rome, and the Po for many stadia from its embouchure. The latter is perhaps one of the most singular cases of embankment in the world. 4321. The oldest embankment in England is that of Romney Marsh ; as to the origin of which, Dugdale remarks, " there is no testimony left to us froni any record or historian." (History of EmbaTiking and Draining.) It is conjectured to have been the work of the Romans, as well as the banks on each side of the Thames, for several miles above London, which protect from floods and spring tides several thousand acres of the richest garden ground in the neighboiurhood of the metropolis. The commencement of modem embankments in England took place about the middle of the seventeenth century, imder CromwelL In the space of a few years previous to 1651, 425,000 acres of fens, mo- rasses, or overflowed muddy lands, were recovered in Xincolnshire, Cambridgeshire Hampshire, and Kent ; and let at from 2s. 6d. to 30s. an acre. {Harte^s Essays, p. 54.» 2d edit.) Vermuyden, a Fleming by birth, and a colonel of horse under Cromwell, who had served in Germany during the thirty years* war, was the principal undertaker of these works. Some farther details of the history of embanking will be found in the 714 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt III. Repertory of Patent Inventions, for January, 1826, and in the Bulletin des Sciences Agri- coles, for November, 1827. 4322. Very little has been written on the subject of embankments, as a separate branch ot art, by British authors. Dugdale*s work is entirely historical and topographical. But the writings of Smeaton, Young, Gregory, &c., contain the general principles on which is founded the art of embanking, and every other operation connected with water ; and Beatson, fin Communication to Board of Agriculture,) Dr. Anderson, Marshal, and some others, have written on the practice of the art. The works of this sort constructed in our own times will be found described in the Agricultural Reports of the maritime counties, especially of Lincolnshire, by Arthur Young. We shall first submit some general remarks on the principles of designing embankments, and next describe the principal kinds of banks, with their application. SuBSECT. 1. General Principles of degigning Mmbanhnents» 4323. The theory of embanking. Marshal observes, is beautifully simple. The outward waters having been resisted by a line of embankment, and having receded, those that have collected internally are enabled, by their own weight, to open a valve placed in the foot of the bank, and effect their escape : thus securing the embanked lands from inundation, though beset on every side with water. 4324. The pressure of still water against the sides of the vessel containing it being as its depth, it follows, that a bank of any material whatever, impervious to water, whose section is a right-angled triangle, and the height of whose perpendicular side is equal to that of the water it is to dam in, will balance or resist this water, whatever may be the breadth of the surface of the latter ; and therefore that, as far as vridth or extent is concerned, it is just as easy to exclude the Atlantic Ocean as a pond or a river of a few yards in width. 4325. E-mhankments may be considered in regard to their situation, direction, con- struction, and materials. 4S36, The situation qf the bank should be such that its base may not be unnecessarily exposed totheim^ mediate action of the waves or the current ; and where the quantity of water is limited, as in the case of land-floods in a particular river, the more room it has to spread, the less height and strength the bank will require ; and the power of the current will be proportionably lessened. It is to be recollected, however, in all cases where the channel of the water is liable to be warped or filled up by sulliage, that the narrower the space is, in which the water is confined, the stronger wjll be its current, and the less silt will, in ordi- nary cases, be deposited. 4327. Thetiirection of€mbank'meiUs\iov\^ be free from sharp angles, so as to occasion the least possible resistance to the current, whether of a land-flood or the tide. 4328. In the construction or form of the bank there are certain principles to be observed. Its height and strength ought everto be proportioned to the depth and the pressure of water which it will have to sustain; and, to increase its firmness, the inner face should lean towards it, as a buttress. But it is on the construc- tion of-^the outer face its strength, firmness, and durability principally depend. This ought to be made sloping, to a degree of flatness ; for the twofold purpose of preventing resistance and taking off the weight of water. In difficult cases, the outer surface may form an angle with a perpendicular line of 45 to 60 degrees, according to the force to be guarded against, and the materials to be employed. 4329. The materials of the body qf the bank (as well as of the inner face), where the foundation is sound and firm, and the bank can be carried up at a proper season, without great molestation from the water, may generally be the natural soil of the lands to be embanked ; and, where merely the weight of stagnant or slowly moving water is to be guarded against, the outer slope may be of -the same material. But where force, whether of waves or a strong current, will act immediately upon the bank, its outer face ought to be made proof against it ; and its base should be particularly guarded, to prevent its being undermined ; the most mischievous and irreparable disaster of embankments. Hence, when the foundation is not sufficiently firm, piles, timber, and masonry may be required, to ensure success ; and no man ought to begin a work of this nature without attentively guarding it against every probability of miscarriage. *4330. A system of drains and floodgates is requisite for the purpose of freeing the em- banked lands from internal waters, 4331. In designing and setting out the main drain, or discharging channel, on the outside of the embank- ment, there are pomts which reqnire particular attention. The situation of the outfall, or mouth, with respect to the current of the water into which it opens, is of considerable importance. It ought to be such that the current of the water received will not warp up the channel of the drain ; but such, on the con- trary, as will tend to clear the mouth and keep the channel free. If it were not to preserve the requisite character of an elementary work, it might be deemed unnecessary to add, that the mouth of the discharging drain should be situated as low beneath the floodgate of the embankment as given circumstances and a prudent expenditure will allow j in order that, by inducing a sufficient current, the floodgate, as wellas the mouth of the channel, may become free from obstructions. Against the open sea, or a wide estuary, where there is no disgorging channel, but where the waves reach the foot of the embankment, two flood- gates maybe required : one on the outer side, to sustain the force of the waves, and prevent their blowing up the inner works ; the other within, to secure the passage the more effectually. iTie outer gate in this case is liable to be lifted with the agitation of the waves, and thereby to admit much water : but the inner valve, bemg in an undisturbed situation, effectually stops its progress. 4332. Where the discharge is made immediately behind a shifting beach^ and especially where the flood- gate Is necessarily placed level with or beneath the general surface of the gravel bank, through which the waters have been wont to force a channel, the valve is liable to be buried, and the channel to be closed up by every spring tide, and by every gale of wind which sets in upon it ; and cannot be kept free but by unceasing labour and expense. In an obstinate case of this kind on Lord Cawdor's estate, in Pembroke, shire, the discharging floodgate is defended by a covered channel, carried out through the line or ridge of beach mto the sea ; being made strong enough to sustain the weight of the heaviest breakers. This, it Is true, has been effected at a great expense, but nevertheless, the improvement being of considerable mag- nitude, with great profit. In every case where an external valve is required, and where it is liable to be silted up, or loaded with sand or gravel, great attention to the outward channel is necessary, or some defence must be constructed ; for the floodgate, when loaded, cuts off all communication between the pent up waters and the materials that impound them. They cannot, by loosening the obstructing matter, as Book III. EMBANKMENTS. 715 nature would otherwise direct tliem, force their way through it ; nor, by eurmounting it, can they wear down a channel, and thus set themselves at liberty. 4333. In ordmarff cases, the outer floodgate may be guarded by a pile fence or jetty, run out from the foot of the embankment, across the known drift of the beach j and in sucJi a manner as not to interrupt the outfall channel of the water; the gravel, &c, which such a safeguard may accumulate, being retaoved flora time to time as occasion may require. 4334. The best construction qf the Jtood-gate for the uses now under consideration is the common va,Vve, hingeing at the top, swinging outward and falling into a rabbeted frame. In forming and hanging a floodgate of this construction, there are a few particulars worthy of attention. It should be made of seasoned wood, and ought to be double ; the boards or planks of which it is formed being made to cross; each other, to prevent its casting. It should fall truly, and fit neatly within a surrounding rabbet (to lessen the power of the waves to lift it) ; but not so closely or tight as to stick when swelled by moisture- To prevent this, as well as to give it additional tightness, its edges should not be squaroijiut should beveE somewhat inward in the manner of a bung; tiie rabbet in the frame being made to answer it Ira fixing the frame, it ought to be suffered to lean or batter inward ; in which position the door will shut closer, and be less liable to the action of the waves in an exposed situation than it would if it were hung; perpendicularly. It ought not, however, to lie so flat or heavy as to prevent the free escape of the- internal waters. The floodgates or self-acting sluices, at Bar Loch embankment fall against a flat ^^. surface. (.^^.664.) A writer in theP^^A MisceU(my states, (vol i. p. 41.) oo4 that many of the tunnels in the embankments of the Tay have only wooden valves with iron hinges, and a lid of lead or iron nailed on for weight to keep them down. These, he says, are not to be depended on, and he has accordingly had some tunnels made of two inch plank with the end cut at an angle of 45° for the valve, and placed on a,slope of 8 inches in 18 feet, the water being discharged on a broad piece of pavement. He had an iron plate "cast the exact size of the mouth of tne tunnel, and about half an inch thick, with holes drilled two inches apart, and thr@e- fourths from the edge of the plate, for riveting a piece of saddler's leather, or shoemaker's brown s6le, which extended at least two inches beyond the plate, and covered the whole end of the tunnel, the upper end of the leather nailed to the wood serving as hinges, and the edges of the mouth previously lined with the same material. Thus the strength of the tide never raises the valves, and completely prevents the water from getting in." (p. 42.) 4335. The ntternal waters which rise within or fall upon the area of the embanked lands, are to be collected by a main drain, continued upward from the floodgate ; and furnished with branches to spread over every part of the field of improvement, so as to draw the water from every dip and hollow place as it collects, and thus free the surface eflisctually from stagnant water ; saving such only as may be wanted -for the use of pasturing stock. 4336. ff alien waters have a natural and accustomed channel through the embanked area, it may be found necessary to raise a suitable bank at a proper distance on each side of the stream, in order to prevent its overflowing -the area in time of floods. Where it is found that an outlet cannot be had low enough to free the area entirely from surface water, it is requisite (though no alien waters intrude) to form an embanked channel or reservoir, to gain the required outfall; and to throw the waters which lodge on the lower grounds into this receptacle, by a dr^mng mill, of which there are a great variety of constructions. 4337- Jin embanked channel, if the banks are raised high enough, or are placed wide enough asunder so as to contain a sufficient body of water, may have a further use, which, in some cases, may be of the highest importance to an improvement of this nature. For, by the help of folding floodgates, such as are commonly seen in use for the locks of navigable CEuials, placed at the lower end of this canal or reservoir, a body of water may be collected and rapidly discharged ; by which easy means, not only the channel of the outer drain, but its mouth, if judiciously contracted, may from time to time be cleared from obstructions. Where alien waters of a good quality pass through the field of im- provement, an embanked channel may be profitably applied in watering the lands ; and where alien waters, which have not a natural or fortuitous passage through it can be commanded, and conducted to It at a moderate expense, they may prove highly beneficial, for either or both of these purposes. SuBSECT. 2. Different Descriptions of Banks in general Use for excluding Waters^ 4338, Mounds or banks for excluding rivers or the sea are generally formed of earth, but sometimes also of masonry and even of wood. Embankments of common earth are sufiBcient for resisting occasional floods : if this earth be loose, the bank wiU require to be spread out at the base, at the rate of one foot and a half or two feet horizontal for every foot in height ; that is to say, a bank of loose earth three feet high will require to be nine feet or twelve feet broad. If the earth to be made use of is a compact clay, or if turf of a solid and compact body can be procured, the slope of the bank may be much steeper, according to its height and the depth of water which may be expected to press against it. 4339. The earthen wall (Jig. 663.) is the simplest description of embankment, and is frequently erected by temporary occupiers of lands on the general principle of enclosing and subdividing, which is sometimes made a condi- tion of tenure between the landlord and tenant. This wall applies to lands occasionally, but rarely, overflowed or inundated ; and is set out in a direction generally parallel to the river or shore. Its base is commenced on the sur- face, from two to five feet wide, regularly built of turf on the outsides, with the grassy sides underneath. The middle of the wall is filled up with loose earth. The wall is carried up with the sides bevelled towards the 716 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 666 centre, so as to finish in a width of one foot or eighteen inches, at five or six feet in height. Collaterally with such walls, and at the distance of three or four feet, a small open drain is formed, as well to collect the surface water of the grounds within, as that which in time of floods will necessarily ooze through a wall of this construction. The water so col- lected is let through the wall by tubes, or tunnels of boards, with a valve opening out- wards on their exterior extremity. When the flow of water from without approaches, it shuts the valve, which remains in this state till the flood subsides, when, the height of the water within being greater than that without, it presses open the valve and escapes. Walls and valws of this kind are common enough in the drier parts of the fenny districts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. 4340. The eartlien mound (Jig. 666,) is the most general description of embankment, and, as it is executed at considerable expense, is only undertaken by such as have a permanent interest in the soil. This barrier applies to sea lands overflowed by every spring tide, and to alluvial plains inundated by every flood- It is set out in a direction parallel to the shore, and to the general turns of the river, but not to its minute windings ; and it is placed farther from or nearer to the latter, according to the quantity of water in time of floods, the rapidity of the current from the declivity of the bed, the straight course of the stream, and the intended height of the bank. The two sides of such a mound are generally formed in different slopes. That towards, the land is always the most abrupt, but can never be secure if more so than 45° ; that towards the water varies from 45" to 15° ; the power of the bank to resist the weight of the water, as well as to break its force when in motion, being inversely as its steepness. The power of water to lessen the gravity of bodies, or in other words, to loosen the surfaces over which they flow or stand, is also lessened in a ratio somewhat similar. 4341. The formation qf the earihen mound consists merely in taking earth from the general surface of the ground to be protected, or from a collateral excavation, distant at least the width of the mound from its base line, and heaping it up in the desired fonn. The surface is then in general cases covered with turf, well rolled in order to bind it to the loose earth. The earth of such mounds is generally wheeled in barrows ; but sometimes it is led in carts placed on a wooden roller instead of wheels, which, with the treading of the horses, serves in some degree to consolidate the bank. 4342. The' excavation serves the same purposes as the open drain in the earthen wall; and similarly constructed sluices or valves are introduced on a larger scale. Sometimes, also, the interior water is drawn offby windmills, and thrown over the mound into the river. This is very common in Hunting, denshire, and might be greatly improved on by employing steam engines for entire districts, one of which, of a ten horse power, would do the work of twenty mills, and this in calm weather, when the latter cannot move. 4343. Embankments of this description are the most universatofanUy and their sections vary from a scalene triangle of ten feet in base, and three feet in height, as on the ^rth near Stirling, and the Thames at Fulham, to a base of 100 feet, and a height often feet, as in the great bank of the C)use, near Wisbeach. The great rivers of Germany and Holland are embanked in this way, when so far from the sea as to be out of the reach of the tide; as the Vistula at Marlenwerder, the banks of which, near Dantzic, are above fifteen feet in height; the Oder, the Elbe, &c. All these banks are closely covered in every part with a grassy surface, and sometimes ornamented with rows of trees. 4344. Near the sea, where such banks are washed by every tide when the course of the wind is towards the shore, and by all land floods and spring-tides, grass is only to be found on and near their summits. The rest of the bank is bare, and to preserve it from the action of waves, currents, and the stones, pieces of wood, and other foreign matters which they carry with them, the surface is covered with gravel, reeds, or straw kept down by pieces of wood ; faggots, wicker hurdles, nets of straw ropes, straw ropes laid side by side and fastened, or handfuls of straw fixed in the ground with a dibber XNeaWs Travels in Germany, 8(c. chap, i.), or any other contrivance, according to the situation, to prevent the washing away of the bank. It is common to attribute to these coverings the power of breaking the force of the waves.; but this power depends, as we have already stated, on the slope of the bank and its smoothness ; and the use of the surface covering, and of the constant attention required to remove all obstacles which may be left on it by floods and tides, is to prevent the loosening power of the water from wearing it into holes. For this purpose, a sheet of canvas or straw-netting is as good, whilst it l^ts, as a covering of plate iron or stone pavement 4345. All banks whatevei' require to be constantly watched in. time of floods or spring-tides, m order to remove every object, except sand or mud, which may be left by the water. Such objects, put in motion by the water, in a short time wear out large holes. These holes, presenting abrupt points to the stream, act as obstructions, soo n become much larger, a nd if not immediately filled up, turfed over, and the turfs ' pinned down, or the new turfs ren. 667 deredby someotber means not easily softened and raised up by the water, will end in a breach of the bank. A similar effect is produced by a surface formed of unequal degrees of hardness and durability. The banks of this description in Holland, at Cuxhaven, and along the coast of Lincolnshire, are regularly watched throughout the year; the surface protection is repaired whenever it goes out of repair ; as is the body of the bank in the summer season. 4346. T/ie mound with pv^ " die wail. (Jig. 667.) It gene- " I "_ ■ — ■ :— rally happens that the earth of such banks is alluvial, and their foundation of the same description ; but there are some Book III. EMBANKMENTS. 717 cases where the ba^s is sand, silt, or gravel ; or a mud or black earth, as in some parts of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, which does not easily become so compact. Here it is common, before beginning the bank, to bring up from the solid substratum (o) what is called a puddle-ditch, or section of clay in the centre of the highest part of the mound in the direction of its length, and of three or five feet wide, according to the depth of the stratum of silt (A), and the intended height of the bank (c). When the clay of this puddle-ditch is well worked, either by men's feet or clay rammers, the bank will be perfectly imper- vious to water, and if against a mild stream or shore, need not contain such an accumu- lation of earth as where the imperviousness of the bank to water depends chiefly on the mass of materials. As already observed, the important point to attend to in this variety of mound is, to found the section, or wall of clay, so deeply as to be in contact with a stratum (a), either by induration, or its argillaceous nature, impervious to water. In the drainage of the Bar Loch in the county of Renfrew, considerable difficulty was expe- rienced in some places in getting to the bottom of the sandy subsoil, so as to bring up the 668 puddle wall from the retentive stratum. Such y E L V ^^ tbe difficulty in some cases, that the puddle / U >v could not be carried up perpendicularly, but a (jMbtkl^ > ^ puddle wall being raised within the bank, as p high as the natural surface, it was joined hori- 6 zontally to another puddle wall in the body of ^' the bank. (Jg. 668.) 4347. Puddling iff often found defective, owing to the imperfect working of thematerials. Many think that when clay is used, if it be worked into the consistence of dough, it is sufficient ; but this is a mistake ; it should be slaked and so decomposed by the labour of proper tools and treading, and so completely satu. rated with water, that the whole mass becomes one uniform and homogeneous body, and almost fluid. 4348. Mounds with reversed slopes. In some cases of embanking rivers, as where they pass through parks, it is desirable to conceal, as much as possible, the appearance of a bank from the protected grounds. Hence the mound is simply reversed, the steepest side being placed next the water. It is proper to observe, that such banks are not so strong, by the difference of the weight of the triangle of water which would rest on the prolonged slope, were it placed next the river, and are more liable to be deranged in surface in proportion to the difference of the slopes, the water acting for a longer period on every part of the slope. 4349. Mound faced with stones. This is the same species of moimd, with a slope next the water of forty-iive or iifty degrees, paved or causewayed with stones or timber. In Holland this pavement or causeway is often formed of planking or bricks ; but in England generally with stones, aijd the mortar used is cither some cement which will set under water, or, what is better, plants of moss firmly rammed between them. The objections to such banks are their expense, and their liability to be undermined invisibly by the admission of the water through crevices, &c. They are, therefore, chiefly used where there is little room, or where it is desirable to narrow and deepen the course of a river. 4350. The batik Jiyrmed with piles, brushwood, and stones, is occasionally used for pro- tecting moving sands, or directing the course of streams flowing through a sandy shore. A dike or bank for the latterpurpose (Jig. 669.) has been erected on thejiver Don in Aberdeen- 669 shire. It consists of piles or poles, being the thinnings of plantation \ of Scotch pine and larch, driven six , feet into the sand {a a a): the ' spaces between these piles {b b) are filled in with furze or other spray or small branches ; and on the top of them, are wedged in stones to keep them down. On the side of this row of piles next the river, stones (c) from 50lbs. to half a ton weight each, are precipitated from a punt, until they form a bank of an angle of nearly 45°. On the outside of this bank and piles, the sand (d) gradually drifts up, and forms a bank, which, being planted with ./irundo arenaria and other grasses, gradually becomes covered with verdure. {Highland Soc. Trans, vol. vii. p. 91.) 4351. Mound protected by a wicker hedge. This is a Dutch practice, and, where appearance is no object, has the advantage of not requiring watching. Wicker-work, however, subjected to the strain of waves, will be obviously less durable, than where it lies flat on the ground, and can only decay chemically. This wicker hedge is some- times a series of hurdles supported by posts and studs ; but generally in Britain it is a dead hedge or row of stakes, wattled or wrought with bushes presenting their spray to the sea or river. Besides placing such a hedge before a bank, others are sometimes placed in parallel rows on its surface ; the object of which is to entrap sand, shells, and sea weeds, to increase the mass of mound, or to collect shells for the purpose of carrying away as manure. 7i8 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 4352. Theata wall (Jig. 670.) is an embankment formed to protect abrupt and earthy shores or banks of rivers, and consists of a wall, vary, ing in thickness, and in the inclination of its surface, according to the required height, and other circum- stances. Belidor, in his Traite de Hydravli^ue, has given the exact curve which the section of such a wall ought . to have (a, b], in order to resist loose earth, and wliich ■ is somewhat greater than where the earth behind the wall is supposed to be chiefly firm. Some fine exam- ples of such walls, for other purposes, occur in the Caledonian Canal ; and perhaps the finest in the world are the granite walls which embank the Neva at Petersburgh, the construction of which may serve as an example of a river cased with stone on a foundation of soft bog earth. 4353. Embankments for Jid-ng drifting-sands, shells, or mud. In several tracts of coast, the sea at ordinary tides barely covers a surface of sand ; and thesd sands, in dry weather, during high winds, are drifted and blovvn about in all directions. Great part of the north shores of the Solway Frith, of Lancaster Bay, and of the coast of Norfolk, is of this description. Young, in his Farmer's Letters, informs us, that a considerable part of the county of Norfolk was drift sand, and even as far inland as Brandon in Suffolk, before the introduction of the turnip culture; and Harte (Essay I.) states that some of what is now the richest land in Holland, was, about the middle of the sixteenth century, of this description. The suggestion of any mode, therefore, by which, at a moderate expense, such tracts could be fixed, and covered with vegetation, must be deemed worthy of notice. The mode which nature herself employs is as follows : After the tides and wind have raised a marginal steep of land as high as high water-mark, it becomes by degrees covered with vegetation, and chiefly by the £'lymus aremirius, Triticum_;unceum, various species of Juncus, and sometimes by the Galium verum. With the exception of tlie first of these plants (the leaves and stalks of which are manufactured into mats and ropes in Anglesea, and the grain of which is sometimes ground and used as meal in Ireland), they are of no other use than for fixing the sands, which, being composed in great part of the dibris of shells, expand as they decay, and contribute to raising the surface still higher, when the fibrous roots of good grasses soon destroy the others. The .i^rfindo aren^ria is planted in Holland for the purpose of binding sands, and was extensively introduced into the Highlands of Scotland for the same purpose, by Macleod of Harris, in 1819. (Trans. Highl. Sac. vol. vi. p. 265.) 4354. To assist nature infixing drift-sands, it is only necessary to transplant the £lymu8, which is to be had in abundance on almost every sandy coast in Britain ; and as it would be liable to be blown away with the sands, if merely inserted in the common way, it seems advisable to tie the plants to the upper ends of willow or elder rods, of two or three feet in length, and to insert these in the sand, by which means there is the double chance of the grass growing, and the truncheon taking root. The elder will grow ex. posed to the sea breeze, and no plant throws out so many and such vigorous roots in proportion to its shoots. 4355. The mode by which suck sands were fixed in Holland was by tne formation of wicker-work embank, ments, and by sticking in the sands branches of trees, bushes, furze, &c. in all directions. These obstructed the motion of the sands, and collected masses of sand, shells, or mud, and sea-weeds around them, which were immediately planted with some description of creeping grass ; or, what was more frequent, covered with a thin coating of clay, or alluvial earth, and sown with clover. Though the most certain and least expensive mode of gaining such lands is undoubtedly that of seconding the efforts of nature, by inserting bushes and planting the ^'lymus in this way ; yet it may sometimes be desirable to make a grand effort to protect an extensive surface, by forming a bank of branches, which might, in a single or several tides, be filled with sand and shells. It is evident, that such a bank might be constructed in various ways ; but that which would be most certain of remaining firm, and effecting the purpose, would be one regu. larly constructed of framed timber, the section of which would resemble a trussed roof; each truss being joined in the direction of the bank by rafters, and the whole inside and surface stuck full of branches. To retain it firm, piles would require to be driven into the sand, to the upper parts of which would be attached the trusses. The height of such a barrier would require to be several feet above that of the highest spring-tides ; and the more its width at base exceeded the proportion of that of an equilateral triangle the better. 435G. A mode suited to a less extensive scale of operation, is to intersect a sandy shore in all directions, with common dead or wicker-work hedges, formed by first driving a row of stakes six or eight feet into the ground, leaving their tops three or four feet above it, and then weaving among these stakes, branches of trees, or the tops of hedges TIte Dutch are said to weave straw ropes in this way, and thereby to collect mud in the manner of warping. This mode, being little expensive, seems to deserve a trial in favourable situations ; and in so doing, it must not be forgotten, that much depends on the immediate management of the surface, after it is in some degree fixed. In an extensive trial of this sort at present in progress on the west coast of Scotland, under an English gentleman, seeds and roots are baked m a tmxture of loam, dung, and gravel, and then formed into masses, and scattered over a sandy surface, these, from their weight, will not, it is thought, be moved by thewater or the wind ; but, becommg more or less covered with sand, the mass will be kept moist, and the seeds and roots will grow, and, fixing themselves in the soil, will in time cover the surface with verdure. The experiment is in- genious, and we hope will be crowned with success. 4357. Embankments of cast iron have been proposed to be constructed by Deeble, a civil engineer of London. He proposes to combine a series of caissons, made of cast iron, in ranges, agreeable to the required form of the intended embankment. The caissons are to be fastened together by dovetails, and, being hollow, are, when fixed in their intended situations, to be filled with stones and other materials, making them up solid. (Newton's Journal, vol. ii. p. 202.) Book III. Sfct. II. GUARDING RIVER BANKS. 719 Guarditig tha Banks and otherwise imyrming the Courses of Rivera and Strea/mS' 4358. The subject of guarding the banks of nvers is of considerable interest to the proprietors of lands situated in hilly districts, where, in the valleys and on the hill sides, the'streams often produce ravages on the banks, and sometimes change their courses. 4359. The natural licence of rivers, Marshal observes, is not only destructive of landed property, frequently of lands of the first quality ; but is often the cause of dis- putes, and not unfrequently of legal contentions, between neighbouring proprietors. A river is the most unfortunate boundary line of an estate. Even as a fence, unless where the water is unfordable, a river, or rapid brook, which is liable to high floods, is the most tormenting and inefficient. Proprietors have therefore a double interest in ac- commodating each other, as circumstances may require, with the lands of river banks, so as to be able to fix permanent boundary lines between theii properties. When the owners of estates cannot, by reason of entails or settlements, or will not for less cogent reasons accommodate each other, they have a line to tread which they cannot deviate from with prudence, much less with rectitude; namely, that of cautiously guarding their own lands, without injuring those of their neighbours; for a lawsuit may cose ten times the value of the sand banks and islets of gravel to be gained by dexterity of management. 4360. The operations fir improving rivers have for their object that of preventing them from injuring their banks, of accelerating their motion, and of lessening the space of ground which they occupy, or altering their site. These purposes are effected by piers or guerdes for altering the direction of the current ; works for protecting the banks ; and by changing or deepening the river's course. 4361. The prittdples on which these operations are founded are chiefly two ; first, that water, like every other body when it impinges on any surface, is reflected ^om it at a similar angle to that at which it approached it ; and, secondly, that the current of water, other circumstances aUke, is as the slope of the surface on which it runs. On the first of these principles is founded the application of piers for reflecting currents ; and on the second, that of straightening rivers, by which more slope is obtained in a given length of stream, and of course greater rapidity of motion obtained. SuBsECT. 1. Guardmg River Bariks. 4362. A common cause of injury to the banks of rivers is produced during floods. A tree or branch carried down by a stream, and deposited, or accidentally fixed or retained, in its banks, will repel that part of the stream which strikes against it, and the impulse (counteracted more or less by the general current^ will direct a substream against the opposite bank. The effect of this continual action against one point of the opposite bank is, to wear out a hole or breach ; and immediately above this breach it is customary to place a protecting pier to receive the impulse of the substream, and reverberate it to the middle of the general stream. But if this pier is not placed very obliquely to the substream, as well as to the general stream, it will prove injurious to the opposite bank by diiecting a subcurrent there as great as the first; and, indeed, it is next to impossible to avoid this ; so much so, that Smeaton, in almost every instance in which he was con- sulted in cases of this sort, recommended removing the obstacle where that could be done, and then throwing loose stones into the breach. 4363. Injuries by floods, according to Marshal, are to be remedied in two waysj the one is to sheath the injured banks of the bays (Jig. 671. o, b, c) with such materials as will resist the circuitous current ; and let the river remain in its crooked state. The other, to erect piers (d), to parry off the force of the current from the bank, and direct it forward ; with the twofold intention of preventing further mischief, and of bringing back the course of the river to its former state of straightness. It is to be observed, that the operation of guarding the immediate bank of a sharp river bend, against a heavv current meeting with great resistance, by sheathing it with stones, is generally a work of much 720 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. difficulty and expense, even where materials can be easily procured : while that of divert, ing the current by a pier may frequently be accomplished at a comparatively small cost ; and its effect be rendered infinitely more salutary and pcrmaneftt. For jt is plain that, if the accidental obstruction mentioned had been timely removed, no bad effect would have ensued: and the river would have continued its direct course. Or if, through neglect, it had been suffered to remain awhile, until its mischief was discoverable ; even then, if it had been moved from its station to the opposite side of the river, and placed in the part affected, this small counterpoise might have recovered the balance of the cur- rent, and directed it into its wonted channel ; and, in almost any case, by judiciously placing, in a similar manner, a pier or other obstruction proportioned to the magnitude of the power to be counteracted, the like effect may be produced. 4364. In the me of jners great caution is requisite, for a very little reflection will show that they are more likely to increase than to remedy the evil they are intended to cure. We have seen the injurious effects of such piers on the Tay and the Dee ; and on a part of the Jed near Crailing they are so numerous, that the stream is, to use a familiar phrase, bandied about like a foot-ball, from one shore to the other ; behind every pier an eddy is formed, and if the stream does not strike the pier exactly, a breach in the bank takes place. Many of these piers have, in consequence, been taken down. The use of such piers can only be justified where the obstruction, from ill-neighbourhood or some such cause, cannot be removed from the opposite bank ; or where, as is sometimes the case, it arises from an island of sand or gravel thrown out by the river near its middle, which, however absurd it may appear, the interested parties cannot agree as to who may remove. The case of buildings also being in danger may justify such a pier for immediate protection ; but if such breaches are taken in time, a few loads of loose stones dropped in the breach, as recommended by Smeaton, will effect a remedy without the risk of incurring or occasioiung a greater evil. 4365. In the. canistruction of piers, attention is required to secure the foundation, either by first throwing in a quantity of loose stones, which the water will in a great measure dispose of so as to form a flat surface ; or by the use of piles either under, or in single or double rows around, those parts of its base In contact with the river, {^g, 672. a.) The elevation (6), where the current is not required to act with great violence on the opposite shore, ought to be bevelled back on all sides exposed to the water, towaids the middle of the structure (c). In the most important ca^es stones are the only fit materials, and thcsg should be regularly jointed and laid in cement according to the best practice of masonry. But, in general, a case of wicker work, of the proper shape, may be filled in with loose stones, some earth, together with the roots of such plants as TussilKgo Petasites, i^^ymus arenarius, Galium, &c. These will form a barrier of considerable durability for some years, and probably till the evil is so far subdued that, when the wicker case decays, its contents will have sufflciently consolidated to effect the object without further care. If not, the wicker case may be renewed. In ordinary cases, a mere wicker hedge projecting into the water will cfTcct tht object without further trouble. 4366. The sheath, or land-guard of loose stones, which Marshal recommends, and which, in effect, is the mode already mentioned (4362.) as preferred by Smeaton, is applicable to the following cases : — First, where the river, in the part required to be bent, is confined, by rocks or otherwise, to an unalterable channel, as it frequently is in subalpine situations ; and, secondly, where a deep pool occurs in that part, at low BOUE III. CHANGING THE COURSES OF RIVERS. 721- water, so as to render it difficult to get a proper foundation for a pier. Where the foot of the injured bank is covered with a pool at low water, shelve off the brink of the bank, and shoot down loose stones from the top of it ; suffering them to form their own slope, in the action of falling, and by the operation of succeeding floods : continuing to pour them down, until the bank be secured, at least from minor floods, and then slope back the upper part, to give freedom to floods of greater magnitude. 4367. When the channel qf a rapid river is narroto^ and the banks undermined and washed away by the tonents, what Marshal terms the land-guard is to be used. 4368. Informing a land-guard for thi»puipose, he says, the foundation should be laid pretty deep, to guard against any accidenta} scoopings from the floods. The wall ought to be carried up dry, or with- out mortar, the stones being laid with their ends outward, their inner ends pointing to the same centre, like those of an arcb, and to be backed with gravel, or earth, rammed in firmly behind, as the facing is carried up. The coping or uppermost course of the stones is to be securely bound, with thick tough sods (8 or 10 inches deep), whose surfaces, when beaten down, ought to lie even with that of the stone- work ; and similar sods require to be lai^ with a gently rising slope, until they unite smoothly with the natural turf of the land to be defended ; so that the waters of floods, when they rise above the stonework, may have no abruptness to lay hold of, but may pass away smoothly over the surface of the land, as they commonly do over smooth greensward, without injury. Finally, the stones are to be beaten forcibly into the bank, with a rammer, a mallet, or a small battering-ram, adapted to the purpose ; thus rendering the whole compact and firm, to resist the current. Where vacanues or fissures still appear, long splinters of stone are to be driven in, as wedg^, to increase the firmness, and prevent the current from taring out an unguarded ston& It follows, of course, that the largest and longest of the stones ought to be used where the greatest resistance is known to be required. 4369L ^e repairs of a bulwark of this sort, like every other species of river fence, require to be attended to from time to time, espeinally after great floods. If the foundation be laid bare, it requires to be re-covered with rough gravel, or with stones thrown loosely agmnst it If any of the ^ing stones be displaced or loosened, they are to be wedged in afresh, or their place supplied by others. Or, if the turf which binds them at the top be disturbed^ the torn part should be cut out square, and be firmly and completely filled up with fresh turves. SuBSECT. 2. Chan^ng tJie Courses qf RiverSj de^ening their Beds, gt raising ikeb' Waters to a higher Level. 4370. ^ river whose course is in a straight line, or nearly so, hardly ever makes any en- croachment on its banks, except perhaps very large rivers, when they rise above their usual level, either by an increase in their own waters, or from their flow being in some degree-, interrupted by the tides. Hence, whenever a river is narrow in its channel and winds considerably, any mischief it commonly occasions may be prevented by deepening and straightening the course of the stream. {Code ofAgr.^. 319.) 4371. The alteration of the course of a river or brook is attended vrith difficulty and expense, according to the particular circumstances. In a simple case, in which one straight cut only is required, the principal difficulty, and that which requires the best skill of the artist, lies in direcfing the current of the flrst flood, out of the old into the new channel : but if a bend of the old channel can be made use of, this difficulty may be said to vanish. The mouth of the new cut receives the current with a straight course ; con- sequently, if it be made of sufficient capacity, the river, in a flood, can have no propensity left towards its old channel : and the loose materials which rise in forming the mouth of the new cut, will generally be sufficient to turn the stream at low water into it. But if a suitable bend cannot be approached by the new cut, a directing pier wiU be required to bend the flood current, and give it a straightforward course into the new channel : a watertight dam being formed between the point of the pier and the firm bank of the new channel to prevent the water from regaining its wonted course. 4372. An entirely new bed or channel, however, is much to be preferred wh«:e it can be obtained : for in an altered course, when the stream passes alternately through new soil and through a part of its old bed, its action on surfaces which are so different in re- gard to induration ends, if great care is not taken, in holes and gulleys in the new bank, which require to be con- stantly filled up with loose stones thrown in, and left to be fixed by the pressure and motion of the water. In the case of a river passing near a house (Jg. 673.) this is sometimes of great importance. 4373. Cutting the new channeliBmere\y A voTk of manual labour; being attended with no other diffi culty than what may arise from the expense, whicfrwill depend on the size of the river the nature of the ground to be cut through, and the value of labour in the given district. It is mostiv to be ascertained with sufficient accuracy by previous calculations. (See 33S3.) 437*. The size of the new cut, on account of its greater depth, may be small, compared with that of thanes, those on the south side are called the lower. But it may be noticed, that where the mains, trenches, &c. run parall^ with the river, the panlos on either side are not distinguished from each other. 4426. Meadows are of two sorts : flowing, calculated for a flat country ; and catch-work, for sljoping grounds. 4417. Flotoing meadows. Where the ground is flat, the soil is formed into beds, or broad ridges, like those met with at bleachfields. They are commonly from 30 to 40 feet wide, and nine or ten poles in length -y as, in such situations, the great object is, when once brought on, to be able to carry ofP the water quickly. Hence it is necessary to throw up the land in high ridges, with drains between them. More of the failures in irrigation arise from the ridges not being sufficiently high, and the slopes not being sufficiently steep, than from any other cause. {Code.) 4428. Catch-work meadows. It is difficult to give an intelligible written description of the mode of making th^e meadows. To be properly understood, the operation must be seen. It may, however, in general be remarked, that the system is calculated for sloping grounds, and that, after the water is brought IVom the original stream, into a new cut, it is stopped at the end, on as high a level as the case admits of, by which means it is ra^e to fill the trench, and run over at the side, flooding the land below. But as the water would soon cease to run equally, and would wash the land out in gutters, it has been found necessarv to cut small parallel trenches, at the distance of from SU to SO feet, to catch the water again (hence the name originated), and the same plan of spreading or diffusing is continued, until the water' reaches the main drain at the bottom of the meadow. It is a great advantage attending tlie catch, work system, that it is not only less expensive, but the same quantity of water will do much more work. {Oade.) SuBSECT. 3. Preparation of Sy:rfa£es for Irrigation^ 4429. Ari^daX irrigation, Smith observes, is produced by diverting the water of a brook out of its accustomed channel (where there is a fall) in such a manner that, the new watercourse being kept nearly level, the space between the old and new channel may be floated ; the water being brought upon the iMid by the new channel and taken away by llieold one. Thus a constant discharge and succession of water is maintained, without such an accumulation as would, make it appear bright upon the land, or without such a deficiency as would leave any part of it not perfectly floating ; for the art of irrigation may be most properly called floating, not soaking nor drowning. Soaking the soil, similar to the effects produced from a diower of rain, is not sufficient for the general pur- poses of irrigation, nor will damming up water, and keeping it stagnant upon the surface, like that in a pond, or on the fens, produce the desired eflbct. 4430. Stagnating water on land may properly be called drowning, because it drowns or covers all the grass, thereby rendering tlie plants beneath it in some degree aquatic, or the herbage disposed to make such a change ; whereas the herbage of a water meadow should, by the construction and good management of the latter, enjoy the full benefits of both the elements of air and water. Practice has proved that there is no better method of doing this than by keeping water passing over the surface of the land with a brisk current ; not so brisk as to wash away the soil, and yet in sufficient quantity to cover and nourish the roots, but not too much to hide the shoots of the grasses : hence appears the nicety of adjusting the quantity of water ; and hence it also appears, that one main drain to bring the water on the upper side of the mead, and another on the lower side to take it away, will not be adequate to all the purposes of such an accurate regulation. If the space between the upper channel or main feeder and the lower one or main drain, should therefore be wider than is proper for the good adjustment of the water, that is, so that every part of the space shall have enough water passing over it and no part too much, then that space must be divided intp smaller spaces by intermediate drains, which shall catch and re-distribute the water. As the water is brought by the main feeder upon the hicher 3A 4 ^ 728 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. side of a piece of ground which slopes towards the main drain, and down which sloping surface the water will run very readily, it docs not, to persons unacquainted with irri- gation, at first sight appear necessary to make such a number of intermediate catch drains ; but it is proved by experience, that, however regular the slope of ground may appear to the eye, the water will find a number of irregularities, forcing itself into gut- ters or channels,' and defeating the purposes of irrigation ; in the hollow places by excess, and in high ones by the want of water. Hence the water, which was scattered over the surface of the first space, being all collected in the catch drain, may by the skill of the floater be let out upon those parts of the bed below which appear to need the most assistance. 4431. 37(6 work should always be well formed at first in all cases of improvements of this nature. Temporary means of making dams and hatches to divert the water out of its usual channel may, says Smith, suffice to try an experiment, or for a tenant who has but a short term in the grounds to be irrigated ; but every land-owner who enters upon such work in this temporary manner sadly mistakes his own interest : indeed, it is frequently more difficult to repair than to renew upon large streams, when the foundations are often destroyed by the force of the water. The samie principle holds good upon small streams, and even in the drains and feeders of ^ water meadow. Wherever the channels are so constructed as to make a fall, or much increase the rapidity of the stream, it is constantly disposed to wear away the sides of its channel, or undermine a dam. To repair these defects, land must be dug away and wasted each time it is re- placed, vrith the loss of labour. The consequent ill management of the water renders it more advisable, and perhaps cheaper, to make all such Works of masonry. When works are well done at first, the owner ever finds much pleasure in viewing them ; and even the labourers feel much more interested in their good management. 4432. The expenses of making a water meadow are not easily estimated. Much depends on the original state of the ground, the size and fall of the streams to be used, the cost of hatches, and length of the main feeders which may be necessary for diverting the water out of its original channel, and even upon the charge for levelling land, which differs materially. Some soils are much harder and more difficult to move than others, and, in certain situations, building materials are very scarce and dear. This last circumstance must make a considerable variation in the price of the hatches, where the stream is large It is also impossible to tell, with any degree of certainty, what proportion these expenses should bear to the quantity of land irrigated, for some situations will require much more masonry than others. 4433. Before enlering upon the execution of a water meadow, it is necessary to consider fully, whether the stream of water to be made use of will admit of a temporary wear or dkm to be formed across it, so as to keep the water up to a proper level for covering the land without flooding or injuring other adjoining grounds ; or if the water be in its na- tural state sufficiently high without a wear or dam ; or can be made so by taking it from the stream higher up more towards its source ; and by the conductor keeping it up nearly to its level till it comes upon the meadow or other ground : and still fiirther, whether the water can be drawn off the meadow or other ground in as rapid a manner as it is brought on. Having, in addition to these, an attention to all such other difficulties and. obstruc- tions as may present themselves, from the lands being in lease, through which it may be necessary to cut or form the mains or grand carriers, from the water being necessary for turning mills, from the rivers or brooks not being wholly at the command of the irrigator, and from small necks of land intervening so as to prevent the work from bein" performed to the greatest advantage, the operator may be in a situation to com- mence his operations. 4434. In order to have an equal distribution and prevent waste, Smith states, that no part of a meadow, either in catch-work or beds, should be so formed as to be floated directly from the main feeder ; but all the main feeders should be kept high enough to discharge the water into the small feeders with considerable velocity and through a narrow opening. The motion of water is truly mechanical ; . it requires a great deal of ingenuity, and a perfect knowledge of lines and levels, to make it move over the ground in a proper manner. No two pieces of land being exactly alike, renders it still more difficult to set out a water meadow ; but even if the figure of two pieces be alike, the inequalities of surface will probably vary. Each meadow, therefore, requires a different design, unless the landowner makes up his mind to the heavy expenses of paring off banks, and filling up such hollows as may be necessary to reduce it to some regular method ; the construction to be varied according to the nature of the ground. This constitutes the difference between the water meadows of Berkshire and Devonshire. Those of the latter are upon small streams carried round the sides of the hills, and are chiefly catch- work ; those of the former, being near large rivers and boggy ground, are thrown up into ridges to create a brisk motion in the water, and also for the essential purpose ot draining off all superfluous moisture, wliich might be injurious to the grasses when shut up for feeding or mowing Where there is much floating to be done with a little water or rather where the great fall of a small stream will admit of its being carried over a vast quantity of ground and used several times, it is desirable to employ it in such Book ITI. IRRIGATION OF GRASS LANDS. 729 a way as that tlie earthy particles it may contain may be deposited as equally as possible over the whole surface to be irrigated. But it is to be observed, that this mode of applying water must not be exhibited as a perfect model. If it should answer the purpose of a coat of manure, upon such an extent of ground, it is all that can be expected, and will amply repay the expense. Losing fall is wasting water. 4435. 3%e drains qf a water meadow require no greater declivity than is necessary to carry the water from the surface : therefore the water ought to be collected and used again at every three feet of the fall, if it be not catch- work. It is sometimes difficult to do this in bed- work meads ; but where the upper part of the meadow is catch-work or in level beds, and the lower part not too much elevated, it may be done. By collecting and using the water again in the same piece of ground before it falls into the brook, a set of hatches is saved; and it is not necessary to be very particular about getting the upper part into high ridges, since that part of the meadow which is near the hatches generally becomes the best, and the lower end of the field, being often the wettest or most boggy in its original state, requires to be thrown up the highest If the land is of a dry absorbent nature before floating, it is not necessary that it should be thrown up into high beds, but merely as much inclined as will give the water a current 4436. Inclined planes are absolutely necessary for the purpose qf irrigation. To foTm ttieac between straight and parallel lines, it is necessary to dig away land where it is too high, and move it to those places where it is too low, to make such a uniformity of surface. The new-made ground will of course settle in hollows proportioned to the depth of loose matter which has been recently put together, but this settlement will not take place until the new soil has been completely soaked and dried again ; therefore these defects cannot be remedied before the second or third year of watering : it will there- fore require more skill to manage a water meadow for the first three or four years, than afterwards. 4437. Properly to construct a water meadow is much more difficult than is commonly imagined. It is no easy task to give an irregular surface that regular yet various figure wliich shall be fit for the overflowing of water. It is very necessary for the operator to have just ideas of levels, lines, and angles ; a knowledge of superficial forms will not be sufficient ; accurate notions of solid geometry (obtained from theory or practice) are absolutely necessary to put such a surface into the form proper for the reception of water, without the trouble and expense of doing much of the work twice over, (06s- on Irrigation, ^c) 4438. As an example qf irrigating a Tneadow from both sides qfa river^ we take the following case from Boswell's treatise. From the upper part of the grounds, two main drains (^. 684. a, a) are formed at right angles to the river, one running north, the other south, across the meadow, to within about six yards of the fence ditches which surround it {b) and are used for tail drains : by means of these fence ditches the water is discharged into the river. A wear erected across the river forces the water into either of the main drains, which is done by shutting the other wear close. When there is not water enough, or it is not convenient to water both parts of the mea- dow at once, by shutting close one of the , wears, the current is forced into that main ^ whose wear is open, thence to be convc;yed through the trenches over the panes, to water that side of the meadow ; then by shutting that, and opening the other, the opposite main is filled, and by means of the trenches that side of the meadow is watered in the same manner ; and lastly, by shutting them both, and opening the river wear, the water flows in its usual course, and the land on both sides is laid dry. From the main drains {a, a) the water flows along the highest part, or crowns of the ridges in the trenches (c), and is carried off to the tail drains by the trench drains (rf). 4439, Js an example qf an irregular surface watered from one side of a river, we shall have recourse to the same author. There is a wear {Jig. 685. e) erected across the river, and another across the head-main (a), from which proceed three main and branch trenches {g, g, g, and /, /), which water the whole meadow. There is a tail drain (6) for carrying off the whole of the water by means of the drain trenches {d, d). The water, having thus passed over the, field, is returned to the river by the tail drain already mentioned. When it is desired to withhold the water, the wear of the head main (a) is shut, and that of the river (e) opened. It wiU be observed, that in this design there are branch trenches (/, /), and vari, ous gutters (A, A), taken out of the ends of some of the trenches, to carry the water to the longest corner of the panes, and sometimes taken out of different parts of the trenches, to water some little irregularities in the panes, which, without such assistance, would' nothaveany wateruponthem. There is a sluice (i) erected at the end of one of the small mains, to force the water into the branch trench ai^joining (/), that being the highest ground. ISO PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IIL 4440. A vers complete piece of irrigatioMflg. 686.) was formed for the Duke of Bedford, by Smith, al PrisUcy. The water is supplied from a brook (o), to a main feeder, with various ramifications (6, ») ; the surface Is formed into ridges (c, c), over which the water flows, and is carried off by the drains in their furrows (rf, d), to the main drains (c, e), and to the brook at different places {/, /). There are bridges ig) over the main feeders, small arches over the main discharging drains (A), and three hatches (I). 4441. As an example qf catcA-work watering, we may refer to a case (Jig. 687.), given in a recent work Bfl ,.._ ji J— 1^ ^-.r'X-- JlSAif^^A by John Brown. {TrecAise on Irrigation, \%\1.^ In this the field of operations being on the steep sideofa hill, a main carrier is led from the sluice (a), directly across the declivity (6), and lateral feeders (c) taken out from it at regular distances. These feeders have stops of turf, at regular distances (rf), by which means the water is dispersed. After watering a space of from twenty to forty feet in breadth, it is again collected by the small drains in the furrows, and returned lower down to another feeder. The advan- tage of this method, Browne observes, " relates more materially to the sides of hills, and to porous soils that are by some thought incapable of being watered. The chief point is to get the water to the highest level possible ; and in case the soil be porous, one main carrier only will require puddling, in order to prevent the water from sinking away : when that is done, no difficulty whatever is found in taking it in Email streams vertically, or directly down the slope (c), and putting stops (d) to arrest its progress occa- sionally, which will throw it on each side; and when those stops are placed one above another, it will have toe effect of spreading the water on the land, somewhat similar to a fan when extended. The stops need only be sods or turfs, one laid lengthways in the gutter, and one across it, which may be raised or lowered according to the declivity : these sods or turfs will require probably a small wooden peg to fasten them at first ; and by the time the land requires a second watering, the roots of the grass will have sufficiently fastened them ; and they need not be removed, unless occasionally for the purpose of watering any separate part below, when the stream may be too small to water the whole piece at once ; and Uie small cuts for conveying the water will be less expensive in cleaning, not being so liable to choke up as Book III. IRRIGATION OF GRASS LANDS. 731 those carried on what is termed horizontal or level gutters. In some places in Essex, it is the practice to irrigate during winter by means of the water of occasional flooda Sometimes this water is obtained from the ditches along the sides of the roads, and ttoza the drainages of villages j and in these cases is more or less enriched by earthy materials. 4442. As an example qf the ben^t offioodmg, we refer to Loch Ken, in Kircudbrightshire, the most Ftrilcing instance Itnown in Great Britain of advantage being derived from the inundations of a lake. At the head of that beautiful piece of water, there is a ilat of about 240 statute acres, which is rendered, by flooding, one of the richest spots in Scotland. Many acres in it produce at the rate of three tons or hay each, and some parts of it have been cropped with grain for twenty-five years in succession, without any manure, except what it receives from the inundations it experiences. These, however, leave behind them a variety of enriching substances. {Statistical Account of ScotlandfVoi.'w. p. 260.) 4443. Floating upwards. The ancient and now obsolete practice of flooding, or, as it was termed, of floating upwards, was practised in various parts of the kingdom. For that purpose, the water was penned, in times of floods, by means of a dam or floodgate across the bottom of the meadow or flat to be watered. The waters were not suffered to remain long upon the land, but were let off as soon as it was judged that they had deposited their sediment. The benefit arising from this method of using floodwaters, it is said, was considerable ; but when the improved mode of Irrigation by floating ridges was introduced, and found more advantageous, the other was discontinued. {MarshaFs Midland Counties, Minute 27.) 4444. Watering land by macldnery. If the land be put in a proper form for irrigation, and supplied with a good stream at proper seasons, there can be no difference from the method of getting it on the surface ; and if all other circumstances are equally favour- able, the same fertility may be expected from water thrown up by a drain-mill, as from that which runs from a brook. {Smith's Observations on Water Meadows, &c. p. 93.) A cheap and effectual power for raising water in sufficient quantities to flow about ten acres at a time, would be an invaluable acquisition ; for a productive water meadow is probably the true mark of perfection in the management of a farm. {Middlesex Report, p. 322.) 4445. Sea Water. Smith suggests the idea of employing machinery to raise not only fiesh but even sea water for irrigation. {Observations, p. 87.) It is well known how much all kinds of stock are improved by salt marshes, and how beneficial to them is a moderate quantity of saline matter. Tliere are many parts of the kingdom where, by the aid of machinery, these advantages might be obtained at a moderate expense. (Code.) 4446. Tlie expense of irrigation varies according to the nature of the work. Where the catch-work system is practicable, in favourable situations, the forming may be done as low as ten shillings per acre. This fact is, in many cases, decisively in favour of this natural and simple mode, which requires also much less water, and often answers fully as well as flat flooding. {General Report, vol. ii. p. 598.) The expense of bed-work, as it is called, is, however, considerable. If the ground to be flooded be smooth on its surface, or in regular ridges, and if the water can easily be brought to the meadow, with a temporary wear, supposing the extent to be almost twenty acres, it may be done at from SI. to lOi per acre : but if the land be of large extent, with an irregular surface ; if a large conductor and a proper wear shall be required, with hatches both in it and also in the feeders ; and if the aid of a professional person, to lay out and oversee the work, be necessary (which is generally the case), the expense will vary from 10/. to 201. per acre. {General Re]>ort, vol. ii. p. 598.) Nay, in Wiltshire, where they are anxious to have their meadows formed in the most perfect manner, with that regularity which the nice adjustment of water demands, the expense per acre has amounted to 40/. {Smith's Observations on Irrigation, p. 56.) 4447. Objections to irrigation have been made on the supposition that it renders a country unhealthy ; but as the water is continually kept in motion, this is not likely to be the case, and indeed is found not to be so in Gloucestershire, Lombardy, and other places where it is extensively practised. It is also thought that though the produce may be increased, it becomes in a few years of so coarse a nature, mixed with rushes and water plants, that cattle frequently refuse to eat it ; and when they do, their appearance proclaims that it is far from being of a nutritious quality. {Rutland Report, p. 114.) But this objection is never applicable to meadows skilfully made and properly managed ; and whenever the grasses are coarse, if intended for hay, they should be cut earlier. Bushes and water plants are proofs that the meadow lies too flat and is ill managed. (Code.) 4448. The principal impediments to irrigation axe the claims of different individuals on one stream, as millers, canal owners, &c. ; the intermixture of property and interests ; and the existence in some cases of adverse leases. 4449. The formation and arrangement of surfaces for irrigation, however simple in principle, is in practice one of the most difficult operations of agricultural improvement. Whoever, therefore, contemplates extensive and intricate works of this kind will find it desirable to call in the assistance of a professor and contractor of reputation. In Glou- cestershire there are a class of men known as " flooders," who have under them a com- 73a PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. pany of men accustomed to every part of the work, and who accompany their chief to execute works in any part of the country. Sect. II. Warping, or the Improvement of Land by muddy Water, 4450. Warping is a mode of fertilising lands by depositing a coat of mud on their surface. This may be practised on the borders of large rivers and estuaries into which sea tides flow, or where floods are frequent j provided, however, that in either case the waters contain alluvial matters in a state of suspension. According to the best inform- ation that can be obtained {Marshal, in R. Econ. of York*, 1788. Day, West Riding Re- port, p. 171.), warping was first practised on the banks of the Huraber, by one Barker, a small farmer at Rawcliff, between 1730 and 1740: it was afterwards extended by Richard Jennings, of Armin, near Howden, in 1743; but, till about the year 1753, it was not attempted by any other person. It was first brought into notice by Marshal, in 1788, and subsequently in the Report of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and is now practised by various proprietors and farmers on the Humber, the Trent, and other rivers. It has been long practised in Italy in a manner something different from that employed in this country. It may be considered as of Egyptian origin. 4451. The theory ofwarjnng is thus given by Arthur Young : — 4452. The water of the tides that come up the Trent, Ouse, Dun, and other rivers which empty them- selves into the great estuary of the Humber, is muddy to an excess ; insomuch that in summer, if a cylindrical glass, twelve or fifteen inches long, be filled with them, it will presently deposit ap inch, and sometimes more, of what is called warp. Where this warp comes from is a dispute : the Humber, at its mouth, is clear water ; and no floods in the countries washed by the warp rivers bring it, but, on the con- trary, do much mischief by spoiling the warp In the very driest seasons and longest droughts, it is best . and most plentiful. The improvement is perfectly simple, and consists in nothing more than letting in ' the tide at high water, to deposit the warp, and permitting it to run off again as the tide falls : this is the aim and effect : but to render it efficacious, the water must be at command, to keep it out and let it in at pleasure ; so that there must not only be a cut or canal made to join the river, but a sluice at the mouth to open or shut, as wanted : and, that the water may be of a proper depth on the land to\)e warped, and also prevented from flowing over contiguous lands, whether cultivated or not, banks are raised around the fields to be warped, from three or four to six or seven feet high, according to circumstances. Thus, if the tract be large, the canal which takes the water, and which, as in irrigation, might be called the grand carrier, may be made several miles long : it has been tried as far as four, so as to warp the lands on each side the whole way, and lateral cuts made in any direction for the same purpose; observing, however, that the effect lessens as you recede from the river j that Is, it demands longer time to deposit warp enough for producing benefit; 4453, The effect of warping is very different from that of irrigation : for it is not the water that works the effect, but the mud ; so that in floods and in winter the business ceases ; and it is not the object to manure the soil, but to create it. The nature of the land intended to be warped is not of the smallest consequence : bog, clay, sand, and peat, are alike eligible ; as the warp raises it in one summer from six to sixteen inches thick, and in the hollows or low places, two, three, or four feet, so as to leave the whole piece level. Thus a soil of any depth you please is formed, which consists of mud of a vast fertility, though containing not much besides sand and gravel. 4454. The method of executing the work is described in the following manner by Lord Hawke, in The Agricultural Survey of the West Riding of Yorkshire: — ■ 4455. The land to be warpedTmist be banked round against the river. The banks are made of the eartli taken on the spot from the land : they must slope six feet ; that is, three feet on each side of the top or crown of the bank, for every foot perpendicular of rise: their top or crown is broader or narrower, accord- ing to the impetuosity of the tide, and the weight and quantity of water j and it extends from two feet to twelve : their height is regulated by the height to which the spring tides flow, so as to exclude or let them in at pleasure. In these banks, there are more or fewer openings, according to the size of the ground to be warped, and to the choice of the occupier ; but in general they have only two sluices ; one called the floodgate, to admit, the other, called the clough, to let off, the water gently : these are enough for ten or fifteen acres. When the spring tide begins to ebb, the floodgate is opened to admit the tide, the clough having been previously shut by the weight of the water brought up the river by the flow of the tide. As the tide ebbs down the river, the weight or pressure of water being taken from the outside of the clough next the river, the tide water that has been previously admitted by the floodgate opens the clough again, and discharges itself slowly but completely through it The doughs are walled on each side, and so con. structed as to let the water run off, between the ebb of the tide admitted and the flow of the next j and to this point particular attention is paid. The floodgates are placed so high as only to let in the spring tides when opened : they are placed above the level of the common tides. Willows are also occasionally planted on the front of the banks, to break the force of the tides, and defend the banks by raising the front of them with warp thus collected and accumulated j but these willows must never be planted on the banks, as they would destroy them by giving the winds power to shake them. 4456. The season for warping^ begins in the month of July, and continues during the summer ; and as this sort of business can only be performed at that season, every occasion of having it executed should be embraced, by having the work in perfect repair, that every tide may be made to produce its full effect. With regard to the advantage of doing this work in the summer months, it may be remarked that at these times the lands not only become the soonest dry, a circumstance which must always fully take place before the process of cultivation can be carried on ; but the tides are less mixed with fresh water, in which condition they are constantly found the most effectual. 4457. The expense of this mode of improving lands must differ much in different cases, according as the circumstances of situation and distance vary ; but it can seldom exceed Book III. IRRIGATION OF ARABLE LANDS. 739 12/. or 15L the acre, according to Young, and in most instances it must be greatly below such estimates. 4458. That no estimate can be made without viewing the situation qf the lands to be warped, and the course and distance it will be necessary to carry the warp to such lands, is remarked by Day, in the Agri-. cultural Survey of the same district 1st, The situation of the lands must be considered; 2d, The quantity of land the same drains and doughs will be sufficient to warp ; Sd, The expense'of building the cloughSj cutting the drains, embanking the lands, &c. An estimate of these expenses being made, it will then be necessary to know the number of acres such doughs and drains will warp, before any estimate can be made ; as the greater the quantity of land the same doughs and drains will warp, the lighter the expense will oe per acre. In Day's opinion, there is a great deal of land in the country capable of being warped at so small an expense as ftom 4A to %l. per acre, which is nothing in comparison to the advantages which arise from it He has known land raised in value by warping, from 51. to upwards of 402. and 50/. per acre. The greatest advantages arise upon the worst land, and the more porous the soil the better, as the wet filters through, and it sooner becomes fit- for use. The advantages of warping are very great ; as, after lands have been properly warped, they are so enriched thereby that they will bring very large crops for several years afterwards without any manure ; and, when it is necessary, the lands might be warped again, at a very trifling expense, by opening the old drains, and would bring crops in succession for many years, with very little or no tillage at all, if the lands were kept free from quick grass and other weeds, which must be the case in all properly managed lands ; besides, the drains which are made for the pur- pose of warping are the best drains that can be constructed for draining the lands at the time they are not used for warping, which is another very great advantage in low lands. 4459. The best mode of cultivating new-wa-iyed land must depend principally on the nature of the warp and of the subsoil. In the Code of A^ticvlture it is recommended to sow it with clover, and to let it lie under that crop for two years, in order that it may be brought into a state fit for corn. Even though fallowed, it does not answer to sow land with wheat immediately after it is warped ; but after white or red clover for tw^o years, a good crop of wheat may generally be relied on. Nor is it proper, when land is warped, to plant it with potatoes, or to sow it with flax, being at first of too cold a nature ; though, if tiie land be not too strong for potatoes, these crops may answer, after it has been for two or three years in cultivation. In the quality of warped land, there are most essential diiBTerences ; some will be very strong, and in the same field some will be very friable. The land nearest the drain is in general the lightest, owing to the quantity of sand that is deposited as soon as the water enters the field : the land farthest from the drain is in general the best. The produce of warped land varies much, but in general it may be stated as abundant. (Code, 315.) SuBSECT. 1 . Irrigation of Arable LandSj and Suhterraneotts Irrigation^ 4460. The irrigation of arable lands is universal in warm countries, and even in the south of France and Italy, The land is laid into narrow beds, between which the water is introduced in furrows during the growth of the crop, and absorbed by the soil^ In other cases the crop is grown in drills, and the water introduced in the furrow be- tween each row. In this mode of irrigation no collecting drains are required, as the whole of the water laid on is absorbed by the soil. The principal expense of the opera- tion is that of preparing the lands by throwing the surface into a proper level or levels. The main or carrier is conducted to the higher part of the field, and the rest is easy, A particular description of the practice, as carried on in Tuscany, is given by Sigismondi. {Agr- de la Toscane-) Some account also of the practice in Italy and the East Indies will be found in our outline of the agriculture of these countries. (267 and 921.) In i^Q General Report of Scotland, vol, iii. p. 361. it is stated, that a field of waste land, which had been fiooded during winter with stagnant water, was thus, without manure, rendered capable of yielding a good crop of oats; but this is more of the nature of warping than of that description of irrigation which is practised in warm countries on arable lands, during the growth of the crop. 4461. SubterraTwous irrigation appears to have been first practised inLombardy, and first treated of by Professor Thouin. {Annales du Mus^e, &c.) It consists in saturating a soil with water from below, instead of from the surface, and is efl^ected by surround- ing a piece of ground by an open drain or main, and intersecting it by covered drains communicating with this main. If the field is on a level, as in most cases where the practice is adopted in Lombardy, nothing is more necessary than to fill the main, and keep it full till the lands have been sufficiently soaked ; but if it lies on a slope, then the lower ends of the drains must be closely stopped, and the water admitted only into tlie main on the upper side : this main must be kept full till the land is soaked, when the mouths of the lower drains may be opened to carry off the superfluous water. The practice is applicable either to pasture or arable lands. 4462. In JSritai-n, subterraneous irrigation has been applied in a very simple manner- to drained bogs and morasses, and to fen lands. All that is necessary is to build a sluice in the lower part of the main drain where it quits the drained grounds, and in dry weather to shut down this sluice, so as to dam up the water and throw it back into all the minor open dr^nns, and also into the covered drains. This plan has been adopted with success, first, as we believe, by Smith, of SwincridgeMuirj in Ayrshire, and subse- quently by Johnston, in the case of several bog drainages executed by him in Scotland, 734 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. It is also practised in Lincolnshire, where it was introduced by the advice of the late engineer Rennie, after the completion of a public drainage at Boston. Sect. III. Artificud Means of Procuring Water for the Use of Live Stock. 4463. Water is supplied by nature in most parts of the British isleSi and retained with little art both at farmeries and in fields. There are exceptions, however, in different districts, and especially in chalky soils, gravels, and some upland clays. In these cases water is procured for cattle by some of the following means ; — By conducting a stream from a distant source, as in a work of irrigation ; by collecting rain-water from roads, ditches, or sloping surfaces, in artificial ponds, or reservoirs ; by collecting it from the roofs of builcUngs, and preserving it in covered cisterns ; by sinking a well, or a pipe, either in the field or the farm-yard ; and by artificial springs. 4464. An artificial stream will in most cases be found too expensive an operation to be undertaken for the supply of drinking-water for live stock ; but this purpose may frequently be combined with that of watering lands or driving machinery. In the North Riding of Yorkshire, there is a tract extending for many miles entirely destitute of water, except what flows ^ong the bottoms of the deep valleys by which it is in- tersected ; and little relief could consequently be afforded, by streams thus distantly and inconveniently situated, to the inhabitants of the uplands, or their cattle. About the year 1770, a person of the name of Ford devised the means of watering this district, by means of rills brought from the springs that break out at the foot of the still loftier moorland hills that run parallel to, and to the north of, this tract, in some instances at the distance of about ten miles. The springs he collected into one channel, which he carried, in a winding direction, about the intervening space, according, to its level, and along the sides of the valleys, until he gained the summit of the arid country which he wished to supply with water ; and when this was accomplished, the water was easily conveyed to the places desired, and also to the ponds in all the fields, over a considerable tract of ground. 4465. Collecting rain-water from roads, ^c in ponds or drinking pools. Formerly, it is probable, something of this art was practised throughout the kingdom : most villages, and many, old farmsteads, have drinking pools for stock, which appear to have been formed or assisted by art. In strong-land grazing districts, pits have evidently been dug, to catch the rain-water fortuitously collected by furrows and ditches, or by land- springs. On the chalk hills of the southern counties, the art has been long esta- blished, and continued down to the present time. 4466. An imjyroved practice was introduced on the wolds or chalk hills of Yorkshire by Robert Gardner, of Kilham, which gained an establishment towards the end of the last century, and has spread rapidly over the adjacent heights, with great profit to the country. In every dry-land situation, it may be practised with high advantage to an estate, and is well entitled to attention. 4467. The mode of constructing these collecting ponds is described in The Annals qf Agriculture (vol, vi.), and illustrated by a section. (Jig. 688.) The ground plan is circular, and generally forty or fifty feet in „ diameter, and the excavation is not made ooo deeper in the centre than five feet This excavation being cleared out, a layer of clay (rt, ft, c) sufficiently moistened, is to be carefully beaten and trod down into a compact and solid body of about the thickness of a foot Upon this a layer of quicklime, of one inch or upwards in thickness, is finely and uniformly spread. Next is another layer of clay of about one foot in thickness (rf), which is to be trodden and rammed down as the former. Upon this are spread stones or coarse gravel (e), of such thickness as may prevent the pond receiving any injury from the treading of cattle, which would otherwise break through the body of the clay and lime, and by so doing let out the water. After this, the pond will remain five feet deep and forty-five feet in diameter ; the size they are usually made. 4468. Brick-clai/ is by no means required for the ponds ; any earth sufficiently tenacious to bear beating into a solid compact body, though not approaching to a pure clay, will answer the purpose very 4469. The preferable situation to make the pond is a little valley, or at the bottom of a declivity, or near a high road, in which situation a stream of water may be brought into it after sudden showers or thaws, the object being to get it filled as soon as possible after it is made, that the sun and winds may not crack the clay. If it is not likely to be filled soon, some straw or litter must be spread over it; but in general, after it is once filled, the rains that fall in the course of the year will keep it full, no water being lost otherwise than by evaporation and the consumption of cattle. 4470. The whole excellence - and as soon as possible after it is thus turned up, I breadtli about three miles, and its depth may be estimated set upon it the necessarr quantity of mar], not Ie«s than two irom ten to upwards of thirty feet. It is entirely composed of hundred cubic yards to the acre. As the marl begins to crum- the substance well known by the name of peat, being an aiigre- ble and fklt with the sun or frost, it is spread over ihe l^nd sate of vegetable matter, disai^anised and inert, but preserved with considerable exactness, after which I put in a crop as by certiun causes from putrefaction. On the surface it is light early as possible, sometimes by the plough, and at others wi'h and fibrous, but becomes more dense below. On cutting to a the horse-Bcu^o or scarifier, accordinfj^ to the nature of the considerable depth, it is found to be black, compact, and crop, adding, for the first crop, a quantity of manure, which I heavy, and in many respects resembling coal. There iscnt bringdown the navigable river Irwell, to the borders of the throuijhout the whole moss the least intermixture of sand, moss, setting on about twenty tons to the acre. Moss land thus gravel, or other material, the entire substance being a pure treated may not only be advantap^ously crojiped the ^flTityear vegetable. About 1796 or 1797, Roscoe began to improve with green crops, as potatoes, turnips, &c. but with an^ kind Ttaffbrd mo&s, a tract of three hundred acres, lying two miles of grain; and as wheat has, irf late, paid better to the farms: east of Chatmoss; and his operations on it seem to have been than any other, I have hitherto chidly relied upon it, as my > successful as to encourage him to proceed with Chatmoss. first crop, for reimbur^ng the expense." *.n the improvement of the latter, he found it umiecessarj- to 453!i. TAe expnue of the several ploug _ __ incur so heavy an expense for drainage as he had done in the ing, sowing^ and harrowing, and of the marl and manure, but former. From observing tliat where the moss had been dug exclusive m the seed, and also of ttie previous drainage and for peat, the water had drawn towards it fVom a distance of general charees, amounts to 18/. 5». per acre j and in l8l2, on fifty to a hundred yards, he conceived tliat if each drain had to one piece of land thus improved, Roscoe had twenty bushels of draw the water only twenty-five yards, they would, within a wheat, then worth a guinea per bushel, and on another piece reasonable time, undoubtedlv answer tlie purijose. The whole eighteen bushels ; but these were the best crops upon the moss, of the raoss was therefore laid out on the following plan : — "Both lime and marl are generally to be found within a rea- 4.150. A main road, Roscoe states, " was first carried nearly sonabie distance ; and the preference given to either of them from east to west, through the whole extent of my portion of will much depend upon the facility of obtaining it. The the moss. This road is about three miles long and tliirty-MX quantiiy of lime necessary for the purpose is so small, in pro- feet wide ; it is bounded on each side by a main drain, seven portion to that of marl, that, where the distance is great, and feet wide and six feet deep, £rom which tlie water is conveyed, the carriage high, it is more advisable to make use of it ; but by a considerable fall, to the river. Prom these two main where marl is upon the spot, or can be obtiiined in sufficient drains, other drains diverge, at fifty yards' distance from each quantity at a reasonable expense, it appears to be preferable." other, and extend from each side nt to the road, and is of an indefinite length, according as the the best method of improving raoss land is b^ the application »if boundary of the moss varies. These field-drains are-four ft^t a calcareous vnJjstance, m tiifflciettt quantity to convert ihe mots wide at the top, one foot at the bottom, and four feet and a half into a soil, and by the occasional use (jfanimal or other extraneous deep. They are kept carefiilly open, and, as far as my ex))eri- mamires, such as the course of cultivation, and the nature of ence hitherto goes, I believe ihey will sufficiently drain the the croiis, may be found to require. moss, without having recourse to underdriuning, which I have 4553. Roscoe's contrivance for conveipvg on the marl seems never mad^ use of at Chatmoss, except in a very few instances, peculiar. It would not be practicable, he observes, to effect when, froifj the lowness of tlie surf.ice, the water could not the marling at so cheap a rate, {101. per acre,} were it not fi)r readily be gotten oS without open channels, which might ob- the assistance of an iron road or railway, laid upon boards or struct the plough." sleepers, and moveable at pleasure. Along thiH road the marl 4551. TAecu/h'vctfiOnttf^nuw* then proceeds in the following is conveyed in waggons with small iron wheels, each drawn by manner: — " After setting fire to the heath and herbage on one man. These waggons, by taking out a pin, turn their the moss, and burning it down as far as practicable, I plough a lading out on either side ; they carry about 15 cwt. each, bein^ thin sod or fiirrow, with a very sharp horse-plough, wliich I as much as could heretofore be conveyed over the moss by a bum in small heaps and dissipate : considering if of little use cart with a driver and two horses. but to destroy the £ough sods of the Eridphonimf JVitrdus 4554. An anomalous mode qf treating peat bo^s was invented and practised by the late Lord Kaimes, which may be applicable in a few cases. This singular mode can be adopted only where there is a com- mand of water, and where the subjacent clay is of a most fertile quality, or consists of alluvial soil, A stream of water is brought into the moss, into which the spongy upper stratum is first thrown, and after- wards the heavier moss, in small quantities at a time ; the whole is then conveyed by the stream into the neighbouring river, and thence to the sea. The moss thus got rid of, in the instance of Blair Drummond, in Perthshire, was, on an average, about seven feet deep. Much ingenuity was displayed in constructing the machinery, to supply water for removing the moss, previously to the improvement of the rich soil below. It required both the genius and the perseverance of Lord Kairaes to complete this scheme : but by this singular mode of improvement, about 1000 English acres have been already cleared, a population of above 900 inhabitants furnished with the means of subsistence, and an extensive district, where only snipes and moorfowl were formerly maintained, is now converted, as if by magiCf into a rich and fertile corset or tract of alluvial soil. (Code.) In The General Report of Scotland, Appendix, vol. ii. p. 38., and at p. 326 of this work, will be found a detailed account of this improvement, 4.W5. Moss has been converted into manure by fermentation with stable dung, and with this article joined with whale oil. In the Highland Soc. Trans.^ vol. vii., an account is given (p. 147.) of several ex- periments of this kind by W. Bell, Esq. : — A layer of moss a foot thick was formed after the material was tolerably dry, in the month of June ; above this a layer of stable dung was placed, at least twice the thick- ness of that of-moss ; next followed another layer of moss thicker than the first ; on this last layer a ton of coarse whale oil was poured, and the whole was completely covered up with moss. In ten days the whole mass came freely into heat ; in about eight weeks it was turned, and continued to ferment freely ; in a few weeks afterwards the whole mass resembled black garden mould. Out of twenty-five cubic yards of stable dung, and one ton of oil, two hundred and sixty cubic yards of compost were pro- duced. 4556. Peat Tnay he charred and rendered fit to be used like charcoal in cookery and other domestic pur- poses, in the same way as wood or coal is charred, and in much less time. For ordinary purposes, it is charred.by some families on the kitchen fire, thus : — Take a dozen or fifteen peats, and put them upon the top of the kitchen fire, upon edge : they will soon draw up the coalfire, and become red in a short time : after being turned about once or twice, and done with smoking, they are charred, and may be removed to the stoves : if more char is wanted, put on another supply of peat, as before mentioned. By following this plan, you keep up the kitchen fire, and have at the same time, with very little trouble, a supply of the best charred peat, perfectly free of smoke ; and the vapour is by no means so noxious as charcoal made from wood. Peats charred in this way may be used in a chafer, in any room, or even in a nursery, with- out any danger arising from the vapour. It would also be found very fit for the warming of beds ; and much better than live coals, which are in general used full of sulphur, and smell all over the bouse. {Farm. Mag, vol. xvii.) Sect. VI. Marshes and tkmr Improvement* 4557. ui tract of land on the borders of the sea or of a large river is called a marsh ; it differs from the fen, bog, and morass, in consisting of a firmer and better soil, and in being occasionally flooded. Marshes are generally divided into fresh-water marshes and salt-water marshes ; the latter sometimes called saltings or iugs : fresli- water marshes differ from meadows, in being generally soaked with water from the sub- soils or springs. 4558. Fresh-water marshes are often found interspersed with arable land, where springs rise, and redundant water has not been carried off; and may be improved by a course ot ditching, draining, and ploughing. Where large inland marshes are almost constantly 748 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III. covered with water, or the soil is extremely wet, they may be drained, as large districts in the fens of Lincolnshire have been, and made highly valuable. The object, in that case, is, by embankments, draining, and other means of improvement, to convert these marshes into pasture or meadow, or even arable lands ; and where such improvements cannot be accomplished, the most useful woody aquatics, as willows, osiers, &c., may be grown with advantage. 4559. Romney marsh is one of the most extensive and fertile fresh-water marshes in Britain. It contains nearly 24,000 acres; besides which Walland marsh and Dinge marsh, which are comprised within the walls, contain, the former 12,000, and the latter 8,000 acres. Boys informs us that " the internal regulations of these marshes are com- mitted to the superintendence of expenditors. These are appointed by the Commissioners of Sewers, and are to take care that the repairs of the walls are maintained in due order, and that the costs attending the same be levied on each tenant according to the number of acres occupied by liim ; for which purpose they are to cause assessments to be made out, with the names of the occupiers, and the rateable proportions to be borne by them respectively ; and these rates, which must be confirmed by the commissioners, are termed scots ; and that when any occupier refuses to pay his scot, the expenditors can obtain a warrant from the commissioners, empowering them to distrain for the same, as for any other tax." These marshes are both appropriated to the purposes of breeding and feeding. 4560. Salt water marshes are subject to be overflowed at every spring tide, and at other times, when, from the violence of the vrind or the impetuosity of the tide, the water flows beyond its usual limits. Their goodness is in a great measure analogous to the fertility of the adjoining marshes ; and their extent differs according to the situation. Embank- ments, as it is remarked in The Code of Agriculture, are perhaps the only means by which they can be effectually improved, especially when they are deficient in pasture. How- ever, where pasture abounds, they are in some cases more valuable than arable lands, the pasture operating as a medicine upon diseased cattle. 4561. Marshes on the Thames. Jn The Agricultural Survey of JCent it is asaetted, timt great profit is made by the renters of marshes bordering on the Thames, in the neigh- bourhood of London, from the grazing of horses, the pasture being deservedly accounted salubrious to that useful animal. Such horses as have been worn down by hard travel, or long afflicted with the farcy, lameness, &c., have frequently been restored to their pristine health and vigour, by a few months' run in the marshes, especially on the salt- ings ; but as every piece of marsh land in some measure participates of this saline dis- position, so do they all of them possess, in a. comparative degree, the virtues above mentioned, and for this reason the Londoners are happy to procure a run for their horses, at 4s. or 5s. per week. Another method practised by the graziers in the vicinity of London is, to purchase sheep or bullocks in Smithfield at a hanging market, which, being turned into the marshes, in the lapse of a few weeks are not only much improved in flesh, but go off at a time when the markets, being less crowded, have considerably advanced in price ; and thus a twofold gain is made from this traffic. Many of the wealthy butchers of the metropolis are possessed of a tract of this marsh land, and, having from their constant attendance at Smithfield, a perfect knowledge of the rise and fall in the markets, they are consequently enabled to judge with certainty when vrill be the proper time to buy in their stock, and at what period to dispose of them. 4562. In various districts of the island situated on the borders of the sea, or near the mouths of large rivers, there are many very extensive tracts of this description of land, which by proper drainage and enclosure may be rendered highly valuable and productive. This is particularly the case in Somersetshire and Lincolnshire. In the former of these counties, vast improvements have, according to Billingsley, as stated in his able Survey, been effected by the cutting of ditches, for the purpose of dividing the property, and the deepening of the general outlets to discharge the superfluous water. Many thousand acres which were formerly overflowed for months together, and consequently of little or no value, are now become fine grazing and dairy lands. Sect. VII. Downs and other Shore Lands. 456H. Downs are those undulating smooth surfaces covered with close and fine tun' met with in some dif tricts on the sea^shore ; the soil is sometimes sandy, and at other times clay or loam. In inland situations there are also down lands, as in Wiltshire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire ; in the latter two counties they are called wolds. 4564. Sandy downs on the sea-shore are often more valuable in their natural state than after cultivation. In a state of nature they frequently afford good pasture, for sheep and rabbits, and at other times produce grasses that may be used as food for cattle, or as litter. But the great object should be to raise plants which contribute to fix these soils, and to prevent them from being drifted by the winds, which often occasion incalculable Book III. IMPROVING FARMERIES. 749 mischief. The most suitable plants for the purpose are, the £lymus arenanus, J&ncua arenfirius, ^rundo 2)dnax, Ononis spinosa, Galium v^rum, Tussilago Petasltes, and a variety of other creeping-rooted plants and grasses. Of woody plants, the elder is one of the best for resisting the sea breeze, and requires only to be inserted in the sand in large truncheons. Where the sands on sea-shores are mixed with shells, and not very liable to drif^ if they can be sheltered by fences or an embankment, and sown with white clover, it will be found both an economical and profitable improvement. 4565, The dr\fi-sandsqf the outer Hebrides have in some places been consolidated and covered with verd- ure by " square pieces of turf, cut from solid sward, and laid upon the drifting surface, in stee^ places nearer to each other, and in less inclined places at a greater distance : on very rapid declivities the turfs are placed in contiguity. These turfs, although separated by intervals of a foot or so of sand, are not liable to he buried, except in very ex- posed places." iQuar, Jow: Agr. vol. i. p. 715.) N. Macleod, Esq. of Harris, has reclaimed and brought into useful permanent pasture above ISO acres of useless drifting sand, by planting it with ^r^ndo aren&ria Cfe.710.) in 1819. The operation is performed in September, by cutting the plants " about two inches below the surface with a small thin-edged spade, with a short handle, which a man can use in his right hand, at the same time taking hold of the grass with his left; other persons carrying it to the blowing-sand to be planted in a hole, of rather a cut, made in the sand, about eight or nine inches deep, (and deeper where the sand is very open and much exposed,) by a large narrow-pointed spade. A handful of ArivnAo aren&ria, or bent grass, was put into each of these cuts, which were about twelve inches dis- tant, more or less, according to the exposure of the situation. When properly fixed in the blowing-sand, the roots begin to grow and spread' under the surface, in the course of a month after planting. This grass is relished by cattle in summer, but it is ofgreater value, by preserv- ing it on the ground for wintering cattle: it would be injudicious to cut it, because it will stand the winter better thaii any other grass, and is seldom covered with snow. Neither wind, rain, nor frost will destroy it; but the old grass naturally decays towards the latter end of spring and the beginningof summer, as the new crop grows. White and red clover' will grow spontaneously among this grass in the course of a few years, provided it is well secured. {Trans. Highl. Soc. vol. vi. p. 265.) 4566. Poor sandy soUs in inland districts are not unfre- quently stocked with rabbits. When the productions of ara- ble lands are high, it is found worth while to break up these warrens and cultivate com and turnips ; but it frequently happens that, taking the requi- site outlay of capital, and the expenses and risk into consideration, they do not pay sa well as when stocked with rabbits. Such lands are generally well adapted for plant- 711 ing; but in this, as in every other case : where there is a choice, circumstances must * direct what line of improvement iis to be adopted. 4567* Shores and sea beaches of gravel and shingle, without either soil or vegetation, are V perhaps the mostunimproveable spots of any; s but something may be done with them by J burying the roots of the arenarious grasses } along with a little clay or loamy earth. Of \ these, the best is the ^rfindo arenkria and £'lymus arenkrius (Jig, 711. a), already ' mentioned; and E* genicuUtus (b) and sibiricus (c) would probably succeed equally well. The last grows on the sandy wastes of Siberia, and the preceding is found on the shores of Britain. Chap. V. Improvement of Lands already in a State of Cidture, 4568. A profitable application of many of the practices recommended in the chapters of this and the foregoing Book may be made to many estates which have been long under cultivation. It is certain, indeed, that the majority of those who study our work will . have that object more in view than the laying out or improvement of estates ab origine. Few are the estates in Britain in which the farm lands do not admit of increased value, 750 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. by rectifying the shape of fields, adjusting their size, improving the fences, draining tlie soil, or adding to the shelter ; and few are the farmeries that may not be rendered more commodious. Of this, we shall give a few examples, after we have stated the general principles and modes of proceeding. Sect. I. General Fnndples and Modes of Procedure, in improving Estates already more or less improved* 4569. The groundwork of improvement, on which a practical man may tread with safety and full effect, is an accurate delineation of the existing state, together with a faitliful estimate of the present value, of the lands, and other particulars of an estate to be im- proved. A general map of the appropriated lands, readily exhibiting the several farms and fields as they lie, and showing the existing watercourses, embankments, fences, and buildings ; the woodlands, standing waters, morasses, and moory grounds ; the known mines and quarries ; together with the commonable lands (if any) belonging to the estate, forms a comprehensive and useful subject of study to the practical improver. It is to him, what the map of a country is to a traveller, or a sea-chart to a navigator. If an estate is large, a faithful delineation of it will enable him in a few hours to set out with advantages, respecting the connections and dependencies of the whole and its several parts, which, were he deprived of such scientific assistance, as many days, weeks, or months could not furnish. If on the same plan appear the rental value of each field or parcel of land, and the annual produce of each mine, quarry, woodland, and productive water, in its present state, the preparatory information which science is capable of supplying may be considered as complete ; and it remains with the artist to study with persevering attention the subject itself, in order to discover the species of improvements of which it is susceptible, and the suitable means of carrying them into effect. 4570. Tlie species of improvements incident to landed property are numerous. They may, however, be classed under the following heads : — the improvement of the outline, and general consolidation of an estate by purchase, sale, or exchange : the improvement of the roads ; of the mines and minerals ; of the towns, villages, mills, and manufacto- ries ; of the waters ; of the woods and plantations ; and of the farmeries and farm lands. This last subject is the most common, and to it we shall devote the succeeding section. To discuss the other species of improvement, as applied to old estates, would necessarily include so much of what has already passed in review in the foregoing Book, as to be wearisome to the reader. Sect. II. Improveynent of Farmeries and Farm Lands* 457 1. Farm lands are of more or less value according to the means of occupying them. Arable lands in particular require buildings and other conveniences proportioned to the size of a farm. We frequently see tenants curbed in their operations, and incurring a waste of produce, through the want of sufficient homestalls. On the other hand, we sometimes observe a prodigality of expenditure on farm buildings ; thus not only sinking money unnecessarily, but incurring unnecessary expenses in subsequent repairs, by ex- tending homesteads beyond the sizes of farms. In some cases, therefore, it will be found necessary to curtail the extent of farm buildings, as large barns ; in others to enlarge the yards, and in many to add and re-arrange the whole. The subject there- fore may be considered in regard to design and execution ; but as we have already treated fully on laying out new farmeries, we shall here offer only a few general remarks as to alterations. 4572. In improving the plan of a farmery, the given intention is first to be maturely considered, and the several requisites to be carefully ascertained. The given site is next to be delineated, so as to show the existing buildings, yards, roadways, and entrances ; and then, by maturely studying the plan alternately with the site itself, the improver is to endeavour to trace out the most suitable alterations ; all the while keeping in view the perfection of arrangement, the situation and value of the existing buildings, and the ex- penses of alteration ; reconsidering the subject repeatedly, until the judgment be fully satisfied. It is much easier to plan and erect a new farmstead, than to improve one which is already erected. The former requires science and ingenuity only ; the latter good sense and judgraient also. 4573. In executing improvements on old farmeries, some difficulty occurs as to the in- corporation of new and old materials. If the situation and plan are likely to be of per- manent approval, the new erections may be made in the most substantial manner ; keeping it in view that the old, which are repaired at the time, may afterwartis be wholly renewed. But if the repairs and improvements are not to extend further than the duration of a lease, or till, by the expiration of various leases, some general plan of improvement can be determined on, then old materials may be used, or less permanent structures may be erected. Book III. IMPROVING FARM LANDS. 751 4574. As an example of addhig part of a newly-encioaed commoti-Jield to a wmalt anciently enclosed grass- •Tig /<»*» {fig.ll2.\ we give ' the following case : 457s. The farmery (a) and ancient enclosed fields {h\ are separated fVom the common field by a road, and bounded on the other side by a lake. The soil is a son black earth on a gravelly subsoil ; the surface a gentle slope towards the lake. The farm-house is supposed to be already placed in this ancient part; and the ob. ject in view is to unite a large portion of the com- mon field, when enclosed, to each ancient farm, so as to get a fair rent for the lands at theleast expense. The soil of this common field is a light poor sand, with nearly a flat surface. The circumstances of the country are favourable to large farms, the climate is dry, and the*bituation such as to require shelter. The number of acres to be enclosed and added to this farm is ISOO. These will be most advantage. ously cultivated in six shifts of, 1, turnips (c) ; 2, barley (d); 3, artificial grasses (e) ; 4 and 5, the same {/, g) ; 6, wheat or oats (A). Each shift is I»-oposed to be separated by a plantation for sh elter, and no inferior divisions are made; In two of the plantations are field.. barns, sheds, &c. where the corn grown on one- half of the arable lands is threshed by a moveable thresh ing-machine, and the straw consumed by cattle. There are cottages at each of these bams for li !■ , ___, The ridges m each of the breaks or shifts are supposed to extend their whole length ; or they may be ploughed as if the whole break were only one ridge, by which means not a moment is lost in turning at the ends, &c. Hereford or Devon oxen are supposed the beasts of labour on this farm. 4576. Inpltux of the above rotation^ wheat may be added after the second year of arti- ficial grasses, and one shift kept entirely under saintfoiii. This saintfoin division must of course be changed every sixth or seventh year- However, if » proper mixture of artificial grasses is sown, such as red, white, and yellow clover, rib-grass, bumet, saints foin, timothy, cocksfoot, rye-grass, and soft-grass, the produce will be superior to that from either saintfoin or lucem alone, on a soil such as this, or even perhaps on any soil. Every agriculturist of observation must be awaie that the efforts of annual and biennial plants are powerful for a few years at first, aj'd that they uniformly produce a greater bulk than perennials : the latter seem to compensate for this temporary bulk by a steady durable produce. 4577. The old pasture near the house is supposed to be irrigated from the upper part of the lake, by a cut passing near the house. These pastures are particularly advan- tageous for early lambs, milch cows, &c. and for stock in general in seasons of great drought. 4578. (hrrecting the outlines of fields is one of the most obvious sources of ameliora- tion on many, perhaps on most, estates. The advantages of proper sized and sliaped enclosures have been fully pointed out, when treating of laying out farm lands, and in altering existing fences the same principles must be steadily kept in view ; for though, unless by a total eradication of all the existing fences, every requisite may not be attain- able, yet such a number may be gained as amply to compensate for the expense. In altering the shape and size of fields, besides the advantages resulting from the improve- ment in form, it will generally be found that a number of culturable acres may be added to the farm in proportion to the crookedness and width of the fences. Better drainage and roads will also be obtained, and where ornament is an object, a park-like appearance may be produced by leaving a single trees as part of what may have stood in the eradi- cated hedge-rows. t xV -MAii^^i 752 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 4579. Ai an example qf improving the shape and site qf fields, we ehall refer to a ferm of 350 acres, situated in Middlesex. (Jig. 713.) In this case, tlie fieldB were larger than usual, but the fences were in many parts from ten to fifteen yards in width, more resembling strips of copse wood than fences, as they contained hazel, dogwood, black and white thorns, wild roses, brambles, and a variety of native shrubs. The lines of these fences were so ill calculated for carrying off the surface-water, that in one half of the fields there were open gutters for the discharge of the water collected in the hedge-row ditches. 4580. In the centre of one field (35), for example, above an acre was rendered waste by the water from other fields (19, 20, and 21), which water, it is curious to remark, might, if led over the same acre agree- ably to the principles of irrigation, have produced annually at least two loads and a half of good hay, in place of annually rendering the produce of this acre unmarketable. The water of some fields (as 16, 18, and part of 19,) ran in a diagonal direction through another (15), two acres of which might have been irri- gated by it to advantage. 4581. In the farm, when altered {^g. 714.), the fields are more uniform in shape and size ; their sides are parallel, and better adapted for ploughing the lands in straight ridges. All the surface-water is carried off by tlie open fence drains. Access is had to every field by the shortest possible road from the farmery. Only two-thirds of the number of gates formerly required are requisite. Fifty acres are ren- dered useful which were formerly lost, or pernicious, by occupying space for which rent was paid, and by harbouring insects and noxious weeds j and as much rich vegetable earth is obtained from the old hedge banks as, spread abroad in every direction, may be said to manure at least ten acres. The whole is more open and healthful ; and, from the number of single trees thrown into the fields, more elegant, and bear- ing a greater resemblance to a park. A part near the house (1, 2, 3) is in permanent pasture, and the rest (4, 5, 6, &c.) under a course of fallow, wheat, clover, beans, and wheat. Book III.. SHELTERING FARM LANDS. 753 4S82. As an example qfaltertt^ the fields and consolidating a farmt we submit the case of a meadow- farm, with the arable lands in a common field state. Cfe. 715.) By an act of enclosure, these scattered arable lands (a) were exchanged for others adjoining the meadow grounds {fig. 716. 6), and the whole ren- 716 dered more compact and commodious. This farm, being intersected by a public lane, affords an example in which no private roads are wanted. The size and shape of the fields were improved, and the broad fences reduced as in the preceding case, and attended with the same advantages in an agricultural point of view. 4533. Bid though in atteriitp broad fincet there are obrfous and indisputable advantages to the farmer, jet, as justly observed by Loch, gain is not every thinf;. " The fences on the Marquess of StafTord's estates," he says, " were liable to the same objec- tion which is applicable to a ^eat pniportion of the counties of England. They are not composed of quick, at least but in a scanty d^jree; theyforthemost part consist of bushes, growing fcom tl)e stump ot every sort of forest-tree, intermixed with hazel, birch, hombenra, maple, alder, willow, &c. They are planted on high and dry mounds, and thus are subject to con- stant decay. They occupy too much ground, proviaed agricul* ouch are Mr. tnre alone were the occupation of life. But as they give great protection, when they thrive, to the game, they become an im- portant object of preservation, inasmuch as every thinn must be of consequence u hich contributts to the sport, and has the efffect of retaining the gentry of England much upon their estates. For this reason, it may occasionally be proper to con- sider <# the best way to' preserve these hedges at the least expense, in place of substituting more perfect ones in their stead ; nor should one object exclusively oe attended to in the ricultural improvements of sogreatand so wealthy a country." agric Such improver r. Loch's ideas on game and hedges. 4584. W/ienJhrm^la7ids are exposed to high winds, insterspersing them with strips or masses of plantation is attended with obviously important advantages. Not only are such lands rendered more congenial to the growth of grass, and corn, and the health of pasturing animals, but the local climate is improved. The fact, that the climate may be thus improved, has, in very many instances, been sufficiently established. It is, indeed, astonishing how much better cattle thrive in ^elds even but moderately sheltered than they do in an open exposed country. In the breeding of cattle, a sheltered farm, or a sheltered comer in a farm, is a thing much prized ; and, in instances where fields are taken by the season for the purpose of fattening, those most sheltered never fail to bring the highest rente, provided the soil is equal to that of the neighbouring fields which are not sheltered by trees. If we enquire into the cause, we shall iind, that it does not alto- gether depend on an early rise of grass, on account of the shelter afforded to the lands by the plantations ; but likewise that cattle, which have it in their power, in cold seasons, to indulge in the kindly shelter afforded them by the trees, feed better ; because their bodies are not pierced by the keen winds of spring and autumn, neither is the tender grass destroyed by the frosty blasts of March and April. {Plant. Kal p. 121.) 4585. The operation of skreen plantations^ in exposed situations, Marshal observes, is not merely that of ^ving shelter to the animals lodging immediately beneath them ; but likewise that of breaking Uie unifonn current of the wind}— shattering the cutting blasts, and throwing them into eddies; thus meliorating the air to some distance from them. living trees communicate a degree of actual warmth to the air which envelopes them. Where there is lifte there is warmth, not only in animal but in vegetable nature. The severest frost rarely affects the sap of trees. Hence it appears, that trees and shrubs properly disposed, in a bleak situation, tend to improve the lands so situated, in a threefold way for the purposes of agriculture ; namely, by giving shelter to stock j by breaking the currents of winds ; and by communicating a degree of warmth or softness to the air, in calmer weather. 4586, T/ie proper disposal of skreen plantations lor this purpose is in lines across the most offensive winds, and in situations best calculated to break their force. Placed across valleys, dips, or more open glains, in bleak ex.po5ures, they may be of singular use; also on the ridges, as well as on the points and angs, of hills. 3 C 754 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 45S7. The width of akreen plantations ought generally to be regulated by the value of the land for agricultural uses, and the advanUgea of the aituation for the sale and delivery of timber. In ordinary cases, from two to four statute poles may be considered as an eUgible width. * • « „^ i,„u « 4588. The form qf plantations for shelter, however. wUlnot in every case be tljf. ^^^ "ripe or be t of uniform width. In iiTlIy, rocky, and other situations, difftrent fo5™'..^^"l"«^^^ r T™iK«-«^^^^^^^ ituaUon and the objects in view. In rocky abrupt sites ifig. 717.) the plantation will consist of a 717 to the situation s number of masses (a, 6, c), of forms determined by the rocks and precipices, among which some of the most valuable pasture may be left as glades {d, e), for use, effect, and for the sake of game. Strips and hedges for sheltering, or separating arable lands, should be formed as much as possible in straight and parallel lines, in order not to increase the expense of tillage by short and irregular turnings. Straight parallel strips, on irregular surfaces, have a more varied appearance at a distance, than strips ever so much varied on a flat surface; for, in the former case, the outline against the sky is varied as much as that on the earth. In extensive hilly pastures, in which it is often desirable to produce shelter, and at the same time to plant only the most rocky and unproductive spots, the forms may be of the most irre- gular description ; and by planting chiefly on the eminences and slopes {fig. 718.), shelter will be most effectually produced, the pasture improved, the least valu- able ground rendered productive in copse or timber, and the greatest richness and picturesque beauty conferred on the landscape. There are some fine examples of this in the hilly districts of Fifeshire: there, on many estates where nothing was sought for but profit and shelter, the greatest beauty has been produced ; and the picturesque tourist now passes through glades and valleys, pastured by well-fed cattle and sheep, enlivened by rocks, thickets, hanging- woods, and occasional rills and lakes. Fifty years ago scarcely a tree was to be seen, and only the most inferior descriptions of live stock. 4589. The species of woody plants best adapted for shelter, are the rapid-growing and evergreen trees, as the Scotch pine ; and such as are at the same time clothed with branches from the ground upwards, as the spruce fir, are the best of all trees for shelter, unless the situation is very elevated. Among the deciduous trees, the fast-growing branchy sorts are most desirable, as the larch, birch, poplar, willow; in very elevated situations, the birch, mountain-ash, and Scotch pine; exposed to the sea breeze, the elder and sycamore. To maintain a branchy leafy screen from the ground up- wards, intermix tree and shrubs which stole; or such as grow under the shade and drip of others, as the holly, hazel, dog-wood, box, yew, &c. To produce shelter, and yet admit of the growth of grass below the trees, prune any sort to single stems, and use chiefly deciduous sorts. 451K>. In bleak and barren situations. Marshal observes, the larch will generally be found the most profitable, as timber; but, being deciduous, it does not in winter, when its services are most wanted, afford as much sheltej- as the common pine. A skreen, to shelter live stock, should be close at the bottom, otherwise it is injurious rather than beneficial; not only the blast acquiring additional current, but snow being liable to be blown through, and to be lodged in drifts on the leeward side, to the annoyance and danger of sheep that have repaired to it for shelter. A larch plantation margined with spruce firs, and these headed at twelve or fifteen feet high, would afford the required shelter for a length of years. The firs, or pines, thus treated, would be induced to throw out lateral boughs, and feather to the ground : while the larches, in their more advanced state of growth, would, by permitting the winter's winds to pass through the upper parts of the skreen, break the current and mellow the blast 4591. In jnore genial situaH&ns, the beech, by retaining its leaves in winter, especially while it is young, forms a valuable skreen. If the outer margins were kept in a state of coppice wood, and cut alternately, and the middle ranks suffered to rise as timber trees, the triple purpose of skreen plantations might be attained in an eminent degree, and almost in perpetuity. 4.692. In deep-soiled vale districts^ which not unfrequently want shelter, skreens of oak might be managed in a similar way. Hollies, or other hardy evergreens, planted as underwood, in groves of either of the above descriptions, would, if suitable situations were assigned them, assist much in this intention. 4593. A tall impervious fence is, for the purpose of shelter to pasturing stock, nearly equal to a depth of coppice wood, and infinitely preferable to an open grove of timber trees ; beside its additional use as a fence, 'lliere appears one species of fence which is peculiarly adapted to this purpose. This is the coppice mound hedge of Devonshire and South Wales; namely, a high wide bank or mound of earth, planted with coppice woods. This becomes, immediately on its erection, a shelter and a guard to pasture grounds. 4594. The method of Jbrminff jincea qf this kind is to carry up a stratum of earth, belwepn two sod fncinga, " batterinf;," or leaning somewhat inward, to the required height ; and to plant on the top the roots and lower stems of coppice plants, ga- thered in woods or on waste f^ounds; or nursei^ plants adapted to the given utuatian. If the mound be carried to a full height, as ftve or &x feet, and about that width at the tup, and this be planted wiOi strong plants, with stems cut off aDout two feet above the roots (in the usual practice of Devonshire), a suf- ficient fence is thus immediately formed af^alnst ordinary stock. But if the hank be lower, nr if nursery plants be put in, a slight guard run along the outer brink on either side, and lea-ing outward over thi; face of the mound, in required (efii>eciallY against sheep) until the pl^mts get u^j. If a hedge of this kind be raised as a ptanlation fence (especially on (he lower side of a slope), the outer side only nquires to be factd with sods ; the hedge plants bc'ng set in a rough shelving bank, on the Inner side. Book III. SHELTERING FARM LANDS. 755 4595. The tpecies of hedee nrantli, proper for moimcl fi-nces, and the oak are the ordinary plants of hedire mounds. The depends entirely on the sou and situatiun. On mounds of bad willow tribe have a quality which recommends tliem> in siiit- snil, in a bleak situation, the furze alone afTords much shelter, atioiis tvhere they wul flourish ; they grow freely from cuttinfri>, and a good lence. The sides being kept pruned, so as to show or truncheons set in ihemruund; whereas, tosecure the growth a close firm Cicc rising above Ihe top of the bank, it is a secure of ordinary coppice woods, rooted plants are required. The barrier, even against the wilder breeds of Welsh sheep. The rock-willow (l&lix capreat will grow in high and dry situ- beech is commonly planted in high ezpc^ed situations ; and in ations. places more genial to the growth of wood, the hazel, the ash, 4596. On thin-soiled stony stMfaces^ tall mounds are difficult to raise ; and there stone walls are not only built at a small expense, but are convenient receptacles for the stones with which the soil is encumbered. But a stone waU, unless it be carried up to an inordinate height, at a great expense, is useless as a skreen ; and may be said to be dangerous as such, in a bleak exposed situation, for as soon as the drifting snow has reached the top of the wall, on the windward side, it pours over it, and inevitably buries the sheep which may be seeking for shelter on the leeward sida tience, in a situation where shelter is required, it is necessary that a stone fence should be backed with a skreen plantation. 4o97. To plant trees for shade may in some cnses be requisite for agricultural purposes. Where this is the case, close plantations are seldom desirable, a firee circulation of air being necessary to coolness ; therefore trees with lofty stems, and large heads pruned to single stems, are preferable : the oak, elm, chestnut, and beech, for thick shade ; the plane, acacia, and poplar, for shade of a lighter degree. 4598. An example qf sheliering a hill farm by plantation^ and at the same time improving the shape and size of fields, shall next be given. No farming subject affords better opportunities of introducing hedge- rows, and strips of planting, than hill-farms. The one under consideration {fig. 719.) is a small estate farmed by its owner : it consists of nearly 370 acres ; and is situated in an elevateo, picturesque part of a central English county. The soil is partly a flinty loam or chalk, and partly a strong rich soil, incum- bent on clay. The fields are very irregular, bounded by strips of timber and copse. By the alterationi and additions proposed 0^. 720.), all the most hilly and distant spots will be kept in permanent pasture; and the exposed and abrupt places, angles, &c. planted chiefly with oaks for copse, and beech for timber and shelter. 4.599. On hill farms m Scotland, where shelter cannot be given to grass and stock by plantations, imall rircular inclosures have been adopted for that purpose. The diameter of these circles is from 10 lo SO 3 C 2 75fi PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, feet, the height of the wall six or eight feet, and a conical roof is placed on them, and covered with turf: but many inclosures of this kind are formed without roofa. They are called in Selkirkshire stells, and were brought into notice, in 1822, by Captain, now Lord Napier, in his Treatise on Store Farming, a work to which we shall have recourse in a subsequent section. Chap. VI. Execution of Improvements, 4600. Tlie mode in which imprffoements are executed is a point of very considerable im- portance, and may materially affect their success as well as their expense. We shall first consider the different modes of execution, and next offer some general cautions to be kept in view in undertaking extensive works. Sect. I. Different Modes of procuring tlie Execution of Improvements on Estates, 460 1 . The necessary preliminary to the execution of an improvement, is a calculation of the advantages to arise from it, and an estimate of the expanse of carrying it into effect. If the former, taken in their full extent, do not exceed the latter, the proposed alteration cannot, in a private view, be considered as an improvement. The next point to be ascer- tained is the practicability, under the given circumstances of a case, of executing the plan under consideration. There are three things essential to the due execution of an im- provement. 1st, an undertaker, or a person of skill, leisure, and activity, to direct the undertaking ; 2d, men and animals with which to prosecute the work ; 3d, money, or other means of answering the required expenditure. A deficiency in any one of these may, by frustrating a well-planned work after its commencement, be the cause not only of its failure, but of time, money, and credit being lost. — Improvements may be exe- cuted by the proprietor, either directly ; gradually, by economical arrangements ; or remotely, to a certain extent, by moral and intellectual means. 4602. To execute imjyrovements directly, all that is necessary is to employ a steward or manager of adequate abilities and integrity, and supply him with the requisite plans, men, and money. This will generally be found the best mode of forming new roads, new plantations, opening new quarries or mineral pits, altering the course of waters, and all such creations or alterations as are not included in the improvement of farm lands. 4603. To procure the gradual execution of im^ovements on farm lands, various arrange- ments may be made with the tenants : for example, by granting long leases ; letting them find the requisites of improvement, and take theadvantages during their terms ; by granting shorter leases, with a covenant of remuneration for the remainder of such improvements as they have made, at the time of quitting ; by granting leases, at a low rent, for the first years of the term, to give the tenants time and ability to improve at their own expense ; by advancing money to tenants at will, or, which is the same, making allowances of rent for specified improvements, to be executed by them under the inspection and control of the manager, they paying interest for the money advanced or allowed ; by employing workmen on tenanted farms ; the tenants in like manner paying interest on the money expended. The usual interest, till lately, was six per cent. ; thus estimating the value of the improvement at sixteen years* purchase. 4604. The moral and intellectual means of imjiromng farm lands consists, as Marshal has observed, in enlightening the minds of tenants. Though this mode is but of slow operation, and respects improvements in modes of culture, rather than such as require great outlay ; yet it deserves notice in this place, as necessary to second the efforts of the landlord. 4605. FaiTTierSt as moral and tntellectual aeentSy may be divided into reading men, and illiterate beings : the first class derive hints for improvement from books; but the second can only, if at all, derive benefit from example. 4606. With respect to improving farmers Zw fiooAj, — agricultural newspapers, magazines, and county surveys, are probably what would be read with most eagerness ; and as such works abound in statements of what actually has taken place in different situations, by farmers like themselves, perhaps they are the most likely to stimulate to exertion. Historical relations of the agriculture of other countries are also generally interesting to agriculturists ; and though no great professional benefit is to be derived from them, yet they tend to enlarge and liberalise the mind, and promote a taste for knowledge. Under these circumstances, it may be worthy of consideration whether an agricultural library might not be established in the steward's office, on very extensive estates, for the use of tenants and all other persons belonging to the estate who chose to read from it Itinerating libraries for the use both of farmers and their servants, or, indeetJ, of whoever chooses to use them, have for some time been established, and extensively used in East Lothian, and they are gradually being adopted in other counties both in Scotland and England. {Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 376.) 4607. The establishment of schools for the children of the lower class of tenants, and of cottagers of every description, is an obvious and important source of moral and intellectual improvement j and con- sidering it as decided by experience and the most competent judges, that the education of the lower classes will tend greatly to their amelioration and the benefit of society at large, we are of opinion that, wherever they are not already establishetl, they should be introduced. Working schools, somewhat in the German manner, both for boys and girls, would also be a material improvement in such districts as are behind in a taste for cleanliness, fireside comforts, cookery, and dress. Book III. EXECUTION OF IMPROVEMENTS. 757 4608. Examples as stimuli to improvement may be exhibited in various ways : by uttlng a fanii to a tenant of superior energy, or from a more improved district j by exhibiting improved implements and operations on one particular farm ; by an itinerant ploughman of abilities, accompanied by a smith and carpenter, and with some implements, to go round the estate and instruct each tenant on his own farm j and finally, and perhaps preferably, by inducing every fanner to make a tour into some other district once a.year. 46()9. In addition to these modes^ appropriate as we consider for two different classes of tenants. Marshal suggests the following as calculated to insure a spirit of improvement among all farmers not of sufficient energy and intelligence. They are to be adopted in various ways, by a proprietor, or by the manager of an estate, who has a knowledge of rural afiairs, and who possesses the good will and confidence of its tenantry. +tilO £^ personal attention atone much is to be done. By reviewing an estate, once or twice a year ; by conversing with each tenant in looking over his farm; and by duly noticing the instances of good management which rise to the eye, and condemning those which are bad ; vanity and fear, two powerful stimulants of the human mind, will be roused, and an emulation be created among superior managers ; while shame will scarcely fail to bring up the more deserving of the inferior ranks. If, after repeated exhortations, an irreclaimable sloven be discharged as such, and his farm given to another, professedly for his superior qualifications as a husbandman, an alarm will presently be spread over the estate, and none, but those who deserve to be discharged, will long remain in the field of bad management. 4611. Even by conversation^ well directed, something may be done. If, instead of, on the one hand, collecting tenants to the audit, as sheep to the shearing, and sending them away, as sheep that are shorn ; or, on the other, providing for them a sumptuous entertainment, and committing them to their fate in a state of intoxication ; a repast suited to their conditions and habits of life were set before them; and, alter this, the conversation bent towards agriculture, by distributing "presents to superior managers, and specifying the particulars of excellence for which Uie rewards or acknowledgments were severally be- stowed \ a spirit of emulation could not fail to arise among the higher classes ; while the minds of the lower order of tenants, and of the whole, would be stimulated and improved by the conversation. 4612. By encouraging leading men in different parts of a large estate, men who are looked up to by ordinary tenants ; by holding out these as patterns to the rest ; by furnishing them with the means of improving their breeds of stock j by supplying them with superior varieties of crops, and with imple- mentii of improved constructions : and, in recluse and backward districts, much may be done by tempting goost : and it is a good ofilice in society, which is the more incumbent upon him, as no other man on earth can of right perform it, valuable as it is to the public. Sect. II. General Cautions on the Subject of executing Improvements. 4616. No Wiyrk can be prudently commenced until the plan he fully matured, not in idea only, but in diagrams, and in models, if the subject requires them ; in order that every bearing and every hinge may be sufficiently foreknown : the site of improvement being reverted to, again and ^ain, with the draught or the model in hand, until the judg- ment be satisfied and the miud be inspired with confidence. If a proprietor have not yet acquired sufficient judgment within himself, let him consult some one man, or one council of men, in whose knowledge and judgment he can confide ; and thus fix a rally- ing point. Having brought his plan to a degrfie of maturity, in this private manner, he may then venture to publish it ; and endeavour to improve it, by the advice of its friends, and the animadversions of its enemies- 46 1 7. Jf a proprietor wants judgment himself, and a friend to mpfily it, let him not attempt the more difficult works of improvement. Yet how often we see, both in public and private life, men engaged in arduous undertakings, embarked on the wide ocean of. business, without rudder or compass to guide them, depending on. casual information, to help them on their way ! They are consequently ever of opinion with the last persons they converse with. Such men's decisions and operations are always wrong • and for 3 C 3 ' e 758 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt III. an obvious reason. They consult those who are best able to inform them, first ; and re- ceive their last impressions from those who are least capable to give them. Men who have neither judgment in themselves, nor any standard of practice to rally at, are liable to be led astray by the plausible schemes of theorists, the greater part of whom know nothing of the practical part of business, and who, by their calculations, both of eiTpense in the outlay and of profit in the return, deceive both themselves and tlieir friends or em- ployers : some also may have sinister designs in view ; though we believe the errors of speculative men are in most cases owing to their behig endowed with more imagination than judgment, 46 i 8. Tlie execution of tlie different improvements of which an estate has been found susceptible being determined on, it is always advisable to begin with one which is ob- vious ; which may be effected with the greatest certainty ; which will repay most amply the expenses of carrying it into effect ; or which leads to other improvements, as em- bankment, drainage, &c. To attempt a doubtful project, while plans which are obvious and certain remain unexecuted ; to try experiments before the list of known improve- ments has been gone through ; is seldom to be recommended, though it might sometimes turn out to be right, 4619. All rural operations are more or less pubUc, and as it were performed on a stage ; and spectators fail not to criticise. If an experiment should prove abortive, or a pro- posed improvement turn out to be false, the ardour of the improver will be liable to be damped, his people to be discontented fas partaking in the discredit), and the expecting public around him to be disappointed. A few miscamages, in the outset, might frustrate the best intentions and the most profitable schemes. But if, by prosecuting plain and certain improvements, a man once gain his own confidence, as well as that of the people about him, he may then venture to explore less beaten paths ; and this he will be able to do with greater caution, and more probability of success, by the experience already gained; this being a further motive for pursuing the line of conduct here suggested, 4620. Ml works of iTnprovement shovM be executed with vigour. Many falter in the midst of well-planned works, either, through the want of foresight or of business-like exertion ; in consequence, the money already expended lies dead, and the works are in- jured by the delay. Some works, as embankments and drainages, may be ruined by the slightest neglect or relaxation ; and, indeed, as Marshal observes, we see, in every depart- ment of the kingdom, these and other works deserted, and left to moulder into nuisances or disreputable eyesores-. 4621. In carrying on a work, execute every thing suhstantitdly, and in a workman-like manner. Too often a false economy leads to the subversion of this principle. To save a few pounds in the first cost, materials of an inferior quality are laid in, or a quantity used insufi[icient to give the required substance and strength to the work. By either of these imprudences, its duration is abridged ; and the eventual loss, by repairs and re- newal, may be ten times greater than the sum injudiciously saved in the original erection. Nevertheless, to increase the evil of these ill-judged savings, inferior workmen are em- ployed ; or sufficient workmen "at inferior prices, at which they cannot afford to make good work, nor can a superintendent urge them to make it under such circumstances. Consequently the work is ill performed, its duration is still more abridged, and a further loss is incurred by injudicious saving, 4622. There are cases in which temporary works only are required. A lease-tenant, for instance, wants to make an improvement which will last as long as his lease, without caring about its further duration. In such a case, it may be well-judged frugality and admissible " cleverness in business," to work up cheap materials in a cheap way : but it seldom can be right in the proprietor of a hereditary estate, whose interest in it may be said to be perpetual, to proceed in the same manner. His best policy is to take favour- able opportunities of laying in good materials at moderate prices ; to use them when duly seasoned ; and to employ good workmen at such prices as cannot furnish an excuse for bad workmanship, and will warrant him to enforce good, 4623. Accomplish one work before anotJter is commenced. A work may be considered as accomplished when the chief diflSculties are surmounted, and the chief cost expended; and, till this is the case, it cannot be prudent to embark in another By avoiding em- barrassments, the execution of improvements becomes a present pleasure, as well as a source of future profit ; no half-finished works are left as monuments of disgrace to an estate and its owner ; no time nor interest of money is lost ; every work is brought into action and profit as it is finished ; and if, as it frequently will happen with the most prudent calculators, the estimated sum has been exceeded, due time may be taken to let the fund of improvement accumulate, so as to enable it to discharge the arrear, and to fur- nish, as wanted, tlie estimated sums requisite for the succeeding work. Book IV. MANAGEMENT OF LANDED PROPERTY, 759 BOOK IV. MANAGEMENT OF LANDED PROPERTY. 4624. The management of an extenshie landed estate, like that of every other great pro- perty, is a business both of talent and integrity. In former limes, when every proprietor may be said to have cultivated the whole of his agricultural territory, it constituted his whole occupation, when not engaged in war ; or required a host of managers, if he was a man of the first rank. On the continent, and especially in Russia and Hungary, where estates are of enormous extent, and wholly farmed by the proprietor, the largest estates, as we have seen (621.), are managed by a court of directors, and an executive department, with a numerous body of superintendent officers, artists, and artisans. A better system is now adopted in this country, in consequence of the creation of profes- sional farmers, who, taking large portions of territory from the owner for a certain num- ber of years at a fixed rent, and on certain stipulations for mutual security, occasion little more trouble to the proprietor, during that period, than receiving payments. Hence it is that the management of estates in Britain, though important, is a more simple busi^ ness than in any other country. 46i!S. Wliere there are only tenanted holdings, the business of management is very simple ; where there are woodlands, it requires a person to look after that department ; and wliere there are waters, quarries, and mines, a greater number of subordinate ofiicers are requisite. But what often occasions most expense, and at the same time is attended witli the least profit, is the management of the abstract rights belonging to an estate ; such as manorial rights, quit^rents, and other feudal or antiquated trifles or absurdities, wliich require courts to be holden, and lawyers and other officers to be called in to assist. The only British author who has digested the business of managing estates into a regular system is Marshal, and we shall follow him in considering this subject : — 1st, as to the superintendents on the executive establishment of an estate; anc^ 2dly, as to the general business of management. Chap. 1. Superintendents, or Executive Establishment of an Estate- 4626. Though every man who cannot -manage his own estate in all important matters, deserves to lose it, yet, as extensive proprietors generally have their properties situated in difierent parts of die country, and have, besides, public duties to attend to, certain sub- ordinate managers become necessary. In Tlie Code of Apiculture it is stated, that no individual having a large estate is equal to the task of managing it, unless he is in the prime of life, dedicates his whole time to the business, and gives up every other occupa- tion. It is there stated to have been found expedient, by the proprietor of an estate of great extent, to nominate two or three commissioners to assist him in its management. Under the superintendence of such commissioners, it is said, the affairs of a great pro- perty would be as well conducted as on the best managed small or moderate-sized estates ; while the duties of the proprietor would principally be to carry the exercise of true benevolence into effect, which would consist in softening severe decisions ; or in granting those marks of approbation and reward which, when bestowed by the proprietor himself, are the most likely to produce beneficial consequences. {Code, ^c. App. 58.) Such may be the case on a few estates in the British isles not yet brought into a regular system of improvement, and about to be remodelled, of which a grand example occurs in the immense property of the Marquess of Stafford ; but, in the great majority of cases, to each estate a manager of qualifications suited to its extent and duties, and a general receiver and controller in the capital or metropolis (if the proprietor and his banker can- not effect these duties between them) are all that is requisite. We shall first offer a few remarks on the qualifications and duties of managers, and next on the place of busi- ness and its requisites. Sect. I. Steward or Manager of an Estate, and his Assistants. 4627. Tlie head manager of an estate ought unquestionably to be the proprietor him- self, or his representative,^ if a minor or otherwise incompetent. Next to the proprietor is his acting man of business, with proper assistants ; together with such professional men as advisers as the circumstances of business may render necessary. A tenanted estate differs widely from other species of property ; as giving power and authority over persons as well as things. It has, therefore, a dignity and a set of duties attached to it, 3 C 4 760 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. which are peculiar to itself. A man wl)o receives ten thousand pounds a year from tlie public funds, for instance, is an insulated being, compared with him who receives the same income from landed property, and who is one of society's best members, provided his affairs are judiciously conducted. On the contrary, if, regardless of the dignity and the duties of his station, he lives but to dissipate his income, leaving the government of his estates and their inhabitants to those whose interest and honour are unconcerned in their welfare, or to those wliose best interests lie in their derangement, he becomes at once an enemy to himself, to his family, and to the community. As unpardonable it would be in the possessor of a kingdom to be ignorant of state affairs, and unmindful of the ministers who reside about his court ; or in the commanding officer of a regiment to be a stranger to his men, a priest to his parisliioners, or a shepherd to his flock ; as for the possessor of a tenanted estate to be ignorant of territorial concerns, and a sti'anger to his lands and their occupiers. 4628. Though it be an essenlial pari of l/ie duty of a man of fortune to be intimately acquainted with his own affairs, it does not follow that he should be absorbed in them, and neglect his duties as a superior member of society. In all matters of government and command, subordination is essential to good order and success. A commander in chief does not act as pioneer, nor does a naval commander reef his sails, or heave his anchor. Each has his subordinate officers to convey his commands, and men to execute them. But it is essentially necessary that the former should be well acquainted with military, the latter with navEil, affairs. Every heir apparent, therefore, to a large landed property, should be regularly, or at least more or less, bred up in the knowledge of rural affairs, so as to fill with honour and profit the high station he has in view. But if the possessor of an estate has not been fortunately initiated in the knowledge which belongs to his station, the task of acquiring it is far from great. 4629. On a large estate we generally find a resident manager, a land steward, a man who has some knowledge of what is termed country business, and who acts under the control of his employer, or of a confidential friend, who is more conversant in rural concerns • or perhaps of a law agent, who knows less of them ; or such residing steward, espe- cially of a detached estate which lies at some distance from the residence of its proprietor, acts without control. In the last case, if he is a man of judgment, it is fortunate both for the landlord and tenant : but, on the contrary, if such possessory manager wants those requisite qualifications, the consequence becomes mischievous to the lands, their occupiers, their proprietors, and the community. 4630. The reqiiidte acquirements of an acting manager, according to Marshal, are, a knowledge of agriculture, surveying, planting, some knowledge of mechanics, natural history, and skill in accounts. Agriculture is the only firm foundation on whicli the other required attainments can be securely reposed. It is not more essentially valuable in the superintendence than in the improvement of an estate. It is difficult to become an accurate judge of the value of lands without a practical knowledge of their uses • nor can any man without it properly appreciate the management of occupiers, much less assist them in correcting their errors, and improving their practice. 4631, Land-surveying is a requisite qualification. Not so much, however, for the purpose of measuring and mapping an estate at large, as for checlting and correcting the worlcs of professional men as well as to assist in laying out its lands to advantage. 4fi32. PlimiitK, and the management of woodlands, are acquirements that cannot be dispensed with Nor should his Knowledge and attention be confined to the surface of the estate entrusted to his care • he ought to have some acquaintance with natural history, chemistry, and experimental philosophy, to enable him to form just notions on the subject of the subterrene productions which it may contain. 4633. SoTne knowledge of mechanics, and other sciences that are requisite to the business of an engineer, may be highly useful m prosecuting the improvements incident to landed property. 4fi34. A competent knowledge of rwral architecture, the doctrine of the strength of materials and the superintendence of artificers, may be said to be of daily use. * 46.35. A thorough Icnowledge of accounts is essentially requisite to the manager of a landed estate. 463S. He shourd be a TOOK q/'goorf cliaracler, of upright principles, and concttiatorp mimners : to set an exainple of good conduct to the tenants, and to become their common counsellor ^d peace-maker, in those trifling disputes which never faU to arise among the occupiers of adjoining land ; and which too frequently bring on serious quarrels and lawsuits, that end in the ruin, not only of themselves but of the tenements they occupy. A proprietor has, therefore, an interest in checking such disputes In the bud : and no man can do this with so much effect as a manager in whom they have a proper confidence, and who possesses a due share of popularity on the esute. *^ i.u..iiucii>,i:, «im 4637. The acting manager requires certain assistants on a large estate; especially if it Ues in detached and scattered parts. Those in general use are a ground officer and clerk. 4638. A land-reeve, woodward, or ground officer, is required on each district or depart- ment of a large estate ; to attend not only to the woods and hedge-timber, but to the state of the fences, gates, buildings, private roads, driftways, and watercourses; also to the stockmg of commons (if any), and encroachments of every kind; as well as to pre- vent or detect waste and spoil in general, whether by the tenants of the estate, or others • and to report the same to the manager. ' 4639. The qfflce-clerk, book-keeper, or under steward, is employed to form registers, Book IV. LAND STEWARD^S OFFICE. 761 make out rentals, &c. and keep the accounts of the estate ; as well as to assist the man- ager in his more active employments ; also to act as his substitute in case of sickness, or absence ; and to become his successor in the event of his death, or other termination of his stewardship. 4640. A law assistanit solicitor, or attorney, may next be considered as requisite to the good management of a landed estate. For although much is to be done by judicious regulations, and the timely interposition and advice of a resident manager, such are the frailties of human nature, that, in a state of civilised society, and of property, legal assistance will sometimes be necessary. The error of country gentlemen consists, not in emplo3ring lawyers, but in committing the management of their landed estates to them. The employment of law agents as land stewards, however, is not without some reason. Farmers are not for the most part sufficiently skilled in accounts for taking the charge of a large estate ; and such of iheui as are capable, are commonly men of capital, and would not exchange their situation for the less independent one of a land steward. The division of labour, in the case of large estates, is not without its use, and is recognised in practice. A law agent collects the rents and keeps the accounts, often on a very small salary ; and in questions of a practical nature, such as the valuation of new leases, the modes of cropping, &c. he advises with a surveyor or land valuer. After all, however, a well chosen land-steward to reside upon the estate, and to consult, when necessary, with a lawyer, must be Hie best plan, even though his salary be higher than that of the law agents who commonly acts for several proprietors, does not reside on any of their estates, and very likely, as we think, cannot do them justice. 4641. In the feudal sy^em^ under which every manor court was a court of law, we may perceive the origin of law land-stewards. It is allowed by the best agricultural writers in Europe (Chateauvieux, Thaer, Thouin, Mathieu de Dombasle, Sigismondi, Jovellanos, Young, Marshal, Brown, Coventry, &c.), that these meJt hy thdr rigid ad~ herence to precedent in the dauses of leases, have contributed most Tnateriallt/ to retard the progress ^ agricultural improvement. 4642. The land-surveyor is another professional man, whom the superintendent of an estate may want to call in occasionally. Not merely to measure and map the whole or parts of the estate, but to assist in matters of arbitration, and the amicable settlement of disputes j or to act himself, as valuer or referee. Sect. II. Land Steward's Place of Busijiess, and what belongs to it. 4643. ^ manager*s pbice of business may be considered in regard to its situation, accommodations, and appropriate professional furniture. 4644. The situation of the place of business should be under the roof of the proprietor's principal residence ; round which, and in its neighbourhood, some considerable parts of his estates may be supposed (as they ever ought) to lie. If a large bulk of his property lie at too great a distance for tenants to attend at the principal office, and if on this he has a secondary residence, an inferior office is there required for such detached part. And it may be laid down as a rul^ in the management of landed property. Marshal ob- serves, that every distant part of an estate ought to have a place upon it (be it ever so humble) in ivhich its possessor may spend a few days comfortably ; to difiuse over it a spirit of good order and emulation. He has known the most neglected and almost savage spot, such as are many landed estates in Ireland, reclaimed and put in a train of improvement by iJiis easy method. 4645. The accommodations requisite for a principal office arc, a commodious business room, a small ante-room ; and a safe-keep, or strong room, fire proof, for the more valu- able documents. 4646. The professional fumUure with which an office of this description requires to be supplied are maps, rental-books, books of valuation, register, legal papers, and some others. 4647. A general map of the whole estate on a large scale is an obvious requisite ; and portable separate maps, with accompanying registers and other descriptive particulars, are useful in proportion as improve- ments may be in contemplation. 4648. Books of valuation are essential, especially where there are numerous small holdings on short terms. In these registers are contained the number, name, admeasurement, and estimated value of each field, and of every parcel of land, as well as of each cottage or other building not being part of a farm- stead, on the several distinct parts or districts of the estate. I'he valuations being inserted in columns, as they arise, whether by general surveys, or incidentally, headed with the names of their respective valuers, 80 that whenever a farm ia tu be relet, these columns may be consulted, and its real value fixed in a resurvey with the greater exactness. 4649. A general register of timber trees, copsewood, and young jylantatUms is particularly wanted where there is much hedgerow timber. Marshal directs to specify in this register the number of timber trees in each wood, grove, hedgerow, and area, with the species, number, and admeasurement of each tree. He also recommends separate pocketbooks, containing the particulars of each division, or of a number of contiguous divisions, for the occasional use of the manager and woodreeve. 4650. Contracts^ agreements, accounts, letters on husiness^ and other documents, should be intelligibly endorsed, dated or numbered, and arranged so as to be easily referred ta A book of abstracts, or heads of papers of greater importance, should be made out to be referred to on ordinary occasions, and likewise 762 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. to serve as an index to the originals, which require a more secure repository tlian a common businesH. room. 4651. Legal documents^ such as title deeds, legal decisions, awards of arbitration, counterparts of leases, securities, cash, bills, passed accounts, &c., as being the most important objects, should be carefully deiio- sited in the safety-chest or strong room. 4652. Poi-table registeri of the tenanted lands, in convenient pocket volumes, with maps on a small scale heading every farm, are, according to Marshal, who seems to have looked upon tenants as placed in a state of continual hostility with their landlords, a most invaluable description of books both for the manager and his employer. Two opposite pages being appropriated to each farm with its map, the following information siiould be given : — Name of the farm and its number of acres. The eligibility of the plan and circumstances of The name of the tenant and the existing rent the farm. The tenancy ; if on lease, the term of expiring. The eligibility of the occupier. Any extraordinary covenant of the lease. The eligibility of the present rent The number of cottages let with the farm. The state of the buildings, fences, and gates, Tlie number of timber trees growing on it roads, and watercourses. The number of orchard trees growing on it The state of cultivation, and condition of the live stock. 4653. Addy among other things, the following, viz. : — The repairs more immediately wanted. With any other incident or occurrence respect- The improvements of wiiich the whole is suscep- ing the farm or its occupier, that requires to be tible. remembered; and with references to the books The agreements entered into with the tenant and papers which may pertain to the several parti- The permissions granted him. culars; thus having at one view a complete abstract The injunctions delivered to him. of the history and present state of every farm, to- With a hint as to his personal character, and the gcther with the particulars of attention which each number and general character of his family. will require. 4654. The trouble of forming an abstract of this kind, or of renewing it when filled, or in order to adapt it to the varying circumstances of the several farms, is inconsiderable, compared with its uses, which are not only obvious in theory, but are fully established in practice. On returning to an estate, after twelve months' absence. Marshal has generally found, that, by consulting a register of this sort, and, through its means, making systematic enquiries respecting the incidents that have occurred on the several farms during his absence; he, in this summary way, and before he entered upon a fresh view, became better acquainted not only with the general interests, but with the more ordinary business, of the estate, than the acting manager, who had constantly resided upon it, without such a remembrancer. This abstract or remembrancer, he says, ought not to comprehend tenanted f^rms only ; but should comprise woodlands, quarries, the demesne, &c. in hand ; as well as the more importiant improvements going on : each of which ought to have its separate folio assigned it To a proprietor, or his confidential friend, who only goes over his estate occasionally, such an intelligent companion is essentially serviceable. He cannot profit. ably direct, nor safely advise with, an acting manager, or other agent or officer of the estate, until he has consulted so infallible an oracle. The utility of such a register, while a proprietor is absent f^om his estate, if he can be said to be so, with such a faithful mirror in nis possession, is too obvious to require explanation. 465.'i, Amon^ the instruments necessary for a manager^s qffice, may be included those requisite for sur- veying, mappmg, levelling, measuring timber, and every description of country work, together with boring mach ines, draught measurers, weighing scales, some chemical tests, models, and such other articles as may be required or rendered useful l)y particular circumstances. 4656. An ag7-icultural lidrarp may be considered an essential requisite ; including works on rural archi. tecture, the prices and measuring of work, and other fluctuating matters ; and one of the best encyclo. pasdias of universal knowledge. We have already suggested an important use to which such a library' might be applied. 4657. Such an establishment and place of business as has been described, we agree with Marshal in thinking, many v/\\\ consider as in some degree superfluous or extravagant. In many cases we admit it would be so ; but it is impossible to determine what things can be done without, unless a particular case were given. Such a minute register of farms, for example, would be quite ridiculous on an estate in East Lothian, where tenants are of sufficient wealth and respectability of manners to be treated as men ; and not watched and schooled like those which Marshal seems generally to have in view. As tenants of land become enlightened, they will be very differently treated from what in many places they are at present. As a proof of this, we have only to compare one dis- trict of country with another. In East Lothian, Berwickshire, and some other parts of Scotland, the farmers are as intelligent as their landlords ; and the transactions which take place between them resemble the transactions which take place between one mer- cantile man and another. In districts where the tenant has little capital, and where he is sunk in ignorance, he ranks with the labourer, and occupies his farm by a sort of suf- ferance. It is a pity that the ignorance and seclusion of such men do not admit of their comparing their state with that of others possessing no greater capital, but more know- ledge and skill : it is a pity, we say, for the sake of their children, whom they might thus be induced to educate. Chap. IL Duties of Managers of Estates, 4658. The various duties of the manager, or the proprietor, of a landed estate, may be considered under the heads of general business, business with tenants, and auditing accounts: Book IV> LAND STEWARDSHIP. 763 Sect. I. GeJteral Pfindj/ies of BusiTiess considered relatively to Land- Stewardship, 4659. The Jirst and most general prvnciple, in this and every other department of business, is to embrace readily the several matters as they occur ; and not to put them ofT from time to time, until they accumulate, and render the task difficult and irksome. The only artifice, it may be said, which a man of character can well employ in business is that of endeavouring to render it pleasurable ; and, by meeting it cheerfully, as it rises, or as it becomes ripe for despatch, this dedrable end will generally be attained : for, in ihaX state a man not only enters upon it with pleasure himself, but he will gene- rally find his opponent in the same temper of mind. Whereas, through delay, misun- derstandings, idle tales, and groundless surmises are liable to intervene ; the minds of both to be soured ; a distant coolness to take place between them ; and a barrier to be rdsed, which, though altogether imaginary, nothing but the mystic wand of the law may b^ able to remove. 4660. There are three distinct Tnethods of conducting budness. The first is that in which the parties meet, with fair intentions, to find out the point of equity, and there to d.ose. In the second, tiiey enter upon business, guarded with cunning, and armed with trick and artifice, as gamblers draw round a table, to take every advantage, fair or other- vrise, which they can effect with impiuiity. The last method lies in the courts of law and equity. 4661. A business founded on honourable intentions is the only one in which a man of honour can volun- tarily appear. Here honest men come, as indifferent persons, to arbitrate the matter in reference. In every settlement between man and man, there is a point of equity and right, which all good men are d^irous to find ; and when men of liberal minds fortunately meet and join in the search, it is seldom difficult to be discovered. Should some little dlfibrence of opinion arise, let them call in an umpire to decide between them ; or leave the whole to the decision of three capable and disinterested men. 4662. A man of strict integriij/ may become entangled in business with a man of looser principles. In this case, it behoves him to be upon his guard; but still to enter into the negotiation with temper and civility. There is even a politeness in affairs of business which cannot be departed from on any occasion. Interruptions and schisms frequently arise, especially between men who are of keen sensibility, and who (though passably honest) are tenacious of their own interests, from mere matter of punctilio. The mind of either being once soured by neglect, or ruffled by disrespectful behaviour, the smooth iiath of peaceful negotiation is liroken up, a spirit of warfare is roused, and advantages are taken, or attempted, which calm reason would not have suggested. Hence, when men of unequal degree are brought together in business, it is incumbent on the superior to set the example of liberality and civility of demeanour. 4663 In extreme cases there is no resource but the law j and here the most that an honest man can do is to procure, without loss of time, the best advice ; and to spare no exertion or useful expense in bringing the dangerous and tormenting business to a speedy conclusion. Not only is a man's property endangered, while it is tossed on the troubled sea of the law ; but his time and attention are led astray, and his peace of mind is liable to be broken in upon, thus deranging his ordinary concerns, and disturbing the stream of tif& How much legal disputation might be prevented by a timely attention to business ! 4664. In fiymdng connections in business) select tlie man who has a character to lose- This principle should be invariably acted on ; for if a man of established good cha- racter be properly treated, and determinately closed in with in case he demur or swerve from the right line of conduct, he will not forfeit his good name by doing a disreputable action ; and must therefore come forward to the point of equity and justice. Sect. II. MaTutgement of Tenants, 4665. T?ie general treatment of tenants and cottagers may be considered as the most ■important part of every land-steward*s occupation : it includes the mode and conditions of letting lands, and the time and manner of receiving rents. The idea of a landlord or his agents managing his tenants does certainly on the face of it appear an absurdity. The tenant is not more obliged to the landlord than the landlord is to the tenant j and therefore both parties being on an equality in point of obligation, the one ought not to require or have the power to manage the other. This power is given, however, by the ignorance of one of the parties, and the existing monopoly in favour of the other ; and till these are done away vrith, by education and political changes, the ignorant part of farmers will always be managed by their l^idlords. SuBSECT. 1. Proper Treatment of Tenants- 4666. On every large hereditary estate, there are established customs and usages, to which the proprietor and the occupiers consider themselves mutually amenable, though no legal contracts may subsist between them. Even where impeiifect le^es, or other legal agreements exist, still there is generally much left for custom and usage to determine. Though some of these may be improper, yet they ought to be strictly observed by its superintendent, until better can be placed in their stead ; not merely on the score of moral justice, but, in the same observance, to set an example of integrity and good faith to the tenants. If a superintendent imprudentiy break through a custom or a covenant, what can he say to a tenant who follows his example ? 4667. A inanMger ought to set an example to the tenants under his care of liberality and kindness. This is more especially applicable to the case of cottagers and others who rent small holdings. There are numberless small favours which he can bestow upon them without loss, and many with eventual advantage to the estate. A spirited improv- 764 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. ing tenant should be refused nothing that he can reasonably ask ; should have favours voluntarily conferred upon him, not merely as a revpard for the services which he indivi- dually is rendering the estate, but to induce its other tenants to follow his example, and to make known to the whole that their conduct is observed, and distinctions made between good and bad managers. i -li. i 4668. Estates, Wee men, have tlieir good and bad characters. No skilful fanner who has a capital to lose, will take up his residence on an estate of known bad character. On the contrary, when once an estate has acquired the character of good faith and proper treatment of its tenantry, men of money and spirit will ever be anxious to gain a footing there. Besides, the character of an estate will ever involve that of its possessor : and, setting income at naught, it surely behoves a man of property to pay some attention to the character of his estates ; for what can well add more to the permanent respectability of a family of rank or fortune, than having its estates occupied by a wealthy and resp^ft- able tenantry ? 4669. In a state of civilised society and property, one of the great arts of life is to teach character and interest to go hand in hand, and on ordinary occasions to endeavour to turn every incident, as it fortuitously occurs, to their mutual advantage. If a tenant of capital and an improving spirit be found upon an estate, give him due encouragement, for the purposes already explained. On the contrary, if another is found to possess re- fractory liabits, to swerve from his engagements, or to injure the lands in his occupation, it is but common prudence to take the first legal and fair opportunity of dismissing him, and supplying his place with another who is better qualified to fill it ; not more with a view of rescuing his particular farm from further injury, and of making an example of him iu terror to others of similar habits, than to preserve and heighten the character of the estate. 4670. These remarks may be considered as applicable chiefly to small tenants, or such as from ignorance and want of leases may be considered in a state of bondage. It ought never to be in the power of a landlord to make ** an example of a tenant in terror' to others ;" it is enough if this power be left to the laws. A tenant who rents a farm on certain conditions, and fulfils them, is, in point of obligation, on an equality with his landlord ; neither is obliged to the other : and while the one does not require those acts of kindness and liberality which Marshal inculcates, the other is not entitled to that submission and slavish deference so common among tenants at will, and indeed most others in England. It is justly observed by Brown ( Treat, on Rur. Aff. ] that the moral excitement, or degree of encouragement, given to the tenant for improving the ground put under his occupation, is regulated entirely by the terms or conditions of the lease under which he holds possession. If the conditions be liberal and judicious, and accom- modated to the soil and situation of the land thereby demised to the tenant, all that is obligatory upon the proprietor is faithfully discharged. But when matters are otherwise, when the tenant possesses under a short lease, when the covenants or obligations are severe in the first instance and ultimately of little avail towards forwarding improve- ment, it may reasonably be inferred that the connection is improperly constituted, and that little benefit will thence follow either to the public or to the parties concerned. The proper view of a lease is, that it is merely a mercantile transaction reduced to writing, in which both parties are on an equal footing. SuusECT. 2. Business of letting Farms. 467 1 . There are three methods of letting a farm : putting it up to public auction , and taking the highest bidder for a tenant ; receiving written proposals, and accepting the highest offer ; and asking more rent for it than it is worth, haggling with different chap- men, and closing with him who promises to give the most money, without regard to bis eligibility as a tenant. After a variety of obvious remarks. Marshal concludes, that " seeing in every situation, there is at all times a fair rental value, or market price of lands, as of their products, there appears to be only one rational, and eventually pro- fitable, method of letting a farm ; and this is, to fix the rent, and choose the tenant. In the choice of a tenant every body knows the requisite qualifications to be, capital, skill, industry, and character. The respective advantages of these qualities are amply developed in The Treatise on Landed Property. Sdbsect. 3. Different Species of Tenancy. 4672. The different holdings in use in Britain are at will, from year to year, for a terra of years, or for a life or lives. 4673. The tenant holding at wiU, or until the customary notice be given by either party to the other, is without any legal contract, or written agreement ; the only tie between the owner and the occupier being the custom of the estate or of the country in which it lies, and the common law of the land. This may be considered as the simple holding which succeeded the feudal or copyhold tenure ■ but which is now fast going into disuse. ' 4674. Holding from year to year, under a written agreement, with specified covenants, ii a more modem Book IV. SPECIES OF TENANCY. 765 usage, and becoming more and more prevalent in some parts of England, and among small tenants, even where leases for a term of years were formerly granted. 4675. Leases for a term qf^enrs, as seven, fourteen, twenty-one, or a greater number of years, certain ; but without the power of assignment, unless with the consent of the lessor. 4676, Leases for lives j as, one, two, three, or more, without the power of assignment In Britain, life leases of this description are now rarely granted. In Wales and Ireland they are still prevalent ; the rent being there settled according to the value of the land at the time of letting ; as on granting a lease for a term. In the western extreme of England, what are termed life leases are still common : but they are rather pledges for money taken up, or deeds of sale for lives, than leases ; for nearly the whole of the esti- mated sale value of the .land, during the life term, is paid down at the time of purchase, the seller reserving only a quit rentj or annual acknowledgment 4677. ji lease Jbr a term ofi/earSy or for two or more lives, can alone be favourable for tiie progress of agriculture. A farmer holding at will, or from year to year, may plough, sow, and reap ; but he will, if a prudent man, be vei"y careful not to make improvements, well knowing that the first effect would be a rise of rent or a notice to quit. Leases for a single life have the great disadvantage of uncertainty in duration, both as to landlord and tenant ; and though the latter may insure a certain sum on his life for the benefit of his family, yet it were better that he should lay out that money in improving the farm. Leases on lives, renewable, are for all purposes of culture as good as freehold ; but they have this disadvantage to a tenant, that they require a considerable part of his capital paid dov/n, and a further draught on his capital on the falling in of any of the lives. Even the first of these payments would embari'ass the great majority of professional farmers, and disable them from bestowing proper cultivation on the soil ; but to a farmer with a surplus capita] no description of lease can be better, as he lays out his surplus capital at the market rate of interest, and is, as it were, his own annuitant. To the landlord such leases cannot be advantageous ; because, there being fewer who can compete for them, lands let on these conditions do not fetch their full price. 4678. The fundamental principle on which both the duration and conditions of leases are established is evidently this : — A agrees to lend to B a certain article for his use for an equivalent in money ; but such is the nature of this article, that, in order to use it vrith advantage, B must posses it during a considerable time : he, therefore, requires a security from A to that effect ; and A on his part requires a security from B that he will return the article at least in as good condition as when it was lent to him. The term of years for which the article is to be lent, and the precautions taken to insure its return without deterioration, are founded on experience, and vary according to the peculiar cir- cumstances of lender and borrower. In general, however, this is obvious, that where the period of lending is not sufficient for profitable use, or the conditions required for ensuring the lender an undeteriorated return of the article unreasonable, the value of the loan or rent will be proportionably diminished. {Svp. Enc. Bnt. art. Agr.) 4679. In recurring to what actually exists in the best cultivated districts, we shall quote the excellent observations of an experienced fanner and approved public writer : — " The general principle which should regulate the connection between landlord and tenant seems to be, that while the farm ought to be restored to the owner at the expiration of the tenant's interest, at least without deterioration, the tenant should be encouraged to render it as productive as possible during his possession. In both of these views, a lease for a term of years is scarcely less necessary for the landlord than for the tenant ; and so much is the public interested in this measure, that it has been proposed by intelligent men, to impose a penal tax on the rent of lands held by tenants at will. 4680. TTiat the value of the property is enhanced by the security which such a lease confers on the tenant will be put beyond all doubt, if the rents of two estates for half a century back are compared ; the one occupied by tenants at will, and the other by tenants on leases for a moderate term, and where the soil and situation are nearly alike in every respect If the comparison be made between two tracts originally very difl'erent in point of value, the advantages of leases will be still more striking ; while that which is duce which it furnishes for the general consumption. The higher rents and greater produce of some parts of Scotland than of many of the English counties, where the soil, climate, and markets are much more favourable, must be ascribed to the almost universal practice of holding on leases in the former country, in a much greater degree than to any of the causes which have been frequently assigned. Less than a century ago, what are now the beat cultivated districts of Scotland were very far behind the greater part of England ; and, indeed, had made very little progress from the time of the feudal system. It is not fifty years since the farmers of Scotland were in the practice of going to learn of their southern neighbours an art, which was then very imperfectly known in their own country. But in several parts of England there has been little or no improvement since, while the southern counties of Scotland have uniformly advanced ; and at present exhibit very generally, a happy contrast to their condition in the middle of the last century. 4681. In respect tofartners tfiemselves, it cannot be necessary to pomt out the advantages of leases. It maybe true, that, under the security of the honour of an English landlord, tenants at will have been con- tinued in possession from generation -to generation, and acquired wealth which he has never, like the landholders of some other countries, attempted to wrest from them. But there are few individuals in any rankof life, who continue for a length of time to sacrificetheir just claims on the altar of pure generosity. Something is almost always expected in return. A portion of revenue in this case is exchanged for power and that power is displayed not only in the habltnal degradation of the tenantry, but in the control over them, which the landlord never fails to exert at the election of members of parliament, and on all other political emergencies. No prudent man will ever invest his fortune in the improvement of another person's property, unless, from the length of his lease, he has a reasonable prospect of being reimbursed 76S PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. with profit J and the servility which holding atwill necessarily exacts is altogether incompatible with that spirit of enterprise whicn belongs to an enliyhtcnnd and independent mind. 468a, Evei-y measure which has a tendency lo fetter the productive powers (^f the soil, must deeply affect the public at lar^e, as well as depress one of the largest and most valuable classes. It is clearly their interest, that corn and other provisions should be supplied in abundance, and the people of England may justly complain of the want of leases, as one of the principal causes which check the improvement of their own territory. _ . 4683. What ought to be the tei~tn qf a lease can only be determined by a referenpe to the circumstances of each particular case. Lands naturally rich, or such as have already been brought to a high degree of fertility, requiring no great investment of capital, and returning all or nearly all the necessary outlay within the year, may be advantageously held upon short leases, such as perhaps give time for two, or at most three of the rotations or courses of crops to which the quality ot the sod is best adapted. The practice of England in this respect is extremely various, almost every term, from twenty years down- wards, being found in different parts of it In Scotland, by far the most common period is nineteen years, to which it was formerly the practice, in some places, to acid the life of the tenant. In that country, even when it is thought expedient to agree for a much longer term, this is still expressed in periods of nineteen years a sort of mysterious cycle, which seems to be no less a favourite with the courts of law than with landholders and farmers. Yet this term is somewhat inconvenient, as it can never correspond with any number of the recognised rotations of arable land. 4684 A lease for twenty years, it has been maintained by several writers, is not sufficient to reimburse a tenant for any considerable improvements, and landholders have often been urged to agree to a much longer term, which, it is alleged, would be not less for their own interest than for that of the tenant. This is a question which our limits do not permit us to discuss ; but, after viewing it in different lights, assisted by the experience of long leases in difi^rent parts of Scotland, we cannot help expressing some doubts of their utility, even in so far only as it regards the parties themselves j and we are decidedly of opinion, that a greater produce will be brought to market, from any given extent of land held on successive leases of twenty years, for half a century, than if held on one lease of that duration, whether the term be specified, or indetinite as is the case of a lease for life. As a general mode of tenure, leases for lives seem to us particularly objectionable. 4685. The great advantages of a lease are so well known in Scotland, that one of her best agricultural writers, himself a landed proprietor, has suggested a method of conferring on it the character of perpetuity, to such an extent as, he thinks, would give ample security to the tenant for every profitable improve- ment, without preventing the landlord from resuming possession upon equitable terms, at the expiration of every specified period. But the author of this plan ;Lord Kaimes), in his ardent wishes for the advance- ment of agriculture, at that time in a very backward state In his native country, seems to have overlooked the difficulties that stood in the way of its adoption ; and the great advance in the price of produce, and consequently in the rate of rents, since his lordship wrote, have long since put an end to the discussion which his proposal excited. For a form of a lease on his plan, the reader may consult Bell's Ti'catise on Leases i and the objections to the plan itself are shortly stated in the supplement to the sixth edition of The Gentleman Farm.er, recently published. 4686. Lo7tg leases granted upon condition qf receiviTig an advance of rent at the end of a certain number (if years have been granted : but covenants of this kind, meant to ap;ply to the circumstances of a distant period, cannot possibly be framed in such a manner as to do equal justice to both parties ; and it ought not to be concealed, that, in every case of a very long lease, the chances are rather more unfavourable to the land- holder than to the farmer. If the price of produce shall continue to rise as it has done, till very lately, for the last forty years, no iniprovements which a tenant can be expected to execute will compensate the landlord's loss ; and if, on the other hand, prices shall decline, the capital of most tenants must he exhausted in a few years, and the lands will necessarily revert to the proprietor, as has been the case of late in many instances. Hence a landholder, in agreeing to a long lease, can hardly ever assure himself that the obligations on the part of the tenant will be fully discharged throughout Its whole term, while the obligations he incurs himself may always be easily enforced. He runs the risk of great loss from a depreciation of money, but can look forward to very little benefit from a depreciation of produce, except for a few years at most Of this advantage a generous man would seldom avail himself; and, indeed, in most instances, the advantage must be only imaginary, for it would be over-balanced by the de- terioration of his property." {Si^, Enoyc. Brit, art Ag^:) 4687. There are various objections made to leases qf nineteen or twenty-one years. Some of these are of a feudal and aristocratical nature ; such as the independence it gives the tenants, who may become purse-proud and saucy under the nose of their landlord, &c. A greater objection has arisen from the depreciation of British currency during the last ten years of the eighteenth, and first ten of the nineteenth centuries. Various schemes have been suggested to counteract this evil; but the whole of' them are liable to objections, and it may be doubted if it admits of any remedy, except a compromise between the parties. SuBSECT. 4. Rent and Covenants of a Lease. 4688. To avert the evils qfJLced monei/ rents, and long leases, both to landlords and tenants, the best mode known at present is the old plan of com rents. This plan was first revived in 1811, by a pamphlet published in Cupar, which attracted considerable attention, and has led to the adoption in various parts of Scotland, of a mixed mode of paying rents, partly in corn or the price of corn, and partly in money. In hilly districts, wool, or the price of wool for an average of years, is sometimes fixed on instead of corn. We shall quote from the same intelligent writer on the duration of leases, his sentiments on corn rents, and subjoin his observations on covenants. 4689. Though the m^st equitable mode of determining the rent of lands on lease, would be to make it rise and fall with the price of corn ; yet a rent paid in corn is liable to serious objections, and can seldom be advisable in a commercial country. It necessarily bears hardest on a tenant when he least able to discharge it. In very bad seasons, his crop may be so scanty, as scarcely to return seed and the expenses of cultivation, and the share which he ought to receive himself, as the profits of his capital, as well as the quantity allotted to the landlord, may not exist at all Though, in this case, if he pays a money rent, his loss may be considerable, it may be twice or three times greater if the rent is to be paid in corn, or according to the high price of such seasons In less favourable years, which often occur in the variable climate of Britain, a com rent would, in numerous instances, absorb nearly the whole free or disposable produce, as it is by no means uncommon to find the gross produce of even good land reduced from twenty to fifty per cent below an average in particular seasons. And it ought to be considered, in regard to the landlord himself, that his income would thus be doubled or trebled, at a time when all other classes were suffering from scarcity and consequent dearth ; while, in times of plenty and cheapness, he might find it difficulfto make his expenses correspond with the great diminution of his receipts. It is of much im- portance to both parties, that the amount of the rent should vary as little as possible from any unforeseen causes, though tenants in general wpuid be perhaps the most injured by such fluctuations. Book IV. RENTS AND COVENANTS OF LEASES. 767 4690. To obviate these and other objections to a corn rent, and to do equal justice at all times to both landlord and tenant, a plan has been lately suggested for converting the corn into money, adopting for its price, not the price of the year for which the rent is payable, but the average price oJ a certain number of years. The rent, according to this plan, may be calculated every year, by omitting the first year of the series, and adding a new one ; or, it may continue the same for a certain number of years, and then be fixed according to a new average. Let us suppose the lease to be for twenty-one years, the average agreed on being seven years, and the first year's rent, that is, the price oi" so many quarters of corn, will be calculated from the average price of the crop of that year, and of the six years preceding. If it be meant to take a new average for the second and every succeeding year's rent, all that is necessary is, to strike off the first of these seven years, adding the year for which the rent is payable, and so on during all the years of the lease. But this labour, slight as it is, may be dispensed with, by continuing the rent without variation for the first seven years of the lease according to the average price of the seven years immediately preceding its commencement, and, at the end of this, period, fixing a new rent, according to the average price of the seven years just expired, to continue for the next seven years. Thus, in the course of twenty-one years, the rent would be calculated only three times ; and for whatever quantity of corn the parties had agreed, the money payments would be equal to the average price of four- teen years of the lease itself, and of the seven years preceding it; and the price of the last seven years of the old lease would determine the rent during the first seven years of the new one. 4691. The landlord aitd tenant could not svffeTy it has been thought, either from bad seasons, or any change in the value of the currency, should such a lease as this be extended to several periods of twenty- one years. The quantity of corn to be taken as rent, is the only point that would require to be settled at the commencement of each of those periods ; and though this would no doubt be greater or less, according to the state of the lands at the time, yet it may be expected, that in the twenty-one years preceding, all the tenant's judicious expenditure had been fully replaced. Instead of the twofold difficulty in fixing a rent for a long lease, arising flrom uncertainty as to the quantitjr of jiroduce, which must depend on the state of improvement, and still more, perhaps, from the variations in the price of that produce ; the latter objection is entirely removed by this plan : and in all cases where land is already brought to a high degree of fertility, the question about the quantity of produce may likewise be dispensed with. 4<)92. ]f the corn-rent plan be applied to leases of niTieteenm'twenty-oneyearSt the inconvenience results ing from uncertaipty as to the amount of rent, as well as other difficulties which must necessarily attend it, would be as great, perhaps, as^ any advantages which it holds out to either of the parties. If it be said that a rent, determined by a seven years' average, could not suddenly nor materially alter, this is at once to admit the inutility of the contrivance. The first thing which must strike every practical man is, that corn is not the only produce of a farm, and in most parts of Britain, perhaps not the principal source from which rent is paid ; and there is no authentic record of the prices of butcher meat, wool, cheese, butter, and other articles in every county to refer to, as there is of corn. This is not the place to enquire whether the price of corn regulates the price of all the other products of land, in a country whose statute books are full of duties, bounties, drawbacks, &:c., to say nothing of its internal regulations ; but it is sufficiently evident that, if com does possess this power, its price operates too slowly on that of other products to serve as a just criterion for determining rent on a lease of this duration. Besides, in the progress of agriculture, new species or varieties of the cere^ia themselves are established even in so short a period as twenty- one years, the prices of which may be very difierent from that of the corn specified in the lease. What security for a full rent, for instance, would it ^ve to a landlord, to make the rent payable according to the price of barley, when the tenant might find it more for his interest to cultivate some of the varieties of summer wheat, lately brought from the Continent ? or, according to the price of a particular variety of oats, when, within a few years, we have seen all the old varieties superseded, throughout extensive dis. trices, by the introduction of a new one, the potato-oat, which may not be more permanent than those that preceded it ? There can be no impropriety, indeed, in adopting this plan, for ascertaining the rent of land kept always in tillage; but it would be idle to expect any important benefits from it, during such a lease as we have mentioned. 4693. The corii-rent pUtn^ in the case of much longer leases^ will no doubt diminish the evils which we think are inseparable from them, but it cannot possibly reach some of the most considerable. Its utmost efffect is to secure to the landholder a rent which shall in all time to come be an adequate rent, according to the state of the lands and the mode of cultivation known at the date of the lease. But it can make no provision that will apply to the enlargement of the gross produce from the future improvement of the lands themselves, or of the disposable produce from the invention of machinery and other plans for econo- mising labour. And the objections just stated, in reference to a lease of twenty-one years, evidently apply much more forcibly to one of two or three times that length. Old corn-rents, though much higher at present than old money-rents, are seldom or never so high as the rents that could now be paid on a lease of twenty-one years. But, independently of these considerations, which more immediately bear upon the interests of the parties themselves ; one insuperable objection to all such leases is, that they partake too much of the nature of entails, and depart too far from that commercial character which is most favourable to the investment of capital, and consequently to the greatest increase of land pro- duce. 4694. The Tnost recent (mmions on this subject are in favour of a money rent, or of a rent formed partly from the average prices of^ produce, and partly of money, but somewhat complicated in its arrangement, and therefore not likely to come into general use. There seems, indeed, no essential reason why rents in agriculture should not be regulated on the same general principle as rents in commerce ; and were it not for the extraordinary fluctuation that has taken place in the currency of the country within the last forty years, it is more than probable no such alteration of principle would ever have been thought of The reader who wishes to enter more at length into this subject, may consult the most recent works on poli- tical economy, and especially M'Culloch's Principles. He will also find a paper on the subject, of some practical value, in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture , vol. i. p. 809. and vol. iL p. 126. 4695. Mr. M'C^Uoch, in the second edition of his Principles of Political Economy, with reference to corn rents, observes, that the disturbing effects of changes in the value of money are averted, at the same tune that the eff'ect of those which occur in the cost of producing corn are mitigated This plan, he adds, is, however, defective, inasmuch as it obliges the tenant to pay more than the fair value of his farm in scarce years ; while, on the other hand, it has the effect of improperly reducing the landlord's rents in years of unusual plenty. A simple device has, however, been fallen upon, which has gone far to reduce these defects : this consists in fixxag a. maximum axA a minimum pnce, it being declared in the lease that the produce to be paid to the landlord shall be converted into money, according to the current prices of the year; but that, to whatever extent prices may rise above the maximum price fixeart, be sufficient to restrain the lessee from an injurious course of cultivation, and supersede the necessity of those vexatious covenants which are often too heedlessly imposed upon him. {Quar. Jour. Agr. vol. L p. 798.) 4699. IVith tenants at will, and such as hold on short leases, restrictive covenants are more necessary than with tenants on leases of nineteen or twenty years ; but in many instances, they are too numerous and complicated^ and sometimes even inconsistent with the best courses of modem husbandrv. The great error lies, in prescribing rules by which a tenant is positively required to act, not in prohibiting such practices and such crops as experience has not sanctioned. The improved knowledge, and the liberality of the age, have now expunged the most objectionable of these covenants; and throughout whole counties, almost the only restriction in reference to the course of crops is, that the tenant shall not take two culmiferous crops, ripening their seeds in close succession. This single stipulation, combined with the obligation to consume the straw upon the farm, and to apply to it all the manure made from its produce, is sufficient not only to protect the land frara. exhaustion, but to insure, in a great measure, its regular cultivation ; for half the farm, at least, must, in this case, be always under either fallow or green crops The only other necessary covenant, when the soil is naturally too weak for carrying annual crops witliout intermission, is, that a certain portion of the land shall be always in grass. According to the ex- tent of this, will be the interval between the succession of corn crops on the same fields; if it be agreed that half the farm, for instance, shall always be under grass, there can be only two crops of corn from the same field in six years. In this case, not more than two sixths being in corn, one sixth in green crops or fallow, and three sixths in clover or grasses, it becomes almost impossible to exhaust any soil at all fitted for tillage. There are few indeed that do not gradually become more fertile under this course of cropping. It is sufficiently evident, that other covenants are necessary in particular circumstances; such as permis- sion to dispose of straw, hay, and other crops from which manure is made, when a quantity of manure equal to wnat they would have furnished is got from other places ; and a prohibition against converting rich old grazing lands or meadows into corn lands. In this place we speak only of general rules, such as are applicable to, perhaps, nine tenths of all the arable land of Britain, and such as are actually observed in our best cultivated counties. 4700. For the last /our years of a lease, the same covenants are generally suilicient, only they require to be applied with more precision. Instead of taking for granted, that the proportion of the farm that cannot be under com, will be properly cultivated, from the tenant's regard to his own interest, it becomes necessary to take him bound to this effect in express terms ; the object generally being to enable the tenant, upon a new lease, to carry on the cultivation of the lands, as if the former lease had not terminated. What these additional stipulations should be, must depend in part on the season of the year at which the new lease commences, and in part on the course of crops best adapted to the soil, and the particular cir- cumstances of every farm. 4701. JVith respect to the form of a lease, as no one form would suit every district, nothing specific can be laid down with advantage. The lawyers of every estate have particular forms, and it is easy for them, in concert with the proprietor or manager, to obliterate useless or injurious restrictions, and substitute such as may be deemed best for the estate, or in liarmony with the progress of the age. (Sup. Encyc. Brit, art Agr.) o ^ r ^ SuBSECT. 5. Receiving Bents* 4702. The bvMness of receiving the rents and profits of a landed estate, simple as it may seem, is subject to analysis, and entitled to consideration. Indeed, on large pro- perties, on which not farm rents only, but various other profits, are to be received, as cottage rents, tithe compositions, chief rents, and, perhaps, quit rents of copyhold lands; the business becomes so complex as to require to be methodised and simplified, in order to obtain the requisite facility and despatch. This is generally best effected by appointing Book IV. RECEIVER'S ACCOUNTS. 7^<> distinct days, or distinct parts of "the day, for each receipt, so tliat the different tenants and suitors may know their hours of attendance. 4703. The business of holding manor courts depends on whether they are held of right, or merely by custom. If the copyhold tenure is so far worn out in any manor, that there are not two ancient or feudal tenants remaining within it, the court has lost its legal power; it cannot by right take cognizance of crimes, nor enforce amerciaments. Never- theless, manorial courts have their uses, in regulating farm roads, driftways, and water- courses, and in preventing nuisances of different kinds within a manor ; and it is generally right to preserve the custom of holding them for these purposes. 4704. Where copyhold courts remain in force, and where legal forms are to be observed, a law « steward of the manor " is proper to hold them. It is not necessary, however, that courts of this kind should interfere with the receipt of farm rents ; or that a business of this nature should in any way clash with the general receivership of the estate. Em- ploy an attorney to hold courts, as a surveyor to arbitrate disputes, or an engineer to plan works of improvement. 4705. Tlie projtrietj/ of having fired days for receimng the rents of farms is evident ; and some consideration is required to determine on the season of the year for holding them, so as not to oblige the farmer to forced sales of his produce. In England and Ireland, farm rents are generally due at Lady-day and Michaelmas, and in Scotland at Candlemas and Lammas. But the proper times of paying them depend on the market- able produce of an estate, and on the season of the year at which it goes in common course, and with the best advantage, to market. A tenant should never be forced to sell his produce with disadvantage ; nor, when he has received his money for it, ought he to be at a loss for an opportunity of discharging his debt to his landlord. On corn-farm estates, or those whose lands are kept in a state of mixed cultivation, which comprise the great mass of farm lands in this kingdom, Michaelmas may be considered as one of the worst times of the year, at which to call upon tenants for their rents. It is at the close (or, in the northern provinces, perhaps at the height) of harvest, when the fanners' pockets are drained by extra labour, and when they have not yet had time to thresh out their crops to replenish them ; nor is the summer's grass at that season yet consumed, nor ofi^going stock, perhaps, yet ready for market. In Norfolk, Marshal found the end of February, or beginning of March, a very fit time to pay the half year's rent due at Michaelmas ; and June for paying those due at Ladyday. In some districts of tlie north it used to be the custom not to demand the first half year's rent, till the tenant was a year in his farm, by which means he had the use during his lease of nearly a year's rent in addition to his actual capital. But farmers there being now considered as possessed of more wealth than formerly, the first half year's rent of the lease is paid nine months after possession, and the last half year's rent of the term on or immediately before its expiration. 4706. The proper days far receiving rents are to be determined by the local circum- stances of an estate and the district in which it lies ; more especially by the fairs of the neighbourhood at that season, and by other stated times at which the tenants are accus- tomed, in conformity with the practice of the country, to receive for their dairy produce or other articles delivered in to dealers ; and should be fixed immediately after these days of embursement. 4707. On tlie subject of arrears, a good deal has been said by Marshal ; but it is one of those which may very safely be left to the good sense and discretion of the proprietor or his manager. Sect. III. Keeping and Auditing Accounts. 4708. Clearness and brevity constitute the excellence of accounts, and these excel- lencies are only to be obtained by simplicity of method. Where lands lie in detached estates so as to require different receivers, a separate account is necessarily required for each receivership ; but to preserve this simplicity and clearness, it is necessary that the several sets should be in precisely the same form. 4709. The groundwork of tlie accounts peculiar to a landed estate is the rent-roll : from this receiving rentals are to be taken, and with these and the miscellaneous receipts and disbursements incident to the estate, an account current is to be annually made out. 4710. In the receiving rental the particulars which a receiver wants to see at one view, when receiving the rents of an estate under judicious management, where rents are regularly received, and where occupiers pa)r taxes and do ordinary repairs, are few ; the name of the farm, the name of the tenant, and the amount of his half year's rent, only are required : but upon an estate, on which arrears are suffered to remain, and on which matters of account are liable to take place, a greater number of particulars are necessary ; as the name of the farm, of the tenant, his arrears, his half year's rent, any other charge S D 770 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. against him, any allowance to be made him, and the nett sum receivable, leaving a blank for the sum received and another for the arrear left. 47 11. Accounts current are required to be delivered in annually by the actmg manager, who ought generally to be the receiver. If the current receipts and disbursements are numerous, as where extensive improvements are going on, and woods, mines, quarries, &c., in hand, such accounts may be given in monthly, which will show the progress of the several concerns, and simplify the business at the end of the year. 4712. On the best managed estates it is usual, besides the books which have been mentioned, to keep a ledger ; opening separate accounts for farm lands, woods, mines, quarries, waters, houses and their appurtenances, public works, &c. ; and where a pro- prietor has several detached estates, besides such accounts being kept on each, one master ledger contains accounts for the whole property. This, indeed, is notliing but an ob- vious application of mercantile book-keeping to territorial property, the advantages of which cannot but be as great in the one case as in the other. 4713. In auditinf estate accounts, the rent accounts are to be checked with the arrears of the preceding year; the column of rents with the rent-roll, corrected up to the last term of entry in order to comprise the fresh lettings ; and the columns of account with the particulars, those of allowances being signed by the respective tenants. 4714. Tke monthly accounts of receipts and disbursements, as well as the annual pay- ments are to be compared with vouchers. The receipts are checked by deeds of sale, contracts, and other written agreements, the awards of referees, or the estimates of sur- veyors, the market prices of produce, &c. ; the receiver, in every case, identifying tlie person from whom each sum was received. Each disbursement requires a direct and sufficient voucher, endorsed and numbered, with a corresponding number affixed to the charge in the account, so that they may be readily compared. 4715. Tlie most esseniial part of the office of an auditor is that of entering into the merits of each receipt and payment ; and considering whether the charges correspond with the purposes for which they are made ; and whether the several sums received are adequate to the respective matters disposed of; by these means detecting, and thence- forward preventing, imposition and connivance. This, however, is an office which no one but a proprietor, or other person, who has been conversant with the transactions that have taken place upon the estate, and who has a competent knowledge of rural concerns, can properly perform. It may therefore be right to repeat, that if a proprietor has not yet acquired a competent knowledge of his own territorial concerns, to form an adequate judgment of the different entries in his manager's account, he should call in the assistance of those who are conversant in rural affairs, to enable him to judge of any particular parts that may seem to require it ; and should not set his hand to an account which he does not clearly understand, nor authorise another to sign it, who may have less knowledge than himself of its merits. BOOK V. SELECTION, HIRING, AND STOCKING OF FARMS. 471'). Farms or lands let out to men who cultivate it as a business or profession exist in all highly civilised countries. Sometimes the farmer or tenant pays to the proprietor or landlord a proportion of the produce, determined yearly, or as the crops ripen ; and sometimes he pays a fixed quantity of produce, or labour, or money, or part of each of these. In Britain, where farming, as a profession, is carried to a higher degree of per- fection than in any other country, tlie connection between landlord and tenant is regularly defined by particular agreements and general laws ; and the latter, on entering on a farm, engages to pay a fixed sum for its use for a certain number of years. This sum is fixed according to the estimated value of the land ; but being fixed, and for a certain time, it admits of no abatement in proportion to the quantity or value of the produce, as in the proportional or metayer system general in most countries (265. and 596.); and hence the necessity of a farmer maturely considering every circumstance connected with a farm before he becomes its tenant. The subjects of consideration form the business of this Book, and naturally divide themselves into such as relate to the farm, to the farmer, and to the landlord. Some of the subjects, being treated of in the preceding Book, will be but slightly noticed, though, as connected with the object of the present, they could not be altogether omitted. Book V, CLIMATE OF FARM LANDS. 771 Chap. I. Circumstances of a Farm necessary to be considered by a proposed Tenant* 4717. Whoever intends to become aprofessional or rent-paying farmer will, in searching for a farm, find it necessary to attend to a great variety of considerations. Those of the greatest importance may be included under climate, soil, and subsoil, character of sur- face, topographical position, extent, buildings, roads, fields, tenure, rent, and outgoings. In The Code of Agriculture, a more valuable collection of facts as to these points is brought together than in any other work, and from it, therefore, we shall select the greater part of the following sections. Sect. I. Climate^ in respect to farming Lands. 4718. The climate of a farm is one of the circumstances over which human art has less control than over any other ; and a farmer who has but a temporary interest in his possession may be considered as incapable of exercising any influence over it. He may improve the soil and subsoil by draining and culture j and the buildings, roads, and fences by additions and alterations ; but it is for the landlord to attempt improving the climate by planting, and for a future generation to enjoy the effects. 4719. Sufficient attention, it is said in The Code of Agriculture, " is rarely paid by the farmer to the nature of the climate in which his operations are carried on. Unless the system he adopts be calculated for the weather his crops are likely to experience, every exertion will often terminate in disappointment. The system that is proper for warm and dry situations is not suitable for cold and wet ones ; and in a bleak and backward climate, the nature of the soil ought not only to be attended to, but the utmost care ought to be paid to the early sowing of the earliest varieties of seed. Even the species of stock to be bred or kept.on a farm should, in a great measure, be regulated by the climate. Hence, this is a subject which the diligent farmer will invariably study with the greatest solicitude. Climate and soil, Curwen justly remarks, are, above all other considerations, those which the farmer ought constantly to keep in view." (JSe/Jorf to the Workington Society.) 4720. In considering the climate of a country, the following points are of peculiar im- portance : — Its general character, and the means of its improvement ; its local heat ; the light it furnishes ; the quantity of its moisture ; the prevailing winds ; its position, whether maritime or inland ; the regularity of the seasons ; the phenomena to which it is. liable; the productions best suited to it; the expenses it may occasion in cultivation ; and its suitableness for the introduction of exotic plants and animals. 4721. The general character of a climate not only depends on position or latitude, but likewise on the elevation of a country above the level of the seaj its general aspect; the vicinity to mountains, forests, bogs, marshes, lakes, and seas ; the nature of the soil and subsoil, and the power which the former jras- sesses of retaining heat and moisture ; the direction of the winds ; the length of time the sun continues above the horizon ; the difl^erence of temperature between the day and the night ; and the extent of dry surface in the neighbourhood. The result of these particulars combined form what may be called the general character of climate; Some of the causes of an unfavourable climate cannot be remedied hy any human effort; in other cases, art may efitct much ; but that art is generally such as the farmer can seldom undertake, unless with a very long lease. Ameliorations of this sort, therefore, belong to the landlord. 4722. The importance nf heat, as a stimulus to vegetation, cannot be doubted. It is at a certain degree of beat that vegetation commences, and it becomes nearly stationary when the temperature falls below it. There are, comparatively speaking, but few plants calculated for very cold countries, and these are seldom valuable ; whereas, in warm and temperate regions, the variety is great, and their value unquestionable. Indeed, such is the efi^ct of cold, that, while the thermometer is below forty degrees of heat, the strongest plants become torpid, and remain in that state while it continues. Revived by the warmth of spring, and strengthened by the heat of summer, they acquire fresh life and vigour, and are thus better enabled lo withstand the rigours of the succeeding winter, 4723. An increased temperature, when not carried to excess, tuilt augment the quantity qf nutritive matter in a plant, or improve the quality of fruit grown under its influence. Thus, English barley, of equal weight, is more valuable than the Scotch, because, from growing in a wanner climate, and enjoying the advantage of a greater quantity of heat and light, it is more fully ripened. It thence acquires riiore saccharine matter, and produces a greater quantity of spirits, or of malt liquor. It is also proved, by the experiments of Sir Humphry Davy, that wheat, ripened in a more regular and warmer clime, contains more of that valuable article called gluten, than the same species of grain when raised in England. 4724. The average heat of the year is not, however, of so much importance to the growth of plants, as its duration, and its steadiness at a certain degree, during the season when the grain is ripening. This gives the uniform climates of the Continent a great advantage over our variable seasons, in the production of the more delicate sorts of fruit ; which, in this island, are often injured by the frosts in spring, and seldom ripen in a northern climate, where the greatest summer heat is both unsteady and of short duration. 4725. The quantity qf solar light which a climate furnishes, is likewise an important object of enquiry. Light is essential to increase the proportion of starch or farina ; to complete the formation of oils in plants; and to give to fruits their proper colour and flavour. It has also the effect of augmenting saccharine matter, insomuch that those sugar-canes which are exposed to the sun have more of that important ingredient than when they grow under shade. Nor ought the observation to be omitted, that darkness and light have effects directly opposite upon vegetables. Darkness favours the length of the growth, by keeping up the pliancy of their parts ; light consolidates them, and stops growth, by favouring maturation. Hence, in the northernmost regions, plants go through all their stages of growth at a time when the sun no longer quits the horizon ; anaid by the proprietors, and the other half by the tenantry. 4807. The national burdens in general^ as the duties on houses and windows, and other assessed taxes, or assessments for the support of militia-men's wives and families, for the conveyance of vagrants, or the prosecution of felons, &U no heavier upon the farmer than upon other classes of the community. 4808. There are various miscellaneous burdens afi'ecting the farmer, as statute assessments for bridges, which are of such public utility, that moderate rat^ for their maintenance, properly appli^, cannot be otgectedto: statute labour on the highways; constable dues, which are seldom of much moment; charges of tJie churchwardens, including the rq>airs of the church ; and in some populous parishes, there is sometimes a buriaLground tax. All these are paid by the occupiers. In some places, also, there is a sewertax, chargeable on the landlords, where it is not otherwise settled by express contract. 4809. The vexations to which farmers in England are subjected, from various uncertain burdens, operate as a premium to Scottish agriculture. It is ingeniously and justly remarked, that physical circumstances are much more favourable to agriculture in England than in her sister country ; but tnese advantages are counteracted by the accumulation of moral evils, which might be removed if the legislature were to bestow on matters connected with the internal improvement of the country, and the means for promoting it, a portion of that attention which it so frequently gives to the amelioration or improvement of our foreign possessions. It ought to have been the business of the late Board of Agriculture to endeavour to prevail on the l^islature to relieve agriculture from its moral and political evils ; but, instead of this, they set about procuring and distributing statistical and professional information, comparatively of very inferior utility; and after receiving from government nearly 50,000/1, or, for any thing we know, more, left agricul- ture where th^ found it Even in the particular line which the Board adopted, Marshall was a much more effectual instrument of ^ricultural improvement. Sect, XII. Otiier Farticvlars requiring a Farrner^s Attention, vMh a View to the HeiUing of Land. 4810. .^uarirfyo/'mwce/fene"?'S/7a77Mr»'Zars require consideration beforeaprudent farmer will finally resolve to undertake the cultivation of a farm ; as, the nature of the property on which the farm is situated ; in particular, whether the estate is entiled, and to what extent the possessor of the estate is authorised to grant a lease ; the character of the landlord, and, in case of his decease, that of his family, and of those whom they are likely to consult ; the real condition of the farm in regard to the enclosures, drdnage, build- ings, &c. ; the crops it has usually produced, and the manner in which it has been managed for some years preceding ; the general state of the district, in regard to the price of labour, and tbe expense of living ; the character of its inhabitants, in particular of the neighbouring farmers and labourers, and whether they are likely to promote or to dis- courage a spirit of improvement; the probability of subletting to advantage in case of not liking the situation, of finding a better bargain, or of death. The chances of settling one's family ; as of marrying daughters, or of sons' making good marriages. The social state of the farmers, or those that would be considered one's neighbours ; the number and 780 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III tone of clergy, and lawyers ; the game, and the chances of disputes concerning it ; the morals of the serving class ; schools, places of worship, &c. It is evident, that in hardly any one instance can all the circumstances above enumerated be favourably combined. But the active and intelligent farmer will not be discouraged by the obstacles he may have to surmount ; but will strenuously endeavour, by exertion, industry, and persever- ance, to overcome the difficulties he must unavoidably encounter. These are vague generalities, and may be thought too commonplace for a work of this description ; but the young farmer on the look-out for a fann may not be the worse for having his memory refreshed by them. Chap. II. Considerations respecting Himself, which a Farmer oitgkt to keep in view in selecting and hiring a Farm. 4811. Whoever intends to embrace farming as a profession, will be less likely to meet with disappointment, if he previously examines a little into his own disposition and talents ; and weighs his expectations against ordinary results. Nor is it less essential that he should estimate justly the extent to which his capital may be adequate, and keep regular accounts. Sect. I. Personal Character and Expectations of a professional Farmer. 4812. Every one whojyroposes tofarw. with success. Professor Thaer observes, ought to unite energy and activity, to reflection, to experience, and to all necessary knowledge. It is true, he says, farming has long been considered as an occupation fit for a young man incapable for any other, and such have sometimes succeeded ; but this has always been chiefly owing to a fortunate concurrence of circumstances, which it is not now very easy to meet with. 4813. Thept-actice qf agriculture consists of an infinite number of particular operations, each of which appears easy in itself, but is often for that very reason the more difficult to execute to the precise extent required; one operation so often interferes with another. To regulate them according to the given time and strength, and in such a way that none is neglected, or causes the neglect of others, requires at once a great deal of attention and activity, without inquietude; of promptitude without precipitation; of general views, and yet with an extreme attention to details. 4814. To casualties and accidents no business is so much exposed as farming ; and therefore, to enjoy an ordinary degree of happiness. Professor Thaer considers it essehtial that the farmer possess a certain tranquillity of mind. This, he says, may either be theresult of a naturally phlegmatic habit of body, or of elevated views in religion or philosophy. These will enable him to bear with every misfortune arising from adverse seasons, or the death of live stock j and only permit him to regret accidents which result from his own neglect. 4615. The expectatio-ns of profit and happiness which a young farmer has formed ought to be well weighed against the profits and happiness of farmers in general. However superior a farmer may con- sider his own talents and abilities, be may rest assured there are a number as skilful and adroit as himself, and just as likely to realise extraordinary advantages. Let none therefore engage in farming, thinking to make more money than other farmers similarly circumstanced with himself. If from a happy concurrence of circumstances he is more than usually successful, so much the better, and let him consider it as partly owing to good fortune as well as good farming ; but never let him set out on the supposition of gaining extraordinary advantages with only ordinary means. 4816. The profits of farming are much exaggerated by people in general ; but it maybe asserted as an unquestionable fact, that no capital affords less profit than that employed in farming, except that sunk in landed property. This is the natural result both of the universality of tJie business and of its nature. Fanning is every where practised, and every one thinks he may easily become a farmer ; hence high rents, which necessarily lessen the profits on capital. From the nature of farming, the capital employed is te- turned seldom. A tradesman may lay out and return his capital several times a year ; but a fanner can never, generally speaking, grow more than one crop per annum. Suppose he succeeds in raising the best possible crops in his given circumstances, still his profits have an absolute limit : for if an ordinary crop be as five, and the best that can be grown be as seven, all that the most fortunate concurrence of circum- stances will give is not great, and is easily foreseen. It is hardly possible for a farmer, paying the market price for his land, to make much more than a living for himself and family. Those few who have ex- ceeded this, will be found to have had leases at low rents; indulgent landlords; to have profited by accidental rises in the market, or depreciation of currency ; or to have become dealers in com and cattle ; and rarely indeed to have realised any thing considerable by mere good culture of a farm at the market price. Very different is the case of a tradesman, who, w;th the properties which we have mentioned as requisite for a good farmer, seldom fails of realising an independency. 4H17. Mani/ persons, chagrined with a city life, or tired of their profession, fancy they will find profit and happiness by retiring to the country and commencing farming. Independently of the pecuniary losses attending such a change, none is more certain of being attended with disappointment to the generality of men. The activity required, and the privations that must be endured, are too painful to be submitted to; whilst the dull uniformity of a farmer's life to one accustomed to the bustle of cities, be- comes intolerable to such as do not find resources in their fire-sides, their own minds, or, as Professor Thaer observes, in the study of nature. 48 1 8. The most likely persons to engage in farming imth success are the sons of farmers, or such others as have been regularly brought up to the practice of every part of agri- culture. They must also have an inclination for the profession, as well as a competent understanding of its theory or principles. Books are to be found every where, from which the science of the art«is to be obtained ; and there are eminent farmers in the improved districts who take apprentices as pupils. 4819. In The Susbandry qf Scotland, the case is mentioned of Walker, of MeUendean, an eminent Book V. CAPITAL OF THE FARMER. 78i farmo' of Roxburghshire renting about 9866 acres of arable land, and distinguished for his skill in agri- culture^ who takes young men under him as apprentices, and these, instead of receiving wages, have uniformly paid him ten pounds each. Some of them remain with him two years, but the greater numlwr only cme. They eat in his kitchen, where they have always plenty of plain wholesome food. He takes none who are above living in that way, or who will not put their hands to every thing going forward on the fann. He has sometimes been off^ed ten times the above sum, to take in young gentlemen to eat and associate with his own family; but that he has uniformly declined. These young men have an c^mortunity of attending to every operation of husban'dry, as practised on Walker's raim ; and are taught to Dold the plough, to sow, to build stacks, &c Sect. II. Capital required by the Farmer. 4820. The iTttportance of capital in every branch of industry is umrersally acknow- ledged, and in none is it more requisite than in fanning. When there is any deficiency in that important particular, the f^mer cannot derive an adequate profit from his exer- tions, as he would necessarily be frequently obliged to dispose of his crops for less than their valu^ to procure ready money ; and it would restrain him from making advan- tageous purchases, when even the most favourable opportunities occurred. An indus- trious, frngsd, and intelligent &rmer, who is punctual in his payments, and hence in good credit, will strive with many difficulties, and get on with less money than a man of a different character. But if he has not sufficient live stuck to work his lands in the best manner, as well as to raise a sufficient quantity of manure ; nor money to purchase the articles required for the farm; he must, under ordinary circtunstances, live in a state of penury and hard labour ; and the first unfavourable season, or other cincidental misfortune, will probably sink him under the weight of his accumulated burdens. Farmers are too generally disposed to engage in larger farms than they have capital to stock and cultivate. This is a great error ; for it makes many a person poor upon a large &nn, who might live in comfort Mid acquire property upon one of less extent. No tenant can be secure without a surplus at command, not only for defraying the common expenses of labour, but those which may happen from any un- ezp«;ted circumstance. When a farmer farms within his capital, he is enabled to em- brace every favour^le opportunity of buying when prices are low, and of selling when they are high. 4821. The amouvi of capital required must depend upon a variety of circumstances ; as whether it is necessary for the farmer to expend any sum in the erection, or in the repair, of his farm-house and offices ; what sum an in-coming tenant has to pay to his predecessor, for the straw of the crop, the dung left upon the farm, and other articles of similar nature ; the condition of the farm at the commencement of the lease, and whether any sums must be laid out in drainage, enclosure, irrigation, levelling ridges, &c ; whetfier it is necessary to purchase lime, or other extraneous manures, and to what extent ; on the period of entry, and the time at which the rent becomes payable, as this is sometimes exacted before dtere is any return from the lands, out of the actual produce of which it ought to be paid ; and, lastly, on its being a grazing or an arable farm, or a mixture of both. 48SS: In pasture districts, the common mode of estimating the amount of capital necessary is according to Uie amount of the rent ; and it is calculated that, in ordinary pastures, every fanner ought to have at his command from three to five times the rent he has agreed to pay. But in the more fertile grazing districts, carrying stock worth from 20/. to 301. and even upwards, per acre (as is the case in many parts of England), five rents are evidently insufficient When prices are high, ten rents will frequently be required by those who breed superior stock, and enter with spirit into that new field of speculation and enterprise 4823. The capital required bt^ an arable farmer varies, according to circumstances, from 51. to 10/. or even 15/, per acre: An ignorant, timid, and penurious farmer lays out the least sum he can possibly contrive ; and f»nsequently he obtains the smallest produce or profit from his farm. The profit, however, will always increase, when accompanied by spirit and industry, in proportion to the capital employed, if judiciously expended. At the same time, attention and economy cannot be dispensed with. It is ilLjudged to purchase a horse at forty guineas, if one worth thirty can execute the labour of the farm ; or to lay out sums unnecessarily upon expensive harness, loaded with useless ornaments. Prudent far. mers aUo, who have not a large capital at command, when they commence business, often purchase some horses still fit for labour, though past their prime, and some breeding mares, or colts ; and in five or six years, they are fully supplied with good stock, and can sometimes sell their old horses withfmt much Iots. In every case, such shifts must be resorted to, where there is any deficiency of capitaL 4824- A mixture of arable and grass farming is, on the whole, the most profitable method of farming. Independently of the advantages to be derived from the alternate husbandry (which are always consi- derable', the chances of profit are much more numerous from a varied system than where one object is exclusively followed. Where this mixed mode of farming is practised, the farmer will frequently rely on the : urchase of lean stock, instead of breeding his own ; and derives great advantage from the quickness mtb which (»pital thus employed is returned. But, in that case, much must depend upon judicious fel^ion. In general it may be said, that to stock a tumip-land arable farm, will require, at this time (1^0), 51. or 6L and a clay-land farm from 7/- or 8/. per acre, according to circumstances. 4825. Hii$ capital is necessarily divided into two parts. The one is partly expended on implements, or The __, j.,-„ _- . „ , , -_- „ _, , „ 3 whole ofwhichjVriihtheinterest, should be replaced by the yearly produce. These two branches of expense on a farm are the first to be attended to, both in order of time, and in magnitude of amount. 78J PRACTICE QF AGRICULTURE. Part III. Chap. III. Choice of Stock for a Farm. 4826. The stocking of a farm may be considered as including live stock, implements, servants, and seed. A considerable portion of a farmer's capital is employed in manures, tillages, labour, &c. ; but a farm being once engaged, the above are the only descriptions of stock which admit of a choice. Sect. I. Choice of Live Stock, 4827. The ammah required by a farmer are of two kinds ; such as are employed to assist in labour ; and such as are used to convert the produce of the farm into food, or other disposable commodities. SuBSECT. 1. Live Stock for the Purposes of Labour. 4828. The animals of labour v^ed in British farming are exclusively the horse and the ox. Much difference of opinion formerly prevailed, as to which of these two animals should be preferred ; and the preference has generally been given by speculative writers to the ox, and by practical farmers to the horse. Lord Kaimes in the last century, and Lord Somerville in the present, may be considered the principal advocates for the ox. To their arguments, and to all others, the following objections have been stated by the able author of the supplement to the 6th edition of The Gentleman Farmer ; and they^ may be considered as conveying the sentiments, and according with the practice, of all the best informed and most extensive British farmers. 4829. The first objection to oxen is, that they are unfit for the various labours of modern husbandry,— for travelling on hard roads in particular, — for all distant carriages, — and generally for every kind of work which requires despatch : and what sort of work often does not in this variable climate ? A great part of a farmer's work is indeed carried on at home ; and it may still be thought that this may be done by oxen, while one or more horse teams are employed in carrying the produce to market, and bringing home manure and fuel. But it is unnecessary to appeal to the author of The Wealth of Nations, to prove the impracticability of this division of labour, unless upon very large farms ; and even on these the advantages of such an arrangement are at best extremely problematical. The different kinds of farm- work do not proceed at the same time ; but every season, and even every change of weather, demands the farmer's attention to some particular employment, rather than to others. When his teams are capable of performing every sort of work, he brings them all to bear for a time upon the most important labours of every season ; and when that is despatched, or interrupted by unfavourable weather, the less urgent branches are speedily executed by the same means. This is one cause, more important perhaps than any other, why oxen have ceased to be employed; for even ploughing, which they can perform better than any other kind of work, is scarcely ever going forward all the year ; and for some months in winter, the weather often prevents it altogether. 4830. Another objection is, that an ox team capable of performing the work of two horses, even such kind of work as they can perform, consumes the produce of considerably more land than the horses. If this be the case, it is of no great importance, either to the farmer or the community, whether the land be under oats, or under herbage and roots. The only circumstance to be attended to here is, the carcase of the ox: the value of this, in stating the consumption of produce, must be added to the value of his labour. He consumes, from his birth till he goes to the shambles, the produce of a certain number of acres of land ; the return he makes for this is so much beef, and so many years' labour. The consumption of produce must therefore be divided between these two articles. To find the share that should be allotted to each, the first thing is to ascertain how many acres of grass and roots would produce the same weight of beef from an ox, bred and reared for beef alone, and slaughtered at three or four years old. What remains has b^en consumed in producing labour. . The next thing is to compare this consumption with that of the hoite, which produces nothing but labour. By this simple test, the question, viewing it upon a broad national ground, must evidently be determined. Every one may easily make such a calculation suited to the circumstances of his farm ; none that could be offereii would apply to every situation. But it will be found, that if even three oxen were able to do the work of two horses, the advantages in this point of view would still be on the side of the horses ; and the first objection applies with undiminished force besides. 4831. The money-price of the horse and ox^ it is evident, is merely a temporary and incidental circum- stance, which depends upon the demand. A work ox may be got tor less than half the price of a horse, because there is little or no demand for working oxen ; while the demand for horses by manufactures, commerce, pleasure, and war, enhances the price of farm-horses, as well as of the food they consume. Those who wish to see horses banished from all sorts of agricultural labour, would do well to consider where they are to be reared for the numerous wants of the other classes of society. Besides, if two oxen must be kept for doing the work of one horse, it ought to be foreseen, that though beef may be more abundant than at present, there will be a corresponding deficiency in the production of mutton and wool. A greater portion of the arable land of the country must be withdrawn from yielding the food of man directly, and kept under cattle crops, which, however necessary to a certain extent for preserving the fertility of the soil, do not return human food, on a comparison with corn crops, in so great a proportion as that of one to six from any given extent of land of the same quality. 4832. T/ie demand for oxen is confined almost every where to the shambles ; and by the improvements of modern husbandry, they are brought to a state of profitable maturity at an early age. No difference in price at setting to work, — no increase of weight while working, — no saving on the value of the food consumed, can ever make it the interest of tillage farmers generally to keep oxen as formerly, till they are eight or ten years old. They judiciously obtain the two products from different kinds of animals, each of them from the kind which is best fitted by nature to afford it, — the labour from the horse, and the beef alone from the ox. And though the price of the horse is almost wholly sunk at last, during the period of Iiis labour he has been paying a part of it every year to a fiind, which, before his usual terra expires, becomes suflSciently large to indemnify his owner. The ox, on the other hand, is changed three or four times during the same Boor V. CHOICE OF LIVE STOCK. 783 period ; and each of them gives nearly as large a carcase for the food of man as if his days had been unprofitably prolonged in executing labour, from which he has been gra- dually exempted in Britain, in France, and in other countries, very nearly in proportion to the progress of correct systems of husbandry. 4833. The description of horse which a farmer ought to choose will depend chiefly on the soil of the farm, and partly also on the quantity of road-work. Stiff lands require obviously a heavier and more powerful breed than such as are Kght and hilly. In the latter case, two of the best breeds are the Clevelands and Clydesdale, or some local cross with these breeds. In general, it is not advisable to procure horses from a climate ma- terially diflFerent from that where they are to remain ; and therefore, for various reasons, a prudent farmer will look out for the best in his neighbourhood. Oflen, however, he is obliged to take the stock of his predecessor ; and this he can only get rid of or improve to his mind by degrees. The farm-horses in most parts of England are much too cum- brous and heavy, and are more fitted for drawing heavy drays or waggons in towns than for the quick step required in the operations of agriculture. 4834. The objections of Davis of Loneleat to the using of targe heavy-Tieeled horses^ in preference to the smart, the active, and the really usefulbreeds, merit particular attention. In some situations, the steep. ness of the hills and the heaviness of the soil require more than ordinary strength ; but, in such cases, he maint^ns that it would be better to add to the number of horses than to increase their size Great horses not only cost proportionably more at first than small ones, but require much more food, and of a better quality, to keep up their flesh. The Wiltshire carter also takes a pride in keeping them as fat as possible ; and their food (which is generally barley) is given without stint. In many instances, indeed, the expense of keeping a fine team of horses amounts nearly to the rent of the farm on which they are worked. They are purchased young when two years* old colts, and sold at five or six years of age for the London drays and waggons. The expense of their maintenance is very seldom counterbalanced by the diflference of price, more especially as such horses are gently worked when young, that they may attain their full size and beauty. In ploughing_ light soils, the strength of a dray-horse is not wanted ; and in heavy soils, the weight of the animal does injury to the land. SussECT. 2. Choice of Live Stock for the Purposes oJhreeS,ng or feeding. 4835. The most desirable properties of live stock destined for food are considered in T/ie Code of Agriculture, in respect to size, form, a tendency to grow, early maturity, hardi- ness of constitution, prolific properties, quality of flesh, a disposition to fatten, and light- ness of ofial. 4835. The hulk qfan animal was the sole criterion of its value before the improvements introduced by BakeweU; and if a great size could be obtained, more regard was paid to the price the animal ultimately retched than to the cost of its food. Of late, since breeders began to calculate with more precision, small or moderate-sized animals have been generally preferred, for the following reasons : — 4837. SmaO-sixd animahs are more easily kept, they thrive on shorter herbage, they collect food where a large animal could hardly exist, and thence are more profitable. Their meat is finer grained, produces richer gravy, has often a superior flavour, and is commonly more nicely marbled, or veined with fat, especially when they have been fed for two years. Large animals are not so well calculated for general consumption as the moderate-sized, particularly in hot weather ; large animals poach pastures more than small ones ; they are not so active, require more rest, collect their food with more labour, and will only consume the nicer and more delicate sorts of plants. Small cows of the true dairy breeds give propor- tionably more milk than large ones. Small cattle may be fattened solely on grass of even moderate quality j whereas the large require the richest pastures, or to be slall-fed, the expense of which exhausts the profit of the farmer. It is much easier to procure well-shaped and kindly-feeiling stock of a smaU size than of a large one. Small-sized cattle may be kept by many persons who cannot atrord either to purchase or to maintain large ones, and their loss, if any accident should happen to them, can he more easily borne The small-sized sell better ; for a butcher, from a conviction that, in proportion to (heir respective dimensions, there is a greater superficies of valuable parts in a small than a large animal, will give more money for two oxen of twelve stone each per quarter than for one of twenty-four stone 4838. In favour of t/ie large-sized it is, on the other hand, contended, that without debating whether from their birth till they are slaughtered the large or the small one eats most for its size, yet on the whole the large one will pay the grazier or the farmer who fattens him as well for his food ; that though some large oxen arc coarse-grained, yet where attention is paid to the breed (as is the case with the Herefordshire), the large ox is as delicate food as the small one ; that if the small-sized are better calculated for the con- sumption of private families, of villages, or of small towns, yet that large cattle are fitter for the markets of great towns, and in particular of the metrojioUs ; that were the flesh of the small-sized ox better when fresh, yet the meat of the large-sized is unquestionably more calculated for salting, a most essential object in a maritime and commerciJd country, — for the thicker the beef, the better it will retain its juices when salted, and the fitter it is for long voyages ; that the hide of the large ox is of very great consequence in various manufactures ; that large stock are in general distinguished by a greater quietness of disposition ; that where the pastures are good, cattle and sheep wiU increase in size, without any particular attention on the part of thTbreeder ; We animals are therefore naturally the proper stock for such pastures ; that the art of fattening cattle, and even sheep, with oil- cake, being much improved and extended, the advan. tage of that pracSce would be of less consequence, unless large oxen were bred, as small oxen can be fattened with grass and turnips as well as oil-cake ; and, lastly, that large oxen are better calculated for working than smaU ones, two large oxen being equal to lour small ones in the plough or the cart 4839. Such are the arrumenls generaUy mace nse of on bolh sides of the qiustum ; from which it appears that much must depend upon pastures, taste, mode of consumption, markets, &c and that both sides have their advantages. The intelligent breeder, however, (unless his pastures are of a nature peculiarly forc- ing ) will naturally prefer a moderate size in the stock he reara Davis of Longleat, one of the aolest agriculturists EuKland has produced, has given some useful observations on the subject of size He laments that the attempts which have been made to improve the breeds of cows, horses, and sheep, have proceeded too much upon the principle of enlarging the size of the animal ; whereas, in general, the only real improvement has been made in the pig, and that was by reducing its size, and introducing a kind that wiU live hardier, and come to greater perfection at an earUer age ,._,,. .„ . 4840 Though it is extremely deslrahle to bring the shape of cattle to as much perfection as possible, yet profit and utHity ought not to be sacrificed for mere beauty which may please the eye, but will not fill the pocket • and which depending much upon caprice, must be often changing. In regard to form, the most experienced breeders seem to concur in the following particulars ; — That the form or shape should be conmact so that no part of the animal should be disproportioned to the other parts, and the whole should 794 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. be distinguished by a general Ailness and rotundity of shape; that the chest should be broad, for no animal whose chest is narrow can easily be made fat ; that the carcase should be deep and straight ; that the belly should be of a moderate size ; for when it is more capacious than common in young animals, it shows a diseased state, and in older ones it is considered a proof that the animal will not return in flesh, in milk, or in labour, the value of the extra quantity of food which it consumes; that the legs should be short, for the long-limbed individuals of the same family or race are found to be the least hardy, and the most difficult to rear or to fatten; and that the head, the bones, and other parts of inferior value, should be as small as is consistent with strength, and with the other properties which the animal ought to possess. In animals bred for the shambles, the form must likewise be such as to contain the greatest possible pro- portion of the finer, compared with the coarser and less valuable parts of the animal. This, by selection, may be attained, and thus the wishes of the consumer may be gratified. As to the broad loins, and ftill hips, which are considered as a point of excellence in particular breeds, it is evident that the old narrow and thin make required improvement; but the alteration is now carried to a faulty excess, and often occasions great dimculty and danger in calving. 4S4I. The form ofanimaLs has fortunately attracted the attention of an eminent surgeon, Henry Cline, Esq. of London, whose doctrines we have already laid down at length, and the substance of which is : — That the external form is only an indication of the internal structure; that the lungs of an animal form the first object to be attended to, for on their size and soundness the health and strength of an animal principally depend; that the external indications of the size of the lungs are the form and size of the chest, and its breadth in particular ; that the head should be small, as by this the birth is facilitated ; as it affords other advantages in feeding, &c., and as it generally indicates that the animal is of a good breed ; that the length of the neck should be in proportion to the size of the animal, that it may collect its food with case ; and that the muscles and tendons should be large, by which an animal is enabled to travel with greater facility. It was formerly the practice to estimate the value of animals by the size of their bones. A large bone was considered to be a great merit ; and a fine-boned animal always implied great size. It is now known that this doctrine was carried too far. The strength of the animal does not depend ujwn the bones, but on the muscles; and when the bones are disproportionably large, it indicates, in Cline's opinion, an imperfection in the organs of nutrition. Bakewell strongly insisted on the advantage of small bones ; and the celebrated John Hunter declared, that small bones were generally attended with corpulence in all the subjects he had an opportunity of examining, A small bone, however, being heavier and more substantial, requires as much nourishmentas ahoUow one with a larger circumference. 4Si2.Amone the qualities for which thorough-bred cattle and sheep are distinguished, that of being good growers, and naving a good length of frame, is not the least essential. The meaning of which is, that the animal should not only be of a strong and healthy constitution, but speedily should grow to a proper size. As specimens of rapid growth, a steer of three years old, when well fed, will weigh from 80 to 90 or 100 stone, 141b. to the stone ; and a two-year old Leicester wedder, from 95 to 281b. {ler quarter, immediately after his second fleece is taken from him. Animals having the property of growing, are usually straight in their back and belly ; their shoulders well thrown back, and their belly rather light than otherwise. At the same time, a gauntness and paucity of intestines should be guarded against, as a most material defect, indicating a very unthriving animal Beinir too light of bone, as it is termed, is also a great fault A good grower, or hardy animal, has always a middling-sized bone. A bull distinguished for getting good growers 16 inestimable ; but one whose progeny takes an unnatural or gigantic size ought to be avoided. 4843. An-iving soon at perfection^ not only in point of growth or size, but in respect of fatness, is a mate- rial object for the farmer, as his profit must in a great measure depend upon it. Where animals, bred for the carcase merely, become fat at an early age, they not only return sooner the price of their food^ with profit to the fee,der, but in general, also, a greater value for their consumption, than slow-feeding animals. This desirable property greatly depends on a mild and docile disposition ; and as this docility of temper is much owing to the manner in which the animial is brought up, attention to inure them early to be familiar cannot be too much recommended. A tamed breed also has other advantages. It is not so apt to injure fences, or to break into adjacent fields ; consequently it is less liable to accidents, and can be reared, sup. ported, and fattened at less expense. The property of early maturity, in a populous country, where the consumption of meat is great, is extremely beneficial to the pubUc, as it evidently tends to furnish greater supplies to the market ; and this propensity to fatten at an early age is a sure proof that an animal will fatten speedily at a later period of his life. 4844. The possession of a hardy and healthy constitutioiiy is, in the wilder and bleaker parts of a country, a most valuable property in stock. Where the surface is barren, and the climate rigorous, it is essential that the stock bred and maintained there should be able to endure the severities and vicissitudes of the weather, as well as scarcity of food, hard work, or any other circumstance in its treatment that might subject a more delicate breed to injury. In this respect, different kinds of stock greatly vary ; and it is a matter of much consequence to select, for different situations, cattle with constitutions suitable to the place where they are to be kept It is a popular belief, that dark colours are indications of hardiness. In inoun- tain breeds of cattle, a rough pile is reckoned a desirable property, more especially when they are to be kept out all winter : it enables them to face the storm, instead of shrinking from it Hardy breeds ai e exempted from various diseases, such as having yellow fat, and being blackfleshed, defects so injurious to stock. 4845. The prolific quality of a breed is a matter deserving attention. The females of some breeds both bear more frequently than usual, and also have frequently more than one at a birth. This property rung more strikingly in sub-varieties, or individual families ; and though partly owing to something in the habits of animals, and partly to their previous good or bad treatment, yet in some degree seems to depend upon the seasons, some years being more distinguished for twins than others. In breeding, not only the number, but the sex of the offspring, in some cases, seems to depend upon the female parent. Two cows produced fourteen females each in fifteen years, though the bull was changed every y^ar : it is singular, that when they produced a bull calf, it was in the same year. Under similar circumstances, a great number of males have been produced by the same cow in succession, but not to the same extent 4846. By the quality qf their flesht breeds are likewise distinguished. In some kinds it is coarse, hard, and fibrous; in others of a finer grain or textura In some breeds, also, the flavour of the meat is supe- rior; the gravy they produce, instead of being white and insipid, is high coloured, well flavoured, and rich; and the fat is intermixed among the fibres of the muscles, giving tne meat a streaked, or marbled appearance. Breeds whose flesh have these properties are peculiarly valuable. Hence two animals of nearly the same degree of fatness and weight, and who could be fed at nearly the same expense to the hus- bandman, will sell at very different prices, merely from the Known character of their meat 4847. A disposition to fatten is a great object in animals destined for the shambles. Some animals pos- sess this property during the whole progress of their lives, while in others it only takes place at a more advanced period, when they have attained their full growth, and are furnished at the same time with a suitable supply of food. There are in this respect other distinctions : most sorts of cattle and sheep, which have been bred in hilly countries, will become fat on lowland pastures, on which the more refined breeds would barely live ; some animals take on fat very quickly, when the proper food has been supplied, and some individuals have been found, even in the same breed, which have, in a given time, consumed the leist proportional weight of the same kind of food, yet have become fet at the quickest rate. Even in the human race, with little food, some will grow immoderately corpulent It is probably from internal conformation that this property of rapid fattening is derived. 4848. The advantages and disadvantages of fattening cattle and sheep, at least to the extent frequently practised at present, are points that have of late attracted much public attention. But any controversy Book V. CHOICE OF IMPLEMENTS. 785 on that subject can onlv arise fcora want of proper discrimination. Fat meat is unquestionably more nourishing than lean, though' to digest this oily matter there are required, on account of its difficult solubility, a good bile, much saliva, and a strong stomach : consequently none, except those who are in the most vigorous state of health, or who are employed in nard labour, can properly digest it. Though fet meat, however, is unfit for general consumption, yet experiments in the art of fattening animals are likely to promote useful discoveries ; and though, in the course of trying a number of experiments, errors and excesses may be conunitted, yet on the whole advantage may be derived from the knowledge thus to be obtained. As the bone also gains but little in the fatting animal, and the other Qfflal becomes propor- tionably less, as the animal becomes more fat, the public has not sustained much loss by over-fatted ani- mals. To kill even hogs till they are thoroughly fat, is exceeding bad economy. An ox or cow, though the little flesh it has may be of good quality, yet presents, when lean, little but skin and bone; and if slaughtered in that state, would neither indemnify the owner for the expense of breeding and maintaining it, nor benefit the public. A coarse and heavy-fleshed ox, which would require a very long time and much good food to fatten, may be slaughtered with most advantage while rather lean. It is not, however, so much the extent of fat, as the want of a sufficient quantity of lean flesh, of which the consumer com- plains ; for it cannot be doubted, that the lean flesh of a fat animal is better in quality, and contains more nourishment, than the flesh of a lean animal 4849. Handling well The graziers and butchers in various parts of the kingdom have recourse to feeling the skin, or cellular membrane, for ascertaining a disposition to fatten ; and since Bakewell directed the public attention so much to breeding, that practice has become more generally known. Handling cannot easily be defined, and can only be learned by experience. The skin and flesh of cattle, when handled, should feel soil to the touch, somewhat resembling that of a mole, but with a little more resistance to the finger. A soft and mellow skin must be more phable, and more easily stretched out, to receive any extraordinary quantity of fat and muscle, than a thick or tough one. The rigid-skinned animal must, therefore, always be the most difficult to fatten. I n a good sheep, the skin is not only soft and mellow, but in some degree elastic. Neither cattle nor sheep can be reckoned good, whatever their shapes may be, unless they are first-rate handlers. The improved short-horned breed, besides their mel- lowness of skin, are likewise distinguished by softness and silkiness of hair. 4850L Idg/dness of (iffal. An animal solely bred for the shambles should have as little offal, or parts of inferior v^ue, as possible (consistently with the health of the animal), and consequently a greater propor- tion of meat applicable as food for man. This, therefore, the skilfiil farmer will also keep in. view in selecting bis species of stock. {Code, ^c) 4851. The Bev. Henry Berry, who has paid much attenlioii to the subject of breeding and feeding cattle, and written several valuable papers on the subject in the British Farmers Magasdne, seems to prefer for general purposes the improved short-horns. " These cattle," he says, " at three years old, are equal to Hereford cattle at four years old ; and they are bred from cows which prove much more profitable for the dairy than the Herefords." At the same time, he admits that the Hereford cattle are excellent to purchase with a view to fattening, because in a lean state at four years old they will of course not bear an increased price in proportion to the increased time required to render one of them equal to a short-horn of tiiree years. For breeders, therefore, he decidedly recommends the short-horns; and he has given an interesting history of this breed of cattle for the last eighty years, the period which has elapsed since it attracted attention. It was imported from Holland to the banks of the Tees ; or, at le^t, it is the result of a cross between the breed so imported and the native breed of that district. {Improved Short-Horns, &c. By the Rev. Henry Berry, 2d edit. 1830.) Sect. II, Choice of Agricultural Implemeriis, Seeds, and Plants* 4852. TAe variety and excellence of agricultural implements is so great, that the prudent farmer, in regard to these, as well as in every other branch of his art, must study economy. He should not incur an unnecessary expense in buying them, or in purchasing more than are ^sentially requisite, and can be profitably used. This maxim ought to be more especially attended to by young improvers, who are often tempted, under the specious idea of diminishing labour and saving expense, to buy a superiluous quantity of imple- ments, which they afterwards find are of little use. {Coventry's Disc. p. 47.) It is remarked by an intelligent author on matters of husbandry, that a great diversity of implements, as they are more rarely used, prove in general a source of vexation and dis- appointment, rather than of satisfaction, to the farmer. 4853. The different implements required by the fartner are: those of tillage; for drilling or sowing com ; for reaping com j for harvesting com ; for threshing and cleaning corn ; for mowing and harvest, ing hay ; of conveyance ; for draining ; for harnessing stock ; for rolling land ; for the dairy ; and, for miscellaneous purposes. 4854: In purchasing ijmlementst the following rules are to be observed : they should be simple in their construction, both that their uses may be more easily understood, and that any common workman may be able to repair them when they get out of order ; the materials should be of a durable nature, that the labour may be less liable to interruption from their accidental failure ; their form should be firm and compact, that they may not be injured by jolts and shaking j and that they may be more safely worked by country labourers, who are but little accustomed to the use of delicate tools. In the larger machines, symmetry and lightness of shape ought to be particularly attended to : for a heavy carriage, like a grea/- horse, is worn out by its own weight, nearly as much as by what he carries. The wood should be cut up and placed in a position the best calculated to resist pressure; and mortises, so likely to weaken the wood, should, as much as possible, be avoided ; at the same time, implements should be made as light as is consistent with the strength that is necessary. Their price should be such, that farmers in moderate circumstances can afford to buy them ; yet for the sake of a low price, the judicious farmer will not pur- chase articles either of a flimsy fabric or a faulty form ; and implements ought to be suited to tlie nature of the country, whether hilly or level, and more especially to the quahty of the soil j for those which are calculated for light land will not answer equally well in soils that are heavy and adhesive. {Code.) 4855. In the choice of seed com, regard must be had to procure it from a suitable soil and climate, and of a suitable variety. A change from one soil to another of a diiferent 3 £ 186 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paet IIP, quality, is generally found advantageous ; but this is not always thq case as to climate* Thus, some of the varieties of oats, as the Angus oat, which answers well in most parts of Scotland, is found not to fill in the ear, but to shrivel up after blossoming, in the south of England. In like manner, the woolly-chaffed white wheats of Essex and Kent rot in the ear when grown in the moist climate of Lancashire. In settling on a farm in a country with which the farmer is little acquainted, he will often find it advisable to select the best seed he can find in the neighbourhood, and probably to resift it and free it from the seeds of weeds and imperfect grains. Particular care is requisite in selecting the seed of the bean and pea, as no crop depends more on the variety being suited to the soil and climate. Thus, on hot gravelly soils in the soudi, the late grey pea would produce little haulm and no pulse ; but the early varieties, or the pearl pea, will produce a fair proportion of both. 4856. Tlie only smaU seeds the farmer has to sow on a. large scale, are the clovers, grasses, the different varieties of turnip, and probably the mangold wurzel and carrot. No expense or trouble should be spared to procure the best turnip seed ; as if that is either mixed by impregnation with other varieties of the ^r^ssica tribe, or has been raised from a degenerate small-rooted parentage, the progeny will never come to any size. The same may be said of carrot or mangold seed, raised from small misshapen roots. Even rape seed should be raised from the strongest and largest rooted plants, as these always produce a stronger progeny. 4857. The selection and propagation of improved agricultural seeds has till lately been very little attended to. But the subject nas been taken up by IM^. Sinclair of New Cross, Mr. ShirreflTof Mungos Wells, Mr. Gorrie of Rait, and others ; and we have little doubt some greatly improved varieties of our more useful field plants will be the result Mr. Shirreflf" mentions (Quar. Jour. Ag. vol. i. p. 366.), that the variety of the Swedish turnip cultivated in East t/othian had, by judicious selection of the roots frum which seed was saved, been improved in nutritious value upwards of 300 per cent "Potatoes and Swedish turnip," Mr. Snirreff says, " appear to be susceptible of farther improvement by judicious seleo. tion, as well as the different grains so long cultivated in this country, and which, in almost every instance, have become spurious. But whatever may be the degree of improvement of which the agricultural pro- duce of the country is susceptible, by the propagation of genuine seeds of the best varieties of plants, one remarkable feature of such an improvement is, that it could be carried into effect without any additional investment of capital, or destruction of that already employed. It would require, in the Hrst instance, only a slight degree of observation amongst practical farmers to select the best varieties, and afterwards a small exercise of patience in their propagation. The whole increase of produce obtained by such means would go to support the unagricultural part of the population : it would, in the first instance, be clear gain to the occupiers, and ultimately to the owners of land. The difference of produce, arising from sowing the seed of a good and a bad variety of a plant, is so great, that it does not seem inconsistent with probability to state, that the gross agricultural produce of the country might he augmented, in the course of a few years, through the agency of improved seeds, to the amount of seven per cent ; and as the farmer's home consumption of produce, by such means, would be increased nearly ten per cent., what an enormous ftind this forms for maintaining the unagricultural part of the population, and augmenting the income of landholders! 4858. The facility of propagating genuine seeds, will become manifest from a statement of my practice. In the spring of 1823, a vigorous wheat-plant, near the centre of a field, was marked out, which produced 63 ears, that yielded 2473 grains. These were dibbled in the autumn of the same year ; the produce of the second and third seasons sown broadcast in the ordinary way ; and the fourth harvest put me in pos- session of nearly forty quarters of sound grain. In the spring of this year, I planted a fine purple-top Swedish turnip, that yielded (exclusively of the seeds picked by birds, and those lost in threshing and cleaning the produce,) 100,295 grains, a number capable of furnishing plants for upwards of five imperial acres. One-tenth of an acre was sown with the produce, in the end of July, for a seed crop, part of which it is in contemplation to sow for the same purpose in July 1859. In short, if the produce of the turnip in question had been carefully cultivated to the utmost extent, the third year's produce of seed would have more than supplied the demand of Great Britain for a season. 4859. Plants and animals are both organic bodies^ from the germs of whose fecundating organs proceed new races, which yield crops ; and thus an extensive view of improving agriculture through the agency of genuine seeds embraces the propagation of live stock. Now, however important the propagation of live stock may be, when considered by itself, yet, when viewed in connection with our agricultural system, embracing the cultivation and improvement of the herbage which support animals, as well as those plants, parts of which form the ingredients of human sustenance, it becomes less imposing. The analogy subsisting between animal and vegetable life is known and acknowledged ; and it may be stated, that the union of the male and female organs of different varieties of a plant, under favourable circum- stances, produces a new race, which partakes of the qualities of both parents, and which is termed a hybrid. Now, hybrid varieties of agricultural plants, when suffered to intermingle with the original kind, disseminate their influence around them like cross-bred animals, unrestrained in their intercourse with the general herd, till the character of the stock becomes changed, and consequently deteriorated or improved. In either case, propagation from the best variety alone would be attended with good effects. The principles of propagating vegetable and animal life are nearly the same;. but the propagation of vegetables must exceed that of animals in importance, as much as the vegetable produce of tne country surpasses that of animals. Indeed animals may justly be considered mere machines for converting our inferior herbage into nutriment of a different description ; grasses and roots are the raw materials, butcher's meat the manufactured commodity." 4860. The importance qf attending to varieties of cultivated plants has been ably pointed out by Mr. Bishop, at once a scientific botanist and an experienced practical gardener. " By means of varieties," he says, " the produce of our gardens and fields are not only increased in a tenfold degree, but the quality of the produce is improved in a still greater proportion. In them we perceive the labour and assiduity of man triumphing over the sterility of unassisted nature, and succeeding in giving birth to a race of beings calculated to supply his wants in a manner that original species never could have done. The difference between varieties that have sprung ftom. the same species fit» them for different purposes, and for different soils, situations, and climates. Some, by reason of their robust natures, are winter vegetables; and others, by being early, are spring vegetables; while some are in perfection in summer, and others in autumn. The fruit produced by some is fit to eat when pulled off the tree ; while the fruit of others is valuable by reason of its keeping till that season, when Nature rests to recruit her strength. Thus, in edible pJants and fruits, we are supplied with an agreeable change throughnut the year, from a difference in varieties that have sprung fl:om the same species. In che earlier ages of the world, no idea could have been entert^Mned of the BookV. choice of seeds and plants, 787 excelleDce some varieties have attained over their originals. Who, upon viewing the wild cabbage that grows aloog our sea-coast, would ever imagine that cauliflower or broccoli would have been produced by the same? Or who would expect the well-formed apple of a pound's weight from the verjuice plant in our hedges? Many instances might be noticed of original species that are scarcely fit to be eaten by the beasts of the field, the varieties of which afibrd a nutritious and wholesome food for man. Upon com- paring the original variety of the Daucus Carbta, the Pastinhca sativa,and some others indigenous to our climate, with their varieties produced by culture, we are struck with their great inferiority, ana cannot help reflecting on the hapless condition of that hungry savage who first taught us their use ; for nothing short of the greatest privation could ever have led to that discovery. Indeed, nothing is more obvious, upon comparing origmal species with their varieties produced by culture, than that we, by means of the latter, enjoy a vegetable food far preferable to that of our forefathers : a circumstance from which it may be inferred that posterity is destmed to enjoy a better than that which we do now. For although it is reasonable to believe that there exists a degree of excellence attainable by varieties over the species whence they have sprung, yet as that degree is unknown, and as it is probably beyond the power of man, of cultivation, or of time, to determine the same, we are justified in regarding it as progressive, and in con- sidering the production of a good variety as the sign or harbinger of a better, 4861. The power of distmgutshing varieties, and of forming some idea of their worth at sight, is an attainment much to be desired, because valuable varieties may sometimes appear to those who have it not in their power to prove them by trial ; and if they have, the probabihty is, that the means to be em- ployed require more care, time, and attention than they are disposed to bestow on plants the merits of which are doubtful : whereas, were such persons capable of forming an estimate of the worth of varieties from their appearance, then would they use means for their preservation, whenever their appearance was found to indicate superiority. That this is an attainment of considerable importance, will be readily allowed; yet, that it, in some cases, requires the most strict attention, appears from the circumstance of varieties being ottentimes valuable, though not conspicuously so. Let us suppose, for instance, that in a field of wheat there exists a plant, a new variety, having two more fertile joints in its spike, aild equal to the surrounding wheat in every other respect : a man accustomed to make the most minute observations, would scarcely observe such a variety, unless otherwise distinguished by some peculiar badge ; nor would any but a person versed in plants know that it was of superior value if placed before him. How many varieties answering this d^cription may have existed and escaped observation, which, had they been observed, and carefully treated, would have proved an invaluable acquisition to the community ! The number of fertile joints in the spike of the wheat generally cultivated, varies from eighteen to twenty. two ; and the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland amount to nearly the same number of millions : therefore, as the wheat produced in those islands has been of late years sufficient, or nearly sufficient, to supply the inhabitants thereof with bread, it is evident that a variety with two additional fertile joints, and equal in other respects to the varieties at present m cultivation, would, when it became an object of general culture, afibrd a supply of bread to at least two millions of souls, without even another acre being brought into cultivation, or one additional drop of sweat from the brow of the husbandman. 4862; T/ie same varieties are not repeatedly produced by culture j if they were, there would not exist that necessity for strict observation and skill on the part of observers ; because, if a variety were lost or destroyed, we might look forward to its re-appearance : or did we possess the power of producing varieties, and of producing them late or early, tall or dwarf, sweet or sour, or just as we might wish to have them, then mi<;ht we plead an excuse for inattention. But experience shows, that when a variety is lost, it is for ever lost; and the slightest reflection cannot fail of convincing us, that our power of producing them is most limited. Indeed, our knowledge only enables us tu ]>rmluce those of the intermediate kind ; while varieties that confer extension or excellence are as likely to be produced from the seed sown and treated by the humble labourer as fi-om that sown and treated by the ablest horticulturist, the most skilful botanist, or most profound philosopher of the age. From these remarks it is obvious, that the benefits mankind derive from the varieties produced by culture are numerous and important, and that the discovery of those of merit is an object highly deserving of our attention." {Bislwp's Causal Botany.) 4863. The varieties of wheat and barley in general cultivation, Mr, Gorrie observes, are ** not nu- merous; but were a part of that attention paid to the production of new and improved varieties of field-beans, peas, oats, barley, and wheat, which is now almost wasted on live stock, the same success might follow, and varieties of each of these useful species of grain might be found as far surpassing those now in cultivation as the modern breeds of horses and cattle surpass those of former days. To effect this, a simple process only is necessary. When any two varieties are intended to be used in * crossing,' it is necessary that they should be sown at such periods as may render them likely to flower at the same time; and we would recommend that such plants should be sown or transplanted into flower-pots, par- ticularly the variety to be used as the female breeder. The parts of fructification of all the CereJllia tribe are composed of a stigma, or fringed substance, which crowns the embryo grain ; three anthers or male Earts, which have either a purjjle or yellow colour ; and firm, small, round, or rather longish cylindrical nobs, with a hollow line longitudinally along the middle, on the side farthest from the filament which supports these anthers. Allowing that there are six plants, say of wheat, in a pot to be impregnated, let the variety possessing the, greatest proportion of desirable qualities be selected for the male, ftom a field or otherwise, and, before the anthers appear outside the glume, let the chaff be opened by a slight touch of the forefinger; cut off the anthers of all the ears growing on the plants in the pot, and then take the male parts of the variety wished to be improved, which have been newly out of the chaff, and, before the farina is all dissipated, touch the stigma of all the embryo grains whence the anthers have been previously removed, gently,, wf^A newly burst anthers, till the stigma is partially covered with the dust or pollen ; keep the plants at a distance from the fields where grain of the saTne sort is coming in the flower, till the flowering season is fairly over, then, to prevent sparrows or other birds from picking the -impregnated grains, plunge the pots to the brims in a field of the same kind of grain. Save every seed, and sow them carefully next season ; if the process has been properly performed, there may be many varieties even from one ear ; the best should be marked, and the produce of each stalk worthy of notice kept, and propagated distinctly by itself. If all the farmers in a district were to submit five or six plants only to such process, we might soon have hundreds of new varieties, and it is certainly within the limits of probability to expect a few varieties superior to any now in. cultivation." {Perth Miscellany, vol. i. p. 17.) 4864; Grain, seeds, amd roots intended for reproduction are not required to have come to the same degree of maturity on the plant, as when intended for meal or other products to be consumed as food. The cause of ttiis has never been satisfactorily explained ; all that is alleged being the conjecture, that the cotyledons of the seed are better fitted for entering the vessels of the minute plant, when they are not of such a farinaceous nature, as when these cotyledons are more mature, " That^ain not perfectly matured is fully qualified for seed, is evident from places .situated near rivers or lakes, where the grain in some seasons is subject to be what the people who cultivate such situations term blasted or mildewed. 'Ihis happens in autumn, before the grain is matured, and is probably caused by fogs or damps which arise from the water. This blast discolours the straw, and renders it so friable that it will hardly bind itself; the grain never receives any more nourishment, is shrivelled and light, and soon assumes a ripe appearance, and so small a quantity of farinaceous matter will be contained in the grains, that a sheaf, after being reaped, will feel as light in the hand as if it had been previously threshed ; and yet, for as bad as it appears, it is commonly taken for seed, and never fails to give a luxuriant crop, provided it escape the following autumn," (TWrf.) „ 8 E 2 788 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 4865. Of the plants which the farmer has to choose for stock, the chief is the potato; and every one knows that no circumstances in the soil, climate, or culture will compen- sate for planting a bad sort. The potato requires a climate rather humid than otherwise, and rather moderate and equable in temperature than hot: Iience the best crops are found in Lancashire, Dumfriesshire, and Ayrshire in Britain, and in Ireland, where the climate is every where moist. Excellently flavoured potatoes are also grown on mossy lands in most parts of the country. The prudent farmer will be particularly careful in choosing this description of plant stock, and also in changing it frequently, so as to en- sure prolificacy and flavour. The general result of experience is decidedly in favour of unripe tubers for the purpose of propagation. A number of important papers on this subject will be found in the first and second volumes of the Gardeners Mas^azitiey all confirmatory of the advantages of selecting tubers which are immature. Sect. III. Choice of Servants. 4866. On the moral and profesdoncd character of his servants much of the comfort of the farmer depends ; and every one who has farmed near large towns, and at a distance from them, knows how great the difference is in every description of labourers. The servants required in farmeries are, the bailiff or head ploughman, common ploughmen, shepherds, labourers of all-work, herdsmen, and women. Sometimes apprentices and pupils are taken ; but their labour is not often to be much depended on. 4867. A baUiff^is required only in the lai-gest description of farms, occupied by a pro- fessional farmer ; and is not often required to act as market-man. In general young men are preferred, who look forward to higher situations, as gentlemen's bailiffs or land stewards. Most farmers require only a head ploughman, who works the best pair of horses, and takes the lead of, and sets the example to, the other ploughmen in every description of work, 4868. Ploughmen should, if possible, be yearly servants, and reside upon the farm ; if married, cottages should be provided for them. Weekly or occasional ploughmen are found comparatively unsteady ; they are continually wandering from one master to an- other, and are very precarious supports of a tillage farm : for they may quit their service at the most inconvenient time, unless bribed by higher wages ; and the farmer may thus lose the benefit of the finest part of the season. "Where ploughmen and day labourers, however, are married, they are more to be depended upon than unmarried domestic servants, more especially when the labourer has a family, which ties him down to regtilar industry. 4869. The mode of hiring servants at what are called public statutes, so general in many parts of England, is justly reprobated as having a tendency to vitiate their minds, enabling them to get places without reference to character, exposing good servants to be corrupted by the bad, promoting dissipation, and causing a cessation of country business for some days, and an awkwardness in it for some time afterwards. When hiring ser- vants, it would be extremely important, if possible, to get rid of any injurious perquisites, which are often prejudicial to the interests of the master, without being of any advantage to the servant. For instance, in Yorkshire and in other districts it is a custom to give farm servants liquor both morning and evening, whatever is the nature and urgency of the work. Nothing can be more absurd than permitting a ploughman to stop for half an hour in a winter day to drink ale, while his horses are neglected and shivering with cold. 4870. The following plan tf maintaining the hinds or ploughTnen in the best cultivated districts in Scotland, is found by experience to be greatly superior to any other mode hitherto adopted. 4871. Proper houses are built for the farm Servants contiguous to every farmstead This gives them an opportunity of settling in life, and greatly tends to promote their future welfare. Thus also the farmer has his people at all times within reach for carrying on his business. 4872. The farm servants^ when married, receive the greater part of their wages in the produce of the soil, which gives them an interest in the prosperity of the concern in which they are employed, and in a manner obliges them to eat and drink comfortably ; while young men often starve themselves in order to save money for drinking or clothes, in either of which cases they are deficient in the requisite animal strength. At least under this mode of payment they are certain of being supplied with the necessaries of life, and a rise o( prices does not affect them ; whereas, when their wages are paid in money, they are exposed to many temptations of spending it which their circumstances can ill afford, and during a rise of prices they are sometimes reduced to considerable difficulties. From the adoption of an opposite system, habits of sobriety and economy, so conspicuous among the farm servants of Scotland, and the advantages of which cannot be too highly appreciated, have arisen and still prevail in these districts. 4873. A most important branch of this system is, that almost every married man has a com of a mode. rate size kept for him by the farmer all the year round. This is a boon of great utility to his family. The prospect of enjoying this advantage has an excellent effect upon the morals of young unmarried servants, who in general make it a pomt to lay up as much of their yearly wages as will enable them to purchase a cow and furniture for a house when they enter into the married state. These savings, under different cir- cumstances, would most probably have been spent in dissipation, 4874. They have also several other perquisites, as a piece of ground for potatoes and flax (about one- eighth part of an acre for each); liberty to keep a pig, half a dozen hens, and bees ; their fuel is carried home to them ; they receive a small allowance in money per journey when sent from home with corn, or for coals or lime ; and during the harvest they are maintained by the farmer, that they may be always at hand. Book V. KEEPING ACCOUNTS. 789 4875. There are nowhere to be met with more active^ Tespectable, and conscientious servants than those who are kept according to this system. There is hardly an instance of their soliciting relief from the publia They rear numerous families, who are trained to industry and knowledge in the operations of agriculture, and whose assistance in weeding the crops, &C. is of considerable service to the farmer. They become attached to the farm, talie an interest in its prosperity, and seldom think of removing from it Under tills system every great farm is a species of little colony, of which the farmer is the resident governor. Nor, on the whole, can there be a more gratifying spectacle than to see a large estate under the direction of an intelligent landlord, or of an agent competent to the task of managing it to advantage; where the farms are of a proper size ; where they are occupied by industrious and skilful tenants, anxious to promote, in consequence of the leases they enjoy, the improvement of the land in their possession ; and where the cultivation is carried on by a number of married servants enjoying a fair competence and rear, ing large families, sufficient not only to replace themselves, but also, from their surplus population, to supply the demand and even the waste of the other industrious classes of the community. Such a system, there'is reason to believe, is brought to a higher degree of perfection and carried to a greater extent in the more improved districts of Scotland than perhaps in any other country in Europe. {Code, ^c.) 4876. A sliepherd is of course only requisite on sheep farms ; and no description of farm servant is required to be so steady and attentive. At the lambing season much of the farmer's property is in his hands, and depends on his unwearied exertions early and late. Such servants should be well paid and comfortably treated. 4877. The labourers required on a farm are few ; in general, one for field operations, as hedge and ditch work, roads, the garden, cleaning out furrows, &c. ; and another for attending to the cattle, pigs, and straw-yard, killing sheep and pigs when required, &c. will be sufiicient. Both will assist in harvest, hay-time, threshing, filling dung, &c. These men are much better servants when married and hired by the year, than when accidental day labourers. 4878. The female servants required in a farmery are casual, as haymakers, turnip hoers, &c. ; or yearly, as house, dairy, and poultry maids. Much depends on the steadi- ness of the first class ; and it is in general better to select them from the families of the married servants, by which means their conduct and conversation is observable by their parents and relations. A skilful dairy-maid is a most valuable servant, and it is well when the cattle-keeper is her husband ; both may Hve in the farmer's house (provided they have no children), and the man may act as groom to the master's horse and chaise, and assist in brewing, butchery, &c. In the cheese districts, men often milk the cows, and manage the whole process of the dairy ; but females are surely much better calcu- lated for a business of so domestic a nature, and where so much depends on cleanliness. 4879. Farmer's apprentices are not common, but parish boys are so disposed of in some parts of the west of England, and might be so generally. They are said to make the best and steadiest servants ; and indeed the remaining in one situation, and under one good master for a fixed period, say not less than three years, must have a great tendency to fix the character and morals of youth in every line or condition of life. 4880. Apprentices intended for farmers are generally youngmen who have received a tolerable education beforehand, and have attained to manhood or nearly so. These pay a premium, and are regularly in- structed in the operations of farming. We have already alluded to the example of Walker, who considers such apprentices, notwithstanding the care required to instruct them, rather useful than otherwise. {,Husb. of Scot. vol. ii. pi 106.) 4881. To train ploughmen to habits of activity and diligence is o£ great im^oitance. In some districts they are proverbial for the slovraess of their step, which they teach their horses ; whereas these animals, if accustomed to it, would move with as much ease to themselves in a quick as in a slow pace. Hence their ploughs seldom go above two miles in an hour, and sometimes even less ; whereas, where the soil is light and sandy, they might go at the rate of three miles and a half. Farmers are greater sufferers than they imagine by this habitual indolence of their workmen, which extends from the plough to all their other employments, for it makes a very important difference in the expense of labour. {Code.) Chap. IV. General MaTiagement of a Farm, 4882. The importance of an orderly systematic mode of managing every concern is suf- ficiently obvious. The points which chiefly demand a farmer's attention are the accounts of money transactions, the management of servants, and the regulation of labours. Sect. I. Keeping Accounts. 488."5. It is a maxim of the Dutch, that " no one is ever mined who keeps good ac- counts" which are said in Tlie Code of Agriculture to be not so common among farmers as they ought to be ; persons employed in other professions being generally much more attentive and correct. Among gentlemen farmers there is often a systematic regularity in all their proceedings, and their pages of debtor and creditor, of expense and profit, are as strictly kept as those of any banking-house in the metropolis. But with the gene> rality of farmers the case is widely different. It rarely happens that books are kept by 3 E 3 790 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. them in a minute and regular manner ; and the accounts of a fanner, occupying even a large estate, and consequently employing a great capital, are seldom deemed of sufficient importance to merit a share of attention equal to that bestowed by a tradesman on a con- cern of not one-twentieth part of the value. There is certainly some difficulty in keeping accurate accounts respecting the profit and loss of so uncertain and complicated a busi- ness as the one carried on by the farmer, which depends so much on the weather, the state of the markets, and other circumstances not under his control ; but the great bulk of farming transactions is settled at the moment ; that is to say, the article is delivered and the money instantly paid ; so that little more is necessary than to record tliese properly. In regard to the expenses laid out on the farm, an accurate account of them is perfectly practicable, and ought to be regularly attended to by every prudent and in- dustrious occupier. 4884. To record pecuniary transactions is not the only object to be attended to in the accounts of a farmer. It is necessary to have an annualaccountof the live stock, and of their value at the time; of the quantity of hay unconsumed : of the grain in store or in the stack-yard ; and of the implements and other articles in which the capital is invested. An account, detailing the expense and return of each field, according to its productive contents, is liljewise wanted, without which it is impossible to calculate the advantage of different rotations, the most beneficial mode of managing the farm, or the improvements of which it is susceptible. Besides the obvious advantages of enabling a man to understand his own affairs, and to avoid being cheated, it has a moral effect upon the farmer of the greatest consequence, however small his dealings may be. Experience shows that men situated like small farmers (who are their own masters, and yet have very little capital to manage or lose,) are very apt to contract habits of irregularity, procrastination, and indolence. They persuade themselves that a thing may be as well done to-morrow as to-day, and the result is, that the thing is not done till it is too late, and then hastily and imperfectly. Now nothing can be conceived better adapted to check this disposition than a determination to keep re- gular accounts. The very consciousness that a man has to make entries in his books of every thing that he does, keeps his attention alive to what he is to do ; and the act of making those entries is the best possible training to produce active and pains-taking habits. 4885. Trotter^s method of farm book-keeping. A very original, concise, and accurate mode of keeping farm accounts has been invented by Alexander Trotter, Esq. of Dreghorn. Though the merits of this mode seem to be acknowledged by all who understand it, yet they do not ajppear to be of that nature to bring it into general use. This, however, may depend partly, or even wholly, on the ignorance or preju- dices of those for whom it is intended, and on the unfitness of farm managers for such regular and mul. tiplied entries of all their transactions as this system requires. We regret that Mr. Trotter's method has not attracted more notice from scientific farmers. We would recommend to them his ** Method of Farm Book-keeping, &c. exemplified by the Forms and Accounts actually practised by the Author in the ma- nagement of his Farm at Colinton, near Edinburgh. Edin. 8vo. 1825." The books and forms of Mr. Trotter's Method may be got by applying at Messrs. Kirtons', stationers. No. 1. Portland-street, London; or at Mr. Abraham Thomson's, bookbinder, Old Fishmarket, Edinburgh. 4886. The accounts of gentlennenfanrmers^ or of the bailiffs they employ, it is said in The Q}de, cannot be too minute j but in regard to rent-paying farmers the great objects are to have them short and distinct. For this purpose a journal for business transactions, such as purchases, sales, agreements, hirings, and other real or prospective arrangements, a cash-book and a ledger will, in our opinion, be sufficient, with the aid of memorandum books. But for greater accuracy, or rather for more curious fanners, the fol- lowing models are given in The Code (if Agriculture. The gentleman farmer and bailiff will find various descriptions of " Farmer's account books " among the booksellers. One in very general use is Harding'a Farmer^s Account Book. 4887. Weekly Journal of Transactions, Jrom Monday. Stale qf Weather. j Bar. Ther. Wind. Rain. Tuesday. Wednes. Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. 48P8. Weekly State of Labour, from to . Names of Men and Horses. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Frid. Satur. No. of Days. Rate per Day. Total. Daily Labourers L. s d. Farm Servants - Horses Task Work 1 Work by Tradesmen - 1 Book V. 4889. FORMS OF ACCOUNT. Cash Account* 791 Dr. Caah received. Cash paid, Cr. When received. Of whom received. Onvrhat account n.'ceived. Amount. When paid. To whom paiu. Onvhat account p!ud. Amonnt. Total received. L. s. d. i. »'. d. When. B; whom. What Articles. L.M.d. Total paid . 4890. Management of Arable Land. i 1 ■s D i ■j 1 PREPARING. When Ploughing, 1 . s,_,,- •• Manure. Somne Bud. { 1 ■a i S i I 5 Amount. 1 1 Amount. i 1 1 Amount. L. ». d. L. s. d. L. s. d. 4891, Maruigement of Pasture Land* ■s i 1 Bon many Head qf CattUfed. 1 Produce of Hay^ Stc 1 O 1 t i i Amount. Wlien begun. 8 ■3 i Amount paid> ■8 At per Load. Amount. Posted to FoUo. L. s. d. i. s. a. L. s. d. L. s. d. S E 4 792 4892. PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Management of WoodlancL pabt m i 2 1 euonftVj, Iff Bark. fJndrrnnxKl. Timber Sold. | 1 "3 i 1 I < AmouQl. 1 1 Amount. Cost CutUnf; down. a. Amount. i 1 1 III a L. a. d. L. «• d. L. «. d. L. t. d. I,. «. d. 4893. ./iccottn* of Crops. Wheat Barley Oats Hay . . 4894. Dairy Account of MUk, Sutter, and Cheese • Milked . . ■ Sunday Mon. Tncs. Wed. Thins. 1 Prid. | Sat. Total Price Amount. 31s Fls BB Pts QB Pts Qts Pts Qts Pts ais. Pt» Qls Pts a. d. L. t. d. i s Made into Butter 1 and Cheese . 3 Consumed - Made . - lbs. lbs. lbs lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 1 Sold . . . - Consumed - Made . - - ^ Sold - Consumed - Book Vi 489S. FORMS OF ACCOUNTS. Stock Account, 793 What Pari qf the Farm ciaipUd kg 111 CaUli. | DescripUon. Incxease by Decrease by Date when Bent in. When taken out. Number and Description of Cattle. No. of the ■Field. Nature of the Crop in the Field. Rams No. Pur. chase. 1 i 'S to d Ewes Spaniards S S Wethers R. Lambs £. Lambs Spaniards Ditto - Bulls . , . - Cows . - - i Oxen . - - Heifers - . - B. Calves . - C. Calves Boars „. Sows . . - - S Barrows - * - Kgs . . . - Horses - - - a Mares - - - £5 Colts - - - m Turkeys Poults . Fowls . - - - 1 Tl Chickens ... Geese . ... § Goslings . - - i! Ducks . 'g Ducklings . - . Pigeons ... Eggs - - . . 4896. These forms may be useful, by directing the attention of farmers to the parti- culars of which they should keep an accurate record ; but as to any particular system of accounts applicable to farmers a good deal of delusion seems to prevail, as if the established modes in general use among mercantile men would not answer. In fact, there is no correct mode of keeping accounts but by the principles of double entry. 4897. The account books for a common farmer may be, a cash-book for all receipts and payments, specifying each ; a ledger for accounts with dealers and tradesmen ; and a stock book for taking, once a year, an inventory and valuation of stock, crop, manures, tillages, and every thing that a tenant could dispose of or be paid for on quitting his farm. Fanning may be carried on with the greatest accuracy and safety, as to money matters, by means of the above books, and a few pocket memorandum books for labourers' time, jobs, &c. With the exception of a time-book, such as we have before described (3383), we should never require more, even from a proprietor's bailiff; many of whom the nine forms just given (4887) would only puzzle, and some we have known them lead to the greatest errors and confusion. Munro's &uide to Farm Book-keeping (Edin.'ISmo. 1821) may be recommended to the practical farmer ; but no form of books, or mode of procedure will enable a farmer to know whether he is losing or gaining but that of taking stock. 4898. A form for a cattle stock account has been recommended by Sir Patrick Murray, of which it may be useful to present a specimen. This form. Sir Patrick observes, has been kept at his estate of Ochtertyre, in Perthshire, for twenty-two years, and found per- fectly adapted to the purpose in view ; being sufficiently simple in form to be under- stood by every farm manager, and sufficiently comprehensive in particulars to embrace all the requisite details. They may be either made up quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly. Sir Patrick adopts the half-yearly mode. 794 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paet III. I I B 1 ■i ■: .4 1 i s 1 1 -a i 6 ' 1 ■a |s i « 6 • 4 4 ^ S. 1 > 4S -1 i 2 1 ' c ■ " . 1 " * ' ' • " s ■ if 1 1 s ■ S m X « M c*s caK dS ^ o* M s s •o 1 1 i OJr-lrHi-tOiI>C«I>COO)0 lO^WMO) S " s BookV. management of servants. 795 Sect. II. Management of Servants. 4900. Informer times, farm servants lived at the same table with their masters, and that is still die practice in those districts where the farms are small. On moderate-sized, and on large farms, they are usually sent to a separate table ; but of late a custom has been introduced of putting them on board-wages. This is a most pernicious practice ; which often leads them to the ale-house, corrupts their morals, and injures their health. It is a better plan, with a view of lessening trouble, to board them with the bailiiT; but it is still more desirable for the farmer to have them under his own eye, that he may attend to their moral conduct. He will find much more useful assistance from the decent and the orderly than from the idle and the profligate. 4901. The best m^de of managitig yearly mMrried servants, whether ploughmen or labourers, we conceive to be that already referred to (4870) as practised in Northumberland, and other northern counties. Marshal {Seview of Baileys Northumberland) calls it a remain of feudal times ; but certainly, if it be so, it appears one of those remains which should be carefully preserved. We may challenge the empire to produce servants and farm operations equal to those where this system is adopted. The great excellence of the system consists on its being founded in the comfort of the servant. 4902. Tlie permanent labourers on a farm ought to be treated in the same manner as the ploughmen ; and indeed it is much to be wished, for the sake both of humanity and morality, that all married labourers, who live in the country, should have gardens attached to their cottages, if not a cow kept, and a pig and fowls, in the manner of the Scottish ploughmen. Some valuable observations on this subject will be found in The Husbandry tf Scotland' 4903. Temporary labourers, or such as are engaged for hay-making, reaping, turnip- hoeing, &c. are for the most part beyond the control of the farmer, as to their living and lodging. It is a good practice, however, where hay-making and reaping are performed by the day, to feed the operators, and to lodge on the premises such of them as have not homes in the neighbourhood ; providing them with a dry loft and warm blankets. Piece or job-work, however, is now becoming so very general, in all farm operations performed by occasional labourers, that attention to these particulars becomes unnecessary, and the farmer's chief business is to see that the work be properly done. 4904. A day's work of a country labourer, is ten hours during the spring, summer, and autumn quarters. Farmers, however, are not at all uniform in their hours of working during these periods. Some begin at five o'clock, rest three hours at mid- day, during the more violent heat of the sun, and fill up their day's work by beginning again at one o'clock, and ending at six in the evening. Others begin at six, and end at six, allovring Iialf an hour at breakfast, and an hour at dinner. But although these are the ordinary hours, both for servants and labourers, during the more busy sea- sons of the year, yet neither of them will scruple to work either sooner or later, when occasion requires. In regard to the winter months, the hours of labour are from the dawn of morm'ng, as long as it is light, with the allowance of about half an hour at mid- day for dinner. 4905. That the rate of labour must in a great measure depend upon the price of grain, is a general principle. In England, the value of a peck of wheat, and in Scotland, of a peck of oatmeal (being the principal articles of subsistence of the lower orders of the people in the two countries), were long accounted an equivalent to the daily pay of a labourer. In both countries, however, the price of potatoes has, of late years, had a considerable influence on the rate of labour ; and in England, the effects of the poor laws have tended to keep down that rate below the increased price of provisions, and thus have deranged the natural progress of things. It has been ascertained, tiiat a man, his wife, and from two to three children, if wheat is their habitual food, will require ten gallons weekly. When they live on bread, hard-working people ought to have the best kind, as that will furnish the most nutrition. How, then, could a labourer and his family exist upon wages of from 6s. to Ss. per week, when wheat is from 8s. to 10s. or 12s. per bushel? The difference is compensated by the poor-rates, a most exceptionable mode of making up the deficiency ; for labour would otherwise have found its own level, and the labourer would have obtained the price of a bushel and a half of wheat weekly. 4906. In Scotland, the rate of labour has increased beyond the price of provisions. Prior to 1792, the average price of a peck of oatmeal was Is. Id., and the average price of a day's labour in summer 1*. l^d., which nearly corresponded with the principle above stated : but the average pi ice of a peck of oatmeal in 1810 was Is. ^d., whilst the average price of a day's labour was Is. lOJrf. : which shows, in a most satis- factory manner, the very great improvement that lias taken place in tlie lot of the labouring classes in that part of the United Kingdom. {Gen. Hep. vol iii. p. 262.) 4907. The practice qf giving labourers grain, Sfc. at a cheap rate was adopted by George III., who car- ried on farming operations to a considerable extent, allowing.his labourers flour at a fixed price, whatever wheat might sell for. This benevolent system has been practised by several gentlemen farmers, some of whom have allowed bread, and others a daily quantity of milk, at moderate prices. The same system is general in several of the western counties, as in Dorset, Devon, and Cornw.ill, where the labourers have a standing supply of bread-corn ; of wheat at 6«. and of barley at 3s. per busheL In some of the midland 796 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pam IIL counties the day-wages are regulated by the price of the best wheaten bread : thus the price of a half, peck loaf forms the day.wages for out-of-door farm servants. Of late years this rule has been departed from in favour of the labourers ; thus, when bread is at Is. Si. the half.peck, then wages are U. Vki. ; and when at 2s., the wages are Ss, 4d. 4908. Most descriptions of country labour, performed without the aid of horses, may be let by the job. Farey, in his excellent Report of Derbyshire, informs us, that besides all ordinary labour, the late John Billingsley, of Ashwick Grove, in Somersetshire, let his ploughing, harrovring, rolling, sowing, turning of corn when cut, hay-making, &c. by the acre ; from which he found great advantages, even where his own oxen and horses were used by the takers of the work. Whether we regard despatch, economy, perfec- tion of rural works, or the bettering of the condition of the labourers therein, nothing will contribute so much to all these as a general system of letting works at fair and truly apportioned prices, according to the degree of labour and skill required in each kind of work. Few persons have doubted that despatch and economy are attainable by this method ; but those who have indolently or improperly gone about the letting of their labour, have uniformly complained of its being slovenly done, and of the proneness of the men to cheat when so employed. Such frauds are to be expected in all modes of employment, and can only be counteracted, or made to disappear, by competent knowledge and due vigilance in the employer, or his agents and' foremen, who ought to study and understand the time and degree of exertion and skill, as well as the best methods, in all their minutiae, of performing the various works they have to let. At first sight these might seem to be very difficult and unattainable qualifications in farmers' bailiffs or foremen, but it is nevertheless certain, that a proper system and perseverance will soon overcome these difficulties. One of the first requisites is, the keeping of accurate and methodical day-accounts of all men employed; and, on the measuring up and calculating of every job of work, to register how much has been earned per day, and never to attempt abatement of the amount, should this even greatly exceed the ordinary day's pay of the country ; but let this experience g^ned operate in fixing the price of the next job of the same work, in order to lessen the earnings by degrees, of fully competent and industrious men, to 1^ or 1 J times the ordinary wages when working by the day. 4909. Form the men into small gangs, according to their abilities and industry, and always set the befit gang about any new kind of work, or one whose prices want regulating ; enco^urage these by liberal prices at first, gradually lowering them ; and by degrees introduce the other gangs to work with or near them at the same kind of work. On the discovery of any material slight of or deceptions in the work, at the time of measuring it, more than their proportionate values should be deducted for them, and a separate job made to one of the best gangs of men, for completing or altering it : by which means shame is made to operate, with loss of earnings, in favour of greater skiiy, attention, and honesty in future: When the necessity occurs of employing even the best men by the day, let the periods be as short as possible, and the prices considerably below job earnings ; and contrive, by the offer of a desirable job to follow, to make it tneir interest and wish to despatch the work that is necessary to be done by the day, in order to get again to piece-work. The men being thus induced to study and contrive the readiest and best methods of performing every part of their labour, and of expending their time, the work will unquestionably be better done than by the thoughtless drones who usually work by the day. And that these are the true methods of bettering the condition of the labourers, Malthus has ably shown in theory ; and all those who have adopted and persevered in them have seen the same in practice. [Fare^'s Derbyshire, vol iii. 192.) Sect. III. Arrav^ejnent cf Farm Lahcfwr* 4910. The importance of order and system we have already insisted on (3370), and the subject can hardly be too often repeated. To conduct an extensive farm well is not a matter of trivial moment, or one to the management of which every man is competent. Much may be effected by capital, skill, and industry ; but even these will not always ensure success without judicious arrangement. "With it, a farm furnishes an uninter- rupted succession of useful labour during all the seasons of the year ; and the most is made that circumstances will admit of, by regularly employing the labouring persons and cattle, at such works as are likely to be the most profitable. Under such a system it is hardly to be credited how little time is lost, either of the men or horses, in the course of a whole year. This is a great object ; for each horse may be estimated at three shillings per day, and each man at two shillings. Every day, therefore, in which a man and horse are unemployed occa.sions the loss of at least five shillings to the husbandman. 4911. As the foundation of a proper arrangement, it is necessary to have a plan of the farm, or at least a list of the fields or parcels of land into which it is divided, describing their productive extent, the quality of the soil, the preceding crops, the cultivation given to each, and the species and quantity of manure they have severally received. The future treatment of each field, for a succession of years, may then be resolved on with more probability of success. With the assistance of such a statement, every autumn an arrangement of crops for the ensuing year ought to be made out ; classing the fields or pieces of land, according to the purposes for which they arc respectively intended. The number of acres allotted for arable land, meadow, or pasture, will thus be ascertained. It will not then be difficult to discover what number of horses and labourers vrill be BookV. domestic management. 797 required during the season for the fields in culture, nor the live stock that will be neces- sary for the pasture land. The works of summer and harvest wUl likewise be foreseen, and proper hands engaged in due time to perform them. 4912. A farmer should have constantly in view a judicious rotation of cropSt according to the nature and quality of his soil, and should arrange tiie quantity and succession of labour accordingly. Team labour, when frost and bad weather do not intervene, should be arranged for some months ; Mid hand labour, for some weeks, according to the season of the year. « A general memorandum list of business to be done," may therefore be usefulj that nothing may escape the memory, and that the most requisite work may be brought forward first, if suitable to the state of the weather. In this way the labour will go on regularly, and without confusion ; while, by a proper attention, either a dis- tribution of labour, or an occasion£d consolidation of it, may be applied to every part of the farm. 4913. As general ruleSt connected with the arrangement, and the successful manage- ment of a farm, the following are particularly to be recommended : — 4914. The farmer ought to rise early, and see that others do so. In the winter season breakfast should be taken by candle-light, for by this means an hour is gained which many fanners indolently lose ; though six hours in a week are nearly equal to the working part of a winter day. This is amaterial object, where a number of servants are employed. Tt is also particularly necessary for farmers to insist on the punctual performance of their orders. 4915. The whole farm should be regularly inspected^ and not only every field examined, but every beast seen, at least once a day, either by the occupier, or by some intelligent servant. 4916. In a considerable farm, it is of the utmost consequence to have servants specially appropriated for each of the most important departments of labour ; for there is often a great loss of time, where per- sons are frequently changing their employments. Besides, where the division of labour is introduced, work is executed not only more expeditiously, but also much better, in consequence of the same hands being constantly employed in one particular department For that purpose, the ploughmen ought never to be employed in manual labour, but regularly kept at work with their horses, when the weather will admit of it 4917. To arrange the operation of ploughing^ according to the soils cultivated, is an object of essential importance On many farms there are fields which are soon rendered unfit to be ploughed, either by much rain or by severe drought In such cases, the prudent farmer, before the wet season commences, should plough such land as in the greatest danger of being injured by too much wet ; and before the dry period of the year sets in, he should till such land as in the greatest danger of being rendered unfit for ploughing by too much drought. The season between seed-time and winter may be well occupied in working soils intended to be sown with beans, oats, barley, and other spring crops. On farms where these rules are attended to there is always some land in a proper condition to be ploughed, or to be worked by the improved harrows or grubbers ; and there is never any necessity either for delaying the work, or performing it improperly. 4918. Euei'y means should be thought of to diminish labour, or to increase its power. For instance, by proper arrangement, five horses may do as much labour as six perform, according to the usual mode of employing them. One horse may be employed in carting turnips during winter, or in other necessary farm-work at other seasons, without the necessity of reducing the number of ploughs. When driving dung from the farm-yard, three carts may be used, one always filling in the yard, another going to the field, and a third returning ; the leading horse of the empty cart ought then to be unyoked, and put to the full one. In the same manner, while one pair of horses are preparing the land for sowing turnips, the other three horses may be employed in carrying the dung to the land, either with two or three carts, as the situation of the ground may happen to require. By extending the same management to other farm operations, a considerable saving of labour may be effected. 4919. Previously to engaging in a vwrk, whether of ordinary practice, or of intended improvement, the best consideration of which the farmer is capable ought to be given to it, till he is satisfied that it is advisable for him to attempt it When begun, he ought to proceed in it with much attention and perseverance, until he has given it a fair triaL It is a main object, in carrying on improvements, not to attempt too much at once j and never to begin a work without a probability of being able to finish it In due season. 4920. By the adoption of these rules, everyfarTner mil be master of his time, so that every thing required to be done will be performed at the proper moment, and not delayed till Se season and opportunity have been lost. The impediments arising from bad wea- ther, sick servants, or the occasional and necessary absence of the master, wiU, in that case, be of little consequence, nor will they embarrass the operations to be carried on ; and the occupier will not be prevented from attending to even the smallest concerns con- nected with his business, on the aggregate of which his prosperity depends. Sect. IV, Domestic Management aTtd personal Expenses. 4921. On doTTiestic affairs a hint may suiHce. Young farmers beginning house^ keeping, like most others in similar circumstances, are apt to sink too great a proportion of their capital in furniture, and furnishing riding-horses, carriages, &c. ; and some- times to live up to, or even beyond, their income. We do not mean that farmers should not live as well as other men of the same property ; but merely that all beginners should live within their income. Even in the marketing expenses care is requisite ; and the prudent farmer will do well, every penny or sixpence he lays out, to reckon up in his mind what that sum per day would amount to in a year. The amount will often astonish him, and lead to economy and, where practicable, retrenchment. Saving, as Franklin has inculcated, is the only certain way of accumulating money. 4922. In regard to housekeeping, it is observed in The Code of Agriculture, that the safest plan is, not to suffer it to exceed a certain sum for bought articles weekly. An annual sum should be allotted for clothing, and the pefsonal expenses of the farmer, his 798 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pam HI- wife and children, which ought not to be exceeded. The whole allotted expense should be considerably within the probable receipts; and, if possible, one eighth ot the income annually received should be laid up for contingencies, or expended in extra improve- ments on the farm. BOOK VI. CDLTUIIE OF FARM LANDS. 4923. The business of farming consists of the culture of vegetables, and the treatment or culture of animals ; in practice these are generally carried on together, but may be more conveniently treated of apart. In this Book, therefore, we confine ourselves to the culture of vegetable, and shall consider in succession the general processes of culture ; the culture of corn and pulse ; of roots and leaves ; of herbage plants ; of grasses ; and of manufactorial plants. Chap. I. General Processes common to Farm Lands- 4924. Among general processes, those which merit particular notice in this place are, the rotation of crops, the working of fallows, and the management of manures. The theory of these processes has been already given in treating of soils and manures (Part II. Book III.) ; and it therefore only remains to detail their application to practice under different circumstances. Sect. I. Rotation of Crops suitable to different Descriptions of Soils- 4925. The proper distribution of crops, and a plan for t/ieir succession, is one of the first subjects to which a farmer newly entered on a farm requires to direct his attention. The kind of crops to be raised are determined in » great measure by the climate, soil, and demand, and the quantity of each by the value, demand, and the adjustment of farm labour. 4926. In the adjustment of farm labour, the great art is to divide it as equally as pos- sible throughout the year. Thus it would not answer in any situation to sow exclusively autumn crops, as wheat or rye ; nor only spring corns, as oats or barley ; for by so doing all the labour of seed-time would come on at once, and the same of harvest work, while the rest of the year there would be little to do on the farm. But by sowing a portion of each of these and other crops, the labour both of seed-time and harvest is divided and rendered easier, and is more likely to be done well and in season. But this point is so obvious as not to require elucidation. 4927. The succession or rotation of crops is a point on which the profits of the farmer depend more than on any other. It is remarked by Arthur Young, that agricultural writers, previously to the middle of the eighteenth century, paid little or no attention to it. They recite, he says, courses good, bad, and execrable in the same tone, ;is matters not open to praise or censure, and unconnected with any principles that could throw light on the arrangement of fields. The first writer who assigned due importance to the subject of rotations seems to have been the Rev. Adam Dickson, in his 7'reatise on j^griculture, published in Edinburgh in 1777 ; and soon afterwards Lord Kaimes, in his Gentleman Farmer, illustrates the importance of the subject : both writers were probably led to it by observing the effects of the Norfolk husbandry, then beginning to be introduced to Berwickshire. But whatever may have been the little attention paid to this subject by former writers, the importance of the subject of rotations, and the rule founded on the principles already laid down, that culmiferous crops ripening their seeds should not be repeated without the intervention of pulse, roots, herbage, or fallow, is now "recognised in the practice and writings of all judicious cultivators, more generally perhaps than any other." {Edit, of Farmer's Mag.) 4928. Tlie system ofrotatiom is adapted lur every soil, though no particular rotation can be given for any one soil wliicii will answer in all cases ; as something depends on climate, and something also on the kind of produce for which there is the greatest market demand. But wherever the system of rotations is foUowed, and the several processes of labour which belong to it properly executed, land will rarely get into a foul and exhausted state, or at least, if foul and exhausted under a judicious rotation. " matters would be much worse were any other system followed." 4929. Tke particular crops which enter into a system of rotation must obviously be such as are suited to the soil and climate, though, as the experienced author so often quoted observes, " they will be somewhat varied by local circumstances, such as the proximity of towns and viUages, where there is a greater de- mand for turnips, potatos, bay, &c. than in thinly peopled districts. In general, beans and clover with rye-grass, are interposed between corn crops on clayey soils ; and turnips, potatoes, and clover with rye- grass on dry loams and sands, or what are technically known by the name of turnip soils A variety of Book VI. ROTATION OF CROPS. 799 other plants, such as peas, tares, cabbages, and carrots, occupy a part, though commonly but a small part, of that division of a farm which is allotted to green crops, 'i'ltis order of succcsfiion is called the system or alternate kusbamLry ; and on rich soils, or such as have access to abundance of putrescent manure, it ia certainly the most productive of all others, both for food for man and for the inferior animals. One half of a farm is in this course always under some of the different species of cereal grasses, and the other half under pulse, roots, cultivated herbage, or plain fallow. 4930. But the greater part of the arable land of Britain cannot be maintained in a fertile state under this management; and sandy soils, even though highly manured, soon become too incohesive under a course of constant tillage. It therefore becomes necessary to leave that division or break that carries cul- tivated herbage to be pastured for two years or more, according to the degree of its consistency and fer- tility ; and all the fields of a farm are treated thus in their turn if they require it. This is called the system of convertible husbandrt/t a regular change being constantly going on from aration to pasturage, and vice versa. 4931. Not to repeat tlie same kind qfcrop at too short intervals, is another rule with regard to the sue cession of crops. Whatever may be the cause, whether it is to be sought for in the nature of the soil or of the plants themselves, experience clearly proves the advantages of introducing a diversity of species info every course of cropping. "When land is pastured several years before it is brought again under the plough, there may be less need for adhering steadily to this rule j- but the degeneracy of wheat and other Qorn crops recurring upon the same land every second year for a long period, has been very generally ac- knowledged. It is the same with what are called green crops ; beans and peas, potatos, turnips, and in an especial manner red clover, become all of them much less productive, and much more liable to disease, when they come into the course, upon the same land, every second, third, or fourth year. But what the interv^ ought to be has not yet been ascertained, and, from the great number of years that experiments must be continued to give any certain result, probably cannot be determined until the component parts of soils, and particularly the sort of vegetable nourishment which each species of plant extracts from the soil, have been more fully investigated. 4932. A change qf variety/ as well as of the species, and even of the plants of the same variety, is found to be attended with advantage ; and in the latter case, or a change of seed, the species and variety being the same, the practice is almost universal. It is well known, that of two parcels of wheat,'for instance, as much alike in quality as possible, the one which had grown on a soil difiering much from that on which it is to be sown, will yield a better produce than the other that grew in the same or a similar soil and cli- mate. The farmers of Scotland accordingly find that wheat from the south, even though it be not, as it usually is, better than their own, is a very advantageous change ; and oats and othei grain brought from a clayey to a sandy soil, other things being equal, are more productive than such as have grown on sandy soil {Supp. Encyc. Brit, art Agr. 144.) 4933. Thefollowmg are examples ofrotaimns suited to different soilst as given in Brown's excellent Treatise on Rural Affairs. The basis of every rotation, he says, " we hold to be either a bare summer fallow, or a fallow on which drilled turnips are cultivated, and its conclusion to be with the crops taken in the year preceding a return of fallow or drilled turnips, when of course a new rotation commences. 4934. Rotation for strong deep lands. According to this rotation, wheat and drilled beans are the crops to be cultivated, though clover and rye-grass may be taken for one year in place of beans, should such a variety be viewed as more eligibla The rotation begins with summer fallow, because it is only on strong deep lands that it can be profitably practised ; and it may go on for any length of time, or so long as the land can be kept clean, though it ought to stop the moment that the land gets into a contrary condition. A considerable quantity of manure is required to go on successfully ; perhaps dung should be given to each bean crop; and if this crop is drilled ^nd attentively horse-hoed, the rotation may turn out to be one oi the most profitable that can be exercised. 4935. Rotation for loaws and clays. Where it may not be advisable to carry the first rotation into execution, a different one can be practised, according to which labour will be more divided, and the usua. grains more generally cultivated; for instance, the following, which used to be common in East Lo- thian : — 1. Fallow, with dung, 4. Barley. 7. Beans drilled and horse-hoed. 2. Wheat 5. Clover and rye-grass. S. Wheat. 3. Beans, drilled and horse-hoed. 6. Oats or wheat This rotation is excellently calculated to insure an abundant return through the whole of it, provided dung is bestowed upon the clover stubble. Without this supply the rotation would be crippled, and inferior crops of course produced in the concluding years. 4936. Rotation for clays and loams qfan iTtferior description. This rotation is calculated for soils of an inferior description to those already treated of. 1. Fallow, with dung. 3. Clover and rye-grass. B. Beans, drilled and horse-hoed. 2. Wheat 4. Oats. 6. Wheat According to this rotation, also in use in East Lothian, the rules of good husbandry are studiously practised ; while the sequence is obviously calculated to keep the land in good order, and in such a condition as to ensure crops of the greatest valu& If manure is bestowed either upon the clover-stubble or before the beans are sown, the rotation is one of the best that can be devised for the soils mentioned. 4937. Rotation for thin clays. On thin clays gentle husbandry is indispensably necessary, otherwise the soil may be exhausted, and the produce unequal to the expense of cultivation. Soils of this description will not improve much while under grass ; but unless an additional stock of manure can be procured, there is a necessity of refreshing them in that way, even though the produce should in the mean time be compa- ratively of small value. The following rotation is not an improper one : — 1, Fallow, with dung. 3. Grass pastured, but not too early eaten. 5. Grass 2. Wheat 4 Grass, 6. Oats. This rotation may be shortened or lengthened, according to circumstances, but should never extend further in point of ploughing than when dung can be given to the fallow-break. This is the keystone of the whole ; and if neglected the rotation is rendered useless. 4938. Rotation for j^at earth soils. These are not friendly to wheat, unless aided by a quantity of cal careous matter. Taking them in a general point of view, it is not advisable to cultivate wheat but a crop of oats may almost be depended upon, provided the previous management has been judiciously exe- cuted. If the subsoil of peat earth lands is retentive of moisture, the process ought to commence with a bare summer fallow j but if such are incumbent on free and open bottoms, a crop of turnips may be sub- stituted for fallow ; according to which method, the surface will get a body which naturally it did not possess. Grass on such soils must always occupy a great space of every rotation, because physical cir- cumstances render regular cropping utterly impracticable. 1. Fallow, or turnips with dung. quantity of perennial rye- circumstances permit the land to a Oats of an early variety. grass. be broken up, when oaU are to be 3. Clover, and a considerable 4. Pasture for several years, till repeated. 800 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Past III. «Sa Botationfor light mill. These arc easily managed, though to procure a full return of the profit which they are capable of yielding, requires generally as much attention as is necessary in the manage, ment of those of a stronger description. Upon light soils, a bare summer fallow is seldom called for, as cleanliness may be preserved by growing turnips, and other leguminous articles. Grass also is of emi- nent advantage upon such soils, often yielding a greater prolit than what is afforded by culmiferoua crops. 1. Turnips. 3. Clover and rye-grass. S. Spring wheat, or barley. 4. Oats or wheat. This is a fashionable rotation ; but it may be doubted whether a continuance of it for any considerable period is advisable, because both turnips and clover are found to fall of?' when repeated so often as once in four years. Common red clover will not grow every four years, unless gypsum he restored to the land. Perhaps the rotation would be greatly improved were it extended to eight years, whilst the ground, by such an extension, would be kept fresh and constantly in good condition. As, for instance, were seeds for pas. ture sown in the second year, the ground kept three years under grass, broke up for oats in the sixth year, drilled with beans and peas in the seventh, and sown with wheat in the eighth ; the rotation would then be complete, because it included every branch of husbandry, and admitted a variety in management gene- rally agreeable to the soil, and always favourable to the interest of cultivators. The rotation may also con- sist of six crops, were the land kept only one year in grass, though few situations admit of so much cropping, unless additional manure is within reach. 4940. Rotation/or sandi/ soils. These, when properly manured, are well adapted to turnips, though it rarely happens that wheat can be cultivated on them with advantage, unless they are dressed with alluvial compost, marl, clay, or some such substances as will give a body or strength to them, which they do not naturally possess. Barley, oats, and rye, the latter especially, are, however, sure crops on sands, and in favourable seasons wiU return greater profit than can be obtained from wheat 1. Turnips well manured consumed on the ground. 3. Clover and rye-grass. 2. Barley sown with clover and rye-grass. 4. Wheat, rye, or oats, By keeping the land three years in grass, the rotation would be extended to six years, a measure highly advisable." 4941. These examples are sufficient to illustrate the subject of improved rotations ; but as the best general schemes may be sometimes momentarily deviated from V7ith ad- vantage, the same able author adds, that " cross cropping, in some cases, may perhaps be justifiable in practice ; as, for instance, we have seen wheat taken after oats with great success, when these oats had followed a clover crop on rich soil ; but, after all, as a ge- neral measure, that mode of cropping cannot be recommended. We have heard of another rotation, which comes almost under the like predicament, though, as the test of experience has not yet been applied, a decisive opinion cannot be pronounced upon its merits. This rotation begins with a bare fallow, and is carried on with wheat, grass for one year or more, oats, and wheat, where it ends. Its supporters maintain that beans are an uncertain crop, and cultivated at great expense ; and that in no othnr way will corn, in equal quantity and of equal value, be cultivated at so little expense as according to the plan mentioned. That the expense of cultivation is much lessened, we acknow- ledge, because no more than seven ploughings are given through the whole rotation ; but whether the crops will be of equal value, and whether the ground will be preserved in equally good condition, are points which remain to be ascertained by experience." {Brovm on Rural Affairs.^ 4942. As a general guide to demsing rotations on clay soils, it may be observed, that winter or autiunn sown crops are to be preferred to such as are put in in spring. Spring ploughing on such soils is a hazardous business, and not to be practised where it can possibly be avoided. Except in the case of drilled beans, there is not the slightest necessity for ploughing clays in the spring months ; but as land intended to carry beans ought to be early ploughed, so that the benefit of frost may be obtained, and as theseed furrow is an ebb one, rarely exceeding four inches in deepness, the hazard of spring ploughing for this article is not of much consequence. Ploughing with a view to clean soils of the description under consideration has little effect, unless g/ven in the summer months. This renders summer fallow indispensably necessary ; and without this radical process, none of the heavy and wet soils can be suitably managed, or preserved in a good condition. 4943. To adopt a judicious rotation of cropping for every soil, requires a degree of judgment in the farmer, which can only be gathered from observation and experience. The old rotations were calculated to wear out the soil, and to render it unproductive. To take wheat, barley, and oats in succession, a practice very common thirty years ago, was sufficient to impoverish the best of land, while it put little into the pockets of the farmer ; but the modern rotations, such as those which we have described, are founded on principles which ensure a full return from the soil, without lessening its value, or im- poverishing its condition. Much depends, however, upon the manner in which the different processes are executed ; for the best arranged rotation may be of no avail, if the processes belonging to it are imperfectly and unseasonably executed. (See 2221.) The best farmers in the northern counties now avoid over-cropping or treating land in any way so as to exhaust its powers, as the greatest of all evils. Sect. IT. The working of Fallows. 4944. The practice qffaUowing, as we have seen in our historical view of Greek and Roman agriculture, has existed from the earliest ages ; and the theory of its beneficial Book VI. FALLOWING. 801 effects we have endeavoured to explain. (2175.) The Romans with their agriculture in- troduced fallows in every part of Europe ; and two crops, succeeded either by a year*s fallow, or by leaving the land to rest for two or more years, became the rotation on all soils and under all circumstances. This mode of cultivating arable land is still the most universal in Europe, and was prevalent in Britain till the middle of the last century ; but as a crop was lost every year Uiey occun:ed, a powerful aversion from naked fallows arose about that time, and called forth numerous attempts to show tWat they were unnecessary, and consequently an immense public loss. This anti- fallowing mania, as it has been called, was chiefly supported by Arthur Young, Nathaniel Kent, and others, members or cor- respondents of the .Board of Agriculture : it was at its greatest height about the beginning of the present century, but has now spent its force ; and after exhausting all the argu- ments on both sides, as an able author has observed, " the practice does not appear to give way, but rather to extend." 4945. The expediericy or inexpedHency of pulverisiiig and cleaning the soil hy a hare fallow, is a question that can be detenxuned only by experience, and not by argument. No rea- sons, however ingenious, for the omission of this practice, can bring conviction to the mind of a farmer, who, in spite of all his exertions, finds, at the end of six or eight years, that his land is full of weeds, sour, and comparatively unproductive. Drilled and horse- hoed green crops, though cultivated with advantage on almost every soil are probably in general unprofitable as a substitute for fallow, and after a. time altogether inefficient. It is not because turnips, cabbages, &c. will not grow in such soils, that a fallow is re- sorted to, but because, taking a course of years, the value of the successive crops is found to be so much greater, even though an unproductive year is interposed, as to induce a preference to fallowing. Horse-hoed crops, of beans in particular, postpone the recur- rence of fallow, but in few situations can ever exclude it altogether. On the other hand, the instances that have been adduced, of a profitable succession of crops on soils of this description, without the intervention of a fallow, are so well authenticated, that it would be extremely rash to assert that it can in no case be dispensed with on clay soils. In- stances of this kind are to be found in several parts of Young's Annals of Agricul- ture ; and a very notable one, on Greg's farm of Coles, in Hertfordshire, is accurately detailed in the sixth volume of The Communications to the Board of Agriculture, 4946. The principal causes qf this extraordinart^ d^erence among men qf great experience, may probably be found in the quality of the soil, or in the nature of the climate, or in both. Nothing is more vague than the names by which soils are known in different districts. Greg's farm, in particular, though the soil is denominated " heavy arable land," and " very heavy land," is found so suitable to turnips, that a sixth part of it is always under that crop, and these are consumed on the ground by sheep; a system of management which every farmer must know to be altogether impracticable on the wet tenacious clays of other districts. It may indeed belaid down as a criterion for determining the question, that wherever this management can be profitably adopted, fallow, as a regular branch of the course, must be not less absurd than it is injurious, both to the cultivator and to the public. It is probable, therefore, that, in debating this point, the opposite parties are not agreed about the quality of the soil ; and, in particular, about its property of absorbing and retaining moisture, so different in soils that in common language have the same denomination. 4947- Another cause qf difference must be found in the climate It is well known that a great deal more rainfalls on the west than on the east coast of Britain; and that between the northern and southern counties there is at least a month or six weeks' difference in the maturation of the crops. Though the soily therefore, be as nearly as possible similar in quality and surface, the period in which it is accessible to agricultural operations must vary accordingly. Thus, in the south-eastern counties of the island, where the crops may be all cut down, and almost all carried home by the end of August, much may be done in cleansing and pulverising the soil, during the months of September and October, while the farmers of the north are exclusively employed in harvest work, which is frequently not finished by the beginning of November. In some districts in the south of England, wheat is rarely sown before December ; whereas in the north, and still more in Scotland, if it cannot be got completed by the end of October, it must com- monly be delayed till spring, or oats or barley be taken in place of wheat. It does not then seem of anj utility to enter farther into this controversy, which every skilful cultivator must determine for himself. All the crops, and all the modes of management which have been proposed as substitutes for fallow, are well known to such men, and would unquestionably have been generally adopted long ago, if, upon a careful consideration of the advantages and disadvantages on both sides, a bare fallow was found to be un- profitable in a course of years. The reader who wishes to examine the question fully may consult, among many others, the following:— Young's Annals of Agriculture, and his writings generally; Hunter's Georgical Essays ; Dickson's Practical Ag^-iculture ; Sir H. Davy's Agricultural Chemistry; The Agricultural Chemistri/ of Chapi3.\) Brown's Treatise on Sural Affiiirs ; The County Reports i The Ge- neral Report of Scotland, and the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 90. 4948. The importance of naked fallows has been ably pomted out by a writer in the work last referred to. " In order," he says, " to show more forcibly the difficulty of cleaning heavy lands for green crops, let us take a review of the time of the year in which these crops should be sown. In clay lands, beans must be sown in March at latest, and before that period of the year no one can pretend lo clean land at all. Finding it impossible to use them as a fallow crop, they are sown without dung on that part of the rotation which is penultimate to bare fallow. On light lands, beans will not carry much straw without manure, and their utility as a crop in the rotation is, ol course, thereby much decreased on such soils ; and if they are to be sown as a fallow crop with dung on the land that is to he appropriated to fallow, they give much less time for the preparatory cleaning of the land than turnips, as they must be sown at latest in April. On all kinds of soil potatoes must be planted by April ; and the same observations will, therefore, apply to them as to beans as a cleaner of the land. It is only from their great value as human food, and from their inability to grow without dung, that they are planted as a fallow crop ; because it is impracticable to keep land clean, and much more so to make it clean, under a potato fallow. Thus there is difficulty in cleaning land, without summer fallow, with beans and potatoes on every kind of soil in any spring, however favourable ; and it is quite impossible lo do 30 in a wet one. There is also difficulty in cleaning strong clay land even by tumip.tirae in May ; and 3 F 802 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE Part III. the greatest facility which a fanner possesses of cleaning his land or keeping it clean, under a green crop, Is by a turnip one, on a light soil resting on an open bottom, in a dry season. This last instance amounts, in fact, to all the boasted possibility of keeping land clean by green crops, without the assistance of bare fallow. But even this substitution is only an approximation to cleanliness ; for every one knows, who has farmed light soils for a series of rotations, whatever his practice may be, that even the turnip crop cannot be raised on them for an indefinite period without the land getting foul with root-weeds^ such as quicks and knot grass ; and no better mode of extirpating these formidable robbers of the artificial nourishment of the cultivated crops, than by bare fallowing, has yet been discovered. They are the rooks of the soil. Indeed, the practice of tlie best farmers of light land, however great their desire to curtail the extent of bare fallow may be, is to haveaportion of the land under fallow, though the extent of it may no doubt be limited by the want of manure, from a desire to keep their land clean ; and this is accomplished by summer fallowing that portion of it which had carried potatoes in the preceding rotation, and raising the potatoes and turnips on that part which had been previously thoroughly cleaned by summer fallowing. This is a good practice, not only as a means of keeping land clean, but as following out that system of alternate husbandry of white and green crops, which has, by abolishing a succession of white crops with their scourging eflbcts, tended more than any other to render the soil of these islands all alike fertile. But will summer fallow keep land clean ? Undoubtedly it will, if properly performed. It gives the op- portunity of working land in June and July, when every crop should be in the ground, and when the sun IS so powerful, and the atmosphere so warm and dry, as to kill every plant that has not a hold of the ground. The process already described, of ploughing, harrowing, and rolling,' according to the state of the ground, is admirably adapted for cutting the matted land in pieces, for shaking the detached lumps of earth asunder, and for bruising to powder every hardened ball of earth into which the fibres or roots of weeds might penetrate ; and the hand-picking carries off every bit of weed which might possess any latent vegetative power. Land that cannot be cleaned under such favourable circumstances as to season, must be excessively foul, the season very wet and cold, or the fallowing process conducted with great slovenliness. It must be confessed, that fallowing is too often worked very negligently. It is thought by some, that the land can be cleaned at any time before seed.time in autumn ; and other things of less importance too often attract the attention from the more important fallow ; that weeds, though they do grow, can be easily ploughed down, and that the ploughing of them down assists to manure the land. Such thoughts tbo oflefi prevail over better knowledge ; and they furnish a strong argument in favour of increasing, rather than of diminishing, the means of cleanliness. But such thoughts display, in their effects, great negligence and ignorance : negligence, in permitting any weeds to cover the land, particularly the root- growing ones, by which the strength of the soil is exhausted, and in losing the most favourable part of the season to accomplish their destruction ; and ignorance, in thinking that weeds ploughed down afford nourishment to the soil, when that soil has been exhausting itself in bearing the crop of weeds. These are facts which are known to every practical farmer, and the nature of which presses upon him a conviction of the necessity of summer fallowing more strongly than all the arguments that can be most speciously drawn, by analogy, from the practice of other arts. Reasoning from analogy is feeble when opposed to experience. Gardeners, no doubt, raise crops every year from the same piece of ground } but their practice is not quite analogous to that of the husbandman. They apply a great quantity of manure to the soil, and they permit few or no plants to run to seed, the bringing of which to perfection, in the cereal crops, constitutes the great exhaustion to the soil. Gardeners, however, do something like fal- lowing their ground at stated periods, as every three or four years they dig the ground a double spit of the spade in depth, and lay it up in winter to the frost ; and they reserve alternate pieces of ground for the support of late crops j all which practices approach nearly to our ideas of summer fallowing." {Qu(m: Jour. Ag. vol ii. p.l05.) 4949. Fallows unnecessm-y on friable soils. However necessary the periodical recurrence of fallow may be on retentive clays, its warmest advocates do not recommend it on turnip soils, or on any friable loams incumbent on a porous subsoil ; nor is it in any case necessary every third year, according to the practice of some districts. On the best cultivated lands it seldom returns oftener than once in six or eight years ; and in favourable situations for obtaining an extra supply of manure, it may be advantageously dispensed with for a still longer period. {Suppl. to Em^c. Brit. art. Agr.) 4950. The operation of fallowings as commonly practised in England, is, in usefulness and effect, very different from what it ought to be. In mo.st places the first furrow is not given till the spring, or even till the month of May or June ; or, if it is given earUer, the second is not given till after midsummer, and on the third the wheat is sown. Land may rest under this system of management ; but to clean it from weeds, to pulverise it, or to give it the benefits of aeration and heat, is impossible. The farmer in some cases pur- posely delays ploughing his fallows, for the sake of the scanty bite the couch and weeds afford to his sheep ; and for the same reason, having ploughed once, he delays the second ploughing. It is not to be wondered at, that under such a system, the theoretical agri- culturist should have taken a rooted aversion from what are thus erroneously termed fallows. The practice of the best farmers of the northern counties is very different, and that practice we shall here detail. 4951. A jiroper fallow invariably commences after harvest ; the land intended to be fallowed getting one ploughing, which ought to be as deep as the soil will admit, even though a little of the till or subsoil is brought up. This both tends to deepen the cultivated, or manured, soil, as the fresh accession of hitherto uncultivated earth becomes afterwards incorporated with the former manured soil, and greatly facilitates the separation of the roots of weeds during the ensuing fallow process, by aetaching them completely from any connection with the fast subsoil This autumnal ploughing, usually i^alled the winter furrow, promotes the rotting of stubble and weeds ; and, if not accomplished towards the end of harvest, must be given in the winter months, or as early in the spring as possible. In giving this first ploughing, the old ridges should be gathered up, if practicable, as in that state they are kept dry during the winter months ; but it is not uncommon to split them out or divide them, especially if the land had been previously highly gathered, so that each original ridge of land is divided into two half ridges. Sometimes, when the land is easily laid dry, the furrows of the old ridges are made the crowns ofthe new ones, or the land is ploughed in the way technically called crown~and-furrow. In other instances, two ridges are ploughed together, by what is called oastirtg^ which has been already described. After the field is ploughed, all the inter- furrows, and those of the headlands, are carefully opened up by the plough, and are afterwards gone over effectually by a labourer with a spade, to remove all obstructions, and to open up the water furrows into the fence ditches, wherever that seems necessary, that all moisture may have a ready exit. In everyplace where water is expected to lodge, such as dishes^ or hollow places in the field, cross or oblique furrows are drawn by the plough, and their intersections carefully opened into each other bylthe spade. Where- ever it appears necessary, cross cuts are alw> made through the head ridges into the ditches with a spade, and every possible attention is exerted, that no water may stagnate in any part of the field. , 4952. As soon as the spring seed-time is over, the fallow land is again ploughed end-long. If formerly fplit, it is now ridged up ; if formerly laid up in gathered ridges, it U split or cloven down. It is then Book VI. MANAGEMENT OF MANURES. 803 f»t>ss-p1oughed ; and after lying till sufficiently dry to admit the harrows, it is harrowed and rolled re. peatedly, and every particle of the vivacious roots of weeds brought up to view, carefully gathered by hand into heaps, and either burnt on the field, or carted oft' to the compost heap. The fallow is then ridged up, which places it in a safe condition in the event of bad weather, and exposes a new surface to the harrows and roller j after which the weeds are again gathered by hand, but a previous harrowing is necessary. It is afterwards ploughed, harrowed, roUed, and gathered as often as it may be necessary to reduce it into fine tilth, and completely to eradicate all root-weeds. Between these successive operations, repeated crops of seedling weeds are brought into vegetation, and destroyed. The larvic likewise of various insects, together with an infinite variety of the seeds of weeds, are exposed to be devoured by birds, which are then the farmer's best friends, though often proscribe as his bitterest enemies. 49S3. The ute (jf the harrow and rotUr m Ihe Jbtlom pracua, has been condemned by some writers on husbandrj, who aU^e that frequent ptougihing is all that is necessary to d&troy root- weeds, by the baking or diyinff of the clods In the sun and wind ; but experience lias ascertained, that freauenUj tumini; over the groand, iliaui£h absolutely necessary while the fkUow process is ^ng on, can neTcr eradicate couch-^p^ss or other toot-weed& In all clay soils, the ground turns up in lumps or clods, which the severest drought will not penetrate so suiH- ciently as to kill tlie included roots. When the land is ai^n ploughed, these lumiis are turned over and no more, and the action of the plough serves in no degree to reduce iham, or at least very impercep'ibly. It niav be added, that these lumps likewise encfose innumerable seeds of weeds,' which cannot vegetate unless brought under the influence of the sun and air near the surface. The diligent use, therefore, rf the harrow and roller, fblloved by careful hand-pii'king, is indispensably necessary to the perfection of a fallow process. (Central Re- poit of Scoltand, vol. iv.'p. 419.) 49M. The working qfJiiUawM ^ the grabber, in an im)Kirtant modem improvement. We have already described several of these implements, and shall here introduce one which has been made public since the first five hundred pages of this work were printed. 4955. Kir/crvoad^s imprtmed gntlAer (,/i^. 721.) has thrs.pecu- liar advantage, that " iIk whole of the body of tlie instrument, and cf course all the teeth, can be r^seit out of the ground at pleasure* and even while the machine is in motion : which is extremely convenient^ not only in turning at the head ridges. but whenever an obstruction Is met with in the ground, arising from rocky, retentive, or other impenetrnbte soils In such of the-«as would completely interrupt tbenrogresiiof theordinarr instrument, this proceeds witli ease, by merely beint; lifted more or lesS over them. The operation is performed by the driver bearing with his weight on the guiding handles of the Cbb^r ; and this pressure is made to raise the whole machine I very skilful application of mechanical power. The pres- sure on ine guiding handles [uj, it will be observed, turns the whole handl^ round the axle of the hind wheels {b b], as round a fulcrum, so that the handle then becomes a lever, on the shorter ei'.remity of wh;ch the frame of the teeth rests. It is evident, therefore, that b>- bearing 05 the hinidtc which forms the long end of the lever, the shorter end must be raised, and along with it the hinder part of theteelh-franie, and, of course! the teeth also. But there is sdll another contrivance, by which the force is made to act at the same time on the forepart of the frame, and to raise it likewise. This is done l>y a long rod (J e], which is attached at the extremity to afiilcrum (d), raised on the handle frame, and at the other to the one end of a bent lever (e/^J, which turns on the axle of the fore wheel as a centre, and at an intermediate point carries the fore end of the teeth frame. While the handle, therefore, is depressed, and raises the hinder part of this frame, it at the same time pulls the rod, turns Ihe front lever round the axle of the fore wheel, and by this means elevates the teeth before as well as behind. The whole operation is simple, ingenious, and efficienL" iHiglU. Soe. TmjiM. vol. viii. p. l32.) 4956. When effectually reduced to fine tUth^ and thoroughly cleaned from roots and weeds, the fallow is ploughed end-long into gathered ridges or lands, usually fifteen or eighteen feet broad. If the seed is to be drilled, the lands or ridges are made of such widths as may suit the construction of the particular driiU machine to be employed. If the seed is to be sown by hand, the lands or ridges are commonly formed into what are called single or double cast ridges; the first of four paces or steps, and the latter of eightsteps in width. These widths are found the most convenient for a one-handed sower. An expert sower can, however, measure his handful to almost any width ; but the above long experience has made the standard. After the land has been once gathered "by a deep furrow, proportioned to the depth of the culti- vated soil, the manure is laid on, and evenly spread over the surface, whether muck, lime, marl, or com. post. A second gathering is now given by the plough : and this being generally the furrow upon which the seed is sown, great care is used to plough as equally as possible. After the seed is sown and the land thoroughly harrowed, all the inter-fiurows, furrows of the headlands, and oblique or gaw furrows, are carefully opened up by the plough, and cleared out by the spade, as already mentioned, respecting the first or winter ploughing. 4957. TAe expense offaUo-mng may appear, from what has been said, to be very con- siderable, when land has been allowed to become stocked with weeds ; but if it be kept under regular management, corn alternating with drilled pulse or green crops, the sub- sequent returns of fallow will not require near so much labour. In common cases, from four to six ploughings are generally given, with harrowing and rolling between, as may be found necessary ; and, as we have already noticed, the cultivator may be employed to diminish this heavy expense. But it must be considered, that upon the manner in which the fallow operations are conducted, depend not only the ensuing wheat crop, but in a great measure all the crops of the rotation. (Supp, to Encyc* Brit. art. Agr. 128.) Sect. III. General Management of Manures, 4958. The manures of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin have been already described, and their operation explained. (222^.) But a very few of these substances can be ob- tained by fanners in general ; whose standard resources are farm-yard dung and lime, and composts of these with earth. It is on the management of these that we propose to deliver ihe practice of the best British farmers. 3 F 2 804 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. SuBSECT. 1. Management of Fami'ynrd Dung. 4959. The basis of farm^yard dung is straw, to which is added, in its progress through the farm-yard, the excrementitious substances of live stock. From every ton of dry straw, about three tons of farm-yard dung may be obtained, if the after-management be properly conducted ; and, as the weight of straw per acre runs from one ton to one and a half, about four tons of dung, on an average of the different crops, may be produced from the straw of every acre under corn. {Husbandry of Scotland, vol, ii.) Hence (it may be noticed) the great importance of cutting corn as low as possible ; a few inches at the root of the stalk weighing more than double the same length at the ear. 4960. The conversion qf straw iiao farm yard dung in the farmery, is thus efffected : — The straw is served out to cattle and horses in the houses and fold-yards, either as provender or litter, and commonly for both purposes ; turnips in winter, and green clover in summer, are given to the stock both in the houses and yards : on this food the animals pass a great deal of urine, and afford the means of converting the straw into a richer manure than if it were eaten alone. All the dung from the houses, as they are cleaned out, is regularly spread over the yards in which young cattle are left loose, where litter is usually allowed in great abundance; or over the dunghill itself, if there is one at hand. This renders the quality of the whole mass more uniform ; and the horse-dung, which is of a hot nature, promotes the decomposition of the woody fibres of the straw. 4961. The preparation qf the contents of the farm-yard for laying on the land, is by turning it over ; or, what is preferable, carting it out to a dunghill. The operation of carting out is usually performed during the frosts of winter : it is then taken to the field in which it is to be employed, and neatly built in dunghills of a square form, three or four feet high, and of such a length and breadth as circumstances may require. What is laid up in this manner early in winter, is commonly sufficiently prepared for turnips in June ; but if not carried from the straw-yards till spring, it is necessary to turn it once or oftener, for the purpose of accelerating the decomposition of the strawy part of the mass. When dung is applied to fallows in July or August, preparatively to autumn-sown wheat, a much less degree of putrefaction will suffice than for turnips : a clay soil, on which alone fallows should ever be resorted to, not reauiring dung so much rotted as a finely pulverised turnip soil ; and besides, as the wheat does not need all the benefit of the dung for some time, the woody fibre is gradually broken down in the course of the winter, and the nourishment of the plants continued till spring, or later: when its effects are most beneficial 4962. Management of stable dung. There is a most valuable paper on this subject by Lord Meadow- bank, in the second volume of the Com, to the Board of Agr. " His lordship has ever found, that, instead of dung being the richest manure when completely fermented, it should, if possible, belaid on when very imperfectly fermented, but nevertheless when the process is going on at such a rate as that it must con- tinue after mixture with the soil till it is completed. Every gardener knows, that the dung used in hot- beds has little effect in comparison of fresh dung; and every farmer knows, that a dunghill, which has by any accident been kept for years, is of little more value than so much very rich earth. Every person of attention, too, must nave remarked the great effects which ensue from turning over a dunghill recently before using it, and that composts operate most powerfully, if used when sensibly hot, from the activity of the fermentation which the recent mixture of the ingredients has occasioned, and when, consequently, that process is very far from being completed." As farm dunghills are formed by degrees, it is desirable to retard the fermentation of tiiat which is first made, or to retain it in a state of fermentation, " so slow or imperfect, that it may suffer little till after being turned over with the later made dung, it forms one powerfully fermenting mass ; and that then it should be put into the soil, when the process is so far ad- vanced that it will be completed, when, at the same time, little loss of substance has yet been suffered, and when what volatile matter is afterwards extricated will diffuse itself through the soil. In these circum- stances, every thing is lodged in the soil that the dung can yield, either in point of mass or activity; and at the same time it is in a state when most likely to act as a powerful ferment, for promoting the putre- faction of the decayed vegetables lying inert in the soil. I certainly, therefore, approve of the preserva- tion of dunghills from much sun and much wind, as well as from that redundancy of moisture which is apt to overflow and wash away the manure : but I think the pressure which the feet of animals give them, especially of the lighter sort, does good, and prevents that violent fermentation which wastes the substance, and, in my opinion, exhausts the fertilising powers of dun^. This pressure contributes to pre- serve it fresh till the time of employing it as a manure calls for putting it altogether, and at once, into that highly active state of putrefaction, which, though no doubt checked by its distribution in the soil, is suffi- cient to ensure a gradual and complete dissolution and diffusion of its substance. Unless, therefore, dung is to be used for composts, it appears to me clearly advantageous to get the dung into the soil as early as possible ; it is always wasting somewhat, when kept out of it : but when put into the soil in a tiroper state, there is the utmost reason to think that what is extricated goes all to fertilise. Give me eave to add, that I do not believe much is lost by dissolution in rain water. I could never discovei any thing of the kind in the water of the furrows of a field properly manured and ploughed. The case, every person knows, is quite different in fields recently limed or dressed with ashes ; but 1 am apt to think, that the volatile and soluble parts of common dunghills have some attraction with the substance of soils, that prevents their escape. We know that common loam extracts the noisome smell of the woollen cloths used for intercepting the coarser oils that accompany spirits distilled from the sugar-cane, which scarce any detergent besides can obtain from it ; and garden loam, impregnated as it must be with fermented dung, is certainly not easily deprived of its fertility by the washing of rain, I must also observe, that I take one of the great advantages derived from using dung with composts to be, the arresting and preserv- ing the fertilising matter which escapes in the putrefactive fermentation ; and another to be, that dung there operates as a ferment, to putrefy substances not sufficiently disposed to putrefy with activity of themselves. You will observe, that this coincides exactly with the effects I have attributed to it upon soil, and affords a very useful corollary with respect to the substances to be used in top-dressings, which are not to be covered with soil ; viz. that if fermenting or putrefying substances are used, the process should have been completed, or nearly so, in a combination that has received the full benefit of it : that it isa great waste to spread common dung on grass, without having first mixed it with sand, loam, or other, matter in which it has been dissolved and fixed; so that when spread on the ground, the loss, which, would otherwise arise from fermentation and evaporation, is avoided ; and that, if such a compost is used at the time when the plants are in a growing state, and in a way to cover it soon, it is by far the most advantageous method of laying it on." {Comm. B. A^r. vol. ii. p. 387.) 4963. The husbandman of Brabant is careful that his manure should never become parched and dried up, by which means all the volatile salts would evaporata He lays his dung, as often as possible, close to his stables and cow-houses, and sheltered from the sun. If this cannot be avoided, he contrives to lay it under some large tree, to partake of the shade of its boughs. As a receptacle for their dung, they generally dig a pit, five or six feet deep, with sufficient dimensions for the necessary deposit, from the month of March till harvest is over. The more opulent farmers are not satisfied with merely digging such a pit : they further pave and line it with bricks, that the earth should not absorb any of its parts ; but that the thick matter should remain plunged in a mass of stale, increased further by rain. The stables and cow-houses are paved and sloped in such a manner as to communicate with a drain, which conveys all KooK VI. MANAGEMENT OF LIME AS A MANURE. 805 the stale of their cattle towards the dung pit, which, by this contrivance, it keeps constanny supplying." {Cornjn. B. Agr. vol. ii.) 4964. In the application of farm-yard dung to land under tittaget particular attention is paid to the cleanness of the soil ; and to use it at a time when, from the pulverisation of the ground, it may he most intimately mixed with it. The most common time of manuring with farm-yard dung is, therefore, either towards the conclusion of the fallowing operations, or immediately before the sowing of fallow crops. If no dung can he procured but what is made from the produce of the farm, it will seldom be possible to allow more than ten or twelve tons to every acre, when the land is managed under a regular course of white and green crops ; and it is tliought more advantageous ■ to repeat this dose at short intervals, than to give a larger quantity at once, and at a more distant period in proportion. {General Report of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 517.) Farm-yard dung, it is well known, is greatly reduced in value by being exposed to the atmosphere in small heaps, previously to being spread, and still more after being spread. Its rich juices are exhaled by the sun, or washed away by the rains, and the residuum is com- paratively worthless. This is in an especial manner the case with long fresh dung, the far greater part of which consists of wet straw in an entire state. All careful farmers, accordingly, spread and cover in their dung with the plough, as soon as possible after it is brought on the land. 4965. The use of fresh dung is decidedly opposite to the practice of the best farmers of turnip soils j its inutility, or rather injurious effects, from its opening the soil too much, is a matter of experience with every one who cultivates drilled turnips on a large scale. As the whole farm-yard dung, on such land, is applied to the turnip crop, it must necessarily happen that it should be laid on in different stages of putre- faction ; and what is made very late in spring, often after a very slight fermentation, or none at all. The experience of the effect of recent dung is accordingly very general, and the result, in almost every case, is, that the growth of the young plants is slow ; that they remain long in a feeble and doubtful state ; and that they seldom, in ordinary seasons, become a full crop, even though twice the quantity that is given of short muck has been allowed. On the other hand, when the manure is considerably decomposed, the effects are immediate, the plants rise vigorously, and soon put forth their rough leaf, after which the beetle or Hy does not seize on them ; and ii% a few weeks, the leaves become so large, that the plants pro- bably draw the greatest part of their nourishment from the atmosphere. Though it were true, therefore, that more nutritive matter is given out by a certain quantity of dung, applied in a recent state, and flowed to decompose gradually in the soil, than if applied after undergoing fermentation and putrefac- tion, the objection arising from the slowness of its operation would, in many instances, be an insuperable one with farmers. But there seems reason to doubt if fresh strawy manure would ferment much in the soil, after being spread out in so small a quantity as has been already mentioned ; and also if, in the warm dry weather of summer, the shallow covering of earth given by the plough would not permit the gaseous matters to escape to a much greater amount than if fermentation had been completed in a well, built covered dunghill 4966. Another gi-eat objection to the use of fresh farm-yard dung is, that the seeds and roots of those plants with which it commonly abounds spring up luxuriantly on the land ; and this evil nothing but a considerable degree of fermentation can obvinte. The mass of materials consists of the straw of various crops, some of the grains of which, after all the car^that can be taken, will adhere to the straw; of the dung of different animals voided, as is often the case with horses fed on oats, with the grain in an entire state ; and of the roots, stems, and seeds of the weetls that had grown among the straw, clover, and hay, and such as had been brought to the houses and fold-yards with the turnips and other roots given to live stock. 4967. T^ degree qf decomposition tovfhick farm-yard dung should arriwe, before it can be deemed a pro- fitable manure, must depend on the texture of the soil, the nature of the plants, and the time of its application. In general, clayey soils, as more tenacious of moisture, and more beneflted by being ren- dered incohesive and porpus, may receive manure less decomposed than well pulverised turnip soils require. Some plants, too, seem to thrive better with fresh dung than others, potatoes in particular ; but all the small-seeded plants, such as turnipsi, clover, carrots, &c. which are extremely tender in the early stage of their growth, require to be pushed forward into luxuriant vegetation with the least possible delay, by means of short dung. 4968. The season when manure is applied, is also a material circumstance. In spring and summer, whether used for corn or green crops, the object is to produce an imme- diate effect, and it should therefore be more completely decomposed than may be neces- sary when laid on in autumn for a crop whose condition will be almost stationary for many months. {Sup. Mncy. Srit, art. Agr^^ 4969. Tlie qwaviity of putrescent manure requisite for each acre of land during each year is estimated, by Professor Coventry, at five tons per acre annually. That quantity being supplied, not annually, but in quantities of twenty tons per acre every four years, or twenty-five tons per acre every five years. {Quar, Jour, Agr* vol. ii, p. 335.) SuBSECT. 2. Lime, and its Management as a Manure^ 4970. Lime is by far the most important if the fossil manures t and, indeed, it may be asserted, that no soil will ever be fit for much vi'hich does not contain a proportion of this earth, either naturally or by artificial application. Next to farm-yard dung, Ume is in most general use as a manure, though it is one of a quite different character ; and when judiciously appUed, and the land laid to pasture, or cultivated for white and green crops alternately, with an adequate allowance of putrescent manure, its effects are much more lasting, and, in many instances, still more beneficial, than those of farm-yard dung. Fossil manures. Sir H. Davy observes, must produce their effect, either by becoming a constituent part of the plant, or by acting upon its more essential food, so as to render it more fitted for the purposes of vegetable life* It is, perhaps, in the former of these 3 F 3 806 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. ways that wheat and some other plants are brought to perfection, after lime has been applied, upon land that would not bring them to maturity by the most liberal use of dung alone. This being an established fact may be considered one of the greatest importance to all cultivators. 4971. mth regard to tfie guaTUity of lime that ought to be ap]}lied to different soils, it is nmch to be regretted that Sir Humphry Davy has not thought proper to enter fully into the subject. Clays, it is well known, require a larger quantity than sands or dry loams. It has been applied accordingly in almost every quantity from 100 to 500 bushels or upwards per acre. About 160 bushels are generally considered a full dress- ing for lighter soils, and 80 or 100 bushels more for heavy cohesive soils. One of the greatest advantages arising from the use of lime on gravelly or sandy soils, is its power of absorbing moisture from the air, which is in the highest degree useful to the crops in dry summers. 4972. In the application of lime to arable landy there are some general rules commonly attended to by dihgent farmers, which we shall give nearly in the words of a recent publication. 1. As the effects of lime greatly depend on its intimate admixture with the surface soil, it is essential to have it in a powdery state at the time it is applied. 2. Lime having a tendency to sink in the soil, it should be ploughed in with a shallow furrow. 3. Lime may either be applied to grass land, or to land in preparation for green crops or summer fallow, with almost equal advantage ; but, in general, the latter mode of application is to be preferred. 4t Lime ought not to be applied a second time to moory soils, unless mixed up as a compost, after which the land should be immediately laid down to grass. 5. Upon fresh land, the effect of lime is much superior to that of dung. The ground, likewise, more especially where it is of a strong nature, is more easily wrought ; in some instances, it is said, the saving of labour would be sufficient to induce a farmer to lime his land, were no greater bene^t derived from the application than the opportunity thereby gained of working it in a more perfect manner. (General liepwt Scotland^ vol. ii. p. 536.) 4973. In liming for improving hiUy landj with a view to pasture, a much smaller quan- tity has been found to produce permanent and highly beneficial eflTects, when kept as much as possible near the sui-face, by being merely harrowed in with the seeds, afi«r a fallow or green crop, instead of being buried by the plough. 4974, The succestful practice of one of the most eminent farmers in Britain cannot be too generally known in a matter of so great importance to farmers of such land, especially when lime must be brought from agreatdistance, as was the case in the instance to which we are about to allude. "A few years after 1754," says Dawson, *' having a considerable extent of outfield land in fallow, which I wished to lime previously to its being laid down to pasture, and finding that I could not obtain a sufficient quantity of lime for the whole in proper time, I was induced, from observing the effects of fine loam upon the surface of similar soil, even when covered with bent, to try a small quantity of lime on the surface of this fallow, instead of a larger quantity ploughed down in the usual manner. Accordingly, in the autumn, about twenty acres of it were well harrowed, and then about tifty-six Winchester bushels only of unslacked lime were, after being slacked, carefully spread upon each English acre, and immediately well harrowed in. As many pieces of the lime, which had not been fully slacked at 6rst, were gradually reduced to powder by the dews and moisture of the earth, to mix these with the soil, the land was again well harrowed in three or four days thereafter. This land was sown in the spring with oats, with white and red clover and rye- grass seeds, and well harrowed, without being ploughed again. The crop of oats was good ; the plants of grass sufficiently numerous and healthy ; and they formed a very fine pasture, which continued good until ploughed some years after for corn. About twelve years afterwards, I took a lease of the* illy farra of Grubbet; many parts of which, though of an earthy mould tolerably deep, were too steep and elevated to be kept in tillage. As these lands had been much exhausted by cropping, and were full of couch-grass, to destroy that and procure a cover of fine grass, I fallowed them, and laid on the same quantity of lime per acre, then harrowed, and sowed oats and grass seeds in the spring exactly as in the last-mentioned experiment The oats were a full crop, and the plants of grass abundant. Several of these fields have been now above thirty years in pasture, and are still producing white clover, and other fine grasses ; no bent or fog has yet appeared upon them. It deserves particular notice, that more than treble the quantity of lime was laid upon fields adjoining, of a similar soil, but which being fitter for occasional tillage, upon ' them the lime was ploughed in. These fields were also sown with oats and grass seeds. The latter throve well, and gave a fine pasture the first year ; but afterwards the bent spread so fast, that, in three years, there was more of it than of the finer grasses." 4975. The conclusions which Dawson draws from his extensive practice in the use of lime and dung, deserve the attention of all cultivators of similar land. 1. That animal dung dropped upon coarse benty pastures, produces little or no improvement upon them; and that, even when sheep or cattle are confined to a small space, as in the case of folding, their dung ceases to produce any beneficial effect, after a few years, whether the land is continued in pasture, or brought under the plough. 2 That even when land of this description is well fallowed and dunged, but not limed, though the dung augraentfi the produce of the subsequent crop of grain, and of grass also for two or three years, that there- after its effects are no longer discernible either upon the one or the other. 3. That when this land is limed, if the lime is kept upon the surface of the soil, or well mixed with it, and then laid down to pasture, the finer grasses continue in possession of the soil, even in elevated and exposed situations, for a great many years, to the exclusion of bent and moss. In the case of Grubbet hills, it was observed, that more than thirty years have now elapsed. Besides this, the dung of the ani- mals pastured upon such land adds every year to the luxuriance, improves the quality of the pasture, and ■ augments the productive powers of the soil when afterwards ploughed for grain ; thus producing, upon a benty outfield soil, effects similar to what are experienced when rich infield lands nave been long in pasture, and thereby more and more enriched. 4 That when a large quantity of lime is laid on such land, and ploughed down deep, the same effects will not be produced, whether in respect to the irermanent fineness of the pasture, its gradual ameliora. tion by the dung of the animals pastured on it, or its fertility when afterwards in tillage. On the con. trary, unless the surface is fully mixed with lime, the coarse grasses will in a few years regain possessioE of the soil, and the dung thereafter deposited by cattle will not enrich the land for subsequent tillage. Lastly. It also appears from what has been stated, that the four-shift husbandry is only proper for very .rich land, or in situations where there is a full command of dung. That by far the greatest part of the land of this country requires to be continued in grass two, three, four, or more years, according to its Book VI. COMPOSTS AND OTHER MANURES. 807 natural poverty ; that tho objection made to this, viz that the coarse grasses In a few years usurp pos- session of the soil, must be owing to the surface soil not being sufficiently mixed with lime, the lime having been covered too deep by the plough. {Farjncr^s Magazine^ voL xiii. p. 69.) Sect. IV. Composts and otlier Manures. 4976. Mixing far m-ya/rd dung, in a state of fermentation, with earth, i" which there is much inert vegetable matter, — as the banks of old ditches, or what is collected from the sides of lanes, &c., — will bring this inert, dead matter, consisting of the roots of decayed grasses and other plants, into a state of putridity and solubility, and prepare it for nourishing the crops or plants it may be applied to, in the very manner it acts on peat. Dung, however, mixed' with earth, taken from rich arable fields which have been long cultivated and manured, cau have no effect as manure to other land that the same earth and dung would not produce applied separately ; because there is generally no inert matter in this description of earth to be rendered soluble'. 4977. Mii'iitg dung, earth, and quick-lime together, can never be advisable ; because quick-lime will render someof the most valuable parts of the dung insoluble. (See 2290.) It will depend on the nature of soil or earth, whether even quick-lime only should be mixed widi it to form compost. If there be much inert vegetable matter in the earth, the quick-lime will prepare it for becoming food for the plants it may be applied to ; but if rich earth be taken from arable fields, the bottoms of dung-pits, or, in fact, if any soil full of soluble matter be used, the quick-lime will decompose parts of this soluble matter, combine with otlier parts, and render tlie whole mass less nourishing as manure to plants or. crops than before the quick-lime was applied to it. Making composts, then, of rich soil of this description, with dung or lime, mixed or separate, is evidently, to say no more of it, a waste of time and labour. The mixture of eartlis of this description with dung produces no alteration in the component parts of the earth, where there is no inert vegetable substances to be acted on ; and the mixture of earth full of soluble matter with dung and quick-lime, in a mass together, has the worst effects, the quick-lime decom- posing and uniting with the soluble matter of the earth, as well as that of the dung ; thus rendering both, in every case, less efficient as manures, than if applied separately from the quick-lime, and even tlie quick-lime itself inferior as manure for certain soils, than if it had never been mixed with the dung and earth at all. {Farmer s Magazine, vol. XV. p. 351.) 4978. Mixing dung in a state of fermentation with peat, or forming what in Scotland are called Meadowbank middens (2241.), is a successful mode of increasing the quantity of putrescent manure. The peat, being dug and partially dried, may either be carted into the farm-yard and spreaud over the cattle court, there to remain till the whole is carted out and laid upon a dunghill to ferment ; or it may be mixed up with the farm- yard dung as carted out. If care be taken to watch the fermenting process, as the fire of a clay-kiln is watched, a few loads of dung may be made to rot many loads of peat. Adding lime to such composts does not in the least promote fermentation, while it renders the most valuable parts of the mass insoluble. Adding sand, ashes, or earth, will, by tending to consolidate the mass, considerably impede the progress of fermentation. 4979. Bone Tnanure. Crushed bones were first introduced to Lincolnshire and York- shire, about 1800, by a bone merchant at Hull; and the effect has been, according to a viTiter in the British Farmer's Magazine, vol. iii, p. 207., to raise wild unenclosed sheep- walks from 2s- 6d. or 5s- to 10s. 6d or 20s. an acre. The quantity at present laid on is 12 bushels per acre drilled in, in the form of dust, with turnip seed. The turnips are fed off with sheep, and succeeded by a corn crop, and by two crops of grass. It seems to be generally admitted, that bone dust is not beneficial on wet retentive soils, as con- tinued moisture prevents decomposition ; but In all descriptions of dry soils it never fails of success. On the poor soil, or chalk or lime-stone of the woolds of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, the turnip crops are said to equal those of any part of England ; and the barley, though coarse, to produce a greater quantity of saccharine matter than even the brightest Norfolk samples. (B7nt. Farm. Mag. vol. iii, p, 208.) 4980. The Doncaster Agi'jcultural Assoctafion appointed a committee, in 1828, to make enquiries and report the result of them, on the use and advantages of bones as a manure. The report is full of interest and highly satisfactory as to the great value of this species. The tbllowing is a summary of deductions from the details collected : — 1. That on dry sands, lime-stone, chalk, light loaftis, and peat, bones form a very highly valuable ma- nure ; they may be laid on grass with great good effect ; and, on arable lands, they may be laid on fallow for turnips, or used for any of the subsequent crops. 2. That the best method of using them, when broad-cast, is previously to mix them up with earth dune or other manures, and let them lie to ferment ^' 3. That if used alone, they may either be drilled with the seed or sown broad-cast 4l That bones which have undergone the process of fermentation are decidedly superior to those which have not done so. 5. That the quantity should be about 95 bushels of dust, or 40 bushels of large, inoreasiDE the ouantit* if the land be impoverished. ** •i-wm-it./ 6. That upon clays and heavy loams, it does not yet appear that bones will answet 3 F 4 808 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 4981, Salt, nitre, and otiier manures have been already treated of in Part II. at suflBcient length. It is clear that both salt and nitre may be advantageously used in many cases. Nitre continues to be a good deal used in Hertfordshire, on which it is sown at the rate of 1 J cwt. per acre. It has been tried at this rate in Scotland to wheat and to grass, and the eflfect is said to have been wonderful. Salt has been extensively used with almost every crop at different rates, from 20 to 40 bushels per acre ; and it appears in many, if not in most, cases to have pjroved useful. (Quor. Jour. Ap: vol. i. p. 208., and Hi^hl. Sac. Trans, vol. i. p. 147.) Chap. II. Culture of the Cereal Grasses. *4982. The com crops cultivated in Britain are, wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Other culmiferous plants, as the maize, millet, and rice, have been tried with partial success in warm districts, but they have no chance of ever becoming general in our climate. The best description of the different species and varieties of Cerealia cultivated in Europe will be found in Metzger's Europceische Cerealien in Botanischer und Landvnrt/tsckaftlicher Hinsickt, ^c. Heidelberg, 1 824. Folio, 20 plates. The plates are exceedingly well exe- cuted ; and there are popular as well as scientific descriptions, with synonyms in all the Kuropean languages. 4983. On the culture of culmiferous plants, a few general remarks may be of use to the young farmer. Culmiferous plants, particularly wheat and rye, like most others, have two sets of roots. The first originate with the germination of the grain, are always under the soil, and are called the seminal roots ; the second spring from the first joint which is formed near the surface of the soil, and from that joint strike down into the soil ; these are called the coronal roots. The coronal roots appear chiefiy intended for drawing nourishment from the soil; and, as Professor Martyn has observed, are judiciously placed for this purpose, the richest part of all soils being on or near the surface. These fibres are of larger diameter, more succulent, and never so long as the seminal. From these facts, as to the roots of culmiferous plants, some important hints may be derived regarding their culture. The use of stirring the surface in spring to facilitate the extension of the coronal roots, is obvious ; the immediate effect of a top-dressing is also apparent, and also that manures may be ploughed in too deep to give the full amount of their bene- ficial effects to corn crops or grasses. Sageret, a scientific French agriculturist, proved experimentally, that where any of the grains or grasses are etiolated immediately after germination, by growing too rapidly, or by being sown too thick or in too warm a sea- son, the first joint from which the coronal or nourishing roots spring is raised above the ground, and in consequence either throws out no roots at all, or so few as to nourish it imperfectly ; in which case it either dies before it comes into flower, or before the seed is matured. (Mem. de la Soc. Ag. de Seine, tom. ii.) 4984. Whether com ought to be sown broadcast or in drills, is a question which has given rise to considerable discussion. The cultivation in rows of such plants as admit of intertillage during the summer months, is known to supersede the use of a summer fallow on lighter soils. " In truth, the row culture of certain green crops is one of the greatest improvements of modern agriculture, and should be extended by every effort of instruction and example. By no other means yet known to us can so large a produce be raised from land under constant tillage, so beneficial a rotation of crops be adopted, or so great an economy be practised in the application of manures. But, while the advantages are thus apparent with regard to the application of this species of culture to our preparatory green crops, it does in no degree follow that advantages equally great will result from its application to our crops of white corn. The analogy, as it regards the nature of the plants which form the subject of cultivation, does not hold. The cereal grains send forth numerous shoots or suckers, and the goodness of the crop mainly depends on the vigour and number of the shoots which they send forth. The other kind of crops do not, generally speaking, tiller like wheat, barley, or oats, but rise from one stem. Reasoning from these principles, we should infer that the former class of plants should be cultivated in that manner in which they are best suited to summer tillage ; that is, in rows : the latter in that manner in which the seed is most equally de- posited in the upper stratum of the soil, which is in broadcast. The opinions, however, of intelligent agriculturists are not agreed as to the superiority in practice of the broad- cast over the row system, even as it relates to the cereal grains. The farmer of Nor- folk, or of the light soils of Sussex, will contend as strenuously for the superiority of the row system as the farmer of East Lothian for the broadcast system ; and each may be right as it regards the application of the principle to the circumstances of his own situation. The question which is to be settled, however, is, — Which of the two systems Book VI. CULTXJRE OF THE CEREAL GRASSES. 809 is to be regarded as the rule in husbandry, and which the exception ? Now, — independ- ently of tlie circumstances just adverted to, and judging only from the greater extent to which the broad-cast system is carried on in the country ; from the fact of the row system having declined in favour in districts where it had once been most extensively practised ; and from its having recently ceased to make progress in general practice, — we should be inclined to hold that, with respect to the cereal grains, the rule of agriculture is the broad-cast system, and the exception the row system. The cases falling under the exception may be, and doubtless are, very numerous and important. There are many light soils in which the seeds require to be deposited at a considerable and equal depth, and this the drill-machine effects better than sowing on the surface ; and there are many thin cold clays which tend to throw out the plants,, the best remedy for which is thought to be deep sowing." 4fl85. The sowing of com from the hand, " however, is known to be attended with some uncertainty ; being dependent for the accuracy of the execution upon the skill and attention of the sowere. The regu- larity of the work is also affected by winds ; and, unfortunately, the means rarely exist of detecting the degree of inaccuracy in the work until too late to correct it" As a remedy for these inconveniences, we have ah-eady described a broad-cast hand drill (2576.), and shall here introduce a horse machine for the ^-„ same purpose {fig.l9.^a. b.), that has been * -^^ for some years employed in '* the agricul- ture of Northumberland, North Durham, and some of the southern counties of Scot- land, for sowing broad-cast. As it regards economy alone, little perhaps is effected by the employment of this machine: its recom- mendations are the regularity and certainty with which it performs the work, and the rendering of the execution independent of unskilfulness or want of care in the ope. lator." {Quar. Jour. Agr. vol. ii. p.25l).J =INMMk " A man and a horse with this machine will sow between 25 and 30 acres in a day. The regular manner in which the seed is disseminated renders less seed necessary than in the common method of sowing by the hand. Besides the advantages arising from a saving of seed, the greater regularity, as it regards their distance from each other, with which the plants spring up, generally renders the crop superior to that sown in the other way. The machine has been described as adapted to the sowing of the common sorts of grain, but it i* equally well calculated for sowing the cultivated gracses." iQ.uar.Jow Aer voL ii. p. 2S4.) 4986. T/ie preservation of com after it is threshed and cleaned is generally effected in granaries, where the grain is kept well ventilated by passing it frequently from one floor to another, or through winnowing machines. 4987. /* has been proposed and attempted in France to preserve it in pits or dry cells at an equal tem- peraturci and included from the atmosphere ; but the experimentB now going on for this purpose, more 810 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. especially by M. Ternaux at St Ouen, near Paris, are not yet sufficiently matured to enable us to lay any useful result before the public. That com has been so preserved in former ages, and that to a considerable extent, is beyond a doubt j and it is equally certain that in the interior of Africa, among the CaffVes and other nations, as well as in the south of Russia, in Turkey, and in K^ypt, the practice is still employed on a small scale. It may be doubted, we think, whether, with the present population of Europe, it could ever be generally adopted. 4988. Preservation of corn in silors. Some account of the opening of a siloe was lately read to the Agricultural Society of Paris. *' The place consisted of an icehouse, and the grain when put in was of the finest appearance, perfectly dried, and in excellent conditioa The door had been hermetically sealed ; and yet, when opened, a considerable thickness of the mass of corn was found destroyed by weevils, the latter being in such quantity as to occasion an elevated temperature. As part of the same corn had been perfectly well preserved in other siloes, the cause of this deterioration was sought for, and a hole was found in the lower part which had been made by mice, and which, by admitting air in sufficient quantity, had allowed the weevils originally in the corn to live, and increase their numbers to the degree mentioned. After some observations upon experiments which showed that insects could live for a very long time in vitiated air, a committee was named to ascertain the requisite state of the air, and the circumstances connected in the enquiry with the preservation of grain in these repositories. At another meeting of the society, M. Hachette described the method proposed by M. Clement to prevent the destruction of corn by weevils. It is founded upon a fact observed by him, that these insects cannot live in an atmosphere which contains less than a certain proportion of moisture. He therefore proposes that the corn should be subject to a continued ventilation of air dried by passing over quick-lime or chloride of calcium All the weevils originally in the corn would thus be quickly destroyed." {Recueil Industriel^ vol, xii. p. 208.) 4989. The preservation of corn in the north qf Russia may deserve notice more as matter of curiosity, and for supplying ideas on the subject, than for imitation. The corn is dried in small ovens or chambers, which communicate with a larger chamber or oven by small tubes that enter the smaller chambers at the top. The oven is then filled with straw closely pressed, which is lighted and left to consume during thti night Next morning the corn is taken from the smaller chambers, the smoke from the ovens having passed into tliem and perfectly dried it This practice has several advantages : the corn is lighter to move, and is kept much easier, without requiring to be constantly turned, being preserved from vermin by the smoky taste communicated to it by the straw, which does not quit it until it has passed through the milL The corn intended to be kept for any length of time is put into pits, in shape like a bottle, sufficiently high for a man to stand erect in, which are dug in elevated places with a clayey soil. When they are dug a .fireis lighted for four and twenty hours, which forms a hard crust round the pit The interior is lined with the bark of the birch tree, fastened with wooden nails. Some straw is then put at the bottom, upon which the corn is placed, and more straw at the top, the mouth of the pit being then closed with a wisp of straw in the form of a cone. Each pit contains from twenty-five to one hundred tchetverts, and the grain in them will keep for twenty years without being injured. [Biblioth. Univer. de Geneve.) 4990. The uses to which the straw of com may he applied are various. Besides food for cattle, Ktter for animals, thatch, &c., it is bleached and plaited into ribands for forming hats, and bleached, dyed of different colours, split, and glued to flat surfaces, so as to form various works useful and ornamental. Paper is also made from straw ; and the same pulp which forms the paper may be moulded into all the forms given to papier mach^, medallion portraits, embossed works, &c. Whoever wishes to enter into the de- tails of the great variety of articles that may be manufactured from straw, should consult the Dictionnaire TechnologLqusj art. Faille ; or an abridged translation of a part of tlie article in Gill's Technological Repositoryj vol. vi. new series, p. 228. *4991. The diseases peculiar to the cereal grasses have been included in the diseases common to vegetables in general. (1671.) They are chiefly the smut, the rust, the mildew, and the ergot ; and we shall notice them more at length under the different spe- cies of corn which are most subject to suffer from them. *4992. The practice of reaping com before- it is perfectly ripe originated in France, and has lately been recommended by M. Cadet de Vaux. 4993. Cb77i reaped eight days btfore the usual time, this author says, has the grain ftiller, larger, finer, and better calculated to resist the attacks of the weevil. An equal quantity of the corn thus reaped, with corn reaped at the period of maturity, gave more bread, and of a better quality. The proper time for reaping is that when the grain, on being pressed between the fingers, has a doughy appearance like the crumb of bread just hot from the oven, when pressed in the same manner. This does not seem to agree altogether with the experience of some agriculturists in the Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire, where oats in. tended to be made into meal are always found to yield most when allowed to stand as long as possible. Corn for seed, however, it is acknowledged by the same agriculturists, will answer the purpose perfectly though cut before fully matured. {Perth Miscellany , vol. i. p. 41.) If the doctrine of Cadet de Vaux be confined to wheat, it may be perhaps considered as confirmed by the following passage from Waistell : — •' It 'is well known," he observes, " that wheat produces the most flour and the sweetest bread when threshed out before it has been stacked ; and as all com is more or less injured in both these respects, ac- cordingly as it is more or less heated in the rick, it would be highly desirable totally to prevent its heating or becoming musty, in the ricks. In wet harvests it is sometimes impossible to get corn sufficiently dried j and we see that even in hot and dry harvests, such as thatof 1819, a great deal of corn is sometimes spoiled in the ricks : we should, therefore, be extremely cautious to have corn well dried in the field, the ricks made of a moderate size, and raised off the ground, to admit the air to circulate under them, with chim- neys to allow a current of air to pass upwards through them, to carry off the hot and musty air from the centre of the rick, which, without such a chimney, has its tendency to heat four-fold greater than one with a chimney. Chimneys being easily made, and so beneficial, it were to be wished that they were in general use." {WaisteWs Designs for Agr. Buildings^ p. 101.) 4994. For seed com, it not only appears that unripe grain is preferable, but even that mildewed wheat and oats answer jierfectly. Mr. S. Taylor, the editor of the CovMi-y Times, and formerly an extensive fanner, has been in the practice of sowing from 100 to 130 acres of wheat annually for 20 years and up- wards. " The seed was invariably chosen, not from the best and plumpest, but the thinnest and most mildewed seed." He has seen the most beautiful samples of wheat produced from seed of the most ordinary description. {Country Times, March 22. 1830.) In Perthshire, the same is stated with respect to oats. {Perth Miscellany, voL i. p. 41.) *4995. The methods of reaping com are various. The most general mode is by the sickle, already described (2482. and 2483.) ; the scythe is also used, more especially for barley and oats; and a reaping machine (2737.) is beginning to be used in some parts of Scotland; in which country an effectual bean-reaping machine (2740.) was Book VI. WHEAT. 811 in use many years ago. A method of mowing corn much practised in the county of Durham, and possibly Yorkshire, has lately been introduced into Northumberland, but does not appear to make much progress, the low priced Irish reapers doing the work so much more neatly and with less waste, though it costs more money to the owner. The scythe has a cradle similar to that described (405.) ; it is handled and used differ- ently from the bow and grass scytlies, and has only one sliort handle or " nib " on the " sned," or long handle, for the right hand ; the left grasps the " sned " with the palm upwards : this enables the mower, who generally mows " from tlie corn," to bring the l)ack of the scythe and cradle to the ground, and leave the cut corn in a beautiful state for being put into sheaves. A good workman can do two, and some three acres a day : they charge about 5s. per acre for mowing, binding, and stooking (shocking) : this prac- tice may be advantageously followed wherever the crop is not stricken down by rains, particularly barley crops, (C. near Alnivick, in Gard. Mag. Yol. vi.) 4996. Frosted cor^, like frosted seeds of any sort, may be detected by dissection and comparison with unfrosted corn. By frost«d corn is to be understood corn that has been frozen on the plant before it was perfectly ripe, in consequence' of which the germ ot the future plant or vital part of tlie seed is deprived of its vitality by the expansion produced by the freezing of its watery parts. 4997. Frosted oats. The oat being one of the latest corns, and a corn of cold rather, than of warm countries, is more liable to be frozen than any other; but fortunately, also, frozen oats are more easily detected than either frozen wheat or barley. The Rev. James Farquhdrson, who has paid much attention to this subject, and written an elaborate article on it in the Farmer's Mngazitie (vol. xix.), observes, that every kernel, when stripped of the husk, will be found to exhibit the appearance of a groove on one side. If the bottom of the groove has a smooth clear translucent appeai-ance from end to end^ if it is not much shrunk into the substance of the kernel; and if the kernel s}>lits with difficulty in its direction, then we may pronounce the vital part of the seed to be free from injury by frost. If, on the contrary, there is a black speck seen in the groove at the root end of the kernel ; if the groove cuts deep into the kernel, so that it may be split in that direction ; and if, when the kernel is so split, the blackness, accom- panied with a rotten scaly appearance, is seen extending fVom end to end at the bottom of the groove, then the vital part or future plant may be pronounced entirely unfit for being used as seed. 4998. Frosted barley. The nature of the injury that ripening barley suffers from frost is similar to that suffered by oats. The husk of barley, like that of oats, consists of two unequal parts; the small part covering the groove of the kernel. In sound grain, when dry, the hull is firmly attached to the kernel ; but in frosted grain the small part of the hull becomes loose, and feels soft on being pressed ; and if, in such grain, this part of the hull is stripped away, a blackness and rottenness, resembling that in frosted oats, will be seen in the bottom of the groove. In frosted barley the husk becomes loose all round the root end; but, as this is a circumstance that is occasionally observed likewise in barley that was never exposed to frost, it certainly sometimes arises fi-om other causes, — perhaps from wet ; and this, unless the grain has germinated, does not render it unfit for seed or malting. The only sure mark of damage from irost is the blackness and rottenness in the bottom of the groove. 4999. Frosted wheat. Upon an attentive inspection of wheat that has been exposed to the frost, it will be observed that in a large proportion of grains there is a rotten scaly appt-arance where the embryo of the plant is attached to the cotyledon or mealy part of the grain ; that the groove is much deeper than in wheat that was saved before the frost ; and that the grains are easily split in its direction. From this it is inferred that wheat, in its ripening stage, suffers from frost an injury of the same nature with that sus- tained by oats and barley. {^Farm. Mag. vol xix.) 5000. The nutritive products of the plants to be treated of in tliis section, are thus given by Sir H. Davy. Systematic Names. English Names. The quantity analysed, of each sort 1000 parts. Whole quantity of soluble or nutri- tive mat- ter. Mucilage or starch. Saccha- rine mat- ter or sugar. Gluten or albumen. Extract, or matter rendered insoluble during the opera- tion. 3"riticum hyb^rnum sestlvum ff6rdeum vulgkre ^vena sativa SecMe cereWe Middlesex wheat, average crop - Spring wheat Mildewed wheat of 1806 - Blighted wheat of 1801 Thick-skinned Sicilian wheat of 1810 Thin-skinned Sicilian wheat of 1810 Wheat from Poland - North American wheat Norfolk barley Oats from Scotland ... Rye from Yorkshire ... 955 9-M) 210 &W 95S 961 950 955 920 743 792 765 700 178 520 725 722 750 730 790 6*1 6+5 TO 15 S8 190 240 32 130 230 239 200 225 60 87 109 Sect. I. Wheat TrUicum Jj. ; Triandria Digynial^., and Graminea 3. Froment, Fr. ; Weitzen, Ger. ; Grano, Ital. ; and Trigo, Span. 5001. Wheat is hy far the most important of the cereal grasses, the flour made from its grains or seeds, from the quantity of gluten they contain, making the best bread in the world. A greater proportion of mankind are nourished by rice than by wheat, but there is no grain which comes near wheat in its qualities for bread-making. Rice and maize are comparatively unfit for it, and oats, barley, and rye but imperfectly adapted. Rye, however, comes nearer to wheat in its bread-making qualities than any other grain. *5002. Of what country wheat is a native, is totally unknown ; it has been supposed indigenous to Asia and Africa, and unquestionably it is more likely to belong to these 812 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. parts of the world than any other ; but all tliat can be advanced on this subject is con- jecture. Wheat, with the exception it is said of some parts of the southern coast of Africa, is cultivated in every part of the temperate and torrid zones, and in some places as high as 2000 feet above the level of the sea. It has been grown from time imme- morial in Britain, but in few places at a greater elevation than 600 feet. Of course the elevation to which any plant can be cultivated always depends on the latitude of the situation. *5O03. Species and varieties. (Jig. 723.) Botaniste reckon seven species of Triticum, which are or may be cultivated for their grains, besides many varieties and subvarieties of those in common culture. The species or subspecies are, 1 . Trfticum icstlvum, SummeT wheat or sprinR wheat (a). 2. hyb^mum, J^mmas wheat (a). 3. compiSnitum, Egyi>tian wheat (c)> 4. tiirgidum. Turgid wheat (tJ) 5 Trfticum polonicum, Polish wheat (e)> 6. Spata, Spelt wheat (/). 7. monocdccuiiij One-erained wheat (g)> The first, second, fourth, and fifth sorts are by many botanists considered as only varieties, and it it is doubtful whether the third and sixth may not be the same ; the seventh has all the marks of a distinct species, but it is very questionable whether, if much cultivated, it would always continue to produce one row of gr^ns. BOO*. The spring or summer wheat (a), Ble de Mars, Fr., is distinguished from that generally sown, by its narrower ears, longer beards, smaller grains, and shorter and more slender straw, and also by its inability to endure our winters. It is commonly sown in April, or even so late as May. It was known to Parkinson in 1666, but has never been much cultivated, except in Lincolnshire. It was tried and given up in Northumberland and Mid Lothian, and also in some counties near London. Many varieties of summer wheat were transmitted a few years ago to the president of the Board of Agriculture from the Agricultural Society of Paris, for the purpose of experiment, and were divided among several distinguished agriculturists, {Comm. to the Board o/Agr., vol. vii. p. 11.); but there has not yet been time for establishing their comparative merits, or their adaptation to the climate of Britain. Summer, or, as it is often called, spring, wheat has however been long and extensively cultivated in some parts of England, particularly in Lincolnshire; and it is probable m.ay be found a valuable crop in the southern counties; but the trials that have been made in the north, do not seem to entitle it to a preference over winter wheat sown in spring, or even oats or barley, in that climate. 5005. Of the winter or common wheat (b), Froment btanc^ Fr., there are a great number of varieties. Professor Martyn, in Miller's Dictionary, has described forty-nine sorts, and Professor Thaer speaks of a hundred, but affirms that those who describe them know nothing about them, and in all probability include one sort under different names. All the varieties may be reduced to two, the white, and the brown or red grained. As subvarieties, there are the bearded and beardless, the woolly-chaffed, and thin or hairy chaffed, both of the reds and whites. To these some add another variety, which is the spring- sowing common wheat. It is stated by those who maintain that this variety exists, that through long sowing the progeny, after a number of generations, acquires a habit of coming earlier into blossom than seed from winter-sown grain. This we think very likely, but are not aware that the variety is distinctly known by any recognisable marks in the plants. The red or brown wheats are universally considered more hardy than the white^ but as yielding an inferior flour : the woolly-white is supposed to yield the best flour ; but woolly-chaflred wheats are considered more liable to the mildew than any other, 5006. The Egyptian^ or many-spiked wheat (c), BU de miracle ou de Smyrna^ Fr., the turgid grey pollard or duck-bill wheat (tf), and the Polish wheat (e), may, for all agricultural purposes, be considered only varieties of the common winter wheat They are cultivated in a few places in England, and seeds of them may be procured from the public botanic gardens ; but they are in little estimation. 5007. Spelt wheat {/), the Epautre of the French, is known by its stout straw, which is almost solid, and by its strong pikes, with chaff partially awned, the awns long and stiff. The chaff adheres so closely to the grain as not to be separated without great diificulty. This grain, as we have seen, is a good deal sown in the south of Europe. In France it is sown in spring, on land too coarse for common wheat, and it ripens in July and August. It is the principal wheat sown in Suabia and the north of Switzerland; and is a good deal sown in Spain. The grain is light, and yields but little flour ; but it is said to contain a larger portion of gluten than common wheat, and for that reason is recommended as superior to any other in pastry and confectionary. It is not cultivated in Britain. 5008. The one-grained wheat (g). Petit Epautre, Fr., is known by its small thin spike, and single row of grains ; the leaves and straw are remarkably small, but very hard j and the plants tiller very much. It is chiefly cultivated in the mountainous parts of Switzerland, where Its straw, like that of the former species, is much used for thatching. The gram makes a brown light bread ; but its great excellence, according to Villars, is for gruel. Book VI. WHEAT. 813 5009. To procure new varieties be necessary to observe that the cotyledons of a seed, before a voung plant is produced are changed by the heat and moisture ofthe earth into sugar and mucilage. Malting grain is only an artificial mode of effecting this by steeping the grain in water and fermenting it in heaps, and the arresting of its progress towards forming a plant by kiln drying, in order to take advantage of the sugar in distillation for spirit or fermentation for beer. The grain of barley contains starch and sugar ; and the chemical consti tuents of both these ingredients are very nearly alike. In the process of malting, a portion ofthe starch is converted into sugar, so that the total quantity of sugar, and consequently the source of spirit, is increased by the transformation. 5114. To choose a proper sample qf barley for maltingt observe the directions given for choosing seed barley. (5091.) 826 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5116. 0//)o/-6or/«?y there are two sorts, pearl and Scotch; both are produced by grinding off the husk, and the pearl barley is produced by carrying the operation so far as to produce roundness in the kernel. It is used in soups, gruels, and medicinal drinks. 5116. Barley meal is ground like oatmeal or flour ; the coarser sort, with the bran, is used for fattening live stock, especially pigs and poultry ; but fine bolted barley flour, made into a thin pottage or pudding, and spread out in thick cakes, and toasted on a hot plate of metal, forms a light breakfast bread, much esteemed in some parts of Scotland. It is served in a recent state, hot, and spread with butter and honey, and eaten in several folds. Two parts of barley flour, one of wheat flour, and one of rye, are said to make a light and very agreeable loaf of bread. 5117. The produce of barky injiour is 12lbs. to 14lbs. of grain. Sir H. Davy found 1000 parts of barley meal to aiford 920 parts of soluble or nutritious matter ; viz. 790 of mucilage or starch, 70 of sugar, and 60 of gluten. 5118. Barley straw is chiefly used for litter and packing ; it is unfit for thatch or rope- making, and of little value as fodder. 51 19. 'Die diseases of barley are few, and chiefly smut, but of quite a different species from that which affects the wheat, and one which it is found cannot be prevented by pickling and liming. Sect. IV. Tlie Oat. — A vena satwa L. ; Tridndria Digynia L., and GraimneeB J. L'Avoine, Fr. ; Haber, Ger. ; Vena, Ital. ; and Avenaj Span. 5120. The oat is a very useful grain, and more peculiarly adapted for northern climates than either wheat, rye, or barley. Its native country is unknown, unless the wild oat be considered as the parent species, which is highly probable. The culture of the oat in France is chiefly confined to latitudes north of Paris. It is scarcely known in the south of France, Spain, or Italy ; and in tropical countries its culture is not attended to. In Britain it has long been very generally cultivated, formerly as a bread corn, but now chiefiy as horse-food. Of all the grain this is the easiest of culture, growing in any soil that admits of ploughing and harrowing. *5121. The varieties of oats are more numerous than those of the other grains, and some of them are very distinctly marked. The principal are as follows : — 5122. The white oat or comtnon oat {Jig. 727. o), Avoine blanche, Fr,, in most general cultivation both in England and Scotland, and known by its white husk and ^W^ wm ^m mv 5123. 7%c black oat, Avoine d grappe noir, Fr., known by ' its black husk; cultivated on poor soils, in the nortli of England and Scotland. 5124 The red oat, known by its brownish red husk, thinner and more flexible stem, and firmly attached grains. It is early, suffers little from winds, meals well, and suits windy situations and late climates. It is understood to have originated in Feebleshire, on the estate of Magbie-hill, by which name it is sometimes known. 5125. The Poland oat, known by its thick white husk, awnless chaff solitary grains, short white kernel, and short stiff straw. It requires a dry warm soil, but is very prolific. The black Poland oat is one of the best varieties ; it some- times weighs SOlbs. per bushel It is, however, very liable to be shed by the wind after it begins to ripen j it requires a fine dry tilth. 5126. The Friezlandm- Dutch oat^hasvlumipfGxm-skmned^ white grains, mostly double, and the large one sometimes awned. It has longer straw than the Poland, but in other respects resembles it 5127. The potato oat has large, plump, rather thick- skinned, white grains, double and treble, with longer straw than either of the last two sorts. It is almost the only oat now raised on land in a good state of cultivation in the north of England and south of Scotland, and usually brings a higher price in the London market than any other varietv. It was discovered growing in a field of potatoes in Cumberland, in 1788 ; and from the produce of the single stalk which there sprung up by accident, probably from the manure, has been produced the stock now in general cultivation. 6128. The Georgian oat, is a large, grained, remarkably prolific variety introduced from Georgia, by R. Barclay, Esq. of Bury Hill, to Britain and the north of Europe. On rich soil in good tilth, Mr. Barclay finds it yield more grain per acre tlian the potato oat or any variety whatever. 5129. The Siberian or Tatm-ian oat (6), is considered by some as a distinct species. The grains are black or brown, thin and small, and turned mostly to one side of the panicle; and the straw is coarse and reedy. It is little cultivated in England, but found very suitable for the poor soils and exposed situations on the sides of the Dublin and Wicklow hills. 6130. A variety called the winter oat, Avoine d'hiver, Fr., has lately come into notice in some parts of England, but we have not been able to ascertain its origin. Mr. Bennett of Chaxhill, near Gloucester, sows two bushels per acre in October ; finds the plants very luxuriant at Christmas, tillering like wheat : he depastures them with ewes and lambs all the spring, and then shuts themup, and reaps an ample crop early in August. The grain is rather longer than that of the white oat, and the colour rather lighter than that of the black oat ; Mr. Bennett received the seed from a friend in Monmouthshire, who he conjectures received it from Bristol, so that it is probably a recent importation. {Country TimeSt Feb. 8th, and Cor. with Mr. Bennett.) 5131. There are other varieties, as Church's oat, the Angus oat, the dun oat, &c., but they are either too localor obsolete to require j)articular notice. In the oat, as in other plants extensively cultivated, new varieties will always be taking the place of old ones. 5132. To procure new varieties adopt the mode by selection, by which, as it appears above, the potato and red oat were brought forward ; or proceed systematically by cross impregnation, as directed for raising new varieties of wheat. Degeneracy, Brown Book VI. OATS. 827 observes, has taken place to a certain extent in the potato oat ; but it is presumed that the consequences might be removed with ease, were first principles returned to. To make a selection of the strongest ears, wliich carried the purest grain, is not a difficult business ; and were this selection attended to by half a dozen farmers in a district, it is obvious, that the breed, or variety, might be preserved pure and uncontaminated. If slovenly farmers were not provided with good seed, it would be their own fault ; since, if they would not take the trouble to select and breed for their own use, they might always be provided by those who were either better qualified for making the selection, or were more attentive to the interests of agriculture, (jffrown.) Some of the Northum- berland farmers have been at the pains to select the grains, instead of the ears, after being threshed. The best seeds are picked, out by hand by women. 5133. In choosing a sort from among the varieties described, the potato and Poland are the best for lowlands, and the red oat for uplands and late climates in a state of good cultivation. For inferior soils the wliite or common oat, and for the poorest of all the black oat, may be adopted. 5134. Tlie soil for oats may be any kind whatever, from the stiffest clays to moss or bog, provided it be laid sufficiently dry. The most tenacious clays, and meagre gravels and sands, where scarcely any useful seed-bearing plant, except buck-wheat, could be grown, will produce a crop of oats if ploughed at a proper season, and the seed judi- ciously sown and covered. 5135. Tli£ Reparation of the soil for oats is less than for any other grain. It is almost always the first crop on newly broke-up lands ; and as it prospers best on a soil not too finely pulverised, it is commonly sown on one earth. In regular rotations, oats are chiefly sown after grass ; sometimes upon land not rich enough for wheat, that had been previously summer-fallowed, or had carried turnips ; after barley, and rarely after wheal, unless cross-cropping, from particular circumstances, becomes a necessary evil. One ploughing is generally given to the grass-lands, usually in the month of January, so that the benefit of frost may be gained, and the land sufficiently mellowed for receiving the harrow. In some cases a spring furrow is given when oats succeed wheat or barley, especially when grass-seeds are to accompany the crop. The best oats, both in quantity and quality, are always those which succeed grass ; indeed, no kind of grain seems better qualified by nature for foraging upon grass-land than oats ; as a full crop is usually obtained in the first instance, and the land left in good order for succeeding ones. ( Tr. on Rural Affairs*) 5136. 2'Ae climate for oats should be cool and moist ; when dry and warm, the panicles are so dried and contracted that they cease to convey sufficient nourishment to the ears, which thus never become plump, but thick husked, long awned, and unproductive in meal. This is very often the case with the oats in Scotland in a very dry year, and very common in the south of England in most years. 5137. T/ie season of sowing oats is from the last week in February to the end of April. About the middle of March is preferred by the best farmers. No preparation is ever given to the seed ; but it should be plump, fresh, and free from the seeds of weeds. Common oats sown in autumn are generally killed during winter, the plant being in this respect more tender than wheat, rye, or barley bigg. In some parts of Ireland, and especially in the county of Dublin, the Friezland oat is sown in autumn ; and the advantage is they ripen nearly a month sooner than those sown in spring, an important object in a moist climate. 5138. The quantity of seed, where oats are sown broad-cast, is usually from four to six bushels to the acre. Land sown with potato oats requires less seed, in point of measure, tlian when any of the other sorts is used : first, because this variety tillers better than any other ; and next, because having no awn, a greater number of grMns are contained in a bushel. 5139. The nwde of sowing oats is almost universally broad-cast; but where they are sown after turnips, or on other well pulverised soils, some adopt the row culture. 5140. Tlie after-culture depends on the mode of sowing, but seldom consists of more than weeding before the flower-stalks begin to shoot up. 5141. In harvesting oats in England, they are generally cut down with the scythe, and carried loose to the barn or stack ; but in the northern districts, and where threshing machines are used, whether mown, or, what is most usual, reaped with the sickle, they are tied in sheaves to facilitate the process of threshing. Oats are ready for the scythe or sickle when the grain becomes hard, and the straw yellowish. They should generally be cut before they are dead ripe, to prevent the shedding of the grain, and to increase the value of the straw as fodder. They rarely get much damage when under the harvest process, except from high winds, or from shedding, when opened out after being thoroughly wetted. The early varieties are much more liable to these losses than the late ones ; because the grain parts more easily from the straw, an evil to which the best of grain is at all times subject. Early oats, however, may be cut a little before 828 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. dead ripe, which, to a certain extent, lessens the danger to which they are exposed front- high winds ; and if the sheaves are made small, the danger from shedding after rains it con- siderably lessened, because they are thus sooner ready for the stack. Under every mai.Age- ment, however, a greater quantity of early oats will be lost during the harvest process than of the late ones ; because the latter adhere firmly to the straw, and consequently do not drop so easily as the former. (Brown.) In harvesting oats m wet seasons, the practice of gaiting the sheaves (3176.) is generally adopted. In Sweden, in most seasons, the oat crop is dried on frames or poles (704.) ; and in Russia, not only oats, but barley and rye, are kiln-dried in the straw. 5142. Kiln-drying oats and other corns in the straw has been found necessary, and is very generally Eractised through the north of Russia, Livonia, Courland, and Lithuania, being the last operation of arvest for preserving all kinds of corns, peas, beans, and buck-wheat. They are dried in the fields as much as can be j but, when brought home, they are kiln-dried, and are then ready to be either threshed out immediately, or put up in barns, without any danger of either corn or straw becoming musty or rottir g. The common practice of the boors is, during winter, to thresh out by degrees, as in this country, their oats and barley, in order to have straw fresh for their cattle, such straw being their only provender. The process of kiln-drying by no means prevents the germination of the grain when used for seed, while it not only preserves the grain and straw but improves their taste and salubrity. It enables Russia to export large quantities of rye and wheat, with less risk of damage to the grain than is incurred by other nations of the north of Europe. 5143. The kiln {Jig. 728.) in general and established use throughout Kus- Bia, for the purpose of drying corn in the straw, is heated commonly by fires of wood. It is a simple and cheaply erected structure, the walls eight feet high, and fifteenfeet square within. At this height there are two strong cross-beams (a), to support the small timbers, laid over them as ribs. The corn stands lA sheaves above these ribs {b), closely set up, the band ends of the sheaves down, and the corn or grain ends up : the walls then rise above the ribs about five or six feet more, the kiln being closed by a simple ceiling of cross joists at this height, covered with thin turf Any cheap and ordinary roof answers to cover the whole. The fire-place is constructed so as to throw back the ascending spark; a small porch (c), directly opposite to the fire-place, prevents violent blasts of wind, and covers from rain the fuel and the attendant. About 300 sheaves (twenty-five stooks) of corn are dried at one time. It is put on in the evening, and left on the kiln through the night, after the wood has been burned into char- coal, and the door above the fire-place closed. At one end of the kiln there is frequently an open shed or barn (d), for convenience in bringing corn to, or taking it from, the kiln. 5144. The produce of oats is generally considered greater and of better quality in the northern than in the southern counties ; and the reasons are obviously that, in the former, more attention is paid to their culture, and the climate is more favourable for the matur- ation of the grain. Ten quarters an acre is reckoned a good crop in the north, but the produce is often twelve and thirteen quarters, and the straw from, two to three and a half loads per acre. 5145. The produce of oats in meal amounts to 8 lbs. for 14 lbs. of com. Sir H, Davy found 100 parts of oats afford 59 parts of starch, six of gluten, and two of saccharine matter.. 5146. The use of oats in the north, in Ireland, and in some parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, is partly for meal and partly for horse-food. In the south it is almost en- tirely for horse-food, poultry, and groats for gruel. It is occasionally malted and used in distillation. The fine powder which is produced by husking the com, or making grist, forms the sowens of the Scotch (the flummery of the Irish), an agreeable light and whole- some supper dish. 5147. T/ie diseases of the oat are few. Sometimes it is found attacked by the smut; but the more common injury sustained by oats is from wire-worms, or larvae of insects which generally abound in lands newly broken-up from turf. One of the most certain modes of avoiding these is, by not ploughing the ground, especially if old. turf, till immediately before sowing. By this means the insect is turned down, and before it can work its way to the surface (if ever it does) the corn is beyond its reach. In this way gardeners destroy and retard the progress of the gooseberry caterpillar by digging under the bushes ; for it is found that the eggs and larvae of insects, like seeds and bulbs, when buried too deep in the ground, have their progress retarded, or their vital principle destroyed. In late harvests, more especially in the northern parts of the island, the oat is liable to be frosted and rendered unfit for seed before being harvested. There is no remedy for such an accident ; but we have shown (4997.) how it may be detected, so as not to disappoint the sower of such grain. {Encyc, of Gard. 4663.) Sect. V. Cereal Grasses cultivated in Europe, some of which might be tried in Sritain. 5148. The cereal grasses which the climate of Britain doe; not readily admii of cultivat-^ tngt are the maize^ Canary corn, millet, and rice. Book VI. MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN. 829 SuBSECT. 1. Mmze, or Indian Com Zha M^ys i. ; Monce^da Tridndria L., and GraminetE J. Le Mcds, or BU de Turquie, Fr. ; der Mayis, Germ. ; Gran turco, Ital. ; and Maiz, Span. 5149. The maize is the noblest looking of the cereal grasses. It is considered to be a native of South America, to have been cultivated in Mexico and Peru from time im- memorial, to have been introduced to Europe about the beginning of the 16th century, and to England in 1562. It is at present cultivated in almost every part of the Universe where the summer temperature equals or exceeds that common to latitude 45°, and even to 48°, In France, in Arthur Young's time (1787), the principal country of the maize was to tlie south of a line drawn from Bordeaux to Strasbourg, in lat. 48° 35' ; but it is at present cultivated as far north as Nancy, which is in latitude 49°, — a fact which shows that this grain is taking a wider range of temperature. " It flourishes on the western continent from about the 40th degree of southern to higher than the 45th degree of northern latitude. It is extensively produced in Africa and in Asia ; on all the shores of the Mediterranean, in Spain, Italy, part of France, and the countries of the Levant, it is the food in most common use. Of the cultivated Cerealia. indeed, it is that which, next to the rice, supplies food to the greatest number of the human race ; and it may be held to be the most valuable gift of the new world to the old." (Quar. Jour. Ag. i. 485.) In England it has been cultivated for upwards of a century, in nursery gardens in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, for the curious purpose of supplying seedsmen in all parts of the island with ears of the com to ornament tlieir shop windows : it has also been grown in the kitchen gardens of some individuals who have lived in America, for the purpose of using the ears in a green state : it has been tried also in the fields, and more especially in 1 828 and 1 829, in consequence of the public attention being called to the subject by Mr. Cobbett. 5150. As a bread com it cannot be greatly commended ; the ear is highly productive of flour, but that flour is deficient in gluten, and cannotberaade into bread without a largeadmixtureof the flour of wheat. For fattening cattle and poultry of every description it is found excellent, and its culture in Europe can only be recommended with a view to this object 5151. Varieties. Like other plants which have been long in cultivation in various countries, there are numerous varie- ties of the maize. According to ls, you must give some in a cracked state ; but they very soon take it down whole; and, large as it is, the sparrows will eat it as fast as the fowls; and, if you be much infested with them, and do not wish to have a numerous and early breed of Uiem next spring, you must feed the poultry close to the door, or stand by them during the meal, which, however, is conveniently short ; fat the gram is so large that their craws are filled in a minute. It is very well known that. 832 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IIL bhA proTe, that I could saTo them all this trouble, they would converted into a porringer for a hoy to eat porridge out of, the Bay, 'God bless you, Sir I'ljou are the bcMt friend (the inrentor of coops, well broken up by the poleofjhe oxe, may go to light „_,._, in t. . 'uni| kimi cvvrauinimsiereii loini: coinim ihe Hre, and the four houw saved moming and eviming may 'ell, then, this I do for them now ; let i heir be employed In minning and preparing the stuff to moke shirti tea and sugar excepteilj that ever administered \o the comfirt •■ V Wt" ■ ------ !»ome o spat .__, _ ...., „._ __ greasy water may bo given to young pigs, the bowl mny be p. 007-} of womankind, husbands raise , ^.__ converted into spatter dash .» for them, the warm _ _.., , ...^ _.. , ^.. ,...._, mm _.^ _ .... husbands raise some Cobbett's corn, the leathern ajirons may be and shi(l«, and sncc's, or, which makes less noise, in knitting ..J !_.- 1_ L _ ., .. .||^ ^ stockings for the whole family." {(juar. Jour. Agr. vol. I. 5165. In common xvith other grnirit maize may be fermented, so as to produce beer ; or distilled from, bo as to produce spirits ; the straw containing a good deal of saccharine matter that also noight be ex- tracted, 5166. The gi-een ears of maize are applied to various purposes. In the neighbourhood of Paris, before the male blossom has expanded, the female is gathered and pickled, in the manner of cucumbers ; and this is practised to some extent by the French and Germans. When the grain has arrived at its milky state, the ears are then gathered for the purpose of boiling or roasting. In America they are roasted on or be- fore hot embers, and eaten with salt and butter. Boiled, thty are not quite so delicate ; but are still very food, especially if boiled with fat pork. The ears are generally fit for these purposes during the month of eptember, and a large field mayaflfbrd soft ears for six weeks. 5167- The meal ofmaize^ besides being given to the smaller poultry, is also used for fattening swine, old sheep which have lost part of their teeth, and for feeding old horses which cannot grind the ears whole. Of a finer quality it is given to negroes, and eaten by various persons in America, in the form of porridge, puddings, and cakes. In this country, the Rev. Henry Berry of Pensham House, Worcestershire, has found maize meal, purchased from Liverpool, superior to oatmeal in maintaining the condition of his hounds. {Couni7-i/ Times, March ^-Id, 1830.) The meal of maize, made into paste, and fried with fat bacon, is the ordinary food of the peasants of great part of the Brabant It serves them likewise for fatten- ing their fowl, of which they feed great quantities for the markets of the rest of Brabant and of Holland. (Comm. Board of Af-r.) 5168. Diseases and enemies. The Phalae^na forficSilis Lin. is said to deposit its eggs in the stems of the plant, and the larvse which these produce eat out its interior, so as to weaken the strength of the spikes. There are also three species of smut, I7r6do Pers., which are parasitic on the maize, and destroy the grain by reducing it to a black powder. One species is peculiar to the flower, attacks it before it arrives at maturity, and finishes by leaving it in a state of black powder. The French writers recommend washing and pickling in the same manner as for wheat. The stalks and leaves, being very sweet, are greedily sought for by field rats, mice, and other enemies. In the granary, the maize, like other grains, is attacked by different species of weevil, this insect produces serious injury in America, but is not very likely to be troublesome in this country. StiBSECT. 2. Canary Com. — Fkdlaris canariends L. ; Tridndiia Digynia X*., and Gm- 7nine(B J. Alpiste de CanairCf Fr. ; JCanariengrasj Ger. ; Faiarii Ital. ; and Alpistet Span. {Jig. 735.) 5169. The Canary grass is an annual, with a culm from a foot to eighteen inches in height, and lively green leaves almost half an inch in width. The seeds are thickly set in a subovate panicle or spike. It is a native of the Canary Islands ; but now naturalised in several parts of England, and on the Continent. It flowers from June to August, and ripens its seeds from September to October. It lias long been cultivated in the Isle of Thanet, and a few other places in Kent and Essex : it is there considered an uncertain crop, both on account of the seasons, it being the latest of all the grasses in ripening its seeds, and of the fluctuation of prices. 5170. The culture of the Canary grass consists in pulverising a loamy soil in good heart, or manuring it if worn out ; though every judicious farmer tries to avoid giving manure to a com crop unless after a naked fallow. The seeds are sown in rows at about a foot apart, generally by the ribbing process : the season the month of February, and the quantity of seed four or five gallons per acre. The after-culture consists in repeated hoeings and weedings. 5171. The reaping process seldom commences before the end of September. The culm being leafy, and the seed difficult to separate from the chaff, it requires to lie in handfuls for a week or more, and to remain more than, that time in the field after being tied up in sheaves. In the Isle of Thanet it is cut with a hook, provincially called a twibil and a hink ; by which it is laid in lumps, or wads, of about a sheaf each. The seed clings remarkably to the husk ; and, in order to detach it, the crop is left a long time on the ground, to receive moisture sufficient to loosen the enveloping chaff, otherwise it would be hardly possible to thresh out the seed. The wads are turned from time to time, to have the full benefit of the rains and sun. 5172. The comTnon produce of Canary grass is from thirty to thirty-four bushels per acre ; but under the best management in the Isle of Thanet it is often fifty bushels per acre. 5173. The use of the seed is chiefly as food for Canary and other cage and aviary birds. The chaff is superior to that of every other culmiferuus plant for horse-food, and the straw, though short, is also very nutritive, SuBSECT. 3. The MiUets. — Vdnicum and Sorghum L. ; Tridndria Digynia and Foly- gdmia Moncecia L. and Granjznece J. Panis and Sorgho, Fr, ; Panick and jffirse, Ger. ; Panico and Sageno or Sorgo, Ital. ; and Alca-ndia, Span. 5174. Of tlie millet there are three distinct genera : the Polish millet (DigitJlria), culti- vated in Poland ; the common millet (Panicum), or panic grass, cultivated in Germany, Book VI. MILLET. 833 and sometimes in tliis country ; and the great or Indian millet (^olcus), cultivated in India, Italy, and America. 5175^ Of the common millet there are three species : Set&ria germfinica (Jig.136. a)t a native of the south of Europe; the P. JiiilikceuTa (b)^ a native of the East Indies ; and the Set&ria itilica (c), also of Indian origin. 5176. The German millet {Moha tie Hongrie, Fr, ; S. germdnica, n) rises with a jointed reed-Tike stalk, about three feet high, and abog,t the size of the com- mon reed, with a leaf at each joint a toot and a half long, and about an inch broad at the base whei'e broadest, ending in an acute point, rough to the touch, embracing the stalk at the base, and turning downwards about half the length. The stalks are terminated by compact spikes, about the thickness of a man's finger at bottom, growing taper towards the top, eight or nine inches long, and closely set with small roundish grain. Itis annual, and perishes soon after the seeds are ripe. There are three va- rieties of it, the yellow, white, and purple grained. It was formerly cultivated for bread in some of the northern countries. 5177. The common or cultivated millet {MiUet com- mun, Fr. ; P^nicum »tili£iceum, b) rises with a reed- like channelled stalk, from three to four feet high ; at every joint there is one reed-like leaf, joined on the top of the sheath, which' embraces and covers that joint of the stalk below the leaf, and is clothed with soft hairs ; the leaf has none, but has several small longitudinal furrows running parallel to the midrib. The stalk is terminated by a large loose panicle hanging on one side. Of this species there are two varieties, the brown and the yellow j the latter of which was formerly in cultivation, and is now some- times sown for feeding poultry, and as a sub- 733 stitute for rice. 5178. The Italian millet {Pants d'ltalie ; Millet h grappe, Fr. ; Set&ria itilica, c) rises with a reed-like stalk, nearly four feet high, and much s" thicker than that of the preceding; the leaves are also broader. The spikes are a foot long, and twice the thickness of those of the common millet, but not so compact, being composed of several roundish clustered spikes ; tlie grain i* > /also larger. There are two or three varieties of [ ) this, differing only in the colour of the grain. It V is frequently cultivated in Italy (whence its tri- vial name), and other warm countries. It is a native of both Indies, and of Cochin China. 5179. The Polish millet^ or manna grass of the Germans (Digit&ria sanguinklis, formerly Pd.nicum sanguin^lis,^?. 737.), is a low decum- bent, annual plant, seldom rising above nine inches or a foot high, with hairy leaves and slender panicles. It tillers much, and forms a close tuft, spreading and rooting at the joints. It is a native of England but not common. It grows in abundance in Poland, and is some- times cultivated, the seeds being used like those of the other millets as a substitute for rice or sago. 5180. The great or Indian millet (i?61cus Sdrghum L., Sdrghum vulg^re, W. en. fig. 738. Sorgho, gros millet d'ltalie, Fr. • Sorgsamen, Ger. ; Saginny Ital. ; and Mclcea, Span.) has a stem which rises five or six feet high, is strong, reedy, and like those of the maize, but smaller. The leaves are long and broad, having a deep furrow through the centre, wliere the midrib is depressed in the upper surface, and is very prominent below. The leaves are two feet and a half long, and two inches broad in the middle, embracing the stalks with their basft The flowers come out in large panicles at the top of the stalks, resembling, at first appear- ance, the male spikes of the Turkejr wheat; these are succeeded by large roundish seeds, which are wrapped round with the chaff! This grain is a native of India, where it is much used to feed poultry, and is frequently sent to Europe for the same purpose. It is much cultivated in Arabia, and most parts of Asia Minor ; and has been introduced into Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and some parts of Germany, also into China, Cochin China, and the West Indies, wnere it grows commonly five or six feet high, or more, and being esteemed a hearty food for labourers, is called negro Guinea corn. Its long awns or bristles defend it from the birds. In England, the autumns are seldom dry and warm enough to ripen the seed well in the field. In Arabia it is called dora or durraj the flour is very white, and they make good bread of it, er rather cakes, about two inches in thickness. The bread which they make of it in some parts of Italy is dark and coarse. In Tuscany it is used chiefly for feeding poultry and pigeons - sometimes for swine, kine, and horses. Csesalpinus says, that cattle fed on the green herb are apt to swell and die, but thrive on it when dried. They make brushes and brooms of its stalks in Italy, which Ray observed in the shops at Venice, and which are sent to this country. Of this species there are two distinct varieties; one distinguished by black, and the other by red, husked seeds, besides subvarieties. 5181, The only sorts ofmiUet which can be cultivated mth success in this country are the German, cultivated, and the Polish sorts. According to Professor Thaer, the cultivated is to 1)6 preferred, as having the largest grain. 5182. The soUfor the millet should be warm, sandy, rich, and virell pulverised to a good depth. The seed is sown in May, very thin, and not deeply covered. In the course of its growth no plant, Professor Thaer observes, is more improved by stirring the soil, after which it grows astonishingly fast, and smothers all weeds. 51 8S. In harvesting the miUet, great caie is requisite not to shed the seed ; and as it ripens rather unequally, it would be an advantage to cut off the spikes as they ripen, as 3 H 834 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. in reaping maize. No grain is easier to thresh, or to free from its husk by the mill. It IS used instead of rice, and in Germany bears about the same price. It produces a great bulk of straw, which is much esteemed as fodder. 5184. The great Indian millet will grow in this country to the height of five or six feet ; but will not ripen its seeds, or even flower, if the season is not dry and warm. If its culture is attempted, it should be raised in a hotbed and transplanted. SuBSECT. 4. Rice, and some other Cereal Grdmina. .5185. T/ie rice (Oryza sativa, fig, 739.) has been tried in this country, and, if sown '" " very early, would probably ripen its seeds. The hill variety, whicli does not require watering, would probably succeed best. But tliere is no inducement to cultivate this and other grains or seeds when they can be imported at so low a rate. We merely introduce them to record the resources of British agriculture in case of necessity. 5186. The Zizdnia aqualica I fig. 740.) might be cultivated on the margin of ponds for its seeds, which much resemble those of Polish millet. It is exceedingly prolific, grows in great " luxuriance, and produces abundance of bland farinaceous seeds, in all the shallow streams of the dreary wilderness in north- west America, between the Canadian lakes and the hilly range which divides Canada from the country on the Northern Pacific Ocean. Its seeds contribute essentially \ to the support of the wandering tribes of Ij Indians, and feed immense flocks of wild swans, geese, and other water fowl, which resort there for the purpose of breeding. Productive as is this excellent plant, and habituated to an ungenial climate, and to situations which refuse all culture, it is surprising, says Pinkerton {Geog. vol. iii. p. 330.), that the European settlers in the more northern parts of America have as yet taken no pains to cultivate and improve a vegetable production which seems intended by nature to become, at some future period, the bread corn of the north. 5187. Tlie Glyceriaftmtans resembles the Zizania, and the seeds are used in Germany like those of Polish millet. Various species of P4nicum, fi'ordeum, and Promus afford tolerable supplies of edible seeds. * 5188. Tlie buck-wheat (Polygonum Fagopyrum ; Riz, Fr. ; Eeiss, Ger^ Riso, Ital. ; Arroz, Span. ) is vulgarly considered as a grain ; but not being a bread-corn grass, we have classed it among manufactorial plants. (Chap. VIII. Sect. IV.) Chap. III. Culture of Leguminous Field- Plants, the Seeds of which are used as Food for Man or Cattle, 5189. The seeds cf the cultivated legumes are considered to be the most nutritive of vegetable substances grown in temperate climates. They contain a large proportion of matter analogous to animal substances, having when dry the appearance of glue, and being as nourishing as gluten. To the healthy workman this substance supplies the place of animal food ; and Von Thaer states, that in Germany neither sailors nor land labourers are content unless they receive a meal of legumes at least twice a week. The straw or haulm, he says, cut before it is dead ripe, is more nourishing than that of any of the cereal grasses. But leguminous plants are not only more than all others nourishing to man and animals, but even to vegetables they may be said to supply food ; since they are not only known to be less exhausting to the soil than most other plants, but some of them, and more especially the lupine, have been ploughed in green as manure from the earliest times. Many scientific agriculturists consider a, luxuriant crop of peas or tares as nourishing the soil by stagnating carbonic acid gas on its surface ; which corresponds with the universal opinion of their being equal to a fallow, and with the value set on them in rotation, as already explained. (4939.) Two reasons may be given for the cir- cumstance of peas and tares not exhausting the land so much as other crops : first, because they form a complete shade for the ground ; and next, because they drop so many Of the Book VI. THE PEA. 835 leaves upon the surface. The legumes cultivated in British farming are, the pea, bcaii, tare, and vetch, to which might be added tlie lentil, kidneybean, and chick pea. 5190. The nulrilive products of these plants are thus given by Sir H. Davy, Eiuhoff, and Thaer : — Systematic Name. English Name. In 100 Parts. Whole quin- titj of scluble or nuUitive maner. Mucilaee or Btarch. Saccharine mailer, or sugar. Gluten or .ilbumen. Extract, or matter rendered inbolulile (luring evaijfiration. r*isum sativum ricia Fkha. satlva E'rvum 7.ens - ^has^olus vulglLris - Dry i>eas Common bean Tares Lentils - - Kidneybean - 574 570 "71 89 501 42fi 36 39 67 22 35 103 29 32 22 16 41 Skct. 1. 7'lie Pea. — Visum sativum L. ; Diadelplda Decdndria L., and LegvminbsaJ. Les Pais, Fr. ; Erbse, Ger. ; Piscellii, Ital. ; and Pesoles, Span. {Jig. 741.) 741 5191. The pea is tite most esteemed legUTne in field culti- vation, both for its seed and haulm. It is supposed to be a native of the south of Europe, and was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans. In this country it has been grown from time immemorial : but its culture appears to have diminished since the more general introduction of herbage, ^^ plants, and roots ;- and tlie pea, except near laige towns for ~; gathering green, and in a few places for boiling, has given way to the bean, or to a mixture of peas and beans. There are various inducements, however, to tlie cultiva^ tion .of peas in dry warm soils near large towns. When the crop is good and gathered green, few pay better : the . payment is always in cash, and comes into the pocket of tlie farmer in time to meet the exigencies of the hay, and sometimes even of the com, harvest. The ground, after the peas have been removed, is readily prepared for turnips, which also pay well as a retail crop near towns ; and the haulm is good fodder. 5192. T>ie varieties of the pea are numerous; but they may be divided into two classes : those grown for the ripened seed, and those grown for gathering in a green state. The culture of the latter is chiefly near large tovms, and may be considered as in part belonging to gardening rather than agriculture. There lias lately a new sort of pea been brought into notice about Banbury in Oxfordshire. It is called the " nimble hog pea." It appears to be a grey variety of the early frame, as it has single flowers, and is fit to cut about the end of June, notwithstanding it must not be s,own earlier than the middle of April. On the excellent land about Banbury the pro- duce is four quarters to the acre, and turnips sowed on the stubble are up and sometimes hoed out before the regular turnip crop ! 5193. The grey varieties {Poisgris, Pois-agneau, Bisaille, Fr.) are, the early grey, the late grey, and the purple grey ; to which some add the Marlborough grey, and horn grey. 5194. The white varieties {Pots blanc, Fr.) grown in fields are the pearl, early Charlton, golden hotspur, the common white or Suflblk, and other Sufiblk varieties. 5195. Nevt varieties of the pea are readily procured by selection or impregnation, of which a striking example given by Knight has been already referred to. (1632.) 5196. In the choice of sorts, where it is desired to grow grey peas for the sake of the seeds or com, the early variety is to be preferred in late situations, and the late variety in early ones ; but when it is intended to grow them chiefly for covering the ground and for the haulm, then the late varieties claim the preference, and especially the purple grey. Of white peas, to be grown for gathering green, the Charlton is the earliest, and the pearl or common SuflPolk the most prolific. When white peas are grown for boilers, that is l^or splitting, the pearl and Suffolk are also the best sorts. 5197. To have recourse to early sorts is supposed by some to be of considerable importance in the economy of a farm, when the nature of the soil is suitable, as by such means the crops may in many cases be cut and secured while there is leisure, before the commencement of the wheat harvest ; and that where the nature of the soil is dry and warm, and the pea crop of a sufficiently forward kind, it may be easy to obtain a crop of turnips from the same land in the same year, as has been suggested above. But in this view it is the best practice to put in the crops-in the row method, and keep them perfectly clean by means of atten- tive hand and horse hoeing ; as in that way the land will be in such a state of preparation for the turnips, as only to re(]nire a slight ploughing, which may be done as fast as the pea crop is removed, and the turnip seed may be drilled in as quickly as possible upon the new)); turned up earth. In some particular districts a third crop is even put into the same land, the turnips being sold off in the autumn, and coleworts sub- stituted for the purpose of greens in the following spring. This, according to Middleton, is the practice in 3 H 2 836 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pajit III. some places in Middlesex. But it is obviously a method of cultivation that can only be attempted on the warm and fertile kinds of turnip soil, and where the pea crops are early; on tlie cold heavy and wet descriptions of land it is obviously impracticable, and wholly improper. 5198. The soil best suited for peas is a dry calcareous sand ; it should be in good tilth, not too rich nor dunged along with the crop. In Norfolk and Suffolk peas are often sown on clover leys after one furrow, or after corn crops on two furrows, one given in autumn, and the other early in spring. 5199. Tlie climate required by the pea is dry and not over warm, for which reason, as the seasons in this country are very often moist and sometimes exceedingly dry and hot in June and July, the pea is one of the most uncertain of field crops. 5200. The season of sowing must differ considerably according to the intentions of the cultivator. 5201. For podding early to be sold green, they should be sown at different times, from January to the end of March, beginning with the driest and most reduced sorts of land ; and with this intention in some southern counties they are sown in the autumn. For the general crops from February to April, as soon as the lands can be brought into proper order, is the proper season ; the grey sorts being employed in the early sowings, and the white sorts in the later. Young says, that where these crops cannot be sown in February, they should always be completed in the following month. It is observed by the same writer, that, in sowing after a single furrow, the white boiling pea, of many sorts and under various names, is more tender than the greys and various kinds of hog peas ; but he has many times put them into the ground in February, and, though very smart frosts followed, they received no injury. He has uniformly found, that the earlier they were sown the better. There is also a particular motive for being as early as possible ; that is, to get them off in time for turnips. This is most profitable husbandry, and should never be neglected in dry and warm soils and situations. If they are sown in this month, and a right sort chosen^ they will be off the land in June, so that turnips may follow at the common time of sowing that crop. 5202. Steeping the seed in water is sometimes practised in late sowings. 5203. The quantity of seed must be different in different cases and circumstances, and according to the time and manner in which the crop is put into the ground ; but, in general, it may be from two and a half to three bushels, the early sowings having the largest proportion of seed. In planting every furrow slice, Young says, two bushels and a half constitute the usual proportion ; but, when drilled at greater distances, six or seven pecks will answer. 5204. The most common mode of sowing peas is broad-cast ; but the advantages of the row culture in the case of a crop so early committed to the soil must be obvious. 5205. The best farmers always sow peas in drills either after the plough, the seed being deposited com- monly in every second or third furrow ; or, if the land is in a pulverised state, by drawing drills w^b a machine or by ribbing. In Norfolk and Suffolk peas are generally dibbled on the back of the furrow, sometimes one and sometimes two rows on each ; but dibbling in no manner appears to us so well suited for a farmer's purpose as the drill. In Kent, where immense quantities of peas are grown, both for gathering green and for selling ripe to the seedsmen, they are generally sown in rows from eighteen inches to three feet asunder, according to the kind, and well cultivated between. Peas laid a foot below the sur- face will vegetate ; but the most approved depth is six inches in light soil, and four inches in clay soil, for which reason they ought to be sown under furrow when the ploughing is delayed till spring. Of all grain, beans excepted, they are the least in danger of being buried. 5206. The after cvlture given to peas is that of hoeing, either by hand or horse. Where the metJiod of hand-culture prevails, it is the general custom to have recourse to two hoeings ; the first when the plants are about two or three inches in height, and again just before the period in which they come into blossom. In this way the vigorous vegetation of the young crop is secured, and a fresh supply of nourishment afforded for the setting of the pods and the filling of the peas. At the latter of these operations the rows should be laid down, and the earth well placed up to them, the weeds being pre- viously extirpated by hand labour. It has been stated, that in some parts of Kent, where this sort of crop is much grown, it is the practice, when the distance of the rows will permit, to prevent the vegetation of weeds, and forward the growth of pea crops, by occasionally horse-hoeing, and the use of the brake-harrow, the mould being laid up to the roots of the plants at the last operation by fixing a piece of wood to the haiTow. This should, however, only be laid up on one side, the peas being always placed up to that which is the most fully exposed to the effects of the sun, 5207. In harvesting the ripened pea considerable care is requisite, both on account of the seed and haulm, 5208. When pea cr(ms become ripe they wither and turn brown in the haulm or straw, and the pods begin to open. In this state they should be cut immediately, in order that the loss sustained by their shedding may be as little as possible. It is observed that in the late or general crops, after they are reaped or rather cut up by means of a hook, it is the usual practice to put them up into small heaps, termed wads, which are formed by setting small parcels against each other, in order that they may b0 more perfectly dried both in the seed and stem, and be kept from being injured by the moisture of the ground. But, in the early crops, the haulm is hooked up into loose open heaps, which, as soon as they are perfectly dry, are removed from the ground and put into stacks for the feeding of animals, which are said to thrive nearly as well on it as on hay. When intended for horses, the best ntethod would seem to be that of having them cut into chaff and mixed with their other food. Young says, that forward white peas will be fit to cut early in July ; if the crop is very great they must be hooked ; but if small, or only middling, mowing will be sufficient. The stalks and leaves of peas being very succulent, they should be taken good care of in wet weather : the tufts, called wads or heaps, should be turned, or they will receive damage. White peas should always be perfectly dry before they are housed, or they will sell but in- differently J as the brightness and plumpness of the grain are considered more in them than in hog peas at ;narket The straw also, if well harvested, is very good fodder for all sorts of cattle and for sheep j but if it receives much wet, or if the heaps are not turned, it can be used only to litter the farmyard with. It is the practice in some districts to remove the haulm^ as soon as it has been cut up by hooks constructed Book VI. THE PEA. 837 with sharp edges for the purpose, to every fifth ridge, or even into an adjoining grass field, in order that it may be the better cured for use as cattle-food, and at the same time allow of the land being immediately prepared for the succeeding crop. When wet weather happens whilst the peas lie in wads, it occasions a considerable loss, many of them being shed in the field, and of those that remain a great part will be so considerably injured as to render the sample of little value. This inability in peas to resist a wet harvest, together with the great uncertainty throughout their growth, and the. frequently inadequate return in proportion to the length of haulm, has discouraged many farmers from sowing so large a portion of this pulse as of other grain ; though on light lands which are in tolerable heart, the profit. In a good year, is far from inconsiderable. 5209- In gathering green peas for the market, it is frequently a practice with the large cultivators of early green-pea crops in the neighbourhood of London to dispose of them, by the acre, to inferior persons, who procure the podders ; but the smaller farmers, for the most part, provide this description of people themselves, who generally apply at the proper season. 5210. The business i{f picking or podding the peas is usually performed by the labourers at a fixed price for the sack of four heaped bushels. The number of these labourers is generally in the proportion of about four to the acre, the labour proceeding on the Sundays as well as other days. It is sometimes the custom to pick the crops over twice, after which the rest are suflfered to stand till they become ripe, for the purpose of seed. This, however, mostly arises from the want of pickers, as it is considered a loss, from the poas being less profitable in their ripe state than when green. Besides, they are often improper for thepurpose of seed, as being the worst part of the crop. It is therefore better to have them clear picked when hands cm be procured. After this they are loaded into carts, and sent off at suitable times, according to the distance of the situation, so as to be delivered to the salesmen in the different markets from about three to five o'clock in the morning. In many cases in other parts, the early gatherings are, however, sent to the markets in half- bushel sieves, and are frequently disposed of at the high price of five shillings the sieve ; but at the after periods they are usually conveyed in sacks of a narrow form, made for the purpose, which contain about three bushels each, which, in the more early parts of the season, often fetch twelve or fourteen shillings the sack, but afterwards mostly decline considerably j in some seasons so much as scarcely to repay the expenses. This sort of crop anords the most profit in such pea seasons as are inclined to be cool, as under such circumstances the peas are most retarded in their maturation or ripening, and of course the markets kept from being overabundantly supplied. 5211. The threshing of ^^05 requires less labour tlian that of any other crop. Where the haulm is to be preserved entire it is best done by hand ; as the threshing machine is apt to reduce it to chaff. But where the fodder of peas is to be given immediately to horses on the spot, the breaking of it is no disadvantage. 5212. The produce of the pea in ripened seeds is supposed by some to be from three and a half to four quarters the acre ; others, however, as Donaldson, imagine the average of any two crops together not more than about twelve bushels ; and that on the whole, if the value of tlie produce be merely attended to, it may be considered as a less profitable crop than most others. But as a means of ameliorating and improving the soil at the same time, it is esteemed of great value. 5213. With respect to the produce in green peas in the husk, the average of the early crops in Middlesex is supposed to be from about twenty-five to thirty sacks the acre, which, selling at from eight to eighteen shillings the sack, afford about eighteen pounds the acre. The author of The Synopsis of HusbandrVy however, states the produce about Dartford, in the county of Kent, at about forty sacks the acre, though, he says, fifty have sometimes been gathered from that space of land. 5314. The produce of peas in straw is very uncertain, depending so much on the sort and the season : in general it is much more bulky than that of the cereal grasses j but may be compressed into very little room. 5215. The produce of peas in flour is as 3 to 2 of the bulk in grain, and husked and split for soups as 4 to 2. A thousand parts of pea flour afforded Sir H. Davy 574 parts of nutritive or soluble matter ; viz. 501 of mucilage or vegetable animal matter, 22 of sugar, 35 of gluten, and 16 of extract or matter rendered insoluble during the operation. 5216. The use ofpeasfor soups, puddings, and other culinary purposes, is well known, 5217. In some places porridge, brose, and bread are made of pea-flour, and reckoned very wholesome and substantial. In Stirlingshire it is customary to give pea or bean biscuits to horses, as a refreshment, while in the yoke. The portion of peas not consumed as human food is mostly appropriated to the fatten. ing of hogs and other domestic animals ; and, in particular instances, sujiplies the place of beans, as the provender of labouring horses; but care should be taken, when used in this way, that they are sumciently dry, as, when given in the green state, they are said to produce the gripes, and other bowel complaints, in those animals. Bannister, after observing that the haulm is a very wholesome food for cattle of every kind, says, there is generally a considerable demand for peas of every denomination in the market, the uses to which they may be applied being so many and so various. The boilers, or yellow peas, always go off briskly ; and the hog-peas usually sell for 6d. or i«. per quarter more than beans. For feeding swine the pea is much better adapted than the bean, it having been demonstrated by experience, that hogs fat more Kindly when fed with this grain than with beans ; and, what is not easy to be accounted for, the flesh of swine which have been fed on peas, it is said, will swell in boiling, and be well tasted j whilst the flesh of the bean-fed hog will shrink in the pot, the fat will boil out, and^he meat be less delicate in flavour. It has, therefore, now become a practice with those farmers who are curious in their pork, to feed their hogs on peas and barley-meal ; and if they have no peas of their own growth, (Jiey rather choose to be at the expense of buying them, than suffer their hogs to eat beans. Nay, so far, says he, do some of them carry their prejudice in this particular, as to reject the grey peas for this use, as bearing too near an affinity to the bean, and therefore reserve their growths of white peas solely for hog-fatting. 5218. In boiling split peas^ some samples, without reference to variety, fall or moulder down freely into pulp, while others continue to maintain their form. The former are called boilers. This property of boiling depends on the soil ; stiff land, or sandy land, that has been limed or marled, or to which gypsum has been applied, produces peas that will not melt in boiling, no matter what the variety may be. The same effect is produced on beans, on kidneybeans in the pod, and indeed on the seeds and pods of all leguminous plants ; this family having a great tendency to absorb gypsum from the soil. To counteract this fault in the boiling, it is only necessary to thjrow Into the water a small quantity of subcarbonate of soda. {Bull de Sci. Agr. Feb. 1828,) 5219. Pea straw cut green and dried is reckoned as nourishing as hay, and is con- sidered excellent for sheep. 3 II 3 838 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5220. In the saving tf ani/ particular sorts of peas fir seed, they should be carefully looked over while in flower, in order to draw out all such plants as are not of the right kind ; as there will always be, in every sort, some roguish plants,, whicJi, if left to mix, will cause degeneration. As many rows as may be thought sufficient to furnish the desired quantity of seed should then be marked out, and left till their pods turn brown, and begin to split, when they should immediately be gathered up, with the haulm ; and if the farmer has not room to stack them till winter, they may be threshed out as soon as they are dry, and put up in sacks for use : but particular care should be taken not to let them remain too long abroad after they are ripe ; as wet would rot them ; and heat, after a shower of rain, makes their pods burst in such a manner that the greater part of their seeds would be lost. 522 1 . The diseases of peas are few, and chiefly the worm in the pod and the fly on the leaves and flower. They are also liable to be mildewed or blighted. None of these evils, however, are very common ; and there is no known way of preventing them but by judicious culture. Late sown peas are particularly liable to be injured by the mildew and A^phis; and should either of these attack the plant before the pods are filled, they invariably fail. In 1826 almost all the crops of peas were destroyed by the A'phides, so that they were mown for the haulm only. Sect. II. Tlie Bean. — Vicia Fdba L. ; Diadilphia Decdndria L., and Leguminiisee J. Fiverole, Fr. ; Bohn, Ger. ; Fava, Ital ; and Alverjanas, Span. 5222. The bean is a valuable fleld plant, as affording food for live stock, and in part for man. It is said to be a native of Egypt ; but, like other long domesticated plants, its origin is very uncertain. It has been cultivated in Europe and Asia time out of mind. Beans have been long known in Britain ; but it is only of late years that they were extensively cultivated upon general soils, being formerly considered as adapted only to rich and moist clays. At that time they were all sown according to the broad-cast system ; in which way, instead of benefiting the ground, they were of incalculable detri- ment. Weeds got away at the outset, and in dry seasons ofien ruined the crop ; whilst in every season the grass or perennial weeds which happened to be in the ground in- creased iri strength and in quantity, the openness of the bean crop at bottom allowing them to thrive without interruption. 5223. The drilling of beans with a small mixture of peas is now become a general practice in every well cultivated district of the north, more particularly in those where soil and climate permit the practice to be successfully executed. In this way not only heavy crops are raised, but, what is of great importance, the ground is kept constantly in good order, provided suitable attention is bestowed upon the cleaning process. This is generally carried on by horse-hoeing the crop at different times, so long as the hoe can be used without doing damage ; and in this way an able auxiliary is brought forward to the assistance of summer fallow, whereby less stress need be laid upon that radical process than otherwise would be indispensably necessary. {Brovm. ) 5224. The varieties of the bean may be included under two general heads, — the white or garden beans, and the grey or field beans. 522'>. Of the white or garden beans {Fhie de marais, Fr.) sown in the fields, the mazagan and long-pod are almost the only sorts. Of the grey beans, that known as the horse bean, the small or ticks, and the proliBc or Heligoland, are the chief sorts. New varieties are procured in the same manner as in other plants, A variety is in use in some parts of Lincolnshire, called the winter bean (F^erole d'hiver, Fr,), It is planted in October in the usual manner, and is ready to harvest in the last week in July or the first week in August, They are said to have been introduced from the Continent in 1825, We have lately - seen ft field of this bean at the Oaks Farm, near Woking, in Surrey, which was planted in October 1829, and in full bloom May 12th following. This circumstance, after so severe a winter, is a proof to us that this is a most valuable variety, IGard. Mng. vol, vi,) 5226. In the ckmce cf sorts, ticlf beans are supposed by some farmers to be more pro- ductive than horse-beans ; but the latter grow higher in the stem, and produce a more stagnated state of the air, or smother the land more, consequently are the most suitable for the stronger sorts of soil ; and Young remarks, that " the common little horse-bean has the advantage of all others in being more generally marketable ; for in certain situations it is not always easy to dispose of ticks, Windsors, long-pods, and various other large sorts. They also grow higher, shade the ground in summer more from the sun, and yield a larger quantity of straw, which makes excellent manure. But some of the other sorts are generally supposed to yield larger products. In purchasing beans for seed, care should be taken to choose such as are hard and bright, without being slu-ivelled in their appearance." 5227. The best soils for beans are clays and strong loams. On such soils they generally succeed wheat or oats, but sometimes also clover leys. Turnip soils or sands are by no means proper for them. .5^2S. In the prepitration of the soft much depends on the nature of the land and the state of the weather; for as beans must be sown early in the spring, it is sometimes impossible to give it all the labour which a careful farmer would wish to bestow. It must also be regulated in some measure by the manner oi Book VI. THE BEAN. 839 sowing. In all cases it ougbt to be ploughed with a deep ftirrow after harvest or early in winter ; and as two ploughings in spring are highly advantageous, the winter furrow may be given in the direction of the former ridges, in which way the land is snoner dry in spring than if it had been ploughed across. The second ploughing is to be given across the ridges, as early in spring as the ground is sunicientty dryj and the third furrow either forms the drills or receives the seed. {Supp. E, Brit, art Agr.) 5229. Srown^ one of the best bean-growers in Britain, gives the following directions: — The furrow ought to be given early in winter, and as deep as possible, that the earth may be sufficiently loosened and room afforded for the roots of the plant to search for the requisite nourishment This first furrow is usually given across the field, which is the best method when only one spring furrow is intended ; but as it is now ascertained that two spring furrows are highly advantageous, perhaps the one in winter ought to be given in length, which lays the ground in a better situation for resisting the rains, and renders it sooner dry in spring, than can be the case when ploughed across. On the supposition that three furrows are to be given^ one in winter and two in spring, the following is the most eligible preparation : — The land being ploughed in length as early in winter as is practicable, and the cross gutter and headland furrows sufiiciently dug out, take the second furrow across the first as soon as the ground is dry enough in spring to undergo the operation ; water-furrow it immediately, and dig again the cross gutter and headland furrows, otherwise the benefit of the second furrow may be lost This being done, leave the field for some days till It is sufficiently dry, when a cast of the harrows becomes necessary, so that the surface may be levelled; then enter with the [iloughs and form the drills. {Treatise on JRural Affairs.) 5230. Manure is freqnentl}/ applied to the bean cropt especiallj^ if it succeeds wheat By some, dung is spread on the stubble previously to the winter ploughing ; but this cannot always be done in a satisfactory manner, at least in the northern parts of the island, unless during frost, when it may lie long exposed to the weather before it can be turned down by the plough. The most desirable mode, therefore, is to lay tiie manure into drills immediately before the beans are sown. (Supp. ^c.) 5231. The best way, according to Brown, is to apply the dung on the stubble before the winter furrow is given, which greatly facilitites the after process. tJsed in this way, a fore stock must be in hand : but where the farmer is not so well provided, spring dunging becomes n^essary, though evidently of less advantaga At that season it may either be put into the drills before the seed is sown, or spread upon the surface and ploughed down, according to the nature of the drilling process which is meant to be adopted. Land dunged to beans, if duly hoed, is always in high order for carrying a crop of wheat in succession. Perhaps better wheat, both in respect of quantity and quality, may be cultivated in this way than in any other mode of sowing. 5232. The climate most favourable to the bean is one neither very dry nor very moist ; the first brings on the fly, and the last prevents the setting of the blossoms. In general, however, a dry summer is most favourable to the production of seed, and moist weather to the growth of the haulm. 5233. The thne of sowing beans is as early as possible after the severity of winter is over; in the south, sometimes in January, but never later than the end of March, as the ripening of the crop and its safe harvesting would otherwise be very precarious in this climate. Bannister thinks that the proper time for planting beans in Kent is towards the latter end of January or early in the following month ; though this business may be continued with advantage till the middle or latter end of March, if the weather should prevent their being got in at an earlier season : but in general it is best to embrace the first opportunity of sowing them after Candlemas, as they often miscarry when the season is procrastinated beyond that time, especially if a dry summer should succeed. 5234. The mode of somng is ahnost always in rows. Though still sown broad-cast in several places, and sometimes dibbled, they are for the most part drilled by judicious cultivators, or deposited after the plough in every furrow, or only in every second or third furrow. In the latter method the crop rises in rows, at regular intervals of nine, eighteen, or twenty-seven inches, and the hand-hoe ought invariably to be employed ; but it is only where the widest interval is adopted that the horse-hoe can be used with much effect in their subsequent culture. 5235. There are two modes qf drilling beans. In one of these the lands or ridges are divided by the plough into ridgelets or one bout stitches, at intervals of about twenty-seven inches. If dung is to be applied, the seed ought to be first deposited, as it is found inconvenieht to run the drill-machine after- wards. The dung may then be drawn out from the carts in small heaps, one row of heaps serving for three or five ridgelets, and it is evenly spread and equally divided among them in a way that will be more minutely described when treating of the culture of turnips. The ridgelets are next split out or reversed, either by means of the common plough or one with two mould-boards, by which means both the seed and the manure are perfectly covered. When beans are sown by the other method, in the bottom of a com- mon furrow, the dung must be previously spread over the surface of the winter or spring ploughing. Three ploughs then start in succession, one immediately behind another; and adrill harrow either follows the third plough or is attached to it, by which the beans are sown in every third furrow, or at from twenty- four to twenty-seven inches asunder, according to the breadth of the furrow-slice. 5236. Another approved way of sowing beans, when dung is applied at seed-time, is to spread the dung and to plough it down with a strong furrow ; after this shallow furrows are drawn, into which the seed is deposited by the drill-machine. Whichever of these modes of sowing is followed, the whole field must be carefully laid dry, by means of channels formed by the plough, and when necessary by the shovel : for neither then nor at any former period should water be allowed to stagnate on the land. 5237. The dibbling of beans is considered by Arthur Young as an excellent method when well performed ; but the grand objection to it is the difficulty of getting it well done. 5238, When dibbling becomes the common husbandry of a district, the workmen find that great earnings are to be made by it, and this is much too apt to make them careless and eager to earn still more ; and if a very minute attention is not paid to them by the constant attendance of the farmer, they strike the holes so shallow that the first peek of a rook's bill takes the seed, and acres may be destroyed if the breed of those birds be encouraged. Boys are employed for weeks together to keep the fields, but all works that depend on boys are horribly neglected, and thus the fanner suflfers materially: however, if the seed is deposited two and a half or (better) three inches deep, it is not so easily eradicated. In some districts, as Middlesex, Surrey, &c., the method is to plant this pulse in rows struck out by a line, by which a great saving is made in the article of seed, a circumstance which is thought to compensate for the extraordinary charge of this mode of husbandry ; and thus far it may be fairly acknowledged that the method of planting beans by the dibber is greatly to be preferred to that of sowing the seed at random. The economy of this agricultural process is thus explained : ^The rows are marked out one foot asunder, 3H 4 840 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. and the seed planted in holes made two inches apart : the lines are stretched across the lands, which are formed about six feet over j so that when one row is plantetl, the sticks to which the line is fastened arc moved by a regular measurement to the distance rerjuired, and the same method pursued till the field ig completed. The usual price for this work is ninepence iier peck, and the allowance two bushels per acre. Great confidence must necessarily be reposed in the people who transact the business of planting beans by the dibber: for, if inclined to fraud, they have it in their power to deceive their employer, by throwing a great part or the seed into the hedge ; by which meanstheirdailyprofits ate considerably enhanced, their own labour spared, and every discovery effectually precluded tiH the appearance of the crop. Then, in- deed, the frequent chasms in the rows will give sufficient indications of the fraud; but by this time perhaps the villainous authors of the mischief may have escaped all possibility of detection, by having conveyed themselves flrom the scene of their iniquity. 5239. Tlie quantity of seed allowed is very different in the southern and northern parts of Britain: in the former, even when the rows are narrow, only two bushels or two bushels and a half; but in Scotland, seldom less than four bushels to the English statute acre, even when sown in ridgelets twenty-seven inches distant, and a bushel more when sown broad-cast. When beans are sown or planted thick, the top pods only fill to the number of three, and four, and half a dozen ; when thin, the plants will pod and fill to the bottom. Both in the broad-cast and drill husbandry, it is common to mix a small quantity of peas along with beans. This mixture improves both the quantity and quality of the straw for fodder, and the pea straw is useful for binding up the sheaves in harvest. 5240. The after culture of the bean crop commences with harrowing just before the young plants reach the surface. When sown in rows, in either of the modes already mentioned, the harrows are employed about ten or twelve days after ; and, being driven across the ridgelets, the land is laid completely level for the subsequent operations, and the annual weeds destroyed. 5241. After the beans have made some growth^ sooner or later, according to the state of the soil with regard to weeds, the horse-hoe is employed in the intervals between the rows: and followed by Ihe hand- hoe for the purpose of cutting down such weeds as the horse-hoe cannot reach; all the weeds, that grow among the beans beyond the reach of either hoe, should be pulled up with the hand. The same operations are repeated as often as the condition of the land, in regard to cleanness, may require. 5242. Before the introduction of the horse-hoe^ which merely stirs the soil, and cuts up the weeds, a com- mon small plough, drawn by one horse, was used in working between the rows, and is still necessary where root> weeds abound. This plough goes one bout, or up and down in each interval, turning the earth from the beans, and forming a ridgelet in the middle ; then hand-hoes are immediately employed; and, after some time, a second hand-hoeing succeeds, to destroy any fresh growth of weeds. The same plough, with an additional mould-board, finally splits open the intermediate ridgelet, and lays up the earth to the roots of the beans on each side. The benefit of laying up the earth in this manner, however, is allied to be counterbalanced by the trouble which it occasions in harvest, when it is difficult to get the reapers to cut low enough ; and it may be properly dispensed with, unless the soil is very wet and level. 5243. In moist warm seasons, this grain hardly ever ripens effectually ; and it is exceedingly difficult to get the straw into a proper condition for the stack. In such cases, it has been found of advantage to switch off the succulent tops with an old scythe blade set in a wooden handle, with which one man can easily top dress two acres a day. This operation, it is said, will occasion the crop to be ready for reap, ing a fortnight earlier, and also, perhaps, a week sooner ready for the stack-yard after being reaped. 5244. Before reaping beans the grain ought to be tolerably well ripened, otherwise the quality is impaired, whilst a long time is required to put the straw in such a condition as to be preserved in the stack. In an early harvest, or where the crop is not weighty, it is an easy matter to get beans sufficiently ripened ; but, in a late harvest, and in every one where the crop takes on a second growth, it is scarcely practicable to get them thoroughly ripened for the sickle. Under these circumstances, it is unnecessary to let beans stand uncut after the end of September, or the first of October; because any benefit that can be gained afterwards, is not to be compared with the disadvantages that accompany a late wheat seed-time. 5245. Beans are usually cut with the sickle, and tied in sheaves, either with straw ropes, or with ropes made from peas sown along with them. It is proper to let the sheaves lie untied several days, so that the winning process may be hastened, and, when tied, to set them up on end, in order that full benefit from the air may be obtained, and the grain kept off the ground. {Brown.) . 5246. Beans are sometimes ynown^ and, in a few instances, even pulled up by the roots. They should in every case be cut as near the ground as possible, for the sake of the straw, which is of considerable value M fodder, and because the best pods are often placed on the stems near the roots. They are then left for a few days to wither, and afterwards bound and set up in shocks to dry, but without any head sheaves. {,Supp. 8sc.) 5247. Beans are stacked either in the round or oblong manner ; and it is always proper, in the northern counties at least, if the stack is large, to construct one funnel or more to allow a free circulation of air. 5248. The threshing of beans is nearly as easy as that of peas. Threshing them by a machine may be considered advantageous as breaking the coarser ends of the straw, and separating the earth from their root-ends, or roots, if they have been reaped by pulling. 5249. The produce ofbeanSj when proper management is exercised, and where diseases have not occurred, is generally from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels per acre. Donaldson says, that a crop of beans, taking the island at large, may be supposed to vary from six- teen to forty bushels, but that a good average crop cannot be reckoned to Exceed twenty. In Middlesex, Middleton tells us, that bean-crops vary from ten to eighty bushels per acre. They are rendered a very precarious crop by the ravages of myriads of small black insects of the A^his kind. The lady-birds (Coccin^Ua) are supposed to feed on them, as they are observed to be much among them. Foot saysj the average produce is from Book VI. THE TARE. 841 three and a half to four quarters per acre. In Kent, A. Young thinks, they probably exceed four quarters; but in Sufiblk, he should not estimate them at more than tliree; yet five or six are not uncommon. 5250. The produce in havlm, in moist seasons, is very bulky. 5251. In the application of beanSj the grain in Scotland is sometimes made into meal, the finer for bread, and the coarser for swine; but beans are for the most part applied to the purpose of feeding horses, hogs, and other domestic animals. In the county of Middlesex, all are given to horses, except what are preserved for seed, and such as are podded while green, and sent to the London markets. When pigs are fed with beans, it is observed that the meat becomes so hard as to make very ordinary pork, but good bacon. It is also supposed that tlie mealmen grind many horse-beans among wheat to be manufactured into bread, S952. The fiour of beans is iiim-e nutritive than that of oats, as it appears in the fattening of hogs ; whence, according to the respective prices of these two articles, Dr. Darwin suspects that i)eas and beans generally supply a cheaper provender for horses than oats, as well as for other domestic animals. But aa the flour of peas and beans is more' oily, he believes, than that of oats, it may in general be somewhat more difficult of digestion ; hence, when a horse has taken a stomachful of peas and beans alone, he may be less active for an hour or two, as his strength will be more employed in the digestion of them than when he has taken a stomachful of oats. A German physician gave to two dogs, which had been kept a day fasting, a large quantity of flesh food; and then taking one of them into the fields, hunted him with great activity for three or four hours, and left the other by the fire. An emetic was then given to each of them i and the food of the sleeping dog was found perfectly digested, whilst that of the hunted one had undergone but little alteration. Hence it may, he says, be found advisable to mix bran of wheat with the peas and beans, a food of less nutriment, but of easier digestion ; or to let the horses eat before or after them the coarse tussocks of sour grass, which remain in moist pastures in the winter ; or, lastly, to mix finely cut straw with them. It is observed in the fifth volume of The Bath Papers, that it has been found by repeated experience, that beans are a much more hearty and profitable food for horses than oats. Being out of old oats the two last springs, the writer substituted horse-beans in their stead. In the room of a sack of oats with chafT, he ordered them a bushel of beans with chaff, to serve the same time. It very soon appeared the beans were superior to the oats, from the life, spirit, and sleekness of the horses. 5253. Bean straw, when mixed with peas. Brown considers as affording almost as much nourishment when properly harvested as is gained from hay of ordinary quality ; when it is well got the horses are fonder of it than of pea straw. It should either be given when newly threshed, or else stacked up and compressed by treading or coverings, as the air is found materially to affect both its flavour and nutritive quality. 5254. The produce of beans in meal is, like that of peas, more in proportion to the grain than in any of the cereal grasses. A bushel of beans is supposed to yield fourteen pounds more of flour than a bushel of oats, and a bushel of peas eighteen pounds more, or, according to some, twenty pounds. A thousand parts of bean flour were found, by Sir H. Davy, to yield 570 parts of nutritive matter, of which 426 were mucilage or starch, 103 gluten, and 41 extract, or matter rendered insoluble during the process. 5255. The diseases of beans are, the rust, mildew, black fly or A'phides, and in conse- quence the honey dews. 5S56. A'phides, when they live on beans, are of a dirty bluish-black colour, similar to those on the elder and cherry. The larvse of the Coccinella septempunctkta, as well as the perfect insects, devour the A'^his, Several of the small summer birds, viz. largest willow-wren, middle, and smallest wren, white- throat, lesser white-throat, black-cap, and Dartford warbler, also live on them. The A'phides of beans are brought on by very dry weather : they are most prevalent on the summits of the plants j and some have attempted to mitigate the evil by cutting off the tops. In general, however, the disease is without remedy, either preventive or positive. In exti-eme cases they destroy the leaves, stalks, and fruit j and when this is foreseen, the best thing the farmer can do is to mow the crop or plough it down, and prepare the land for wheat or otherwise, according to the rotation. Sect. III. The Tare. — Vida satlva L. ; Diadilphia Decdndria L,., and LeguminoscB J. Venice commun de printemps et d^hiver, Fr. ; Wicke, Ger. ; Loglio, Ital. ; and Arveja, Sp. 5257. The tare, vetch, orjltch ( Ffcia saliva, ^g. 742. ), has been cultivated for its stem 742 and leaves from time immemorial. It is considered as a native plant, and is found wild also in China and Japan. Ray, in 1686, informs us, that the common tare or vetch was then sown almost all over Europe ; that it was chiefly used in England, mixed with peas and oats, to feed horses : but that it was sometimes sown separately for soiling cattle, and was reputed to cause milch cows to yield much milk. The tare, Brown observes, is of hardy growth, and, when sown upon rich land, will return a large supply of green fodder for the consumption of horses, or for fattening cattle. 5258. The varieties of tares are chiefly two, the winter and spring tare; botli have local names, as gore vetch, rath ripe vetch, &c. Some consider them as distinct species, but this is doubtful. 5259. As the result of an experiment tried for two years at Bury, in Suffolk, Professor Martyn observes, that there appears a material difference in the constitution, if we may so call it, of the two tares ia question. Not to say any thing of a trifling difference in the colour and size of their seeds, the only visible mark of distinction seems to be a disparity in the first leaves of ihc upright stalks, which in the spring 842 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. tare are elliptic, and roimdcd or notched at the end, but in the winter tare linear and drawn to a point The leaves on the branches which afterwards issue below, and in time form the bulk of the plants, are the same in both vetches. But, whatever the diftereiicc may be, it is evident that the seeds or the two sorts ought to be kept separate ; since each sown out of its proper season is found not to prosper. 5260. New varieties cf tare may be obtained by the usual means ; and it is thought that some of the numerous species of this plant, which are natives of Europe, might be cultivated with advantage. The French cultivate a variety which they call Vesce blanche,OT tentiltedu Canada, Vicia satlva Slba. They include also among their forage vetches Hcia angustifblia, Cracca, pReixdo-Crdcca, bii^nnis, sfepium, and Ititea. The Ticia narbon^nsis and serratif&lia are cultivated in Germany. Dr. Anderson has recom- mended the V. sfepium ; and a writer in The Bath Af^ricieltural Transactions^ the V. Crdcca. Some species of Z.&thyrus, O robus, and E rvum might probably also be tried with success. 5261. In choosing between the spring and winter tare, every thing must depend on the intention of the crop. If the object is to have early feed, the winter variety is undoubtedly to be preferred ; but where the land is foul and requires to be two or three times ploughed in spring, or where a late crop is desired, or a crop for seed, then tlie spring variety will generally deserve the preference. 5262. The soil preferred by the tare is a clay, but they will grow in any rich soil not over dry. In a moist climate, the haulm grows so luxuriant as to rot at bottom ; and in one over dry it is deficient in length. A dry season, however, is on the whole more favourable than a moist one, as this crop soon covers the surface, 5263. The preparation of the soil seldom consists of more than one ploughing, if for autumn sowing; and of a winter and spring ploughing, when to be sown in spring. If in the latter case the land is very foul, several ploughiiigs are given, or one ploughing and several stirrings with the cultivator. In general, tares succeed some of the corn crops. In England manure is sometimes given either with a view to eating them off early, and following with a crop of turnips, or to enriching the soil for a crop of wheat. 5264. The time of sowing depends on the kind of tare, and the purpose in view, 5265, The winter variety is sown in September and October ; and the first sowing in spring ought to be as early as the season will permit. If they are to be cut green for soiling throughout the summer and autumn, which is the most advantageous method of consuming them, successive sowings should follow till the end of May. Summer tares, when meant for seed. Brown observes, ought to be sown early, " otherwise the return will be imperfect j but when for green food, any time betwixt the first of April and the latter end of May will answer well, provided crops in succession, from the first to the last-men- tioned period, be regularly cultivated. Instances are not wanting of a full crop being obtained even when the seed was sown so late as the middle of June, though sowing so late is a practice not to be recommended. In Middlesex, the winter sowings are commenced about the beginning of August: in the northern counties no winter -sowings are made, as the tare there will not endure the severity of that season. 5266. The mode of sowing tares is mostly broad-cast, which should be performed as evenly as possible over the surface of well-prepared land ; the seeds being afterwards covered in by proper harrowing, in order to prevent their being picked up by birds, and ensure their perfect vegetation and growth. It has been suggested, however, that, in rich clean soil, it is probable the row-method would succeed well with this sort of crop, which, as Marshal states, is the practice in some of the southern districts of the island. After the seed is sown, and the land carefully harrowed, a light roller ought to be drawn across, so that the surface may be smoothed, and the scythe permitted to work without interruption. It is proper also to guard the field for several days against the depreda- tions of pigeons, who are remarkably fond of tares, and wilLpick up a great part of the seed, unless constantly watched, ^ 5267. The qvantiti/ of seed to an acre is from two and a half to three and a half bushels^ according to the time of sowing, and to whether they are to be consumed green or left tp stand for a crop, 5268. When tares are intended for seed, less seed is required than when they are grown for soiling or for drying the haulm. A writer in The Farmer^s Magazine (vol. i.) has suggested, that the most pro- ductive method of sowing this crop, when intended for seed, is to mix them amongst beans when drilled, at the rate of one firlot of tares to one boll of beans. From trials made it is ascertained, it is said, that the quality of the tares is vastly improved by being blended with beans, as, by clinging to the latter, they are kept from the ground, and enjoy the full benefit of the sun for ripening them in a perfect manner j and they are in this way much easier harvested than when sown by themselves. They answer, at the same time, for bands to tie the principal crop ; and the produce may, on an average of seasons, be con- sidered as at least double. A little rye sown with winter tiires, and a few oats with the spring sort, not only serve to support the weak creexiing stems of the tares, but add to the bulk of Uie crop by growing up through the interstices. 5269. In the choice of the seed it is hardly possible to distinguish the grain of the winter from that of the spring variety : the former is alleged to be rather smaller and lighter coloured; but the only reliance must be on the honesty of the vendor. Piump seed, and a sample free from the seeds of weeds, will of course be selected, whatever be the variety. 5270. The afier culture given to tares consists merely in pulling out the larger weeds, unless they are in rows, in which case the horse or hand hoe is applied ; or intended for seed, in which case weeding must be more particularly executed. 5271. In reaping tares for soiling they ought always to be cut with the scythe, as the sickle, by breaking asunder the stalks, and tearing up a number by the roots, renders the second crop of little value. When mown early, they will in a moist season produce three mowings, but generally two. In reaping tares for seed, they may be either mown or taken with the sickle, and treated like peas in drying, stacking, and threshing. 5272. Tares are eaten off the ground in some places by diflPerent kinds of live stock, particularly by sheep ; and as the winter-sown vaiiety comes early in spring, the value of this rich food is then very considerable. The waste, however, in this way, even Book VI. VARIOUS LEGUMES. 843 though the sheep are confined in hurdles, must be great ; and still greater when consumed by horses or cattle. 5273. Tare crops are sometimes made into hay, in which case more attention is found necessary than in tliose of most of the artificial grasses, as wet is more injurious to them, and they require more sun and air ; but in other respects they demand the same cautious management, in order to preserve the foliage from being lost. The time for cutting for this purpose is, according to the author of The Synopsis of Hvshandry, when the blossoms have declined and they begin to fall and lie flat. When well made, tlie hay is of the best and most nutritious quality, 5274. The produce of tares cut green is, according to Middleton, ten or twelve tons per acre, which is a large crop ; and when made into hay about three tons per acre, which shows the disadvantage of making these crops into hay. It is found that the spring tare- crops are lighter, and most liable to be injured by a dry season. 5275. The produce in seed is likevpise found to be considerable, being by some stated at from three to six sacks; but in other instances forty bushels, or more, have been obtained from the acre. 5276. In the application ^ tares they are found to be a hearty and most nourishing food for all sorts of cattle. 5277. Cov's give more butter when fed with this plant than with any other food whatsoever. Horses thrive better upon tares than they do upon clover and rye-grass ; and the same remark is apphcable to the fattening of cattle, which feed faster upon this article ol" green fodder than upon any kind of grass or esculent with which we are acquainted. Danger often arises from their eating too much, especially when podded; as colics, and other stomach disorders, are apt to be produced by the excessive loads which they devour. Perhaps a great quantity of fixed air is contained in this vegetable; and as heavy crops are rarely dry at the root when cut, it is not to be wondered that accidents often happen, when the animal is indulged with the unrestrained consumption of them. Were oat straw mixed with the tares in the racks or stalls in which they are deposited, it is probable that fewer accidents would follow, though this assistant is only required when the tares are wet, foul, or over succulent If the plants are cut green, and given to live stock, either on the field or in the fold-yards, there is, perhaps, no green crop of greater value, nor any better calculated to give a succession of herbage from May to November. The winter-sown tare, in a favourable climate, is ready for cutting before clover. The first spring-crop comes in after the clover must be all consumed or made into hay; and the successive spring sowings give a produce more nourishing for the larger animals than the aftermath of clover, and may afford green food at least a month longer. In the county of Sussex, Young observes, " tare crops are of such use and importance that not one tenth of the stock could be maintained without them^ horses, cows, sheep, hogs, all feed upon them; hogs are soiled upon them witnout any other food. This plant maintains more stock than any other plant whatso- ever. Upon one acre Davis maintained four horses in much be^ier condition than upon five acres of grass. Upon eight acres he has kept twelve horses and five cows for three months without any other food ; no artificial food whatever is equal to this excellent plant." This statement must be coupled with the usual produce of turnips in Sussex, 10 or 15 tons per acre: hence the supposed superiority of tares to every other green crop. Tares cut green. Professor Thaer observes, draw no nourishment from the soil whatever ; while made into hay, they afibrd a fodder preferred by cattle to pea straw, and more nutritive than hay or any other herbage. 5278. The use of the grain of tares is generally for reproduction ; but they are also given to pigeons, by which they are highly relished, and it is thought they would form a very good food for poultry. In Gertoany they are given to horses, cows, sheep, and swine, 5279. The diseases of tares are so few as to be of no consequence, A crop is some- times, but rarely, lost by r^iildew. Sect. IV. VaHous LeguTnes which might be cultivated in British Farming. 5280. The lentUf Mdneybeariy and. chick pea are grown both in France and Germany, as field plants, for their seeds, which are used as food. Thfey are by no means likely to become articles of general culture in Britain ; but it is worth while to know that they may be cultivated here instead of being imported, apd also that they form very excellent articles of human subsistence. 5281. The lentil is the ^'rvum X,^ns L. ; Lentilloii, Fr, ; Lentxen, Get. ; and Lenticcia, Ttal. (fig. 743.) It is a legumeof the greatest antiquity, being in esteem in Esau's time, and much prized in Eastern countries ever since. In Egypt and Syria, they are parched in a frying-pan and sold in the shops, and considered by the natives as -the best food for those who undertake long journeys. The lentil is considered a native of France, but has been known in England from the earliest agricultural records. In Gerarde's time they were sown like tares, their haulm given to cattle, and the seed to pigeons, and used in meagre soups. 5282. There are three varieties cf lentils cultivated in France and Germany : the small brown, which is the lightest- flavoured, and the best for haricots and soups ; the yellowish, which is a little larger, and the next best; and the lentil of Provence, which is almost as large as a pea, with luxuriant straw, and more fit to be cultivated as a tare than as food for man. The French have also a winter lentil, LentilUm d'hivcrj and they cultivate the -E'ryum ErvWial LentiUe Erseou Ervillier^ and the E. monfinthos, ten. d, une JfeuTjJarosse d'Auvergne. The Spanish lentil,— Gesse cultiviei Lentille d'Espagnet Fr. , Lenteja^ Span., — is the L^thyrus sativus. {fig. 744.) It is some- times grown in gardens in this country, and occasionally in the fields in France. The lentil of Canada, Lentille du Canada, Fr., is the Hcia pisiffirmis Lin. {Jig. 745.) Vicia. £rvf lia Willd., ^'rvum tetrasp^rmum iiw., and E. hirsttum Lin., are also cultivated in some places as lentils ; and indeed the seeds of all the tribe ^fci^ {Encyeloptsdia of Plants^ p. 1066.) may be eaten by man 5283. A dry^ viarm, sandy soil \^ requisite for the lentil; it is sown rather later than the pea, at the rate of a bushel or a bushel and a half to the acre ; in other respects its culture and harvesting are the same. 844 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt III. and It ripens sooner. The lentil. Young observes, is a crop not uncom-.non about Chesterford in Essex, Where they sow a bushel an acre on one ploughing m the beginning or middle of March. It is there the custom to make hay of them, or seed them for cutting into chaff for trough-meat for sheep and nnrses, and they sow them on both heavy and dry soils. It is, however, added, that the whole country IS of a calcareous nature. It is likewise stated, that attention should be paid not to water horses soon after eating this sort of food, as they are apt to hove them. They are asserted to be cultivated for the same purpose in Oxfordshire, and probably in other districts. 5284. The produce of t' c lentil in grain is about a fourth less than that of the tare; and in straw it is not a third as much, the plants seldom growing above one foot and a half high. The straw is, however, very delicate and nourishing, and preferred for lambs and calves ; and the grain on the Continent sells at nearly double the price of peas. Ein- 745 hoff obtained fVom 3840 parts of lentils, 1260 parts of starch, and 14:^3 of a matter analogous to animal matter. 5285. The use of the lentil on the Continent is very general, both in soups and dressed with a butter sauce as haricot They are imported from Hamburgh, and sold in Iiondon for the same purpose, 5286. The chick pea {Pois- chiche Gauance, Ir. j Clcer arietlnum. Jig. 52.), grows naturally in the south of Europe, and is cultivated there for the same purposes as the lentil, but it is too delicate for field culture m this coun- try. 5287. The kidnei/bean (Phas&olus vulgaris L. j Haricot, Fr. ; Schminkbohne, Ger. ; and FagiuolOy Ital.) is a native of India, but ripens readily in dry summers in most parts of Britain. Its culture has been hitherto confined to gardens : but it might be grown equally well in dry, warm, rich, and sheltered soils, being grown in the fields of Germany, Switzerland, and in similar climates. The sort generally used for this purpose is the small dwarf white j the ground is prepared by several stirrings, and the seed is dibbled in rows eighteen inches or two feet asunder in the beginning of May. The ground is hoed and weeded during the summer, and the crop is ripe in August It is usually harvested by pulling up the plants, which, being dried, are stacked or threshed. The haulm is of little bulk or use, but the seed is used in making the esteemed French dish called haricot, which it is desirable the cottagers of this country should be made acquainted with. There is, perhaps, no other vegetable dish so cheap and easily cooked, and at the same time so agreeable and nourishing. The beans are boiled and then mixed with a little salt butter or other fat, and a little milk or water and flour. From3840parts of kidneybean, Einhofif obtained 1805 parts of matter analogous to starch, 851 of vegeto-animal matter, and 799 parts of mucilage. Haricots and lentils are much used in all Catholic countries during Lent and maigre days, as they, from their peculiar constituents, form so excellent a substitute for animal food. During the prevalence of the Roman religion in this country, they were probably much more generally used than at present; as reformations are often carried farther than is necessary, possibly lentils may have been left offby Protestants, lest the use of them should be considered a symptom of popery. 5288. The white lupine {Lupin blanc, Fr. ; Xuplnus Slbus L.fjig. 746.) was cultivated by the Romans as a legume, and is still occasionally grown in Italy and France. The seeds were formerly, and are sometimes now, used as foodj but more generally the whole plant is mown and given as herbage to cattle, and gometimes the crop is ploughed down as manure. Chap. IV. Plants cultivated for their Roots or Leaves in a recent State as Food for Man or Cattle^ 5289. Plants cultivated for their roots or leaves are various, and most of them are adapted both for human food and that of domestic animals ; but some are chiefly or entirely grown for the nurture of live stock. The plants vi^hich vi^e include under this head, are the potato, turnip, carrot, parsnep, beet, cabbage tribe, lettuce, and chiccory. The culture of roots may be considered a branch of farming almost entirely of modern origin, and more peculiarly British than any other department. Turnips were culti- vated by the Romans, and in modem times brought into notice as objects of field cul- ture in the last century ; but they were most imperfectly managed, and of very little utility in agriculture till their culture was undertaken by the British farmer. The potato, carrot, and parsnep were also first cultivated in the fields of this country. Fri- able or light soil, superior pulverisation and manuring, the row-method, and careful after-culture, are essential to the maturation of the plants to be treated of in this Chapter; and hence the importance of such crops as preparations for those of the bread corns. Book VI. THE POTATO. 845 •5290. The nutritive products of these plants are thus given by Sir H. Davy : Systematic Name. English Name. In 1000 Parts. Whole quantit; of soluble or nutritive matter. Mudlage or starch. Saccharine matter or sugar. Gluten albumen. Extract, or matter len. dered inso- luble during evaporation. .Solium tuberosum BkU vulgiuris clcla .Briissioa ii&pa var. rutabjtga Ba6cus Carbta Pastin&ca satlva Potato f Red beet . - Mangold wurtzel Common turnip - Swedish turnip - Carrot Parsnep Cabbage . From 260 to 200. 143 1S6 43 64 98 99 73 From 200 to 155. 14 13 7 9 3 9 41 From 20 to 15. 121 119 34 61 95 90 24 From 40 to 30. 13 4 1 2 8 2 Sect. I. The Potato. — SotdnuTn ttiierosum L. ; Peniandria Monogynia L., and ^oldnex but no harm will result from performing this operation several weeks or months bel'oiehand, provided the sets are not exposed too much to thadroughtso as to depiive them of their natural inoibture. 848 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, 5315. The Oftantity of sets depends on the siee of the potatoes: in genera!, where the sets are suffiriently large, (Vom eight to ten cwt. will be required for an acre : more than ten for yams, and fewer than eight cwt, for the early nonsuch and ash-leaved. *5S16. The modes of planting the potato are various. 5317. l\'here spade culturt is employed, they are very frequently planted on beds (provincially lazy-beds], of four or six feet wide, with a trench or gutter of a foot or eighteen inches in width between, which supplies soil for earthing up the potatoes. This is the rudest mode of planting and cultivating potatoes, and unworthy of being imitated either on a farm or in a garden. The next mode is planting on a plain surface, either with or without manure, according to the state of the soil Here the sets are placed in rows, with a distance of from eighteen inches to two feet and a half between the rows according to the kind of potato, and from four to nine inches in the rows. In planting, a hole for each set is made by a man with a spade, while a woman or boy drops the set, and the earth is replaced ; or the potato dibber is used, and the ground afterwards slightly harrowed. Another mode of planting on a plain surface, when the soil is inclined to be dry, is in some cases practised, which is, after the land has been brought into a proper condition by ploughing over twice or oftener and wbU harrowed, to spread the manure regularly over the whole surface, the sets being planted in every third furrow, and the dung with the fine earth turned upon them by the next furrow of the plough. In this way the manure is however placed upon the sets which has on experiment been fully shown to be injurious to the produce. Besides, from the whole of t&e surface of the ground being covered with dung, a considerably larger proportion must be requisite than when deposited only in the drills, and of course the crop cannot be cultivated to advantage In that respect. 5318. In planting the potato on sward land, after it has been prepared by the use of a plough that just pares off the surface and deposits it in the furrow, it is advised by Somerville to place the sets upon the inverted sod, and cover them with the loose mould from below by means of a common plough : or the trench plough may be used with perhaps more advantage ; but a better method is that of parmg and burning. In some cases the practice is, however, to turn down the turf with or without manure, and then to put in the sets by a dibble ; though the former is probably the better practice, as the turfy mate- rial on which the sets are put soon begins to decay, and the purpose of a manure is in some measure answered by it. It is a plan that may be adopted with advantage where manure is scarce, as in bringing waste and other coarse grass lands into the state of preparation for grain crops. 5319. A mode qf planting potatoes and at the same time trenching the landy is practised in Lancashire, and in some districts in the north-east of Scotland. Tlie farmer having carried the dung, and laid it on the field in heaps, at proper distances, the operation is performed by the manufacturers and people who rent the field, and in the following manner : — Across the end of the ridge a trench is formed, about three feet wide, and from ten to fourteen inches deep, according to the depth and quality of the subsoil. That being done, a second trench of the same breadth is marked off, and the surface-soil, to the depth of six or eight inches, is thrown into the bottom of the former trench, over which a sulficient quantity of dung being laid, the potatoes are planted at the distance of eight or ten inches from each other, and then as much earth is taken from the bottom of the second trench as is necessary for covering the potato sets, and making up the first trench to its former level Thus the field being completely trenched, well manured, and kept thoroughly clean by repeated hand-hoeings, must not only produce an abundant crop of potatoes, but must also be in high condition for receiving whatever kind of seed may be after- wards sown. *5320. The mode of planting potatoes practised by the best farmers of the northern districts, is in drills formed by the plough in the same manner as in preparing the land for turnips. The soil is laid up into ridgelets from twenty-seven to thirty inches broad, the manure is distributed between them, and on this manure the sets are placed from four to eight inches asunder : they are then covered by reversing the ridgelets. 5321. The ■planting of early potatoes is carried to a very high degree of perfection in Lancashire. It is stated in The Lancashire Agi-icultural Report, in respect to the raising of seed potatoes, that upon the same ground from which a crop has already been taken, the early seed-potatoes are in some places after- wards planted ; which, after being got up about November, are immediately cut up into sets, and pre. served in oat husks or saw-dust, where they remain till March, when they are planted, after having had one sprout taken off, which is also planted. The sprouts are of a length sufficientto appear above ground in the space of a week. But the most approved method is, to cut the sets, and put them on a room-floor, where a strong current of air can be introduced at pleasure, the sets laid thinner, as about two layers in depth, and covered with the like materials (chaffer saw-dust) about two inches thick : this screens them from the winter frosts, and keeps them moderately warm, causing them to vegetate; but at the same time admits air to strengthen them, and harden their shoots, which the cultivators improve by opening the doors and windows on every opportunity afforded by mild soft weather. They frequently examine them ; and when the shoots are sprung an inch and a half, or two inches, they carefully remove one half of their covering with a wooden rake, or wifh the hands, taking care not to disturb or break the shoots. Light Is requisite as well as air, to strengthen and establish the shoots ; on which account a green-house has the advantage of a room, but a room answers very well with a good window or two in it, and if to the sun still better In this manner they suffer them to remain till the planting season, giving them all the air possible by the doors and windtvws, when it can be done with safety from frost : by this method the shoots at the top become green, leaves are sprung, and are moderately hardy. They then plant them in rows, in the usual method, with a setting-stick ; and carefully fill up the cavities made by the setting-stick ; by this method they are enabled to bear a little frost without injury. The earliest potato is the superfine white kidney • from this sort, upon the same ground, have been raised four crops, having sets from the repo- sitory ready to put in as soon as the others were taken up j and a fifth crop is sometimes raised from the same lands, the same year, of transplanted winter lettuce The first crop had the advantage of a covering in fVosty nights. It is remarked that this useful information was communicated by J. Blundellj Ormskirk, and has hitherto been known only among a very few farmers 5322. In the western ^arts qf Lancashire the early potato is cultivated in the fields in warm situations, and brought to market in the end of May and during June. The chief sorts there grown for this purpose are the lady's finger, or early Rufford kidney, and the early round potato. The cultivators, aware that the'buds from the root and top end of the tuber germinate at diffferent periods, assort their sets in the following manner:— The sets near the top end {fig.l^n. a) are found to come to maturity a fortnight earfier than those at the root end (d) ; and these, therefore, form two classes of sets for an earlier and a later crop. The sets from the middle (ft, p,) are put together for an intermediate crop. The sets are planted in the month of March or beginning of April, in drills of twenty-four drills in twenty yards, in the following manner: — After the drills are formed [fig. 748. a), loose earth is brushed with a spade or harrowed down, to the depth of six inches, in the interval between them Ifi) ; dung is then placed over this loose earth, to the depth of four or five inches (c) ; the potato sets of the earliest degree {fig. 747. a) are then laid on the manure, at four or five inches apart, for the early crop; and sets of the second degree {fig- 747. 6.), at from six to eight inches apart, for later crops ; and so on, I'he sets for the early crop are then covered with a spade, to the depth of two inches, and subsequently covered, at two or three different times, to the depth of about five inches. The second and third crops are usually covered with the plough. Book VL THE POTATO. 849 Some lay the potatoes Intended for plants early in the year, before they are wanted to be cut, loose and separate in straw, or on warm boarded floors ; and others put 748 them on flakes or fVames, in warm situations near tlie fire, for the same purpose, in order that they may sprout; and when so Gprouted to the length of half an inch or an inch, they are then carefully cut as described, assorted, and planted. {Gard. Mag, vol. i. p. -107.) 5323. In the north of Lancashire the potatoes are removed from their winter quarters in the last week of January, ,and spread out on a floor or placed on shelves in a room where a fire is kept, or in an upper room of a warm house. On the 2d of February they are covered with a blanket or woollen cloth for about four weeks, which is then taken oflT in order to harden the Eprouts. Towards the latter end of March the sprouts will be found about two inches long, and, if they are carefully set, the potatoes will be rpady in seven or eight weeks afterwards. Some bring the sets forward by spreading them out and slightly cover- ing them with light mould under the stage or on the shelves of a greenhouse, or in a cucumber frame, or in a loft over a stable or cow-house. (Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 48.) 5324. In Denbighshire the early potatoes cultivated are the Foxley, the Nelson, and the Rufford kidney. Potatoes intended for sets the following year are taken up before they are ripe, just when the outer skin peels ofF, and before the stalk or stem begins to wither ; they are then laid upon a gravel walk, or any dry surface fully exposed to the sun : they remain in that situation for a month or six weeks, when they become quite green and soft, as if roasted, and often much shrivelled ; they are then put away in a cellar or pit, where they will remain dry, and neither invaded by frost nor much heat In February they are examined, and every eye being tlien generally found fUll of long sprouts, they are fit to be planted. The tubers are therefore cut, seldom into more than two sets, viz the eye or top part, which is planted by itself, and found to come a fortnight earlier ; and the root or bottom partj which succeed them. {Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 172.) 5325. In gardens in the south of England potatoes are planted in a warm border from the first week of October, till the latter end of November. They are placed nine or ten inches under the surface, and well covered with dung. About the latter end of March they begin to appear above the surface, when the ground is deeply hacked with a mattock, and made very loose about the plants ; then in a fortnight or three weeks move the surface again, but the plants need not be earthed up unless they are very much exposed to the wind, when a little may be drawn about them to keep them steady. By this method fine ash-leaved kidney potatoes may be gathered by the 12th or 15th of May, even in situations not very favourable for early crops, and nearly three weeks earlier than they can be gathered from sets planted in the same situation in the latter end of February ; and if ordinary care is taken in planting, no danger need be apprehended from the frost {Gai-d. Mag. vol. vi. p. 59.) Every farmer knows that, among the corn raised after a crop of potatoes, potato plants will be found which can only have sprung from tubers preserved there all the winter, in consequence of having been buried by the plough deeper than the frost could reach. It is evident, therefore, that this garden mode of raising a crop of early potatoes might be adopted in the field, more especially where thesoil was dry; but the success would depend entirely on the deep pronging or grubbing of the soil between the rows early in spring. This might be done to the same degree of perfection as in the garden by the excellent implements of W'ilkie or Kirkwood. (2656. and 5326. In Cornwall early potatoes are planted in October, spring up a few weeks afterwards, are ready before the autumnal frost stops their growth, and the soil being covered with litter to exclude the frost, they are begun to be used about the end of December, and continue in use till May, when they are suc- ceeded by the spring planted crops. Of late years Covent Garden market has received supplies of early potatoes from Cornwall, treated in the above manner. {Gard. Mag. vols. ii. v. vi.) Early potatoes, when they first come through the ground, are liable to be injured by spring frosts ; but there is an easy and effectual remedy to every cultivator who will take the trouble— and that is to water them, so as to thaw oflFthe frost before sunrise. In Ayrshire, where even late potatoes are liable to this injury, acres are sometimes so watered on a single farm; all the hands being called to business by the break of day, and the water being sprinkled on the young sprouts, from vessels of any sort, by means of a handful of straw. A garden-pot and rose would of course answer better. *5327- The after ctdture of potatoes consists in harrowing, hoeing, weeding, and earthing up. *5328. All potatoes require to be earthed up^ that is, to have at least one inch in depth of earth heaped on their roots, and extending six or eight inches round their stem. The reason of this is, that the tubers do not, properly speaking, grow under the soil, hut rather ore, or just partially bedded in, its surface. A coating of earth, therefore, is found, by preserving a congenial moisture, greatly to promote their growth and magnitude, as well as to improve their quality, by preventing the potatoes from becoming green on the side next the light. The earth may be thrown up from the trenches between the beds by the spade • or, where the potatoes are planted in rows, the operation may be performed with a small plough, drawn by one horse, or by the hoe. In Scotland, where the potato is extensively cultivated by the farmer, as food for cattle as well as man, the plough is universally used. In Ireland, where the bed, or lazy-bed manner is adopted, the earth is thrown up from the intervening trenches. The hoe is generally used by market-gardeners. 5329. The qfter-culturej, where potatoes are planted in ridgelets^ as above described (5319.), commences when the plants begin to rise above the surface. They are then harrowed across, and afterwards the horse-hoe, or small hoeing plough, and the hand-hoe are repeatedly employed in the intervals, and be- tween the plants, as long as the progress of the crop will permit, or the state of the soil may require. The earth is then gathered once, or oftener, from the middle of the intervals towards the roots of the plants after which any weeds that may be left must be drawn out "by hand ; for when the radicles have extended far in search of food, and the young roots begin to form, neither the horse nor hand-hoe can be admitted without injury, 5330. The after-culture adopted in some parts of Devonshire is somewhat singular, and deserves to be noticed. The sets are there generally cut with three eyes, and deposited at the depth of three inches with the spade or dibber : when the first shoot is three inches high, prepare a harrow witli thorns inter- woven between the tines, and barrow ^he ground over till all the weeds are destroyed, and not a shoot of the potatoes left It may seem strange that such an apparent destruction of a crop should cause an increase ; but it may be affirmed as an incontestable fact, that by this means the produce becomes more abundant The reason appears to be this : although three eyes are left, to a piece of potato one always" vegetates before the others, and the first shttot is always single ; that being broken off there is for the present a cessation of vegetation. The other eyes then begin to vegetate, and there appear fresh shoots from the broken eye; so that the vegetation is trebled, the earth made loose, and the lateral shoots more freely expanded. If these hints are observed, the produce of potatoes, it is said, will exceed a fifth of the crop obtained by the usual mode of cultivation, 31 850 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5331. The culture of potatoes in the district qf Kintyre is thus given by an Intelligent writer in the Transactions of the Highland Society. 5332. The land is generally ploup/ted as early in spring as possible^ and that at least twice. In cases where the two plougnings do not sufficiently pulverise the ground, it reteives a third, and after every ploughing is well harrowed. The greatest attention ought always to be given lo these prepanitory operations. 5333. The ground being now prepared, and the season for planting arrived, drills are made for receiving the seed with the common plough ; these are drawn about two feet asunder, and tJiree inches in depth. The first seven of them are all drawn from one end of the field, the plough returning out of work from the other end, in order to afford time and room for the operation of putting in the seed, and also the dung, where this last operation is rendered necessary. By the time the ploughman has drawn three of these shallow drills or furrows, the persons in charge of the seed begin to plant the first of them, laying each plant at a distance of from nine to ten inches ; these are followed by others who put the dung on the top of it, in the case already mentioned, where the manure is to be put into the drill. The ploughman, having completed seven of these drills, may now proceed to return, by ploughing to the depth of seven inches between the first and second drills, so as to cover the seed in the first. He then opens another of the shallow drills of three inches, at the distance of two feet, as before mentioned, from the last which he had made, being the seventh ; and returning back, he makes another of the seven inch deep furrows between the second and third rows of seed, which covers the second : returning, he opens another seed-drill j and back again a deep one, between the third and fourth rows of seed, which covers the third row ; and so on from each end of the field. In this manner the drilling and planting will proceed, without any interrup- tion or interference the one with the other, the plough having at first attained a sufficient distance from the planters to have always a drill open before they can overtake it The great advantage of placing the seed so much nearer the surface than the deeper furrow alongside of it is, that it is more effectually pre- served from the bad effects of wet or damp, consequently less liable to be injured by frost, and it springs sooner. 5334: In this state the field is allowed to remain from a fortnight to three wceAs, when it is cross harrowed to a perfect level. Afterwards, as soon as the drills can be distinguished by the potatoes shooting above the ground, the plough is again applied, and the drills are formed as before ; but in doing so, the plough is taken as close as possible to the plant upon both sides; on one side the plough is lightly put in, but on the other it is inserted as deep as possible, throwing the soil over on its neighbouring row of seed, filling up the vacuum which the plougti had previously left at it, and forming at the same time a ridge, as it was originally, on the top of the plant. What is thus ploughed in the forenoon is cross harrowed com. pletely level during the same afternoon. The great advantage which I apprehend to be derived from this process is the loosening of the soil, destroying the weeds, and the saving of hand-hoeing. I am satisfied, from my own particular experience and observation, that this mode of treating the young growth of the potato is far preferable to any other I have seen practised, either hero or elsewhere, however forbid, ding the rough usage thus given to the young plant may appear to one inexperienced in this particular mode of cultivating it 5335. As soon as the weeds begin to appear, the plough is again introduced, which, in the idiom of this country, is called " taking from the potatoes," which is done by running pretty close to the plant on both sides, so that a slight ridge is thrown up between the line of plants; and in this situation they remain for eight days, when the plant is ** put to " by again applying the plough between the rows, and separating the earth composing the middle ridge above mentioned, towards the plant on each side, but without cover- ing it After this, the process of " putting to" of earth is continued as the plant grows, and takes place at least twice, until the stems are so high that a single horse going among them may seriously injure them. The " putting to" will now be understood as a deeper insertion of the plough in the middle of the drill. The whole of the labour of ploughing, drilling, " taking from," and "putting to " the potatoes, as above described, is performed with the common plough." {Highl. Soc. Trans, vol. viii. p. 68.) 5336. The field culture of the potato in Arg^leshire is thug given by an experienced cultivator in the Gardener's Magazine. The manure is sometimes applied to the field during winter and ploughed in, or it is by the better economists reserved till the field is drilled for planting. When the first plan is adopted, another ploughing is given across the field, which is then planted, the plough going one bout along the fur- row of which the set is placed, and then covered by the return of the plough. The best way is to prepare the field in the same way as for turnips, and place the dung in the drill, and the set on it (fig. 749. a), and 749 then cover them up by clearing down the ridgelet, and forming others {b) : a fortnight or so afterwards, the whole field is harrowed across (c). As soon as the plants have so far sprouted as that the drill can safely be traced from end to end (nf), then the whole field is drilled again, as at first, with a very strong furrow (c), and then the harrows are set immediately to work after the plough has finished drilling, and the field is levelled again (/). Any one that is unacquainted with the system would suppose the crop ruined, but it is far otherwise. The after-culture is no way different from the common practice of paring away the earth, drill harrowing, and earthing up, as in other countries. It, is advisable only to pare or earth, as the case may be, one side of the drill at each turn; as, by this means, the operations are sooner performed at the time, the earth can be more frequently stirred, and at the same expense. The charm of this system consists in the additional drilling up and harrowing down ; by this harrowing, all the larger clods are thrown to the fur- row, where they are fully pulverised by the drill harrow and after culture, and all the weeds are so effectually drawn from between the plants that there is no use of hand-hoeing. The expense may be cal- culated at less than a third of hand-hoeing, from the effect and expedition ; of course, dry weather is the time for the second drilling and cross harrowing to be performed. {Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 316.) *5337- Pinchingoff the whole of the potato blossoms is a part of after-culture not unworthy the attention of the farmer. This may at first sight appear too minute a matter to enter into the economy of farm management But when it is considered that the seed is the essential part of every plant, and that lo which the ultimate efforts of nature are always directed, it will be allowed that an important part of the nourishment of every vegetable must be devoted to this purpose. In the case of the potato, every person knows that the weight of the potato-apples, grown by a single plant, is very considerable. Now we have seen (5304.) that apples may be produced instead of tubers in early potatoes ; whence it may justly be in- ferred, that more tubers may be produced in late ones by preventing the growth of the apples. Such was the reasoning of Knight ; and, by repeatedly making the experiment, he came to this conclusion, th:it in ordinary cases of field culture, by pinching off the blossoms of late crops of potatoes, more than one ton Book VI. ' THE POTATO. 851 per acre of additional tubers will be produced. The experiments are related in the second volume of The Horticultural Th-ansactionSy and the practice is similar to one common amongthe growers of bulbous roots in Holland, as alluded to by Dr. Darwin, who also recommends its application to the potato. A woman or boy will crop the blossoms from an acre of potatoes in a day, or even in less time, when the crop is not excessively luxuriant 5338. The taking of tJie crop of potatoes on a smalt scale is generally performed with the spade or three-pronged fork ; but under judicious farm management, and the row culture, by the common plough. 5339. The coulter is removed and the plough goes first along one side of all the ridgelets of a ridge, or any convenient breadth, and then, when the potatoes so brought to view are gathered by women placed at proper distances, it returns and goes along the other side. When the land is somewhat moist, or of a tenacious quality, the furrow-slice does not give out the roots freely, and a harrow which follows the plough is commonly employed to break it and separate them fVom the mould. Variou-i contrivances have been resorted to for this purpose. A circular harrow or break, of very recent invention, to be attached to the plough, has been found to answer the purpose well, and to efffect a considerable saving of labour. A machine for taking up and collecting potatoes is said to have been invented by Mr. Michael Harry of Swords near Dublin ; but though we have written to that gentleman, we have been unable to procure a description or drawing of his invention. 5340. // ?node of taking part qf a crop suited to cottagers and others, especially in years of scarcity, deserves to be mentioned. Having ascertained that some of the tubers have attained an eatable size, go along the rows and loosen the earth about each plant with a blunt stick, taking two or three of the largest tubers from each and returning the earth carefully. By keeping the edge of the blunt spatula or spade perpendicular to the main stem of the plant, the flat side will be parallel to the radiating roots, by which means they will be comparatively little injured. By this means both an early supfily, and the advantage of two crops, may be obtained ; for the tubers which" remain will increase in size, having now the nourish- ment destined to complete the growth of those removed. 5341. Potatoes intended for seed should be taken up a fortnight or three weeks before being fully ripe, for reasons that have been given in treating of early potatoes, and will be recurred to in treating of the diseases of this plant The ill shaped, small, bruised, or diseased tubers should be laid aside, and the fairest and best dried in the sun, spread on a cellar or loft floor, and covered with ashes, or chaff of suf- ficient thickness to keep out the frost In this state they may remain till wanted for cutting. Some persons in Ireland plant potatoes from which they intend to procure sets extremely late, namely, the first week in July. The produce consequently never attains the same degree of size or ripeness as that of an earlier planted crop. *5342. Potatoes are stored and preserved in houses, cellars, pits, pies, and camps. Whaf^ ever mode is adopted, it is essential that the tubers be perfectly dry, otherwise they are certain of rotting, and a few rotten potatoes will contaminate a whole mass. 5343. The most ^^ctual rnode, and that which is generajly adopted, consists in putting them into close houses, and covering them well up with dry straw. In some parts of Scotland it is a common practice to dig pits in the potato-field, when the soil is dry and light, and, puttihg in potatoes to the depth of three or four feet, to lay a little dry straw over them, and then cover them up with earth, so deep that no frosts can affect them. Another method, which is practised in England as well as Scotland, is to put them together in heaps, and cover them up with straw, in the manner of preserving turnips, with this addition, that the hea])s are afterwards well covered with earth, and so closely packed together as to exclude frost The farmers in Lancashire in the course of taking them up sort and separate their potatoes according to their sizes, and are particularly careful to throw aside all those that are spoiled before raising, or that are cut in the ^king up. This is a very necessary and proper precaution (although by no means generally attended to), as the crop must have a much better chance for keeping, than when diseased or cut potatoes are stored up with it It is also of great advantage to have the work performed in a dry season, as the potatoes seldom keep well when taken up wet, or when placed in any sort of repository for keeping while in that Etate. 5344. Potato pies, as they are called, are recommended by Young as the best mode in which potatoes can be stored. A trench, one foot deep and six wide, is dug, and the earth cleanly shovelled out, and laid on one side, and on the bottom of the trench is laid over them a bedding of straw. One-horse carts shoot down the potatoes into the trench ; and women pile them up about three feet high, in the shape of a house roof. Straw is then carefully laid over them six or eight inches thick, and covered with earth a foot thick, neatly smoothed by flat strokes of the spade. In this method he never lost any by the severest frosts ; but in cases of its freezing with uncommon severity, another coat of straw over all gives absolute security. These pies when opened should each be quite cleared, or they are liable to depredation. To receive one at a time, besides also being at first filled for immediate use, lie has a house that holds about 700 bushels, formed of posts from fir plantations with wattled sides, against which is laid a layer of straw, and against the sides exteriorly earth six feet thick at the bottom and eighteen inches at top ; the roof flat, with a stack of beans upon it This he has found frost-tight The beans keep out the weather, he says, and yet admit any steam which rises from the roots, which, if it did not escape, would rot them. 5345. Several other modes of preserving potatoes are in use in different places. In Rutlandshire, Marshal says, the method of laying up potatoes is universally that of camping them ; a method somewhat similar to the above, but which requires to be described. Camps are shallow pits, tilled and ridged up as a roof with potatoes ; which are covered up with the excavated mould of the pit This is a happy mean, he thinks, between burying them in deep pits and laying them upon the surface. Camps are of various sizes ; being too frequently made in a long square form like a corn-rick, and of a size proportioned to the quantity to be laid up. It has, however, been found by experience, that when the quantity is large, they are liable to heat and spoil ; much damage having sometimes been sustainedby this imprudence. Ex- perienced campers hold that a camp should not be more than three feet wide; four feet are perhaps as wide as it can be made with propriety, proportioning the length to the quantity; or, if this is very large, forming a range of short ones by the side of each other. The usual depth is a foot The bottom of the trench being bedded with dry straw, the potatoes are deposited, ridging them up as in measuring them with a bushel On each side of the roof long wheat straw is laid, neatly and evenly, as thatch ; and over this the mould raised out of the trench is evenly spread; making the surface firm and smooth with the back of the spade. A coat of coal ashes is sometimes spread over the mould, as a still better guard against frost. It is needless to observe that a camp should have a dry situation ; and that the roots ought to be deposited in as dry a state as possible. These camps are tapped at the end, some bavins, or a quantity of loose straw, being thrust close in the open end, as a bung or safeguard. As it is a matter of the highest importance to preserve this root without spoiling during the whole year, it has been suggested, that the best method yet discovered for keeping potatoes sound for the longest period, is to spread them on a dry floor early in the spring, and to rub off the eyes occasionally, as they appear to have a tendency to push out ; by using these precautions, Donaldson has frequently seen potatoes kept in good condition till the month of June. 5346. In Canada and Russia the potato is preserved in boxes in houses or cellars, heated when necessary to a temperature one or two degrees above the freezing point by stoves. (Farm. Mag. vol. xx. p. 449.) 3 I 2 852 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5'J47. To keep potatoes any length q/" titWj the most effectual way is to place them in thin layers on a platform suspended in an ice cellar. There the temperature being always below that of active vegetation, they will not sprout ; while not being above one or two degrees below the fteezing point, the tubers will not be frost bitten Another mode is to scoop out the eyes with a very small scoop, and keep the roots buried in earth. A third mode is to destroy the vital principle by kiln-drying, steaming, or scalding. A fourth mode is to bury them so deep in dry soil that no change of temperature will reach them, and consequently, ' being without air, they will remain upwards of a year without vegetating. *5348, The prodtice of the potato varies flora five to eight, and sometimes ten or twelve tons per acre ; the greatest produce is from the yam, which has been known to produce twelve tons or 480 bushels per acre. The haulm is of no use but as manure, and is sometimes burned for that purpose, being slow of rotting. 5349. The most important application of the potato crop is as human food ; on this it is unnecessary to enlarge. 5350. Einhqff'/ound mraly potatoes to contain twenty-four per cent, of their weight of nutritive matter, and rye seventy parts : consequently, sixty-four and a half measures of potatoes aflfbrd the same nourish- ment as twenty.four measures of rye. A thousand parts of potato yielded to Sir H. Davy from 200 to 260 parts of nutritive matter, of which from 155 to 200 were mucilage or starch, fifteen to twenty sugar, and thirty to forty gluten. Now, supposing an acre of potatoes to weigh nine tons, and one of wheat one ton, which is about the usual proportion j then as 1000 parts of wheat afford 950 nutritive parts, and 1000 of potato say 230, the quantity of nutritive matter afforded by an acre of wheat and potatoes will be nearly as nine to four ; so that an acre of potatoes will supply more than double the quantity of human food afforded by an acre of wheat. The potato is perhaps the only root grown in Britain which may be eaten every day in the year without satiating the palate, and the same thing can only be said of the West India yam and bread fruit They are, therefore, the only substitute that can be used for bread with any degree of success ; and indeed they often enter largely into the composition of the best loaf bread without at all injuring either its nutritive qualities or flavour. {Edin. Encyc. art. Baking.) In the answer by Dr. Tissot to M. Linquet, the former objects to the constant use of potatoes as food, not because they are pernicious to the body, but because they hurt the faculties of the mind. He owns that tliose who eat maize, potatoes, or even millet, may grow tall and acquire a large size ; but doubts if any such ever produced a literary work of merit. It does not, however, by any means appear that the very general use of potatoes in our own country has at all impaired either the health of body or vigour of mind of its inhabitants. 5351. The manufacture qf potato fiow is carried on to a considerable extent in the neighbourhood of Paris, and the flour is sold at a price considerably higher than that of wheat, for the use of confectioners and for bakers who prepare the finer sorts of bread. The potatoes are washed and grated, and the starch separated from the pulp so obtained by filtration ; it is dried on shelves in a room heated by a flue, and afterwards broken on a floor by passing a cast iron roller over it. It is then passed through a bolting machine and put up in sacks for sale. The most complete manufactory in the neighbourhood of Paris in 1829 was that of M. Delisle at Bondy. {Gard. Mag. vol. vi.) Most of the operations there are performed ■ by a steam engine attended by children. It is reported by the Count de Chabrol, in his Statiatical Account of PariSf that 40,000 tons of potatoes are annually manufactured into flour within a circle of eight leagues , around that city. 5352. The quantity of farina which potatoes produce varies not only according to the species,iut accord- ing to the period when the extraction takes place. The variations produced by this last cause are nearly as follows ;— Two hundred and forty pounds of potatoes produce of farina, or potato flour, in August, from 23 to 25 pounds. March from 45 to 38 pounds. Sept 32 ...38 April 38 ...28 Oct 32 ... 40 May 28 ... 20 Nov 38 ...45 The extraction of the farina should be discontinued at the period when the potatoes begin to grow, the farina being destroyed by germination. Red potatoes produce a smaller quantity of farina. Those which are blue on the outside give little, but it is of good quality ; the white, which is often tinged with red in the interior, is the least proper for this extraction. The best of all is that which has a yellow tint, as its farina is of very good quality, and abundant. (Hygie de Bruxelles.) 53.63. Potato Jiour is made into bi-ead in a very simple manner. Its adhesive tendency does not admit of baking or kneading unmixed with meal or wheaten flour j but it may be made into cakes in the following manner: — A small wooden frame nearly square is laid on a flat pan like a (rying-pan ; this frame is grooved, and so constructed, that, by means of a presser or lid introduced into the groove, the cake is at once fashioned according to the dimensions of the mould. The frame containing the farina may be almost immediately withdrawn after the mould is formed upon the pan ; because, from the consistency imparted to the incipient cake by the heat, it will speedily admit of benig safely handled. It must not, however, be fired too hastily, otherwise it is apt to become unpleasantly hard and unfit for mastication. This pre- cautionary measure being observed, it will be found, that, where thoroughly ready, the bread of potato flour, even unaided by any foreign ingredient, will eat very palatably. It might thus, from time to time, be soaked for puddings, like the tapioca j or it might be used like the cassada-cake, which in appearance and quality it so much resembles ; that is, when well buttered and toasted, it will make an excellent breakfast appendage. {Q.uar. Journ. Agr. vol ii. p. 69.) *5354. The meal of potatoes maybe preserved for years closely packed in barrels, or unground in the form of slices ; these slices having been previously cooked or dried by steam, as originally suggested by Forsyth, of Edinburgh. {Encyc. Brit.) Some German philosophers have also proposed to freeze the potato, by which the feculent matter is separated ftom the starch, and the latter being then dried and compressed, may be preserved for any length of time, or exported with ease to any distance, {Annalen des Ackerbaues, vol. iii. 8. 389.) 5355. Thetnanitfactureof tapioca from potatoes is thus given in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. The potatoes selected are thoroughly wasned, after which they are grated in a machine constructed for the purpose. The parts thus reduced or grated fall into a vessel placed underneath. From this vessel they are removed, and strained into a tub. On the juice being well expressed for the first time, the fibrous matter is set apart, and cold clean water is thrown over them. Thes.e fibres are again put through the same strainer, till the whole of the substance is cx)llected, when they are finally cast aside. On this being done, the contents of the tub, now in a state of mucilage or starch, are allowed to settle. A reasonable interval being sufibred to elapse, the old water is poured gently off, and fresh water supplied. After this process of fining and washing, the blanched matter is passed through a smaller strainer. 5356. The offals are separated. The starch becomes now much whiter; still fresh water is abundantly dashed over it When by frequent ablution the surface of this vegetable mass is rendered quite smooth 9ud clean, it is filtrated a third and last time. 5357. The strainer now used is of very fine texture, so that no improper or accidental admixture may interfere As soon as the starch, thus purified, has firmly subsided, it is spread on a hoard, and exposed to the open air. The damp speedily evaporates, on which it is, as a security for cleanliness, put through a aieve- Book VI. THE POTATO. 853 5358. A large circular pan Is now procured, and set upon the fire. The farina is gradually put Into the pan, till what is conceived to be sufficient for one cooking be supplied. As the natural tendency of the farina, in a warm state, is to adhere to the pan, great care is requisite in constantly turning and stirring It This is effectually done vnth a broad flatpieceof wood, having a long handle to prevent inconvenience from the heat. A temperature of 150o Fahrenheit suits best for perfecting the tapioca. When the farina becomes quite hard, dry, and gritty, it is then ready, and may be taken off the fire. {Quar. Joutti, Agr, vol. ii. p 68.) 5359. Tfie ordinary economical applications of the potato, next to those of the culinary and baking arts, are in starch-making and the distillery. Starch is readily made from the scraped and washed tubers cut into small pieces and i-teeped in water ; and a spirit is distilled firom mashed potatoes, fermented so as to change a portion of the starch into sugar. In general it is found that three and a half bushels of potatoes afford the same quantity of spirit as one of malt. *5360. Potash may be extracted from potato leaves and stalks by the following process : — Cut off the stalks when the flowers begin to fall, as that is the period of their greatest vigour; leave them on the ground eight or ten days to dry, cart them to a hole dug in the earth about five feet square and two feet deep, and then burn them, keeping the ^hes red-hot as long as possible. A fterwards take out the ashes, pour boiling water on them, and then evaporate the water. " There remains after the evaporation a dry sahne reddish substance, known in commerce under the name of satin y the more the ashes are boiled, the greyer, and the more valuable the salin becomes. The salin must be calcined in a very hot oven, until the'wholemaiis presents a uniform reddish brown. In cooling it remains dry, and in fragments bluish within, and white on the surface ; in which state it takes the name of potash.** \,Smith*9 Mechanic, vol. ii. p. 381.) . 5361. Among extraordinary applicathns of the potato, may be mentioned cleaning woollens, and making wine and ardent spirit. 5362. Cleaning woollens. The refuse of potatoes used in making starch when taken f^om the sieve, possesses the property of cleansing woollen cloths, without hurting their colour ; and the water decanted from the starch powder is excellent for cleansing silks, without the smallest injury to the colour. *5S63. Wtncj of a good quality, may be made from frosted potatoes, if not so much frosted as to have become soft and watery. The potatoes must be crushed or bruised with a mallet, or put into a cider press. A bushel must have ten gallons of water, prepared by boiling it, mixed with half a pound of hops, and half a pound of common white ginger. This water, after having boiled for about half an hour, must be poured upon the bruised potatoes, into a tub or vessel suited to the quantity to be made. After stand- ing in this mixed state for three days, yest must be added to ferment the liquor. When the fermentation has subsided, the liquor must be drawn off, as fine as possible, into a cask, adding half a pound of raw sugar for every gallon. After it has remained in the cask for three months, it will be ready for use. *536t Ardent spirit Potatoes that have been injured by the frost produce a much greater quantity of spirit, and of a much finer quality, than those that are fresh; they require a proportion of malt- wash to promote the fermentation. About one fourth part of malt-worts, or wash, ought to be fermented at least six hours before the potato- wash is joined to it; otherwise the potato- wash, having an aptitude to ferment, will be ripe for the still before the malt-wash is ready j hence the effect will be, to generate an acid which renders the spirit coarse, and, when diluted with water, of a milky or bluish colour. When the spirit is strong, the acid is held in solution; but appears as above, when diluted with water. iFarmer^s Mag. vol xvii. p. 325.) *5365. In the application of potatoes as food for live stock, they are o^en joined with hay, straw, chaff, and other similar matters, and have been found useful in many cases, espe- cially in the later winter months, as food for hOrses, cows, and other sorts of live stock. With these substances, and in combination with others, as bean or barley-meal and pol- \ard, they are used in the fattening of neat cattle, sheep, and hogs. . 53fX. Potatoes are much mwe nutritive when boiled J they were formerly cooked in this way, but are now very generally steamed, especially in the north. The practice has been carried to the greatest extent by Curwen in feeding horses. He gives to each horse, daily, a stone and a half of potatoes mixed with a tenth of cut straw. One hundred and twenty stones of potatoes require two and a quarter bushels of coals to steam them. An acre of potatoes, he considers, goes as far in this way as four of hay. Von Thaer found them, when given to live stock, produce more manure than any other food : 100 lbs. of potatoes producing 66 lbs. of manure of the very best description, 'i'he baking of potatoes in an oven has also been tried with success. (Cantm. Board of Agriculture, vol. iv.); but the process seems too expensive. Pota- toes should not be given raw to animals of any description, except, perhaps, when hogs are let in to root and pick up what may have escaped notice in the field. Washing was formerly a disagreeable and tedious business, but is now rendered an easy matter, whether on a large or small scale, by the use of the washing -machine. 5367. Machines for washing potatoes are numerous, and in addition to that already described, we shall here notice two other forms. One of the simplest is a trough (Jig. 750. a, b) containing a hollow cylinder 750 (c) with a handle (d), which is made fast to the axis which passes through the cylinder. " A number of the spars (which run longi- tudinally) are so constructed as to form a kind o£ door, which is made fast by two linch-pins at each end of the cylinder. The vessel being charged with potatoes, and the trough filled with water, all that is necessary for the purpose of cleaning is only to turn the handle of the machine." A machine for washing potatoes by Mr, John Lawson, ot Elgin, consists of a wooden or iron trough, with a movable bottom above the fixed one, composed of spars three quarters of an inch apart The potatoes are laid over the mov- able ribbed bottom, and water being admitted at one end by a cock, they are are moved backwards and forwards by a wooden hoe, till they are clean, when the dirty water which „ , ^. , m. .^ J , T, . Ti ,, '^^ collected between the two bottoms is let off by another cock at the opposite end. {Brit. Farm. Mag. vol ii.) 5368. 27w&ort/»^o/;joia/oe^ though a simple operation, is in many districts not performed in the best manner. The following is the Lancashire method : — Set them on the fire in cold water ■ when boiled, pour off the water completely, add a little salt, and dry them well on the fira Another method : — Choose your potatoes of equal size, and put them into a saucepan, or pot without a lid, with no more water than IS sufficient to cover thero ; more would only spoil them, as the potatoes themselves, on being boiled, yield a considerable portion of water. By being boiled in a vessel without a lid, they do not crack, and all waste 3 I 3 854 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTUKE. Part IU. is prevented. After the water is come nearly to boil, pour it off", and replace the hot by cold water, into which throw a good portion of salL The cold water sends the heat from the surface to the heart of the potato, and makes it mealy. Like all other vegetables, they are improved by being boiled with salt, winch ought not, therefore, to be spared. {Mech. Mag. i. 13.) *5369. Frosted potatoes may be applied to various useful purposes, for food by thawing in cold water, or being pared, then thawed, and boiled with a little salt. Salt, or salt- petre, chaff, or bruised oats, boiled with them, will render them fit food for cattle, swine, poultry, &c. Starch, and paste for weavers, bookbinders, and shoemakers, may be made from them when too sweet to be rendered palatable, and also an ardent spirit, from hydrometer proof to 10 per cent over proof. 5370. The diseases of tlie potato are chiefly the scab, the worm, and curl. 5371. The scab, or ulcerated surface of the tubers, has never been satisfactorily accounted for : some attributing it to the ammonia of horse-dung, others to alkali, and some to the use of coal ashes. Change of 860(1, and of ground, are the only resources known at present for this malady. The worm and grub both attack the tuber, and the same preventive is recommended. The only serious disease of the potato is the curl, and this is now ascertained to be produced by the too great concentration of the sap in the tuber; and this concentration, or thickening, is prevented by early taking up. This discovery was first made by the farmers near Edinburgh, who observed that seed potatoes procured from the moors, or elevated cold ground, in the internal parts of the country, never suffered from the curl, and it conse- quently became a practice, every three or four years, to procure a change of seed from these districts. On enquiry, it was found, that the potatoes in these upland grounds continued in a growing state tilt the haulm was blackened by the first frosts of October. They were then taken up, when, of course, they could not be ripe. Subsequent experiments, which will be found detailed in The Farmer's Magazine^ and Caledonian and London Horticultural TYaTisactions, have firmly established the fact, that the curl is pre- vented by using unripe seedj therefore the farmer ought to select his seed stock a fortnight or three weekg before he takes up the general crop, as already recommended. It is also a safe prautice frequently to change the seed, and also to change the variety. 5372. Skirreff, an ingenious speculator and practical agriculturist, is of opinion that there are only two causes for the curled disorder in potatoes. The first is excessive seed-bearing, that is, carrying great quantities of plums or apples ; from the effects of which, if the plant be not too far advanced in life, it may recover for a time, by removing it to a shady or upland situation. The s cond cause is time or old age, which never fails ultimately to bring the curled or shrivelled disorder, followed by death, on the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms. An old decaying oak is an instance of the curled or shrivelled state of trees from age, as is " the lean and slippered pantaloon " of the curled disorder from old age in the human species. An apple tree, again, that has carried extraordinary crops of fruit within a few years, is often in the state of a potato curled from excessive apple-bearing; so is a hart, or a buck, immediately after the rutting season. Both the tree and' animals will recover their health and vigour for a time, unless they are too old, or have gone to the very greatest and last extremity in seed-bearing and venery, in which cases the effects will be the same as those of time, viz. death. It is not then to over-ripening the tubers that the curled disorder in potatoes is to be attributed, but to time and seed-bearing ; that is, carrying great quantities of plums or apples. Sect. II. The' Turnip- — "Rrassica Rapa L. ; Tetradyn^rma Siliguosa L., and Crud- fer directs the horse follows the cart, which is open behind, and with a crooked two- pronged fork or dung-hack, {fig. 752.) drags out the dung, as the horse moves along, into little heaps in the hollow of every third ridge, at the distance from each other of from eight to ten feet. Be- hind follow three young persons, with each a two-pronged or three-pronged fork {fig. 753.), each walking in the interval of a ridge, and spreading out the dung in as regular a manner as possible ; as a cross section of the ridgelets with the dung deposited in the intervals would show {fig. 754.) 5391. Covering the dung. The dung is no sooner spread in this manner than it is covered by the plough. To this end is employed either the common plough, or that with the double mould-board already mentioned : these passing down the middle of each ndgelet split it into two, so that a new ridgelet is formed, whose top is immediately above the former hollow of the old ridgelet, — {fig-y55.) The dung is now completely covered, and a now ridee for the reception of the seed is at once formed. The double mould-board plough performs this 754 f? operation at once, the common plough by going and returning up the middle of each ridge 755 5392, Broad-cast dunging. Instead of depositing the manure in the manner described, it is sometimes laid upon the stubble after narvest, and then ploughed in. This is only practicable where there is a supply of manure remaining from the preceding year, or where it can be elsewhere procured j and is only ad- visable when the land is so clean as to require little preparation in the succeeding spring. As liberal an expenditure as can be afforded of manure is always expedient in the case of this crop, the goodness of which will much depend upon the fertility we are able to communicate to the soil. Ten or twelve tons per acre may be considered the regular manuring on a turnip-farm, where a proper rotation of crops is followed, 5393, Lime, sea-weed, ashes. Sometimes lime is applied to the tumip crop, together with dung. This may be done by laying the lime upon the stubble after harvest, or better still, by spreading it upon the ground, and harrowing it well immediately, before the forming of the ridgelets for the reception of the dung. Putrescent manures, however, are considered superior to the calcareous for the production of this plant; and all of the former kind may be used with effect. Street dung is an exceedingly good manure; sea-weed wiU also be useful : this last, however, is not applied in the manner of the farmyard dung, but is carried ofi' as it is cast on shore, laid on the surface, and sufifered to remain so till the land is Book VI. THE TURNIP, 857 ploughed. Asbea generally produce a good effect in causing the seeds to vegetate quickly, but the fer. tilising powers of some of these do not appear to be of a permanent nature. Bruised bones and vai;|DUs other substances have been used with much benefit ; but it is to be observed, that putrescent ma- nures form the main support of the turnip cultivator, and that the others are only to be regarded as subsidiary. 5394. Sowing the turnips. The land being formed into ridgelets in the manner described, is ready for the reception of the seed. Tliis is sown on tlie tops of the ridgelets by machines of various forms. 5S95. The most simple of these consists of a hollow cylinder of tin, fixed upon an axle, and moving round with two light wheels, distant from each other twenty-seven or thirty inches, which are made to run in the hollows of the ridges. (26S&) The seed is put into the cylinder through an aperture which opens and shuts for that purpose : this cylinder turning round with the axle, the seed drops, through small equidistant holes made in it, mto a tin tube, by which it is conveyed to the ground. Immediately before this tube is a hollow coulter of iron, sharp before, which incloses the forepart of the tin tube, and makes a track in the ground from one to two inches deep, into which the seed drops. This simple apparatus is mounted upon a light wooden frame-work, having two shafts behind, by which the workman holds and keeps it steady in its course. It is then attached by a rope to a light wooden roller, in the shafts of which the animal of draught is yoked. More perfect machines, however, may be employed where turnips are cul- tivated upon a large scale, and we may refer to that of French (2688.) as one of the best. 5396. The preparation oftumip-seed for sowing, by steeping in the drainings of dung- hills and other similar matters, has been recommended as a likely mode to prevent the fly ; but it is not found to have this effect, and is never followed. 5397 The following mode qf preparation is sometimes adopted : — Half new and half old seed are mixed together; then half is taken and steeped in water for three or four hours; afterwards both steeped and unsteeped seed are mixed and immediately sown. The object of this preparation is to obtain four different brairds or risings of the seed, which are supposed to give four chances of escaping the fly that attacks the infant plants, instead of ona Another mode is to join radish-seed to the above, new and old, steeped in the fore|[oing manner, it being found that the fly prefers the radish to the turnip. Some recommend the mixing of an equal quantity of rape-seed with the turnip-seed, alleging, that if a fly cuts off the tur. nips, the rape may be left for a crop ; and that if the turnips escape, the rape may be treated as weeds. The most common precaution, however, as to the fly, is to sow thick, or to mix the seed with soot, lime, or ashes. 5398. The quantity of seed used may be from two pounds to two and a half pounds avoirdupoise per acre. It is necessary to give a sufficient quantity of seed, to pro- vide against the loss of plants from the ravages of insects, and other contingencies. But the quantity should not be excessive ; because the plants, when too thick, get interwoven toge^er, and thence become difficult to be thinned in a proper manner. 5399.* The soudng process being completed, the ridgelets remain flattened and com- pressed. {Jig^ 756.) 756 5400. The severed operations of forming the ridgelets, spreading the dung, covering it by the plough, and sowing the seed, ought to be carried on in close succession. The dung must be immediately covered, that none of its powers may be lost by evaporation ; and the seed, to ensure its early vegetation, ought to be sown as soon as possible upon the moist earth turned up. The various works of the turnip culture, thus carried on at the same time, furnish the best specimen which the culture of the fields affords of the bene- ficial effects of fl- proper division of labour. The process has all the appearance and effects of garden culture, with the difference of its being conducted with incomparably greater economy and despatch. 5401. The period of sowing in the north of England and Scotland is from the 1st to the end of June, though it is often continued to the middle of July. The turnips, how- ever, sown after the latter of these periods seldom attain to a proper size ; and, when sown earlier than the 1st of June, they are apt to shoot forth the seed-stem before winter, by which not only the soil is deteriorated, but the nutritive juices of the root exhausted. In the south of England they may be sown somewhat later than in the north. 5402. The time of sowing in other countries must be varied by the nature of the climate and soil. It is to be inferred, that in warmer countries, where vegetation is more rapid, the sowing should be deferred till a later period. At Roville, in the north of France, M, de Dorabasle sometimes sows in August, and yet obtains a medium crop 5403. Hoeing. When the plants are an inch or more in height, or when weeds appear amongst them, the process of hoeing commences. This is done either by a small jjlough drawn by one horse, going and returning along the hollow of each ridgelet, and cutting of a slice of earth from the sides, las near to the turnips as possible (fig, 757.) 757 or by the horse-hoe, of which there are various kinds. The most simple of these consists of a flat triangular share {fg. 758. a), with two lateral arms (6, b), formed to set wider or narrower, and fixed to a beam and handles by three upright coulters of iron ; or, which is better, the lateral arms are omitted, the triangular share fixed to the beam, and two moveable upright coulters attached by a cross bar. 858 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5404. One qfthe best turnip horse-hoes is formed from the skeleton of a common plough {Jig. 759.), by 759 two coulters of iron curved inwards (a, b), and fixed to wooden bars (c, /, and c, d), which last again are hooked to the beam of the implement, and made, by means of a cross iron bar (g. A), to be set at a greater or smaller distance from each other as it may be required. A broad iron share (i) moves in the middle of the hollow of the ridges, while the two coulters on each side go as near to the rows of turnips as can be done with safety ; and in this manner the intervals of the ridges are tilled, and the weeds within them, and as near to the plants as the coulters can go, cut up and destroyed. By removing the wooden bar and coulters of this machine, and hooking to it, on each side, a small cast-iron mould- board, it is converted to the double mould-board plough also, as we have seen. 5405. The brakes or horse-hoes of Wilkie (2666.), Finlayson (2667.)» or of Kirkwood (4955.), may easily be set and arranged for this or any other description of culture; so that it requires no new implements. 5406. The hand-hoers go to work, each hav ing a little iron hoe, fixed upon a wooden handle about three r -. feet in length {fig. 760.). The breadth of the blade (a) of this -^ hoe is eight inches ; and the workers, standing in the hollow •.,»«. BWifflWliSH with their faces to the ridges, hoe the turnip plants, leaving 760 UPPprnw-liM a them standing singly, at the disUnce from each other of from ten to twelve inches. By this operation the rows of the turnips are cleaned of all weeds ; the superfluous plants cut up and pushed into the intervals, where they die; and the plants to be preserved left standing singly at the distance required. A transverse section of the ridges will then appear thus {fig. 761.), and 761 a longitudinal section thus : {fig. 762.) The plants should not be nearer to each other than ten inches, that they may increase to a proper size. 5407 SecoTid horse-hoetng Soon after the operation m question, weeds will agam sprout up in the intervals of the ridges and amongst the plants. In the course, therefore, of twelve days or more the horse-hoe again passes through the intervals of the ridges, cutting up all the weeds that may have sprung up; and soon after the hand-hoers again go to work with the same instrument as before, cutting up all weeds which may have grown amongst the turnips, and carefully singling any plants that may by chance have been omitted in the first hoeing. After this process, a section of the ridges will appear thus : {fig. 763.) 763 5408. Third horse-hoeing. Sometimes the horse-hoe passes once more down the intervals after a short period • but more generally the previous hand-hoeing concludes the process upon all the drier lands, the weeds being now kept down by the rapid growth of the plant, and the overshadowing of the intervals by its leaves Very commonly, however, at an interval of eight or ten days after the last hand or horse- hoeing, the earth which had been taken from the roots of the plants by these several hoeings is again laid back either by the little one-horse plough already mentioned, or by the double mould-board plough, passine down the intervals of the rows and ridging up the earth thus : {fig. 764.) The design in this ope. '^ ^ 764 ration is, that any weeds remaining in the intervals after the former hoeings may be destroyed, and that the land and turnips may be kept more dry during wet weather and the months of winter. This concludes the culture of the turnip, which now grows rapidly without further care; and by the beginning of Sep- tember the leaves of a good crop will have covered the entire surface, making a transverse section of the ridges appear thus : {Jig. 765.) 765 5409. The Swedish turnip is cultivated, used, and stored precisely in the same manner as the common turnip ; but it is generally sown several weeks earlier. It does not attain to the same weight by the acre ; and, as it is more difficult to raise, it ought to receive a greater quantity of manure, and to be always upon good land. The Swedish has a property which the common turnip has not, that of bearing to be transplanted Book VI. THE TURNIP. 859 when young ; so tliat, where blanks appear in a field, the spaces may be filled up by transplanting. Analogous to the Swedish turnip, in hardiness and nutritive qualities, is the large yellow or Aberdeen turnip. This root is perhaps superior to the Swedish turnip, in so far as it may be raised with less difficulty. It serves the same purpose of a succedaneum to the common turnip in spring. *5410. Consumption of the turnips. By the end of October or beginning of November, when tlie pastures have decayed, the turnips begin to be used for food. 5411. W/ien sheep are to be fed, the turnips are either pulled up by the hand, and carried away, as wanted, into the fields, in which the sheep are kept, and there spread regularly ujion the ground j or more frequently and economically the sheep are at once driven into the fields of turnips, and suffered to con- sume the roots as they stand. In this case the animals are not suffered to range over the whole field at first, but are confined to a space of an acre or more, by means of nets, or a series of moveable rails or hurdles. When the sheep have eaten the roots very nearly, the remnant in the ground may be picked up by a little hoe (fig, 166.) or by the turnip chopper already described (SGTS.} ; and when the whole are >-^^ consumed, the nets or rails, or hurdles, are moved to another '"" division, and so on throughout the field, leaving the spaces before cleared open' to the sheep to move upon. This manner of con- suming the turnips affbrds an admirable manure to the land, and prepares it well for the subsequent crops of grain and herbage. In feeding in tliis manner, it is frequent to place in the field a little rack with a cover, containing a small quantity of hay, which seems to be relished by the animals amid their moister food. 5412. In the feeding of oxen, the turnips may be laid down on a dry field, as in the case first mentioned ; but the proper and regular manner of feeding these animals is to supply them with' the turnip in the house or open yard, littering them at the same time plentifully and regularly with straw, and giving them what they choose to consume of it as provender, with their turnip-food. Cattle are fed either by being tied to upright posts in the house, or they are suffered to go at large in the straw-yard. This last is greatly the better mode of feeding, the turnips being supplied from troughs or otherwise, and a shed for shelter being always at hand and open to the cattle to repose in. It is well, however, that too many animals, of different strength and size, be not put together, lest they disturb each other in feeding. Sometimes courts are made and divided into separate compartments, holding only two cattle in each, and this is found to be an exceedingly good practice. When cattle are of value, and put up for quick fattening, it is common to cut off the leaves and tails of the turnip, giving the leaves to the younger and less valuable stock, and the bnib only to that which is to be fed. *5413. Young cattle^ not intended to be immediately fattened, receive only a limited portion of turnips, their principal provender being straw. By receiving a portion of turnips with their drier provender, these animals are kept in a much more healthy condition than if confined to the latter food, and continue to grow throughout the whole season, instead of pining away at the tune when green herbage can no longer be found for them. With the design, too, of keeping them in a good condition, turnips are supplied in a limited quantity to milch cows, and in particular at the time of calving. The turnip, however, though it adds to the quantity of milk, gives it a strong and disagreeable flavour. 5414. When both sheep and cattle are fed upon a farm, it is usual to pull up every alternate four or five rows of turnips for the cattle, leaving the remainder on the ground for the sheep, so that the land on which the turnips had grown may receive its proportion of the manure produced. {,Q.uar. Jour. Ag. vol. i. p. 286.) 5415. The advantages of eating turnips on the place qf their g70wth by sheep, both in manuring and consolidating the ground, are sufficiently well known to every farmer. One great defect of the inferior sort of turnip soil is the want of tenacity ; and it is found that valuable crops of wheat may be obtained upon very light porous soils, after turnips so consumed. It is not uncommon to let turnips at an agreed price, for each sheep or beast, weekly. This varies according to age and size, and the state of the demand, from four-pence or less, to eight-pence or more, for each sheep weekly, and from two shillings to five for each beast. An acre of good turnips, say thirty tons, with straw, will fatten an ox of sixty stone, or ten Leicester sheep. Supposing the turnips worth six guineas, this may bring the weekly keep of the ox to six shillings and three-pence halfpenny, and of the sheep to about seven-pence halfpenny a week. In this way of letting, however, disputes may arise, as the taker may not be careful to have them eaten up clean. The person who lets the turnips has to maintain a herd for the taker ; and when let for cattle, and conse- quently to be carried off, the taker finds a man and horse, and the letter maintains both. The taker has to provide hurdles or nets for fencing the allotments to sheep ; but the letter must fence his own hedges if necessary. The period at which the taker is to consume the whole is usually fixed in the agreement, that the seller may be enabled to plough and sow his land in proper season. (SuppL to Encyc. Brit^ The rule for selling turnips in Norfolk is calculated from the fact, that one acre of good turnips is sj^fflcientfor 100 sheep for one week. Then, whether turnips be dear or cheap, the price per week may be easily found — at 5L per acre, 1;. per week per head, and so of all other prices. This is under the suppo- sition that the crop is to be eaten off on the ground. 5416. The Swedish and yellow turnips are eaten greedily by horses ; and afford a very nutritive and salutary food along with hay or straw for working stock. The best mode is to steam them after pre- viously passing them through the slicing machine, as no root requires so much cooking as the Swedish turnip. Horses will also eat the white turnip, but not freely, unless they have been early accustomed to them, as in some parts of NoWolk. 5417. Cattle fatten much faster with clean turnips than with such as are dirty, and therefore Waistell recommends that they should never be given without being previously washed. " The earth upon unwashed turnips," he says, " scours the cattle, and keeps their bodies too loose and open; their dungbeing thin and almost liquid, carries off with it a white mucous matter from the bowels, which is frequently seen among the dung, the loss of which must necessarily retard the fattening of the cattle ; but with washed turnips their dung is wax-like, and figured similarly to the dung of cattle fed on rich meadow hay. Cisterns are also found very useful in frosty weather ; for when frozen turnips are thrown into spring water it speedily draws out of them all the icy particles, which, when retained, must undoubtedly render them much less nourishing and improving to the cattle that eat them." {Waistell's Designs^ Sfc. p. 40.) 5418. Near large towns the most prbiitable mode of disposing of turnips is to the cow-keepers and green-grocers. 5419. The applicatioji of turnips in domestic economy is well known. They may also be used in the fistillery ; and a wine is said to be made from them by the London manu- facturers of imitations of foreign wine. *5420. 7%e storing of turnips is attended with too much labour and risk to be of much advantage in the greater part of the kingdom. Common turnips are never stored in any great quantity, though sometimes a portion is drawn and formed into heaps, like 860 PRACTICK OF AGRICULTURE. Part 111. potato camps, and lightly covered with straw, or preserved for some time under a shed. On these occasions, before storing up, the shaws or leaves and the tap-roots must be cut off and removed, to prevent heating and rotting. The heaps must not be covered with earth-like potatoes, for in tliis case their complete destruction is inevitable. This root contains too much water to be preserved for any length of time in a fresh and palatable state, after being removed from the ground; and though the loss in seasons unusually severe, particularly in the white globe variety, is commonly very great, it is probable that a regular system of storing the whole, or the greater part, of the crop every season would, upon an average of years, be attended with still greater loss ; besides the labour and expense, where turnips are cultivated extensively, would be intolerable. {Supp* ^c. ) 5421. Taking up and replacing is a mode by which turnips have been preserved, by Blaikie of Holk- ham, and some others. The mode is to cart the turnips from the field where they grow, to a piece of ground near the farm-offices, before the winter rains set in, when, the tap-root being cut off, the plants are set on the surface of the ground, in an upright position, as close to each other as they can stand, where they Iteep much better than in a store during the whole season. The advantages of having them quite close to the homestead, in place of bringing them most probably from a distant part of the farm in wet or stormy weather, are so obvious, as fully to justify a recommendation of the practice. 54'i2. Replacing and earthing have also been tried with success, especially with the Swedish turnip. Being pulled and freed from their roots and leaves, they are carted to a piece of well worked dry soil near the farmery, and there deposited in rows, so close as nearly to touch eacn other in the bottom of shallow furrows, the plough covering one row as another furrow is opened. In this way many tons are quickly earthed in, and on a very small space, and they can be turned out when wanted with equal facility. {Farmer's Magazine^ voL xxiiL p. 282.) 5423. The produce of turnips cultivated in the broad-cast manner in England varies from five to fifteen tons per acre : the latter is reckoned a very heavy crop. In Northum- berland and Berwickshire, a good crop of white globe turnips drilled usually weighs from twenty-five to thirty tons per acre, the yellow and Swedish commonly a few tons less. Of late there have been instances of much heavier crops, and in Ayrshire it would appear that above sixty tons have been raised on an English acre, the leaves not included. ^ Farmer's Magazinet vols. xv. and xvi.) But such an extraordinary produce must have been ob- tained by the application of more manure than can be provided, without injustice to other crpjps, from the home resources of a farm; and where turnips form a regular crop in the rotation, no such produce is to be expected under any mode of culture, 5424. The produce of tlie turnip in nutritive matter, as proved by Sir H. Davy, was forty-two parts in a thousand ; of which seven were mucilage, thirty-four sugar, and one gluten. Swedish turnips afforded sixty-four parts in a thousand of nutritive matter, of which nine were starch, fifty-one sugar, two gluten, and two extract. According to Von Thaer, 100 lbs. of turnips are equal to twenty-two of hay ; and an ox to get fat on turnips ought to have one third of its weight daily. 5425. To raise turnip seed, the usual mode is to select the most approved specimens of the variety to be raised at the season when they are full grown ; and either to remove all others from the field and leave them to shoot into flower stems next year, or to trans- plant them to a place by themselves, where they will be secure from the farina of other plants of their genus. In either case they must be protected by earthing up from the winter's frost and rains, and in the ripening season from the birds. 5426. The true sort qf Swedish turni-p can very easily be kept by only attending to the plants when in flower. All the degenerated ones bear bright yellow flowers, which should be pulled out before the seed ripens. The true sort have a brownish yellow flower. This saves the expense of transplanting if a corner or one ridge of a field can be found convenient for saving. 5427. The Norfolk seed-growers have a sort of theory on the subject of transplanting turnips for seed which it may be worth while to attend to. According to that theory, where turnip seed is collected from such turnips as have been sown three or four years in succession, the roots are liable to be numerous and long, and the necks or parts between the bulbs and leaves coarse and thick : and when taken from such as have been transplanted every year, these parts are liable to become too fine, and the tap-roots to be dimi- nished in too great a proportion. Of course the most certain plan is to procure seed from turnips that are transplanted one year and sown the next ; or, if they be transplanted once in three years, it is supposed, that the stock may be preserved in a proper state of perfection. U is stated, that the method of perform, ing this business in the bet-t way, is to select such turnips as are of the best Itinds and of the most perfect forms from the field crops, and after cutting their tops off, to transplant them, about the month of November, or following month, into a piece of ground that has been put into a fine state of tillage by repeated ploughing or digging over, and which should be situated as near the house as it can be, in order that the birds may be better kept from it. The seed will mostly be ready for gathering in the end of July, or in the following month. 5428. Others cultivators, however, advise that the seed collected from a few turnips thus transplanted should be preserved and sown in drills, in order to raise plants for seed for the general crop, drawmg out all such as are weak and improper, leaving only those that are strong and which take the lead ; and that when these have formed bulbs, such as do not appear good and perfect should be taken out, as by this means turnip seed may be procured, not only of a more vigorous nature, but capable of vegetating with less moisture, and of producing stronger and more hardy plants. The practice of transplanting the whole of the turnips for seed for the main crops, they contend, is not only highly expensive, but injurious, by diminishing the strength of the plants from the destruction of their tap-roots. Very good seed may, how- ever, be raised in either of the methods that have been here described, 5429. The best Norfolk turnip-seed growers are of opinion that unless the seed be always saved from transplanted roots, the stock will infallibly degenerate in the manner here described. The statement that transplanting once in three years is sufficient, was a mere pretence with some of the growers to enable them to save two thirds of the heavy expense which attends transplanting turnips, and to get the same price for their seed as if it had been properly saved. The only exception to this is in what the Norfolk farmers calls the "pudding" or " long pudding" turnip, which is too tender to bear the winter. For a stock, a few sorts are taken up and protected from cold like mangold wurzel ; and for a general crop the Book VT. THE TURNIP. flSl Beed is sown broarlcast and not hoed, but 8u0fered to grow like rape. So treated the plants form very small woody sorts, which are capable of enduring frosts. {J. L.) 5430. AJier the seed has becwne fully Hpened^ it is mostly reaped by cutting off' part of the stems, and afterwards tying them up into sheaves, which, when sufficiently dry, are put into long stacks, and kept through the winter, in order to be threshed out about the time when it is wanted. But as in this way much seed is liable to be lost, by its readiness to escape from the pods in which it is contained, it is advised, as a much better practice, to have it immediately threshed out, either upon a cloth in the field where it grew, or in some other convenient place, being then put into bags proper for the purpose and placed in a situation which is perfectly dry. From seed crops of this sort being subject to much injury, and loss in different ways, the quantity of produce must be very different under different circumstances ; but it may in general be stated at not less than from twenty to twenty-four bushels the acre. The price oT turnip seed being seldom less.than seven or eight shillings the bushel, on account of the great demand for it, it may at first appear to be a very advantageous sort of culture ; but from the exhausting nature of the crop, the loss sustained in grain, and the quantity ot manure afterwards necessary, it is probable that turnip seed can only be grown to advantage in particular circumstances of soil and situation. In most cases it is, however, well for the farmer to raise his own seed, as that of the shops is seldom to be fully depended upon. 5431. The diseases and injuries to which turnips are liable are various. At their first appearance their leaves are liable to the attacks of the fly (AVhisand HAltica,) the cater- pillar, the slug, and the mildew. Their bulbs and roots are attacked by worms of difi*erent kinds ; by a singular tendency to monstrosity, known provincially by the name of Angers and toes ; by t£e anbury ; by canker, and by wasting or gangrene from water or frost. Of all or most of these injurious diseases it may be observed, that they neither admit of prevention or cure by art. Under favourable circumstances of soil, climate, culture, and weather, they seldom occur ; therefore all that the cultivator can do is to prepare and manure his land properly, and in the sowing season supply water when the weather is deficient in showers or the soil in humidity. *5432. Thejly attacks the turnip when in the seed-leaf, and either totally devours it, or partially eats the leaves and centre-bud, so as to impede the progress of the plants to the second or rough leaves. Whether the eggs of these files are deposited on the plants or in the soil, does not appear to be ascertained ; in all probability they are attached to the former, as in the gooseberry caterpillar, and most cases of flies and insects which feed on plants. Preparations and mixtures of the seed, as already treated of, are all that have yet been done in the way of preventive to this evil. 5433. The caterpillar makes its appearance after the plants have produced three or more rough leaves ; these they eat through, and either destroy or greatly impede the progress of the plants. There can be little doubt that the eggs of these caterpillars are deposited on the leaves of the plants hy a species of moth, as the caterpillar may be detected when not larger in diameter than a hair. As preventives to the moths from fixing on the turnips for a depository for their eggs, it has been proposed to place vesiiels with tar in different parts of the field, the smell of which is known to be very offensive to moths and all insects ; or to cause a thick off'ehsive smoke from straw or weeds lo pass over the ground at the time when it is supposed the moths or parent flies were about to commence their operations. To destroy the caterpillar itself, watering with tobacco water, lime water, strong brine, and laying on ashes, barley awns, &c. have been proposed. 5434. The slv^ and snail attack the plants both above and under ground, and eat both the leaves and roots. Rolling, soot, quicklime, awns, &a have been proposed to annoy them; but the only eflifectual mode is, immediately after the turnips are sown, to strew the ground with cabbage leaves, or leaves of any of the ^&s6ica tribe. On these, especially if sweet from incipient decay, the slugs wil! pasture, and may be gathered off by women or children every morning. If as manycabbage leaves, or handfuls of decaying pea haulm, or any similar vegetable be procured, as will go over a ridge or two, say at the rate of a leaf to every square yard, a whole field may soon be cleared by picking oflr the slugs and removing the leaves once in twenty-four hours. This mode we have found most effectual, and it is extensively practised by market and other gardeners. {Enci/c. of Card. SSJ5.) 5435. The mildew and blight attack the turnip in different stages of its progress, and always retard its growth. Its effects may be palliated by watering and strewing the leaves with sulphur; but this will hardly be considered applicable to whole fields. 5436. The worms attack the roots i and, when they commence their ravages at an early period, impede their growth, and ruin or greatly injure the crop. They admit of no remedy or prevention. 5437. The forked excrescenceSjlino-wn as fingers and toes in some places, and as the anbury in others, are considered an alarming disease, and hitherto it can neither he guarded against nor cured. The loUowing account of it is given by William Spence, president of the Holdeniess Agricultural Society in 1811 : — 5438. In some plants, the bulb itself is split into severalfinger like-divergiTig lobes. More frequently the bulb is externally tolerably perfect, and the tap-root is the part principally diseased ; being cither wholly metamorphosed into a sort of misshapen secondary bulb, often larger than the real bulb, and closely attached to it, or having excrescences of various shapes, frequently not unlike human toes (whence thename of the disease', either springing immediately from its sides, or from the fibrous roots that issu9 from it. In this last case, each'fibre often swells into several knobs, so as distantly to resemble the runners and accom- panying tubers of a potato; and not seldom one turnip will exhibit a combination of all these different forms of the disease. _ These distortions manifest themselves at a very early stage of the turnip's growth ; and plants, scarcely in the rough leaf, will exhibit excrescences, which differ in nothing else than size from those of the full-grown root 5439. The leaves disrovei-7io unusual appearance^ except that in hot weather they becoine flaccid and droop ; from which symptom the presence of the disease may be surmised without examining the roots. These continue to grow for some months, but without attaining any considerable size, the excrescences enlarging at the same time. If divided at this period with a knife, both the bulb and the excrescences are found to be perfectly solid, and internally to difffer little in appearance from a healthy root, except that the> arc of a more mealy and less compact consistency, and are interspersed with mote numerous and larger sap-vessels. The taste, too, is more acrid ^ and, on this account, sheep neglect the diseased plants. Towards the approach of autumn, the roots, va proportion as they are more or less diseased, be- come gangrenous and rot, and are either broken (as frequently happens) by high winds, or gradually dis- solved by the rain. Some, which have been partially diseased, survive the winter; but of the rest, at this period, no other vestige remains than the vacant |)atches which they occupied at their first appearance. There is no longer any doubt about the cause of this disease ; it is the eff'ect of the deposition of the eggs of a small fly (probably a Scarabse\is) into the pithy parts of the roots, and the alburnous parts of the bulb, which soon changing to a maggot, and ultimately to a perfect insect, eat their way out .5440. Pm- the prevention qfthis disease, marl has been recommended by Sir Joseph Banks and others ; and where marl cannot be procuretl, it has been thought that an addition of moula of any kind, that has not borne turnips, will be advantageous ; such as a dressing taken from banks, woodlands, ditches, &c. and mixetl up with a good dose of lime. But lime alone has been tried in vain ; and no great dependence 865 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, can be placed upon fresh mould, as thU disease has been known to prevail upon lands that had scarcely ever before borne a tTop of turnips (/v/jwcr'a Magazfnr, vol. xiii.). The only eflettual preventive would be to hinder the insect from laying its eggs. 5441. The canker attacks the roots, and jxirtly the bulbs, of turnips, and is known by the ulcerated ap- fiearance it produces. Some consider it owing to the presence of too much iron in the soil, and recomracrid iming as a |ireventive. 5442 fVasting and put 7rf action, from excess of water or frost, are to be prevented by earthing up the bulbs, or taking up and storing. Sect. III. The Carrot. — J^miciis Caruta L. ; Penlandria Dig^nia L,, and UmbelU' ferts J. Carottej Fr. ; Gelbe Riibe, Ger. ; Carota, Ital. ; and Chirivia, Span. 5443. The carrot is a biennial plant, a native of Britain ; but though long known as a garden plant, it is comparatively but of recent introduction in agriculture. It appears to have been cultivated from an early period in Germany and Flanders, and introduced from the latter country to Kent and Suifolk early in the 16th century. As the carrot requires a deep soil, inclining to sand, it can never enter so generally into cultivation as the potato or turnip; but, as observed by a judicious writer, it has been too much neglected on lands where it would have yielded a more valuable product, perhaps, than any bulbous or tap-rooted plant whatever. Several contradictory experiments in its culture have been detailed in a number of publications, from which the practical hus- bandman will be at a loss to draw any definite conclusion ; but, in a recent communication to the Board of Agriculture, from Robert Burrows, an intelligent Norfolk farmer, who has cultivated carrots on a large scale, and witli great success, Tor several years, so accurate an account is presented of the culture, application, and extraordinary value of this root, that carrots will probably soon enter more largely into the rotation of crops on suitable soils. [Supp. ^C') This person had more experience than any one; but he, after a few years, discontiimed to cultivate carrots so extensively as he did at the time the commu- nication to the Board of Agriculture was made. The consumption of carrot seed in Norfolk had, in 1821, diminished from three or four tons a year to as many cwts. *5444. Tlie varieties of carrot cultivated in gardens are numerous, and readily increased by the usual means ; but the only sort adapted for the field is the long red or field carrot. New seed is most essential, as it will not vegetate in the second year. Old seed, or a mixture of old and new, and also the mixture of the horn caiTot, the seed of which is sent over in large quantities from Holland, ought to be carefully avoided. 5445. The best soil for the carrot is a deep rich sandy loam ; such a soil ought at least to be a foot deep, and all equally good from top to bottom. On any other the field cul- ture of the carrot will not answer. 5446. In preparing the soil for the carroty it is essential to plough it before winter, that it may be pul- verised by frost J and to work it well by the plough and cultivator in spring, to at least the depth of a foot This deep tillage may be perfectly accomplished either by means of the trench-plough following the common one, or by the common one alone, with a good strength of team ; but the former method is to be preferred, wherever the lands are inclined to be stiif or heavy. Three ploughings are mostly found suffi- cient, where the land has been previously in a state of tillage; but more may in other cases be necessary. The first ploughing should be made to the depth of ten, twelve, or fourteen inches, and be performed when the soil is tolerably diy, about the beginning of October. It may remain in this condition till towards the middle of February, when it shomd be turned over a second time, but in a cross direction, to nearly the same depths. In March a third ploughing may be given, in order to the putting in of the seed. 'i'his may be somewhat lighter than the preceding ones. As soon as the last ploughing has been given in March, the land should be harrowed, and the surface made as fine as possible. 5447. In SiiffoVc thefa/rmers soiv carrots after turnips, barley, and peas set upon a rye- grass ley ; the crops ^pon the first have generally been most productive ; next to that they prefer the latter. In the first place, they feed off the turnips by the beginning of February, and then lay the land up in small balks or furrows, in wliich state it remains till the second week in March, when it is harrowed down, double furrowed to the depth of abqut twelve inches, and the seed sown. 5448. The climate most suitable to the carrot is the same as for the turnip ; but, from the depth to which their roots penetrate, they will thrive better than the turnip in a dry and warm climate. 5449. Manure, according to some, should not be given to carrots the year they are sown, as it is alleged that when the roots meet with it they become forked, scabbed, and wormy. This, however, is chiefly applicable to cases in which recent unfermented manure has been given, or where other manure has not been properly broken in pieces and spread over the soil or in the drills. The SuflTolk and Norfolk farmers, who are the best carrot-growers, always use dung; a suitable proportion of well rotted farmyard dung being constantly turned into the soil at the last ploughing in March . for it has been fully shown, by various trials detailed in T/ie Annals of Agriculture and other books on husbandry, that though good crops of carrots may be occasionally grown without the use of manure, it is only by the liberal application of that substance that the greatest produce possible can be obtained ; as they are in general found to bear a relative proportion to the quantity that may have been employed. 5450. Burrows prepares the land with a good dressing of about sixteen cart-loads per acre of rotten farmyard manure or cottager's ashes : the load is about as much as three able horses can draw j and, if bought, costs about four shillings and sixpence per load, besides the carting on the land. He usually sowa BooicVI. THE CARROT. 863 wheat stubblea after clover, ploughing the first time in autumn, and once more in the early part of the month of February, if the weather permits ; setting on the manure at the time of sowing, which is about the last week in March, or sometimes as late as the second week in April. 5451. In St^ffblk, when carrots are intended to be sown ({fter peas, they usually plough the stubble as soon as the harvest is over, in order that the land may clear itself of weeds ; in December it is laid up in small balks, to receive the benefit of the frosts; in February it is harrowed down, and manured at the rate of fifteen loads per acre ; the manure is ploughed in to the depth of about four inches ; and in the month of March the land is double furrowed, and the seed sown. By pursuingthis method, they say, the manure lies in the centre of the soil, and not only affords nourishment and support to the carrot in its perpendicular progress, but renders it easy to be turned up by a single ploughing, and greatly promotes the growth of the succeeding crop of barley. In Norfolk it is the practice to sow carrots after a crop of turnips. The manure, after being put on the land in the beginning of March, is tirst ploughed in with a common plough, and afterwards trench-ploughed about fourteen or fifteen inches deep ; it is then har- rowed very fine, and the seed sown about the middle of March. 5452. The season preferred by Burrows far sowing the cai-rot is tlie last week in March or first in April ; but he prefers the first period, having generally found early-sown crops the most productive. *5453. The usual preparation of the seed for sowing, is mixing it with earth or sand, to cause it to separate more freely ; but Burrows adds water, turns over the mixture of seeds and moist earth several times, and thus brings it to the point of vegetating before he sows it. " Having weighed the quantity of seed to be sown, and collected sand or fiine mould, in the proportion of about two bushels to an acre, I mix the seed with the sand or mould, eight or ten pounds to every two bushels, and this is done about a fort^ night or three weeks before the time I intend sowing ; taking care to have the heaps turned over every day, sprinkling the outside of them with water each time of turning over, that every part of the sand heaps may be equally moist, and that vegetation may take place alike throughout. I have great advantage in preparing the seed so long be- forehand ; it is by this means in a state of forward vegetation, therefore lies but a short time in the ground, and, by quickly appearing above ground, is more able to contend with those numerous tribes of weeds in the soil, whose seeds are of quicker vegetation." {Supp. 4(-c.) 54s54. CrudCt the French translator of Von Thaer's work, describes in a note (torn. iv. 237.) a practice nearly similar to that of Burrows. Crude uses sciure (night soil) instead of earth, and waters with the drainings of dunghills. He keeps the mixture in a warm but shady situation for eight days ; by that time the seed is nearly ready to vegetate, and he sows it immediately. 5455. The quantity of seed when carrots are sown in rows is two pounds per acre, and for broad-cast sowing five pounds. Burrows sows ten pounds per acre in the broad-cast manner. 5456. TAe usual mode qf sowing the carrot is broad-cast ; but a much better mode in our opinion would be to sow them in rows at twelve or fourteen inches' distance ; draw- ing the drills, and hoeing the intervals with any suitable drill and hoe. 5457. The most common practice, when carrots are best cultivated, is the hand or broad-cast method, the seed being dispersed as evenly as possible over the land, after the surface has been reduced to a very fine state of pulverisation by harrowing, in order to provide a suitable bed for it to vegetate in ; being then covered in by means of a light harrow. As the seed of the carrot is not of a nature to be deposited with much regularity by the drill, and as the young plants can be easily set out to proper distances in the opera- tion of hoeing, this is probably the most appropriate method of putting such sort of seed into the ground; and an aiiditional proof of it is indeed found in its being that which is almost universally adopted in those districts where carrot-husbandry is practised to the greatest extent But with the view of having the after-culture of the crops more perfectly performed, and at the same time to save the great expense of hand-labour in hoeing the crop, the drill method has been attempted by some cultivators, but we believe without complete success. The work is finished in equidistant rows at the distance of from twelve to fifteen or eighteen inches from each other, according to the mode of hoeing that is practised. In this business some cultivators do not make use of drill-machines, but strike the land into small furrows by hoes or other implements contrived for the purpose, and then cast the seed over the ground by the hand, covering it in either by slight harrowing, or hoeing in the tops of the ridgelets. It is added, that " in this method, where a drill-machine is used, it has been advised by an intelligent cultivator to deposit the seed to the depth of one inch in the rows, leaving the spaces of fourteen inches between them as intervals ; tlie seed in these cases being previously steeped in rain-water for twenty-four hours, and left to sprout, after which it is mixed with saw-dust and dry mould, in the proportion of one peck and a half of each to a pound of the seed. The land is afterwards lightly harrowed over once. Two pounds of seed in this mode are found, as it has been observed, sutficient for an acre of land." 5458. The after-culture given the carrot consists entirely of hoeing and weeding. 5459. In St^olk they are hoed generally three times in the season. The first time, as soon as the plants can be distinguished from the weeds which surround them. The operation should be performed with three-inch hoes, having handles not above two feet in length ; and it requires great attention, as it is ex . tremely difficult to distinguish and separate the young carrots from the weeds. The second hoeing should be given in three or four weeks afterwards, according to the forwardness of the crop ; it may be performed with common hoes, care being taken to set out the plants at proper distances. iTom eight to fifteen or eighteen inches, each way, are the common distances at which they are allowed to stand ; and it has been proved, from many years' experience in districts where they are most cultivated, that carrots which grow at such distances always proves a more abundant crop than when the plants are allowed to stand closer together. The third hoeing is commonly given about the middle or end of June ; and in this, besides destroying the weeds, another material circumstance to be attended to is, to set out the carrots at proper distances, and also, wherever any have been left double at the former hoeings, to take the worse of the two plants away. 5460. Carrots sown according to the plan of Burrows are ready to hoe within about five or six weeks. He hoes three and sometimes four times, or until the crop is perfectly clean : the first hoeing is with hoes four inches long, and two and a quarter inches wide, Ihe second hoeing invariably takes place as soon as the first is completed, and is performed with six-inch hoes, by two and a quarter inches wide. By this time the plants are set ; the first time of hoeing nothing was cut but the weeds. He leaves the plants nine inches apart from each other; sometimes they will be a ibot, or even farther asunder. 864 PRACTICE OF AGRICUI/rURE. Part III. 5461. Carrots are taken up generally in the last week of October. Barrows's prac- tice is to let the work to a man who engages women and children to assist him. The work is performed with tliree-pronged forks ; the children cut off the tops, laying them and the roots in separate heaps, ready for the teams to take away. 5462. *' 7 take up in autumn a sufficient quantity to have a store to last me out any considerable fro9t or snow that may happen in the winter months ; the rest of the crop I leave in the ground, preferring them fresh out of the earth for both horses and bullocks. The carrots keej> best in the ground, nor can the severest frosts do them any material injury ; the first week in March it is necessary to have the remain- ing part of the crop taken up, and the land cleared for barley. The carrots can either be laid in a heap ■with a small quantity of straw over them, or they may be laid into some empty outhouse or barn, in heaps of many hundred bushels, provided they are put together dry. This latter circumstance it is indispensably necessary to attend to ; for if laid together in large heaps when wet, they will certainly sustain much injury. When selecting such as 1 want to keep for the use of my horses until the months of May and June, in drawing over the heaps {which should be done in the latter end of April, when the carrots begin to sprout at the crown very fast) I throw aside the healthy and most perfect roots, and have their crowns cut com- pletely off and laid by themselves ; by this means, carrots may be kept the month of June out in a high state of perfection." {CoTnjnunications to the Board qf Agriculture, vol, vii. p. 72.) 5463. Storing a whole crop of carrots may be a desirable practice when winter wheat is to follow them, in which case the same mode may be adopted as for turnips or potatoes, but with fewer precautions against the frost, as the carrot, if.perfectly dry, is very little injured by that description of weather. 5464. The produce of an acre of carrots in Suffolk, according to Arthur Young, is at an average 350 bushels ; but Burrows's crops averaged upwards of 800 bushels per acre, which considerably exceeds the largest crop of potatoes. 5465. The uses to which the carrot is applied in Suffolk are various. Large quanti- ties are sent to the London markets, and also given as food to different kinds of live stock. Horses are remarkably fond of carrots j and it is even said, that when oats and carrots are given together, the horses leave the oats and eat the carrots. The ordinary allowance is about forty or fifty pounds a day to each horse. Carrots when mixed with chaff, that is, cut straw, and a little hay, without corn, keep horses in excellent condition for performing all kinds of ordinary labour. The farmers begin to feed their horses wath carrots in December, and continue to give them chiefly that kind of provender till the beginning or middle of May ; to which period, with proper care, carrots may be pre- served. As many of the farmers in that country are of opinion that carrots are not so good for horses in winter as in spring, they give only half the above allowance of carrots at first, and add a little corn for a few weeks after they begin to use carrots. 5466. The application of the carrot to the feedir^ qf worlring cattle and hogs is thus detailed by Bur- rows: — *' 1 begin to take up the carrot crop in the last week of October, as at that time 1 generally finish soiling my horses with lucern, and now solely depend upon my carrots, with a proper allowance of hay, as winter food for my horses, until about the first week of June following, when the lucern is again ready for soiling. By reducing this practice to a system, 1 have been enabled to feed ten cart-horses throughout the winter months for these last six years, without giving them any corn whatever, and have at the same time effected a considerable saving of hay, from what I found necessary to give to the same number of horses, when, according to the usual custom of the country, I fed my horses with corn and hay. 1 give them to my cart-horses in the proportion of seventy pounds' weight of carrots a horse per day, upon an average ; not allowing them quite so many in the very short days, and sometimes more than thatquantity in the spring months, or to the amount of what I withheld in the short winter days. The men who tend the horses slice some of the carrots in the cut chaff or hay, and barn-door refuse; the rest of the carrots they give whole to the horses at night, with a small quantity of hay in their racks ; and with this food my horses generally enjoy uninterrupted health. I mention this, as I believe that some persons think that carrots onli/j given as food to horses, are injurious to their constitutions ; but most of the prejudices of mankind have no better foundation, and are taken up at random, or inherited from their grandfathers. So successful hai'e I been with carrots, as a winter food for horses, that with the assistance of lucern for soiling in summer, T have been enabled to ^jrove by experiments conducted under my own personal in. spection, that an able Norfolk team-horse, fully worked two journeys a day, winter and summer, may be kept the entire year round upon the produce of only one statute acre of land. I have likewise applied carrots with great profit to the feeding of hogs in winter, and by that means have made my straw into a most excellent manure, without the aid of neat cattle; the hogs so fed are sold on Norwich hill to the London dealers as porkers." The profit of carrots so applied he shows in a subsequent statement, together with an experiment of feeding four Galloway bulloi-ks with carrots, against four others fed in the common way with turnips and hay. {Cowmunications, &c.) 5467. In comparing the carrot with the •potato, ziw additional circumstance greatly in favour of the former is. that it does not require to he steamed or boiled, and it is not more difficult to wash than the potato. These and other circumstances considered, it appears to be the most valuable of all roots for working horses. 5'168. The vse of the carrot in domestic economy \& -^BYiV-noyfri. Their produce of nutritive matter, as ascertained by Sir H. Davy, amounts to ninety-eight parts in one thousand, of which three are starch, and ninety-five sugar. They are used in the dairy in winter and spring to give colour and flavour to but- ter. In the distillery, owing to the great proportion of sugar in their comnosition, they yield more spirit than the potato : the usual quantity is twelve gallons per ton. They are excellent in soups, stews, and haricots, and boiled whole with salt beef. 5469. To save carrot seed, select annually some of the mos* perfect and best-shaped roots in the taking-up season, and either preserve them in sand in a cellar till spring, or plant them immediately in an open airy part of the garden, protecting them with litter during severe frosts, or earthing them over, and uncoverii.g them in March follow- ing. The seed is in no danger of being contaminated by any other plant, as the wild carrot, even should it happen to grow in the neighbourhood, flowers later. In August it will be fit to gather, and is best preserved on the stalks till wanted. This is the most Book VL THE PARSNEP. 865 certain mode of procuring gehiune and new seed, but still it will be found advisable to change it occasionally. 5470. Tlie diseases of carrots are only those which are common to most plants, such as mildew, insects, &c. The mildew and worms at the root frequently injure crops, and are to be guarded against as far as practicable by a proper choice of soil, season of sowing, and after-culture. Sect. IV. I'ke Parsnep. — Vaslinaca sa&va L. ; Pentdndria Dig^nia L., and Umbel- lifercB J. 7,e Pancds, Fr. ; Pastinake, Ger. ; PasHnaca, Ital. ; and Zanahoria, Span. *5471. The parsnep is a biennial plant with a fusiform root like the carrot, and nearly equal in its products of nutritive and saccharine matter. It is a native of most parts of Europe and generally cultivated in gardens, but is only of late and very partial intro- duction as a, field plant Its culture has been chiefly confined to the Island of Jersey, where it attains a large size, and is much esteemed for fattening cattle and pigs. It is considered rather more hardy than the carrot, and its produce is said to be greater. It may be sown either in autumn or spring, and its seed admits of drilling by machinery. The plants when they come up are more easily recognised tlian carrots, and consequently their culture is on the whole more simple, less dependent on manual labour, and, therefore, more suited to farming. For the rest, their culture is the same as that of the carrot. 5472. The variety best suited for the field is the large Jersey, the seed of which should be procured from the island, as that of tlie garden parsnep sold by the seedsmen never attains the same size. 5473. Tlie soil, preparation, and tnanure for this plant are the same as for the carrot. 5474. The quantity of seed for sowing in drills is from four to five pounds per acre, and for broad-cast six or eight pounds. It must always be new, as two years' seed does not come up freely. It may or may not be prepared by steeping ; but it re- quires no earth or sand, or rubbing, like carrot seed, as it passes freely through the same drill that will sow tares or peas. 5475. The time of sowing is generally about the middle of February ; but some sow in September, in which case the seed does not vegetate till early in spring. The latter method, however, is obviously against the culture of the soil, which must thus remain a year in a consolidated state. 5476. The manner of sawing is generally in drills at fifteen or eighteen inches' distance ; but some sow broad-cast, and harrow in the seed ; and in Jersey parsneps and beans are generally cultivated together. The beans are first dibbled in, and afterwards the parsnep seed scattered over the surface and harrowed. It is acknowledged that a good crop of both plants is never obtained ; and therefore, though this mode may be found to answer in the mild climate of Jersey, it is not to be imitated in other places. Drills and broad- cast without any intermixture of plants are the only advisable modes. 5477. The after-cvlture and taking up are the same as for the carrot, with this dilFerence, that the parsnep when sown broad-cast is generally thinned out to twelve inches, at an average, plant from plant ; and, when in rows eighteen inches apart, to nine inches in the row. *5478. The produce is said to be greater than that of carrots ; and the economical ap- plication the same. In the fattening of cattle it is found equal if not superior, perform- ing the business with as much expedition, and affording meat of exquisite flavour and a Iiighly juicy quality. The animals eat it with much greediness. It is reckoned that .thirty perches, where the crop is good, will be sufficient to fatten a perfectly lean ox of three or four years old, in the course of three months. They are given in the proportion of about thirty pounds' weight morning, noon, and night; the large ones being split in three or four pieces, and a little hay supplied in the intervals of those periods. Indeed, the result of experiment has shown that not only neat cattle, but hogs and poultry, be- come fat much sooner, and are more bulky, than when fed with any other root or vege- table ; and that the meat is more sweet and delicate. The parsnep is excellent food for cows ; and, with hay during winter, the cows of Jersey and Guernsey yield butter of a fine yellow hue, of a saffron tinge, as excellent as if they had been in the most luxuriant pasture. In these islands beans are cultivated along with parsneps, in double rows, twelve feet asunder, and the beans eighteen inches apart every way. TJie beans are planted first, and the ground afterwards harrowed, and the parsneps sown broad-cast. {Cam. to B. of Agr. vol. i. p. 215.) 5479. Parmep leaves, being more bulky than those of carrots, may be mown off before taking up the roots, and given to cows, oxen, or horses, by which they will be greedily eaten. r 5480. The use of the parsnep in domestic economy is nearly the same as that of the carrot. They are much esteemed to -salt fish, and are sometimes roasted for that purpose. 1 K 866 PRACTICE OF AG RlCULTUllE. Part III. Their produce in nutritive matter is 99 parts in 1000, of which 9 are mucilage and 90 sugar. Gerarde says, tliat a very good bread was made from them in his time. They afford as much spirit as the carrot, and malie an excellent wine. 5481. To save parm£p seed, proceed as with the carrot. The parsnep, being more hardy and luxuriant than the carrot, is less liable to the mildew and worms, but equally so to become forked if the soil be not deep and well pulverised, and the manure minutely divided and equally distributed. Sect. V. The Field Beet BJ/o L. ; Pentdndria Digynia L., and Chenophdece J. Set- teraoe Champ6tre, Fr. ; Mangold-wumel, Ger. ; Biettola, Ital. ; and Betarraga, Span. 5482. The Jield-beet, commonly called the mangold-wiirzel, and sometimes erroneously the root of scarcity (in German mangel wUnsel), is supposed by Professoi Thaer to be a mongrel between the red and white beet. It has a much larger bulb tlmn either, and that bulb, in some varieties, grows in great part above ground. It has been a good deal cultivated in Germany and Switzerland, both for its leaves and roots ; the leaves are either used as spinach or given to cattle ; and the roots are either given to cattle, used in distillation, or in the manufacture of sugar. The culture of the field-beet in Britain is very recent, and it may be questioned whether it has any advantages over the turnip for general agricultural purposes. It admits, however, of being cultivated on ridgelets and with as little manual labour as the turnip, while it will prosper on a stronger soil, and near large towns it is not liable to the depredations usually committed on turnips or car- rots, as the root is unpalatable either raw or boiled. 5483. The variety preferred in Germany is one slightly tinged with red for cattle, and the pale yellow variety for the distillery and sugar manufacture. The seed must not exceed a year old, and great care should be taken that the seed of the common red and white beet are not mixed with it. The seed of every variety of beet is very apt to dege- nerate. 5484. Any soil will suit this plant provided it is rich : immense crops have been raised on strong clays ; but such soils are nut easily prepared for this sort of crop, and are also ill adapted for after-culture. 5485. The preparation should be exactly the Eame as for turnips ; and the seed should be sown on the ridgelets in tne same manner. Some, however, dibble in the seed in order to save the expense of thinning. The season of sowing is the same as for the parsnep, and should not be deferred later tnan the middle of April. The after culture consists in horse-hoeing, hand-hoeing, and weeding, as in the culture of the turnip, and the plants are thinned out to about the same distance in the rows. Blanks may be filled up by transplanting, or, as in the case of the Swedish turnip, whole crops may be reared in this way ; but the produce is never so targe. As the transplanting, however, takes place in May, more time is aflbrded, and drier weather obtained for cleaning the soil The plants are set by the dibbler along the centre of the ridgelets, which are previously consolidated by rolling. 5486. The produce is, aeteris paribus, about the same as that of the Swedish turnip , but the nutritive matter afforded by the beet is 136 parts in 1000, of which 13 are mucilage, 1 1 9 sugar, and 4 gluten. According to Von Thaer, they afford ten per cent, of nutritive matter, and are in that respect to hay as 10 to 46, and to potatoes as 20 to 46. An acre would thus appear to afford more nourishment than turm'ps, carrots, or parsneps. 5487. Practical men are not agreed as to the value of this root, compared with the Swedish tumip; but the majority seem to think, that as a food for milk cows, the mangold is to be preferred, more especially as it gives no unpleasant taste to the milk and butter. It has this advantage over turnips, that it thrives better than they do in a dry warm season, being a plant that naturally requires more light and heat than the turnip. *5488. The application of the field-beet is almost confined to the fattening of stock, and feeding of milch cows. Near London they are in repute for the latter purpose ; and, according to Von Thaer, they cause a great increase of milk, as well as improve its flavour. The tops are first taken off, and given by themselves ; and then the roots are taken up, washed, and given raw. The roots are much more easily injured by frost than the tumip, carrot, or parsnep, and are stored with difficulty. The leaves make a very good spinach, but the roots cannot be used in cooking like those of the red beet. In the distillery it is nearly half as productive as the potato ; but, according to Von Thaer, it is not likely to yield much profit in the manufacture of sugar. 5489. The manufacture of sugar from mangold viUrstel is still, however, carried on in France, and, although we think it can never ultimately compete with that from the cane, it seems of late years to be on the i ncrease We shall therefore give a short account of the process, premising that the greatest quan- tity of sugar is not obtained from the greatest bulk of root, but rather from small roots produced from dry calcareous soils, at the rate of from fifteen to twenty .five tons an acre. One cwt, of sugar is the general produce obtained by the most perfect apparatus from one ton of root. As soon as the leaves begin to turn yellow, the root maybe said to have arrived at maturity; and it is time to take up the crop, and to begin the process of sugar-making, an operation which continues from October to February in the larger manu- factories. Take the roote up dry, and keep them so ; the smaller the heap the better, because the least fermentation will eStetually prevent the formation of sugar. The difference in amount and quality of sugar is always in favour of that made at the beginning of the season. The root, in keeping, undergoes a chemical change, often amounting to a total Idss of its saccharine matter ; although its outward appear- ance indicates no such changa 5490. Process of sugar-makine. The roots should first be washed, and then rasped, to reduce them to a state of pulp. Of course, in large manufactories, they are provided with rasping machines; and it is Book VI. THE CABBAGE. 867 somewhat difficult to find a substitute on a small scale. I should ima^ne, though, that a stout iron plate, punched with triangular holes, the rough edges of which are lelt standing, somewhat after the manner of a nutmeg-grater, might answer the purpose, only that I would have it somewhat concave instead of convex. Upon the rough side of this plate 1 would rub the roots by hand. If there should be a cider-mill and press within a reasonable distance, it might answer to take the roots thither, slice them, and pass them through the mill. When by these or any other means they are reduced to pulp, the juice should be pressed from the pulp, which is thus done: — It is put into canvass bags, not too fine, so as to impede the running of the juice, nor yet so coarse as to let the pulp through the meshes. The bags should be so fitted as, when pressed, to occupy about an inch in depth. Most manu- factories use about tweiity-five of these bags at one pressing, but this depends on the power of the press. Between evefy bag of pulp is laid a sort of osier hurdle, to allow the juice to percolate freely from the press into the juice. cistern below. The operation of pressing should immediately follow that of rasping. This point should be particularly attended to. 5491. Defecation. The juice being expressed from the pulp, the next process is the defecation of the juice, and here, too, no time should be lost. This is effected by boiling : a copper boiler should be used. Get up the fire till the thermometer indicates 170° or 178°. Then add sifted lime (quick) previously mixed with water, at the rate of five or six pounds for every 100 gallons of juice. Stir it well up, and skim the liquor. Heat it till the thermometer reaches Q00°. Add sulphuric acid in small portions, diluted with six times its bulk of water, to neutralise the effect of the lime, stirring it briskly each time. The proper quantity is ascertained by carefully examining the juice every time the acid is added, with a drop of syrup of violets in a spoon, which ought to turn of a green colour. About thirty ounces of the acid to every 100 gallons of juice will be necessary This done, the fire is quenched, and the boiler lelt to settle for half an hour ; at the end of which time, the liquor is drawn off: by some, bullock's blood Is added when the temperature of the juice reaches 1£K)° in the proportion of two pints and a half to every twenty gallons of juica Some, too, apply the sulphuric acid to the juice when cold, instead of hot, viz. before the boiler-fire is lighted ; and one recommends its being applied to the pulp before it goes into the boiler : but all this practice will decide. 5402. Concentration. The next process is concentration of the juice, which means nothing more than evaporating from it the water therein contained. I'his is efifbcted by flat pans, over a brisk fire, but nut so as to burn the syrup, which is the great danger in this operation. When reduced in pan 1 from 4 to 2 inches or so in depth, it is put into a smaller pan (2), and reduced to the same depth, and after- wards into a third pan. These three removals are the work of an hour and a half. If the syrup rises, and threatens to overflow tlie pan, put in a small lump of butter, which will make it subside. 5493. Clarification. This the next operation, and may be carrieii on in one of -the pans used for con- centration. Animal charcoal (some have even used wood charcoal) is now applied, at the rate of half a pound for every gallon of syrup, which renders it perfectly black and muddy. In this state, add blood mixed with water (stirred up well with the syrup), in the proportion of about a pint and a half of blood to every twenty gallons of syrup. 5494. Boil it a short time, after which it is filtered, and then boiled again, care being taken not to burn the pan. Great care is necessary in examining the state of the syrup from time to time. The thermometer ought to stand as high as 33^ ; on attaining which, the pan should be emptied : eighteen gallons of syrup will be reduced, by boiling, to eleven gallons. The syrup is next cooled in a suitable vessel to 18^ or 190", and then run into moulds ; but the cooling is very gradual. The pan is covered, and the heat kept in by closing the edges with flannel. The syrup is then poured into large earthen moulds cone-shaped, and with a hole at bottom, through which the molasses drains. This hole is temporarily stopped till the mould is full A mould contains ten or twelve gallons, and requires a month to purge itself. As it cools, it crystalises. The syrup,,whilst filling, is at 67° to 77° ; but, in the course of purging, it is raised to 120" and even 145°, which expedites the flow of the molasses. Our next process is twmng the Ttwulds, i. e, setting the cones on their bases, and taking them out of the moulds. The point of the cone is moist and syrupy : this is cut off, and boiled over again with the molasses. Thus far the process of making brown sugar : refining is a different business, and one which there is no occasion to particularise here. It is to be observed, that copper utensils are preferred to those of iron, the latter having a chemical effect on the sugar. {Gard: Mag. vol. vi. pp. 150, 151.) 5495. To save seed, select the finest specimens, preserve them in sand during winter, and plant them in an airy part of the garden in March. The rest is easy. 5496. To diseases no plant is less liable than the beet. Sect. VI. The Cabbage Tribe. — 'Brdssica L. ; Tetradyn&mia Siliquosa L., and Pru- dferiE 3. Chou, Fr. ; KoJU, Ger. ; Cavolo, Ital. ; and Col, Span, 549T, The cahbage tribe is of the greatest antiquity in gardens, and most of the species may be cultivated in the fields with success. For the common purposes of farming, however, there can be little doubt that they will afford less profit than any of the plants, hitherto treated of in this chapter ; but near large towns or sea-ports they may answer the purpose of the farm-gardener. Cabbage culture, Brown observes, is much more hazardous, far less profitable, and attended with infinitely more trouble, than that of turnips ; while the advantages to be derived are not, in our opinion, of a description to compensate the extra hazard and trouble thereby incurred. 5498. TJie culture of cabbage has been strongly recommended by several speculative agriculturists, and examples adduced of extraordinary produce and profits ; but any plant treated in an extraordinary manner will give extraordinary results ; and thus an inferior production may be made to appear more valuable than it really is. One reason why so much has been said in their favour, by Arthur Young and other southern farmers, is, that they compare them with the produce of turnips, which, in the south of England, is averaged at only fifteen tons per acre. 5499. The variety of cabbage, cultivated in the fields for cattle, is almost exclusively the large field cabbage, called also the Scotch, Strasburg, drumhead, &c. For the pur- poses of domestic economy, other varieties of early and late cabbage, as the York, Bat- tersea, sugar-loaf, imperial, &c. are grown ; and also German greens. Savoy cabbage, and even Brussels sprouts and broccoli. 5500. The cow cabbage. Cesarean cole, at tree cabbage (.Srassica olerJLcea L. var. ac&phala Dec. ; Chou eavaliert Chou h vaches, Chou branck-u, Chou en m-bre, Chou mille titcs, Fr. ; Caulet, Fleip.), is much cul. 3 K 2 868 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Fart III. tivated for milch cows in French Flanders, the Netherlands, and in Jersey and Guernsey; and it hns been introduced, at different periods, into this country, without having ever come into general culti. vation. The Chou cautet de Ftandre differs from the French variety in having red leaves ; and the Chou vert branchu, the Chou mille tetes du Poiteau, diff'ers from the first in not growing quite so high, and in forming a somewhat tufted head. No variety among these, and the many that might be named, appear, so suitable for field culture in the climate of Britain as the Scotch or drumhead cabbage. 5501. In Jerset/ the cow cabbage is sown from about the 2l)th of August to the 1st of September, in a good soil, and planted out from November to January and February m succession, at from twenty to thirty inches' distance, in a good, substantial, well manured soil ; as no plant is more exhausting, or requires a better soil; but perhaps no one plant produces so large a quantity of nutriment duripg its period of vegetation. About the month of April they begin (from the first crop) to strip the under leaves ; cut them in small pieces ; mix them with sour milk and bran, or other farinaceous substances ; and give them as food to ducks, geese, hogs, &c During the whole summer they continue stripping the plant as above stated, until it attains the height of from six to twelve feet ; and if a scarcity of herbage prevails, the green leaves form excellent food for cows and oxen, with alternate feeds of hay and straw. The tops and side shoots are excellent at table during winter and spring. The longest of the stalks are frequently used to support scarlet runners and other French beans, and as cross rafters for farm buildings, under thatch, and have been known to last more than half a century, when kept dry, for the latter purpose. (Gard. Mag, vol V.) 5502. jini/ soil that is rich will suit the cabbage, but a strong loam is preferred. The best mode of preparation for field cabbage is that for potatoes or turnips, the plants being dibbled along the centi'e of each ridgelet. For early cabbage no ridgelets are required, as the plants are inserted in rows, by a line, at much narrower distances. 5503. The season for planting, for a full crop of field cabbages, is usually March ; but cabbages may be planted as late as June, and produce a tolerable crop by November; and in this way they may sometimes be made to succeed an unsuc- cessful sowing of turnips. The plants used in March should be the produce of seed sown, in an open loamy part of the garden, in the preceding August; but those planted in May or June may be the produce of seed sown in the February or March of the same year. 5504. The preparation given to the plants consists in pinching off the extremity of their tap-root, and any tubercles which appear on the root or stem, and in immersing the root and stem in a puddle, or mix- ture of earth and water, to protect the fibres and pores of the root and stem from the drought. Theplants may then be inserted by the dibber, taking care not to plant them too deep, and to press the earth firmly to the lower extremity of the root. If this last point is not attended to in planting by the dibber, the plants will either die, or, if kept alive by the moisture of the soil or rain, their progress will be \ ery stow. When the distance between the ridgelets is twenty-seven inches, the plants are set about two feet asunder in the rows j and the quantity required for an acre is about 6000 plants. Some recommend sowing as for turnips; but, by this mode, one of the advantages of a green crop is infringed on, viz. the time given to clean the land. Where cabbages are sown, that operation must be performed at least a month sooner than if they were planted ; consequently, the best month of the cleaning season is lost To plant or sow a green crop on land in good heart, that does not require cleaning, will seldom be found good husbandry. It may succeed near large towns, where roots and other green produce sell high, but it can never enter into any general system of farming. 5505. The afier-cuUure consists in horse and hand-hoeing and weeding ; and the crop is taken by chopping off the heads with a spade, leaving an inch or two of stalk to each. They may be preserved by housing, but only for a short time. The produce is said to be from thirty-five to forty tons per acre. Sir H. Davy found that 1000 parts of cab- bage gave seventy-three of nutritive matter, of which forty-one are mucilage, twenty-four saccharine matter, and eight gluten. 5506. The application oftkejield cabbage is generally to the feeding of milch cows, and sometimes to the fattening of oxen and sheep. For the former purpose, great care must be taken to remove the outside decaying leaves ; otherwise they are apt to give an un- ple^ant flavour to the milk and butter. Cabbages are also eaten by svnne and horses, and are reckoned excellent food for sheep that have newly dropped their lambs, and for calves, A cow will eat from 100 to 150lbs. of cabbage per day, and a sheep ten or twelve pounds, besides a moderate allowance of hay. Some farmers consider that ewes fatten faster on cabbages th^i on turnips, and that ewes having lambs are much more prolific in milk when so fed. (Country Times, Feb, 8. p. 47.) Early or garden cabbages are sold to green-grocers, or to the consumers, or to ships' victuallers for the purpose of being pickled or made into sour crout. 5507. Salted cabbage, or sauerkraut, is thus prepared in Germany : — Any sort of cabbage or kail, or even turnips and kidneybeans, may be prepared in this way ; but white,. compact^headed, large cabbages are preferred, and next compact-headed red cabbages. . The first process 0f preparing them is to scoop out the interior part of the stalk, with an iron instrument or scoop ; they-are then cut into small shreds by a wooden machine, composed of a flat board or tray, which has a ledge on. two sides, to steady a box or frame into which the cabbages are put In the middle of the board are four flat pieces of steel, similar to the steei part of a spokeshave, placed in an oblique direction ; and the near edge of each being a little raised up, with small spaces between each, to let the shreds fall down into a tub placed underneath to receive them. The cabbages are then put into the box before described, which is pushed backwards and forwards, when the cabbages, being cut by the steel, fall in small shreds into a tub placed below. A barrel stands by ready to receive them when cut, the sides of which are first washed with vinegar. A man stands on a chair by the barrel, with clean wooden shoes on, whose business it is to salt and prepare them, which is done in the following manner : the man first takes as much of the cut cabbage as covers about f( ur inches above the bottom ; he next strews upon it two handfuls of salt, one handful of unground pepiier, and a small quantity of salad oil j he then gets into the barrel, and treads it down with his wooden shoes till it is well mixed and compact He next takes another layer of cabbage, and puts salt and pepper on it as before, and treads it again, and so goes on tiU the barrel is filled. A board is then placed on it, and upon the board some very heavy weights are put ; and it remains so ten or fifteen days, wfaen it partially ferments, -and a great deal of water swims on the surface : it is then put into the cellar for use. The men Book VI. THE CABBAGE &c. 869 who prepare sauerkraut are Tyrolese, and carry their machine (Jig. 7670. which has not been invented more than ten or twelve years, on their backs fiom house to house. This machine contains a cuttinirtrav la), box into which the cabbages are placed (6), scoop (c), and tub into which the shreds fall (tt), (Gard. Mag. voliii. p. 3i3.) vv.«#». 5508. Newton's machine for chopping cabbage or other vegetables, roots, or meat {Jig. 768), consists of five knives let into an iron plate, and the latter is screwed to the working bar. The knives are fastened, by bolts passing through them, close under and above the iron plate. The sliding plate is for the purpose of preventing the meat from being scattered; and to this plate are added scrapers, which are screwed underneath, for the purpose of cleaning the knives at every stroke. A spring raises the knives, and enables any person to chop at least twenty times as much meat, in the same time, as can be done by the common mode. The length of the knives being equal to the breadth of the trough, no meat can possibly escape the knives ; nor will the meat require so much turning as is usually wanted. When it docs require turning, it is easily done by alter- nately pressing the knives at either end of the trough, sliding them towards the middle The machine is also applicable for cutting fat, suet, &c, previously to rendering them into tallow ; likewise to chopping madder and other roots for calico printers, or as used in their recent state for dyers ; and for dividing potatoes, carrots, and other esculent roots, cabbage for sauer kraut, and roots used in feeding cattle. (Smith*s Meckanfc, vol. ii. p. S60.) 5509. To save cabbage seed, select a few fine specimens, and plant them by themselves where they will be in no danger of being contaminated by others of the ^rissica tribe when in flower. The seed will keep many years. 5510. TAe diseases of cabbages are the same as those of the turnip, with the exception of the forked excrescence. On the roots of the plants axQ frequently found knobs, which, in the preparation for transplanting, should, as we have already observed, be carefully removed. Sect. VII. Other Plants which might be cultivated in the Fields fir their Roots or Leaves, as Food fir Man or Cottle, in a recent State* 551 1. Every hardy garden plant may be cultivated in the fields, and vrith very little manual labour. Accordingly we find onions, spinach, cress, radishes, and even cucum- bers, grown by farmers, or farm gardeners in tJie neighbourhood of the metropolis, and also in other places. None of these plants, however, can be considered as belonging to agriculture ; nor should we notice those which follow, but because they have been tried and recommended by zealous cultivators, and are treated of in some works on farming. No plant can be considered as belonging to agriculture that is not in sufficient demand, or of sufficient general use in feeding stock, as to admit of its frequent occurrence in rotations ; and such certainly cannot be s£ud to be the case with the Jerusalem artichoke and lettuce, now about to be noticed. 5512. The Jerusaiem articTioke (Helianthus tuberbsus L. ; Topmambotert Fr.) is a tuberous-rooted plant, with leafy stems from four to six feet high. It thrives well on soft moist soils, and even, it is said, on moist peat soils ; and it is alleged that its tops will afford as much fodder per acre as a crop of oats, or more, and its roots half as many tubers as an ordinary crop of potatoes. {Jgricuttural Magazine, 1807-8.) The soil may be cultivated in all respects like the potato. The tubers, being abundant in the market gardens, are to be had at little more than the price of potatoes. The fibres of the stems may be separated by maceration, and manufactured into cordage or clotn ; and this is said to be done in some parts of the north and west of France, as about Hagenau, where this plant, on the poor sandy soils, is ^an object of field culture. 3 K 3 870 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III. 5513. The common Cos tcttttce (Lact&ca satlva /..) has been grown for feeding pigB, and otlier purposes. Arthur Young informs us, in his Calendar qf Husbandi-yj that he first observed the fiownig ot lettuces for hogs practised, on a pretty rcRular system, on the farm of a very intelligent cultivator (not at all a whimsical man) in Sussex. He had every year an acre or two, which afforded a great quantity of very valuable food for his sows and pigs. He adds, that it yields milk amply, and all sorts of swine are very fond of it; and he thinks that the economical farmer who keeps many hogs should take care to have a succession of crops for these animals, that his carts may not be ior ever on tlie road for purchased grains, or his granary opened for corn oftener than is necessary. To raise this sort of cn.p, the land should have been ploughed before the winter frosts, turning in by that earth twenty loads of rich dung per acre, and making the ridges of the right breadth to suit the drill-machine and horse-hoes, bo that in the month of March nothing more may be necessary than to scarify the land, and to drill the seed at one foot equi- distant, at the rate of four pounds of seed per acre. Where the stock of swine is large, it is proper to drill half an acre or an acre of lettuce in April, the land having been well manured and ploughed as directed above, being also scuffled in February and March, and well harrowed, repeating it before drilling : and at this period, the crop which was drilled in March (a succession being essentially necessary) should be thinned in the rows by hand, to about nine or ten inches asunder. If this necessary attention be neglected, the plants, he says, draw themselves up weak and poor, and will not recover it Women do this business as well as men. When about six inches high, they should be horse-hoed with a scarifier or scuffler, having the hoe about four inches, or at most five inches in width. With this sort of green food, some kind of meal or otherdry meat should be combined, as without it it is apt to '^rove very laxative, &c. This Sussex cultivator is not likely to be followed by an jr rent-paying farmer who can grow any of the clovers, turnips, or potatoes. The quotation affords a good specimen of Arthur Young's mode of writing on agricultural subjects. 5514. Thechiccwy, wild endive^ or succory (Cichbrium Z'ntybus L. ; C/n'cor^e sauvage, Fr. fig. 769.) has long, thick, perpendicular roots, a tuft of endive or lettuce-looking leaves ; and, when it shoots into flower, its stems rise from one to three feet high, rigid, rough, branched, and clothed with leaves and blue flowers. It is found wild in dry calcareous soils in England, and in most parts of Europe of similar or greater temperature. It is culti- vated in France as an herbage and pasturage plant, and in Germany and Flanders for its roots, from which a substitute for cofilbe is pre- ?ared. It was first cultivated in this country, about 1780, by Artiiur oung, who holds it in very high estimation. It is of such conse- quence, he says, for different purposes of the farm, that on various sorts of soil the farmer cannot, without its use, make the greatest possible profit Where it is intended to lay a field to grass for three, four, or six years, in order to rest the land, or to increase the quan- tity of sheep food, there cannot, he thinks, be any hesitation in using it. There is no plant to rival it. Lucern, he says, demands a rich soil, and will always be kept as long as it is productive; but upon inferior land it is not an equal object Upon blowing sands, or upon any soil that is weak and poor, and wants rest, there is no plant, he supposes, that equals this. On such sort of blowing poor sandy lands as many districts abound with, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk, it will yield a greater quantity of sheep food than any other plant at pre- sent in cultivation. On fen and bog lands, and peat soils, it also thrives to much profit. On all land'where clover, from having been too often repeated, is apt to fail, chiccory may be substituted to great advantage. It does very well for soiling cattle, both lean and fatten- ing. It is of excellent use for those who keep a large stock of swine ; and it does exceedingly well in an alternate system of grass and tillage, as it will last four, five, six, and even more yeiirs ; but it should not be sown with any view of making hay in this climate, though it forms a considerable proportion of many of the best meadows in the south of France, and in Lombardy. It has, however, he adds, been objected to, on the ground of its rising and becoming a vivacious weed in succeeding crops : and if this circumstance be not guarded against, it will, he says, happen ; but not more than with lucern, nor so much. But who, he asks, ventures to forbid chiccory culture on account of this quality, which is really founded on its merit? When the land is ploughed, says he, only use a broad sharp share, and harrow in tares for feeding or soiling, or break it up for turnips, and there is an end of the objection. 5515. The culture of chiccory is the same as of clover. As the plant is grown in gardens for culinary purposes, the seed may be procured in the seed-shops, gathered in many places from wild plants, or saved by the grower. It is small, flat, black, and resembling that of lettuce; it should be procured fresh; and from eight to twelve pounds an acre are usually sown. The culture of this plant for its roots has been noticed in giving the outline of the agriculture of Flanders, and will be adverted to in a succeeding Chapter. *5516. The rough comfrey, (Symphytum asperrimum L. Jig. 770,), a perennial from Siberia, has been „ brought into notice by D. 770 Grant, a nurseryman at JLewisham, and tried by a number of cultivators. Cat- tle of every kind are said to be fond of this plant ; and so great is its produce on good soil, that Mr. Grant thinks an acre might be made to pro- duce thirty tons of green fodder in one year. He has grown it to the height of seven feet as thick as it could stand on the ground. The ) plant is of easy propagation by seed or division of the roots ; the better way would probably be to sow in a gar- den, and transplant when the planis were a year old. AU thesymphytums are plants of great durability, so that this species, if once established, would pro- bably continue to produce crops for many years; and, in that point of view, it would seem to be a valuable plant for the cottager who keeps a cow. {Gard. Mag. vol. v. and Country Times^ May ICth, 1830.) *5517. The day lily (i/emeroc&llis f61va L , Jig. 771.) was brought into notice by Mr. Elles, late of Longleat In the years 1826-7, he observed, accidentally, bow extremely fond cattle were of this plant, even eating it down to the roots when an opportunity occurred ; and as he knew, from long experience, that it would, even in dry ground, produce herbage in the middle and latter end of Book; VI. CLOVER FAMILY. 871 April, equal in quantity to any water meadow, the extreme facility with which it may be propagated and grown in almost any soil and situation, and also its apparently nutritious nature, he was induced to give it a trial in a plot of ground of about twenty rods, attached to the cottage in which he lived. He did so and after two years' trial found the day lily produce a supply of green food in April and towards the middle of May, when there is little or no pasture grass, and never could detect any unpleasant flavour in the milk or butter, though given in considerable quantities. The day lily, of which there are two species, diff'ering very little in appearance, H. flkva and f6Iva, is a perennial of great duration, rapid increase, and of easy propagation by division. It certainly well deserves trial as a permanent herbage plant, especially for the cottager and small farmer. (Gard. Mag. voL v. p, 141.) Chap. V. Culture of Herbage Plants- 5518. T/ie cultivation of clovers and other herbage plants, used exclusively as food for live stock, is comparative^ a modern improvement. They were known, as we have seen, to the Crreeks and Romans, and cultivated from a very early period in the low countries ; but do not appear to have attracted much notice in Britain till the sixteenth century, when our frequent intercourse with Holland led to the introduction of some of our best field plants and agricultural practices. At present clovers enter largely into the succes- sion of crops, on all soils, and in every productive course of management. Before they were introduced into cultivation, it was necessary, when land was exhausted by grain crops, to leave it in a state of comparative sterility for several years, before it became either valuable as pasture or again fit for carrying com : but at present clovers are not only indispensable in the cultivation of white and green crops alternately, upon very rich soils, but are the foundation of convertible husbandry on land that is not so rich as to permit of a constant aration, and which therefore requires two or more years* pasturage at certain intervals. Lucem and saintfoin, though of much less value as general crops, are valuable plants in particular situations; more especially the latter, which will produce good crops on dry chalky and limestone soils, where most other agricultural plants, and even grasses, would barely maintain their existence. 55 1 9. The characteristic points of culture of this class of plants are broad-cast sowing, mowing, soiling, and hay-making ; and that when cut for the two last purposes, two or more crops may be had in a season from the same roots. 5530. TIte nutritive products of the principal herbage plants are thus given by Sir H. Davy : — systematic Name. Englbh Name. In 1000 Fans. Whole qnan. tit; of soluble or nutritive matter. MucilaEe. or starch. Saccharine matter, or sugar. Gluten, or Albumen • Extract, or matter rendered insoluble during evaporation. lYiiaiium pratense medium - - T&pens - Medic&go satlva - Red clover - Cow clover . White clover Saintfoin - Lucem - - 39 39 32 39 S3 31 30 29 !8 18 3 4 i 1 s 3 3 3 3 2 5 6 4 Sect, I, The Clover Family- — Trifdliwm. L. ; Diadelphia Decandria L., and Xegumt- nosce 3. Trifle, Fr. ; Klee, Ger. ; Trifoglio, Ital. ; and Trebol, Span. 5521. The clovers (fig, Tl^.) are a numerous family, chiefly natives of Europe : those selected by the agriculturist are natives of Britain ; and one species, the white or creeping clover, is often found in great luxuriance in native pastures. As rye-grass is very generally sown with clovers, it will be necessary to treat of Its culture in connec- tion with these plants, reserving, however, the more particular consideration of rye-grass till we treat of the hay grasses. (Chap. VI. ) Many intelligent cultivators consider rye- grass as a very severe crop for the soil ; and it is alleged that wheat does not succeed well after the herbage with which rye- grass is intermixed in any considerable quantity. Other plants have accordingly been recommended as a substitute for rye-grass, and cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata) has been tried, apparently with great success, \)y Coke of Holkham in Norfolk, and others ; but this is a very coarse grass when allowed to rise to any height, and the use of it for hay has not yet been ascertained. Donaldson considers the general introduction of clovers, and the cultivated grasses, as one of the greatest improvements in modem husbandry. The commencement of improvements in the different species of live-stock, in the modes of cultivation, and in the superior quality, as well as quantity, of the crops of grain, may all, he thinks, be dated from the period when the sowing of clovers and grass-seeds was first introduced into the different districts of the kingdom. 3 K 4 872 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. . Pabt III. •5522. The species of clover in cultivation are: — 5523. The red clover (rrifMium pratense, fig. TJS. a), a biennial, and sometimea, especially on chalky soils, a triennial plant, known (Vom the other species by its broad leaves, luxuriant growth, and reddish purple flowers. In its wild state a perennial. 5524. The white, or creepitig, or Dutch clover {T. rfepens, i), a perennial plant, known by its creeping stems and white flowers. 5525. The yellow clover, hop-irefoil, or shamrock clover, the black nonsuch qf the Norfolk farmers nfjo C r- prociiimbens, c), an annual-, known by its procumbent shoots ' '^ and yellow flowers. This species is seldom cultivated ; the yel- low clover of the seed shops being the Medictgo lupMina, the lupuline, or minette dor^e of the French. (Jig. 773.) 5526. TTie meadow clover, cow-clover, cow-grass, or marl- grass, the first the best name (T. medium, d), a perennial, re- sembling the red cloyer, but of a paler hue, dwarfer habit, with pale red or whitish flowers, and long roots very sweet to the taste. This species is but partially cultivated, and it is ex- tremely difficult to procure the seeds genuine. It comes into flower from twelve to fifteen days later than the common red clover, has a solid stalk, a narrower leaf, and both leaves and flowers have a paler hue. A poor sandy soil, it is said, will pro- duce a good crop of cow-clover that would not produce half a crop of the common red clover ; it is also as good the second year as the first. Some fanners sow it because the crop comes in between the first and second cutting of the red clover as green food. *5527. The Jlesh-coloured clover (Mfolium incamatum'iiw.; Farouche or Trefle de Itoussillon, Fr. Jig, 774.) has long been cultivated in some of the southern departments 774 ^^ France, and, though an annual, is found very advantageous on dry sandy soils. The Agricultural Society of Nancy have lately recommended it for culture in the province of Lorraine ; and a writer in the Journal des Pays-Bas, as suitable to many parts of the Netherlands. M. de Dombasle, a theoretical and practical agriculturist in great estimation, sows it, after harvest, in the stubbles, with no other culture than harrowing in. It grows all the winter, and early in spring aflfbrds abundant food for sheep ; or, if left till May, it presents a heavy crop for the scythe, and may be used for soiling, or making into hay, ( Gard. Mag. vol. iv. p. 392. and vol. v. p. 734.) It was introduced into England about the year 1824, by Mr. John Ellman, jun. of Southover, near Lewis, whogives directions for sowing it in March without a corn crop, and states that it will be in full bloom and fit to cut by June. He says it is very produc- tive ; but should not be sown with corns like other clovers, because it grows so fast as to choke them. {Farm. Jour. March 17. 1828.) 5528. Trtfblium MolmerifiUforme (with yellow flowers), campestre (also with yellow flowers), BXiAfragiferum, are cultivated in France ; but we believe chiefly on the poorer soils. Seeds of them and of all the other species may be correctly obtained from Vilmorin-Andrieux and Co., seed merchants in Paris. 5529. In the choice of sorts the red. oThrooA clover is the kind most generally cultivated on land that carries corn and herbage crops alternately, as it yields the largest produce for one crop of all the sorts. White and yellow clover are seldom sown with it, unless when several years* pasturage is intended. 5530. The soil best adapted for clover is a deep sandy loam, which is favourable to its long tap-roots ; but it will grow in any soil, provided it be dry. So congenial is cal- careous matters to clovers, that the mere strewing of lime on some soils will call into action clover-seeds, which it would appear have lain dormant for ages. At least this appears the most obvious way of accounting for the well known appearance of white clover in such cases. 5531. The climate most suitable for the clovers is one neither very hot nor very dry and cold. Most leguminous plants delight both in a dry soil and climate, and wann Book VI, CLOVER FAMILY. 873 temperature, and the clover will be found to produce most seed under such circum- stances ; but as the production of seed is only in some situations an object of the farmer's attention, a season rather moist, provided it be warm, is always attended by the most bulky crops of clover herbage. 5532. The preparation of the soil and the manures, which clover receives In ordinary farm culture, are those destined also for another crop ; clover mixed with a certain pro- portion of rye-grass being generally sown along with or among corn crops, and especially with spring-sown wheat, barley, and the early varieties of oats. Unless, however, the ^oils on which these crops are sown axe well pulverised, and have been some years under tillage, clovers will not succeed in them, it being ascertained that newly broken-up leys ■or pasture grounds cannot be sown down or restored to clover and grasses till the soil is tlnoroughly comminuted, and the roots of the former grasses and herbage plants com- pletely destroyed. 5533. The time of somng clover-seeds is generally the spring, during the corn seed time, or from February to May ; but they may also be sown from August to October, and when they are sown by themselves, that is, unaccompanied by any corn crop, this will be foimd the best season, as the young plants are less liable to be dried up and im- peded in their progress by tiie sun, than when sown alone in spring and remaining tender and unshaded during the hot and dry weather of July. 5534. Some prepare the seed for sowing by steeping in water or in oil as in Switzerland, and then mixing it with powdered gypsum, as a preventive from the attacks of insects. 5535. The manner .qf sowing is almost always broad-cast When sown with spring corn, clover and grass-seeds are usually put in immediately after the land has been pulverised by harrowing in the corn- seed, and are themselves covered by one course more of the harrows ; or, if the corn is drilled, the small seeds are sown immediately before or after hand-hoeing; and the land is then finished by a course of the harrows. Clover is generally sown by hand, though of late years the broad-cast drill {fig. 722.) has been used, both in the case of the clovers and the grasses. A lighter harrow is generally employed in covering such seeds, than that used for corn. When the land is under an autumn-sown crop of wheat or other grain, though the clovers and rye-grass are still sown in spring, the proper period must depend both upon the state of the land and the progress of the crops ; and it may be often advisable to break the crust formed on the surface of tenacious soils, by using the harrow before the clovers are sown, as well as after- wards to cover them. Sometimes the roller only is employed at this time, and there are instances of clover and rye-grass succeeding when sown, without either harrowing or rolling. But it is commonly of advan. tage to the wheat crop itself, to use the harrows in spring, and the roller alone cannot be defended on, unless the season be very favourable. In some cases grass-seeds are sown by themselves, either in autumn or spring, t3ut rarely on tillage land. Nature has not determined any precise depth for the seed of red clover more than other seed. It will grow vigorously from two inches deep, and it will grow when barely covered. Half an inch may be reckoned the most advantageous position in clay soil ; a whole inch in what is light or loose. It is a vulgar error, that small seed ought to be sparingly covered. Misled by that error, farmers commonly cover their clover seed with a bushy branch of thorn ; which not only covers it unequally, but leaves part on the surface to wither in the air. 5536. In the operation qf sowing some consider it best to sow the clover and rye-grass separately, alle^ng that the weight of the one seed, and lightness of the other, are unfavourable to an equal distri^ bution of both. 5537. 77ie quantity qfseed sown on an acre is exceedingly various ; not only when more or less white or yellow clover is sown along with grass-seeds and red clover, or when pasturage is intended] but, even when they are the only kinds sown, the quantity is varied by the quality of the soils, and the different purposes of hay, soiling, or one year's pasture, to which the crop is to be applied. When pasture is the object, more seed ought to be allowed than is necessary when the crop is to be cut green for soiling; and for hay, less may suffice than for either of the former. Finely pulverised soils do not require so much seed as clays, on which clover and rye-grass are very frequently sown among autumn or winter-sown wheat, when there is more danger of a part of it perishing from being imperfectly covered. In general, eight or ten pounds may be taken as the minimum quantity, though there have been instances of good crops from less; and from that to fourteen pounds or more per English statute acre. Rye-grass, commonly at the rate of a bushel per acre, but in many cases only half, or two thirdsof a bushel, is mixed with this weight of clover, and both are sown at the same time. The rye-grass may be either of the perennial or annual variety, as it is understood that the herbage is to be continued for only one year; and the annual is sometimes sown in preference, as producing a bulkier crop than the perennial. 5538. When it is intended to retain the land in pasture for several years, the quantity of red clover is diminished, and several kinds of more permanent nerbage are added, the most common of which are white and yellow clover, and ribwort No general rule can be laid down as to the proper quantity of each oi these kinds ; in some cases red and white clover are sown in equal proportions, and in others the latter is made greatly to predominate. The yellow clover and ribwort are not often sown at, the rate of more than two or three pounds per acre. It is scarcely necessary to add, that, in this case, the rye-grass should always be of the perennial sort 5539. In the selection qf clover and rye-grass seeds particular attention should be paid to their quality and cleanness ; the purple colour of the clover seed denotes that it has been ripe and well saved ; and the seeds of weeds may be detected in it by narrow inspection, if there are any; but various noxious weeds are frequently mixed up with the seeds of the rye-grass, which it is difficult either to discover or to s^arate from them. Between the seeds of the annual and perennial rye-grass the difiTerence is hardly discernible ; and therefore, unless it is of his own growth, the cultivator must depend in a great measure on the character of the person from whom he purchases it Red clover from Holland or France has been found to die out in the season immediately after it has been cut or pastured; while the English seed produces plants which stand over the second, many of them the third, year {General Report of Scotland, vol i. p. 537.J ; thus remaning in the latter case four summers in the ground from the time of sowing. 5540- The after-culture of clover and rye-grass consists chiefly of picking off any stones or other hard bodies which may appear on the surface in the spring succeeding that in which it was sown, and cutting out by the roots any thistles, docks, or other large grown weeds. After this the surface should be rolled once to smooth it for the scythe. This operation is best performed in the first dry weather of March. Some give a top- diessing ot soot, gypsum, common lime, peat, or wood-ashes, at this time or earlier : 874 PUACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. gypsum has been particularly recommended as a top-dressing for clovers, and the other herbage legumes ; because as their ashes afford that substance in considerable quantities, it appears to be a necessary ingredient of their food. Dutch ashes (427.) have been strongly recommended as a top-dressing for red clover, and they also contain gypsum; but where the soil is in good heart, and contains calcareous matter, any description of top- dressing, though it may be of advantage when it does not interfere with the general economy of the farm, cannot be considered necessary. (Supp* E. Brit. art. A^*) 5541. The taking of the clover^ or clover and rye-grass crop, is either by cutting green for soiling, by making into hay, or by pasturing. It is observed in The Code ^Agri- culture, that it is a most important point to ascertain in what cases cutting, or feeding, is more beneficial If fed, the land has the advantage of the dung and urine of the pastur- ing stock ; but the dung being dropped in irregular quantities, and in the heat of summer, when it is devoured by insects, loses much of its utility. If the dung arising from the herbage, whether consumed in soiling, or as hay, were applied to the land, in one body, and at the proper season, the operation would be more effectual. The smother of a thick crop, continued for any time upon the ground, greatly tends to promote its fertility ; and it has been pretty uniformly found, ^ter repeated trials, upon soils of almost every de- scription, that oats or any other crop taken after clover that has been cut, cither for soiling or hay, is superior to the crop taken after clover pastured by sheep. 5542. Soiling is a terra applied to the practice of cutting herbage crops green for feeding or fattening live stock. On all farms, under correct management, a part of this crop is cut green, for the working horses, often for milch cows, and, in some instances, both for growing and fattening cattle. There can be no doubt of the advantages of this practice, in regard to horses and cowsj but for young and for fattening beasts, a sufficient number of experiments are not known to have been yet made with any great degree of accuracy. Young animals require exercise in the open air, and, probably, will not be found to thrive so well in houses or fold- yards, during summer, as on pastures ; and though in every case there is a great saving of food, the long, woody, and comparatively naked stems of the plants, with leaves always more or less withered, are perhaps not so valuable in the production of beef on fattening stock as a much smaller weight of herbage taken in by pasturage. Milch cows, however, are so impatient of heat and insects, that this way of feeding them, at least for a part of the day, in warm weather, ought to be more generally adopted ; and the convenience of having working horses always at hand, besides that they fill their stomachs speedily, is of not less importance than economy. (See Convmunications to the Board qf Agriculture, vol vii. Brovm's Treatise on Sural Affairs, vol iL General Report of Scotland, vols, it and iii.) 5543. In feeding cattle with green clover, attention must be paid to prevent swelling, or hoving, which is very apt to take place when they are first put on this food, especially if it is wet with rain or dew ; and cattle are exposed to this danger, whether they are sent to depasture the clover, or haveit cut and brought liome to them ; though, if the plants are somewhat luxuriant, the danger is greater in the former case. After being accustomed to this rich food for a few days, during which it should be given rather sparingly, the danger is much diminished; but it is never safe to allow milch cows, in particular, to eat large quan. titles of wet clover. 5544. The making herbage plants frtto hay is a process somewhat different from that of making hay from natural grasses. All the herbage tribe ought to be mown before the seed is formed, and indeed before the plants have fully blossomed, that the full juice and nourishment of the herb may be retained in the hay. By the adoption of this system, the hay is cut in a better season, it can be more easily secured, and it is much more valuable. Nor is the strength of the plant lodged in the seed, which is often lost. The great advantage of converting under-ripe herbage and grass into hay is now beginning to be known, I'here is much more saccharine matter in it, and it is consequently greatly more nutritious. A crop of clover or saintfoin, when cut in the early part of the season, may be ten per cent, lighter than when it is ftillyripe; but the loss is amply counterbalanced, by obtaining an earlier, a more valuable, and more nutritious article; while the next crop will be proportion ably more heavy. The hay made from old herbage which has ripened its seed will carry on stock, but it is only hay from herbage cut when young, and soon after it has come into Sower, that will fatten them. When the stems of clover become hard and sapless, by being allowed to bring their seeds towards maturity, they are of little more value as provender than an equal quan tity of the finer sort of straw of corn. 5545. The mode of making clover-hay, and that of all herbage plants, as practised by the best farm. ers, is as follows : —The herbage is cut as close to the ground and in as uniform and perfect a manner as possible with a sharp scythe. The surface having been in the preceding spring freed from stones and well rolled, the stubble after the mower ought to be as short and smooth as a well shaven grass-lawn. ITie part of the stems left by the scythe is not only lost, but the after-growth is neither so vigorous nor so weighty, as when the first cutting is taken as low as possible. 5546. As soon as the swath or row of cut herbage is thoroughly dry above, it is gently turned over (not tedded or scattered) without breaking it. Sometimes this is done with the hand, or with a small fork ; and some farmers are so anxious to prevent the swath from being broken, that they only permit the use of the rake shaft. The grass, when turned over, in the morning of a dry day, is put into cocks in the afternoon. The mode of performing this is very simple and expeditious ; and none but women, boys, and girls, under the eye of a confidential servant, are usually employed. If the crop is heavy, a row of cocks IS placed in the middle ridge of three, and if light of five ridges. A distinct company of carriers and rakers is allotted to every such number of ridges; and the separate companies proceed each on its own ground, and in the same manner as in reaping grain, which occasions a degree of competition among them for despatch, clean raking, and neat well-built cocks. The carriers gather the hay, and carry it to the ridge wnere the cock is to be built by one of the most experienced hands. A raker follows the carrier, takingupandbringingto the cocks the remains of the swath. There may be, in general, about five people employed about each row of cocks ; a carrier and raker on each side of the ridge on which the cocks are placed, and a person on the ridge, who builds them. But when the crop is not weighty, more rakers are required, as a greater space must be gone over. 5547. As the cocks are thus placed in a line, it is easy to put two or more into one afterwards ; and the larger cocks may be speedily drawn together, to be put into tramp-ricks, by means of ropes thrown round their bottoms, and dragged along by a horse. It is impossible to lay down any rules for the management of hay, after it is put into cocks ; one thing is, however, always attended to, not to shake out, scatter, or expose the hay oftener than is necessary for its preservation. Sometimes the cocks have been put up so large^ that they never require to go to a tramp-rick, but are carted to the stack-yard, without ever being broken, and put up in alternate layers with old hay. But where this is attempted, there must not be much clover. The practice of mixing the new with the old hay is, however, a good one, and saves a great deal of time and labour, at the same time that the old hay is much improved by tJ*e mixtura Book VT. CLOVER FAMILY. . 8.75 5548. The best managers disapprove qf spreading out the swaths of clover and rye-grass, though this is often necessary with natural grasses, which are cut and harvested later in the season. The more the swath is kept unbroken, the hay is greener, and the more fragrant 5549. Another inode of hay makings said to have been originally practised in Lancashire, has been found to answer well in the moist atmosphere of the west of Scotland, This is called tippling or rippling; and if the grass is dry, the operation begins as soon as it is mown. " In making a tipple, a person with his right hand rolls the swath inwards, until he has a little bundle j then the same is cfone by the left, until both meet and form eight to twelve'pounds, or nearly so. This bundle is then set up against the legs, or between the feet ; a rope is twisted of the grass, while the bundle is supported in this manner, and tied round it near its top ; and from the top are drawn up a few straggling stems, which are twisted to make the tipple taper to a point, and give it as much a conical shape as possible. If the crop is strong, there is a row of tipples placed on each swath i if light, two of these are put into one row. After standing a few hours, they become so smooth on the outside, that the heaviest rains seldom wet them through ; and when wet, they are soon dried again in good weather. As soon as ready, they are put into the summer-rick, or, if very dry, even into the winter stack, but are never opened out or tedded, to make them dry, as they never require it By this method, not a blade is lost, and the hay is nearly as green as a leaf dried in a book. In a moderate crop, one woman will tipple to one mower, and a woman will rake to two tipplers, or two swathers. But where the crop is strong, it may require three women to keep pace with two mowers. After the hay is put up in this manner, the crop may be considered secure, though it may continue wet weather for a considerable length of time." Jfieneral Report qf Scotland, voL ii. p. II.) *5550. The making qf clover hay, as practised in Courland, and adopted from that country in Silesia, is said to save not only a number of hands, but the hay is better and more nourishing. The hay is prepared by self-fermentation, whereby it retains its nutritious juices, and only loses its watery particles ; it is dried more expeditiously by dissipation of its humidity, and contraction of the sap-vessels, and thus its nutri- tious juices are concentrated. The process is conducted on the following principle, viz, the sap-vessels are expanded by the circulation of the liquid juices by lieat, and the superfluous humidity is exhaled : on cooling, the sap-vessels contract, and thus future intestine fermentation is prevented, and the nutritious quality is preserved. 5551. The clover intended for hay, after having been mowed, remains till four o'clock in the afternoon .of the following day in swath to dry ; it must then be raked together into small coils, and afterwards made into large cocks in the form of a sugar-loaf, and such as it would require six or eight horses to remove. To prevent the air from penetrating these cocks, and to produce a quicker fermentation, they must, whilst forming, be trodden down by one or two men. if it be a still, close, warm night, theferment- ation will commence in four hours, and manifest itself by a strong honey-like smell : when proper fer- mentation is begun, the cocks will, on being opened, smoke, appear brownish, and may then be spread abroad. If in the morning the sun is warm, and a little wind arises, the clover-hay will quickly dry ; it may then, towards noon, be turned with the rake or pitch-fork, and about four in the afternoon will be su^ciently dried, so that it may be immediately carted into tlie barn, without any danger of a second fermentation. By this method of management, the clover will require only three days, from the time of mowing to its being housed, and very little work ; whilst, in the common way, even in good weather, it requires six or eight days. In the old method it frequently becomes of a black colour^ but in the new method it is only brown, has an agreeable smell, and remains good and unchangeable m the barn. The farmer has also another advantage, that if he has not carts enough to carry it into the barn, he need only, at sun-setting, heap it again into large well trodden cocks, and thatch them with straw, in which state they will rem^n the whole summer without damage or loss. This clover-hay is not only greedily eaten by sheep and lambs, but also by horses, calves, and cows. ' 555% This new mode of making hay depends principally upon two circumstances : first, that the mown clover, when brought together in to large heat^, may ferment equally and expeditiously; secondly, that the day succeeding the fermentation be dry, sunny, and windy : on this account it may be proper to point out what should be done when circumstances are unfavourable Let us suppose, therefore, that the night after the clover-grass has been placed in the great cocks is cold, damp, or rainy, the fermentation will yet take place, although it may require a term of twelve, sixteen, or twenty-four hours to effect it. If it be a second or a third crop, at which season tiie nights are colder, it may even require from thirty-six to forty- eight hours before tne fermentation ensues: it will, however, commence, and may be ascertained from this circumstance, that you can scarcely bear your hand in the interior of the cock. Even if the night be dry, yet if a strong cold wind blows, the cock may not ferment equally, but only in the middle, and on the side opposite to the wind ; the other parts may still remain green. In such a case the following rules must be attended to : — 5553. Rule first. If the cock has only fermented in the middle, and on that side where the cold wind did not act upon it, the whole heap must nevertheless be opened on the following morning. That which has already fermented must be separated and spread to dry ; it must be turned towards noon, and may be carted into the barn in the evening ; but that part of the cock which has not fermented must be again put together into large cocks, and fermented in the same manner as the preceding part, after which it may be spread to dry, and brought into the barn, 5o5i Rule second. In such cases where a small portion of the cock has fermented thoroughly, but not the greater part, the heap must be spread abroad in the morning, but must be again made into a close cock in the evening, in such a manner that the part which has fermented be placed at the top or outside of the cock, and that which has not fermented be inclosed within it; then on the ensuing morning, or, if the weather be cold and rainy, on the morning afterwards, the clover-heap may be again spread abroad, and the clover treated as in the case first mentioned. 5555. Rule third. If, in spreading the heap abroad, it be found that nearly the whole of the clover has fermented, it will not be necessary to delay the housing of the whole on account of some small portion ; but the ck ver may be dried and carted into the barn. The small portion which remained unfer. mented will not occasion any disaster to the other which has fermented ; for there is a material difTerence betwixt hay thus managed, and the meadow-grass which is brought whilst damp, or wet with rain, into the barn, which will grow musty and putrid. 5556. Rule fourth. In such instances, where some of the cocks of clover have thoroughly fermented, and it rains on the morning, they ought to be spread abroad, for the clover must be opened and spread, even if it rains violently ; since, if it were suffered to remain longer in the heap, it would take fire, or its juices would be injured by too much fermentation ; the leaves and stalks would become black, and the clover unfit for food : therefore, if the rain continues, the spread clover must be turned from time to time, but not carted into the barn till dry. This drying takes place, if the rain discontinues for a few hours, much more expeditiously with the clover which has fermented, than with that made in the common way. Besides which, it must be remarked, that the fermented clover remains good, even if it continues some weeks exposed to the rain, provided it is at last suffered to dry before it is put into the barn j otfierwise the wet from the rain will render it musty and bad. The clover which has been for so long a time exposed to the rain will not, however, be so nutritious as that which has been well fermented and sooner dried j but it will be far superior to that which has been exposed to the rain, and got up in the common method, {^Klapmeyer in Thaer^s Annalen^ Sec.) '5557. Hay is stacked in circular or oblong stacks, the latter form being most generally approved of, and carefully thatched, as has been already observed in regard to cora It is never advisable to allow thii kind of hay to become heated in any considerable degree, in the stack, thou^ a slight exudation, with a 876 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. very gentle wannth, is usually perceptible, both in the field-ricks and in the stacks, for a few days after they are built But this is a quite different thing from that intentional heating, carried ^o far, in many instances, as to terminate in conflagration. 5558. T/ie rtfter-growih or aecoTiH crtm qf clover is vigorous or weak, according to the proportion of clover plants to rye-grass, to the time when tne first crop was cut, and to the moisture and warmth of the season. When the first cutting has been made early for soiling, there will sometimes be three cuttings in one season. The first of these after-cuttings may be made into hay, and sometimes the second ; but in general both are consumed by soiling or pasturing, unless in some dry warm districts, as Norfolk, and parts of Suffolk, Kent, &c., where the second growth is left to ripen its seed. In the northern counties the second crop is seldom made into hay, owing to the difficulty ot getting it thoroughly dried at a late period ol summer, when other more urgent operations usually employ all the labourers of a farm. If it is cut for this purpose, the best method of saving it is to mix it up with straw, which will absorb a part of its juices. It is often cut green, as a part of the soiling system j or, where a sheep stock is kept, pastures by the old ewes, or other sorts, that are to be fattened the ensuing winter on turnips. 5559. In consuming clover and other herbage plants by pasturing, or eating down on the spot, three methods have been adopted : tethering, hurdling, and free pasturage. 5560. Tethering may be considered a rude practice, and is chiefly confined to the north of Scotland and Ireland. In The Agricultural Report of Aberdeenshire it is stated, that there are some cases where the Elan of tethering can be practised with more profit than even soiling. In the neighbourhood of Peter- ead, for instance, they tether milch cows on their grass fields, in a regular and systematic method ; moving each tether forward in a straight line, not above one foot at a time, so as to prevent the cows from treading on the grass that is to be eaten ; care being always taken to move the tether forward, like a person cutting clover with a scythe, ftrom one end of the field to the other. In this way, a greater nunu ber of cows can be kept, on the same quantity of grass, than by any other plan; except where it grows high enough to be cut, and given them green in houses. In one instance, the system was carried to great perfection, by a gentleman who kept a few sheep upon longer tethers, following the cows. Sometimes, also, he tethered horses afterwards upon the same field, which prevented any possible waste ; for the tufts of grass produced by the dung of one species of animal will be eaten by those of another kind without reluctance. This system was peculiarly calculated for the cow-feeders in Peterhead ; as, from the small, ness of their holdings, they could not afford to keep servants to cut, or horses to carry home, the grass to their houses, to be consumed in a green state. {Code.) 5561. In hurdlivg qff' clovers or herbage crops, a portion of the field is enclosed by hurdles, in which sheep are confined ; and as the crop is consumed, the pen is changed to a fresh place, until the whole is fed off. This practice is very extensively adopted at Holkham, and is peculiarly calculated for light and dry soils. Its advantages are, that the grass is more economically consumed ; that the stock thrive better, having daily a fresh bite ; and that the dung falls, being more concentrated, is more likely to be of use. 5563. In the common pasturing qf clover, the stock are introduced into the field earlier than in tether- ing or hurdling, in order to avoid the loss that would be sustained by cattle or sheep treading ad libitum on tall herbage. Indeed, the principal advantage of pasturing clovers is, that sheep and lambs may be turned on them more early than on common grass-lands. Sometimes this advantage is taken for a month or six weeks, in the beginning of summer, and the field aft^erwards shut up for a crop of hay; but more frequently the red clovers are only mown. When white and yellow clovers are sown, the herbage is some- times not mown at all, but pastured for three years or more ; and sometimes a little red clover being sown along with these, a crop of hay is taken the first year. 5563. The produce of clover-hay, without any mixture of rye-grass, on the best soils is from two to three tons per acre, and in this state in the London market it*general]y sells 20 per cent, higher than meadow-hay, or clover and rye-grass mixed. The weight of hay from clover and rye-grass varies, according to the soil and the season, from one ton to three tons per English acre, as it is taken from the tramp-ricks ; but after being stacked, and kept till spring, the weight is found to be diminished twenty-five or tliirty per cent. 5564. The value of clover and rye-grass hay, in comparison with the straw of beans or peas, may be in the proportion of three to two ; and with the finest straw of com crops, in the proportion of two to one. One acre of red or broad clover vnll go as far in feeding horses or black cattle as three of ordinary pasture ; and when it is cut occa- sionally, and given to them fresh, it will, probably, go still much farther, as no part of it is lost by being trodden down. With the exception of lucem, and the herbage of rich marshes, there is no crop by which so much stock can be supported as by clover. It may be profitably employed in fattening sheep in spring, and with this food they will soon be ready for the butcher. Afterwards, a crop of hay may be got, and two or three weeks after the hay has been taken oS, sheep intended to be fattened on turnips may be turned in, and kept there, until the turnips are ready for them. 5565. The nutritive products of clovers will be found in the table. (5520.) 5566. The samig of clover seed is attended witli considerable labour and difficulty. Clover will not perfect its seeds, if saved for that purpose early in the year ; therefore it is necessary to. take off the first growth either by feeding or with the scythe, and to depend for the seed on those heads that are produced in the autumn. Seed-clover turns out to good account in those years when the crops are not injured by the blight, which is often fatal to them, or by the rains in the autumn, which sometimes prove their de- struction ; for the time of harvesting this seed falling out late when rainy weather may be expected, renders it, on that account, very tedious. 55^7. Wien thejirst crop is fed qff\ it is eaten till about the end of May, frequently by ewes and lambs ; and this is understood to be an advantageous practice, because the land is less exhausted, and the green food is of great value for stock in the spring months. It is not uncommon, however, to cut the first growth for a hay crop, and this should be done earlier than usual The growth thus reserved for seed must be suffered to remain till the husks become perfectly brown, when it is cut and harvested in the usual manner,leavingit on the field till it is very dry and crisp, that the seeds maybecome more fully hardened; it may then be laid up dry, to be threshed out at the farmer's convenience. Much labour and expense are necessary in separating the seed from the capsule or seed-coat, especially when it is effected by threshing, which seldom costs less than from five to six or seven shillinga per bushel. By the use of miila the wont may be done much cheaper. Book VI. , LUCERN. 877 5568. The management of a crop qf clover with a view to. saving seed is thus given by a cultivator in Buckinghamshir& A moderate bulk of haiiliriis generally found most productive of seed, and a moderately rich, sharp, dry soil is the best for having moderate haulm. The field may be pastured till the middle of May, and then shut up till the ripening is completed. August is generally the ripening month, and the maturity of the seed mav be known by the leaves becoming brown and dropping off. Observe the seed fVom time to time, and when it has changed ftom a bright yeUow to a deep purple, it is then ready for the scythe. After the crop is cut down, disturb it as little as possible by fork or rake. Form it into small cocks not larger than muck heaps. Should favourable weather ensue, nothing more is necessary than to turn these cocks once over, shortly before carting home. And, should the weather prove fickle, these small heaps of withered straw are very soon dried,.perhaps in one good day, by turning up the bottom, after the top has become a little dried. After remaining some time in the neld, the cocks subside con- siderably and become caked, by which the flowers adhere together and repel the rain ; of course, no loss of top can be sustained by gently turning them to dry. It thus appears, that clover for seed is not so liable to be injured as clover for hay. In general six or ten days of favourable weather render it fit to carry to the rick-yard and stack. It may either be threshed by a light flail, or by threshing machines, having a particular additional cover introduced below the drum or beater for that purpose. 5569. In threshings whether by the flail or machine, the first operation is to separate the heads or spikes of seeds fVom the haulm. This operation separates none of the seed, which remains firm in the withered florets, and requires to be separated by a course of light thrashing, similar to that used for hummelling barley. When on examination it is found that the seed is all separated, the operations of sifting and winnowing ought to be carried on in the usual manner with appropriate sieves; the clover sieve being well known to the sieve-maker. The average produce per acre is three hundred weight 5570. Seed may be saved frmn a second crop ; that is, after the first crop has been mown for hay; but the sample is seldom so strong or plump as that from a first crop. 5571. White clover^ and also yellow clover, lucern, and saintfoin, when intended for seed, are treated much in the same manner as red clover. (Farm. Mag. voL xix. p. 276.) 5572, The produce in seed may generally be from three to four or five bushels per acre, when perfectly clean, weighing irom two to three hundred weight. But there is great uncertainty in the produce of clover seed, from the lateness of the season at which. it becomes ripe ; and the fertility of the soil is considerably impaired by such a crop. Yet the high value of the seed is a great inducement to the saving of it, in favourable ^tuations. (Dickson's Practical j/igriculture, vol. ii, p. 863.) 5573. The diseases of clover are the blight or mildew, and suJTocation or consumption, from insects, slugs, and worms. It oflen happens that clover, after being repeated at short intervals on the same soil, either fails or does no good ; whether that is owing to a disease, or to a defect of some peculiar substance which enters into the food of the plant, does not appear to be clearly ascertained. A top-dressing with ashes or lime is said to be un^vourable to the slug ; but where vermin of this sort are very numerous, the most certain remedy is a naked fallow well worked in the hottest months. Sect. II. Lucern, — Medicdgo sativa L. ; DiadSlphia DecdndrUi L., and Legumimsa J* La Lucerne, Fr. ; Fuiterklee, Ger. ; Medica, Ital. ; and Mielgft Span. (Jig, 775.) 5574. Lucer7i is a deep-rooting perennial plant, sending up numerous small ajidtall clover-like shoots, with blue or violet spikes of flowers. It is a native of the south of Eu- rope, and appears to be acclimated in the warmer parts of ^England. Lucern or medic is highly extolled by the Roman viriters, and also the cytisus, the latter a low ever- green shrub. Lucern is much grown in Persia and Lima, and mown in both countries all the year round ; it is also of unknown antiquity in old Spain, Italy, and the south of France. It was introduced to England from the latter country, according to Miller, in 1657- It is mentioned by Hartlib, Blythe, and other early writers, and was tried by Lisle ; but it excited little attention till after the publi- cation of Harte*s Essays, in 1757. It is now only culti- vated in a few places, and chiefly in Kent. Columella estimated lucern as the choicest of all fodder, because it lasted many years, and bore being cut down four, five, or six times a year. It enriches, he says, the land on which it grows, fattens the cattle fed with it, and is often a remedy for sick cattle. About three quarters of an acre of it is, he thinks, abundantly sufficient to feed three horses during the whole year. 5575. Clover has found no &eat rec^tion in this cowntry^ though it was so much esteemed by the ancients, and has been long cultivated to advantage in France and Switzerland. If any good reason can be given for this, it is, that lucern is a less hardy plant than red clover, requires three or four years before it cornea to its full growth, and is for these and other reasons ill adapted to enter into general rotations. Where the climate and soil suit, perhaps a field of it may be advantageously sown, adjoining the home- stall, to afford early cutting or food for young or sick animals, for which it is said to be well adapted ; but though it will produce good crops for eight or ten years, yet from the time the farmer must wait till this crop attains its perfection, and from the care requisite to keep it from grass and weeds, we do not think it is ever likely to come into general culture. The Highland Society have lately ofiTered premiums for the culture of this plant in Scotland, and crops have been produced in dry sandy soils in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh ; the climate, however, and the alternate and convertible system of culture generally pursued in the northern partii of the island, and which seems so well ada^ited to its agricultural cirr unstances, forbid the hope that it can ever become general. 878 PRACTICE OF AGUTCULTURE. Part III, 5576. Tliere are no varieties of the lucerii deserving the notice of a cultivator, 5577. What is called the yellow Incern is the MedicElgo falcJita {Lucerne en families or Luxeme de S?i^de, Fr. Jig. 776,). a much hardier and coarser plant, common in _--, ^1^1^ several parts of England, but not cultivated any where except in some ' '" ^s^WUc^ >fll poor soils in France and Switzerland. 5578. Medicago maculata and murichta are cultivated in France, but to a very limited extent on poor .toils. M. lupMina (lupuline, or Minctte dor^e, Fr.) resembles our well known hop trefoil, black (from its seeds) nonsuch, or yellow clover; but it is seldom cultivated in Britain. 5579. Tlie soil for lucem must be dry, friable, inclining to sand, and with a subsoil equal to it in goodness. Unless the subsoil be good and deep, it is in vain to attempt to cultivate bicern. According to Young, the soils that suit lucern are all those that are at once dry and rich. If, says he, they possess these two criteria, there is no fear but they will produce large crops of lucern, A friable deep sandy loam on a chalk or white dry marly bottom is excellent for it. Deep putrid sand warp on a dry basis, good sandy loam on chalk, dry marl or gravel, all do well ; and in a word, all soils that are good enough for wheat, and dry enough for turnips to be fed on the land, do well for lucern. If deficient In fertility, they may be made up by manuring, but he never yet met with any land too rich for it 5580. The preparation of the soil consists in deep ploughing and minute pulverisation; and, in our opinion, the shortest way to effect this, is to trench it over by the spade to two or three feet in depth, burying a good coat of manure in the middle or at least one foot from the surface. This is the practice in Guernsey, where lucern is highly prized. 5581. Tlie cUmate for lucem, as we have already hinted, must be warm and dry; it has been grown in Scotland and Ireland, and might probably do well in the southern counties of the latter country, but in the former it has not been found to answer the commendations of its admirers. 5582. The season most proper for sowing lucem is as early as practicable in the spring months, as in this way the plants may be fully established before the season be- comes too hot. The latter end of March, for the more southern districts, may be the most proper period ; and the beginning of the following month for those of the north. When sown late, there is more danger of the plants being destroyed by the fly, as it has been observed by TuU. If the plants are intended to be transplanted out in the garden method, it will also be the best practice to sow the seed-bed as early in the spring as the frosts will admit, in order that they may be strong, and fit to set out about the beginning of August, 5583. The manner of sowing lucern is either broad-cast or in drills, and either with or without an ac- companying crop of corn for the first year. Broad-cast, with a very thin crop of barley or other spring com, is generally, and in our opinion very properly, preferred. Arthur Young, who has treated largely on this plant, observes, that " the greatest success by far that has been known is by the broad-cast method, which is nearly universal among the best lucem farmers, even among men who practise and admire the drill husbandry in many other articles. But as they mostly (not all) depend on severe harrowing for keep- ing their crops clean, which is a troublesome and expensive operation, he still ventures to recommend drilling j but very diffferent drilling from that which has been almost universally practised, viz. at distances of eighteen inches or two feet. Objections to these wide intervals are numerous. If kept clean hoed, the lucern licks up so much dirt, being beaten to the earth by rain, &c., that it is unwholesome, and the plants spread so into these spaces, that it must be reaped with a hook, which is a great and useless expense. For these reasons, as well as for superiority of crop, he recommemis drilling at nine inches, which in point of produce, mowing, and freedom from dirt, is the same as broadcast; and another advantage is, that it admits scarifying once a year, which is much more powerful and effective than any harrowing. These facts are suti^cient to weigh so much with any reasonable man, as to induce him to adopt this mode or drilling, as nearer to hroad-cast by far than it is to drills at eighteen to twenty-four inches, which open to a quite different system, and a set of very different evils N ine-inch rows might practically, but not literally, be considered as broad-cast, but with the power of scarifying. And in regard to the materialpoint, of with or without com, two considerations, he says, present themselves. One is the extreme liability of lucern to be eaten by the fly, which does great mischief to many crops when very young, and against which the growing of corn is some protection. The value of the barley or oats is another object not to be forgotten. It is also gained in the first year's growth of the lucern, which is very poorly productive even if no corn be sown ; so that he must own himself clearly an advocate f:r drilling m among corn, either between the rows of nine-inch barley, or across drilled barley, at a foot, if perhaps the latter is the best method, as there is less probability of the crop being laid to the damage of the lucern. The quantity of seed-corn should also be small, proportioned to the richness of the land, from one bushel to a bushel and a half, according to the fertility of the soil ; another security against tlie mischief of lodging. If these precautions are taken, it would be presumptuous to say that success must follow, that being always, and in all things, in other hands than ours ; seed may prove bad, the fly may eat and drought prevent vegetation ; but barring such circumstances, the farmer may rest satisfied that he has done what can be done, and if he do succeed, the advantage will be unquestionable." 5584. T/ie qvatitUy of seed, when the broad-cast method is adopted, is said to be from fifteen to twenty pounds per acre, and from eight to twelve if drilled. The seed is paler, larger, and dearer than that of clover: it is generally imported from Holland, and great care should be had to procure it plump and perfectly new. as two-vears- Book VI. LUCERN. 879 old seed does not come up freely. The same depth of covering as for clover will answer. 5585. Lucem may be transplanted, and when the soil is very rich and deep, it is said to produce very large plants ; but such plants, from the bulk of their stools, are not likely to be so durable as those of a less size ; and on the whole, for this reason and others relative to expense, the plan of transplanting does not seem advisable unless for filling up blanks. 5586. The afier^cvlture of lucem, sown broad-cast, consists in harrowing to destroy grass and other weeds ; rolling, after the harrowing, to smooth the soil for the scythe ; and such occasional top-dressings of manure as the state of tlie plants may seem to require. 5587. When lucem is drilled, horse-hoeing may be substituted for liarrowing, which, as already observed, is the only advantage of that mode of sovring. The harrowing may commence the second year, and the weeds collected should always be carefully removed : light harrows may be used at first, and in two or three years such as are heavier. In succeeding years two harrowings may be required, one early in the spring, and the other at the close of the summer. For these, and especially the last, Arthur Young recommends the use of a harrow of weight sufficient for four horses, and which does not cover a breadth of more than four feet. The mode of hoeing, either by the hand or horse-hoe, or of stirring by the drill harrow, requires no description. 5588. The top-dressings given to lucem may be either of the saline or mixed manures. Ashes are greatly esteemed, and also gypsum and liquid manure of any kind. Arthur Toung advises to apply dung, in the quantity of about twenty tons to the acre, every five or six years. Kent, however, thinks it a better practice to put a slight coat on annually in the spring season. Some recommend a slight top-dressing sown by hand every spring. The farmer will in this, as in every case, exercise his own judgment, and be guided by the wants of the plants, the return they yield for the expense bestowed on them, and the equable distribution of manure among his other crops, 5589. The taking of lucem by mowing for soiUng, or hay, or by tethering, hurdling, or pasturing, may be considered the same as for clover. Lucern frequently attains a sufiScient growth for the scythe, towards the end of April, or beginning of the following month ; and, in soils that are favourable for its culture, will be in a state of readiness for a second cutting in the course of a month or six weeks longer, being capable of under- going the same operation, at nearly similar distances of time, during the whole of the summer season. In this last sort of soil, with proper management, in the drill method, it has been found to rise to the height of a foot and a half in about thirty or forty days, affording five full cuttings in the summer. But in the broad-cast crops, in the opinion of some, there are seldom so many cuttings afforded in tlie season, three or four being more common, as the growth is supposed to be less rapid than by either of the other modes. 5590. The application of lucem is also the same as that of clover. The principal and most advantageous practice is that of soiling horses, neat cattle, and hogs ; but as a dry fodder, it is also capable of affording much assistance ; and, as an early food for ewes and lambs, may be of great value in particular cases. All agree in extolling it as food for cows, whether in a green or dried state. It is said to be much superior to clover, both in increasing the milk and butter, and improving its flavour. In its use in a green state, care is necessary not to give the animals too much at a time, especially when it is moist, as they may be boven or blown with it, in the same way as with clover, and other green food of luxuriant growth. 5591. Tlie produce of lucem, cut three times in a season, has been stated at from three to five and even eight tons per acre. In soiling, one acre is sufficient for three or four cows during the soiling season ; arid a quarter of an acre, if the soil be good, or half au acre on a moderate soil, for all sorts of large stock, for tlie same period. Say, however, that the produce is equal in bulk and value to a full crop of red clover, then, if continued yearly for nine or ten years (its ordinary duration in a productive state), at an annual expense of harrovring and rolling; and a triennial expense of top-dressing, it will be of sufficient value to induce farmers, who have suitable soils and climates, to lay down a few acres under this crop near their homestalls. 5592. The nutritive product of lucem, according to Sir H. Davj-, is 2fj per cent., and is to that of the clovers and saintfoin as 23 to 39. This result does not very well agree with the superior nutritive powers attributed to lucem. 5593. To save seed, the lucern may be treated precisely as the red clover, and it is much more easily threshed, the grains being contained in small pods, which easily sepa- rate under the flail, or a threshing machine, or clover mill. 5594. The diseases oflv^em appear to be the same as those of clover. In Kent, blight and the slug arc its greatest enemies.. 880 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. Sect. III. Sdntfoin. — Hed^sarum Onobr!)chis L. ; Diadilphia Dec&ndria L., and Le- guminosteJ. Bourgogne, or Esparcette, Fr. ; EspanettCt Ger. ; Cedrangola, Ital. ; and Esparsita, Span. (Jig. 777.) 5595. Saintfoin is a deep-rooting perennial with branching spreading stems, compound in* leaves, and showy red flowers. It is a native of England 777 rtflm ^"d many parts of Europe, but never found except on dry, tHBlTOil) warm, chalky soils, where it is of great duration. It has been long cultivated in France and other parts of the Continent, and as an agricultural plant was introduced from France to England about the middle of the se- Nventeenth century. It has since been a good deal cul- ' tivated in the chalky districts ; and its peculiar value is, ^ that it may be grown on soils unfit for being constantly ' under tillage, and which would yield little under grass. This is owing to the long and descending roots of the saint- foin, which will penetrate and thrive in the fissures of rocky and chalky understrata. Its herbage is said to be equally suited for pasturage and for hay, and that eaten green it is not apt to swell or hove cattle like the clovers or lucern. Arthur Young says, that upon soils proper for this grass no farmer can sow too much of it; and in The Code ofAgricid- lure it is said to be " one of the most valuable herbage plants we owe to the bounty of Providence." 5596. There are no varieties of the saintfoin in England, but many other species of the same numerous family might be cultivated, such, for example, as the French honey- suckle, a biennial that might be substituted for red clover on rich soils. The French have a variety which they call Sainfoin d deux coupes, and they also cultivated the iSm'tj- Jhin d^Espagne or Sulla, 5597. The best soil for this plant is that which is dry, deep, and calcareous ; but it will grow on any soil that has a dry subsoil. Kent thinks that the soils most suited to the culture of this sort of grass are of the chalky loam, and light sandy or gravelly kinds, or almost any of those of a mixed quality, provided they are sufficiently dry, and have a rocky or hard calcareous bottom to check the roots at the depth of a foot or fifteen inches below tlie surface, which he conceives necessary, as the plants are apt to exhaust themselves in running down ; and for this reason he considers it improper for being sown where there is great depth of mould or soil. It is a plant that is asserted by Marshal to afford a large produce even on those soils which are of the poorest quality, and on such as are pf a more rich and friable nature to frequently produce abundant crops. Still, he conceives, that it is only in the calcareous soils, as the dry chalk and limestone, or such as have been well impregnated with that sort of matter, that it suc- ceeds in a perfect manner or becomes durable. The advantages resulting from growing this plant on sandy soils in Norfolk have been already stated. (4744.) 5598. The best preparation which any soil fit for this plant can undergo is, unquestionably, trenching; and we have little doubt that in most cases, all things considered, it would be found the cheapest. The usual preparatory culture, however, is the same as for clover, ploughing more deeply than ordinary, either by means of the trench plough, or, what is better because more simple, by the common plough going twice in the same track. Boys {Communications to the Board of Agriculture^ vol. iii.) recommends as a pre- paration for saintfoin : 1st year, pare and burn for turnips, to be eaten on the land by sheep, with the aid of some fodder; 2d, barley, to be sown very early with clover seed; 3d, clover eaten off by sheep; 4th, wheat; 5th, turnips with manure; and, 6th, barley with saintfoin. The corn crops must be carefully weeded, and in particular cleaied of charlock. Under this system, the produce has been great, and the ground has been laid down in the highest order with saintfoin, or any other grass calculated for this species of soil. 5599. With respect to the season of sowing saintfoin, it may be observed, that the earlier it can be put into the soil in the spring the better, as from the greater moisture of such soils there will be a greater probability of its vegetating in a perfect manner. Where the sowing is executed at a late period, and dry weather succeeds. Bannister thinks that much of the seed is prevented from growing, and that the young plants are more ex- posed to destruction from the fly ; therefore, according to this writer, the sowing of saintfoin seed ought never to be deferred longer than the beginning of March, and it is still better to complete this work in February. Some, however, suppose it may be de- ferred to the middle of Ma.rcti without injury, and this is soon enough if it is to be sown with barley. 6600. The manner of sowing is generally broad-cast ; but it maybe sown in drills and even transplanted, though neither of these modes can be recommended. Some advise its being sown with about half the quan- tity of barley usually sown for a full crop, which may shade and keep it moist during the first summer, and at the same time not injure it from the crop being lighter, which is sometimes the case. Where the barley is drilled, the saintfoin may afterwards be liut in, in the same manner, but in a contrary direction. If sown over the wheat, it should be harrowe.l in, and afterwards rolled. In whatever method it is sown, as the lieeds are larger than those of many other herbage plants, they should be covered in with more care, and to a somewhat greater depth, Bv some the ploughing of the seed in with a very thin or shallow Book VI. SAINTFOIN. 881 fUrrow is recommended. In most cases, especially m all the more light sorts of land in which this sort of crop is grown, the use of the roller may be necessary immediately after the seed is put into the ground. It is the practice in some districts tb sow a small portion of clover seed with saintfoin, with the idea ot increasing the first year's produce j but as plants of different kinds seldom answer well when grown together, from there being a continual contest in their growth for an ascendancy, it is perhaps a better method to increase the proportion of the seed, without mixing it with that of other sorts. It is, however, supposed by Marshal that such a practice is benetieial in ultimately procuring a fme clean crop of saintfoin upon the land. It is a sort of crop that grows in so perfect a manner in the broad-cast method, that there can seldom be any necessity for having recourse to tne drill. It may, however, be cultivated in the latter mode with much success ; and, in Norfolk, it is the practice with some cultivators to have it drilled at nine inches across the barley crops which have been sown in the same way. 5601. Ti^ qaantity df seed in the broad-cast method, which is that mostly employed, is about four bushels the acre, though less is frequently given ; but on such soils as are proper for this plant it is always necessary to have a full proportion of seed. By some, however, a much smaller quantity is made use of; and where the drill system is had recourse to, a still smaller proportion is used, as tVom two to two and a half or three bushels. Tt has been observed, that in Lincolnshire, where this plant is much grown, " the common allowance of seed is five bushels to an acre, and that a gentleman south of Lincoln advises the sowing a small quantity of trefoil with it (about four pounds on an acre)." The reason for this is, that in that exposed country, the young plants suffer more by the sun in summer than by the frost in winter. Of course the trefoil coming to perfection the first year, and living only three, will he a shelter for the young plants during the first year or two, and die off when the saintfoin wants its room. 5602. In the choice qf the seed the safest practice for the cultivator is to select it from the best ^nd most abiding plants in this particular soil, as that purchased from the seed-shops can rarely be depended upon. A certain method of knowing the goodness of the seed is, by sowing a number of the seeds, and seeing now many plants are produced by them. But the external signs of the seeds being good are, that the husk is of a bright colour, and the kernel plump, of a light grey or bliie colour, and sometimes of a shining black. The seed may be good, though the husk be black, as that is owing sometimes to letting it receive wet in the field, and not to its being half-rotted in the heap. If the kernA on being cut across appears greenish andfrcsh, it is a certain sign that it is good : but if it is of a yellowish colour, and friable, and looks thin and pitted, it is a bad sign. Others observe that the best seed is plump, heavy, bright, and of a yellowish red colour, and that it should always be sown while quite f^esh, as old seed, or seed tnat has been long kept, never vegetates in a perfect manner j seed of this sort is in general from about three to five shillings the bushel. ' 5603. The afier-cuUure and management of saintfoin consists in occasional dressings with manure, and, in the judicious intervention of mowing and pasturing. 5604. Somejarme^'s do not mow in the first year^ while others do j but in the second year, and in the succeeding summers, a crop of hay may be taken, and the after-grass fed down with any sorts of stock but sheep, till towards December. These should not be permitted to eat it too close, as, from the largeness of the roots, they might by so doing injure the crowns of the plants. In the following autumn there will, however, be less risk in this respect, and sheep as well as cattle stock may be turned in and kept upon the pastures till they are well eaten down, being always careful to shut them up as early as possible in the beginning of the year. This is the opinion of Kent As this ^ort of herbage is thought to be improved in its taste by being nipped by the frost, it may be a proper practice not to turn stock upon these leys too early in the autumnal season ; perhaps not before the latter end 30. Curtis says of bumet, that it is one of those plants wnich it has for some years past been attempted to introduce into agriculture ; but not answering the farmer's expectation, it is now in a great degree > laid aside. Cattle are said not to be fond of it; nor is its produce suffi. dent to answer the expense attending its Culture. It is to be lamented that persons do not pay a little attention to the nature of plants before they so warmly recommend them. A small plant, scarcely ever met with but on hilly and chalky ground, and to which cattle in such situ- ations do not show any particular attachment, is not likelv to aflbrd better or more copious nourishment than the clovers and other plants already in use. 5621. According to Boys^ in The Agricultural Survey qf Kenty it aflferds herbage in the winter and spring months, but is not much liked either by cattle or shem 5622. Br. Anderson reports, that bumet retains its verdure pretty well during the winter months, but affords such scanty crops as hardly to be worth the attention of the tanner. 5623. A correspondent in the Museum BUsticumt a work very favourable to burnet, confesses with reluctance that it is not deserving of any exalted character, but rather the contrary ; and that it is in no degree to be compared to the common clover, which is cultivated at half the expense. It appears from some accounts there that horses will not eat it at all, and that kine frequently will not take it without great reluctance. Its slow growth Is also made a great objection : being only about five inches high, and having scarcely one head in flower; whilst lucem, on the same soil, sown the same day and much thicker, was eighteen or twenty inches in height It is not meant by this, however, to discourage that laudable spirit of improvement which so happily prevails at present; but to caution such as introduce any new plant to make themselves well acquainted with its natural history. 5624; Those who wish to cultivate burnet, as an herbage and hay plant, may treat it exactly as directed for saintfoin : as a pasture plant it is sown among the grasses in the same way as white or yellow clover. A bushel of seed is commonly sown to an acre. 5625. The ribwort plantain (Plantam des Prhf Fr. ; PlantJlgo lanceoUta i.. Jig. 779.) is a hardy native with a tuft of long ribbed leaves springing from the.crownof the root, long.naked flower-stems, and a long moniliform tap-root It abounds in dry soils, as do several other spedies of plantain, especially the P. mtdia. On dry soils it affords little herbage, and is often left uni touched by cattle. Curtis, Withering, and other British botanistSj apeak unfavourably of the ribwort as a pasture herb; but Haller attributes the richness of the milk in the Swiss dairies to.the flavour of this plant, and that of the Alckemilla, in the mountain pastures; In rich moist or watered lands its herbage is more abundant, and its flavour altered,— a circumstance not uncommon in the vegetable king, dom, but from which it does not always follow that the plant so altered is deserving of culture. In conformity with this observation, though the ribwort is a scanty and rejected herbage, on poor dry soils, it is said by Zappa of Milan to grow spontaneously in every meadow' of Lom. hardy, especially in those which are irrigated. It vegetates early, flowers at the beginning of May, ripens in five weeks, and is cut with the i*6a trivi^lis ; the height of the leaves is about one foot, and of the stalk a foot and a half; it multiplies itself much by the seed, and a little by the roots, which it continues for some time to reproduce. Ribwort, more especially in a cultivated state, is eaten heartily by every sort of cattle, and in particular by cows, who like it most in May, when it has great mfluence on the milk, as the hay has on the flesh. In Scotland it is a useful addition to the proper grasses on lands to be pastured by sheep, at the rate of two or three head to the acre. Where kept well fed down by stock, there can be no doubt of its being a very good and nourishing pasturage plant for both cattle and sheep; but It IS by no means adapted for hay or soiling 5626: Young says, that he had long before recommended this plant for laying land to grass, and sowed it on hi« own farm. At the same time, he thinks it extravagant to propose dandelion and sorrel as plants 3L 2 884 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pakt III. proper for a cow pasture, and conjectures that those plants, being found among good ones, have qualities given them which do not properly belong to them : he is likewise inclined to make the same conjecture in resjiect to narrow-leaved plantain, ribwort, or rib-grass. and should even have preferred dandelion and sorrel to it; but he is cautious of opposing theory to practice. 5627. Dr. Anderson states, that narrow-leaved plantain or rib-grass is well liked by horses and Cattle, and yields a very good crop upon rich ground tending to dampness, if it is at the same time soft and spongy ; but that upon any sml which has a tendency to bind, or upon dry ground, it ftirnishes a very scanty crop. It has been made use of in some parts of Yorkshire as a summer grass. As an article of pasturage for cattle and sheep, it is there in high esteem : it is not, however, well eaten by horses. As an article of hay, it is held to be detrimental to the crop ; retaining its sap an unusual length of time, and when fully dry falling into a small compass, or being broken into fragments and left behind in the field. 5628. The c«/terc of the plantain is the same as that of clover; its seed is about the same size, and con- sequently the same proportion of it will sow an acre. *5629. The whin, furze, or gwxe [4jonc, Jonc viarin, Gen4t dpineux, Fr. ; I/^Iex europas^a L.^fig. 780.), Ii a well known shrub, found wild on dry light soils, and in rather billy situations, in the warmer and more temperate parts of Europe ; but not in Sweden, or in Russia or Poland, north of Cracow and Casan. It has been known as a nourishing food for cattle from a very early period, and has been sown in some parts of England for that purpose and for fuel. Dr. Anderson knows few plants that deserve the atten. tion of the farmer more than the whin. Horses are peculiarly fopd of it ; so much so, that some persons think they may be made to per- form hard work upon it, without any feeding of grain: but he thmks it tends more to fatten a horse than .to fit him for hard labour, and that therefore some grain should be given with it where the work is severe. Cattle, he says, eat it perfectly well when thoroughly bruised, and grow as fat upon it as upon turnips; but unless it be very well bruised for them, they will not eat it freely, and the farmer will be disappointed in his expectations. It has lately been found excellent food forhorses in the Highlands ofScotland. {High.Soc. Trans, vol. v.) Cows fed upon it yield nearly as much milk as while.upon grass, and it is free from any bad taste. The best winter-made butter he ever saw was obtained from the milk of a cow fed upon this plant This food should be made use of soon after being prepared. Two bushels, with a proper allowance of hay, have been found to be sufficient for a day for three horses performing tlie same labour as with corn. It . also seemed usetUl to horses labouring under broken wind and grease. Poor hungry gravelly soils, which would not have let for five shillings an acre, have been rendered worth twenty shillings by sowing them with furze-seed, in i>laces where fuel has been scarce ; the furze being frequently used for heating ovens, burning lime and bricks, and also for drying malt : but it is not worth cultivating in countries where fuel of any kind Is cheap, or upon such lands as will produce good grass, corn, or other crops employed as the food of animals. 5630. The cidture of the whia is thus given by the same author : — A field of a good dry loamy land, being well prepared, he sowed, along with a crop of barley, the seeds of the whin in the same way as clover is usually sown, all iwing at the rate of from fifteen to thirty pounds of seed to the acre. The- seeds, if harrowed in and rolled with the barley, quickly spring up, and advance under the shelter of the barley during the summer, and keep alive during the winter. Next season, if the field has not a great tendency to run to grass so as to choke them, they advance rapidly after midsummer, so as to produce a pretty fuU crop before winter. This you may begin to cut with a scythe immediately after your clover fails, and continue to cut it as wanted during the whole of the winter ; but it is supposed that, after the month of February, the taste of this plant alters, as it is in general believed that after that time horses and cattle are no longer fond of it. He, however, observes, that never having had a sufficiency of whins to serve longer than towards the middle of February or beginning of March, he cannot assert the fact from his own experience. He has frequently seen hordes beating the whins with their hoofs, so as to bruise the Srickles, and then eating them, even in the months of April and May ; and he says, that sheep which ave been used to this food certainly pick off the blossoms and the young pods at that season, and probably the prickles also ; so that it is possible the opinion may only be a vulgar error. This is, he thmks, the best way of rearing whins as a crop for a winter food for cattle or hoisea_ But for sheep, who take to this food very kindly when they have once been accustomed to it, less nicety is required ; for if the seeds be simply sown broad-cast, very thin (about a pound of seed per acre) upon the poorest soils, after they come up the sheep of themselves will crop the plants, and soon bring them into round close bushes, as this animal nibbles ofi* the prickles one by one very quickly, so as not to be hurt by them. Sheep, however, who have not been used to this mode of browsing do not know how to proceed, and often will not taste them ; but a few that have been used to the food will, he observes, soon teach all the rest how to use it 5631. Another very economical way qf rearing whinSy but which he has seen practised rather than experienced himself, is this : — ■ Let a farm be enclosed by means of a ditch all round, with a bank thrown up on one side, and if stones can be had, let the face of that bank be lined with the stones, from bottom to near the top, this lining to slope backwards with an angle of about sixty or seventy degrees from the horizon. Any kind of stones, even round ones gathered from the land, will answer the purpose very well; upon the top of the bank sow whin-seeds pretty thick, and throw a few of them along the face of the bank. Young plants will quickly appear. Let them grow for two years, and then cut them down by means of a hedge-bill, sloping down by the face of the bank. This mode of cutting is very easy, and as the seeds soon insinuate themselves among the crannies of the stones, the whole face of the bank becomes a close hedge, whose shoots spring up with great luxuriance. If another ditch be made on tie other side of the bank, and if this be managed in the same way, and the hedge cut down only once every second year (and in this way it affords very good food for beasts), the inside and outside being cut down alternately, the fence will at all times continue good, as the hedge at the top will at all times be complete. This mode of rearing whins is, he remarks, botli convenient and economical. But where stones cannot be obtained for making the facing, the bank very soon moulders down, and becomes unfit for the purposes of a fence. Circumstances have prevented him from ascertaining what is the weight of the crop that may be thus attained, but he thinks he may safely venture to say, that it is at least equal to that of a crop of green clover ; and if it be considered, that this affords a green succulent food during winter, on which cattle can be fatted as well as on cut grass in summer, it will, he thinks, be admitted, that it must be accounted even a more valuable crop than clover. After being cut, he also remarks, that it springs up the following season with greater vigour than before, and in this situation acquires a degree of health and succulence very different from what it is ever observed to possess in its natural state. He has seen shoots of one season near four feet in length. The prickles too are so soft, and the stems so tender, that very little bruising is necessary; indeed horses, that nave been accustomed to this food, would eat it without any bruising at all ; but horned cattle, whose mouths seem to be more tender, always require it to be well bruised. How long crops of this sort may continue to be annually cut over without wearing out, he cannot say, but he believes a long while in favourable circumstances. One thing, however, it is necessary to attend to in Book VI. SPURRY, BROOM, PARSLEY, &c. 885 783 order to ^uitrd against its being destroyed : as, during the beginning of tlie season, nature seems to be fioleiy employed about the great work of fructification, and it is not till near Midsummer that the whin begins to push forth its wood-bearing branches, which advance with great luxuriance during the latter part of the season only, it may happen, that if care be not taken to have the grass that springs up on the field, before the whin begins to send out its shoots, eaten close down, that grass will acquire such a luxuriance before the young branches of the whin begin to advance, as to overtop them, and choke them entirely. Whoever, therefore, has a field under this particular crop, must be careful to advert to this cir- cumstance, or, if the ^eld be in good heart, he will int'^liblylose it The field therefore should be kept as *" " ' a pasture, bare as possible during the beginning of the season, and the cattle should only be taken ftom it when the shoots of the whin begin to advance with vigour. Under this management, he presumes, it may be kept for many years, and yield flail crops ; but, unless the mowers be particularly attentive at the beginning, to cut it as low as possible, it will very soon become impossible to cut the field with a scythe, as the stumps will acquire so much strength as to break the scythe when it happens to touch them. 56:iZ. The spurry {Sperguley Fr. ; Sp^rgula arv^nsis Z., ^g. 781.) is a diminutive annual weed, on dry sandy corn-lands, in most parts of Europe. In Germany and the Netherlands, it is sown on the corn stubbles, and in the intervals of time that occur between some crops is fed with sheep. It may be sown and reaped in eight weeks, either in autumn or spring. It is said to' enrich the milk of cows, so as to make it afford excellent butter ; and the mutton fed on it is preterable to that fed on turnips. Hens eat spurry greedily, and it is supposed to make them lay a great number of eggs. Whether in hay, or cut green, or in pasture. Von Thaer observes, it is the most nourishing, in pro- portion to its bulk, of all forage, and gives the best flavoured milk and butter. It has been recommended to be cultivated in England ; but it^ is not likely that such a plant can ever pay the expense of seed and labour in this country, even on the poorest soil, or at all events, as Fro essor Martyn observes, we have many better plants for such soils. 5633. The common broom (Genet commun, Fr. ; fpartium scop&rium h.,fig. 782.) is cultivated in the southern jiarts of France, on the poorer sorts of soil, in the same way as hemp, for the purpose of stripping the bark fk-om it, and converting it into a kind of thread. It is Ukewise cultivated in these places as a winter-food for sheep, and it is said they eat it with great avidity, preferring it to many other plants. It is, however, liable to pro- duce diseases of the urinary passages, by its diuretic qualities. It has been recommended by Young to be culti- vated in England as food for sheep and horses, who are said to eat it after they get accustomed to it ; also for thatch, ropes, besoms, food for bees, fuel, and burning on the spot to improve the soil. Its culture is the game as that of the whin ; but very pectUiar, indeed, must be that situ- ation, where its culture is attempted for any of the above purposes. It is J a useful protection of game in plant- ations, from which source abundance may be had for besoms. The Spanish *• broom (5. j'dnceum L.,Jig. 783.) might 1 e grown perhaps still more advantageously than the common species. 5t>34. The parsley {Persil eommun, Fr. j .^pium Petrosellnum L.,fig, 784.) is a well known biennial with a large, sweet tap-root. It is a native of Sicily, but endures the British winter like a native plant. It is sown along with clover and grass seeds in some places, and especially in Lincolnshire, as a pre- ventive of the rot in sheep. Fleet, of Hampshire, famous for curing the rot in sheep, cultivates it largely with success : he sows half a bushel to the acre, with a bushel of rye-grass with spring corn ; and he finds that it lasts in the ground till it is permitted to se«l. He feeds it constantly ; it being excellent for sheep, and, when suffered to get a-head, wonderfully fed upon by pigs in the autumn. After September, it will not, he says, run to seed. When it was ploughed up he ob- tained good oats. The land was poor, and in the next round of the course, the clover was much the better for the parsley having been sown or the clover omitted ; for in a field half parsley, half clover, when the clover came again to be sown, it was excellent on the parsley half, hut bad on the clover part In laying down land to grass, Hoyte, in the fourth volume of Communications to the Board of Agriculture, advises the'sowing with twelve pounds of white clover, two pounds of red clover, two pecks of rye- grass, and two pounds of parsley to the acre, as the parsley stands two years, and by its diuretic qualities pre- vents the sheep from dying of the red-water, which too luxuriant clovers are apt to produce. In Scotland, also, it has been sown with success, and greedily eaten by horses, cows, and hogs. The seed requires a longer period to germinate than that of any other agri- cultural plant, and might probably be advantageously prepared by steeping and turning. It must he fresh, as two-year-old seed will not . . <,■ ^°^: .^^^^^^ilypJ^ocured by the pound or bushel, from the seedsman, p nd as easily raised by letting a few drills in a garden shoot into flower-stems. 5635. The Spiree'^a (JlmhrUi L. ; queen of the meadows, Reine des Pres Fr. : the Scabifeaa arv^nsis; the Hcsperis matronitlis ; the Centaur^a J&cea, are sown in France along with the perennial grasses, and their seeds may be had in the French seed shops, but they cannot be recommended in soils and climates where any of the clovers or true grasses will thrive so as to form an abundant herbage. 5636. The wallfiower (Cheiranthus Chelri L.) is a weU known garden flower, and at the same time a native, and verv hardy on dry soils. Like the parsley it is an antiseptic, and has been recommended to tw cultivated for the same purposes, and in the same manner, 3 L 3 886 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5637. The bird's foot trtfoil {Lotier, Fr. ; i^tus comicul^tus L.,fig- 7^) has been tried as a BUbsUtute for white clover on moist lands, and 700 seems to succeed very well, but to have no particular advantages over the clover. XEitus m^jor has been found by Mr. Sinclair to affbrd triple the weight of green food and hay afiforded by L6tU8 cornicuiatua ; its nutritive powers compared with that P plant are as nine to eight; but on the ^ whole, he says, both species are greatly inferior to white clover. {Gram. Hob. 2d ed. p. 311.) Lbtus villbsus ' and tetragon61obus, the Latter cultiv4 of the French {Jig. 786.), are a good deal cultivated in France on light Boils The latter is an annual sown in our 7 gardens. 5638. The fenugreek {Sennegrain, Fr. ; Trigonellai'&^num-grffl'^cuml.., Jig. 787.), Greek hay, was formerly cultivated in Italy, and still holds a OTominent place in the agriculture of Egypt. In France it is cultivated to a limited extent near Paris for its seeds, which are used in medicinei 6639 T^e serradilla (Omlthopus satlvus of Persoon's Syiwpsis) was introduced for purposes of field culture about the year 1818, from Portugal, and sown upon the light barren downs of Thetford in Norfolk, and Ampthill and other places in Bedfordshire It is said to have produced abundant crops, two feet high, of excellent fodder, 787 where scarcely anything else would grow. Its culture, 788 liowever, ia no longer in use in England, and it does not enter into the agriculture of France. 5640. Galiga(0icindlisjLi. ' thyrus Cicera, latifblius, syl- vestris,prat6nsis,hirsutu9,ne. terophyllus, and tingit&nus ; . E'rvum £rvflia, and mon&n< I thos ; Xbtus villbsus, and te- tragon61obus iVida. angusti- fblia,Cracca,Fsetido-Crflccfl, biennis, s&pium, and ICitea ; jinth^llis vulnera.ria ; and jistr&galus glyciphyJloB and faleglf6rmis, are all Used as erbage plants in the agricul. ture of France. 5641. The oriental hunias (Stinias orient^lisi.,j^. 788. a) is a perennial plant, with leaves, branches, and its ge- neral habit of herbage, not unlike the wild chiccory. It is a native of the Levant, and has been cultivated by way of experiment in the grass garden at Woburn. It is less productive than chiccory, bears mowing well, and affords the same nutriment, in proportion to its bulk, as red clover. {Agricultural Chem. p. 374.) 5643. The yarrow {Millefeuille^ Fr. ; ^chiUfen ilTillefblium L,fig. 788. ft), the common and alpine ladies mantle (Alckemilla vulg&ris and alplna Z-.), and others, have been tried among perennial grasses, sown in parks, with a view to give flavour to milk, butter, mutton, and venison. Sinclair considers yarrow as an essential ingredient of the most fattening and healthy pastures. In all the pastures most celebrated for fattening or dairy produce, which he examined in Devonshire, Lincolnshire, and in the vale of Aylesbury, yarrow was present more or less in every part of the surface. {Hori- Qram, Wob. 2d edit p. 412.) Chap. VI. Cultivated Grasses^ *5643. T/ie forage or hat/ and pasture grasses, of which we are now about to treat, are found clothing the surface of the earth in every zone, attaining generally a. greater height, with less closeness at the root in the warm climates ; and producing a low, close, thick, dark green nutritive herbage, in the cooler latitudes. The best grass pastiu-es, those which are most productive and nutritive, are such as are found in countries that have least cold in vrfnter, and no excess of heat in summer. Ireland, Britain, and part of Holland and Denmark, may equal or surpass any countries of the world in this respect ; but in every zone where there are high mountains, there are certain positions between the base and summit, where, from the equability of the temperature, turf may be found equal to that in marine islands. It is a singular circumstance with regard to grasses. Book VL HAY GRASSES. 887 that in the greater part of North America, the sorts that grow naturally on the plains are almost all annuals, and consequently with the first frost they die, and the ground remains naked till a fresh crop rises from the self-sown seeds next spiing. Nearly the same thing may be said of Poland and Russia, with the exception of the banks of rivers and the mountains. 5644. The univei-sal presence Qftfie/bragegrasseStaxiA the raY>idityvi\th which all soils become covered with them when left uncultivated, are the obvious reasons why their systematic selection and culture are but of recent date. Though the Romans cultivated clovers, and were careftil of their meadows, it does not appear that the seeds of the proper grasses were collected and sown by them. None of the agricultural writers, from Peter of Bologna to Parkinson in 16H), say a word about sowing grasses, though they all mention clover and lucern. This branch of culture appears to have originated in England about the middle of the seventeenth century, and the grass made cnoice of was the rye-grass. The first mention made of it for cultivation is in Dr. Plot's Oa^fords/iirey printed in 1677. " They have lately sown," says he, " ray .grass, or the Gramen /oliaceum, by which they improve any cold, sour, clay-weeping ground, for which it is best, but good also for drier upland grounds, especially light stony or sandy land, which is unfit for saintfoin. It was first sown in the Chiltern parts of Oxfordshire, and since brought nearer Oxford by one Eustace, an ingenious husbandman of Islip, who, though at first laughed at, has since been followed even by those very persons that scorned his experiment" The first grass tried after rye-grass appears to have been the Phlfeum pratense, by Rocque of Walham Green, about 1760. Soon afterwards the seed of cock*s-foot grass was introduced from Virginia, under the name of orchard-grass, by the Society of Arts. {Ann. Reg. 1765. 141.) j fox-tail was tried at a later period, on the suggestions of Stillingfleet and Curtis. 56*5. Sttllingfleet, about 1759, drew the attention of the reading agriculturist to the selection of different species of grasses : as did Dr. Anderson about the same time, and hwayne {Grdmifia Pdscua) and Curtis {Obsei-vations on British Grasses) soon afterwards. The origin of this attention to grasses and native plants may be traced to the practice of forming local floras by botanists, and especially to the Flora Sudcica of Linnffius ; and the British Floras of Hudson, Withering, Ijightfoot, Smith, &c. in which the medical and economical properties of the plants were mentioned ; and, in imitation of Linnzeus, particular notice taken of the animals which fed upon them. 5646. John Duke of Bedford made the latest and most laborious efforts towards attaining a knowledge of the comparative value of all the British and some foreign grasses worth cultivating. The result is given in an appendix to Sir H. Davy's Agricultural Chemistry^ and more at large in Sinclair's H6rtus Grarmnetts WoburndnsiSf 8vo. Sd edit 1SS5, a work which may truly be said to form an epoch in this department of agriculture, and which will probably long continue to be the ground-work of all that shall continue to be done in this branch of the subject *5647. With reject to the general culture of grasses, tiiough no department of agricul- ture is more simple in the execution, yet, from their nature, considerable judgment is required in the design. Though grasses abound in every soil and situation, yet, all the species do not abound in every soil and situation indifferently. On the contrary, no class of perfect plants is so absolute and unalterable in its choice in this respect. The creeping-rooted and stoloniferous glasses vdll grow readily on most soils ; but the fibrous-rooted species, and especially the more delicate upland grasses, require particular attention as to the soil in which they are sown ; for in many soils they will either not come up at all, or die away in a few years, and give way to the grasses which would naturally spring up in sucli a soil when left to a state of nature. Hence, in sowing flown lands for permanent pasture, it is a good method to make choice of those grasses which thrive best in adjoining and similarly-circumstanced pastures for a part of the seed; and to mix with these what are considered the very best kinds. 56^. The most important feature in the culture of pasture grasses is mixture of sorts. The husband- man, observes one of the most scientific agriculturists in Scotland, who clothes his fields only with rye- grass and clover, employs a limited machinery, the former being unproductive in summer, the latter moderately so in spring; but when he, for this purpose, uses a variety of plants differing in their habits of growth, and periods of bixuriance, a numerous and powerful machinery is kept successively in full operation. (Qwor. Jour. Ag. vol.il p. 247.) 5649. The effect of a mixture of grasses maybe accounted for from some species putting forth their foliage, and reaching a maximum of produce at different periods from other kinds. From some being gregarious or social, and others solitary and never producing a close turf; by sowing seeds of several fipeciM together, which are dissimilar in their habits of growth, and arrive at a maximum of produce at different periods of summer and autumn, there is secured throughout the season a succession of fresh herbage, rendered, by the erect and creeping foliage of the different species, so dense and abundant as greatly to surpass in quantity that obtained from the cultivation of two or three kinds onlv. (Z6iip.246.) ' 5650. New and excellent varieties of many of the grasses, especially those used or fit to be used in the convertible husbandry, might no doubt be obtained by selection and cross-breeding, and it is much to be wished that this were attempted by cultivators. 5651. The grasses to be here treated of may be classed as tall sorts, or those best fitted for hay ; and dwarf grasses, or those fit only for pasturage : those experimented on at Wobum will next be noticed. Sect. 1. TaH-gromng or Hay Grasses, 5652. The hay grasses for the purposes of agriculture may be advantageously divided into those of temporary, and those of permanent duration. SuBSECT. 1. Tall or Hay Grasses of temporary Duration. *5653, The most valuable of this division are the biennial, or, as it is commonly but erroneously called, the annual, perennial, and subperennial rye-grass (Jig. 789. a), the 888 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. cock's-foot grass(6), and woolly soft grass(c). Wliere a crop of hay is desired within the ' year, it is necessary to resort to such grasses as are annuals in the strict sense of the word ; and none can be better for tliis purpose than the common oat (^vena satWa), cut and made into hay when it comes into flower. Next in order may be mentioned tlie other ' cereal grasses and the annual vaiieties of Promus : the latter, however, are very coarse grasses, though prolific in culm. 5654. Tlte biennial rye-grass (Zolium per<^nne var. bi^nne L.) is well known, as being universally sown, either with or with- out clover, among corn crops, with a view ' to one crop of hay in the succeeding season. It attains a greater height, and produces a. longer broader spike of flowers, than the perennial rye-grass, and the produce in hay is considered greater than that of any other annual grass, equally palatable to cattle. It prefers a rich loamy soil, but will grow on any surface whatever, not rock or undecayed bog. *5655, The perennial rye-grass (iolium per^nne X. Ivraie mvaccj Fr. ; Daurende Lolche, Ger. ; and Logiio vivace, Itah) differs from the other in being of somewhat smaller growth, and in abiding for several years, according to the variety and the soil and culture. *5656. Many consider this grass coarse^ benty, and very exhausting to the soil ; but, after all the experi- ments that have been made on the other grasses, none Have been found to e(]U3l it for a course of mowing and pasturing for two, three, or seven years. It is sown in Italy, and especially in Lombardy, and also in France and Germany, along with, clover, for the same purposes as in this country; and, as Von Thaer has remarked, though some have tried other species, both in these countries and in England, they have in the end returned to rye-grass. When intended as a pasture-grass, if stocked hard, and when for hay, if mown early, the objections to it are removed, (Code of Agriculture.) G. Sinclair says the circumstance of its producing abundance of seed, which is easily collected, and vegetates freely on any soil, its early perfection and abundant herbage the first year, which is much relished by cattle, are the merits which have upheld it to the present day, and will probably for some time to come continue it a favourite grass among farmers. But the lattermath is inconsiderable, the plant impo^ eiishes the soil in a high degree if not cut before the seed ripens. When this is neglected, the field after midsummer exhibits only a brown surface of withered straws. Let the produce and nutritive powers of rye-grass be compared with those of the cock's-foot grass, and it will be found inferior nearly in the proportion of 5 to 18 ; to meadow fox-tail of 5 to 12 ; and to meadow fescue of S to 17. {Hort Gram. Wob. 2d edit 215. and see \ 5662.) In a subsequent page he observes, " The new varieties, however, of this species of grass, which have been discovered of late years, remove in a considerable degree the serious objections which applied to the common rye-grass." [Jb. 412.) The varieties aUuded to are all perennial, and as under : of Acre House, Lincolnshire, an eminent cultivator of the pasture grasses, who, in IS83, bad fiO varieties of Mlium per^nne under experiment. Stickney'g rye-grms, introduced by Sticlmey of Holdemess. RwmU's rye-^ast, first cult'vatcd hy the late fi, Holditch, Esq., editor of The Farmer's Journal, from seed oFit^ined of a plant in a rich fen pasture, pointed out to Holditch by the bukeof Bedibrd. - Chitrdi bainel, or Church bent-grass, an excellent varlet; of ije-grass, cultivated in some parts of Berkshire. Slender rye-^nua, common in dry impoverished pasture land. Compourid or broad spiked rye-grate, round in rich soils, long under grass, and chiefly in beaten parts, as cart-ways, &c. It has a sliort liroad spike, crowded with spikelets at the top. Pacey'e rye-ffrass, found in rich meadow lands, and intro- duced by Pacey, a cultivator in the uplands of Staffordshire ; spike nearly upright, spikelets shorter than in the compound rye-grass, the stem furnished with long leaves, and the root leaves large and numemu-i. Sinclair considers this the most valuable varied of the ryC' grass. WhUmorih's rye-grass. Introduced by G. Whitworth, Esq., All the above, except the first two, are excellent varieties. Pacey's and Russell's are considered the best 5657. The proportional valjte which the grass at the time of flowering bears to the grass at the time the seed is ripe, is as 10 to 11. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to the grass at the time of flowering, is as 4 to 10 ; and to grass at the time the seed is ripe, as 4 to 11. 5658. The seed of perennial rye-grass is not to be distinguished from that of the annual variety. It may be collected by hand, in most parts of Britain, from old pastures, and a considerable quantity is annually so procured in Kent and Sussex. It is also grown purposely for seed in England and Scotland. Formerly it was the practice for farmers to collect the seed which dropped from the hay used by their horses ; but rye-grass, grown for hay, is now cut, by all judicious farmers, when it is just coming into flower ; and there- fore to collect the glumes or empty husks can be of no use as seed. It has also been a common practice, in regard to rye-grass, to let the mixed crop of that and clover stand till the seeds of the former have attained a considerable degree of ripeness, when it is cut down and made into hay, in the usual manner; and the seeds of the rye-grass are separated by the use of the flail, commonly before the hay is put into the field-ricks. Sometimes, when but a small quantity is wanted, the hay is merely shaken well upon a cloth, when it is building in ^hc stack-yard; or afterwards in the stable-loft, before it is put into the horse's racks. But in all of these methods, in order to obtain good seed, the clover must remain uncut beyond the proper season ; and it is thus materially injured in quality, while the value of the rye-grass seed, in such a crop, is merely a secondary consideration. 5^9. When seed fs the principal object of the culture of rye-grass, it ought not to be mixed with clover at all, though it may be sown along with any of the kinds of corn, and treated the year after in every respect as a crop of com ; bound up in sheaves, built in stacks, threshed with the flail, and dressed by the win- nowing-machine in the same manner. 5660. The difflculiy of distinguishing between the annual and perennial varieties ofri/e-grass has led to the practice, in some places, of cutting or pasturing the first year's qrop, and taking a crop for seed the second year. If the growth of the rye-grass plants be close and vigorous the second year, there is reason to be satisfied that the seed is of thei>erennial variety; and though red clover was sown with the rye-grass, a great part of it disappears by that time, and fonns but a small portion of the second year's cutting. {Sup. Encyc. Brit, art Agr,\ Book VI. HAY GRASSES. 889 5661. The cocIc*s-foot grass (Dactylis glomerata Z.,^^.788. b) is an imperfect perennial, and grows naturally on dry sandy soils. This grass may be known by its coarse appear- ance, both of the leaf and spike, and also by its whitish green hue. 5662. One turiter savs^ he has cultivated it largely, and to his satisfaction, on wet loams on a clay marl bottom, upon which the finer grasses are apt to give way in a few years to the indigenous produce. If sufibred to rise high, it is very coarse; but, fed close, is a very valuable sheep pasture. He has sown two bushels an acre, and lOlbs. common red clover; and when the clover wears out, the grass fills the lands and abides well in it It grows well in winter. It has been found highly useful as an early sheep feed. It is early, hardy, and productive, but is a coarser plant than rye-grass, and requires even greater attention in regard to being cut soon, or fed close. It does best by itself, and the time of its ripening being different from that of clover, it does not suit well to be mixed with that plant. The pasturage it affords is luxuriant, and particularly agreeable to sheep. It is cultivated to a great extent, and with astonishing success, at HoUiham. The quantity of sheep kept upon it, summer and winter, is quite surprising ; and the land be- comes renovated by lying two or three years under this grass, and enriched by the manure derived from the sheep. A field, in the park at Woburn, was l^d down in two equal parts, one part with rye-grass and white-Clover, and the other part with cock's-foot and rod clover : from the spring till midsummer, the sheep kept almost constantly on the rye.grass ; but after that time tliey left it, and adhered with equal constancy to tlie cock's-foot during the remainder of the season. In The Code qf Agriculture (p. 497. 3d edit) it is stated, that Sinclair of Woburn consitlers " no grass so well suited for all purposes as cock's-foot ; " and in the second edition of the Hortus Gramineus Woburn4nsis, it is observed, that if one species only is thought preferable to another in the alternate husbandry, that species is the .Dactylis glo- mcrkta, from its more numerous merits. £ut a certain supply of the most nutritious herbage throughout the season will be in vain looked for from any one species ot grass, and can oriiy be found where nature has provided it in a combination of many. None appear better fitted for mixing with Dactylis than Fest^a duriijscula and prat^nsis, Pba triviMis, /Aolcus aven&ceus, Phl^um prat^nse, Z6lium perenne, and white clover. " A combination thus formed, of three parts cock's-foot, and one part of these specieg just mentioned, will secure the most productive and nutritive pasture in alternation with grain crops, on soils of the best quality ; and even on soils of an inferior nature, under the circumstances of unfavourable seasons, will affbrd nutritive herbage, when otherwise the land would have beer comparatively devoid of it, if one species of grass only had been employed." {Hort. Gram. Wob. 2d edit 4iit) 5663. The proportional value which the ^rass at the time of flowering bears to the grass at the time the seed is ripe, is as 5 to? nearly. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to the grass at the time of flowering, is as 6 to 10 ; and to the grass at the time the seei) is ripe, as 6 to 14. Sixty-four drachms of the straws at the time of flowering afford of nutritive matter 1*2 dr. The leaves or lattermath, and the straws simply, are therefore of equal proportional value ; a circumstance which will point out this grass to be more valuable for permanent pasture than for hay. The above details prove, that a loss of nearly one third of the value of the crop is sustained, if left to the period when the sera is ripe, though the proportional value of the grass at that time is greater, i. e. as 7 to 5. The produce does not increase if the grass is left growing after the period of flowering, but uniformly decreases ; and the loss of lattermath (from the rapid growth of the foliage after the grass is cropped) is very considerable. These circumstances point out the necessity of keeping this grass closely cropped, either with the scythe or cattle, to reap the fUU benefit of its merits. 5664. The wooUy soft grass (.ffolcus lanatus L^jjlg. 580. c) is an imperfect perennial, and rather late flowering grass, of a short unsubstantial appearance, and found chiefly in poor dry soils. It is, however, a very common grass, and grows on all soils, from the richest to the poorest. It affords abundance of seed, which is light, and easily dispersed by the wind. 5665. It was ciUlivated at Woburn on a strong clayey loantj and the proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe, bears to the grass at the time of flowering, is as 1 1 to 1 2. Yt)ung of Essex observes of this grass, that it flourishes well on any moist soil, and should be sown chiefly with a view to sheep, for it is not so good for other stock : many acres of it have been cultivated on his farm for sheep, and it has answered well when kept close fed. Marshal, in his Midland Counties, mentions it as a good grass for cows and other cattle, but bad for horses. In his Rural Economy of Yorkshire, he, however, condemns it altogether. 5666. According to Sinclair, of Woburn, " it appears to be generally disliked by all sorts of cattle. The produce is not so great as a view of it in the fields would indicate ; but being left almost entirely untouched by cattle, it appears the most f -oductive part of the herbage. The hay which is made of it, from the number of downy hairs which cover the surface of the leaves, is soft and spongy, and disliked by cattle in general.'* The Woburn experiments lead to the conclusion that the Ilolcns mollis is a better hay plant than the species here noticed ; but as that is a more durable perennial it is less fitted for the temporary purposes of this section. 5667. The culture of these grasses maybe considered the same as that of rye-grass, which was discussed when treating of clover and rye-grass. (5540.) The seeds of all of them are sold by the principal seedsmen, or may be gathered on grass-fields, or hedge wastes, by women or children at an easy rate. SuBSECT, 2.- TaUfyr Hay Grasses of permanent Duration. 5668. No permanent grass has been found equal to the rye-grass for the purposes of convertible husbandry, but others have been selected which are considered superior for hay meadows. The principal of these are the fescue, fox-tail, and meadow-grass. Agri- culturists, indeed, are not all agreed on the comparative merits of these grasses with rye- grass ; but there are none who do not consider it advisable to introduce a portion of each, or most of these species along with rye-grass, in laying down lands to permanent pasture. The nutritive products of these grasses, of perennial rye-grass, and of that singular grass fiorin, are thus given by Sir H, Davy : — 890 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. Systematic Name, EnRlish Name. In 100 Parts. Whole quantityof soluble or nutritive matter. IVIucUaee or starch. Saccha- rine mat- ter or sugar. Gluten or albumen. Extract or matter rendered insoluble during eva- poration. Festkca Miicea (j!g.790. c) /folcus odor^tus AnthoxSnthum v^rnum v41opecttrus prat^nsis id) Poa fdrtilis fe) trivlMis If) Cynosilrus crietiltus LMium perdnne .4gr6stis stolonlfera Spiked fescue grass Sweet-scented soft grass Sweet-scented vernal grass Meadow fox.tail grass Fertile meadow grass Roughish meadow grass Crested dog's-tail grass Perennial rye-grass Fiorin Florin cut in winter la 82 60 33 78 39 35 39 76 J5 72 *3 65 29 28 26 46 61 2 4 4 3 6 S 3 4 5 8 T I 2 6 3 6 7 6 4 5 2 3 5669. Of the fescue grass there are three species in the highest estimation as meadow hay grasses, viz. the meadow, tall, and spiked fescue, (fg. 790. a, b, c.) 5670. The F. pratthtsis (a)^ or the meadow or fertile fescue grass, is found in most rich meadows and pastures in England, and is highly grateful to every description of stock. It is more in demand for laying down meadows than any other species except the rye-grass. By the Woburn experiments, the value of this grass at the time the seed is ripe, is to that of the grass at the time of flowering, as 6 to 18. The loss which is sustained by leaving the crop of this grass till the seed be ripe is very great That it loses more of its weight in drying at this stage of growth, than at the time of flowering, perfectly agrees with the deflciency of nutritive matter in the seed crop, in proportion to that in the flowering crop: the straws being succulent in the former, they constitute the greatest part of the weight; but in the latter they are comparatively withered and dry, consequently the leaves constitute the greatest part of the weight. It _ may be observed here, that there is a great difference between straws or leaves that have been dried after they were cut in a succulent state, and those which are dried by nature while growing. The former re- tain all their nutritive powers ; but the latter, if completely dry, very little, if any. 5671. The tall or mferttle fescue grass {FestUca el&.tior E. B. b) is closely allied to the Festkca pratfensis, from which it differs in little, except that it is larger in every respect. The produce is nearly three times that of the F. prat^nsis, and the nutritive powers of the grass are superior, m direct proportion, as 6 to 8. The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe, bears to the grass at the time of flower- ing, IS as 12 to 20. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that of the crop, is as IG to 20 ; and to the grass at the time the seed is ripe, as 12 to 16 inverse. Curtis observes, that as the seeds of this plant, when cultivated, are not fertile, it can only be introduced by parting its roots and planting them out ; in this there would, says he, be no great difficulty, provided it were likely to answer the ex- pense, which he is strongly of opinion it would in certain cases ; indeed he has often thought that meadows would be best formed by planting out the roots of grasses, and other plants, in a regular manner ; and that, liowever singular such a practice may appear at present, it will probably be adopted at some future period : this great advantage would, he says, attend it, noxious weeds might be more easily kept down, until the grasses and other plants had established themselves in the soil. 5672. The spiked fescue grass, or darnel fescue grass {Festitca ZoliStcea L. c), resembles the rye-grass in appearance, and the tall fescue grass in the infertility of its seeds. It is considered superior to rye-grass either for hay or permanent pasture, and improves in proportion to its age, which is the reverse of what takes place with the rye-grass. 5673. The meadow fox-tail grass (^opecunis prat^nsis, rf) is found in most mea- dows ; and when the soil is neither very moist nor very dry, but in good heart, it is very productive. It also does well on water meadows. .Sheep and horses seem to have a greater relish than oxen for this grass. 5074. Znthe Woburn experimentSf it was tried both on a sandy loam and a clayey loamj, and the result gave nearly three fourths of produce greater from a clayey loam than from a sandy soil, and the grass from the latter is comparatively of less value, in proportion as 4 to 6. The straws produced by the sandy soil are defiraent in number, and in every respect less than those ft-om the clayey loam ; which will account for the unequal quantities of the nutritive matter afforded by them; but the proportional value in which the grass of the lattermath exceeds that of the crop at the time of flowering, is as 4 to 3: a difference which appears extraordinary, when the quantity of flower -stalks which are hi flie grass at the time of flowering is considered. In the Anthoxanthumodorhtum the proportional difference betwcien the grass of these crops is still greater, nearly a& 4 to 9 ; in tlie Fha. prat^nsis they are equal j but in all the Book VI, HAY GRASSES. 89l iatter flowering grasses experimented upon, the flowering straws of which resemble those of the ^lopecCinrs pratensis, or Anthox&nthum odorktum, the greater proportional value is always, on the contrary, found in the grass of the flowering crop. Whatever the cause may be, it is evident that the loss sustained by taking the crops of these grasses at the time of flowering is considerable. The proportional value which the grass at the time of flowering bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 9. The proportional value which the whole of the litttcrmath crop bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 5 to 9 ; and to that at the time of flowering, proportionably as 13 to24r. Kext to the fescue, this grass is in the greatest reputation for layuig down mowing grounds j but it is unfortunately subject to the rust in some situations. 5675. QftAemeadow grass there are two species in esteem as hay plants, the smooth-stalked, and roughish. These plants compose the greater part of the celebrated Orcheston meadows near Salisbury, and ^so of the meadows near Edinbui^h. 5676. T/te great or smooth stalked meadow grass, the spear grass of America (Pfta prat^nsis, e), is dis- tinguished by its height, smooth stem, and creeping roots. According to Sole it is the best of all the grasses : its foliage begins to shoot and put on a fine verdure early in the spring, but not so soon as some other grasses. Every animal that eats grass is fond of it j while it makes the best hay, and affords the richest pasture. It abounds in the best meadows about Laycock and Chippenham, and has the valuable property of abiding in the same land, while most other grasses are continually changing.' According to some it delights in rather a dry tlian a moist soil and situation, on which account it keeps its verdure better than most others in dry seasons ; but it thrives most luxuriantly in rich meadows. 5677. Sff the Woftwm experiments^ the proportional value in which the grass of the lattermath exceeds that of the flowering crop, is as 6 to 7- The grass of the seed^crop, and that of the lattermath, are of equal value. This grass is, therefore, of least value at the time the seed is ripe ; a loss of more than one fourth of the v^ue of the whole cro^ is sustained if it is not cut till that period ; the straws are then dry, and the root-leaves in a sickly decaying state : those of the lattermath, on the contrary, are luxuriant and healthy. This spedes sends forth flower-stalks but once in a season, and those being the most valu- able part of the plant for the purpose of hay, it will, from this circumstance, and the superior value of the grass of the lattermath, compared to that of the seed-crop^ appear well adapted for permanent pasture. It was of this grass that the American prize bonnet, in imitation of Leghorn, was manufactured by Miss Woodhousa 5678. The roughish meadow gi-ass (Pba. triviMis J.,, /) delights in moist, rich, and sheltered situations, when it grows two feet high, and is very productive By the Woburn experiments it appears that the proportional value in which the grass of the seed crop exceeds that at the time of flowering, is as 8 to 1 1. The proportional value by which the grass of the lattermath exceeds that of the flowef in^ crop, is as 8 to 12; and that of the seed crop, as 11 to IS. Here, then, is a satisfactory proof of the supenor value of the crop at the time tlie seed is ripe, and of the consequent loss sustained by taking it when in flower ; the produce of each crop being nearly equal. The deficiency of hay in the flowering crop, in jiroportion to that of the seed crop, is very striking. Its superior produce, the highly nutritive powers which the grass seems to possess, and the season in which it arrives at perfection, are merits which distinguish it as one of the most valuable of those grasses which afl^ct moist rich soils and sheltered situations: but on dry exposed situations, it is altogether inconsiderable ; it yearly diminishes, and ultimately dies of!^ not unfr&. quentiy in the space of four or five years. 5679. The above are six of the best British grasses, for either dry or watered meadows. The seeds of the meadow fescue, fox-tail, aud smooth and rough meadow grasses may be had from the seedsmen, and they are sown in various proportions with tlie clovers and rye-grs^s. The seeds of the two sorts of meadow grass are apt to stick together, and require to be well mixed with the others before being sown. The tall and spiked fescue grasses, having a number of barren flowers, are not prolific in seeds, and they are therefore seldom to be got at the seed-shops ', though they may occasionally be had there gathered from plants in a wild state. 5680. As hay grasses, adapted for particular soils a/nd siiuations, the cat's tail or Timothy, floating fescue, and florin grass, have been recommended ; but it cannot be said that the opinions of cultivators are unanimous in their favour. Timothy has certainly been found to answer well on moist, peaty soils, and in several cases florin also. 5681. The cat's ttM or Timothy grass (Phl^umprat6nse L.,Jig. 791. a) is a native plant. and found both in dry and moist soils. It was first brought into notice by Timothy Hudson, about 1780,^ who introduced it from Carolina, where it was in great repute. On moist rich soils it is a prolific grass, but late ; on dry soils it is good for little, and for cultivation in any way is disapproved of by Withering, Swaine, Curtis, and others, as having no properties in which it is not greatly surpassed by the ^opecurus prat^nsis, 5682. The IVobum experiments^ however, present this grass as one of the most prolific for hay. Sixty- four drachms of the straws aflforded seven drachms of nutritive matter. The nutritive powers of the 892 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. P^Rt IH. straws simply, therefore, exceed those of the leaves, in the proportion of 28 to 8 j the nutritive powers o! the grass, at the time of flowering, exceed those of the grass at tTie time the seed is ripe, in the proportion of 10 to 23 i and the nutritive powers of the lattermath, those of the grass of the flowering crop, in the proportion of 8 to 10. The comparative merits of this grass will, ftom the above particulars, appear to be very great ; to which may be added the abundance of fine foliage that it produces early ui the spring. In this respect it is inferior to Pba f.'rtilis and Pba. angustiR^lia only. The value of the straws at the time the seed is ripe, exceeds that of the grass at the time of flowering, in the proportion of 28 to 10, a circum. stance which raises it above many others ; for from this property its valuable early foliage may be depas- tured to an advanced period of the season, without injury to the crop of hay, treatment which in grasses that send forth their flowering straws early in the season would cause a loss of nearly one half in the value of the crop, as clearly proved by former examples ; and this property of the straws makes the plant peculiarly desirable for hay. In moist and peaty soils it has in various instances been foimd highly productive. 5«83. The floating fesciie grassj Festuca fiuitans (b), is found in rich swamps, especially in Cambridgeshire, where it is said to give the peculiar flavour to Cottenham and Cheddar cheese. It is also found in ditches and ponds in most parts of the country. 5684. It is greedily devoured by every description <^ stock, not excepting hogs and ducks, and geese eagerly devour the seeds, which are small, but very sweet and nourishing. They are collected in several parts of Germany and Poland, under the name of manna-seeds (schuiaden), and are esteemed a delicacy in soups and gruels. When ground to meal, they make bread very little inferior to that from wheat. The bran is given to horses that have the worms ; but they must be kept from water for some hours afterwards. Geese, and other water-fowl, are very fond of the seeds. So also are fish ; trout, in particular, thrive in those rivers where this grass grows in plenty. It has been recommended to be sowed on meadows that admit flooding; but Curtis justly remarks, that the flote-fescue will not flourish except in land that is constantly under water, or converted into a bog or swamp; 568.5. 2'Ae water meadow grass (Poa aqudtica, c) is found chiefly in marshes, but will grow on strong clays, and yield, as the Woburn experiments prove, a prodigious produce, flowering from June to September. It is one of the largest of our grasses. 5686. In the fens of Cambridgeshire^ Lincolnshire^ &c., immense tracts, that used to be overflowed and to produce useless aquatic plants, and which, though drained by mills, still retain much moisture, are covered with this grass, which not only affords rich pasturage in summer, but forms the chief part of the winter fodder. It has a powerfully creeping root; and bears frequent mowing well It is sometimes cut thrice in one season near the Thames. It grows not only in very moist ground, but in the water itself; and with cat's-tail, burr-reed, &c., soon fills up ditches, and occasions them to require fVequent cleansing. In this respect it is a formidable plant, even in slow rivers. In the Isle of Ely they cleanse these by an instrument called a bear, which is an iron roller, with a number of pieces of iron, tike small spades, fixed to it; this is drawn up and down the river by horses walking along the bank, and tears up the plants by the roots, which float, and are carried down the stream. The grass was, however, cultivated at Woburn on a strong tenacious clay, and yielded considerable produce. 5687. The florin grass (^grostis stolonlfera, d) is a very common grass both in wet and dry, rich and poor situations. Few plants appear to be more under the influence of local circumstances than this grass. On dry soils it is worth nothing ; but on rich marl soils, and in a moist soil, if we may put confldence in the accounts given of its produce in Ireland, it is the most valuable of all herbage plants. 5688. It was first brought into notice by Dr. Richardson in 1809," and subsequently extolled, and its culture detailed in various pamphlets by the same gentleman. It appears to be exclusively adapted for moist peat soils or bogs. In The Code of Agriculture it is said, " On mere bogs, the florin yields a great weight of herbage, and is, perhaps, the most useful plant that bogs can produce." According to Sir IL Davy, the florin grass, to be in perfection, requires a moist climate or a wet soil ; and it grows luxuriantly in cold clays unfitted for other grasses. In light sands, and in dry situations, its produce is much inferior as to quantity and quality. He saw four square yards of florin grass cut in the end of January, in a meadow exclusively appropriated to the cultivation of florin by the Countess of Hardwicke, the soil of which is a damp stiff clay. They afforded twenty-eight pounds of fodder, of which one thousand parts afforded sixty- four parts of nutritive matter, consisting neany of one sixth of sugar, and five sixths of mucilage, with a little extractive matter. In another experiment, four square yards gave twenty-seven pounds of grass. Lady Hardwicke has given an account of a trial of this grass ; wherein twenty-three milch cows, and one young horse, besides a number of pigs, were kept a fortnight on the produce of one acre. On the Dukeof Bedford's farm, at Maulden, fiorin hay was placed in the racks before horses, in small distinct quantities, alternately with common hay ; but no decided preference for either was manifested by the horses in this trial. Fiorin lias been tried in the highlands of Scotland, and a premium awarded in 1831 for a field of three acres planted on land previously worth very little, at Appin, in Argyleshire. (HighL Sac. Trans. vol. vi. p. 229.) Hay-tea has also been made from fiorin, and found useful in rearing calves, being mixed with oatmeal and skimmed milk. {Jbid. p. 233.) 5689. There are other species of Ag^-dstis, as the A, palfistris and r&pens, and some varieties of the A. stolom'fera, that on common soils are little different in their appearance and properties from florin. On one of these, the narrow-leaved creeping-bent {A. stolonifera var. anguscif&lia), the following remarks are made in the account of the Woburn experiments. *' From a careful examination of the creeping-bent with narrow leaves, it will doubtless appear to possess merits well worthy of attention, though perhaps not so great as they have been supposed, if the natural place of its growth and habits be impartially taken into the account From the couchant nature of tliis grass, it is denominated couch-grass, by practical men ; and from the length of time that it retains the vital power, after being taken out of the soil, it is called squitch, quick, full of life," &c. 5690. 2'he culture qf fiorin is diflferent from that of other grasses. Though the plant will ripen its seeds on a dry soil, and these seeds being very small, a few pounds would be sufficient for an acre, yet it is gene- rally propagated b^ stolones or rooushoots. The ground being well pulverised, freed from weeds, and laid into such beds or ridges as the cultivator may think advisable ; small drills an inch or two deeo, and six or nine inches asunder, are to be drawn along its surface, with a hand or horse-hoe, or on soft lands with the hoe-rake; In the bottom of these drills, the fiorin shoots (whether long or short is of no consequence) are laid lengthways, so that their ends may touch each other, and then lightly covered with a rake, and the surface rolled to render it fit for the scythe. In six months the whole surface will be covered with verdure, and if the planting be performed early in spring, a large crop may be had in the following autumn. Any season will answer for planting, but one likely to be followed by showers and heat is to be preferred. Those who wish to cultivate this grass will consult Dr. Richardson's New Essay on Fiorin Grass (1813), and also The Farmer's Magazine for 1810-14. Our opinion is, that neither fiorin, Timothy, nor floating fescue, is ever likely to be cultivated in Britain ; though the latter two may perhaps succeed well on the bogs and moist rich soils of Ireland, where, to second the influence of the soil, there is a moist warm cUmate. Book VI. PASTDRE GRASSES. 893 5691, ji number of other species of tall grctsses, well adapted for meadows and hay-. making, might be here enumerated; but we have deemed it better to treat only of the most popular sorts, of which seeds may be purchased ; all the others of any consequence will be found in a tabular view (Sect. TII.)> accompanied by a summary statement of their products in hay and aftermath, nutritive matter, and general character. ' 5692. The jyreparation of the soil, and tfie somng of the usual meadow grasses, diflfer in nothing from those of clover and rye-grass already given. The after-treatment of dry meadows, including the making of natural hay, will be found in the succeeding Chapter on the management of grass-lands ; tliat of watered meadows was naturally given when treating of their formation. (443 1 . ) Sect, II. Grasses chiefly adapted for Pasturage. *5693. In treating of pasturage grasses we shall make a selection of such as have been tried to some extent, and of which the seeds are in the course of commerce. On soils in good condition, and naturally well constituted, no better grasses can be sown for pasturage than those we have described as tall grasses for hay-meadows ; but for early and late pasturage, and secondary soils, there are others much more suitable. 5694. 7%e pasitM-e grasses for ear/v pasturage on all soils are the Anthoxdnthum odor5.tum, ^61cus odor&tus, ^vena pubescens, and Pba annua, 5H95. ZTie pasture grasses for late herbage on all soils are chiefly the dlfibrent species of j^grostis and Phl&um. 5696. JTie pasture grasses for poor or secondary soils are the Cynosilrus cristMus, Festiica durifiscula and orina, P6a comprfessa, cristata, and angustifblia. 5697. The grasses that afford most nutritive matter in early sjmng, are the fox-tail grass and the vernal grass; the former has been already mentioned as one of the best hay-grasses. £69& The sweet-scented tm-nal grass (Anthoxanthum odor JLtum, ^. 792. a) is common in almost all pastures, and is that which gives the fragrance to natural or meadow-hay. It is chiefly valuable as an early grass ; for, tliough it is eaten by stock, it does not appear to be much relished by them. From the Woburn experiments, it appears that the smallness of the produce of this ^rass renders it improper for the purpose of hay ; but its early growth, and the superior quantity of nutritive matter which the lattermath affords, compared with the quantity afforded by the grass at the time of flowering, cause it to rank high as a pasture-grass, on such soils as are well fitted fox its growth ; such are peat-bogs, and lands thatare deep and moist 5699. The downy oat grass (^vfena pub^cens, b), according to the Woburn experiments, possesses several good qualities, which recommend it to particular notice ; it is hardy, early, and more productive than many others which affect similar soils lho situations. Its growth after being cropped is tolerably rapid^ although it does not attain to a great length if lett growing ; like the P6a prat^nsis it sends forth flower, stalks but once in a season, and it appears well calculated for permanent pasture on rich light soils. 5700. The anavutl meadow g. ass {Fha, innua, c) is the most common of all grasses, and the least absolute in Its habits. It is almost the only grass that will grow in towns and near works where the smoke of coal abounds. Though an annual grass, it is found in most meadowy and pastures perpetually flowering, and affording an early sweet herbage, relished by all stock, and of as great importance to birds as wheat is to man. It hardly requires to be sown, as it springs up every where of itself. However, it may not be amiss to sow a few pounds of it per acre wherever perpetual pasture (not hay) is the object. 5701. The fine bent grass (^grostis vulgaris, d) is one of the most common grasses, and, according to the Woburn experiments, one of the earliest. The A. paKrstris is nearly as early in producing its foliage, though both flower late, and neither is very prolific either in bulk or nutritive matter. 5702. The Tiarrow -leaved meadow grass (Pha. angustifblia, c), though it flowers late, yet is remarkable for the early growth of the leaves. According to the Woburn experiments the leaves attain to the length of more than twelve inches before the middle of April, and are soft and succulent ; in May, however, when the flower-stalks make their appearance, it is subject to the disease termed rust, which affects the whole plant j the conseguence of which is manifest in the great deficiencv cf produce in the crop at the time the seed is ripe, bemg then one half less than at the time of the flowering of the grass. Though this disease begins in the straws, the leaves suffer most from its effects, being at the time the seed is ripe com- pletely dried up : the straws, therefore, constitute the principalpart of the crop for mowing, and they contain more nutritive matter, in proportion, than the lea\es. This grass is evidently most valuable for permanent pasture, for which, in consequence of its superior, rapid, and early growth, and the disease beginning at the straws, nature seems to have designed it. The grasses which approach nearest to this in respect of early produce of leaves, are the Pba fertilis, D&ctylig glomerAta, Phlfeum prat^nse, ^lopeciirus prat^nsis, ^v^a el&tior, and ^romus littlreus, all grasses of a coarser kind. 894 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. S70S. The best natural pastures of Ejigland, examined carefblly dutnifi yarioiis iierioda of the season, were found by Sinclair of Wobiirn to consia of the following plants : — ^lopecilnis pmt^nsis. PliIAum praKhise. Kfcii j-^ihiin- -Pba tfnnaa. Dictylis Rlomerita. Aiithroxdnthum odordtum. I-iillum jjertfiinc ^vina iirat^nsls. Fettuca prat^iisi en. \ Pba elktiot Curtu \ ^Avin& eliiUor, var. J Fettitca duriOscula B. B. Brdmiis er^ctus E. B> Miliam eiFCisum E. B, Festnca prat^nsis E. B. Z/iilium per^nne E. B. P6a marltima E. B. Fer/uca /olificea E.B. Atc3i crista ta E. B. Cynosiinis cristiitus E. B, ^v6na prat^nsis E- B. Br&mus multifl&nis E.B. Featiica Mjiirus E. B. Atra. QexuAsa E. B. H6rdeuTa bulb&sum 1 Hort. K. J Festjtca calamkria E. B. Ur6mus Uttbreus Host l G.A. J Festitca elktior E. B. Festiica fliiitans E. B. H6\c\L% lanaCus W, Fei/ica dumetinim W, Pba. f^rtilis Hoit G. A. .ilrdndo colorkta Hort. K. Phl^um nod65um Wrift. j- Phl^um prat^nse With. fi'fSideum prat^nse B. B, P6a compr^ssa E. B. P6a aquatica E. B. i4(ra aqu^tica EB. /4(raciBspit^sa E.B. ^v^na flav^scens E. B. Sritmus st^rilis E. B, H6\ca.s mdllis CurlU PAa fortius var. B. Hoil \ G.A. S Agidstis vul^ris E. B. Agi6stis palQstris B. B. Pdnicum djctylon E. B. Agrdstis stoloai&ra E. B. Agr6sXis stoloaffera Tar.l angustifblia J FMltica peiinkta - Aet6stis canina E. B. .^^ijstis stricta CurtU Jgrdstis nlvea .i4gr Scot. Purple fescue grass, Brit. Sheep's fescue gr. Brit. Common quakmg gr. Brit. Rough-head cock°s-foot 1 grass, Brit. Noddingpencilled brome' grass, Eur. Cambridge fescue gr. Brit. Upright brome grass, Brit. Narrow-lea. mea. gr. Brit. Tall oat grass or 1 Knotgrass^ Brit. J Tall meadow grass, Scot. Hard fescue grass, Brit. Upright peren. br- gr. Brit. Common millet grass, Brit- Meadow fescue grass, Brit. Perennial rye grass, Brit. Sea meadow gra.ss, Brit. Spiked fescue grass, Brit. Crested hair grass, Brit. Crested dog's-tail gr Brit. Meadow oat grass, Brit. Many fl. g. brome gr. Brit. Wall fescue grass, Brit. Waved moun. hairgr. Brit Bulbous barley gr. Italy Reed- like fescue gr. Brit. Sea-side brome grass, Ger. Tall fescue grass, Brit. Floating fescue gTass,Brit. Meadow soft grass, Brit. Pubescent fescue gr. Brit. Fertile mead, grass, Ger. Striped-lea. reed gr. Brit. Bulbous-stalked cat's- 1 tail grass, Brit. J Meadow cat's tail gr. Brit. Meadow barley grass, Brit. Flat-sUlked mea. gr. Brit. Reed meadow grass, Brit- Water hair grass, Brit. Turfy hair gras , Brit. Yellow oat grass, Brit. Barren brome grass, Brit. Creeping soft grass, Brit. Fertile meadow gr. Ger. Where figured or described. Natural Dura- tion. E.B. ] E. B. 1 E.B. ] E.B. '■ E.B. ] E.B. : E.B. E.B. Bnt. Fine bent grass, Brit. Marsh bent grass, Brit. Creeping panic grass, Brit. Fiorin of Dr.Ricbardson] '' Brit. Narrow.leaved, creep. ing bent, Brit. Spiked fescue, Brit. Brown bent, Brit. Upright bent graSs, Brit. Snowy bent grass, Brit. Tufted-tea. bent gr. Brit. Green panic grass, Brit. Lobed bent grass, Brit. Black or creeping rooted! bent, bl. couch, Brit. ( Creeping rooted wheat! gr. or couch gr. Brit, j" Slender foxiail grass, Brit. Hairy stalked br. gr, Brit. Mexican bent gr. S. Amer. Long awned fea. gr. Brit. Purple melic grass, Brit. Com. Canary grass Brit. Amer. cock's foot gr. N..^. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B.. E. B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. H. D. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. E.B. Perec. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Annual Annual Peren. 470 471 1106 169^ S15 1140 1821 648 316 1204 1884 1412 1519 409 365 1315 1557 1463 952 Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Annual Annual Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Annual Peren. Peren. Peren. 1030 Annual Peren. E.B. i E.B. 1 E.B. ] E.B. ] E.B. ! Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Peren. Annual Time of flowering April 29. April 29. April 30. May liO. May 30. May 30. May 30. May 30. June 13. June 13. June 13. June 13. June 16. June 20. June 24. June 24. June 24. June 21. June 28. Jime 28. June 28. June 28. June 28. July 1. July"!. July 1. July 1. July"!. July 4. July 6. July 6. July 6. July 6. July 6 July 10. July 10. July 12. July 12. July 14. July 14. July 14. July 14. July Ifi. July 16. July Ifi. July SO. July 20. July 20. July"i4. July 24. July 24. July 24. July 24. July 28. July 28. July 28. July 28. July 28. July 28. .Tuly 28. Aug. 10. Aug. 10. Aug. 2. Aug. 6. Aug. 8. Aug. 10. Aug. 10. Aug. 10. Aug. 15. Aug. 15. Aug. 29. Aug. 30. Aug. 30. Time of ripening the Seed Natural Soil and Situation as In Smith's Flora Brit. June 20. June 24. June 30. June 24. July 14. July 14. Julys. July 10. July 10. July 10. July 10. July 10. July 10. July 10. July 14. July 16. July 16. July 16. July 16. July 16. July 20. Julylo. July 20. July 20. Julyls. July 28. July 28. July 20. July 28. July 28. July 28. July 28. July 28. Aug. 6. Aug. 6. Aug. 12, July 26. July 20. July '28. July 28. July 30. July 30. Aug. 8. Aug. 8. Aug^S. Aug. 10. Aug. 15. Aug. 20. Aug. 20. Aug. 20. Aug. 28. Aug. 28. Aug. 28. Aug. 28. Aug. 30. Aug. 28. Aug. 30. Aug. 30. Aug. 50. Aug. 15. Aug. 2U. Aug. 25. Aug. 30. Sept. 8. Sept. 10. Sept. 2.5. Sept. is. Sept. 30. Sept. 30. Oct. 20. Brown sandy loam Rich sandy loam IJght handy soil Simdy toain Light sandy loam ' Clayey loam Sandy loam Bog earth and clay Bog earth and clay Rich sandy soil Manured sandy soil Light sandy soil Rich brown loam Rich sandy loam light sandy soil Light sandy soil Rich brown loam Brown loam Rich clay loam Lij;ht sandy loam Rich sandy soil Light saiidy soil Bog soil & coal ashes Ri^ brown loam Light brown loam Rich brown loam Sandy loam Manured br. loam Rich sandy loam Man. clayey loam Clayey loam Clayey loam Black rich loam Str. tenacious clay Strong clayey loam Black sandy loam Clayey loam Black sandy loam Clayey loam Clayey loam Man. brown loam Man. gravelly soil Str. tenacious clay Water Str. tenacious clay Clayey loam Sandy soil Sandy soil Brown sandy loam Sandy soil Bog earth Man. sandy loam ;soil Bog soil Man. light san. soil Brown sandy loam Bog soil Sandy soil Light eaudy soil Light sandy soil Sandy rail Clay^ loam , Light clayey loam Light sandy loam Light sandy Koii Black sandy soil Heath soil Light sandy sol Clayey loam Clayey loam Meadows Woods.molstmea. Pastures. Scotch mountains Scotch Alps Meadows Mead. & pastures Meadows Chalky pastures Cornfields Meadows Chalky pastures Mountains Mead. & pasture^ Dry pastures Pastures Soft moist soils Hedges Dry pastures Com fields Meadows Arable lands Meadows Pastures Chalky pastures Woods Meadows Loamy pastures Salt marshes Moist pastures Sandy pastures Pastures Pastures Poor past., hedges Walls Dry soils & heaths I/oamy pastures Hedges Sea-sho^ea Meadows Ponds Moist meadows Woods Meadows Moist loams Dry pastures Mead. & pastures Meadows Walls Ditches Clayey pastures Pastures Rubbish Sandy pastures Meadows Moist places Moist places Meadows Clayey pastures Clayey pastures Clayey pastures Clayey pastures Sandy Sandy pastures Arable lands Ax!A>}e lands Road-tddes Moist san. places Rich pastures Peatbogs Sandv pastures Cultivated fields Loamy pastures Book VI. WOBURN GRASSES, 897 Ifobura, arranged in the Order of their Flowering. i If Kinilof Roots. Produce* at the Time of Bowericg, per Acre in lbs. Produce, vhen tbe Seed is ripe, per Acre in lbs. Loss or Gain, by Cutting when in j'loweriin Nulriliro Matter, In lbs. Loss or Gain, by Cutting when In Seed, in NulriUve Matter, bilbs. Produce of the Latter. math, per Acre, in lbs. General Cburacter. Qt.ss, Ha,. 2103 5* It 5723 |S Brass. Hay. Etc It 1 i i i Grass. 67S8. Fibnnis 78S7 12! 6126 1837 4287 311 138 _ . 188 6806 3828 An early pasture-grass. 67S9. — 9628 2441 7087 610 27226 9628 17696 2233 1600 i . 1600 17015 1129 The most nutritive of earl; flov . gr. 6730. 6711. 6673. Fibrous rPibr. IFibr. Ceop. { 6446 5445 20418 8607 1452 6125 2662 3993 14293 '85 127 478 132 6806 12931 5319 7111 398 461 : I ; 8167 £55 Not d^erving culture* Not worth culture. A good grass for lawns. j- One of the best meadov grassa. 5676. Creeping 10209 2871 7337 279 8607 3403 6104 199 79 79 - 4033 111 Good earl; ha; grass. 5732. Creeping 7486 .2246 6240 233 5731 _ 15654 5870 9733 6806 136 > 6445 212 154 154 6806 212 A good pasture-grass on a rich soil. 5734 Fibrous 13672 4033 9628 478 567S 5734 5736 57.16 5737 5711 Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous 7486 9628 14293 10209 9528 2246 4811 6717 3657 3096 6240 6717 8576 6661 6431 44C 446 259 409 7827 96Z8 9528 1US90 5445 9628 3522 3811 3811 4900 3335 4304 6717 5717 6989 6183 336 223 186 340 127 483 102 im 101 74 260 260 102 4764 6125 3403 3403 8167 223 47 79 66 A most valuable gr. in moist rich soils. A good hay grass. A tolerably good pasture-grass. Good lawn grass. Good lawn grass. 6661 Fibrous 27905 11869 16046 1089 26644 13272 13272 1451 362 362 362 11910 281 A most productive grass, but coarse. Fibrous 7486 3930 3566 350 . . . , . Of little value. 5738 6739 5740 Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous 6806 20418 18376 2892 8677 7810 3913 11740 10566 239 957 1430 9528 3811 6717 701 • 649 649 " ; ' A good lawn grass. Excellent hay grass. 5741 Creep. 1 & iinot i - . 16336 5717 10617 266 . . 13612 265 A vile weed in arable lands. 6742. Creep. 1 & Knot S 12261 4287 3617 669 . - - - A vile weed in arable lands. 5743 6744 5655 5745 6748 6706 6746 6747 5750 Fibrous Fibious Fibrous Crtepinp Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous Fibrous 18376 12931 12251 13612 7827 12261 16335 10890 6125 6SU6 22460 9528 8167 23821 8269 6819 4747 6465 3.'i22 4900 7146 4900 1837 1871 12353 285S 3164 9826 10106 7112 7504 7146 4494 7350 9188 6989 4287 4934 10107 6670 5002 13994 1004 555 534 957 .105 861 765 340 406 239 17154 223 191 1302 19076 19067 14973 10890 12251 9528 8576 7623 4492 4492 4900 2858 10481 11434 10481 6397 7350 6670 446 446 643 553 478 148 337 71 558 510 2"l2 658 6"l0 212 337 "71 10209 3403 12261 5403 199 53 191 66 A good grass for hay or pasture. Not worih culture. Of little value. Excellent early hay grass. A well known and esteemed grass. One of themostvalu. gr. fiirhay & pas. A good lawn-grass. A good lawn-grass. Unfit for culture. A very inferior grass. Fit for lawns. Of Uttle use. 5751 — 64450 19057 35392 3828 51046 12123 38293 2392 - 1435 1435 . Early and prolific. 6752. — 41618 21278 20540 973 38116 15246 22869 2084 . nil nil . . . Early, prolific, and coarse. 5671 6763 1 6664 6760 6765 Cre^ing Creeping 61046 13612 19037 10890 14973 27225 17866 4083 6661 5445 7861 12261 33180 9528 12395 5445 7111 3988 372 1191 170 1052 1701 51046 19057 17866 3811 33180 16246 2392 8'l8 - 1596 372 1596 372 ; 16654 978 An excellent meadow grass. An aqua, or amphib. gr. of eood qaal. Early and productive. *^ ^ ^"^Svir 6761 Creeping 122S1 5319 6431 478 5681 6756. 66S6. 5711. 5767. 8758. 6759. Creeping Creeping Fibrous Creeping 40837 8167 3403 126596 10890 10209 8167 29947 34031 17355 3267 1446 75967 3267 3318 2868 16845 13612 23481 4900 1956 50638 7623 6891 5308 13102 20418 1595 478 266 4946 382 5Ji 2339 2392 10837 12261 21099 19397 4900 8439 21439 7350 12659 3668 430 1153 - 2073 47 1238 2073 47 1238 - 9528 4083 297 '79 An excellent hay grass. Early and nutritive. Most prolific, but coarse. An excellent lawn grass. A valuable grass. Of little value. A valuable grass. 6760. — 16664 6663 900O 733 14973 8235 6738 1169 436 . 436 4764 111 A valuable grass. 6762. greeping 9528 10209 31308 4764 4694 14088 4764 6616 17219 251 438 9783 13612 6446 8167 584 146 ■ ■ 146 " ' Aj^rlygras.. 6687. Creeping 17696 7742 9732 967 19067 8576 10481 1042 74 - - - . Usefiilonliogk 6689. Creeping 16336 7360 8984 765 67fi2. 20418 6126 7486 8722 8167 2688 2713 680 12251 3437 4772 2041 398 239 175 86 4764 1310 3454 148 H45 6806 2178 3403 3267 3043 127 319 - • ■ - • - • - Of no value. 6689. Cres connected with the most abundant early pro- duce of leaves. In this respect, all the species which have already come under examination are greatly inferior to that now spoken of. The culms are most valuable for the manufacture of the finest straw plait 5741. Pivhna elatior Curt {H6lcus avendceus E. of P. 14227.)— This grass sends forth flower-straws during the whole season ; and the lattermath contains nearly an equal number with the flowering crop. It is subject to the rust, but the disease docs not make its appearance till after the period of flowering ; it affects the whole plant, and at the time the seed is ripe the leaves and straws are withered and dry. This accounts for the superior value of the lattermath over the seed crop, and points out the propriety of taking the crop when the grass is in flower. 5742. Pba eldtiar Curt —The botanical characters of this grass are almost the same as those of the Jvkaa. elktior, differing in the want of the awns only. It has the essential character of the H6lci (florets, male and hermaphrodite ; calyx husks two-valved, with two florets) ; and since the ^vfena elktior is now referred to that genus, this may with certainty be considered a variety of it 5743. Festiica, dwiuscula E. B. — The proportional value which the grass at the time the seed is ripe bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 6 to 14 nearly. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 5 to 14 ; and to that at the time the seed is ripe as 5 to 6. The above particulars will confirm the favourable opinion which was given of this grass when speaking of the K Aordeiformis, and F. gISibra. (5733. and 5735.) Its produce in the spring is not very great, but of the finest quality, and at the time of flowering is considerable. If it be compared with those aflect- ing similar soils, such as Pba prat^nsis, Festiica ovina, &c. either considered as a grass for hay or perma- nent pasture, it will be found of greater value. 5744. MUium e^imm,. — This species in its natural state seems confined to woods as its place of growth ; but the trial that is here mentioned confirms the opinion that it will grow and thrive in open exposed situations. It is remarkable for the lightness of the produce in proportion to its bulk. It produces foliage early in the spring in considerable abundance; but its nutritive powers appear comparatively little. 5745. Vhdmaritima E. B.— The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time of Bowering, is as 4 to 18. 5746. Aw^n« pratensis E. B, — The proportional value which the crop, at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 4 to 9, 5747. Bromus multijthrtts E. B.— This species is annual, and no valuable properties have as yet been discovered in the seed. It Is only noticed on account of its being frequently found in poor grass lands and sometimes in meadows. It appears, from the above particulars, to possess nutritive powers equal tz some of the best perennial kinds, if taken when in flower ; but if left till the seed be ripe (which, from its early growth, is frequently the case), the crop is comparatively of no value, the leaves and straws being then conyiletely dry. 5748. Festtica lolidcea Curt Lond. — The proportional value which the grass, at the time of flowering bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 12 to 13 ; and the value of the lattermath stands in proper, tion to that of the crop, at the time of flowering, as 5 to 12 ; and to that of the crop taken at the time the seed is ripe, as 5 to 13, This species of Festiica greatly resembles the rye-grass, in habit and place of growth ; it has excellences which make it ^eatly superior to that grass, for the purposes of either hay or permanent pastura This species seems to improve in produce in proportion to its age, which is directly tiie reverse of the Xblium per^nne. 5749. Vita cristhia Host, G. A. — The produce of this species, and the nutritive matter that it affords, are equal to those of the Festiica ovina, at the time the seed is ripe : they equally delight in dry soils. 'I'he greater bulk of grass, in proportion to the weight, with the comparative coarseness of the foliage, renders the Pba cristkta inferior to the Festhca ovlna. 5750. Festiica MyUrus K B. {.Mygaliiriis canddtus E. of P. 1118.) —This species is strictly annual ; it is likewise subject to the rust : and, the produce being but little, it ranks as a very inferior grass. 5751. Festtica calamaria E. B. — The proportional value which the grass, at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 12 to 18. This grass, as has abeady been remarked, producea 3M 2 900 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. ^ Part III. a fine early foliage in the apring. The produce is very great, and its nutritive powers are considerabla It appears, from the above particulars, to be beat adapted for hay. A very singular disease attacks, and sometimes nearly destroys, the seed of this grass : the cause of this disease seems to be unknown : it is denominated claims by some: it appears bv the seed swelling to three times its usual size, m length and thickness, and the want of the corcle. Dr. Willdenow describes two distinct species of it : first, the simple clavus, which is mealy and of a dark colour, without any smell or taste ; secondly, the malignant clavus, which is violet blue, or blackish, and internally too has a bluish colour, with a fetid smell, and a sharp pungent taste. Bread made from grain affected with this last species, is of a bluish colour j and when eaten, produces cramps and giddiness. , ^ ^. ^. - a 5752 Brdmus lUtbreus Host. G. A. — The proportional value which the grass, at the time of flowering, bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 6 to 14. This species greatly resembles the preceding, in habit and manner of growth ; but is inferior to it in value, which is evident from the deficiency of its produce, and of the nutritive matter afforded by it The whole plant is likewise coarser, and of greater bulk in proportion to its weight The seed is affected with the same disease which destroys that of the 575a Ye&thca. fiititans Curt Lond. {Glychria flhitam E of P. 1090.)— The above produce was taken from grass that had occupied the ground for four years ; during which time it had increased every year. It appears, therefore, contrary to wrhat some have supposed, to be capable of being cultivated in perennial pastures. 57.t4. 'Phafdrtilis Host, G. A. — If the nutritive powers and produce of this species be compared with any other of the same family, or such as resemble it in habit and the soil which it affects, a superiority will be found, which ranks this as one of the most valuable grasses. Next to thcPbaangustifblia, it pro. duces the greatest abundance of early foliage, of the best quality, which fully compensates for the compa. rative lateness of flowering. 5755. Arundo colordia Hort Kew. — The strong nutritive powers which this grass possesses recom. mend it to the notice of occupiers of strong clayey lands which cannot be drained. Its produce is great, and the foliage will not be denominated coarse, if compared with grasses which afford a produce equal in quantity. 5755. Hdrdeum pratense E. B — The specific characters of this species are much the same as those of ■ the Pda figrtilis, differing in the compressed figure of the straws and creeping root only. If the produce were of magnitude, it would be one of the most valuable grasses ; for it produces foliage early in the spring,- and possesses strong nutritive powers. 5757. Avhia Jlav^scens Curt Lond. {Triseiumjlavdscens K of P. 1060.)— The proportional value which the grass, at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 9 to 15. The propor- tiona] value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 5 to 15 ; and to that at the time the seed is ripe, as 5 to 9. 5758. Brbmus st^ilis E. B.— 64 dr. of the flowers afford of nutritive matter 2*2 dr. The nutritive powers of the straws and leaves are, therefore, more than twice as great as those of the flowers. This species, beingstrictly annual, is of comparatively little value. The above particulars show that it has vei^ considerable nutritive powers, more than its name would imply, if taken at the time of flowering; but if left till the seed be ripe, it is, like all other annuals, comparatively of no value 5759. Hdlcus mdlb's. — 64 dr. of the roots afford of nutritive matter 52 dr. The proportional value which the grass, at the time the seed is ripe, bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 14 to 18. The above details prove this grass to have merits, which, if compared with those of other species, rank it with some of the best grasses. The small loss of weight which it sustains in drying might be expected from the nature of the substance of the grass; and the loss of weight at each period is equal The grass affords the greatest quantity of nutritive matter when in flower, which makes it rank as one of those best adapted for nay. 5760. Vhafertilis var. 0. Host, G. A. — The proportional value which the grass, at the time of flowering, bears to that at the time the seed is ripe, is as 12 to SO. The proportional value which the grass of the lattermath bears to that at the time of flowering, is as 6 to 12 ; and to -that at the time the seed is ripe, as 6 to 20. 5761. Vhlhum nodbsum Wither. —This grass is inferior in many respects to the i'hUum prat^nse. It is sparingly found in meadows. From the number of bulbs which grow out of the straws, a greater portion of nutritive matter might have been expected. This seems to prove that these bulbs do not form so valu- able a part of the plant as the joints, which are so conspicuous in the i'hlfeum prat^nse, the nutritive powers of which exceed those of the P. noddsumas 8 to 28. 5762. Agrdstis vulgaris Wither. —This is one of the most common of the bents, and likewise the earliest ; in these respects it is superior to all others of the same family, but inferior to several of them in produce, and the quantity of nutritive matter it affords. As the species of this family are generally rejected by the cultivator, on account of the lateness of their flowering ; and this circumstance, as has already been ob- served, does not always imply a proportional lateness of foliage, their comparative merits in this respect may be better seen, by bringing them into one view, as to the value of their early foliage. The appareiti Diffireme Their nutritive The apparttd Difference Thtir nutritive qfTime. Paruen. qfTime. Pomert. .^gr&lls vulgaris • Middle of April - - 1*2 j ABr6stis ntyeA • Three weeks later • • 2 paiSstris - One week later - 2*3 littorUis - Ditto ditto . - S stoloni&ra - Two ditto - • •5-2 ripens • Ditto ditto • .3 canlna - Ditto ditto - 1-3 inezic&na . Ditto ditto . - 2 strfcta - Ditto ditto - - 1-2 fesclculkxls . Ditto ditto . • 2 5763. Tdnicum sanguinale E. B. —This species is strictly annual j and from the results of this trial, its nutritive powers appear to be very inconsiderable. 5764. The grasses which qffbrd the best culmsjor straw plait are, according to Sinclair, as follow : ^ For htath or moor toil. Festiica ovina, duriliscula, and Aor- Wmat tmU. .i^grdstis canina, fascicul^ris, canlna mtitica, d^drmis, Wirdus strfcta. stolonffera anguslif&Iia, stolonlfera cristkta, dlba, strfcta, Dru toila. CynosiiTus cristktus, P6a angnsHRtlia, H<5rdeuin ripens, Pba nemorU'S, anf^ustifblia. pratense, Anthoiinthura odor&tum, A^T6&tia lob^ta, splca Cereal grasiet. ^^'heat, spelt-wheat, rye, and oats hare -v^nti, flav^scens, aad Tulgkris miitica, AvAna pub^scens, Fet- been sown on poor soils, and cut green and bleached; bat are tiica heteropb jlla. &und inferior to the above grasses for the finest plaiC 5765. The period for cutting the ctdms is when they are in blossom. They are bleached by pouring boiling water over them, in which they remain ten minutes, and are afterwards spread on a grass-plot for seven or eight days. Sinclair found that by letting the culms remain in hot water from one to two hours, only two or three days' bleaching was required. When bleached, they are taken up, washed clean, and put in a moist state in a close vessel, where they are subjected to the fumes of burning sulphur for two hours. Green culms, immersed for ten minutes in a strong solution of acetic acid, and then subjected to the sul- phureous acid gas, are bleached perfectly white in half an hour. Green culms, immersed for fifteen minutes in muriatic acid, diluted with twenty times its measure of water, and then spread on the grass, became in four days as perfectly bleached as those culms which were scalded and bleached eight days on the grass. The texture of the straw was not in the least injured by these processes. The application of the sulphureous acid gas to the moistened culms, even after scalding and bleaching on the grass, had, in every instance, the effect of greatly improving the colour, and that without being productive of the smallest injury to the texture of the straw. {Hort. Gram. Wob. 2d edit 427.) Book VI. MEADOW LANDS. 901 ff766. To imitate the Leghorn plaii in the most perfect manner, the straws should be plaited the reverse way of the common English split-straw plait. In the English plait, the straws are flattened by a small hand-mill made for the purpose ; hut the Leghorn plait has the straws worked without flattening, and pressure is applied after the plait is made. It is essential that these two points should be observed by those who wish to rival the finest Ijeghorn manufacture. By reversing the common mode of plaiting, the fingers have a much greater power m firmly and intimately knitting the straws ; and the round or un- flattened state of the straws allows of their being more closely knitted, — a circumstance that gives an appearance similar to the real Leghorn plait {Ibid.) The varieties of wheat or rye already mentioned (mSi. and S057.) are now generally considered far preferable to any of the forage grasses for the purposes of straw plait Chap. VII. Management of Lands permanently under Grass, 5767. In every country by far the greater proportion tf perennial grass lands is the work of nature : and it is not till an advanced period in the progress of agriculture that much attention is paid to their management. But as the extension of tillage, planting, and the formation of parks and gardens, limit the range of the domestic animals, their food becomes more valuable ; and it then becomes an object to increase it by the culture of roots and artiiicial herbage on some lands, and by the improved management of the spon- taneous productions of others. In a highly cultivated country like Britain, therefore, those lands retained in grass either are, or ought to be, such as are more valuable to the owners in that state than they would be in any other. Such lands naturally divide them- selves into two classes : those which are fit either for mowing or pasture ; and those which are fit for pasture only. Sect. I. Perennial Grass Lands fit for mowing, or Meadow Lands. *5768. Under the term meadow, we include all such land as is kept under grass chiefly for the sake of a hay crop, though occasionally, and at particular seasons of the year, it may be depastured by the domestic animals ; and we usually include under this term the notion of a greater degree of moisture in the soil, than would be thought desirable either for permanent pasture or lands in tillage. Where hay is in great demand, as near large towns, and especially if a good system of cropping is but little understood, a great deal of arable land may be 'seen appropriated to hay-crops ; but the most valuable meadows are such as are either naturally rather moist, or are rendered so by means of irrigation. There are three descriptions of these meadows ; those on the banks of streams and rivers ; those on the uplands, or more elevated grounds ; and bog-meadows ; and each of these kinds may be stocked with grasses, either naturally or by art, and may be irrigated by one or other of the different watering processes already described. 5769. Biver-meadows, or those which are situated in the bottoms of valleys, are in general by far the most valuable. They are the most productive of grass and hay, yielding sustenance for cattle through the summer and the winter, and producing an everlasting source of manure for the improvement of the adjoining lands. 5770. The soil is deep, and commonli/ alluvial, having been deposited by water, or washed down fVom the adjoining eminences ; the surface is even, from the same cause j and, what is of considerable importance it has a gradual declivity or surface-drainage to the river or stream which almost invariably Hows in the lowest part of every valley, and which is essential to this description of meadow. The principal defects to which such lands are liable are, the oozing out of springs towards their junction with the r^ing lands and the inundations of the river or stream. The former evil is to be remedied by under-draining, and the latter by embanking. Such meadows are generally stocked with the best grasses ; and their culture con- sists of little more than forming and keeping open a sufficient number of surface-gutters or furrows to carry off the rain-water ; rooting out such tufts of rushes, or bad grasses and herbage, as may occasionally appear ; destroying moles, and spreading the earth they throw up; removing heavy stock whenever their f^et poach the surface ; shutting up, bush-harrowing, and rolling at the commencement of the growing season ; and finally so adjusting the mowing and pasturing as to keep the land in good heart without laying on manure. 5771. The most suitable meadows for irrigation are of this description ; the necessary drains and other works are executed with greater care, and with less expense ; and the management, as we have seen (4380 ) is also comparatively easier than in watering sloping surfaces. ' 5772. Upland meadows, or mowing lands, are next in value to those of valleys. 5773. The soil is either naturally good, and well adapted for grass, or, if inferior by nature it is so situated as to admit of enrichment by ample supplies of manure. Of this last description are the upland meadows or hay lands of Middlesex; which, though on the most tenacious, and often stony clays are vet by the abundance of manure obtained from the metropolis, rendered as productive as the best upland soils employed as hay lands. The roots of perennial grasses, whether fibrous or creeping never strike deen into the soil; and thus, deriving their nourishment chiefly from the surface, top-dressings of well rotted manure, repeated on the same field for centuries, form at last a thin black stratum among the roots of the grass, which produces the most luxuriant crops. "^11^ The culture qf upland meadows tequvres mare sAlmXitsa and expense than that of valleys: being more difficult to drain, and requirmg regular supplies of manure. The irregular surface of uplancfs is apt either to contain springs or to stagnate the surface water ; the first produce marsh plants and coarse herbage, arid the latter destroys or weakens whatever is growing on the surface, and encourages the growth ef moss. Both evils are to be remedied by the obvious resources of drainage. Moss is a very com. mon enemy to grass lands, and is only to be effectually destroyed by rich dressings of manure. Kolling, and top-dressings of lime and salt, have been recommended for destroying it: but there is no mo*e by 3 M 3 902 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. which it can be subdued and kept under, but by adding strength to the grass plants, and thereby enabling them to suffocate their enei "— • - . ._._.-_._ .._i„.„ »u„., ..« i->»^i« .1,0^^ k„ trees. Besides mole-hills, 1 . form heaps or hillocks of grass a..^ ^«.v.., .. -^ -x.-, • - , , moles. The mode of taking moles is a simple operation, and will be described m the proper place; tliat of destroying ants is more complicated and tedious, and, being peculiar to grass lands, fihall here be described. . . l , , 5775. Ant-Mlls, or habitations, are injurious to meadow lands, by depriving the farmer of a crop in pro- portion to the surface they occupy, and by interfering with the operations of rolling and mowing. They consist of little eminences, composed of small particles of sand or earth, lightly and artfully laid together, which may often be computed at a tenth part, or more, of old grass-lands. In some places, where negli- gence has suffered them to multiply, almost half the land has been rendered useless ; the hills standing as thick together as grass-cocks in a hay-field : and what is verv surprising, this indolence is defended by some, who affirm, that the area or superficies of their land is thereby increased ; whereas it is well known that very little or no grass ever grows thereon, and, therefore, if the surface is increased, the produce is proportionably decreased. 5776. In order to remove ant-hills, and destroy the insects, it has been a custom tn some places, at the beginning of winter, and often when the weather was not very cold, to dig up the ant-hills three or four inches below the surface of the ground, and then to cut them in pieces, and scatter the fragments about j but this practice only disseminates the ants, instead of destroying them, as they hide themselves among the roots of the grass for a little time, and then collect themselves together again upon any little eminence, of which there are great numbers ready for their purpose, such as the circular ridges round the hollows where the hills stood before. It is, therefore, a much better method to cut the hills entirely oflf, rather lower than the surface of the land, and to let them lie whole at a little distance, with their bottom up- wards ; by this means the ants, which are known to be very tenacious of their abodes, continue in their habitations until the rains, by running into their holes of communication, and stagnating in the hollows formed by the removal of the hills, and the frosts, which now readily penetrate, destroy them. If a little soot were thrown on the places, and washed in with the rains, it would probably contribute greatly to the intended effect. The hills, when rendered mellow by the frosts, may be broken and dispersed about the land. By this method of cutting the hills, one other advantage is gained ; the land soon becomes even and fit for mowing, and the little eminences being removed, the insects are exposed to the wet, which is very disagreeable and destructive to them. It would, pef'haps, be a better practice than that of suffering the hills to remain on the ground, to collect the parts of them which have been pared off into a heap, in some convenient place, and then form them into a compost, by mixing a portion of quick-lime with them. In wet weather these insects are apt to accumulate heaps of sandy particles among the grass, called by labourers sprout-hills, which quickly take off the edge of the scythe. These hills, which are very light and compressible, may be conveniently removed by frequent heavy roUing. 5777. In the Norfolk Tnode of cutting and burning ant-hilts, the process is, to cut them up with a heart- shaped sharp spade or shovel, in irregular lumps of from ten to fifteen inches In diameter, and from two to five or six inches thick. These are to be, turned the grass-side downwards, until the mould-side is thoroughly dry, and then to be set the grass-side outwards, until they are dry enough to bum. The fire may be kindled with brushwood, and kept smothering, by laying the sods or lumps on gradually, as the fire breaks out, until ten or fifteen loads of ashes are raised in one heap, which the workmen formerly com- pleted for a shilling or eighteen-pence each load of ashes. The places from which the hills have been re- moved may be sown with grass-seeds. Besides the destruction of the ants, this is a ready, though by no means an economical, way of raising manure, and in some cases ought not be neglecte(^ on grounds where such a process is required. 5778. fyhnt is called " gelding " attt-hills is thus described : —With a turfing-iron make two cuts across the hill at right angles to each other; then turn back the four quarters thus obtained from off the hill, leaving it bare ; next cut out and throw to a distance the interior earth of the hill with all the ants ; turn- ing their winter's hoard of provision, as well as all their excavated abode, to the very bottom. Now return the quarters of turf to their former place, treading them down to form a basin to hold the winter's rain, which will prevent the settlement of any new colony of the ants, and they, being thrown on the surface, will perish by the;frost. 5779. Where grass lands are sufficiently rolled with a heavy roller once or oftener every year, no ant- hills will ever be formed greater than the roller can compress, and consequently no injury will be sustained. Tn this, as in most other cases of disease, proper regimen is the best cure. In domestic economy, various directions are given for destroying bugs, lice, and other vermin ; but who ever had any to destroy, who attended properly to cleanliness ? 5780. The surface of some grass lands that have been long rolled is apt to get into that tenacious atatp denominated hide bound. When this is the case, scarifying the turf with a plough, consisting only of coulters, or harrow-teeth, or, in preference to all other implements, with Wilkie or Kirkwood's brakes, so that the whole surface majr be cut or torn, is to be recommended. That tenacious state, rolhng tends to increase ; whereas, by scarifying, the surface is loosened, and the roots acquire new means of improved vegetation. This operation seems particularly useful, when it precedes the manuring. When hay land of a retentive quality is depastured by cattle or horses in wet seasons, it receives much injury from their feet, and becomes what is technically called poached. Every step they take leaves an impression, which fills with rain water, and then the hole stands full like a cup. This wetness destroys the herbage, not only in the hole, but that also which surrounds it, while at the same time the roots of the grasses, as well as the ground, are chilled and injured. No good farmer, therefore, will permit any cattle to set a foot on such land in wet weather, and few during the winter months, on any consideration. Sheep are generally allowed to pasture on young grasses in dry weather, from the end of autumn to the beginning of March • they are then removed, and it rarely happens that any animal is admitted till the weather be dry and the surface so firm as to bear their pressure without being poached or injured. * 5781. In jnanuring upland meadows, the season, the sort, the quantity, and the frequency of application are to be considered. 5782. With regard to the season at which manure should be applied, a great difference of opinion prevails among the farmers of England. In the county of Middlesex, where almost all the grass lands are pre- served for hay, the manure is invariably laid on in October {Middlesex Report, p. 2,.'4 ), while the land is sufficiently dry to bear the driving of loaded carts without injury, and when the heat of the day is so moderated as not to exhale the volatile parts of the dung. Others prefer applying it immediately after the hay-time, from about the middle of July to the end of August, which is said to be the " good old time " {Cotn. to Board of Agriculture, vol. iv. p. 1.38.) ; and if that season is inconvenient, any time from the beginning of February to the beginning of April. {Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol ii p, 915 ) It is however, too common a practice to carry out the manure during frosty weather, when, though the i?round is not cut upby the carts, the fertilising parts of the dung are dissipated, and washed away by the snow and rains before they can penetrate the soiL 5783. There is scarcely any sort of manure that will not be useful when laid on the surface of grass grounds ; but, in general, those of the more rich dung kinds are the most suitable for the older sort of sward lands ; and dung, in composition with fresh vegetable earthy substances, themost useful in the new leys or grass lands. In Middlesex it is the practice of the best farmers to prefer the richest dung they can procure, and seldom to mix it with any sortof earthy material, as they find it to answer the best with regard to the quantity of produce, which is the principal object in view ; the cultivators depending chiefly for the Book VI. MEADOW LANDS. 903 ^ale of their hay in the TiOndon markets. It is the practice to turn over the dung that is brought from London in a tolerable state of rottenness^ once chopping it well down in the operation, so aa to be in a middling state of fineness when put upon the land. It is necessary, however, that it should be in a more rotten and reduced state when applied in the spring, than when the autumn is chosen for that purpose. {Dickson's Practical Agriculture, voL ii. p. 915.) 5784. SoTTie interesting erperiments have been made with di^rent kinds qf manv/rey for the purpose of ascertaining their effects, with regard to the quantity and quality of the produceon different kinds of land. Fourteen lots, of half an acre each, were thus manured, and the grass was made into hay, all as nearly alike as possible. The greatest weight of hay was taken from the lot manured with horse, cow, and slaughterhouse dung, all mixed together, of each about an equal quantity. It lay in that state about two months; and was then turned over, and allowed to lie eight or ten days more, after which it was put on the land before it had done fermenting, and spread immediately. To ascertain the quality of the produce of the different lott, a small handful from each was laid down on a dry clean place, where there was little or no grass, and six horses were turned out to them one after another. In selecting the lots, there seems to have been little difference of taste among the horses ; and all of them agreed in rejecting two lots, one of which had been manured with blubber mixed with soil, and the other with soot, in both instances laid on in the month of April preceding. {Lancashire Report, p. ISO. et seq.) 5785. The proportion of manure that is necessary must, in a great measure, depend upon the circum- stances of the land, and the facility of procuring it. In the district of London, where the manure is of a very good and enriching quality, from its being produced in stables and other places where animals are highly fed, the quantity is usually from four or five to six or seven loads on the acre, such as are drawn by three or four horses, in their return from taking up the hay to town. {Dickson's Pract Agr. voL ii. p. 916. 5786. Manure is laid on at intervals of time more or less distant, according to the same circumstances that determine the quantity of "t Though there are some instances of hay grounds bearing fair crops every year during a length of years, without any manure or any advantage from pasturage, except what the after-grass has afforded {Marshal's Review of Reports to the Board qf Agriculture, p. 183. Western Department) ; yet, in general, manure must either be allowed every third or fourth year, in the land depastured one year, and mown the other j ** or, what is better, depasture two years, and mow the third." {NoJ'thumberland Report, p, 11 1.) A succession of hay crops without manure, or pasturage, on meadows not irrigated, is justly condemned by all judicious farmers, as a sure means of impoverishing the- soil. 5787. Sog meadows are the least valuable of any : they are of two kinds ; peat bogs, and earthy bogs. 5788. Peat bogs are situated in hollows or basins, which, from having; no natural outlet for water, and not being so deep or so plentifully supplied with that element as to constitute lakes, becomes filled up with aquatic plants and mosses. By the decay of these after a certain time, and the drainage and culture of art, a surface of mossy soil is formed on which some of the inferior grasses may be sown or will spring up naturally. In warm moist climates, and where the mould of the bog is rich, florin or lUmothy grass may be found to answer ; but in general the woolly soft grass and cock's-foot are resorted to, unless indeed lime be applied, or a coating of sand or earth, in which cases the clovers and better grasses will sometimes answer. These bogs are in general too soft for pasturing any other animals than sheep. 5789. Eari/ip bog meadows are situated either in hollows or on slopes. They are formed by an accumu- lation of water in the subsoil, which not finding a free passage in any one point, spreads under and filtrates upwards through a considerable extent of surface. Thegrasses on such meadows before they are drained are chiefly of the sprot or Jiincus kind; but by draining the quality of these is improved, and better kinds appear. Such meadows yield a considerable produce of coarse hay; they abound chiefly in cold hilly districts devoted to breeding, 5790. The culture and management of bog meadows differ in nothing essential from those of the river kinds. A lighter roller is used in spring, the greatest care is taken in eating down the latter grass, whether with small cattle or sheep ; and in some cases, in very dry weather in summer, the main drains are dammed up for a few weeks in order to stagnate the water, and supply the soil with moisture. No manure is ever given unless in the case of some cultivated peat bogs, which are dressed with earthy or saline mixtures, 5791. As branches of culture cornmon to eo&ry description of hay lands may be men- tioned, the hay-making, the application of the after-grass, and pasturage. 5792. The making qf natural or meadow hay has been carried to greater perfection in the neighbourhood of London than any where else ; and it may therefore, with great propriety, be recommended as an example to the rest of the kingdom. The following account of it is drawn from Middleton*s AgricvXtural Survey of Middlesex : 5793. When the grass is nearlt/ fit for mowing, the Middlesex farmer endeavours to select the best mowers, in number proportioned to the quantity of his grass and the length of time it would be advisable to have it in hand ; which having done, he lets it out, either as piece-work, or to be mown by the acre. In the latter way, each man mows from one acre and a half to an acre and three quarters per day ; some there are who do two acres per day during the whole season. About the same time he provides five hay- makers (men and women, including loaders, pitchers, stackers, and all others) to each mower. These last are paid by the day, the men attending from six till six, but the women only from eight till six. For an extra hour or two in the evening, when the business requires despatch, they receive a proportionate allowance. 5794. The mowers tisuallt/ begin their work at three j four, or five o^clock in the Tnoming, and continue to labour till seven or eight at night ; resting an hour or two in the middle of the day. Every hay-maker is expected to come provided with a fork and a rake of his own ; nevertheless, when the grass is ready and labourers scarce, the farmer is frequently obliged to provide both, but for the most part only the rak& Every part of the operation is carried on with forks, except clearing the ground, which is done with rakes ; and loading the carts, which is done by hand. 5795. First day. All the p-ass mown before nine o'clock in into what are called single windrows: and the last oneration the momirg is tedded, in which great care is taken thoroURhly of this day is to put it into grass-cocks. to loosen every lump, and to strew it evenly overall the grountt 6796* Seamd day. The business of this dav commences with By this regular method of tedding grass for hay, the hay wiU tedding all the grass that was mown the first dav after nine be of a more valuable quality, heat more equally in the stack, ^ o'clock, and all that was mown this day before nine o'clock and wiU consequenUy not be so liable to damage or fire ; will Next, «ie grass-cocks are to be well shaken out into staddles Cor he of greater quantity when cut into trusses, and will sell at a separate plots) of five or six yards' diameter If the cron better pice; for when the grass is suffered to lie a day or two shouldbeso thin and light as to leave the snares between thtw before u is tedded out of the swath, the upper surface is dried staddles rather large, such spaces must be immediately rafc^ bj; the sun and winds, and the interior part is not dried, but clem, and the Takings mixetf with the other hay, in order to ite withered, so that the herbs lose much, both as to cmality and all diying of a uniform colour. The next business is to turn auantily, which are very material cncurastances. Booii after the staddles, and after that, to tmn the crass that was tedded je tedding is finished, tlic hay is turned with the same dewee in the first part of the morning, once or twice, in the manner ofcare and attention; and if, from the number of hands, they described for the first day. This should all be done before are able to turn the whole again, they do so, or at least as twelve or one o'clock, so that the whole may Ue to dry while much of it as they can, tiU twelve or one o'clock, at which time tlie work-people are at dinner. After dinner, the first thine to thewf dine* The first thing to be done after dinner is to rake it be done is to take tiw staddles into double wind-rowe ; next, to 3 M 4 904 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. rake the frnwi Into single wind-rowa ; then the double wind- cool and cloadT,noMrt of It probably win be fit to cam. In rowB,are put into bastaia-cocks ; and lastly, the wind-rowB aro that case, the first thlnR set about after dinner, in to rate that put into grau-coclu. Thia completes the work of the iecond which was in srass-cocks laat nlxht into double wbid-rows; du. *^ then the grass which was thi» raomine spread from the swatha 5797. Third day. The Rrass mown and not spread on the intosinRle wind-rowi. Afterthla.tliehay which was last night second day, and also that mown in the early part of this day, Is in bastard-cocks, is made up into full-sized cocks, and carF first to be tedded in the momlng. and then the erass-cocka are taken to rake the hay up clean, and also to pot the rakinfis to be spread into staddles as l>rfore, and the bastard-cocfci into upon the top of each cock. Next, the doulile wmd-rows are fitaddles of less extent. These smaller staddles, thoujih last put into bastard-cocks, and the sin^e wind-rows into graaa •pread, are first tumrd, then those which were in crass-cocks ; cocks, as on the prtcedinR days. and next the jjrass is turned once or twice before twelve or one 6798. Fourth rfoy. On this aay the great cocks, just men- o'clock, when the people go to dinner as usual. If the weather tioned, are iifiuatly carried before dinner. The other oper- has proved sunny and fine, the hay which was last night in ations of the day are such, and in the same order, as before bastard-cocks will thLs afternoon be in a proper state to be car- described, and are continued tlailj until the hay hajrest la ried ; but if the weather should, on the contrary, have been completed. 5799. As general rules, the grass should, as much as possHjle, be protected both day and night, agaEnsc rain and dew, by cocking. Care should also be taken to proportion the number of bay-makers to that ot the mowers, so that there may not be more grass in hand at any one time than can be managed according to the foregoing process. This proportion is about twenty hay-makers (of which number twelve may be women) to four mowers ; the latter are sometimes taken half a day to assist the former. But in hot, windy, or very drying weather, a greater proportion of hay-makers will be required than when the weather is cloudy and cooL It is particularly necessary to guard against spreading more hay than the number of hands can get into cocks the same day, or before rain. In showery and uncertain weather, the grass may sometimes be suffered to lie three, four, or even five days in swath. Butbefore it has lain long enough for the under side of the swath to become yellow (which, if suffered to lie long, would be the case), particular care should betaken to turn the swaths with the heads of the rakes. In this state, it will cure somucb in about two days, as only to require being tedded a few.hours when the weather is fine, previously to its being put together and carried. In this manner hay may be made and put into the stack at a small expense, and of a moderately good colour; but the topa and bottoms of the grass are insufficiently separated by it. 5800. The hav-teefding machine has been invented since Middleton described the hand process as above. This machine {Ji^. 372.) is found to be a most important saving of manual labour. It is computed that a boy and horse with the machine will ted as much in an hour as twelve or fifteen women. The hay-rake, which may be added to the same axle when the tedder is removed, is also an equal saving, and a requisite accompaniment to it ; as where few or no women are kept for tedding, there must necessarily be a defi- ciency of rakers. These machines are coming into general use near London, where the price of manual labour is high and hands sometimes scarce. They are also finding their way among the proprietors of extensive parks in all parts of the country, as saving much labour in making hay from natural pasture. 5801. There are no hau-stacks more neatly formed, nor better secured, than those made in Middlesex. At every vacant time, while the stack is carrying up, the men are employed in pulling it, with their hands, into a proper shape; and, about a week after it is finished, the whole roof is properly thatched, and then secured from receiving any damage from the wind, by means of a straw rope, extended along the eaves, up the ends, and on each side of the ridge. The ends of the thatch are afterwards cut evenly below the eaves of the stack, just of sufficient length for the rain-water to drip quite clear of the hay. When the stack happens to be placed in a situation which may be suspected of being too damp in the winter, a trench, of about six or eight inches deep, is dug round and nearly close to it, which serves to convey all the water Arom the spot, and renders it perfectly dry and secure. 5802. During the hay harvest it is of great advantage to the farmer, to give constant personal attendance on every party, directing each operation as it goes on. The man who would cure his hay in the best manner, and at a moderate exp^ise, must not only urge the persons who make the hay, the men who load the waggons, and those who make the stack, but he should be on the alert, to contrive and point out the manner in which every person may do his labour to the most advantage. Unless he does this, one moiety of the people in his hay-field will be of no material use to him ; and if he should be absent for an hour or more, during that time little or nothing will be done. The farmers of Middlesex engage many hay-makers . some of them have been known to employ two or three hundred ; such men find it neces. sary to be on horseback, and the work-pecmle find them sufficient employment A man of energy will make the most of every hour, and secure his hay while the sun shines : one of an opposite description lounges his time away, and suffers his hay to be caught in the rain, by which it is frequently half spoiled. Or if the latter should have the good fortune of a continuance of dry weather, his hay will be a week longer in the field than his neighbour's, and the sap of it drieil up by the sun, 5803. The waste of grass, on being dried into hay^ is supposed to be three parts in four by the time it is laid on the stack; it is then further reduced, by heat and evaporation; in about a month, perhaps one twentieth more; or 6001b. of grass are reduced to 95 lb. of hay, and between that and 90 it continues through the winter. From the middle of March till September, the operations of trussing and marketing expose it so much to the sun and wind, as to render it considerably lighter, probably 80; that is, hay which would weigh 90 the instant it is separated from the stack, would waste to 80 (in trussing, exposure on the road, and at market for about 24 hours), by the time it is usually delivered to a purchaser. During the following winter, the waste will be little or nothing. It is nearly obvious, that the same hay will weigh on delivery 80 in summer, and 90 in winter. From this circumstance, and others which relate to price, a farmer may determine what season of the year is the most advisable for him to sell his hay. 5804. In making the hay of bog meadows, considerable care is requisite both from the inferiority ©f the climates where such bogs abound, and from the nature of the grasses they produce. In some cases, the grass is of so soft a quality, that it is difficult to convert it into hay. To prevent its being consolidated in the cocks, it must be frequently opened up, and when the weather permits, completely exposed to the sun and wind ; this sort of grass being only capable of sustaining a very moderate degree of fermentation. 5805. When the natural herbage is of a coarser description, it may be put into small cocks, in rather a green or damp state, so as to go through the progress of " a sweating," or slight fermentation. The woody fibres in coarse hay are thus rendered more palatable and nutritious, while its condition for becoming fodder is considerably improved : but when any warmth becomes perceptible, if the weather will permit, the hay should be spread out, and put into large cocks, the moment it is in a dried state. 5806. In the moister pastoral districts, in the north-west parts of Scotland, hay-barns, it is thought by some, would be advantageous; the construction should be as open as possible, for the purpose of drying, as well as of preserving the hay. In some of these districts, a curious device has been fallen upon, of making the dried hay into ropes of two fathoms in length, and then twisted twofold. Being thus com- pressed, less room is required in the barn ; and in this shape it is carried, with greater facility, to distant glens, for the use of cattle during stormy -veather. * 58C^. In making florin hay (if hay it may be called, which is never dried) it is merely cut and put into small cocks, from which it is commonly taken as wanted. When It is to be put into larger cocks, it must be proportionally better dried. The stolones of this grass being remarkably vivatnous, cannot easily be so dried as to admit of stacking in large bodies, 5808. The salting of hay, at the time of stacking, has been practised in Derbyshire and in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The salt, particularly when applied to the crop of rouen, or when the first crop has received much rain, checks the fermentation, and prevents moulding. If straw is mixed with the hay_, the heating of the stack is still further prevented, by the straw imbibing the moisture. Cattle will eat, not only such salted hay but even the straw mixed with it, mare eagerly than better hay not salted, and Book VI. PERMANENT PASTURES. 90S will also tlirive as well upon it The quantity reconiinended is, a peck of salt to-a ton of hay. By this application, hay that had been flooded was preferred by cattle to the best hay that had not been salted. 5809. To make kay-tea. Boil at the rate of a handfUl of hay to three gallons of water, or, if the water be poured boiling hot on the hay, it will answer nearly as well. Give it to the cattle and horses to drink when cold ; or if the cattle and horses are anywise ill, and under cover, give it to them blood. warm. This drink is so extremely nutritive, that it nourishes the cattle astonishingly, replenishes the udders of the cow with a prodigious quantity of milk, iqakes the horse stale plentiilill^, and keeps him healthy and strong ; and by this method one truss or hundred of hay will go as far as eight or ten would otherwise do. The cattle and horses do not seem to like it at first; but if they are kept till very thirsty, they will drink freely of it ever afterwards. The hay, after being used as before mentioned and dried, may be used as litter for horses and cattle ; it will make very gwd manure, and save straw, which is a considerable advantage, especially where there is a scarcity ot that article. {Davis's Rep. qf JVilts.) 5810. The tsfter-gi-ass on all meadows is generally fed off; on firm lands, and in the dry season, by either sheep or heavy cattle ; but in the winter only by sheep, unless the soil is so dry as not to be injured by the feet of cows or horses. The feet of the latter are much less injurious than those of the former ; but their bite being closer is more apt to tear up the plants, than the bite of the horned tribe. 58U. Cattle are generally removed from meadow-lands in Middlesex in November ; horses in the month following, and sheep allowed to remain till February. In Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and on many river-meadows, every description of stock is allowed to remain till April, and sheep till May. In some districtij, the whole of the al'ter-growth is preserved firom every species of stock till the following May, when it is fed off with sheep : but this greatly retards the hay crop for that year. It is evident that a good deal must depend on the farmer's other resources for keep for his stock. 581ii. The after-grass, where tnanure ?s very abundant, is sometimes mown and made into hay or rouen, a sotl and not very nutritive food, given to cows or sheep| but this is reckoned a bad practice, even in the neighbourhood of London, where manure may be had in abundance. It is also the usage of some to leave the afler-grass on the ground without being eaten till spring, when it is. said to be preferable, for ewes and lambs, to turnips, cabbages, or any other species whatever of what is trrmed spring-feed. This mode of management, which is strongly recommended by Young, and in some cases by Marshal also, is unknown in the north ; where, though it is, in many instances, found beneficial, with a view to an early spring growth, not to eat the pasture too close before winter, it would be attended with a much greater loss of herbage, than any advantage in spring could compensate, to leave the after-growth of mown grounds untouched till that season. 5813. A system qf alternate mowing and feeding is practised on some hay lands, partly to save labour and manure, and partly to subdue mosses and coarse grasses. On some soils even rich grass lands, when annually mown, become subject to weeds ; for it tends to encourage moss, and gives advantage to the stronger-rooted grasses, which gradually change, and deteriorate the nature and quality of the herbage. The bottom becomes thin, the wliite clover disappears, and coarser plants occupy the ground. When this takes place, the pasture should be fed, instead of being mown, for the space of two or three years, until tlie weeds have been subdued, and the iiner grasses re-appcar. 5814. By adopting the plan of motoing and feeding alternately^ a farmer, it is said, may go on longer without the application of manure, butliis fields, in the end, will be ruined by it It is contended, that to maintain a proper quantity of stock, the land must be accustomed to keep it, particularly in the case of sheep : that where land has been used to the sycthe, if manured for pastures, it will often produce more grass ; but that grass wilt not {ceteris paribus) support so much stock, nor fatten them nearly so well : and that old pasture will not produce so much hay as land that has been constantly mowed ; for each will grow best as it has been accustomed to grow, and will not readily alter its former habits. On the other hand, it is asserted, that many experienced farmers prefer the system of feeding and mowing alternately, as they find that, under that system, the quality and quantity of the hay have been improved; and the pasturage, in the alternate year, has been equally sweet and productive. Sect. IL FerTnanent Pastures' 581 5. Permanent pastures may he divided into two hinds : rich or feeding lands ; and hilly or rearing pastures. Under the former, we may comprehend all old rich pastures capable of fattening cattle ; and under the second, such as are only adapted to rearing them, or are more advantageously depastured with sheep. SuBSECT. 1. Mich or feeding Pastures. 5816. Feeding pastures may include such as are equally fit for hay-lands, or for being converted to arable husbandry ; their characteristic being, that they are used for feeding stock, and keeping working animals and milch cows in good condition. We mentioned in a former chapter, that pasturage for one year, or for two, or mure, is frequently in- terposed in the course of cropping arable land, to prevent that exhaustion of the soil which is commonly tlie consequence of incessant tillage crops. The "iame culture and manage- ment recommended here for rich grass lands are equally applicable to them ; there being no difference, except that the latter are generally considered less suitable than rich old turf for fatting heavy stock, such as large oxen. 5817. The cuUure and management of feeding pastures^ whether of a few years, or of perpetual duration, may be considered in regard to those necessary operations already noticed under the former section : such as the extirpation of weeds and noxious shrubs, clearing away ant and mole-hills, the application of manure, the time of stocking, the number of the animals and whether all should be of one or of different species, &c., the extent of the enclosures, and the propriety of eating the herbage close or leaving it always in a rather abundant state ; all these are question^ which it is scarcely possible to decide in a satisfactory manner, by the application of general rules. They can only be solved^ 90e PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part Hi. with any pretentions to utility, by a reference to the particular circumstances of each case ; for tlie practice of one district, in regard to these and other points, will be found quite inapplicable to others where the soil and clunate, and the purposes to which the pastures are applied, are materially different, 5818. The weeding of pastures should be regularly attended to. Weeds m pastures mjure the farmer by the ground they occupy, the seeds they disperse, and sometimes, by influencing the quality of milk, or the health of the cattle. 5819 On the large scale of a farm small creeping weeds cannot be removed : but large perennial plants, such as the dock, fern, nettle ; and biennials, such as the thistle, and ragweed ; together with rushes and coarse tufts or tussocks of tall oat-grass, should never be permitted to shoot up into flower. The dock ought to be taken out by the root with the dock-weeder, and the others cut over with spadlete or spuds. Nettles may be mown over, as may some other weeds, and some descriptions of rushes; fern is most effectually killed by bruising or twisting asunder the stem, when the frond or herb is nearly fully ex- panded Smaller weeds may be mown, and this operation should never be deferred later than the ap. pcarance of the flowers. Where the sloe-thorn forms part of the enclosure hedges, or the English elm, hoary poplar, and some other trees, grow in or around the field, they are apt to send up suckers j these should be pulled up, otherwise they will soon become a serious nuisance. In some parts of England, especially in the central districts, the hedge wastes, ftom the spread of the sloe-thorn and creepirig rose (Rtisa arvfensis), are sometimes six or ten yards in width. «5820. To prevent the gj'owth of rnosses is one of the greatest difficulties in the management of old pasture land; by these the finer species of grasses are apt to be overwhelmed, and the coarse sorts only remain. Drainage, and the use of rich composts, are in this case necessary. Harrowing and cross harrowing with a common harrow, or with what are called grass harrows {fls. 795.), which go from one to two inches deepj with a sprinkling of grass-seeds afterwards, and some lime or well prepared compost, are the most likely means of destroying the moss, and improving the pasture. Feeding sheep with oil-cake, and allowing them to pasture on the land, has also been found effectual for the destruction of moss, and bringing up abundance of grass. £ut the radical remedy is to plough up such grass lands upon the first appearanceof moss, or before it has made any considerable progress, and sow them with corn. 5821. The removal of ant and mole hills should be attended to during the whole summer. The manner of destroying ants has already been described ; mole-hills spread on grass lands may be considered as-of service rather than otherwise. These operations, together with weeding, and spreading the manure dropped by the larger stock, should go on together at intervals during the whole summer. 5822. The application of manures to grazing lands, which not being used as hay grounds afford no means, of supply, may certainly be considered a preposterous practice, and one that must be ruinous to the other parts of a farm. 5823. In the Code of Agriculture it is nevertheless stated,. that " to keep grass in good condition, a dressing of from thirty to forty cubic yards or cart-loads of compost is required every four years. The application of unmixed putrescent manure will thus be rendered unnecessary, which ought at least to be avoided, in meadows appropriated for the feeding of dairy cows, from its affecting thequality of the milk." (p. 476.) Grass lands kept at an expense of this kind will seldom, it is believed, be found to remunerate a farmer sufficiently. The same thing is recommended (probably from inadvertence or mere following the track of preceding writers) 'm Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 953. But, except the dung dropped by the pasturing animals, which should always be regularly spread from time to time, it may be laid down as a rule of pretty extensive application, that if grass lands do not preserve their fertility under pasturage, it would be much better to bringthem under tillage for a time, than to enrich them at the expense of land carrying crops of corn. {Sup. S[C. art. Aar.) 5824. Teathing or stacking on the field, or carrying to be consumed there during winter, the provender that ought to have furnished disposable manure for the use of the farm at large, is another practice not less objectionable. It is to no purpose that such a wasteful practice is defended on dry light soils, which are alleged to be thus benefited by the treading of the cattle. {Marshal's Rural Economy of Yorkshire, vol. ii. p. 131.) During the frequent and heavy falls of rain and snow in winter, there is scarcely any land so dryasnottobeinjuredby the treading of heavy cattle; and were there any thing gained in this respectby this management, it would be much more than counterbalanced by the loss of a great part of the manure, from the same cause. The able writer to whom we have just now referred very properly disapproves of carting on manure in winter ; and for the same reason, namely, the loss of it, which must necrasarily be the consequence, he ought to have objected to foddering on the land, or teathing at that season. The practice, however, is but too common in those districts, both in South and North Britain, where the knowledge of correct husbandry has made but little progress. It is equally objectionable, whether the fodder is consumed on meadows where it grew, or on other grass lands. The fodder should, in almost every instance, be eaten in houses or fold-yards, instead of the dung being dropped irregularly over the surface: or, as must be generally the case, accumulated in some spots sheltered by trees and hedges, to which the animals necessarily resort during the storms of winter. 5825. The time of stocking pastures in spring must evidently be earlier or later, ac- cording to the climate, and in the same climate according to the season ; and the state of PooK VI. PERMANENT PASTURES. - 907 growth, wliich it is desirable tliat the grass should attain before being stocked, must in some degree be determined by the condition and description of the animals to be employed in consuming it ; whetlier they aie only in a growing state or approaching to fatness ; whetlier milch cows or sheep, or a mixture of animals of different species. It conveys no very precise idea respecting these points, though the remark itself is just, to say tliat the herbage should not be allowed to rise so high as to permit the coarser plants to run to seed ; and that it is bad management to suffer store stock to be turned upon a full bite. {Marshal's Yorkshire, Yoh ii. p. 129.) 5826. The gi-eat objects to be aimed at are, that the stock, of whatever animals it may consist, should be carried forward faster or slower, according to the purposes of their owner 3 and that no part of the herbage should be allowed to run to waste, cr be unprofitably consumed. But nothing but careful inspection of the land and of the stock, from time to time, can enable any grazier to judge with certainty what are the best measures for attaining these objects. " Fatting Ciittle," says Marshal, " which arc forward in flesh, and are intended to be tinished with grass, may require a tnW bite at first turning out j but for cows, working oxen, and rearing cattle, and lean cattle intended to be fatted on grass, a ^uU bite at the first turning out is not requisite. Old Lady-day to the middle of April, according to the progress of spring, ap- pears to me, at present, as the best time for shutting up mowing grounds and opening pastures." {Marshal's Yorkskirey voL ii. pp. 152, 153.) 5827. In regard to the state of the gi-owth qf pastures when first stocked, some distinction should be made between new leys and old close swards. To prevent the destruction of the young plants, whether of clover or other herbage, on the former description of pasture, which would be the consequence of stocking them too early, especially with sheep, they should be allowed to rise higher than would be necessary in the case of old turf;, and to secure their roots from the further injury of a hot summer, it is advisable not to feed them close in the early part of the season, and probably not at any time throughout the whole of the first or second season, if the land is to be continued In pasture. The roots of old and firm sward, on the other hand, are not in so much danger, either from close feeding or from the heats of summer ; and they are in much less danger from the frosts and thaws of winter. 5828. WUh regard to the stuck which should be employedi all soils rather moist and of such a quality, as is the case with rich clays, as to produce herbage suited to the fat- tening of cattle, will, in general, be more advantageously stocked with them than with sheep : but there can be no other rule for the total exclusion of sheep, than the danger of the rot J nor any other general rule for preferring one kind of stock to another, than their comparative profits. {^Sup* art. -<^gr.) 5829. Whether the stock should be all of one or of different kinds is another question to be discussed. 5830. With regard to a mixed stock, the sentiments and practice of the best graziers seem to be in its favour. " It is generally understood that horses and cattle intermixed will eat grass cleaner than any species will alone, not so much from their separately affecting different grasses, as from the circumstance of both species disliking to feed near their own dung." (Marshal's Yorkshire, vol. ii. p 154.) " Some few graziers follow the old custom of keeping only one kind of stock upon the same ground, whilst others, we think, with more propriety, intermix with oxen and cows a few sheep, and two or three colts in each pasture, which both turn to good account, and do little injury to the grazing cattle. In some cases sheep are a xea\ benefit, by eating down and destroying the ragwort (5enfecio JacobjB*fl), which disgraces some of the best pastures of the county, where oxen only are grazed." {Northumberland Repoi t, p. 126. } In Lin- colnshire, where grazing is followed to a great extent, and with uncommon success, as well as in most other districts, the practice seems tabe almost ' invariably, to keep a mixed stock of sheep and cattle on the same pasture {Lincolnshire Heport, p. 174.), in proportion varying with the nature of the soil and the quality of the herbage. 5831. To estimate the numher of animals that may be depastured on any given extent of ground is obviously impossible, without reference to the particular spot in question ; and the same difference exists with regard to the propriety of feeding close, or leaving the pastures rough, that prevails in most other parts of this subject. Though there is loss in stocking too sparingly, the more common and dangerous error is in overstocking,t by which the summer's grass is not unfrequently entirely lost. On rich pasture lands in the neighbourhood of Banbury, in Oxfordshire, one ox and two sheep are calculated as stock sufficient for one acre, 5832, WUh respect to the sine of enclosurest small fields are much to be preferred to large ones, for heavy stock. 5833. Besides the advantages of shelter^ both to the animals and the herbage, small fields enable the grazier either to separate his stock into small parcels, by which means they feed more at their ease, or to give the best pastures to that portion of them which he wishes to come earliest to market The ad- vantages of moderate-sized enclosures are well known in the best grazing counties ; but the subdivisions are in some instances much more minute than is consistent with the value of the ground occupied with fences, or necessary to the improvement of the stock. In all cases, says Marshal, where fatting cattle or dairy cows make a part of the stock, and where situation, soil, and water will permit, every suit of grazing grounds ought, in my idea, to consist of three compartments : one for head stock, as cows or fatting cattle ; one for followers, as rearing and other lean stock: and the third to be shut up to freshen for the leading stock. {Marshal's Ym-kshire, vol. ii. p. 158.) 5834. Large enclosures are in general best adapted for sheep.- These animals are not only impatient of heat and liable to be much injured by flies, in small pastures often surrounded by trees and high hedges, but they are naturally, with the exception perhaps of the Leicester variety, much more restless and easily disturbed than the other species of live stock. " Sheep," says Lord Kaimes, " love a wider range, and ought to have it ; because they delight in short-grass : give them eighty or ninety acres, and any t*ence will keep them in ; confine them to a field of seven or eight acres, and it must be a very strong fence that keeps them in." {Gentleman Farmer, p. 203.) Ihough fields so large as eighty or ninety acres can be advisable only in hilly districts, yet the general rule is nevertheless consistent with experience, in regard to all our least domesticated varieties. 5835. With respect to the propriety of eating the herbage close, or leaving it rather in an abundant state, an eminent agriculturist observes, that there seems to be a season, some time during the year, when grass lands^ particularly old turf, should be eaten very close, 908 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III, not merely for the sake of preventing waste, but also for the purpose of keeping down the coarser kinds of plants, and giving to the pastures as equal and fine a sward as possible. 5836. The most proper period must partly depend upon the convenience of the grazier; but it can hardly be either immediately before the drought of summer or the frost of winter. Some time in autumn, when the ardent heat of the season is over, and when there is still time for a new growth before winter, may be most suitable for the land itself, and generally also for the grazier, his fat stock being then mostly disposed of, or carried to the after-grass of mown grounds. The sweeping of pastures with the scythe may be employed as a substitute for this close feeding j the waste and labour of which, however, though but trifling, it does not seem necessary to incur on rich grazing lands, under correct management. {Sup. E. Brit art Agr.) SSS7. Fogging pasture lands is a practice which is sometimes adopted in districts where there is a scarcity of winter food. Under that system, fields in pasture are shut up early in May^ and continued in that state till November or December, when the farmer's stock is turned in, and contmue to pasture till the May succeeding. Such management, however, can only be advisable on a soil of the driest nature, which will not be injured by poaching in the wettest seasons. It is practised in a few places m Cardiganshire ; but is consi- dered by the late Thos. Johnes, Esq., of Hafod, as the result of necessity, the farmers not being able to bring sufficient stock to eat it down in season, when its nutritive powers are in their best state. 5838. Water should be provided for every field under pasture ; and also shelter and shade, either by a few trees, or by a portable shed, which may be moved with the stock from one enclosure to another. Where there are no trees, rubbing posts are also found a desirable addition. In Germany they have portable sheds which are employed both in summer and winter, and generally with a piece of rock-salt fixed to a post for the cattle to suck at. (Jig' 796.) SuBSECT. 2. Hillt/ and Mountainous Pastures* 5839. miii/ pastures include such low hills as produce fine short herbage, and are with much advantage kept constantly in pasture, though they are not altogether inacces- sible to the plough ; as well as such tracts as, from' their acclivity and elevation, must necessarily be exclusively appropriated to live stock. The former description of grass lands, though different from the feefling pastures, of which we have just treated, in respect to their being less convenient for tillage management, are nevertheless in other circumstances so nearly similar, as not to require any separate discussion. These low hills are for the most part occupied with sheep, a very few cattle being sometimes pastured towards their bases ; and they frequently comprise herbage sufficiently rich for fattening sheep, together with coarser pastures for breeding and rearing them. 5840. In regard to the Tnanagement of upland pastures, of the rules which judicious farmers practise, the foUovring deserve to be selected : — _ 5841. To enclose those pastures^ as the same extent of land, when sheltered, and properly treated, will feed a greater quantity of stock, and to better purpose, than when in an open and exposed stata Not to overstock upland pastures; for when this is done, the cattle are not only starved, and the quantity of herbage diminished, but the soil is impoverished. When the pasture ground is enclosed and subdivided, so as to admit of it, the stock ought to be shifted from one enclosure to another, at proper intervals ; giving the first of the grass to the fattening, in preference to the rearing, stock. This practice tends to increase the quantity of grass, which has thus time to get up; and the ground being fresh and untainted, when the stock returns to it, more especially if rain has fallen, they will feed with greater appetite and relislv *The dung dropped by the stock, while feeding, should be spread about, instead of being suffered to remain where it was deposited, in a solid body. Where the larger and the smaller kinds of stock are to be fed on the same pastures, the larger species should have the first bite ; and it is not thought by some advisable to depasture land with a mixed collection of different species of livestock, unless the field is ex- tensive, or unless the herbage varies in different parts of the field. It is generally found, that the grass produced by the dung of cattle or horses is injurious to sheep, producing grass of too rich a quality for that species of stock. There is no mode by which such pastures are more effectually improved, than by the application of lime, either spread upon the surface or mixed with the soil In the latter case, it is essential that the lime should be mixed with the surface soil only ; as lime is apt to sink, if covered deeply by the plough. The coarse grasses would, in that case, regain possession of the soil, and the dung afterwards deposited by the cattle will not enrich the land in the same manner as if the Hme had been incorporated with the surface only. (^Code.) 5842. Mountainous pasturesg from which the plough is altogether excluded, have been commonly classed among waste lands ; even such of them as bear herbage by no means of inconsiderable value ; as well as heaths and moors with patches of which the green pastures are often chequered. The general term wastes is therefore a very indefinite ex- pression ; and, indeed, is not unfrequently made to comprehend all that extensive division of our territory that neither produces corn nor rich herbage. Yet it is on such tracts that by far the greater part of our butcher's meat and wool is grown, and not a little of the former fully prepared for the market. Foreigners and superficial readers at home must accordingly be greatly mistaken, if tliey imagine that what are called wastes by the Board of Agriculture, and other writers on rural economy, are really altogether un- productive ; and it would be a still grosser error to believe that all those wastes owe their continuance to neglect or mismanagement ; and that any exertions of human industry can ever render the greater part of them, including all the mountainous tract of Great Britain, more valuable than they are at present, without a much greater Book VI. IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LANDS. 909 expenditure of capital than, under almost any circumstances, they could possibly return- {Sttp. art. jlgr.) 58*3. Mentealh cf Ctosehum, in Dumfriesshire, has regenerated old pasture by paring up the turf with a paring plough or spade, laying it to one side for a week or two, and again replacing it where it was before, after the subsoil had been stirred by ploughing and harrowing, and a iittle lime, ashes, or other manure added. A field so treated was found, in four years, to keep flfteen head of cattle fully better than it did ten in its former state. The improvement is considered to give of annual profit one third of the prime cost, so that in little more than four years it will clear itself (.Gard. Mag. vol. vi.) 5844. Improving pasture without taking a crop of com. The same gentleman having had a considerable extent of the poorest moorland in Scotland in bis estate of Closeburn, Dumfticsshire, entertained the opinion that it might pay for improving the pasture without taking a crop of corn from this poor soil, which in general was a peat earth upon a gravel or sand or red freestone, and whichhe considered too poor to produce a remunerating crop of com. He accordingly set to work to improve about a thousand acres of this poor soil from four hundred to eight hundred feet alwve the sea, and sometimes pared and burned nearly two hundred acres in one summer, which he ploughed in the autumn and allowed to lie in that state till the next spring, when he laid on about one hundred and seventy bushels of quicklime, or lime shells, as they are there called from their shelling or falling to pieces when watered, per English acre, and in the month of July harrowed in between five and six bushels of //61cus lan^tus grass seed. The greatest part of this land has now been improved about twenty years, and is continuing to yield abundance of grass, and is worth from 12s. to Us. per acre, while in its natural state it was scarcely worth 2s. i and Mr. M. is convinced it would pay amply for another dressing of lime, which a Scotch farmer, he says, would not think of, as the plough is upon all occasions the implement in most active operation with hiia In the improvement of moor ground, Mr M. thmks it highly important to state that the very worst effects result from pulverising or bringing the peaty or vegetable soil to a complete state of putrefaction or pulverisation, before being laid down to pasture ; and that this must certainly take place when two or three corn crops are taken before sowing out. Moory peaty soil after this treatment is liable to Le poached in wet weather, and in dry weather is almost equally incoherent, and is difficult to be again restored without dung or great quantities of earth. (C. G. Stuart Menteath, March 1830, in Gard. Mag. vol vL) 5845. The chi^ improvements of which mountainous pastures are susceptible are, draining and sheltering by plantations. Some parts might probably be enclosed by strips of plantation between stone walls, or by stone walls alone ; but as the stock on mountain pastures are generally under the care of a herdsman, the advantages of change of pasture and alternate eating down and saving or sparing the grass, by keeping out the cattle, are obtainable without the use of fields. Sect. III. Improvement of Grass Lands, hy a temporary Conversion to TiUage. 5846. T/ie practice of breaking up grass lands, either with a view to their being soon after restored, or to their permanent retention in aration, has occasioned much discus- sion, and even attracted the attention of the Legislature, and the Board of Agriculture. In The Code of Agrieullure it is stated, that a " much larger proportion of the united kingdom, than is at present so cultivated, might be subjected to the alternate system of husbandry, or transferred from grass to tillage, and then restored to grass." Much of the middling sorts of grass lands, from 200 to 400 feet above the level of the sea, is of this description ; and many husbandmen, and most indiscriminate friends of the corn laws and the landed monopoly, regret that such lands are left in a state of unproductive pastur- age, and excluded from tillage. Were the trade in com free, the idea of tilling such lands would be at least problematical. 5847. A very extensive enquiry was made, in consequence of a requisition from the House of Lords to the Boardof Agriculture, in December 1800, " into the best means of converting certain portions of grass lands into tillage, without exhausting the soil, and of returning the same to grass, after a certain period, in an improved state, or at least without injury ;" and the information collected by the Board, upon that subject, IS in the highest degree satisfactory and important ^48. On this subject the opinion of one qf our first writers is, ** that though it is impossible to deny that much grass land in England would be more productive, both to the proprietor and occupier, under a good course of cropping, than under pasture ; yet it is no less certain, that there are large tracts of rich grazing land, which, in the present state of the demand for the produce of grass lands, and of the law of England, with regard to tithes, cannot be employed more profitably for the parties concerned, than in pasture. I'he - interest which the Board of Agriculture has taken in this question, with a view to an abundant supply of corn for the wants of a rapidly increasing population, seems, therefore, not to have been well directed. Instead of devoting a large portion cf their volumes to the instruction of farmers, regarding the best method of bringing grass lands into tillage, and restoring them again to meadow or pasture, without deterioration ; the first thing required was, to attempt removing the almost insuperable obstruction of tithes, by proposing to the legislature an equitable plan of commutation. If some beneficial arrangement were adopted on this head, there is no reason to doubt, that individual interest would soon operate the wished-for change ; and that all grass lands capable of yielding more rent and profit under tillage than Tsm "^ 5 rt'^ 1 subjected to the plough, as fast as the demands of the population might requira 5849. 7m gjrang the essence qfthe information collected by the Board, we shall first state the opimons as to such grass lands as should not be broken up, and next the directions for breaking up and laying down the others. Sdbseci 1. Grass Lands that ought not to be broken up by the Plough. 5850. There are various sorts of grass lands tliat ought not to be broken up; as water meadows ; salt marshes ; lands apt to be overflo.wed ; lands near large populous towns, where the produce of grass land is always in demand, and consequently dear ; and low- lying tracts, in the valleys of mountainous countries, particularly in chalky districts, where old meadow land is scarce, and where a portion of it, to raise eariy and late food for stock, gives a great additional value to the adjoining upland. But whether rich lands, which have long remained in grass, and continue productive, should ever be converted into tillage, is a question respecting which a great diversity of opinion has been entertained. 910 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 5851. The lands considered as best adapted for permanent pasture are of three kinds ; strong tenacious clays, unfit for turnips or barley, which arc said to improve the mone the longer they are kept under a judicious system in grass ; soft clayey loams, with a clayey or marly bottom or substratum; and rich, sound, deep-soiled land, or vale land, enriched by nature at the expense of the higher grounds, generally lying in a situation favourable with respect to climate. 5852. The advantages of such pastures are represented in the strongest light Ifcjs affirmed, that they feed cattle to a greater weight: that they are not so easily scorched by the summer's drought; that the grasses are more nutritive, both for sheep and cattle; that milch cows fed upon them give richer milk, and more butter and cheese ; that the hoofs of all animals pastured on them are much better preserved ; that they produce a greater variety of grasses ; that, when properly laid down, they yield a succession of pasture throughout the whole season ; that the herbage is sweeter, and more easily digested j and that they return an immense produce at a trifling expense. 5853. To break up lands possessing these advantages^ it is said, can only be justified by the most urgent public necessity, and to prevent the horrors of famine. The real value of such lands will appear by con- sidering their rent and produce. The grass lands in Lincolnshire are accounted the richest in the kingdom. The rents are various ; from i;. 15a to 31. per acre ; and the value of the produce from 31. per acre to 10/. This produce arises from beef, mutton, and wool: and is obtained subject to little variation from the nature of the seasons, and at a trifling expense. The stock maintained per acre on the best grazing lands surpasses what could be fed by any arable produce. It is not at all uncommon to feed at the rate of from six to seven sheep in summer, and about two sheep in winter. The sheep, when put on the grass, may weigh from 18 lbs. to 20 lbs. per quarter, and the increase of weight would be at the rate of 4 lbs. per quarter, or 16 lbs. per sheep. But suppose in all only 100 lbs. at 8d, per pound, that would amount to 31. 17s lOrf. The wool would be worth about two guineas more, besides the value of the winter keep; and the total may be stated at about 71. per acre, got at little expense. Such lands, it is evident, cannot be better employed than in feeding stock. 5854. Grass land on tenacious clays and heavy loajnSj when brought in a succession of years, or perhaps of ages, into a state of great productiveness, cannot be plougiied without the risk of great Injury, and are more profitable in the production of herbage than they could be in the production of grain. 5855. Grass on deep-soiled sound vale lands would be productive of corn if ploughed ; but would be probably injured by cultivation ; from their texture being altered, and rendered unduly loose and open by tillage ; from the native plants being more or less destroyed or enfeebled ; and from the great decomposition and waste of the principles of feitility resident in the soil. 5856. The extent of tfiese descriptions of landj however, is not so great that the advan- tages of breaking them up could probably ever be a national object, or worth the risk of injuring their future productiveness in grass. But there are pasture lands of an inferior sort, which are too apt to be confounded with those already described; and respecting the propriety of occasionally appropriating them to arable culture, there can hardly be a doubt. Such lands do not depend upon their intrinsic fertility, but upon annual supplies of manure derived from the arable land in their neighbourhood. SuBSECT. 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of breaking up Grass Lands, 5857. The advantages of breaking up grass lands, not of the richest quality, will appear by a comparison of their produce with that of arable lands, 5858. From, Uie enquiry qfthe Board of Agriculture ^ it appears that an acre of clover, tares, rape, potatoes, turnips, cole, or cabbages, will furnish at least thrice as much food as the same acre would have done, had it remained in pasture of a medium quality ; and, consequently, that the same extent of land would main- tain at least as much stock as when in grass, besides producing every other year a valuable crop of corn ; and this, independently of the value of the straw, which, whether consumed as litter, or ^s food for cattle, will add considerably to the stock of manure. It follows that, with the exception of rich pastures, arable land is, on an average, superior to grass land, with respect to furnishing articles of human food, in the proportion of three to one ; and consequently every piece of land unnecessarily kept in grass, the produce of which will only maintain one person, is depriving the community of food capable of maintaining two additional members. 5859. The principal objection to the conversion of old turf into arable land arises from an alleged infe- riority, both in bulk and nutritive properties, in the new when compared to the old herbage. It is certain, that by no art can we at once produce a surface of grasses which can be at all compared to some of the richest pastures in Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Leicestershire ; but these are not the pas- tures which any prudent agriculturist would recommend to be broken up, whatever might be the price of corn ; and more especially in Britain, and with a prospect of the trade in corn being at no distant period frea Still, in by far the greater number of cases where the soil will admit of the convertible husbandry and where that husbandry is as well understood and practised as it is in the north of England and souili of Scotland, we should have no hesitation in leaving it to the farmer to break up whatever pastures he thought he could do with profit during a fourteen or twenty-one years' lease. A gentleman who had a large farm, principally consisting of strong rich clay (every field of which, with hardly any exception, he occasionally broke up), was accustomed to lay them down with a crop of barle>, and to sow fourteen pounds of white clover, a peck of rib-grass, and three quarters of hay seeds, per acre By this hbera. allowance of seed, he always secured a thick coat of herbage the first year, which differed' from old pasture in being more luxuriant Such lands, therefore, under judicious management, will rarely be injured by the plough. When laid down from tillage into grass, they may not carry for the first year or two such heavy cattle as they would afterwards; but they will support more in number, though of a smaller size, and bring a greater weight of butcher meat to market. It is often desirable to keep one or two moderate- sized enclosures, of from ten to twenty acres, according to the size of the farm, in perennial pasture for the feeding of cattle and sheep, and as a resource for the stock to go to in case of a severe spring or summer drought ; but the retaining of anv considerable portion of a farm in old turf, or permanent pasture unless of the richest quality, is in genersi mjunous to the landlord, the tenant, and the public The value ol any estate, where the system of permanent pasture has been carried to an unreasonable extent may be easily and greatly augmented by ajipropnating the manure of the farm to turnips and other green crocs and by the adoption ol the convertible system of husbandry." ^ ^ ' Book VI. ■ BREAKING UP GRASS LANDS. 911 5860. There are many cases where this doctrine, tliOU0h in general to be recammendcdt ought not to be carried to its full extent. In Norfolk, where the land is commonly light, and where the sheep are both bred and fed upon the same farm, a proportion of permanent pasture is essentia!. Much injury, in parti- cular, has been sustained by breaking up permanent pastures on such soils, more especially when subject to rectorial tithes. Many lands of an inferior soil, wnich kept two sheep on an acre, paying only vicarial tithes, and rented at ten shillings per acre, since they have been broken up cannot pay, even without rent, the tithe of corn and the expense of cultivation, A farm in general lets best with a fair proportion of grass land upon it, which admits of a mixed management} in consequence of which, if one object fails another may be successful 5861. WUhrespect to the disadvantage^ of brealdng up pastures, it is alleged in Tlie Code of Agriculture, that there is a risk of tenants breaking through their engagements (p. 473. 3d edit. ) ; by which we suppose is to be understood, the chance of their taking a few good crops from the newly broke-up lands, and then leaving the faiin. Tenants who would do this must certainly be as wicked as the landlords who would put in their power would be imbecile. No other disadvantage is stated, and this may safely be left to work its own cure. SuBSECT. 3. Brenhing up Grass Lands, and afterwards restoring them to Grass. 5862. On tlie sulyect of breaking up and laying down grass lands, the following parti- culars are discussed in the Code of Agriculture, as the result of the information communi- cated to the Board : — Whether any previous steps are necessary before lands in grass are broken up ? the proper mode of effecting that object ; the course of crops ; the manure necessary ; the system of management during the rotation ; the mode of laying down the land again to grass ; that of sowing the grass-seeds ; and the subsequent management. 5863. If theJand be wet, it is advisable to drain it completely, previously to its being broken up ; for it is not improbable that its being kept in pasture was partly on account of its wetness. 5864. Land that has been long in pasture does not require dung during the first course of crops that is taken after being broken up ; but the application of calcareous manure is always, in such cases, expedient Sometimes lime is spread on the ground before it is ploughed ; at other times when it is either under summer-fallow, or a drilled crop of turnips. Marl and chalk also have been used for the same purpose with great advantage. The land thence derives additional strength and vigour; the succeeding crops are much improved ; the soil is commonly so softened in its texture, that it may be ploughed with half the strength that would otherwise be necessary ; and wheneverit is restored to grass, the herbage is abundant. 5865. Wherever the soil is not too shallow, nor of a friable nature, or when the turf cannot soon be rotted, if land is to be broken up from old pasture, the system of parino- and burning is proper. In this way, good tilth is speedily procured ; the damage that might otherwise be sustained by the grub, the wire-worm, and other insects, is avoided while the soil receives a stimulus which ensures an abundant crop. Bfi66. Where pariTig and burning cannot take place, the land maybe trenched or double-ploughed. Tliis is effected by means of two ploughs following each other, the first plough taking offathin surface of about three inches, and the second going deeper in the same place, covering the surface-sod with fine mould - both furrows not exceeding the thickness of the vegetable mould or other good soil. If the land is ploughed with one furrow, the operation ought to be performed before winter, that it may receive the benefit of the succeeding frosts, by which the success of the future operations will not onlybepromoteii, but most of the insects lodged in the soil will be destroyed. When one furrow alone is taken, the best size is four inches and a half deep by eight or nine broad. The strain on horses in ploughing ley land is mostly iYom the depth. 5867. The rotation of crops to be adopted, when grass lands are broken up, must partly depend upon the soil, and partly on the manner in which it is prepared for cultivation. As a general principle, however, it may be laid down, that unless by the course of crop- ping to be pursued the bad grasses and other plants indigenous to the soil are extirpated, they will, when the land is again laid down to grass, increase and prevail with more rapidity and effect than seeds chosen by the farmer ; and the consequence must be a ■ heavy disappointment in the future crops of grass, perhaps solely, or at least principallv, attributable to a previous defective management. It is necessary, therefore, to enter into details upon this subject as applicable to clay, chalk, peat, loam, and sand. .6868. day. The process of conversion in clayey soils should be commenced with paring and burning especially where the grub is suspected. The following course may then be adopted : — 1. Rape fed with sheep; 2. beans; 3. wheat; 4. beans; 5. wheat; 6. fallow; 7. wheat, sown with grass.seeds 4'his mav seem severe cropping, but it is justified by experience when old grass clay.land is broken up If the land has not been pared and burnt, the first crop ought to be either oats or dibbled beans To do iustice to fhi. plan of restoring the land to grass, there ought to be, in all cases, according to the soil, either a naked or turnip fallow, before the sowing of grass-seeds is attempted. But on mellow loamy clay land, consisting of fine old grass pasture, where it is thought necessary or advis.ible to break up such lind, it should be done m detached pieces so as to suit the convenience of the occupier, and the fallowing coirse should be adopted:— 1. Autumnal ploughing for oats m spring; 2. fallow for rape, to be eaten with sheep ; 3 beans- 4. wlieat, sown with clover; S. clover; B. clover; 7. wheat; 8. rape, to he partiallv eaten and hoed .'n spring, and to stand for seed ; and 9. wheat with grass-seeds. This is a very profitable rot'ation, and ap- plicable to the best grazing land in Lincolnshire. "^ iui.aiiuii, .luu ap- 6869. Chalk Paring and burning are considered in this case to be indispensable as a preparation for turnips, which ought, where manure can be got, to be raised two years in succession ; then barley clover wheat ; and, after one or two additional crops of turnips, the land may be laid down with saintfoin to great advantage. , 6870. Peia. On this soil paring and burning are essentially necessary. Under a judicious system, the greatest and quickest profit is thus secured to the farmer, with advantage to the public, and without injury to the landlord. Drainmg also must not be neglected; The crops to be grown on p^at soils are, 1. rani or potatoes; 2. oats; 3. turnips; 1. oats or wheat; and 5. clover or grass.seeds. A liberal application 912 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. ' Part III. of lime, where it can be obtained, is of the greatest service in enabling ^uch boiIb to bring corn to Its flill perfection. In the fens of Thorney, the following course was recommended : — 1. Paring and burning for rape ; 2. oats ; and 3. wheat with grass-seeds ; if the land were sale from water, the Lammas sort, if not, spring wheat This short course, it is contended, preserves the land in heart j and it afterwards produces abundant crops of grass. But long courses, in such a soil, run the lands to weeds and straw, without quality in the grain. . . , , . 5871. Loam. The courses of crops applicable to this soil are too numerous to be here inserted. If the award is friable, the following rotation may be adopted: — 1. Oats; 2. turnips; 3. wheat or barley; 4. beans ; S. wheat ; 6. fallow or turnips ; 7. wheat or barley, and grass-seeds. If the sward is very tough and coarse, instead of taking oats, it may be pared and burnt for turnips, 5872. Sand, On rich and deep sandy soils, the most valuable that can be raised is a crop of carrots. For inferior sands, turnips, to be eaten on the ground ; which should then be laid down with barley and grass- seeds. 5873. According to the improved system of laying down lands to grass, land ought to be previously made as clean and fertile as possible. With that view, all the green crops raised ought to be consumed upon the ground ; fallow or fallow crops ought not to be neglected ; and the whole straw of the corn crops should be converted into manure, and applied to the soil that produced it. Above all, the mixing of calcareous matter with the soil, either previously to, or during the course of, cropping, is essential. Nothing generally improves meadows or pastures more than lime or marl : they sweeten the herbage, render it more palatable to stock, and give it more nourishing properties. 5874. When turnips are raised upon light iand^ sheep should be folded on them ; whereas, if the land is strong or wet, the crop should be drawn, and fed in some adjoining grass-field, or in sheds. If the land is in high condition, it is customary to cart off half the turnips, and eat the other on the ground. JJut this is not a plan to be recommended on poor soils, 5875. It has been disputed whether grass-seeds should be sown with or without corn. In favour of the first practice, that of uniting the two crops, it is maintained, that where equal pains are taken, the future crop of grziss will succeed as well as if they had been sown separately, while the same tilth answers for both. On the other hand, it is observed, that as the land must, in that case, be put into the best possible order, there is a risk that the corn-crop will grow so luxuriantly as to overpower the grass-seeds, and, at any rate, will exclude them from the benefit of the air and the dews. If the season also be wet, a com crop is apt to lodge, and the grass will, in a great measure, be destroyed. On soils moderately fertile, the grasses have a better chance of succeeding ; but then, it is said, that the land is so much exhausted by producing the corn-crops, that it seldom proves good grass land afterwards, In answer to these objections, it has been urged, that where, from the richness of the soil, there is any risk of sowing a full crop of corn, less seed is used, even as low as one third of the usual quantity ; and that a moderate crop of grain nurses the young plants of grass, and protects them from the rays of a hot sun, without producing any material injury. Where the two crops are united, barley is the preferable grain, except on peat Barley has a tendency to loosen the texture of the ground in which it grows, which is favourable to the vegetation of grass-seeds. In the choice of barley, that sort should be preferred which runs least to straw, and which is the soonest ripe. On peat, a crop of oats is to be preferred. The moht recent practice of the best farmers IS in favour of sowing the grass-seeds without the addition of com, or any other temporary plant 5876. The manner qf sowing the grass-seeds also requires to be particularly attended to. Machines have been invented for that purpose, which answer well, but they are unfortunately too expensive for the generality of farmers. It is a bad system, to mix seeds of difi'erent plants before sowing them, in order to have the fewer casts. It is better, to sow each sort separately ; for the expense of going several times over the ground is nothing, compared to the benefit of having each sort equally distributed. The seeds of grasses being so light, ought never to be sown in a windy day, except by machinery, an equal delivery being a point of great consequence. Wet weather ought likewise to be avoided, as the least degree of poaching is injurious. Grass seeds ought to be well harrowed, according to the nature of the soil. 5877. When the corn is carried qffj the ffoung crop of grass should be but little fed during autumn^ and that only in dry weather; but heavily rolled in the following spring, in order to press the soil home to the roots. It is then to be treated as permanent pasture. Sy attention to these particulars, the far greater Eroportion of the meadows and pastures in the kingdom, of an inferior, or even medium quality, may be roken up, not only with safety, but with great profit to all concerned. Chap. VIII. Plants cultivated on a limited Scale for various Arts and Manufactures, 5878. The plants used as food for men and animals are by far the most generally cultivated in every country; and, next, those of clothing, buildings and other arts of conve- nience or luxury. The former are often called agricultural, and the latter commercial or manufactorial plants. Of manufactorial plants, only a few are at present cultivated in Britain; the national policy rendering it preferable to import them, or substi- tutes, from other countries. Some, however, are still grown in nearly sufficient quan- tities for home consumption, as the hop, mustard, rape, and a considerable quantity of flax, anise, and cairaway ; some hemp, teazle, and woad are also raised. These and other plants may be classed as grown for the clothing, distilling, brewing, oil-making, and domestic and medical arts. Sect. I. Plants grown chiefly for the Clothing Arts, 5879. The clothing plants are flax, hemp, teazle, madder, woad, and weld ; the first three are used by the manufacturer of the fabric, and the others by the dyer. Book VI. FLAX. 913 SuBSECT. I. Flax. — Xjinum usitatlssimum Ij. ; Pentdndria Pentag^ia L., and Unea Dec. Lin, Fr. j Flacks, Ger. ; and Lino, Ital. and Span. (Jig, 797. o.) 5880. Thejlax has been cultivated from the earliest ages, and for an unknown length of time in Britain, of which it is now considered a naturalised inhabitant. It is cultivated both for its iibre for making thread, and its seed for being crushed for oil ; but never has been grown in suf- ficient quantity for either purpose. The legisla- ture of the country, as Brown observes, has paid more attention to framing laws regarding the husbandry of flax than to any other branch of rural economy; but it need not excite surprise that these laws, even though accompanied by pre- miums, have failed to induce men to act in a manner contrary to their own interest. The fact is, the culture of flax is found on the whole less profitable tlian the culture of corn. It is one of the most severe crops when allowed to ripen its seed ; but by no means so when pulled green. 5881. The varieties cfthe coTnTnonJlax are few, and scarcely deserving of notice. Marshal mentions the blue or lead-coloured flax as being cultivated in Yorkshire, and Professor Thaer mentions a finer and coarser variety ; he also, as well as some otlier agriculturists, has tried the ilnum per^nne (6), but though it affords a strong fibre, it is coarse and difficult to separate from the woody matter. 5882. Tlie soils most proper for flax, besides the alluvial kinds, are deep and friable loams, and such as contain a large proportion of vegetable matter in their composition. Strong clays do not answer well, nor soils of a gravelly or dry sandy nature. But whatever is the kind of soil, it ought neither to be in too poor nor in too rich a condition : because, in the latter case, the flax is apt to grow too luxuriantly, and to produce a coarse sort ; and, in the former case, the plaqt, from growing weakly, afibrds only a small produce. ( TV. on Rural Affairs- ) 5883. Jf there is wafer at a small depth below the surface of the ground, it is tliought by some still better ; as in Zealand, whicll is remarkable for the fineness of its flax, and .where the soil is deep and rather stiff, with water almost every where, at the depth of a foot and a half or two feet. It is said to be owing to the want of this advantage, that the other provinces of Holland do not succeed equally well in the culture of this useful plant; not but that fine fiax is also raised on high lands, if they have been well tilled and manured, and if the seasons are not very dry. It is remarked, in the letters of the Dublin Agricultural Society, that moist stiff soils yield much larger quantities of flax, and far better seed, than can be obtained from light lands j and that the seed secured from the former may, with proper care, be , rendered full as good as any that is imported from Riga or Zealand. M. Du Haniel, however, thinks that strong land can hardly yield such fine flax as lighter ground. 5884. Tlie place of flax in a rotation of crops is various, but in general it is considered as a corn or exhausting crop, when the seed is allowed to ripen ; and as a green, or pea, or bean crop, when the plant is pulled green. ^ .'5885. Ptax, Donaldson observes, is sown after all sorts of crops, but is found to succeed best on lands lately broken up from grass. In Scotland, the most skilful cultivators of flax generally prefer lands from which one crop of grain only has been taken, after having been several years in pasture. When such lands have been limed or marled, immediately before being laid down to grass, the crop of flax seldom or never misgives, unless the season prove remarkably adverse. In the north of Ireland flax is generally sown by the small farmers after potatoes. In Belgium, it is supposed not to do well after peas or beans ; nor to succeed if sown oftener on the same soil than twice in nine years. iVon Thaer.) 5886. T/ie preparation of the soil, when grass land is intended for flax, consists in breaking it up as early in the season as possible, so that the soil may be duly mellowed by the winter frosts, and in good order for being reduced by the harrows, when the seed process is attempted. If flax is to succeed a corn crop, the like care is required to pro- cure the aid of frost, without which the surface cannot be rendered fine enough for receiving the seed. Less frost, however, will do in the latter than in the former case ; therefore; the grass land ought always to be earliest ploughed. At seed-time, han*ow the land well before the seed iS distributed, then cover the seed to a sufficient depth, by giving a close double harrowing with the harrows. Water-furrow the land, and remove ■any stones and roots that may remain on the surface, which finishes the seed process. ■ 5887. The ordinary season of sowing flax-seed is from the middle of March to the middle or end of April, but the last week of March and the first ten days of April are esteemed the best time ; and accordingly within these periods the greatest quantity of flax-seed is sown in this country. In France and Italy it is often sown in the autumn, by which a larger crop is produced, especially when seed is desired. 5888. The quantity of seed depends on the intention of the crop. When a crop of seed is intended to be taken, thin sowing is preferable, in order that the plants m^y have ruum to throw out lateral shoots, and to obtain air in the blossoming and filling seasons. 3 N 914 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. But it is a mistake to sow thin when flax is intended to be taken ; for the crop then becomes coarse, and often unproductive. From eight to ten pecks per acre is the proper quantity i n the last case, but when seed is the object, six pecks will do very well. ( Brown. ) Thick-sown fla^ runs up in height, and produces fine soft flax ; if sown tliin, it does not rise so high, but spreads more and puts forth many side branches, which produce abun- dance of seed, and such seed is much better filled, plumper and heavier, than the seed produced from thick-sown flax. (Donaldson.) 5889. In the choice of seed, that which is of a bright brownish colour, oily to the feel, and at the same time weighty, is considered the best, 5890. Unseed, imported from various countries, is employed. That brought from Holland is, however, in tha highest estimation ; as it not only ripens sooner than any other that is imported, but also produeea greater crops, and flax of that quality which best suits the chief manufactures of the country. American seed produces, in common, fine flax ; but neither the quantity of flax nor of the pods, provincially the " bolls," which contain the seeds, is so large as the produce from Dutch hnaeed. Riga Seed yields a very coarse sort of flax, but a greater quantity of seeds than any other. It is common in some parts of Scot- land to sow seeds saved from the crop of the preceding year, especially when that crop was raised from seed imported from Holland, The success of this practice is found to depend greatly on changing the seed from one sort of soil to another of an opposite nature; but the saving in the expense of purchasing that sort of seed, in place of what is newly imported from Holland, is so inconsiderable, and the risk of the crop misgiving so much greater in the one case than in the other, that those only who are ignorant of the consequences, or who are compelled from necessity, are chargeable with this act of ill-judged par- simony. Flax-seed is by some farmers changed every three years, but many have sown the same seed ten years in succession without perceiving any degeneracy. When any degeneracy takes place, the seed of flax grown on a diffferent soil, as moss, moor, sand, &c. without any view to the produce in fibre, will, it is said, answer as well as foreign seed. 5S9I. The manner of sowing is almost always the same; but when seed is the main object, drilling may be adopted, by which seed will be saved in sowing, cleaning con- ducted at less expense, and the plants rendered more vigorous and branchy by the stir- ring of the soil and the admission of air between the rows. The fibres of flax grown in this way, however, will be shorter, and less equal in thickness throughout their length, than flax grown by the broad-cast mode, and tolerably thick. 5892. The ajier-culture of Jlajc consists chiefly in weeding, but sometimes it com- mences with rolling the surface, which is a very proper operation when the soil is very dry, the season advanced, or the earth very porous. By this process the earth is pressed firmly to the seeds, and they are thereby stimulated to vegetate sooner, and the drought is kept out. On some soils, and in wet or stormy seasons, flax is apt to be laid, to guard against which some cultivators run across their flax field slender poles flxedto stakes: but a better method is to run small ropes across the field, both lengthwise and breadth- ■wise, where necessary ; for these being fastened where they intersect one another, and supported by stakes at due distances, form a kind of network, which is proof against almost every accident that can happen from tempestuous weather. 5893. In Scotland a crop of flax, it is said, has been sometimes weeded by turning a flock of sheep at large into the field. They will not taste the young flax plants, but they carefully search for the weeds, which they devour. 5894. The flax crop is taken by pulling, on which there is a considerable diflference of .opinion. None, however, think of pulling it before it comes into flower, when fibre is the sole object ; or before the seed in the capsules acquires a brownish colour, when fibre and seed jointly are required, or when seed alone is the object. 5895. Some argue for it pulling while green, in order that its fibres may be softer and finer ; others, with the same view, pull it up before its seeds are quite formed ; and others again think that it should not be pulled till some of the capsules which contain the seeds have begun to open, being of opinion that the fibres of green flax are too tender, and that they fall into tow. On the other hand, it is certain the fibres of flax which has stood till it is very ripe are always stiff* and harsh, that they are not easily separated from the reed, and that they do not bleach well. Here, therefore, as in most other cases, both extremes should be avoided ; and it consequently seems most reasonable to think that the properest time for pulling flax, is when its stalks begin to turn from a green to a yellow, when its leaves begin to fall, and when its seeds begin to be brown. Donaldson observes, that a crop of flax frequently grows short, and runs out a great number of seed-bearing branches. When that is the case, the seeds, not the flax, ought to be the farmer's chief object, and the crop should be allowed to stand till the seeds are in a great measure per- fected. But that when the crop thrives, and is likely to become more valuable for the flax than the seeds, it should be pulled soon after tne bloom drops off, and before the pods turn hard and sharp in the points When flax is grown for its fibre. Brown considers it the safest course to take it a little early, any thing wanting in quantity being, in this way, made up by the superiority of quality. 5896. The operation of pulling flax differs according to the intention of the crop. When it is grown for the fibre it is pulled and tied into sheaves like corn, and carried off immediately to be watered. But when the seed is to be taken from the plant, it is pulled and laid in handfuls. .v-^^^Li rn paWinf JI«e, it Is usual, when it U intended to save neither lie quite in a line with each oUier, nor directly acrow. the see(^, to lay itin handfuls, partly acroM each other; the but a little slanting upwards, bo that the air mayS^P^ reason for which k, 'that the huaines of rippling is thereby through them. Some, instead of this method, tie Oie iSnC facljUted. &s (he riPplers, m place of haymg to separate each of flax loosely at the top. then spread out thri^ rooli. and thus handfiil from the Wndle, hnd jt by this simple pre«iution set several oAhemtogeUier upright iVnlhrirS already done to then: hand. Although U is of much import- of these ways, the flal is gcn^a^y 1^ Twdve oSr^n d^« ance, yet it very seldom happens that much attemion is in the field to dry it. Tfijs drjine is certainlv not SssaiY bestowed to separate the dlffera.t sorts of flax from each other, for the rippling.^ecause the i?p|Vj| "iU MpLrate ?he cSm in puUmg the crop. In most fields, there are varieties of from the Sax a« effectually be?orerth^EdrS^Kni soils ; of course some parts of a field will produce fine flax, afterwards; and if it is done with a view to ripen Ae^d t o hers coarse ; some Ions, and some short : in a word, crops of should be considered, that the flax will be more hurt bv he different leru'ths and qualities. It cannot be supposed that all longer time of steeping, which will become nTM&s"v^n conV^ these.sortsof flax ,vill U"^"«o an equal degroeof wt-ring. quenceofihU dryiilg, tW ^e seed t^n bebStcd\^ Krassing, breaking, and heSlmg, without vusiaining gr.at ftie more the membrane which connecY. thVhbrcrii S^ "a A^iHcJU,. UjulU,,^ is laid^together bv handful,. s^arf S'l^^^S "dSo^^ S^cSo^lf Sf"fiS"!.ZSg with the seed end tumea to the south. These han<.fuls .houl and briglit in colour. Broad-cast is the universal mode of sowing ; ahd the only afler- culture consists in keeping off birds when it is coming up ; in weeding j and sometimes in supporting the crop by cross rods or lines, as in the case of flax. 5926. In taking the hemp crop, two methods are in use, according to the object in view. When the crop is grown entirely for the fibre, it is pulled when in flower, and no dis- tinction made between the male and female plants. But as it is most commonly grown both with a view to fibre and seed, the usual practice is to pull the male plants as soon as the setting of the seed in the females shows that they have effected their purpose. As the female plants require four or five weeks to ripen tlieir seeds, the males are thus pulled so long before them. 5927. In the imeraticn cf puUmg the males, the pullers walk in tlie furrows between the ridges, and reach across to the crown of the ridge, pulling one or two stalks at a time, and carefully avoiding to tread -down the'female plants. The male stalks are easily known by their yellowish hue and faded flowers. They are tied in small bundles, and immediately carried to the watering pool, in the manner of flax. 5P28. The operation qf pulling the females commences when the seed is ripe, wliich is known by the -brownish or greyish hue of the capsules and the fading of the leaves. The stalks are then pulled and bound up into bundles, being set up in th'e same manner as grain, until the seed becomes so dry and firm as to shed freely ; great care should be taken in pulling not to shake the stalks rashly, otherwise much of the seed may be lost It is advised that, after pulling the seed, hemp maybe set to stand in shocks of five sheaves, to dr3j the seed ; but, in order to prevent any delay in watering, the seed-pods may be cut off with a chopping-knife, and dried on canvass exposed to the air under some shed or cover. This last method of drying the seed will prove of great advantage to the hemp, as the seed and pods, when green, are of such a gummy nature that the stems might suffer much by sun-burning or rain, which will discolour and injure the hemp before the seed can be suflicienely dried upon the stalks. Besides, the threshing out the seed -would damage the hemp in a considerable degree. S929. Hemp is watered (provin. water-retted), bleached fprovin. dew-retted), and grassed m the same manner as flax. Grassing is omitted in some places, and drying substituted; and in other districts watering is omitted with the female crop, which is dried and stacked, and dewed or bleached the following spring. On the Continent hot water and green soap have been tried; and here, as in the case of flax, it is found that steeping for two hours in this mixture is as effectual in separating the fibre from the woody matter, as watering and grassing for weeks. 5930. Although hemp, in the process of manvfactmring, passes through the hands of the breaker heckler spinner, whitester, weaver, and bleacher, yet many ot these operations are frequently carried on by the same person. Some weavers bleach their own yarn and cloth; others their cloth only : some heckle their tow, and put it out to spinning ; others buy the tow, and put it out : and some carry on the whole of the trade themselves. 5931. Tlie produce of hemp injibre varies from three to six cwt. per acre ; in seed from jeleven to twelve bushels. 5932. Tlie uses of hemp are well known, as well as its great importance to the navy for sails and cordage. ' S933 Exceedti^ly good hucUahack is made from it, for towels and common table cloths The low priced hempen cloths are a general wear for husbandmen, servants, and labouring manufacturers : the better sorts for working farmers and tradesmen in the country ; and the finer ones, seven-eighths wide, are pro. 3 N 3 • 918 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 799 fencd bjr some gentlemen for strength and warmth. They possess this advantsge over Irish and other linens, that their colour improves in wearing, while that of linen declines. English hemp, properly manufactured, stands unrivalled in its strength^ and is superior in this respect to the Russian. Consider, able quantities of cloth are imported from Russia.for sheeting, merely on account of its strength ; for it is coarser at the price than linen : our hempen cloth, however, is preferable; being stronger, from the superior quality of the thread, and at the same time lighter in washing. The hemp raised in England is not of so dry and spongy a nature as wjiat we have from Russia and India, and therefore it requires a smaller proportion of tar to manufacture it into cordage. Tar being cheaper than hemp, the rope.makera prefer foreign hemp to ours ; because they can make a greater proKt in working it : but cordage must certainly be stronger in proportion as there is more hemp and less tar in it, provided there is a sufficient quantity of the latter to unite the fibres. An oil extracted from the seeds of hemp is used in cookery in Russia, and by painters in this country. The seeds themselves are reckoned a good food for poultry, and are supposed to occasion hens to lay a greater quantity of eggs. Small birds in general are very fond of them ; but they should be given to caged birds with caution, and mixed with other seeds. A very singular effect is recorded, on very good authority, to have been sometimes produced by feeding bullfinches and goldfinches on hempseed alone, or in too great quantity,— that of changing the red and yellow on those birds to a total blackness. 5934. Tlie hemp has few or no diseases. SuBSECT. 3. T)ie Fuller's Thistle, or Teasel. — Tapsacus/ulAnum L. ; Tetr&ndria Mo- nogynia L., and Tiipsiicete 3. CImrdon a foullon, Fr. ; Kardendistel, Ger, ; Diasaco, Ital. ; and Cardencha, Span. (Jig. 799.) 5935. Tlie fuller's thistle is an herbaceous biennial, growing from four to six feet high ; prickly or rough in the Stem and leaves, and terminated by rough burr-like heads of flowers. It is a native of Britain, flowers in July, and ripens its seed in September. It is cultivated in Essex and the west of England, for raising the nap upon woollen cloths by means of the crooked awns or chafls upon the heads ; which, in the wild sort, are said to be less hooked. For this purpose they are fixed round the circumference of a cylinder, which is made to turn round, and the cloth is held against them. In the Journal of a Naturalist we are informed, that the teasel forms an article of culture in cottage gardens in the clothing districts of Gloucestershire. -5936. Tliere are no varieties of the cultivated teasel, and the wild species is not mate- rially diBerent from it, and may be used in its stead, though its chaff" is not quite so rigid, 5937. The soils on which the teasel grows strongest are deep loamy clays, not over-rich. The situation should be rather elevated, airy, and exposed to the south. In a rotation it may occupy the place of a green and com crop, as in the first year the plants are treated like turnips, and in the second the crop is ripened. The soil should be ploughed deep, and well comminuted by cross-ploughings, or stirrings with pronged implements, as the cultivator. 5938. The sowing season is the beginning of April : the quantity of seed is from one peck to two pecks per acre, and in quality it should be fresh and plump. 5939. The mode of sowing is almost always broad-cast, but no crop is better adapted for being grown in drills, as the plants require hoeing and thinning. The drills may be either sown on ridgelets or a flat surface, in the manner of turnips, or by ribbing. The distance between the rows may be from eighteen inches to two feet In Essex, caraway is commonly sown with the teasel-crop; but this is reckoned a bad plan. 5940. The after-culture of this crop consists the first year in hoeing and stirring the soil, and in thinning out the plants to the distance of one foot every way, if sown broad-cast, or to the distance of six inches if sown in rows. Vacancies may be filled up by transplanting ; and a separate plantation may be made with the thinnings, but these never attain the same vigour as the seedlings. The culture in the second year consists also of hoeing, stirring, and weeding, till the plants begin to shoot. 59+1. When the teasel is grown broad-cast, the intervals between the plants are dug by means of spades which have long narrow blades, not more than about four inches in breadth, having the length of sixteen or eighteen inches. With these the land is usually worked over in the intervals of the plants three or four times during the summer months ; and in the course of the following winter, as about the latter end of February, the land between the plants is to be again worked over by the narrow spades, care being taken that none of the mould falls into the hearts of the plants. Again about the middle of May, when they begin to spindle, another digging over is given, the earth being raised round the root.stems of the plants, in order to support and prevent them from being blown down by the wind. Some cultivators perform more frequent diggings, that the ground may be rendered cleaner and more mellow ; consequently the growth of the plants will be the more effectually promoted. This business, in Essex, has usually the name of spaddling, and is executed with great despatch by labourers accustomed to perform it. 5942. The taking of the teasel crop, when no regard is had for seed, commences about the middle of July, when the blossoms begin to fall from the top, or terminating heads of flowers. 5943. It is the best method to have the heads cut as they become ripe ; but the work is mostly executed at three times, at the distance of about ten days or a fortnight from each other. It is performed by means of a knife, contrived for the purpose, with a short blade and a string attached to the hatl. This last is done in order that it may be hung over the hand. A pair of strong gloves is likewise necessary. Thus prepared. Book VI. MADDER. 919 the labourer cuts off the ripe hands along the rows or lineswithabout nine inches of stem, and tleslhem up in handfuls with tlie stem of one that is more perfectiy ripened. On the evening of the day on which they are cut, they should be put into a dry shed : and when the weather is tineand-the air clear, theyshonld be taken out and exposed to the sun daily till they become perfectly dry. Much care must, however, be taken that no rain falls upon them. In doing this, some make use of long small stakes or poles, on which these handfuls 'are hung during the time of their preparation. 59ii. As soon as they are completely dried, they should be laid upjn a dry room, in a close manner, till they become tough and of a bright colour, and ready for use They should then be sorted or separated into three kinds, by opening each of .the small bundles. These are distinguished into kings, middlings, and scrubs, according to their different qualities. They are afterwards, the author of The Somerset Jieport says, made into packs, which, of the first sort, contain nine thousand heads, but when of the second, twenty thousand ; the third is a sort of very inferior valua By some, before forming them into packs, they are done up into what are termed staves, iiy means of split sticks, when they are ready for sale, 5945. The produce of teasel varies from ten to fifteen packs on tlie acre ; nine packs of kings, nineteen of middlings, and two of scrubs, are reckoned a large crop, with a great bulk of haulm. Often, however, the crop fails. 5946. The use of the heads of tlie teasel has been already mentioned. The haulm is of no use but for burning as manure, Parkinson observes, that this is a sort of crop that may be grown to advantage on many lands, in a rotation, as a fallow to prepare for wheat ; and by burning the straw and refuse stuff after the crop is reaped, it will be found not to impoverish, but rather to improve the land. In tlieir young state, the teasel plants stand the winter without danger ; and are a good crop for clearing land of all weeds, from their lateness in the process of hoeing, their being few weeds that vegetate at so advanced a season. On all these accounts they become an advantageous crop for the farmer, 5947. To save seed, leave a few of the very best plants uncropped, and then, when the seed is ripe, cut off only the largest and terminating heads, from which the seed is easily separated by beating with flails, and cleaned by the winnowing machine, or a sieve. 5948. The chief injuries to which the teasel is liable are tliose inflicted on it while young, by the fly and slug. SuBSECT. 4. Madder. — B.iibia tinctbrum L. ; Teir&ndria Mormg^rda L., and ^vlnAceee 3. Garance, Fr. ; F'drbenvthe, Ger. ; Robia, Ital. ; and RvUa, Span. {jig. 800.) 5949. The dyers madder has a perennial root, and an annual stalk. The root is com- posed of many long, thick, succulent 'fibres, almost as larg^ as a man's little finger ; these are joined at the top in a head, like the roots of asparagus, and strike very deep into the ground, being sometimes more than three feet in length. From the upper part (or head of the root) come out many side roots, which extend just under the surface of the ground to a great distance, whereby it propagates very fast ; for these send up a great number of shoots, which, if carefully taken off in the spring soon after they are above ground, become so many plants. It is a. native of the south of Europe, flowers in June, and seeds soon afterwards ; but by them it is never propagated. Madder is mentioned by the Greeks as a medical plant, but when it was first used in dyeing is uncertain. It has been cultivated in Holland and Flanders, and other parts of the Continent, for the latter purpose for many centuries, and has been tried in this country ; but unless the importation of the root from the Continent be entirely prevented, it will not answer. Its culture has been attempted at different times when our commerce with the Dutch was interrupted, or when they raised the price of the article exorbitantly high. At present it may be imported not only from Holland, but from France, Italy, and Turkey. 5950. The soils most suited to the cultivation of madder are deep, fertile, sandy loams, not retentive of moisture, and having a considerable portion of vegetable matter in their composition. It may also be grown on the more light descriptions of soil, of sufficient depth, and in a proper state of fertility. 595 1. The preparation of the soil may either consist in trench ploughings, lengthwise and across, with pronged stirrings, so as to bring it to a fine tilth ; or, what will often be found preferable, by one trenching two feet deep by manual labour. 5952. The sets or plants are best obtained from the runners, or surface-roots of the old plants. These being taken up, are to be cut into lengths of from six to twelve inches, according to the scarcity or abundance of runners. Sets of one inch will grow if they have an eye or bud, and some fibres ; but their progress will be injuriously slow for want of maternal nourishment. Sets may also be 'procured by sowing the seeds in fine light earth a year before they are wanted, and then transplanting them ; or sets of an inch may be planted one year in a garden, and then removed to the field plantation. 3 N 4 920 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Paht Iir. 5953. The season ofplaTUing is commonly May or Jane, and the manner is generally in rows m'ne or ten inches asunder, and five or six inches apart in the rows. Some plant promiscuously in beds with intervals between, out of which earth is thrown in the lazy- bed manner of growing potatoes ; but this is unnecessary, as it is not the surface, but the descending, roots which are used by the dyer. 5954. Tlie operation of planting is generally perfoi-med by the dibber, but some ley- plant them by the aid of the plough. By this mode the ground is ploughed over with a shallow furrow, and in the course of the operation the sets are deposited in each furrow, leaning on and pressed against the furrow-slice. This, however, is a bad mode, as there is no opportunity of firming the plants at the roots, and as some of the sets are apt to be buried, and others not sufficiently covered, 5955. T/w after-culture consists in hoeing and weeding with stirring by pronged hoes, either of the horse or hand kind. Some earth up, but this is unnecessary, and even in- jurious, as tearing the surface-roots. 5956. The madder-crop is taken at the end of the third autumn after planting, and generally in the month of October. By far the best mode is that of trenching over the ground, which not only clears it effectually, but fits it at once for another crop. Where madder, however, has been grown on land prepared by the plough, that implement may be used in removing it. Previously to trenching, the haulm may be cleared off with an old scythe, and carted to the farmery to be used as litter to spread in the straw-yards. 5957. Drying tlie roots is the next process, and, in very fine seasons, may sometimes be effected on the soil, by simply spreading the plants as they are taken up ; but in most seasons they require to be dried on a kiln, like that used for malt or hops. They are dried till they become brittle, and then paclied up in bags for sale to the dyer, 5958. T/i£ produce from the root of this plant is different according to the difiTerence of the soil, but mostly from ten to fifteen or twenty hundred weight where they are suit- able to its cultivation, 5959. In judging of t/ie quaUtif of madder-roots, the best is that which, on being broken in two, has a brightish red or purplish appearance, without any yellow cast being exhibited. 5960. The use of madder-roots is chiefly in dyeing and calico-printing. The haulm which accumulates on the surface of the field, in the course of three years, may be carted to the farm-yard, and fermented along with horse-dung. It has the singular property of dyeing the horns of the animals who eat it of a red colour. 5961. Madder-seed in abundance may be collected from the plants in the September of the second and third years ; but it is never so propagated. 5962. Madder is sometimes blighted ; but in general it has few diseases. SuBSECT. 5. Wood, — Isdtis tinctoria L, ; Tetradynamia Siliquosa L,, and Cruciferee J. Pastel or Guide, Fr. ; ITaid, Ger. ; Guade, Ital. ; and Gualda, Span, (Jig. 801.) 5963. The common woad is a biennial plant with a fusiform fibrous root, and smooth branchy stem rising from three to five feet in height. It is a native, or naturalised in England, flowers from May to July, and its seeds are ripe from July to September. It has been cultivated in France for an unknown length of time, and was introduced to England in 1582, and grown with success. It is now chiefly cultivated in Lincolnshire, where it is a common practice to take rich flat tracts near rivers, at a high price, for the purpose of growing it for two or four years. Those who engage in this sort of culture form a sort of colony, and move from place to place as they complete their engagements. It is sometimes, however, grown by stationary farmers. The leaves are the parts of the plant used, and it is considered a severe crop. 5964. Tliere is a variety of woad called the Dalmatian, described by Miller, and also a wild sort ; but only the common is cultivated in this country, 5965. The soil for woad should be deep and perfectly fresh, such as those of the rich, mellow, loamy, and deep, vegetable kind. Where this culture is carried to a consi- derable degree of perfection, as in Lincolnshire, the deep, rich, putrid, alluvial soils on the Hat tracts extending upon the borders of tlie large rivers, are chiefly employed for the growth of this sort of crop ; and it has been shown by re- peated trials that it answers mo .t perfectly when they are broken up for it immediately from a state of sward. 5966. The preparation of the soil, when woad is to be grown on grass land, may either be effected by deep ploughings, with the aid of the winter's frost, cross ploughing and Book Vt. WELD, OR DYER'S WEED. 921 harrowing in spring ; by deep ploughing and harrowing in spring ; by paring and burn- ing ; or by trench-ploughing, or spade trenching. 5967. Thefirst mode appears the worst, as it is next to impossible to reduce old turf in one year, and, even if this is done, the danger from the grub and wire-worm is a suiiicient argument against it. By ploughing deep in February, and soon afterwards sowing, the plants may germinate before tiie grub is able to rise to the surface ; by trench-ploughing, the same purijose will be better attained j and, best of all, by spade trenching. But a method equally efiPcctual with the first, m<.re expeditious, and more destructive to grubs, insects, and other vermin, which are apt to feed on the pl.mts in tlieir early growth, is that of paring and burning. This is, however, chiefly practised where the sward is rough and abounds with rushes, sedge, and other plants of the coarse kind, but it might be had recourse to on others, with benefit 5968. The time of souting may be extended from February to July. Early sowing, however, is to be preferred, as in that case the plants come up stronger and afford more produce the first season. 5969. The mode of sowing is generally broad-cast, but the plant might be most advan- tageously grown in rows and cultivated with the horse-hoe. The rows may be nine inches or a foot apart, and the seed deposited two inches deep. The quantity of seed for the broad-cast method is five or six pounds to the acre ; for the drill mode, two pounds are more than sufficient, the seed being smaller than that of the turnip. New seed, where it can be procured, should always be sown in preference to old ; but, when of the latter kind, it should be steeped for some time before it is put into the ground. 5970. TIte after-culture of the woad consists in hoeing, thinning, prong-stirring, and weeding, which operations may be practised by hand or horse tools, is in the culture of teazle. 5971. Gathering the crops. The leaves of the spring-sown plants will generally be ready towards the latter end of June or beginning of July, according to the nature of the soil, season, and climate ; the leaves of those put in at a later period in the summer are often fit to be gathered earlier. This business should, however, constantly be executed as soon as the leaves are fully grown, while they retain their perfect green colour and are highly succulent ; as when they are let remain till they begin to turn pale, much of their good- ness is said to be expended, and they become less in quantity, and of an inferior quality for the purposes of the dyer. 5973. In the execution of this sort of tmsiness, a number of baskets are usually provided in proportion to the extent of the crop, and into these the leaves are thrown as they are taken from the plants. The leaves are detached from the plants, by grasping them firmly with the hand^ and giving them a sort of a sudden twist In favourable seasons, where the soils are rich, the plants will often rise to the height of eight or ten inches ; but in other circumstances, they seldom attain more than four or five : and where the lands are well managed they will often afford two or three gatherings, but the best cultivators seldoih take more than two, which are sometimes mixed together in the manufacturing. It is necessary that the after-croppings, when they are taken, should be constantly kept separate from the others, as they would injure the whole if blended, and considerably diminish the value of the produce. It is said that the best method, where a third cropping is eitlier wholly or partially made, is to keep it separate, forming it into an inferior kind of woad. 5973. The prodiwe is mostly from about a ton to a ton and a half of green leaves. The price varies considerably ; but for woad of the prime quality, it is often from twenty- fire to thirty pounds the ton, and for that of an inferior quality six or seven, and some- times much more. 5974. To prepare it fir the dyer, it is bruised by machinery to express the watery part ; it is ailerwards formed into balls and' fermented, re-ground,- and fermented in vats, where it is evaporated into cakes in the manner of indigo. The haulm is burned for manure or spread over the straw-yard, to be fermented along with straw-dung. 5975. The use of woad in dyeing is as a basis for the black and other colours. 5976. To save seed, leave some of the plants undenuded of their leaves the second year, and when it is ripe, in July or August, treat it like turnip-seed. 5977. The only diseases to which the woad is liable are the mildew and rust. When young it is often attacked by the fly, and the ground obliged to be re-sown, and this more than once even on winter-ploughed grass lands. SuBSECT, 6. Weld, or Dyer's Weed. — 'Reseda Luteola L. ; Dodecandria Trig^nia L., and Reseddceie Liudl. Gaude, Fr. ; Waud, Ger. (_/^g. 802.) 5978. Weld is an imperfect biennial, with small fusiform roots, and a leafy stem from one to three feet in height. It is a native of Britain, flowers in June and July, and ripens its seeds in August and September. It is cultivated in a few places in England, and chiefly in Essex, for its spike of flowers, and sometimes also for its leaves, both of which are used in dyeing. Its culture' may be considered the same as that of woad, only being a smaller plant it is not thinned out to so great a distance. It has this advantage for the farmer over all other colouring plants, that it only requires to be taken up and dried, when it is fit for the dyer. It is, however, an exhausting crop. 5979. Weld will grow on any sail, but fertile loams produce the best crops. In Essex, it is grown on a stifi' loam, moderately moist. 922 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE- Paiit III. 5980. The soil being brought to ajijie tilth, the seed Is sown In April or the beginning of May, generally broad-cast The quantity ol seed is from two quarts to a gallon per acre, and it should either be Iresh, or, if two or three years old, steeped a few days in water previously to being sown. Being a biennial, and no advantage obtained from it the first year, it is sometimes sown with corn crops in the manner of clover, which, when the soil is in a very rich state, may answer, provided that hoeing, weeding, and stirring take place as soon the corn crop is cut The best crops, however, will obviously be the result of drilling and cultivating the crop alone. The drills may be a foot asunder, and the plants thinned to six inches in the row. In the broad-cast mode, it is usual to thin them to six at eight inches' distance every way : often, when weld succeeds corn crops, it is never either thinned, weeded, or hoed, but left to itself till the plants are in full blossom. 5981. The crop is taken by pulling up the entire plant: and the proper period for tliis purpose is when the bloom has been produced the whole length of the stems, and the plants are just beginning to turn of a light or yellowish colour ; as in the beginning or middle of July in the second year. The plants are usually from one foot to two feet and a half in height. It is thought by some advantageous to pull it rather early, without waiting for the ripening ' of the seeds ; as by this means there will not only be the greatest proportion of dye, but the land will be left at liberty for the reception of a crop of wheat or turnips ; in this case, a small part must be left solely for the purpose of seed. 5983. In the execution of the work, the plants are drawn up by the roots in small handAiIs ; and, after each handful had been tied up witli one of the stalks, they are set up in fours in an erect position, and left to dry. Sometimes, however, they become sufficiently dry by turning without being set up. After they have remained till fully dry, which is mostly effected in the course of a week or two, they are bound up into larger bundles, each containing sixty handfuls, and weighing fifty.six pounds. Sixty of these bundles constitute a load, and, in places where this kind of crop is much grown, are tied up by a string made for the purpose, which is sold under the title of weld cord. 5983. The produce of weld depends much on the nature of the season ; but from half a load to a load and a half per acre is the quantity most commonly afforded. It is usually sold to the dyers at from five or six to ten or twelve pounds the load, and sometimes at con- siderably more. It is mostly bought by persons who afterwards dispose of it to the dyers. The demand for it is sometimes very little, while at others it is so great as to raise the price to a high degree. It is sometimes gathered green and treated like woad or indigo; but in general the dried herb is used by the dyers in a state of decoction. 5984. The use of weld in dyeing is for giving a yellow colour to cotton, woollen, mohair, silk, and linen. Blue cloths are dipped in a decoction of it, which renders them green ; and the yellow colour of the paint called Dutch pink is obtained from weld. 5985. To save seedj select a few of the largest and healthiest plants, and leave them to ripen. The seed is easily separated. 5986. The chief disease of weld is the mildew, to which it is very liable when young, and this is one reason that it is often sown with other crops. Su£SECT. 7. Sastard Saffron* — C^rthamus tinctorius L. ; SyTigeri^da Polt/g^mta Mqudlislt^i and C^narocSphalce J, Carthame, Fr. ; Wilder SafraTi, Ger, {fg, 140. p. 174.) 5987. The bastard saffron is an annual plant, which rises with a stiff ligneous stalk, two feet and a half or three feet high, dividing upwards into many branches, with ovate pointed sessile leaves. The flowers grow singly at the extremity of each branch ; the heads are large, enclosed in a scaly calyx ; each scale is broad at the base, 6at, and formed like a leaf of the plant, terminating in a sharp spine- The lower part of the calyx spreads open, but the scales above closely embrace the florets, which stand out nearly an inch above the calyx ; these are of a fine saffron colour, and this is the part which is gathered for the use of the dyer, 59S8, It grows naturally in Egj/j>t and some of the warm parts of Asia ; but, being an annual, our summers admit of its going through a course of existence in this country- Sown in April, it flowers in July and August, and the seeds ripen in autumn ; but if the season proves cold and moist, when the plants are in flower, there will be no good seeds produced ; so that there are few seasons wherein the seeds of this plant come to perfec- tion in England. 5989. It is cultivated in great plenitf in Germanv, and was formerly grown in England. In Houghton's Collections, it is related by a gentleman, in 168-3, tnattwenty-five acres in theVale of Evesham, in Glouces- tershire, were sown with this seed; the soil a mixed sand of about fifteen shillingsan acre in value j it bore a crop of wheat the year before, was dressed for barley, and had a harrowing extraordinary. This piece of ground was taken for two years by an adventurer in this seed, at the rate of twenty-five pounds per acre, in consideration that this plant is said to be a great impoverisher of land. He sold the flowers in London for 10/. per pound ; a price, he said, much below his expectation. He gained above thirty shillings an acre clear profit, except the price of the seed j but of this there was a plentiful return (about one hundred and forty bushels], which, had it been well managed, would have amounted to a considerable value. Like Book VI. SUBSTITUTES FOR DYEING PLANTS. 923 most other manufactorial plants it is considered an impoverlBher of the ground j both by exhausting it, and by affording but little naulm as manure. ^ 5990. The soil it requires is light, aiid the preparation and culture, according to Von Thaer, equal to that of tlie garden. The seed is sown in rows, or deposited in patches two feet apart every way, and when the plants come up, they are thinned out, so as to leave onjy two or three together. The soil is stirred and weeded during summer. In August the flowers begin to expand : the petals of the florets are then to be cut off with a blunt knife, and dried in the shade, or on a kiln, like the true saffron. This operation is performed in the early part of the day, and continued daily till October. The plants are then pulled up, sheaved and shocked, and threshed for their seed. 5991. The use of tlie flower of bastard saffron is chiefly in dyeing. It is also put in soups, pies, and puddings, like the leaves of the marigold or the common saffron. The oil produced from the seed is used both in medicine and painting. Tlie stalks of the plants are commonly burnt for manure. SuBSECT. 8. Various Plants -which have been proposed as Substitutes for the Thread and dyeing Plants grown in JSritain, *5992. Though few of these are likely to come into cultivation, yet it may be useful to notic^them, with a view to indicating our resources for extraordinary occasions ; to lead- ing the youn-T cultivator to reflect on the richness of that immense store-house, the vegetable kingdom ; and to pointing out sources of experiment and research for the amateur agriculturist. Every kind of limitation has a tendency to degrade the mind, ^nd lessen enterprise. The plants to be here enumerated, naturally arrange themselves as thread plants and colouring plants. 5993. 7^e thread plants that have been tried are the ^scl^pia^ syrlaca, f/rtlca dioica (or nettle), Z7r- aca canadense (or Canadian nettle), the Sp^rtium Jfinceum, and Cjtisus scop^rius (brooms), Epilobium angustifitlium, Eri6phorum polystkchyon, &c. The ^sclfepias syrlaca, Syrian swallow-wort, or Virginian silk, is a creeping. rooted perennial, with strong erect stems from four to six feet high. It is a native of "Virginia, and flowers in July. The flowers are succeeded by pods, containing a down or cotton, which the poor people in Virginia collect and fill their beds with. In Germany, and especially at Leignitz, attempts were made, in 1790 and 1800, Von Thaer informs us, to cultivate the plant as a substitute for cotton. It substance has been spun and woven into very good cloth. The common nettle affords a fibre which has also been spun and manufactured. The fibre of the Spartium jiinceum, rush-like, or Spanish broom, a native of the south of Europe, but quite hardy in Britaiu, is made into very good cloth both in the south of France and in Spain. Tlie fibre of the common broom makes an inferior description of cordage in the former country. The Epilbbium angusti folium, and other species of willow herb, common by the sides of brooks, afford a very good fibre, as do a great variety of plants : and in Sweden a strong cloth is made from the stems of the wild hop (HCimulus Ltipulus), and the same thing has been done in England. {Trans. Soc. Arts. 1791.) Indeed there are few plants the fibres of which might not be separated and rendered available for the purpose of spinning threads for weaving into cloth, or of mashing for making paper. The fibres of all nettles and square-stalked herbaceous plants answer for the former purpose ; and both the fibres and bark of several plants, forthe latter. The fibres of all the herbaceous mallows are uncommonly white, and finer than camel's hair; and in Germany they areused in making an imitation of India paper for engravers. Tlie filaments of the common field-bean are'among the strongest yet discovered : tnese, with a little beating, rubbing, and shaking, are easily separated from the strawy part, when the plant has been steeped ten or twelve days in water; or is damp, and in a state approaching to fermentation, or what is commonly called retting. Washing or pulling it through heckles, or iron combs, first coarse, and then finer, is necessary to the dressing of bean hemp; and is perhaps the easiest mode of separating the fila- ments from the thin membrane that surrounds them. The fibre of the common nettle is very similar to that of hemp or flax, inclining to either according to the soil and different situations in which it grows; and it has been shown by experiment, that they may be used for the same purposes as hemp or flax, iVom cloth of the finest texture down to the coarsest quality, such as sail-cloth, sacking, cordage, &c. {Smith's Mechanic, vol. ii.) It might be worth the attention of any one who had leisure to collect a few, say only two, stalks, of a great number of species from a botanic garden, to immerse them a sufficient time in soft soap and warm water, and prove their absolute and comparative value as fibre plants. 5994. Broom Jlax is prepared by steeping the twigs or most flax, anS steeped for some time in boilinfr water, the twig, or vigorous shoots of the former year, for two or three weeks, more wood, becomes tough and beautifully ^vhite, and is worth, at a or less, according to the heat of the season, in stagnant water, medium, from a shilling to eighteen-iieilce per pou^d for or by boiling them for about an hour in water, ITiis done, the making carpet brooms, &c. When stripped from the twigs, flax comes treely from the twigs ; and, where there is not ma- the flax requires only to be well washed in cold water, then chineiy for the purpose, may be easily peeled or stripped off, by wrung and shaken well, and hung out to drj-, previously to its children or others, at any time when not quite dry, m the same being sent of *" "'" "-""- ™— "f-"»..- — 'u — m.: m. way as hemp is peeled from the stalks. Being cleared of the chamc, vol. ii.' 5995. Of colouriitg plants, the number that may be, and even are employed, is almost endless. The reader has only to look into" any botanical catalogue, and observe the number of plants whose specific names are formed from the adjective tinctbrius ; and these, though numerous, are still only a smafi part On looking into the Flora Britdnnica, or Flhra Suecica, he will there find a number of plants, trees, and even mosses and ferns used for dyeing. A number have been tried in this country and given Mp : as an instance, we mention Galium vferum, which, in 1789, when the price of madder was high, was tried under the authority of the privy council for trade. The Cr&ton tinct5rium, Genista tinctbria, £h&mnus cath&r- ticus and infectbrius, and PlantSgo i'syllium, are cultivated in France as dyeing plants. Sect. II. Plants cultivated for the Brewery and Distillery, 5996. Of plants groum expressly for their use in the brewery, the only one of conse- quence is the hop ; the anise and caraway are grown on a very limited scale for the distillery- 924 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part I IT. SuBSECT, 1, r/je Hop. — Humvlus Lupulus L. ; Vke^cia Pentdndria L., and VrticeeB J. HoubloUt Fr. ; Hoiypen, Ger. ; Lujyolo, Ital. ; and Lujmlo, Span. {Jig. 803.) 5997. The hop is a perennial-rooted plant, with an annual twining stem, which, on poles or in hedges, will reach the height of from twelve to twenty feet or more. It is a native of Britain, and most parts of Europe, in hedges, flowering in June, and ripening its seeds in September. The female blossom is the part used : and as the male and female flowers are on different plants^ the female only is cultivated. 5998. JV/ien the hop was first used for preserving peer, or cultivated for that purpose, is unknown ; but its cidture , was introduced to this country from Flanders in the reign r of Henry VIII. Walter Blith, in his English Improver ■ Improved^ 1649, the third Edition, 1653, p. 240., has a chap. ter upon improvement by plantations of hops, -&c. -He observes, that " hops were then grown to be a national commodity : but that it was not many years since the famous city of London petitioned the parliament of Eng- land against two anusancies ; and these were Newcastle coais, in regard to their stench, &c., and hops, in«regard they would spoyl the taste of drink, and endanger the people; and had the parliament been no wiser than they, we had been in a measure pined, and in a great measure starved, which is just answerable to the prin- ciples of those men who cry down all devices or ingenious discoveries as projects, and thereby stifle and choke improvements." 5999. The hop has long been ca/^/t/n^cd fa-?CTZ«fftf/yin many parts of England, but notmuch in Scotland or Ireland. According to Brown, hops are not advantageous in an agricultural point of view ; because much manure is abstracted by them, while little or none is returned. They are an uncertain article of growth, often yielding large profits to the cultivator, and as often making an imperfect return, barely sufficient to defray the expenses of labour. In fact, hops are exposed to more diseases than any other plant with which we are acquainted ; and the trade affords a greater room for speculation, than any other exercised within the British dominions. {Brown.) Parkinson in a paper on the culture of the hop in Nottinghamshire, published in the Harm. Mag. voL xvi., observes that " the hop is said to be a plant very properly named, as there is never any certainty in cultivating it" 6000. There are several varieties of the hop. The writer of The Synopsis of Hiisbandry distinguishes them under the titles of the Flemish, the Canterbury, the Goldings, the Farnham, &c., and says that the Flemish is held in the lowest estimation of any. 6001. The Flemish hopt he says, is of a smaller size, of a much closer contexture, and of a darker green colour, than any of the rest, and grows on a red bind ; and has so near an affinity to the wild or hedge-hop, that it would never answer for cultivation, did if not possess the property of resisting the blast with greater vigour than the other kinds ; so that, in years when these last are covered with flies and lice, the Flemish hop appears strong and healthy. At picking time, likewise, this kind of hop, he says, takes less damage, either by the sun or rain, than any other ; and upon these accounts, it may answer the views of the planter to have a few acres of it, which will secure him a crop in a blasting season, when those of the more valuable class are destroyed, so as to be worth nothing. 6002. The soils most favourable to the growth of hops are clays and strong deep loams : but it is also of great importance that the subsoil should be Axy and friable ; a cold, wet, tenaceous, clayey understratum being found extremely injurious to the roots of the plants, as, when they penetrate below the good soil, they soon become unproductive, and ultimately decay. R003. A chalky soil. Bannister says, is, of all others, the most inimical to the growth of this vegetable ; the reason of which he takes to be the dry and parching quality of the chalk, by which the roots are pre- vented from absorbing a quantity of moisture, equal to the supply to the vine or bind with sap during its growth ; for though a dripping summer is by no means kindly to the welfare of the hop, yet since the vine in a healthy state is very luxuriant, and furnished with a large abundance of branches, leaves, fruit, &c., it follows that the demand of moisture from the soil must be proportionably great to preserve the plant in health and vigour ; and for this reason the ground ought not to be deficient in natural humidity. Hence we generally find the most luxuriant vine growing on deep and rich land, as moulds, &c. ; and in these grounds it is common, he says, to grow a load on an acre. But it is to be observed, however, that the abundance of fruit is not always in proportion to the length of the vines j since those soilswhich, from their fertility, cause a large growth of vme are more frequently attacked by the blast, than land of a shallower staple where the vine is weaker and less luxuriant. 6004. But though rich moulds gejierally produce a larger growth of hops than other soils^ there is one exception to this rule, where the growth is frequently eighteen or twenty hundred per acre. This is on the rocks in the neighbourhood of Maidstone, in Kent, a kind of slaty ground, with an understratum of stone. On these rocks there is a large extent of hop-garden, where the vines run up to the tops of the longest poles, and the increase is equal to that on the ipost fertile soil of anj kind, 6005. The most desirable situation for a hop plantation is ground sloping gently towards the south or south-west, and screened, by means of high grounds or forest-trees, from the north and north-east. At the same time it ought not to be so confined as to prevent that free circulation of air which is indispensably necessary where plants grow so close together, and to such a height. A free circulation of air, in a hop- ground, not only conduces to the health and vigour of the plants, but also prevents the crops from being blighted, or what the hop-farmers call fire-blasted, which often happens towards the middle of a large close-planted hop-ground ; while the outsides, in consequence of the more free circulation of air that there takes place, receive no injury whatever. 6006. Bannister asserts, that those fields which lie within a few miles of the sea, or in the neighbourhood of marshy or fenny levels, are seldom favourable to the growth of hops, as such grounds generally miscarry in a blasting year; and though, from the fertility of the soilj they may perhaps bring a plentiful crop in those seasons when the growth is general, such a situation is eligible for a hop ground. In Worcester- shire and Herefordshire hops are very generally grown between the rows of fruit trees in dug or ploughed orchards. flooK VI, THE HOP. 925 6007. In preparing the soil previously to planting, considerable attention is necessaiy, by fallowing, or otherwise, to destroy the weeds, and to reduce the soil to as pulverised a state as possible. The ridges should also be made level, and dung applied with a liberal hand. The most effectual preparation is trenching either by the plough or by manual labour. 6008. The mode of planting is generally in rows, making the hills six feet distant from each other ; though there are some people who, from avaricious motives, prefer a five-feet plant. But as this vegetable, when advanced in growth, produces a large redundancy of bind or vine, and leaves, it should seem that six feet cannot be too wide a distance ; and that those which are planted closer will, from too confined a situation, be prevented from enjoying a free circulation of the air ; from which much injury may proceed, as blasts, mildews, moulds, and other accidents, not to mention the disposition of the vine to house or grow together at the tops of tlie poles, whereby the hops are so overshadowed as to be debarred the influence of the sun, and prevented from arriving at half their growth. 6009. As the planters differ in the nmnber qf hills to be made on the same given quantity of land, so are they no less capricious as to the manner of placing them ; some choosing to set them out with the most cautious regularity in rows of equal distances, whilst others prefer planting in quincunx. The former method has this advantage ; that the intervals may, in the early part of the summer, be kept clean by means of the cultivator and harrow j but, in the latter method, these implements are rendered inadmissible by the irregular station of Ijie plants ; and the ground must be tilled with the hoe at-a greatly increased expense, as the same labour might be performed to as much advantage with one horse, a man, and a boy, who will do more work in a day than half a dozen labourers can with a hoe. 6010. The ordinary season far planting is spring, in February or March ; but if bedded plants, or such as have been nursed for one summer in a garden, are used, then by planting in autumn some produce may be bad in tlie succeeding year. But, according to the author of Tlte New Farmer's Calendar, " the time for planting is commonly that of dressing and pruning the old vines when cuttings may be had, which is in March or April ; but when root-sets are used, as on the occasion of grubbing up an old plant- ation, October to the beginning of November. But at whatever period they are planted, great care should be taken that the same sorts be planted together, as by this means there are advantages derived in their after-culture." 6011. Tlie plants or cuttings are procured from the old stools, and each should have two joints or eyes ; from the one which is placed in the ground springs the root ; and from the other the stalk, provincially the bind. They should be made from the most healthy and strong binds, each being cut to the length of five or six inches. Those to be nursed are planted in rows a foot apart, and six inches asunder, in a garden ; and the others at once where they are to remain. 6012. The mode of peifarming tlie operation of planting in Kent is as follows : — 6013. Tlie land having been previously cleaned and prepared, dung is laid on the field in small heaps near the places where it is proposed to plant the hop slips or sets. These places are commonly marked off', by infixing a number of stakes at proper and regular distances ; that done, small pits are formed by taking out a spit, or spade's depth of earth ; and the earth below being gently loosened, a certain quantity, about half a bushel, of dung is laid thereon ; then the earth that was formerly taken out is again replaced, and so much added as to form a small hUlock. On this hillock, five, six, or seven sets, procured flrom the roots or shoots of the old stock, are dibbled in. The plants are placed in a circular form towards the top of the hillock, and at the distance of five or six inches from each other. They are made to incline towards the centre of the hillock, where another plant is commonly placed, 6014. Another mode of planting is as follows : — Strike furrows with the plough at equal distances of eight feet ; when finished, repeat the same across in the opposite direction, which will divide the piece into eight-feet squares. The hills are to be made where the furrows cross each other, and the horse-hoe may be admitted between the rows both ways. According to the SufiTolk husbandry, the plantations are formed into beds sixteen feet wide, by digging trenches about three feet wide, and two or three feet deep ; the earth that comes out being spread upon the beds, and the whole dug and levelled. Upon this tney, in March, form the holes six feet asunder every way, twelve inches diameter, and a spit deep, by which three rows are formed on each bed. Into each hole they put about half a peck of very rotten dung, or rich compost, and scatter earth upon it; and in each they plant a set, drawing earth enough to it afterwards to form something of a hillock, 6015. An interval cmp is generally taken in the first summer of a hop plantation. Beans are very generally grown ; and Bannister is of opinion that two rows of beans may be planted in each interval without any damage to the hops, whether bedded sets or cuttings. In the latter case, this method may be pursued in the second year, at the end of which the vine from the cuttings will not be in a more forw.ard state than that from the bedded sets in the first autumn after planting. Others, however, think that neither beans, cabbages, nor any other plants, except onions, should be put in. 6016. The afier-cidture of the hop, besides the usual processes of hoeing, weeding, stirriqg, and manuring, includes earthing-up, staking, and winter dressing. 6017. Hoeitig in hop plantations may always be performed by a horse implement ; and one in use for this purpose in the hop counties, and of which the expanding horse-hoe {Jig, 335.) is an improvement, is known by the name of hop-nidget When the hop-stools are formed in the angles of squares, the intervals may be hoed both lengthwise and across, and thus nothing is left to be performed by manual labour but pulling out any weeds whieii may rise in the hills. 6018. Stirring, in the hop districts, is chiefly performed in winter with a three-pronged fork (provincially spud} ; but it might be equally well efft-cted then or at any season of the year with the common plough, and the expanding horse-hoe set with coulters or prongs. With the latter implement the soil might be stirred to any desirable depth, either in summer or winter: and, with the plough, the surface could be changed at discretion. Once going and returning would effect this, either by the parmg or clearing out; 926 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. PabtJII that is, forming either a ridglet, or gutter between the rows, both lengthwise and across. Twice or thrice going in the same direction would also succeed, and would be the preferable mode of covering in manure. 6019. In the application of manure, various modes are adopted. Some always use well rotted stable dung J others, composts of earth and dung: and a few, littery dung. In laymg tt on, many prefer the autumn to the spring, and heap it on the hills without putting any between the rows. Others put it all between the rows, alleging that laying it on the hills encourages insects, exposes the dung to evaporation and loss, and sometimes, when mixed with earth, hinders the plants from coming up. A great deal will be found in favour of, and against each of these modes, in tlie numerous works on the culture of the hop, which have been written during the last three centuries ; but it must be obvious to any person generally conversant with vegetable culture, that well rotted stable dung must be the best kind for use ; and early in spring the best season for laying it on ; that little benefit can be derived by the roots when it is laid on the-hills, and, consequently, that it ought to be turned into the soil between the rows by the plough. Fifty cart-loads of dung and earth, or thirty of dung, once in three years, is reckoned a good dressing ; but some give ten or twelve loads every year. Too much dung renders the hops what is called mouldy, and too little causes the crop to be poor and more hable to be eaten by insects. 6020. Eartking-up commences the first May after planting, whether that operation be performed in spring or autumn. By the end of the spring season, the young shoots have made some progress, and the earth is then drawn up to their roots fVom the surrounding intervals, in order to strengthen them. The next earthing-up is in autumn, when the hills are by some covered with compost or manure ; but by such as prefer ploughing in the manure between the rows, this earthing-up is not given. Some give an earthing- up of this kind in spring, and generally in February, chiefly to retard the plants, as that is found to render them less liable to disease, and the attacks of insects ; for the shoots not beginning to grow till the weather is warm, they then shoot more rapidly. In April and May, their progress is slow ; but in June and July, when the nights are warm, they will grow nearly an inch in the nour. The only essential earthings up, however, are those given the first year in May, and those given annually after the operation of dressing, whether in autumn or spring, which indeed may be called replacings of earth, rather than earthings- up. 6021. In dressing the hop plants, the operations of the first year are confined to twisting and removing the haulm, to which some add cuping or earthing-up in autumn. rally commenced on the return of good weather, in March, when the hills are spread out, in order to give opporLunitj' to prune and dretis the stocks. The earth bein^; then cleared away trom the princiiiol roots b; an iron iiutrumcnt called a picker, the remains of the former year's vines are cut off^ toj^ether with the shoot£ which were not allowed to attarh themselves to the poles in the former season, and also any^oung suckers that may have sprung up about the edges of the hills; so that no.hing is allowed to remain that is likely to injure the prin- cipal root«, or impede their shooting out strong vigorous vines at the proper season. After the roots have been properly deantd and pruned, the hills are again formed, with an addition, if not every year, at least every second or third year, of a proper quantity of compost manure, that had been previously laid in small heaps on the hop-ground in the course of the winter, or in the early part of spring. At this season such ecu are procured as may be wanted tor the nursery, or for new plant- ations. C022. The operation of twitting is confined to such plants as haie been planted in spring, and are not expected to produce anv crop that season. It is performed in the end of June or in July, and consists in twisting the young vines into a bunch or knot ; so that, by thus discouraging their growth, the roots are enabled to spread out more vigorously, and to acquire strength previnusly to the approach of the winter season. 6023. Retnomng 'he haulm takes place soon after Michaelmas, and consists simply in cutting it over with a sickle, and cany- jng it off the field for litter or burning. After this operation, some add cuping, or covering tlie hill with a compost; but Ihis does not appear necessary, and is in many cases left undone. 6024. T/ie ^flrat year's dressing of hops expected to produce flowers, such as those planted from bedded sets in the preceding autumn, consists in supplying three or four half poles, that is, poles of four or fivefL>etin length to each hill, and on removmg tlie haulm in autumn, as in the other case. 6025. The yearly dresahiu afealaiiliskcd ha^ -planiaHons consists of what is provincially called picking. This operation is gene- 602fi. The yea/rly operation of stacking or setting tJte poles commences towards the end of April, or at whatever period, earlier or later, the shoots may have risen two or three inches. poled vine reclining Its head against the velvet bark of the maple, while others held theirs aloof, from chilly smooth- barked poles. This is probably more fanciful than correct^ since we find the hop twming with equal luxuriance round the smooth >-b ark ed ash and the rough-barlced larch or acacia ; and with respect to chilly smooth poles, the hop is known to twine with as much vigour round iron or copper wire as round any wood whatever. (Gatd, Mag. ya\. yii.) 6030. In regard to the size of the pole, hops, likewise, it is well known, have their instinctive cnoice or approbation, with respect to the thickness of their support; embracing, with greater readiness, a pole that Is moileiately small, than one which is thick at 'he boUom- The ordinary circumference of poles, at the thickest end, may be set down at from six to nine inches, tapermg to the size of a walking-cane at the top ; and the length &om fifteen to twenty feet, or upwards. IDifFcrent grounds require dilf'erent lengths of pole. In the rich grounds, in the neignbuurliood of Maidstone, the poles of grown hops stand, in general, from fourteen lo sixteen feet above the hilte, and have from eighteen inches to two feet beneath the surface. But, on weaker Innds, poles are not seen to rise more than ten to twelve feet high. Hence, a variety of ground is convenient; as the poles, by decaying at Uie roots, grow shorter, and, in a course of years, get too short for strong vines, on rich land. They are, in this case, sold, and transferred to less productive lands, and vines of humbler growth. 60.31. Nerv poles have someiimes the bark shaved off^ under an idea that it saves them from the worm ; while some men are of opinion that there is a warmth in Ihe bark, which is accept- able to the young vines; and although in two or threeyears the 6027. The poles are straight- slender shoots of underwood, ash, oak, chestnut, or willow, fVom sixteen to twenty feet high. These poles are set two, but more frequently three, to a hill ; and are so jilaced as to leave an opening towards the south, to admit the sunbeams. The manner of fixing them is by making deep holes or openings in the ground with an iron crow. Into these holes the root-ends are put, when the earth is rammed so hard about them, that thev very seldom alter from the position in which they were placed, except on occasion of very violent gales of wind. Great care is necessary in placing the pole>;, and no less ludgment and experience in determining what ought to be tlie proper height. When very long poles are set in a hop-m-ound, where the stocks are too old or too young, or where flie soil is of indifferent quality, the stocks are'not only greatly exhausted, but the crop always turns out unproductive ; as, till the vines reach the top, or rather till they overtoil the poles, which depends on the strength of the stocks and the quality of the soil, the lateral branches on which the hops grow never begin to shoot uut^ or make any progress. 6028. Planters are mticli dividedin their sentiments as to ihe number of poles to be set against each hill. Three poles are the general allowance, observing to place the stoutest pole to the northern aspect of the hill ; though it is no uncommon prac- tice to set four pok-Si and in strong land five or six, to a hill. In behalf of this latter motle it is urged, that, where the land usually produces a great redundancy oi vinej it is prudent to set a number of poles answerable to the luxunancy of ihe shoots. But, if a free circulation of the air be a matter of such im- portance to the wvll-being of a crop of hops as is generally imagined (and this is a doctrine which, it is believed, cannot be controverted), tiiie incumbering of the hills with an additional number of poles cannot fail to oe of infinite dis-service to the future growth of the hops ; and it will be readily acknowledged, that the quantity of hops on the same given number of hills will be more considerable where threepolcs only are set up, than where the hills are crowded with a larger number; whether we consider the mischief lil'ely to accrue from the sta;;nated air, or from the redundancy of the vine, by which the hops are pre- , _._ _ _ ^ --.„—, .,„ .„„„, . vented from arriving to their proper size or growth. The chief setting them up in the form of what h. called a triangle, in art in poling a hop-grnimd is, first, to pitch the hole to a proper depth, aliout twenty inches; next, to set doivn the po'e with some exertion of strength, so that being well sharpened it may gx itself firmly at the bottom; thirdly, that the tops of the poles may stand in such a direction as to lean outwards from the hill, to prevent, as much as ])ossible, the housing of the vine; and lastly, to tread the earth close to the pole with the foot. For want of regard to these particulars in me labourer, a moderate blast of uind will loosen Uie poles, so as not only to occasion a double expeiL-e, but the hazard of injuring the future crop by tearing abU I) der the vine, which, from its great luxuriancy, will become twis'ed together, or, as it is termed, housed at the ex- treme parts of the poles. 6029. W\th respect to ihe species of mooda proper for poles, it is sug^eat ed that the hop ap|iears to prefer a rough soft bnrk, to one which is more smooth and polished. An e.'iperie' ced grower particularises the manle, whwse bark is peculiarly soft and wiirm ; adding:, that he has frequently observed, when the niorning has been cold, the sensitive leader of a tender frt^ aut-i. lu I.IIE juuiiK viiicBi aiiu aiLiiuuffii iii iwu ot uirucyears [lie hark drops off", the surface of the woo 6102. Among agricultural plants used in domestic economy, we include the Mustard, Buck-wheat or Beech-wheat, Cress, Tobacco, Chiccory, and a few others ; with the exception of the first, tliey are grown to a very small extent in Britain, and therefore our account of them shall be proportionately concise. SuasECT. 1. Mustards — Sindpis L. ; TetradyndTnia SUiqubsa L., and Cruaferee J. Maularde or Sinevi, Fr. ; Senf, Get. ; Senapa, Ital. ; and Moslaza, Span. 6103. There are two species of mustard in cultivation in the fields, the white mustard (Sinapis alba,_y?g.805. o), and the black or common (Sinapis nigra, b). Both are annuals, natives of Britain and most parts of Europe, and cultivated there and in China, for an unknown period. White mustard flowers in June, and' ripens its seeds in July. Black mustard is rather earlier. Mustard is an exhausting crop, but profitable when the soil answers, and especially in breaking up rich loamy lands, as it comes off earlier, and allows time for preparing the soil for wheat. In breaking up very rich grass lands, three or four crops are sometimes taken in succession. It cannot, however, be considered as a good general crop for the farmer, even if there were a deniand for it, as, like most of the commercial plants, it yields little or no manure. The culture of black or common mustard is by far the most extensive, and is chiefly carried on in the county of Dur- ham. The seed of the black mustard, like that of the wild sort and also of the wild radish, if below the depth of three or four inches, will remain in the ground for ages without germinating : hence, when once introduced it is 3 3 ■ orders, aa any tradesman*s rider of the present day j and the old lady contrived to pick up not only a decent pittance, but what was then thought a tolerable competence. From this woman's resia. im, it acquired the name of Durham mustard. iMech. Mag. Vol. iv. p. 87.) 934 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part TIL difficult to extirpate. Whenever they throw the earth out of their ditches in the Isle of Ely, the bank comes up thick with mustard; and the seed, falling into the water and sinking to the bottom, will remain embalmed in the mud for ages without vegetation. 6104. No such luxury as mustard, in its present form, was known at our tables previously to 1720. At that time the seed was only coarsely pounded in a mortar, as coarsely separated from the integuments, and in that rough state prepared for use. In the year I have mentioned, it occurred to an old woman of the name of Clements, resident at Durham, to grind the seed in a mill, and to pass the meal through the several processes which are resorted to in making flour flrom wheat The secret she kept for many years to herself, and, in the period of her exclusive possession of it, supplied the principal parts of the kingdom, and in particular the metropolis, with this article ; and George I. stamped it with fashion by his approval. Mrs. Clements as regularly twice a year travelled to London, and to the principal towns throughout England, for i * * =^-^ -^ ... ^ ^-.. ™j *i.„ „,^ ..^ *-t,.„j ^„ -:„i. .._ not only a deci ing at Durham, 6105 uini/ rick loamy soil will raise a crop of mustard, and no other preparation is required than that of a good deep ploughing and harrowing sufficient to raise a mould on the surface. The seeds may be sown broad-cast at the rate of one lippie per acre ; harrowed in and guarded from birds till it comes up, and hoed and weeded before it begins to shoot. In Kent, according to the survey of Boys, white mustard is cultivated for the use of the seedsmen in London. In the tillage for it, the ploughed land is, he says, harrowed over, and then furrows are stricken about eleven or twelve inches apart, sowing the seed in the proportion of two or three gallons per acre in March. The crop is after- wards hoed and kept free from weeds. 6106. Mustard is reaped in the beginnirig of September j being tied in sheaves, and left three or four days on the stubble. It is then stacked in the field. It is remarked that rain damages it. A good crop is tnree or four quarters an acre ; the price from 7*. to 205. a bushel. Three or four crops are sometimes taken running, but this must in most cases be bad husbandry. 6107. T/ie use of the white mustard is or should be chiefly for medical and horticul- tural purposes, though it is often ground into flour, and mixed with the black, which is much stronger, and far more diflScult to free from its black husks. 1*he black or com- mon mustard is exclusively used for grinding into flour of mustard, and the black husk is separated by very delicate machinery. 6108. The French either do not attempt to separate the hush f or do not succeed in it, as their mustard when brought to table is always black. It is, however, mor6 pungent than ours, because that quality resides chiefly in the husk. The constituents of mustard seed appear to be chiefly starch, mucus, a bland fixed oil, an acrid volatile oil, and an ammoniacal salt The fresh powder. Dr. CuUen observes, shows little pungency; but when it has been moistened with vinegar and kept for a day, the essential oil is evolved, and it is then much more acrid. 6109. The leaves of the mustard family ^ like those of all the radish and ^rftssica tribe, are eaten green by cattle and sheep, and may be used as pot-herbs. The haulm is commonly biirncd ; but is better em- ployed as litter for the straw-ya^^, or for covering underdrains, if any happen to be forming at the time. 6110. As substitutes for either the black or common mustard, most of the CruciferEe enumerated when treating of oil plants (609S.) may be used^ especially the ^napis arvensis, or charlock, §. orientalis, chinensis, and driussicata, the latter commonly cultivated in China. The i2aphanus Kaphanlstrum, common in corn fields, and known as. the wild mustard, is so complete a substitute, that it is often separated from the refuse com and sold as Durham mustard seed. SuBSECT. 2. Suck-wheats — "Polygonum Fagopyrwm L. ; Octdndria Trigyma L., and 'Polygonets J. BU noir or BlS Sarrasin, Fr. (corrupted irom Had-razin, i. e. red corn, Celtic); JBuchweitzen, Ger. ; Miglio, Ital. ; and Trigo ne^o. Span. (Jig, 806.) *6 U 1 . The buck-wheat, or more properly beech-wheat (from the resemblance of the seeds to beech mast, as its Latin and German names import), is an annual fibrous-rooted plant, with upright fiexuous leafy stems, generally tinged with red, and rising from a foot to three feet in height. The flowers are either white or tinged with red, and make a handsome appearance in July, and the seeds ripen in August and September. Its native country is unknown ; though it is attributed to Asia. It is cultivated in China and other' countries of the East as a bread com, and has been grown from time immemorial in Britain, and most parts of Europe, as food for poultry and horses, and also to be ground into meal for domestic purposes. The universality of its culture is evidently owing to the little labour it requires ; it will grow on the poorest soil, and produce a crop in the course of three or four months. It was cultivated as early as Gerard*s time (1597), to be ploughed in as manure : but at present, from its inferior value as a grain, and its yielding very little haulm for fodder or manure, it is seldom grown but by gentlemen in their plantations to encourage game. Arthur Young, however, " recom- mends farmers in general to try this crop. Nineteen parishes out of twenty, through tlie kingdom, know it only by name. It has Book Vt. BUCK- WHEAT. 935 numerous excellencies, perhaps as many to good farmers, as any other grain or pulse in use. It is of an enriching nature, having the quality of preparing for wheat, or any other crop. One bushel sows an acre of land well, which is but a fourth of the expense of seed-barley." Its principal value is not so much in the crop as in the great good it does the land by shading it from the heat of the sun. When th^ wheat fallow can be perfectly cleaned before the middle of June, it is far better to sow the ground with buck- wheat than let it be bare ; the wheat crop, whether the dung be laid on before or after the buck-wheat, will be one third better than without it. (J, M,) 611SL There are diffh-ent species in cuttimtiorty and P. tataricum (^. 807. a.) is said by some to be nearly as productive as P. Fagop^rum. Von Thaer, however, is -of a different opinion. In Nipai P. emargin^Ltum (ft) is cultivated. According to M. DecandoUe, the farmers of Piedmont, especially in the valley of Lucerne, chiefly employ the P. tat&ricum; because it ripens more quickly, and is therefore less likely to suffer from cold summers, or from being sown on the sides of the mountains. The Pied- montese distinguish the P. Fagop^rum by the name of " Formentine de Savoie," and the P. tat&ricum by that of " granette," and *' Formentine de Luzerne." The principal objection to the latter is, that its flowers ex- pand irregularly and unequally, and that the flour is blackish and rather bitter. The P. Fagop5^rum is, however, cultivated in the richest parts of Europe as a food for domestic fowls or other birds, rather than for the use of inan. Cakes made of the flour of this spe- cies, we are told by Thunberg, round, coloured, and bailed, are sold in every inn in Japan. Loureiro states, that P. odoi^tum is cuL tivated throughout the kingdom of Cochin China, as an excellent vegetable for eating with broiled meat and flsh. {Bot. Reg.) 6 lis. Tn the culture of the buck- wheat the soil may be prepared in dif- ferent ways, according to the intention of the future crop ; and for this there is time till the end of May, if seed is the object, and till June if it is to be ploughed in. It will grow on any soil, but will only produce a good crop on one that is tolerably rich. It is considered one of the best crops to sow along with grass seed ; and yet (however inconsistent) Arthur Young endeavours to prove that buck-wheat, from the closeness of its growth at the top, smothers and destroys weeds, whilst clover and grass-seeds receive considerable benefit by the shade it affords them from the piercing heat of the sun ! ! 61 14. The season of soming cannot be considered Kirlier than the last week of April or first of May, as the young plants are very apt to be destroyed by frost. The mode is always broad-cast, and the quantity of seed a bushel per acre ; it is harrowed in, and requires no other culture than pulling out the larger weeds, and guarding from birds till the reaping season. 6115. Buck-wheat is harvested by mowing in the manner of barley; After it is mown, it must lie several days, till the stalks are withered, before it is housed. It is in no danger of the seeds falling, nor does it suffer much by wet. From its great suc- culency it is liable to heat, on which account it is better to put it in small stacks of five or six loads each, than in either a large one or a bam. 6116. The produce of the gram of this plant; though it has been known to yifeld seven r^uarters an acre, may be stated upon the average at between three and four ; it would oe considerably more did all the grains ripen together, but that never appears to be the' case, as some parts of the same plant will be in flower, whilst others have perfected their seed. ^1 17. The use of the grain of buck-wheat in this country is almost entirely for feeding poultry, pigeons, and swine. It may also be given to horses, which are said to thrive well on it ; but the author of The New Farmer's Calendar says, he thinks he has seen it produce a stupefying effect. 6118. It has been used in Ike disVllerp in England ; and it is a good deal used in that way, and also as borse-corn, on the Contiirent. Young says, a bushel goes farther than two bushels of oats ; and mixed with at least four times as much bran, will be full feed for any horse for a week. Four bushels of the meal, put up at 4cwt. will fatten a hog of sixteen or twenty stone in three weeks, giving him attenvards three bushels of Indian corn or hog-peas broken in a mill, with plenty of water, mg^i bushels of buck-wheat meal will go as far as twelve bushels of barley meal. (jll9. The meal of bitck-ioheat is made into thin cakes called crumpits in Italy, and even iii some parts of England : and it is supposed to be nutritious, and not apt to turn acid upon the stomach. (Withering.!) 6120. The blossoms of this plant afford a rich repast to bees, both from the quantity of honey they con- tain, and from their long duration. On this account it is much prized in France and Germany, and j6u Hamfd advises bee farmers to carry their hives to fields of this crop in the autumn, as well as to tieath land!. 3 (> 4 936 PRACTICE OF AGKICULTURE. Part III. 6121. The haulm of buck-wheat is said to be more nourishing than clover when cut while irr flower. Banister says, it has a peculiar inebriating quality. He has seen hogs, after having fed heartily on it, come home in such a state of intoxication as to be unable to walk without reeling. The dried haulm is not eaten readily by any description of animal, and affords but very little manure. On the whole, the crop is of most value when ploughed in green for the latter purpose. 6122. uis a seed crop, the author of The New Farmer's Calendar seems justified in saying, it is only valuable on land that will grow nothing else. SiTBSECT. 3. Tobacco. — .^coriana i. ; Pentdndna Monog^nia li., and Solhnem J. Le Tabac, Fr. ; der Tabah Ger. ; Tabacco, Ital. ; Tabaco, Span. ; and Petum or Petunte, Brasil. 6123. The species cuUivated are annuals, natives of Mexico, or other parts of America, and, according to some, of both hemispheres. It was brought to Europe early in the sixteenth century, after the discovery of America by Columbus, probably about 1519; from Portugal to France about 1560, by John Nicot, after whom the plant is named; and to England, according to Lobel, about 1 570 ; according to Hume by Ralph Lane, in 1586, from the island of Tobacco in the Gulf of Mexico, whence the popular name. 6134. The custom of smoking is' of unknown antiquity in Asia, Persia, and other eastern countries; but whether the plant used was tobacco is very doubtful. The natives of Mexico, in the present day, not only use it as an article of luxury, but as a remedy for all diseases, and, when provisions fail them, fur allaying the pains of hunger and thirst. The use of smoking was introduced to England by Capt Lane, who had learned the custom in Virginia, in 1586. He brought home with him several pipes and taught the custom to Sir Walter Ralegh, who soon acquired a taste for it, and began to teach it to his friends. He gave, we are told, " smoking parties" at his house at Islington, when the guests were treated with nothing but a pipe and a mug of ale and nutmeg. (Bio^. Brit.) Down to the time of Elizabeth, it was not uncommon for ladies to smoke. During the reign of James her successor, most of the princes of Europe violently opposed its use. James of England wrote a book against it ; the Grand Duke of Moscow forbade its entrance into his territory under pain of the knout for the first offence, and death for the next. The emperor of the Turks, the kin^ of Persia, and pope Urban VIII., issued similar prohibitions, ail of which were as ridiculous as those which attended the mtroduction of coffee, or Jesuit's bark. At present, all the sovereigns of Europe, and most of those of other parts of the world, derive a considerable part of their revenue from tobacco. 6125. 77ie cidtivation of tobacco on the Continent was not attempted, except in gardens, till the beginning of the seventeenth century. Under Louis XIIl. and XIV., its cultivation was allowed in certain pro- vinces of France ; and about the same time it was introduced as an article of cottage or spade culture, in Holland, Germany, and part of Sweden. It also spread into Switzerland and Italy, and to various coun- tries of the East. It is at present cultivated in almost every country of the world, but for commercial purposes chiefly on the Continent and islands of North America, and more especially in Virginia, Cuba, and St, Domingo. In no other parts of the World is it so well manufactured for the purpose of smoking as in Havanna. 6156. 7n England the practice of planting and growing tobacco began to creep in in the time of Charles II. ; and an act was pasi^ed fixing a penalty of 10/, for every rood of land so cultivated, but making it lawful, however, to grow small quantities, not exceeding half a pole, " in a physic or university garden, or in any private garden for physic or chirurgery." This act and others were confirmed by different acts during the reign of Geo, III. Notwithstanding this act, however, tobacco was much cultivated a few years prior to 1783, in the vales of York and Ryedala In the latter district it did not excite the notice of regal authority; and was cured and manufactured by a man who had formerly been employed upon the tobacco plantations in America ; who not only cured it properly, but gave it the proper cut, and finally prepared it for the pipe. But in the vale of York the cultivators of it met with less favourable circum- stances. Their tobacco was publicly burnt, and themselves severely fined and imprisoned. Penalties, it was said, were paid to the amonnt of 30,000/. This was enough to put a stop to trie illegal cultivation of tobacco. But, perhaps rather unfortunately, it has likewise put a stop to the cultivation of that limited quantity of half a rood, which the law allows to be planted for the purpose of physic and chirurgery, or destroying insects. 6157. In Scotland^ about the same time, tobacco was cultivated in various parts, more especially in the neighbourhood of Kelso and Jedburgh. Its produce was so great, that thirteen acres at Crailing fetched 104/., at the low rate of 4t/. per lb. (being 480 lbs. per acre), and would have brought more than three times as much, had not an act of parliament obliged the cultivator to dispose of it to government at that price. ( Coimty Reports.) 6128. In Ireland, tobacco was introduced into the county of Cork, with the potato, by Sir Walter Ralegh ; but the culture of the former does not appear to have made much progress, though, according to Humboldt, it preceded that of the potato in Europe more than one hundred and twenty years, having been extensively cultivated in Portugal at the time that Sir Walter Ralegh brought it from Virginia to' England in 1586. A writer in 1725, quoted by Brodigan, says, I have not heard that a rood of tobacco was over planted in this kingdom. An act of George HI. repealed several preceding acts, that prohibited the growth and produce of tobacco in Ireland j and this is the foundation on which Ireland now rests her claim to that branch of culture. Until the year 1828, Brodigan observes, the culture was limited ; but in that year there were one hundred and thirty acres under tobacco; and In 1829, one thousand acres in Wexford alone. " It has been partially cultivated in the adjoining counties of Carlow, Waterford, and Kilkenny, and in other places. In the province of Connaught an experiment was made in the vicinity of Westport. It has been grown in one or two instances near Dublin ; in the northern section of the king- dom two or three trials have taken place on a small scale;" and Mr. Brodigan, the author of the treatise from which we quote, has cultivated several acres in the neighbourhood of Drogheda, preparing the soil by horse labour as for turnips. 6129, I%e restrictive system will probably, at no distant time, be removed from tobacco, and from every other crop j but that tobacco ever will enter into the general course of crops of the British farmer we do not think likely ; because, when trade in this, as in every thing else, is once made free, the* tobacco of warmer cFimates will unquestionably be preferred to that of the British isles. At present there is a number of gentlemen in the House of Commons who use tobacco ; but should its use become unfashion- able among the higher classes, we should not be surprised to see an attempt made to lay such a tax on the foreign commodity as would give the landed interest a monopoly of an inferior article, which would thus beforced by the rich on the poor. We trust, however, to the growing political sense of the country, to the force of opinion, in short, to the press, to avert such an evil In the mean time, we ardently desire to Book VI. TOBACCO, 937 «03 6130. The annual s^yecies of tobacco, like tlie annual species of almost all dicotyledonous plfuatS} may be grown in every country and climate ; because every country has a sum- mer, and that is tlie season of life for annual plants. In hot, dry, and short summers, like those of the north of Russia and Sweden, to- bacco plants will not attain a large size, but the tobacco produced will be of delicate quality and good flavour: in long, moist, and not very warm summers, such as those of Ireland, the plants will attain a very large size, per- haps as much so as in Virginia, but the to- bacco produced will not have that superior flavour, which can only be given by abundance > of clear sunshine, and free dry air. By a skilful manufacture, and probably by mixing the to- bacco of cold countries with that of hot coun- tries, by using different species, and perhaps by selecting particular varieties of- the Virginian species, the defects in flavour arising from cli- mate may, it is likely, be greatly remedied. 6131. Species imd varieties. The species almost every where cultivated in America is the N. Tab&cum {fig. 808.)j or Virginian tobacco, of which there ib a variety or sub-species known as N, macroph^Ua, but of which we have never seen any plants. K. rtistica {fig. 809.), the common green tobacco {fausse tabac of the French, and Bauern Tabac of the Germans), g(-jQ is very generally cultivated almost to the exclusion of the ^" other species in the north of Germany, Russia, and Sweden, where almost every cottager grows his own tobacco for smoking. It also seems to be the principal sort grown in Ireland. There is a variety of it cultivated in Wexford, erroneously denominated Oronooko, and another commonly called negro-head. Both are very hardy and very pro- ductive, but the produce is not of a very good flavour. There are other species grown in America; the best Ha. vannah cigars are said to be made from the leaves of N. re< ?Snda (^^.810. a), a species introduced to this country from lavannafi so late as 1833. The Indians of the Rocky Moun- tains of North America are said to prepare their tobacco from N. quadriv&lvis {fi^. 810. ft), introduced in 1811, and N. m&na (fig. 810. c) introduced in 1823. These species are all annuals, and the last requires the protection of a green-house to make it ripen its seeds. There are several very distinct varieties, if not species, cultivated in the Caraccas, of which some account by Mr. Fanning, proprietor of the Botanic Garden of the Caraccas, will be found in the Gardener^s Magazine, vol vL p. 327. There are also some other annual sp^ies, and some species of the genus FettinJa which is nearly allied to the NicotiSmr, the leaves of which might be manufactured into very good tobacco. There can be little doubt that the N. Tabdcum, the seeds of which may be purchased in ever^ seed-shop, is alone de. serving the attention of the British cultivator, as a first experiment 6132. Soil. In a strict sense, the native soil of the tobacco is unknown in this country ; by which we mean the primitive earths or rocks to which it belongs. We- are inclined to attribute it to alluviiun and sand-stone rather than to clay or lime. In 938 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pah!t III. Virginia the best tobacco is grown in a rich loamy, but rather liglit soil, which has been newly taken into cultivation. In Alsace, where we have seen stronger tobacco of the Virginian kind than in any other part of France or in Germany, the soil is a brown loam, rather light than heavy, such as would grow excellent potatoes and turnips, and which has been for an unknown period under the plough. Wherever potatoes or turnips may be cultivated, there we think tobacco may be grown. 6133. CliTnate* As it is beyond a doubt that the best tobacco is produced in countries within the tropics, it is evident that it cannot be worth culture in Britain in situations not naturally mild or warm. Tobacco can never be worth growing in situations much above the level of the sea, nor on wet springy soils or northern exposures. 6134. Culture. We shall notice in succession the practice in l^e West Indies, Vir- ginia, and Maryland, in Alsatia, in Holland, in the South of France, and in Ireland, as lately practised by Mr. Brodigan, and suggest what we think the best mode. We shall di-aw our information chiefly from a valuable article in the Nouveau Cours Complet (V Agriculture^ e^iion 1823, and from the treatise of T, Brodigan, Esq., 1830; looking into Carver's Treatise on the Tobacco Plant, 1779; Tatham's Historical and Practical Essai/, 1800; Jennings's Practical 2'reatise, 1830; and our own notes of 1813-15, 18, 19, and 1 828, on Sweden, Germany, and France. 6135. Culture in the West Indies. In the island of Tortuga, the tobacco seeds are eown in beds twelve feet square, and transplanted into the fields when about the size of young lettuces, in rows three feet apart, and the plants three feet distant in the row. The soil is hoed and kept clear of weeds, and the plant stopped when about a foot and a half high. The buds which push from the axillje of the leaves are taken out with the finger and thumb, in order to throw the whole force of the plant into the leaves. When the edges and points of the leaves begin to get a little yellow, the stalks are cut over by the surface when the leaves are wholly freed from dew ; they are then carried into a close house, so close as to shut out all air, and hung upon lines tied across for the purpose of drying. When the stalks begin to turn brownish, they are taken off the lines and put into a large bin or chest, and heavy weights laid on them for twelve days. They are then taken out, and the leaves stripped from the stalks, again put into the bin, and again well pressed, and complelely excluded from air for a month. They are now taken out and tied into bundles, of about sixty leaves in each, which bundles are kept completely excluded from the air in a box or chest till wanted for disposal to the manufacturer. {Dr. Bar/mm, a contemporart/ qf Sir Hans Sloan, in Jamaica, as quoted by Brodigan, p. 121.) The species to which the above account refers, is, in all proba> bility, theN. rep&nda. 6135. Culture in Virginia and Maryland. New soil of a medium quality is preferred ; the seeds are mixed with six times their bulk of wood-ashes or sand, sown on beds of finely prepared earth, as early in spring as possible, and covered with straw, branches, or boards at nights when any danger is apprehended from frosts ; they are of course kept clear of weeds. The field intended for the plants is in the mean time well laboured with the plough ; it is laid into ridglets three feet wide, and along the centre of each a row of plants is placed by means of a line marked with knots, at three feet apart ; the plants of the one row alternating with the intervals of the other ; so that when the field is completed, the whole stand in quincunx. The plants are taken from the seed-bed to the field when they have five or six leaves exclu- sive of the seed leaf; but they may be transplanted with fewer or more leaves in moist or cloudy weather. They are taken up carefully, raising the earth under them with a spade, and carrying them to the field in a basket, and they are planted with dibbers an inch in diameter and fifteen inches long. They are inserted as deep as the seed leaf, but no deeper. In a month afterwards they will have grown a foot in height, and wiU require to be hoed and weeded. When they have attained the height of two feet, the summit of each plant is pinched out, and the lower small leaves, and any others dirtied or injured by insects, picked ofi! From eight to twelve good leaves may now remain on each plant. The remaining part of the culture consists chiefly in removing weeds or Insects, and in pinching out the buds which appear in the joints or axillae of the leaves. From the time that the tops of the plants are pinched off*, till that when the crop is fit to be gathered, is generally about five or six weeka During this time the plants are looked over two or three times every week, for the purpose of pinching off the lateral buds, so as to confine the entire effort of vegetation to the nourishing of the eight or twelve leaves. When the leaves begin to change colour, droop at the extremities, begin to smell rather more strongly, to become furrowed, rougher to the touch, and easily broken when bent, the plants are cut over by the surface when the dew is completely removed from them. Some cut them an inch under the surface, and others an inch above it. Each plant is left on the spot where it is cut for one day, and turned in the course of that day three or four times, to expose every part equally to get dried by the heat of the sun. Sometimes the plants are gathered into heaps, and remain on the field during the night in order to be spread out ag^n the next day ; but more generally they are collected together before the dew begins to fall, and put into a bin covered with boards on which stones are laid, and left in that situation, excluded from the air, forthree or four days to ferment. Afterwards they are taken out, two and two tied together at the root end of the stem, or the same effect produced by running a peg through them, then hung across lines or cross-beams, and thus dried in open sheds. After the plants have been completely dried, they are taken down from the cords, poles, or beams, to which they have been attached, in a moist day ; because if they were to be handled in a very dry day, the leaves would fall to pieces, or crumble into powder. They are now spread on hurdles in heaps, and covered with mats for a week or two to sweat : during this time the heap is frequently examined and turned, in order that every part may be equally heated and fermented, and no part burnt. This is said to be the most difficult part of the preparation, as it unquestionably is of the art of making hay ; experience alone can teach its attiiinment. 'iTie fermentation being completed, the leaves are separated from the stems, the latter thrown away, and the former separated into three classes, bottom leaves, top leaves, and middle leaves. These leaves are now dried under cover, and tied together in bundles often or twelve, which are called manoques or hands ; these are packed in regular layers into casks or boxes, and compressed so as to exclude all air by means of a round board of the same diameter as the interior of the cask, and which is every now and then put in and pressed down by means of a lever, which communicates a pressure of be- tween 3000 and 4000 pounds. This manner of close packing is essential for the preservation of the tobacco. The operation is always performed when the air is humid, because, as before observed, dried tobacco is extremely brittle. Good tobacco thus prepared no longer ferments, except very slightly in the succeeding spring or summer, and which is found to be an advantage. The finest tobacco is grown in the west of Virginia and Maryland, near the Alleghany Mountains, where the temperature, during its growing season, is between 60° and 70°. {N. CaursCompletd'Agr.Sfc.) The species in this case is unquestionably N. Tabhcum. 6137. Culture q/" tlie tobacco in Holland, The species is chiefiy N. Tab&cum, but sometimes N. rfistica. The culture is carrietl to a considcpable extent, especially in the provinces of Guelders and Utrecht The seed is sown in hotbeds, ten feet broad, and of any convenient length ^ the depth of the dung of the bed is two feet, and the frame which is placed on it is sometimes covered with sashes, but more commonly with mate only during nights. The plants are transplanted into fields which receive a sort of garden culture. Book VI. TOBACCO. 939 The surface is I^d out into beds or ridglets two feet and a half wide, with alleys between of nine Inches or a foot The beds are raised two feet above the alleys, and are composed of alternate layers of rich soil and dung rotten almost to mould. The direction of the bed is north and south, and on each two rows of plants are inserted at eighteen inches' distance between the rows, and at the same between plant and plant ; the plants of one row alternating with the interstices of the others. The summer culture is the same as i*i Virginia, but the gathering of the crop is differently performed. When the leaves have shown the usual symptoms of maturity, the lowest, or those of the third quality, and the middle leaves, or those of the second quality, are stripped ofi' and kept separate, and from four to six at top left on for some time longer. The leaves stripped off are separately dried, and in the mean time the plants watched, and every sucker or bud which makes its appearance pinched otK The top leaves, or those of the first quality, are gathered when ready ; and all the remaining parts of the process with the three qualities is exactly the same as in ^rginia. (Iht'd.) 6I3S. Cultiure m AlsatiOy and generally in the north and west of France and south of Germany. The seed, chiefly of N. TViddnnn, is sown in March, or even earlier, in beds of fine mould in a garden, covered at night, and till it comes up, during day also, with straw mats. When it begins to come up, these are rfflnoved by nine o'clock in the morning, and put on again when the sun goes down. After the plants have produced their seed leaves, the straw mats are supported by hoo^s or rods, so as not to injure the plants. About the end of April, the plants will be found to have attained from two to four leaves, ex- clusive of their seed leaves ; and from this time to the middle of June is considered the season for trans- planting them into the fields. The best crops, other circumstances the same, are obtained from plants transplanted before the middle of Ma;^. Both in Holland and Alsatia, sheep's dung is found the best manure for the tobacco. The ground is made as fine as possible, not laid into ridges unless wet, and the plants are planted in rows, generally two feet and a half apart, and the plants alternating at the same dis- tance in the row. Much of the value of the crop depends on the dryness and warmth of the summer, a good wine year being invariably a good tobacco year. In cold wet seasons many of the lower leaves be- come rusty or spotted ■, and though these do not always appear before the second fermentation, yet they ultimately become obvious by changing into holes after the last drying; their inferiority then becomes obvious to the purchaser The top leaves alone are those used for manufacturing into snuff, and they bring much the highest price. These leaves generally remain on the plant tilt the twentieth of August; but the lower leaves are commonly gathered by the fifteenth of July. The tops of the plants are not generally pinched off till about the beginning of August, and they continue gathering leaves f^om that time till they are interrupted by white frost. Every eight days after the operation of topping, the side buds are pinched off After the leaves are gathered, they are tied on the spot in bundles according to their qualities ; and when they are taken to the drying shed, they are again separated and picked, and all those of one quality threaded together on lines, leaving a space about the width of a finger between each leaf The lines thus charged with leaves are stretched frova one side to the other of the drying shed, or lengthwise under the eaves of cottage roofs, which are made to project from one foot to three feet for the purpose of drying tobacco and maize. The more extensive growers have large sheds or barns on purpose, and these are always constructed with openings on all sides, so as to admit of the most perfect ventilation. When the air does not- circulate freely among the leaves, instead of drying yellow they dry green or black, lose their grateful odour, and the midribs become rotten, and tlie whole leaf falls to pieces. Leaves which on the plant were most exposed to the sun and dews, such as the top leaves, always dry to the finest yellows, I'he leaves remain in the drying sheds till the weather has become decidedly cold in November or December, though some of the leaves of inferior qualities are frequently purchased for the manufacture of smoking tobacco in the month of October. But these must be immediately manufactured, otherwise when lying together they contract a bad smell. The threads of leaves being ready to take down, the leaves are not taken off the threads, but they are laid down in a humid mild day on a dry airy floor, one above another to the depth of from fourteen inches to half a foot Here they lie for some time, being examined occasionally to see that they are not heating ; if they heat, they are immediately hung up again ; if they do not, they remain in that position till wanted by the manufacturer. Often, indeed, they are manufactured as soon as properly dried on the strings. {Ibid.) 6139. The culture of tobacco in the south of France is not materially different from what it is on the south banks of the Rhine. The tobacco of the south of France is naturally of a better quality ; but the care taken of it by the cultivators, especially in the drying and fermenting, being less than in less favour. able climates, thequalitv becomes reduced, so that the tobacco of Alsace is preferred to that of Garonne. The plants are cut over with all their leaves on as in Virginia, and they are hung up to dry in pairs across strings or beams. Being thoroughly dried, the leaves are separated, tied up in hands, and laid in heaps to ferment These heaps arc placed on boarded floors raised three or four inches above the surface of the soil ; they are made two feet broad and two feet high, the width requiring exactly two hands, half of the one hand overlapping half of the other, and the ends or footstalks of the leaves of both being outwards. 1'his operation is commonly performed between the fifteenth of November and the fifteenth of January, and the tobacco remains in that state tiU it is purchased by the manufacturer. The manufacturer having agreed for the price, makes up the hands into round balls of three or four hundred pounds weight ; takes these home, unrolls them, separates the leaves, classes them according to their qualities, and finally puts them in hogsheads, packing them closely by means of presses. In these hogsheads the tobacco remains till taken out to be made into snuff, cigars, or common smoking tobacco. 5140. The culture qf tobacco in Ireland, as practised by Brodigan in Meath, is thus given. Hotbeds like those made for cucumbers are to be prepared in March, and the seeds, Mr. Brodigan does not seem to have known what species he cultivated, sown any time from the fifteenth of that month to the first of ApriL In the beginning of May the plants may be hardened by exposure to the air, and by the fifteenth or twen- tieth of that month they may be transplanted into the open field without injury. Forty thousand plants fit for transplanting may be raised on an area of one hundred square feet According to Carver, a square yard will rear about five hundred plants, and allow proper space for their nurture till they are fit for transplanting. The field was prepared in every respect the same as for turnips ; the drills or ridglets were eighteen inches apart, and the manure, of which a good supply was given, buried in the centre of each ridglet The plants were put in with spades, at eighteen mches apart, along the centre of the ridglet, and afterwards watered. " The planters were followed by women, with their aprons full of long grass, with which they covered each plant, and confined it by placing a stone or lump of earth at both ends ; this covering is indispensable, unless the weather prove wet and cloudy.' Such is the extreme deU- cacy of the plant, that it will not bear the heat of the sun, until it has so far set in the soil as to be able ta supply the loss by evaporation. This will not be for some days, during which time the cover cannot be safely removed, dnd watermg, to the extent of a pint a plant, may be daily used. Some of the respectable planters in the county of Wexford have used pots as a covering for the plants, of which some thousands will be necessary. Others have used large oyster shells, cabbage, or dock leaves. 1 tried all these methods, and experience has satisfied me that thelmode I practised has decided advantages It protects the plant sufficiently against the sun, and the water passes freely through it : whereas where pots or leaves are used, they must be removed to admit water, and m case of rain the plants receive little or no benefit from it The operation of planting may be continued until the twentieth of June, but the earlier the better after the frosts have passed away. In America and France, I found, that four months were generally considered as necessary for the nutrition of the plants ; and that time in this climate cannot be allowed, unless they are put down early." (p. 160.) 6141. The siimincr management of tobacco, by Mr. Brodigan, consisted in loosening the soil about the plants, removing the weeds, watering « for weeks together,'* taking off the decayed leaves at bottom, top. ping when the plant has from nine to fourteen good leaves, and removing the side buds as they appear. 940 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part IH. 6142. The curing process, by Mr.'Brodigan, is as follows :— About the middle of August, the plants having gttained their fuU size, four or five of the bottom leaves of each plant are taken off', " siilti-'red to he on the around for some time ; and when they lose their brittleness, and can be safely handled, they are carried home to a barn, and there put in a heap for fermentation. The heap is turned, placing that in the centre which was before in the bottom or exterior, and the temperature is not allowed to exceed 100° or lioo. After remaining two or three days in this heap, the leaves are spread out and cooled, and strung by the midrib on lines of packthread ; they are then hung up in an airy shady place, roofed in. When the leaves thus suspended have acquired an auburn colour, they are fit for a second fenncntation. " A quantity of hay must be placed between the tobacco and the ground, and the heap may be made of an oblong or conic figure, the end of the stems being placed inwards. The heap being made^ it is to be sur. rounded with hay, blankets, or other close covering. The period for this fermentation will depend upon the state of the weather, and the dryness and size of the leaves. In four or five days I generally found the heat sufficiently high to penetrate and reduce the stems, and when that is accomplished the heap is to be cooled by spreading it out to dry. In reducing very strong tobacco, I found it necessary topermit the heat to ascend to ISG^ In 60 hours I found the heat had attained 110°, and in 72 hours, 126° : but the general range of the second fermentation was from 120° to 125° Fahrenheit In some cases I had to resort to a third fermentation of the same tobacco, but the heat did not rise beyond 90°. Upon this important point of fermentation, or sweating the tobacco, I have given the result of my practice. For greater accu- racy, and the benefit of the inexperienced, I have given it from a thermometer; but, at the same time, the hand and feeling of a practised overseer can direct the process. As soon as the tobacco has been perfectly dried, by exposure to the sun and the weather, it is still necessar;^ to dry any remaining moisture in the midribs, for which purpose they must be Y»acked so as to be outside, that the air may have its influence upon them. When they are perfectly dry and hard, the tobacco may be considered as tit for use, although it will possess more or less of crudeness until the month of March following. To correct this crudity, or any acrimony that may exist, different preparations are used in different countries. In Brazil the leaves are steeped in a decoction of tobacco and gum copal. . In Virginia, I understood, they sprinkle the tobacco, in the packing process, with diluted rum and molasses ; and in Ireland they sprinkle, in the packing pro- cess, with a decoction of the green tobacco stems, or a decoction of hay, with a small portion of molasses : the effect of this innocent application is to soften and improve the flavour, darken the colour of the to- bacco, and render it, in appearance, a more merchantable commodity. The next and last operation is to tie the leaves in hands, and pack them in bales or portable packages." (p. 166.) 6143. Improvements in the curing process. Some of Mr Brodigan's tobacco, ne informs us, only wanted age to be as good as Virginia, Tobacco improves by a sea voyage, as it undergoes a certain degree of fer- mentation in the hogsheads in the spring or summer months. Drying houses heated by flues or steam, as now erected in America, he thinks would be an improvement in Ireland. Captain Basil Hall visited a tobacco plantation on James River, and found the house in which the hands were hung up with fires of wood made upon the earthen floor. The flavour of the wood burnt in this way, Mr. Brodigan states, is now strongly perceptible in the tobacco of late years imported from America. 6144. As suggestions derived from considering what we have read and observed on the subject of cultivating and curing lt)bacco, we submit the following, 6145. Where a farmer, who thoroughly understands and successfully practises the Northumberland mode of cultivating turnips, intends growing tobacco as a field crop, we would recommend him to prepare the soil exactly as for Swedish turnips, give a double dose of well rotted manure, mix the seed with fifty times its bulk of sand or bone dust, and sow with Common's turnip drill, usually called French's, about the middle of May. When the plants come up, they may be thinned out as turnips are, to sixteen or eigliteen inches apart, and topped in the beginning of August The rest of the process may be conducted as in Alsace, drying, however, in a bam or house heated by an iron stove. A cottager, or spade cultivator, may find it worth his while to sow in a hotbed or in a flower pot, and transplant : he may dry his leaves the first time under the eaves of his cottage, and the second time in his garret j or if the quantity is small for home use, in his kitchen. For his tobacco liquor, or sauce, he may grow a score or two of poppy plants, collect the opium from them, and mix this with whisky or spirit of any kind, in which abundance of peach leaves, or a few leaves of i,a6rus nObilis, or one or two of the common laurel, have been infused, adding water and salt as directed above. A gardener, where there are hothouses and hothouse sheds, may dry and ferment in them ; and indeed with such opportunities, and seeds of N. rep&ndum, he ought to grow better tobacco than any person whatever not in Virginia or the West Indies. 6146. Produce- According to Morse (^American Geography), " An industrious person in Maryland can manage 6000 plants, which, at a yard to each plant, cover considerably more than an English acre of ground: — the produce of these 6000 plants is 1 000 lbs. of tobacco. * A hogshead,' says Warden, ' weighing 1350 lbs., is considered a good crop, and sufficient employment for one labourer. In general four plants will yield a pound, though very rich land will yield double the quantity. On the fresh, rich landsof Kentucky, from 1000 to 1500 lbs. are raised per acre.' " {Brodigan, p. 189.) The leaves of four plants in Virginia make one pound of tobacco. According to Brodigan, the average produce in the county of Wexford is 1200 lbs. per English acre. In Meath, he has had 1 680 lbs. per English acre. The money cost of production he estimates at 1 8/. where the land is prepared by horse labour, and 30^. where it is prepared by manual labour, per English acre. The produce, at 1 61. 8s. per hogshead of 1 350 lbs., barely pays the expense. 6147. To save seed. Allow a few of the strongest plants to produce their flowers ; they will have a fine appearance in July and August, and in a favourable season each plant will ripen as much seed in September as will sow a quarter of an acre by the drill system of culture, or stock half a dozen acres by transplanting. 6148. The value of tobacco as an agricultural crop is much diminished, from the cir- cumstance of its producing no manure. 6149. " The arguments of the immo7-tat JeJ^son against the culture of tobacco, andinfavour of wheat, have their weight in Virginia, where manure is not to be procured in proportion to the demand, and where the produce of that state has to enter into competition with that of the fresh lands of the western country. It is perfectly true, that where tobacco is generally cultivated, his picture of wretchedness is realised. It is the same in France, in the wine districts, where the people, from the want of corn, and the hogs, poultry, and other essential comforts it produces, are the most wretched of any in that country. It is with tobacco in America as with sugar in the West Indies, both are cultivated from their relative advantages over other crops. Sugar is more profitable than tobacco in the West Indies, although the tobacco grown there, is of superior quality, and tobacco is preferred in America to wheat, where the soil and climate admit its cultivation. In some situations it is grown as a matter of necessity : such is the richness of their alluvial and fresh lands, that wheat cannot be produced until that excess of fertility is reduced by a course of Book VT. TOBACCO. 941 tobacco, maize, or hemp." {Brodtgany p. 84) The farmers of Virginia, as the immortal Joflforson pre- dicted (Hist, qf Virgtnia)^ have now ascertained that it is better to raise wheat at one dollar a bushel than tobacco at eight dolTars per hundred weight {Rid. p. 127.) As a source of labour, Mr. Brodigan thinks the culture and cure of tobacco a desirable employment for the rural population of Ireland. Its great advantage is that it affbrds employment for those intervals when the labouring poor are at present destitute of occupation. " The cultivation of a potato crop is of vital importance to the Irish peasant ; but as soon as that crop is planted, there is a long interval of idleness and distress. The stock of potatoes is then generally exhausted or unfit for use, and the summer months are the most pinching times with the poor. The planting of toliacco maybe maybe said to commence when the other is furnished; and the field management occupies the interval until the corn-harvest Again^ between the corn-harvestand the taking up of the potatoes there is another interval of idleness, and that is occupied in the curing of the tobacco." {Brodigan^ p^ 178.) As a cleaning crop and a preparation for wheat, it must be at least equal to the potato. 6150. The analysis of the tobacco stalk is given by Mr. Brodigan on the authority of Mr. Davy of Dublin. The object was to ascertain whether the stalks contained any quantity of the tannin principle, of alkali, or of any useful vegetable substance. 6151. The presence of the tannin principle could not be detected j and the alkali afforded was not very considerable. One thousand parts of the stalks yielded fitly-eiglit of ashes, which afforded three parts and a quarter of alkali, mostly potash. The stalks contain nearly one tenth of their weight of tobacco ; and where tobacco is employed either in ftimigating or in making decoctions for the destruction of insects, it may be useful to know, that ten parts of the stalk will always produce effects equal to one part of the leaves. 6152. Diseases and enemies* " In Virginia, the diseases and injuries to which tobacco is liable, are, in the language of the planter, v/orm-holes, ripe-shot or sun-burnt, moon- burnt, house-burnt, stunted by growth, torn by storms of hail or wind, injured or killed by frost. In Ireland we are exempt from those damages, except what may arise from heavy gales, which, in exposed situations, lacerate and break off the leaves ; or an early frost, which is seldom injurious before Michaelmas, at which time, if the planter be care- ful, he can have his tobacco off the groimd." {BrocUganj p. 197.) 6153. The same vmter, hotaever, enumerates the enemies qf the tobacco in Ireland, as " the red or ring worm, which is so destructive in some situations to wheat and corn crops, the grub, slug, caterpillar, and the tobacco-worm. Where the first two predominate in the soil, it is better not to plant tobacco ; for there is no effectual mode of arresting their ravages. A correspondent in the county of Wexford lias informed me, that two gentlemen in his neighbourhood attempted the planting of six acres of tobacco this last season, and the plants were no sooner put down than they were cut off by the red worm ; they planted again, and the same fate attended them ; they planted a third tim^ and they were a third time destroyed. Thus all their labour and expense were lost; and in the month of July, they sowed the ground with turnips. The grub, or rook-woim as it is called, marches from plant to plant beneath the soil, secure from observation ; he attacks the roots of the plants when grown to a considerable height, and thus prostrates a wtiole field. Where numerous, it is in vain that you seek for the enemy; but as soon as the plant appears sickly, it is advisable to pull it up, and you are likely to meet a pair of grubs, as they are companionable travellers. The other enemies are visible, and not so destructive. The slug attacks the young plants in the seed-bed and in the field, and devours the )[0ung leaves : he will also cut the leaves of the tobacco in every stage of its growth, which is a proof that its caustic or poisonous property does not attach to it in the green state. The caterpillar generally appears in the warm month of July ; it is large and of a voracious aspect As soon as the leaves appear perforated, this enemy must be sought for, and he will be found in the day-time in the shaded parts of the plants. The caterpillar appears to exist only in close and warm situations." (Brodigan^ p. 161.) Limewater or cow urine effectually destroys slugs, snails, and worms, and probably some of the sorts of caterpillars. 6154. The mwnufa£twre of tobacco we have sliglitly described in the Encydopcedia oj Plants. We have since had an opportunity of witnessing the progress of all the dif- ferent operations carried on in preparing shag and other kinds of smoking tobacco, pig- tail and other chewing tobacco, various snuffs, and different kinds of cigars, in one of the most extensive manufactories in London ; and the conviction on our mind is, that very little in the way of manufacturing can be attempted by the gardener or cottager. That little we shall shortly describe. 6155. The tobacco, being properly fermented and cured, may be kept closely pressed and excluded from air, in casks, till wanted; or when the curing process is completed, smcking tobacco and snuff may be made from it as follows : — Open out the leaves singly, and from each tear out the midrib. The midribs are better adapted for rasping into snuff than for cuttmg into shag for smoking j and being scented by any essence, such as that of thyme, anise, lemon, or more especially by that of the root of i^is florentlna, the orris root of the druggists, may be tied up in what are called carrots, or rolls, about eighteen or twenty inches long, two or three inches.in diameter in the middle, and half an inch at each end. They are tied with packthread drawn as tight as possible, and the threads quite close, so as to compress the tobacco into one solid substance, and completely to exclude the air. When simff is wanted, unroll a part of the pack- thread at one end, and rasp the tobacco into snuff with a file or grater. The carrot may then be laid in a dry place till wanted for a fresh supply. The soft parts of the leaves may be treated in the same manner, and a snuff produced which some prefer to the other. Gardeners may dry leaves of any odoriferous plant, such as thyme, mint, Aloysm citriodbra, &c., and tie them up in the tobacco carrot as substitt tes for liquid scents ; and, n thought necessary, they may add a leaf or two of ^eritrum dlbum to add pungency. For cottagers, there are agrimony, ^yild thyme, and various other plants, which may be added. The sort parts of tne leaves, from which the midribs have been removed, may be slightly sprinkled with water, without any admixture whatever, and twisted into a rope, about the thickness of a common straw rope. The rope may then be coiled up in a ball, as firmly and compactly as possible, tied round in two or three places with packthread, wrapped in paper, and placed in a dry situation, excluded from the air, til! wanted for use. When to be used for smokmg, cut oflr a few inches of the rope, open it out, and cut it into shreds with a knife or chopper, so that it may resemble shag tobacco. If it is to be made into snuff, open out the leaves, dry them over the fire or in an oven, and pound them in a mortar, adding to the powder any scented water, or volatile odoriferous oil, at pleasure. If more snuff is made than is wanted for immediate use, put it in a glass bottle, and cork it closely. In manufacturing snuff various matters are added to give it an agreeable scent, and hence its numerous varieties. The three principal kinds are rappees, Scotch, or Spanish, and thirds. The first is only granulated, the second is reduced to a very fine powder, and the third consists of the sittings of the second sort. The Scotch and Irish snufis are, for the most part, made from the midribs ; the Strasburgh, French, and Russian snuffs from the soft parts of the leaves. 6156. The process qf forming cigars is very simple ; but, as it cannot be done well without much practice, it would be of little use to offer a description. Whoever wishes to make himself master of all that is know on the culture of tobacco in different parts of the world, and all the different modes of its manulao. 942 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. ture, may consult Cours d' Agriculture Complete Paris, 8vo, edit 1823, art Tabac j Carver's Treatise^ London, 8vo, 1779; Tatham's Essay^ London, 8vo, 1800 j the Experienced Bremen Cigar MakeVy or fUn- damental and practical instructions for making twenty-five sorts of cigars according to the latest expe- rience, Chemnitz, Kretschmar, 1824, 8vo ; Schmidt's 7\>bacco Culture of the French and Dutch combined^ ' with the Qfode of preparing the Plant for Use. Dresden, 8vo, 1834^ Amdd. The two latter works are in German. SuBSECT, 4. Otiier Plants used in Domestic Economy, which are or niay he cultivated in t/ie Fields. 6157. Many garden plants might be cultivated in the fields, especially near large towns, where manure is easily procured, and a demand for the produce exists. Among such plants may be mentioned the cress, parsley, onion, leek, lettuce, radish, &c. There are also some plants that enter into the agriculture of foreign coimtries where the climate is not dissimilar to our own, which might be very effectually cultivated in this country were it desirable. Among these is the chiccory, the roots of which are used as a substitute for coffee. The lettuce might be grown for its milky juice, as a substitute for, or rather a variety of opium. Of dwarf fruits, as the strawberry, currant, gooseberry, raspberry, &c., we add nothing here, having already alluded to them in treating of orchards. fil58. The agriculturist viho attempts to grow any of the above plants can hardly expect to succeed unless his knowledge extends beyond the mere routine of country husbandry, either by reading and the study of the nature of vegetables, or by some experience in the practice of gardening. No farmer on a moderately extensive scale will find it worth while to attempt such productions, whatever may be his knowledge or resources ; and for the garden-farmer, or the curious or speculative amateur, we would recommend observation and enquiry round the metropolis, and the reading of books on horticultura All that we shall do here, will be to give some explanation of the culture and management of cress and chiccory. 6159. The garden cress (Xepidium sativum L.), too well known to require any description, is grown in the fields in Essex, the seed being in some demand in tlie London market. 6160. It is sown on cmy sort qfsoily but strong loam is the most productive. After being well pulverised on the surface, the seed is sown broad-cast and lightly harrowed in. The season of sowing for the largest produce is March, but it will ripen if sown the first week in May. The quantity of seed to an acre varies from two to four pecks, according to the richness of the land ; the seed will not grow the second year. No after-culture is required but weeding. The crop is reaped and left in handfuls to dry for a few days, and then threshed out like rapeseed or mustard in the field. 6161. The use of the cress seed is chiefly for sowing to cut for young turkeys ; and for forcing salads by the London cooks on hot moist flannels and porous earthenware vessels. A very considerable quantity is also used in horticulture, it being one of the chief early salads, and cut when in the seed leafl The haulm is of very little use as litter, and, on the whole, the crop is exhausting. 6162. The culture of the chiccory as an herbage plant has already been given (5514.) ; when grown for the root to be used as a substitute for coffee, it may be sown on the same soil as the carrot, and thinned out to the same distance as that plant. 6163. l^se roots are taken up in the first autumn after sowing in the same manner as those of the carrot When they are to be manufactured on a large scale, they are partially dried, and in that state sold to the manufacturers of the article, who wash them, cut them in pieces, roast them on a kiln, and grind them between fluted rollers into a powder, which is packed up in papers, containing from two ounces to three or four pounds. In that state it is sold either as a substitute for coffee, or for mixing with it But when a private family cultivates this plant for home manufacture, the roots are laid in a cellar among sand, and a few taken out as wanted, washed, cut into slices, roasted in the coffee roaster till they become of a brown colour, and then passed as wanted through the coffbe mill. 6164. The value cf the chiccorp as a cq0e plant. Von Thaer observes in 1810, is proved by its having been cultivated for that purpose for thirty years. Dr. Howison has written some curious papers on the subject in The Caledonian Horticultural Memoirs (vol iv.), and both that gentleman and Dr. Duncan approve of its dietetic qualities. The former indeed says, he thinks it preferable to coffee, which may be a matter of taste, as some prefer the flavour of the powdered roots of dandelion to that of either coffee or chiccory. Dr. Duncan is of opinion that chiccory might be cultivated with great national advantages as a substitute for the exotic berry. {Disco, to Caled. Hart. 5dc. 182a) Bosc says the decoction of chiccory roots is whole- some, but that it has nothing more belonging to it of coffee than the colour. He sees no objection to its use as a substitute, but deprecates as fraudulent its mixture with the powder of real coffba 6165. The value of the chiccory as a salad plant appears to us not to be suffioiently appreciated in this country. Great quantities of the blanched leaves of chiccory are sold in the markets of the Netherlands very early in the spring, and supply a grateful salad long before lettuces are to be had. The roots are taken up on the approach of winter, and packed in cellars in alternate layers of sand, so as to form ridtfes with the crowns of the plants on the surface of the ridge. Here, if the ^ostbe excluded, they soon send SU out leaves in such abundance as to affbrd a supply of salad during winter. If light is excluded, the leaves are per- . ft * rfS. ^ 12 fectly blanched, and in this state are < known under the name of Barbe de ; Capucin. On ship-board it is customary to use a barrel of sand with numerous holes Cfe. 811.), or a hamper, for the samepurposa {Gard. Mag. voL ii. and i Ency. qf Gard.) 6166. The Astrdgalu^ bce'ticus (Jig. 812.;, an annual distin- guished by its triangular pods, a native of the south of Europe, is cultivated in Hungary (^ 630.), and in some parts of Germany, for the seeds as a substitute for coffee. The culture is the same as that of the common pea or tare. Book VI. PLANTS FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. 943 6167. In a farmer section (6055.) we have hinted that no farmer who cultivates the hop need be without a vegetable equal to asparagus, or fibre similar to that of flax to employ his servants in spinning ; and from the foregoing observations it would seem that whoever has a garden may grow bis own coffee and tobacco. Sect. V. Plants which are or may be grown in the Fields for Medicinal I'm-puses. 6168. A number of medicinal plants were formerly groum in the fields ; but vegetable drugs are now much less the fashion ; a few powerful sorts are retained, which are either collected wild or are natives of odher countries, and the rest of the pharmacopoeia is chiefly made up of minerals. It may safely be affirmed that there are no plants belonging to this section wtiicli deserve the notice of the general farmer ; but we have thought it desirable to notice a fsw sometimes grown by farming gardeners, and which may be considered as belonging almost equally to horticulture and agriculture, or as points of connection between the two arts. These are the saffron, liquorice, rhubarb, lavender, mints, chamomile, and thyme. 6169. TAe so^ow, or autumn crocus (Ci-dcussatJvusL.,_^g. 813. o), is a bulbous-rooted perennial, which has been long cultivated in the south of Europe, and since Edward ] II. '» time in England, and chiefly at Saffron Walden in Essex. It was abundantly cultivated there, and in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Hercfordsliire, in the beginning of the seven- teenth century ; but the quantity of land under this crop has been gradually lessening for the last century, and especially within the last fifty years, so that its culture is now almost entirely confined to a few parishes round Saffron Walden. {Young^s Essex.) This is owing partly to the materia] being less in use than formerly, and partly to the large im- portations from the East, often, as Professor Martyn observes, adulterated with bastard saffron {Carthamus tinetorius) and marigolds (Calendula officinalis). 6170. The bulbs of the sa^on are planted on a prepared soil, not poor nor a very stiff clay, but, if possible, a bazel mould on chalk. They are planted in July, m rows six inches apart across the ridges, and at three inches' distance in the rows. 6171. The flowers, which are purple, and appear in September, are gathered, carried home, and the stigmas piclfed out, together with a portion of the style ; theseare dried on a kiln between layers of paper, and under the pressure of a thick hoard, to form the mass into cakes. 6173. The crop of an acre averages two pounds of dried cake after the first planting, and twenty-four pounds for the next two years. After the third crop the roots are taken up, divided, and replanted. 6173. The uses of saffron in medicine, domestic economy, and the arts, are various; It is detersive, re- solvent, anodyne, cephalic, ophthalmic, &c. ; but its use is not without danger ; in large doses it promotes drowsiness, lethargy, vomiting, and delirium ; even its smell is injurious, and has been known to produce syncope; It is used in sauces by the Spaniards and Poles j here and in France it enters into creams, bis- cuits, conserves, liquors, &c., and is used for colouring butter and cheese, and also by painters and dyers. 6174. The liquorice (GlycyrrMza glabra li.,Jtg. 813. b.; Liquoritia officinalis H.B. 10493.) is a deep-rooting perennial, of the Leguminoss, with herbaceous stems rising four or five feet high. It has long been much cultivated in Spain ; and since Elizabeth's time has been grown in different parts of England. 6175. The soil for the liquorice should be a deep sandy loam, trenched by the spade or plough, or the aid of both, to two and a half or three feet in depth, and manured if necessary. The plants are procured ftom old plantations, and consist of the side roots, which haveeyesor buds. In autumn, when a crop of liquorice is taken up for use, these may be taken off and laid in earth till spring, or they may be taken from a growing plantation as wanted for planting. The planting season may be either October or February and March. In general the latter months are preferred. The plants are dibbled in rows three feet apart, and from eighteen inches ^o two feet in the row, according to the richness of the soil. The after-culture con- sists in horse-hoeing and deep stirring, in weeding, and in cutting over and carrying away the haulm every autumn after it is completely withered. As the plants do not rise above a foot the first season, a crop of onions or beans is sometimes taken in the intervals. The plants must have three summers' growth, at the end of which the roots may be taken up by trenching over the groimd. These are either immediately sold to the brewers' druggists, or to common druggists, or preserved in sand, like carrots or potatoes, till wanted for use They are used in medicine and porter-brewing. 944 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Pabt 111. 6176. The rhubarb (JJheum palmatum X.,^. 813. c) is a perennial, with thick oval roots which strike deep into the ground, large palmate leaves, and flower-stems six or eight feet high. Its leaves are the best of all the kinds of rhubarb for tarts. The Society of Arts exerted iteelf for many years to promote the culture of this plant, as did Dr. Hope of Edinburgh. It has accordingly been cultivated with success both in England and Scotland ; though the quality of the root produced is considered by the faculty inferior to that of the Russia or Turkey rhubarb, as Professor Martyn thinks, an inferiority pro- bably owing to the moisture of our climate, and the imperfect mode of drying. 6177. In the culture of this plant, if bulk of produce be the object, then a deep, ricli, loamy sand should be chosen ; but if flavour, then a dry, warm, somewhat calcareous sand. Prepare as ior liquorice, and sow in patches of two or three seeds, in rows four feet apart, and the same distance in the rows. Transplanting from seed-beds may be adopted ; but the roots are never so handsome and entire. As soon as the plants appear, leave only one in a place. The plants will now stand in the angles of squares of four feet to the side. The after-culture consists in horse-hoeing and deep stirring, both lengthwise and across; in ploughing in the same directions; in never letting the flower-stems rise higher than two feet, or show flowers or seed unless some is wanted for propagation ; and in removing the decayed haulm every autumn. The plants, having stood three or four summers, may be taken up, and their main roots dried in a very slow manner by any of the following modes : — The common British mode of curing or drying the rhubarb, after cleaning the roots, is to cut them into sections, an inch or more in thickness, string them, and dry them in airy lofts, laundries, or kitchens, in a gradual manner. This has long been the practice of private gardeners who grow the root for their own use, and has also been adopted by cul- tivators for the druggists. The rhubarb is cured in Tartary by being thoroughly cleaned, the smaller branches cut off, and then cut transversely into pieces of a moderate size ; these are placed on lon§ tables or boards, and turned three or four times a day, that the yellow viscid juice may incorporate with the substance of the root. If this juice be suffered to run out, the roots become light and unserviceable; and if they be not cut within five or six days after they are dug up, they become soft and decay very speedily. Four or five days after they are cut, holes are made through them, and they are hung up to dry exposed to the air and wind, but sheltered from the sun. Thus, in about two months, the roots are complctcty dried, and arrive at their full perfection. The loss of weight in drying is very considerable; seven loads of green roots yielding only one small horse-load of perfectly dry rhubarb. 6178. The Chinese in curing rhubarb^ after having cleaned the roots, by scraping off the outer bark, as well as the thin yellow membrane underneath, cut them in slices, an inch or two m thickness, and dry them on stone slabs, under which large fires ate kindled. They keep continually turning these slices on the •814 warm slabs; but as this operation is not sufficient to dry them thoroughly, they make a hole through them, and suspend them on lines, in a place exposed to the greatest heat of the sun, till they are in a condition to be pre- served without danger of spoiling. A copious account of all the experiments made in Britain for the culture and curing of the rhubarb up to 1805, is given by Pro- fessor Martyn, in his .edition of Miller^s Dictionnryj art Viheum; and of the Turkey, Russian, and Chinese rhubarb, in Thomson's Dispensatory ^ 2d edit, 1832, p. 469. It has been alleged of late, that the true medicinal rhubarb is not the i^hfeum palmatum as hitherto supposed, but the R. austrMe {fie. 814.) This species appears to be peculiar to the great table lands of central Asia, between the lati- tudes of 31° and 40°, where it is found to flourish at an elevation of 11,000 feet above the level of the sea. Large quantities of the roots are annually collected for export- ation in the Chinese provinces, within the lofty range of the Himalaya. The best is that which comes by way of Russia, as greater care is taken in the selection ; and on its arrival at Kiachta, within the Russian frontiers, the roots are carefully examined, and the damaged pieces re- moved. Mr. Sweet has been informed that the stems of the leaves have the same effect as the root ; only, of course, a greater portion of them will require to be used. They may be made up in a small tart, like the stems of the common rhubarb, {Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 161.) 6179. The lavender (Lavandula Splca L. Jig, 813, rf) is a dwarf odoriferous shrub of three or four years* duration, grown in the fields in a few places round London, and chiefly in Surrey, for the spikes of flowers used by the druggists, perfumers, and dis- tillers. The soil snould be a poor dry calcareous gravel. The seeds should be sown in a garden in spring, and the plants may be transplanted in September or March fol- lovring, in rows two feet apart, and kept free from weeds. The second season they will yield a few flowers, and a full crop the fourth, after which the plants will continue productive for five or six years. The spikes are gathered in June, dried in the shade, and sold in bundles to the herbalists, druggists, &c. 6180. Thyme, wormwoodj rnarjoramj savory , and some other aromatics, are cultivated in the same manner, and for similar purposes. Being usually smaller plants, they should be planted closer ; but to have much flavour the soil must be dry and calcareous. 6181. Chamomile (.<4'nthemis nobilis) is a creeping perennial, grown for its flowers. It only requires to be planted on a poor soil, in rows a foot apart, and hoed between. It vnll produce abundance of flowers annually from June to September, which are gathered, and dried in the shade. They are sold by weight to the- druggists and apothe- caries. The double-flowered variety is, from its beauty, that commonly cultivated ; but the single possesses more of the virtues of the plant according to its weight. 6182. The mints (Afi^ntho), and especially the pej)permint (Mentha piperita), are creeping-rooted perennials, cultivated on rich marshy or soft black moist soils for dis- tilling. l*he plants are grown in beds with trenches of a foot or more in width and Book VI, MARINE PLANTS. 945 depth between, so as t6 admit of irrigation. The sets are obtained from old plantations, and planted in rows across the beds at six inches' distance every way, in March or April. No produce worth notice is obtained in the first year, but a full crop in the third, and the shoots will continue to produce for five or six years. The spikes of flowers, and in some cases the entire herbage, are cut over in June, as soon as the flowers expand, and carried immediately to the druggist's still. Some growers distil it themselves. 6183. Tlie common valerian {ValerSma officinalis L.) is sometimes cultivated for its roots for the druggists. It is a native plant, and prefers a loamy soil. In Derbyshire the plants, which are either procured from tlie offsets of former plantations, or from wild plants found in wet places in the neighbouring woods, are planted six inches asunder, in rows twelve inches apart. Soon after it comes up in the spijng the tops are cut off, to prevent its running to seed, which would spoil it. At Michaelmas, the leaves are pulled and given to cattle, and the roots dug up carefully, and clean washed ; the remaining top is then cut close off, and the thickest part slit down to facilitate their drying, which is effected on a kiln, afVer which they must be packed tight, and kept very dry, or they will spoil. Tlie usual produce is about 18 cwt. per acre. This crop receives manure in the winter, and requires a great deal. 6184. Tlie orchis or salep plant (O'rchis mdscula i.) is a tuberous perennial, which grows plentifully in moist meadows in Gloucestershire, and other parts of the country. It flowers in May and ripens seeds in July. It has been proposed to cultivate it for its tubers to be used as salep ; but the plant is very difficult of propagation from seed, and can hardly be multiplied at all by the root ; and, though it may answer to collect the tubers and prepare them, it is not likely their culture will ever pay. As the plant is very abundant in some situations, it may be useful to know its preparation, which is thus described in Phil. Trans, vol. lix, 618.'). The bulb is to be washed in watery and the fine brown skin which covers it is to be separated by means of a small brush, or by dipping the root in hot water, and rubbing it with a coarse linen cloth. When a sufficient number of bulbs are thus cleansed, they are to be spread on a tin plate, and placed in an oven heated to the usual degree, where they are to remain six or ten minutes, in which time they will have lost their millty whiteness, and acquired a transparency like horn, without any diminution of bulk. Being arrived at this state, they are to be removed, in order to dry and harden in the air, which it will require several days to effect ; or, by using a gentle heat, ttiey may be finished in a few hours. By another process, the bulb is boiled in water, freed from the skin, and afterwards suspended in the air to dry ; it thus gains the same appearance as the foreign salep, and does not grow moist or mouldy in wet weather, which those that have been barely dried b^ heat are liable to do. Reduced into powder, they soften and dissolve in boiling water into a kind of mucilage, which may be diluted for use with a large quantity of water or milk, liius prepared, they possess very nutritious qualities ; and if not of the very same species as those brought from Turkey and used for making salep, they so nearly resemble them as to be little inferior. In Turkey the different species of the CKrchis are said to be taken indiflferently j but in- England, the O'rchis m&scula is the most common. {Gloucestershire Report^ 377.) Chap. IX. Marine Plants used in Agriculture, 6186. AU marine plants may be used as manure with great advantage, either in a reccnl state or mixed with earth. It is used in this way more or less in all agricultural coun- tries bordering on the sea, and in Britain in all those friths and estuaries, where, from the water not being at the maximum of saltness, the plants which grow in it are not suffi- ciently charged with soda to render it worth while to bum them for the sake of the salt. 6187. The use qf_ sea-weed, as an article from which kelp might be manufactured, seems to have been practically recognised in Scotland about the beginning of the eighteenth century. The great demand for kelp in the manufacture of glass and soap at Newcastle, and of alum at Whitby, seems to have intro- duced the making of this commodity upon the shores of the Forth, so early as about the year 1720. It began to be manufactured in the Orkney Islands in the year 1723, but in the western shires of Scotland the making of kelp was not known for many years after this date. The great progress of the bleaching of linen cloth in Ireland, first gave rise to the manufacture of kelp in that kingdom ; and from Ireland it was transferred to the Hebrides about the middle of the eighteenth century. On the shores of England the kelp plants are not abundant 6188. All marine plants may be used for tlie manufacture of help, but the principal species in use on the British shores belong to the Linnean genus Jiicus. jVicus vesiculosus (Jig. 815. a) is considered by kelp-makers as the most productive ; and the kelp obtained is, in general, supposed to be of the best quality. J^iicus uodosiis (A) is considered to afford a kelp of equal value to that of the above species, though perhaps it is not quite so productive, J^cus serrjitus Ic), or blaik-weed, as it is commonly called, ■is neither so productive as the preceding, nor is the kelp procured from it so va- luable. This weed is seldom employed alone for the manufacture of kelp ; it is in general mixed with some of the other kinds, J'ucus digitatus (Laminaria digitata H. B. 15, 343,) {d) is said to afford a kelp inferior in quality to that obtained from any of the others ; it forms the principal part of the drift- weed. 6189. The plants arc cut in May, June, and July, and exposed to the air on the ground till nearly dried, care being taken to prevent them, as much as (losslblc, from being exposed to tlie rain. They are then 3 P 946 PRACTICE OF AGKICULTUHE. Part III. burned in a nide sort of kiln, formed by digging a pit in the sand, or by enclosing a |K)rtion of the surface with loose stones. On the bottom of this kiln a peat 6re is kindled, and the weed is gradually added, till the fire extends over the whole floor ; the weed is then spread lightly on the top, and added in successive portions. As it burns it leaves ashes, which accumulating towards evening, become semifuscd, and arc then well stirred. Another day's burning increases the mass; and this is continued till the kiln is nearly filled. On some occasions the kiln consists of a cavity in the ground, over which bars of iron are placed ; and on this the ware is burned, the ashes falling into the cavity, where they are well worked by the proper instruments. 6190. Kelp is genei'alli/ divided into two kinds s the cut-weed kelp, and the drift-weed kelp j the former made from the weed which has been recently cut from the rocks, the latter from that which has been drifted ashora The latter is supposed to yield a kelp of inferior quality. Some specimens of kelp, how- ever, made from sea-weed which had been drifted ashore, tend to prove that this is not always the case. Weed which has been exposed to rain during the process of drying, affords a kelp of inferior quality. It is of the utmost importance to the manufacturer of kelp, to keep his weed as much as possible free from rain. For this purpose many employ sheds ; when these are not at hand, the weed which has been laid out to dry should be collected into one heap during the rain; when this ceases, it should again be imme- diately spread out. It has often been matter of dispute, how old the plants should be before they are cut. In general, three years is considered sufficient: this, however, from some trials which have been made to ascertain this point, seems to be too long. From experiments, it appears, that the produce of kelp, from one ton of three years' old weed, is only eight pounds more than that from the same quantity of two years' old ; from this we would conclude, that the weed ought to be cut every two years Though perhaps less weed may be procured from the same extent of ground occupied by weed of two, than of three years* growth, yet the difference may not be so great as to render it worth while to allow the weed to remain for three years. 6191. In order to inc7'ease the quantity of kelp, it has been suggested to the Highland Society, that the seed of the Salsbla Soda might be imported and cultivated at a small distance from the shore, with the design of mixing the plant with the sea-ware, for the improvement of the kelp. It was formerly imagined, that the barilla plant would not produce any quantity of alkali, worth its cultivation, if planted in France; but in the year 1782, some spirited individuals procured a quantity of barilla seed, and made a plantation of it near the coast of the Mediterranean, in the province of Languedoc, and had the; satisfnction for several years to find, that the barilla which they produced from these plants was of a quality equal to that which they usually procured from Alicant. Why, then, may not a similar attempt in our own country be equally successful ? 61 92. Other plards- If the growers of kelp could contrive to make some considerable plantations of the most productive of the kali, or of fumitory, wormwood, and other inland plants, which yield large quantities of potash, and collect the crop to burn with the other materials, the carbonate of potash resulting from their incineration would decompose the sea salt, and a great accumulation of carbonate of soda would be produced. It was proved long ago by Du Hamel, that the marine plants produced spda merely in con- sequence of their situation, for when they have been cultivated for some years in an inland spot they yield only potash. 6193. There are immense tracts qf shore on the mainland and islands of Scotland which may be easily cultivated for the production of kelp, from which at present not one penny is derived. All the cultivation requisite is, to place whin or other hard stones, not under the size of the crown of a hat, upon such vacant spaces. Contracts have been made to plant shore lands in the Highlands with such stones, at the rate of 20^. per Scots acre. Such stones are generally to be found at high. water mark, on all the shores of the.loch8 of the Highlands. They are put into a boat at high water, then carried to the ground to be planted, and thrown overboard ; on the ebb of the tide they are distributed regularly over the shore, preserving a clear space of one foot round every stone, which distance, after very minute examination, appears to be the most eligible for producing the greatest crop of ware. It it evident these stones should be of a round shape; as the more surface that is exposed to the alternate action of the air and water, so much more kelp ware will be produced from a given space of ground. In four years the first crop may be cut, which, on the above data will yield about four per cent on the original expense. But the crop may be manufac- tured into kelp in every third year thereafter, which, on the same data, is equal to about five per cent In this improvement there is no hazard of bad crops ; and if the manufacture is begun eatly enough in the season, there is little danger to be apprehended from bad weather, it being understood that the 0)>eration of kelp-making can be carried on, should there be no more than two dry days in eight [Higliland Society^s Trans, vols, v, and vi,) 6194. The cultivation of barilla (Salsola Soda, Chenopbdese, a native of Spain), on a small scale, was tried in the gardens of Tynningham, the seat of the Earl of Haddington, in 1789, but without success, although planted under a south wall, in a most sheltered part of the garden. {J. M. in Gard. Mag.) The culture of this and other species is practised to some extent in the neighbourhood of Alicant in Spain, and the details given Book VI. PLANTS INJURIOUS TO AGRICULTUllE, 947 in the Cours Complet, ^c* art Sovde. The ground is brought into good tilth, and manured ; and the seed sown broadcast in October or November : in the following spring the plants will be found an inch high, and must be kept clear of weeds till the month of August, when, being at its full growth, it may be mown or pulled up (for it has scarcel^rany roots), dried, and afterwards burnt in holes in the ground like kelp. 6195. The seofwrack grass (Zost^ra maiina; Fluviales) is found in abundance on different parts of our own shores, as at Yarmoutii, the bays of the Orkney Islands, and other bays not exposed to the immediate fury of the ocean. 6196. It grows in banks qf sand and mud, which banksappcar to be held together principally by the roots of this plant, which are strong and succulent, and throw out numerous lateral fibres. It grows at such depths as to be left nearly dry by the ebbing of spring tides. During the autumn and beginning of winter these leaves are thrown on shore in large quantities. They are of a very imperishable nature, and may be kept for any length of time in fresh or salt water, without any apparent decay. In the Orkney Islands this grass is thrown ashore during winter in large quantities, and collected by the inhabitants with other marine plants into heaps, for manure. In the6e heaps it is allowed to ferment, and sometimes, before being applied, it is mixed with earth or other matters. It is also used as thatch, and forms a more durable defence against the violent winds and heavy rains of that climate than straw. A few years ago, in con- sequence of premiums offered by the Highland Society, this grass was applied as a substitute for horse, hair, and stuffing mattresses and furniture : for this purpose it is carefully washed twice in fr^h water, then dried,quickly j and afterwards, any sea-wecd that had got mixed with it picked out In the Orkneys it is steeped in fresh-water lakes for a week, then taken out and spread wet on the ground, and picked, while in this state, from extraneous matters. Exposure to drought for one day will make it sufficiently dry for packing. When dry, care must be taken, if the weather is windy, to gather it into heaps or cocks, otherwise it may be blown away, being then extremely light. It is sent to market in large bags of sack- ing, or twisted into ropes of the thickness of a man's waist, and then compactly made up in nets, formed of ropes made of bent grass. It is sold at the Asylum for the Industrious Blind at Edinburgh, who em- ploy It in stuffing mattresses. (HigM. Soc Trans, vol. vi. p. 592.) Chap. X. Weeds or Plants ivjurUms to those cultivated in Agriculture* 6197. Svery plant which appears where it is not wanted may he considered ir^urious, though some are much more so than others. A stalk of barley in a field of oats is a weed, relatively to the latter crop, but a tliistle is a weed in any crop ; weeds, therefore, may be classed as relative and absolute. 6198. Belative weeds, or such cultivated plants as spring up where they are not wanted, give compara- tively little trouble in extirpating them. The most numerous are thegrasses when they spring up in fields of saintfoin or lucem, or among com crops in newly broken up grass lands. The roots of chiccory, in fields that have been broken up after bearing that crop for some years, those of madder, liquorice, &c., are of difficult extirpation. When the potato crop has not been carefully gathered, or mustard has been allowed to shed its seed, they also occasion trouble. Other cases will readily occur to the practical man, and need not be mentioned. *6199. Absolute weeds, or such native plants as are considered injurious to all crops, are very numerous, and may be variously arranged. Some aflTect in a more peculiar manner corn-fields and tillage lands, and these are chiefly annuals, as wild mustard, wild radish, poppy, blue-bottte, cockle, darnel, &c. ; or biennials, a^ the thistle; or perennials, as couch-grass, knot-^ass, black-couch, polygonum, &c. ; on lands laid down to grass for a few years, dock, ox-eye daisy, ragweed, &c. Others infest grass lands, and these are chiefly perennials, such as crowfoot, one of the most difficult of weeds to extirpate ; thistles, docks, rushes, sedges, moss, and an endless variety of others. Some are more particularly abundant in hedges; of which the reedy and coarse grasses, as couch-grass, brome-grass ; the climbing and twining plants, as goose-grass (Galium Sparine) ; and the twinets, as bind^weed (Conv61vulu8), are the most injurious. 6200, With regard to the destrtiction qf weeds, they may be classed first according to their duration. 6201, AU annuals and biennials, as sand-wort (Jig. 816. a),^and sorrel (6), are effectually destroyed by cutting over the plant at anypoint below that whence the seed leaves originated, as this prevents them from ever springing again from the roots. Perennials of the fibrous-rooted kind may be destroyed in the same manner, as the crowfoot, rag- weed, the fibrous-rooted grasses, and many others. Some- fiisiibrra-rooted perennials may also be destroyed by similar means ; but almost all the thick-rooted perennials require to be wholly eradicated. 6fi02. The perennial weeds, v/h'ich require their roots to be wholly eradicated, may be classed according to the kind of roots. The flrst we shall mention are the stoloniferous roots or surface shoots of plants, by which they propagate themselves. Of this kind are the creeping crowfoot, goosefoot or wild tansy, potentillas, mints, strawberries, black couch-grass, and most of the ^grostides and other grasses. The next are the under-ground creeping roots, as the couch-grass, Conv61vulu3 arvgnsis, and other species of bind- weed, coltsfoot (^. 816, c), sowthistle, several tetradynamous plants, as toadflax, 5crouhu. liria, nettle, hedge-nettle (St^hys), iJimium, ^aUf)ta, &c. Scrnie of these, as the bindweed and com-mint, are extremely difficult to eradicate : a single inch of stolone, 4f left in the ground, sending up a shoot and becoming a plant ^e creep- ing and descending vivacious roots are the most difficult of all to eradicate. Of this class are the Pol;?gonum amphibium [Jig- 817. a), the reed (^rfindo Phragmites), the horse-tail (£qui8etum,^g.817. b), and some others. These plants abound in deep clays, which have been deposited by water, as in the carses and clay-vales of Scotland. In the Carse of Falkirk'for example, the roots of the Polygonum amphfbium are found 948 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. every where in the subsoil ali*e and vigorous. They send up a few leaves every year in the furrows and on the flidei of drains ; and when any field is neglected or left a year or two in grass, ihey are found al| over its surface. Were this tract left to nature for a few years, it would soon be as completely covered with the jpolygonum as it must have been at a former age, when it was one entire marsh partially covered by the Frith of Forth. The horse-tail is equally abundant in many soils, even of a drier desceiption ; and the corn-thistle (5errdtula arvensis,^^. 817. c) even in dry rocky grounds. Lightfoot {Flbra Scotica) men- tions plants of this species dug out of a quarry, the roots of which were nineteen feet in length : it would be useless to attempt eradicating the roots of such plants. The only means of keeping them under, is to cut off their tops or shoots as soon as they appear; for which purpose, lands subject to them are best kept in tillage. In grass lands, though they may be kept ft-om rising high, yet they will, after being repeatedly mown, form a stool or stock of leaves on the surface, which will suffice to strengthen their roots, and greatly to injure the useful herbage plants and grasses. 62U3. Tuberous and bulbous-rooted weeds, are not very numerous ', wild garlic, arum, and bryony are examples ; and these are only to be destroyed by complete eradication. ^04^ Ramose, fusifo'i'Tn, and siTTiilarty rooted perennials, of vih\ch rest-harrow, fern, and scabious are examples, may in general be destroyed by cutting over below the collar or point whence the seed-leaves have issued. Eelow that point the great majority of plants, ligneous as well as herbaceous, have no power of sending up shoots ; though there are many exceptions, such as the dock, burdock, &c., among herbs, and the thorn, elm, poplar, cherry, crab, &c., among trees. 6205. Holdich has taken a different view of the subject of weeds, and classed them, not according to the modes by which they may be destroyed, but according to the injuries which they do to the soil or the crop. He has divided them into two classes, weeds of agriculture, or arable lands, and pasture weeds. 6206. Arable weeds are arranged as, 1. those which infest samples of corn ; 2. root or fallow weeds, and such others as are hard to destroy j 3. those which are principally objectionable as they incumber the soil ; 4. underling weeds, such as never rise with the crop, nor come into the sickle. Under these heads, each weed in its respective division is treated of as to its deteriorating qualities and mode of destruction. 6W7.ThenjeedimhiehinJiiHheaampleaTe,'l.TiaTne\iLbVmm RhceW); 3. Blue-lioitle ((^cntaur^a Cianus); 4. Mavwecd temulAihim) ; 2. Cockle (AcrostiSmma Glthbgo); 3. Tares (^'nthemis Ciitula) ; and 5. Com marieold (Chrysjlnthenium (e'rvum tetTBspgrmum) J 4. iWeliiot (rrifolium Afelil6tus offi- s^f;elum. cin&lis); 5. Wild oais (j4v6na fatua) ; 6 Haiiff (Gklium Apa- 6'£09. Thewadt called wtderiinpt, or sach as never rise in the tine); 7- Crow needles (Scdndix P^cten) ; 8. Black bindweed CTop&iare, I. Groundxel (Sen^cio Tulg&ria) ; '2. Annual meadow (Polygonum Convdivulus) ; 9. Snake-weed (Polygonum lapa- eras& (P6a dnniia) ; 3. Oiickweed (Slellkria niidia) ■ 4. Rhep- thif&lium) ; 10- Charlock seeds, (Sin&pis, /Uphanus, and BtAs- nerd's purse (rhldjihi bArsa pastbris and erAita) ■ 5. SnurrT sica) in barley sometimes. (Sp^rgula arv^nsU) ; 6. Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomflla) • (Sp^rgula arv^nsU) ; 6. Chamomile (Matricaria CKamomflla) ; 7. Fat-hen (Cheno^ium dibum); 8. Common com salad 6208. Weeds n'hich an principalltf olgediartabU ai iheu enatm' ^_ .,, „„„..„„„ i,„.„ «,,„ ber the toil are, 1. Charlock, a name which is applied to four (Fit/ia olitbria) , 9. "FHx-weed (J>lsy'inbriurn"Soiitil'a] r"io- Comt species of Crucueiffi (viz, Sinkuis arv^nsis andnlKra,Aaphanu9 mon fumitory (FUm&ria officinalis) ; II. Sand mustard (6'ink- Kaphanlstnun, and ^dssica Akpus] ; 2. Com poppy (Fapkver pis murMis). fiSlO. Pasture weeds are, 1. Dwarf.thistle (C&rduus acafilis) ; 2. Common chamomile (^'nthemis ni^bilis) • S. Star-thistle (Centaurfea Calcitrapa) ; 4. Ox-eye daisy (Chrysanthemum leuc&nthemum) j 5. Great fleabaiie (Conyza squarr6sa) ; 6L Cheese-rennet (Galium vferum) ; 7. I>ong-rooted hawkweed (^rArgia autumn&lis) • a Wild thyme (Tljymus SerpJ^llumj ; 9, Sheep's sorrel (iiiimex Acetos^lla) j 10. Knot-grass (Polygonum avicul&re) ; 11. Yellow rattle (Rhinanthus Crista galli) i 12. Common carline thistle (Carljna vulg&ris). 6211. PoMture needs mhich generally prevail in loamy toils, 6. Common ragwort (Senficio Jacob^'al ; 7. Common dalsv ■nil ciir'h alcn he nr<> nTPvalpnt in Havi^v xnA iIsittiti anils, nm fnijlllc nm-iinnicl . a ri«~.».». 1.1 1. ilJ j 1^ . ' duuspratinfiii), 5. Comnion'butter-'bur (russilkgoPetasi'tes); Sedge {ng thc.r specie. U obee.ved ,vj,H e,^. ^are and jja^.^.i^/.^^^/X?.' fi^-^f^ assert Sey can tfiscover a Uint or departure ftom th.a .^r-T_;v-v -r., ^^~_.„ purity to the sixteenth remove. , . , _ . '^-^^ - --^=. >'"g23^ y^e f,j,^r (Jlg.sm IS derived from horaea of entire blood, or such as are but little removed from it uniting with mares of substance, correct form, and Kood action. In some instances hunters are derived from large mares of the pure breed, propagating with powerful stallions of the old English road horse. This favourite and valuable breed is a happy com- binatiofi of the speed of the Arabian, with the dura- bility of the native horse. More extended in form, but framed on the same principles, he is able to carry a considerable weight through heavy grounds, with a swiftness equalled only by the animal he pursues, and with a perseverance astonishing to the natives of every other country. Hence the extreme demand for this breed of horses in every European country^ our racing stallions being now sent to propagate in the eastern climes, whence they were some of them origi- nally brought _ . fi2.^^ The improved hackney (Jig. 8iil.) is derived, like the former, from a judicious mixture of the blSre«twXthe native hors^ but exhibiting a greater proportion of the latter. Hackneys are now Dioou orcCTi however, mostly bred from stalhons possessing nearly the same proportion of blood with the hunter; but with a form and qualities somewhat diffferent In the hack- ney, as safety is as requisite as speed, we look particu- larly to the foreparts to see that they are high and well placed ; that the head is not heavy, nor the neck dis- proportionately long or short j that the legs stand straight (that is, that a perpendicular line drawn from the point of the shoulder should meet the toe) ; and that the elbows turn out : and although a perfect conformation in the hinder parts is necessary to the hackney, it is in some measure subordinate to the same perfection in the fore parts ; whereas in the racer and hunter, but par- ticularly in the former, the form of the hinder is even of more consequence than that of the fore parts. 6234. The old English road horse. This most useful breed is now nearly extinct, although some northern agriculturists appear to be making efforts to revive the race. It has so long been known in this country that it might almost oe reckoned among us indigvme : although it is probable that it originally sprang from a judicious culture from horses of Norman, (iennan, or Flemish extraction, which horses were very early im- ported to enlarge our small breeds, and to render them equal to the heavy loads they were accus- tomed to carry as pack-horses ; andof which kind the old English road horse unquestionably is. ljig.S22.) Neither is it at all impossible, that.in the more fertile parts of the island, an original breed existed of considerable power and bulk. Athel- stan expressly prohibited the exportation of En- glish horses, and the " scythed charioU drawn by fiery steeds " of the ancient Britons struck terror even into Casar's legions. These accounts of the antiquity of the English horse, receive additional strength from the notices we obtain of the fossil bones of horses having been found, according to Parkinson, in various parts of the island. The old English road horse possessed great power, with short joints, a moderate shoulder, elevated crest, with legs and feet almost invariably good. The heights varied from fifteen hands to fifteen hands two inches; and the colours were fre. quently mixed. 6235. 7he objection, ftowevevt to English /lorses, both of the ori^nal and of the more early improved breeds, and which is even still seen among them, is, that they want grace or expression in their figure and carriage ; that they are somewhat obstinate and sullen ; and that a certain stifmess in their shoulders, and want of suppleness and elasticity in their limbs, render them unfit for the manege. As this is an im- portant charge against the excellence of our breeds, it may be worth consideration how far it is founded in truth. Commerce requires despatch, and England as a great commercial country makes every thing subservient to an economical use of time. Coufomiably to these principles, many of the qualities of our horses, but principally those of fiexibility and safety in progression, are certainly sacrificed to speed, in which they undoubtedly excel all horses in the world. It is well known that all animals intended by nature for quick progression, are formed low in their fore parts, and have usually narrow upright shoulders ; which defects are too common in English horses in general. On the contrary, in most of the improved breeds of continental horses, the fore hands are elevated, and the shoulders wide and oblique ; by which, flexibility and safety in progression are gained at some expense of celerity ; for the strong lumbar muscles of horses so formed, operating on the lengthened spinous processes of the dorsal vertebne with increased advantage, elevate the fore parts higher j and even in default of this form in the fore parts, yet a corresponding effect is produced in foreign horses by the great strength and expansion of their haunches and croups, and by the greater inclination in their hinder extremities towards the common centre of gravity of^ the body : for as speed depends first on the extent to which the angles of the limbs can be opened, and secondly, on the efforts of the body in its transit to counteract the tendency to the common centre of gravity, the earth ; so it is evident that the form which is the most favourable to speed, is less so to safety or flexibility in progression. 6236. The Irish road horse^ or hunter, coeval with, or probably in some measure subsequent to, the culture of the old English road horse, was a still more excellent breed. With similar properties, but an improved form, with a great acquired aptitude for leaping, it gained the name of the Irish hunter ; and when the dogs of the chace were less speedy than they now are, this horse was equal to every thing required of him as a hunter ; even now the possessors of the few which remain find, parti- cularly in an enclosed and deep country, that what others gain by speed these accomplish by strength to 822 Book VII. VARIETIES OF THE HORSE. d53 go through any ground, and activity sufficient to accomplish the most extraordinary leaps. As road. sters, these horses have ever proved valuable, uniting durability, ease, and safety with extreme docility. In form they may be considered as aflbrding a happy mixture of an improved haclt with our old English roadster. ^37. The British varieties qf saddle horse of more inferior description are very numerous, as cobs, galloways, and ponies. Cobs are a thick, compact, hackney breed, from fourteen hands to fourteen hands two inches high, in great request for elderly and heavy persons to ride,' or to drive in low phaetons, &c. tialloways and ponies are lately in much request also tor low chaises ; a demand which will lead to a cultivation of their form; the number bred requires little increase, as several waste districts or moors throughout England are already appropriated principally to the purpose of rearing ponies. 6238. The Jirittsh varieties of war or cavalry horse^ and qf carriage and cart horse, are considered to have been derived from the German and Flemish breeds, meliorated by judicious culture. Most of the superior varieties contain a mixture of Arabian or Spanish blood. Cavalnr horses are found amongst the larger sort of hackneys j and the observations made in the late wars sufficiently show the justice of the selection. Except in a few unhappy instances, where a mistaken admiration of the Hulans had led to selecting them too light, the English cavalry horse possessed a decided superiority over the best French horses in strength and activity, as well as over the Germans, whose horses on the other hand, by then: bulk and heavy make, were incapable of seconding the efforts of the British dragoons. The coach, cha. riot, and stage horses are derived many of them from the Cleveland bays, farther improved by a mixture of blood. Others are bred from a judicious union of blood and bone, made by the breeders in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and other midland counties. 6V39. The varieties of draught horse were originally as numerous as the districts in which they were bred, each having its favourite breed; but since the intercourse among farmers and breeders has been greater, those in common use are so mixed as to render it difficult to determine of what variety they partake the most. At present the principally esteemed draught horses are the SuflTolk punch, the Cleve- land bay, the black, and the Lanark or Clydesdale. The native breeds of draught horses of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, are much too small for the purposes of agricultural draught as now con- ducted ; but by cultivation, the improved breeds pointed out have fUmished such animals as are equal to every thing required of them. 6240. The black horse {fig. 823.)> bred in the midland counties of England, is a noble and useful animal ; and furnishes those grand teams we see in the coal, fiour, and other heavy carts and waggons about London ; where the immense weight of the animal's body assists his accompanying strength to move the heaviest toads. But the present system of fanning requires horses of less bulk and more activity for the usual agricultural pur- poses, better adapted for travelling, and more capabl^ of enduring fatigue ; consequently this breed is seldom seen in the improved farms. I'he black cart horse is understood to have been formed, or at least to have been brought to its present state, by means of stallions and mares imported from the Low Countries j though there appears to be some difference in the accounts that have been preserved, in regard to the places whence they were originally brought, and to the persons who introduced them. {Culley on Live Stock, p. 32., and Marshal's Economy of the Midland Counties, vol. i. p. 306.) Mar- shal, under too confined a view, and probably prejudiced against the breed on account of its fancied want of spirit, . as well as for the alleged tendency to become flat and pommiced in the feet, is most unreasonably severe on it, when he says, " the breed of grey rats, with which this island has of late years been overrun, are not a greater pest in it than the breed of black fen horses; at least while cattle remain scarce as they are at present, and while the flesh of horses remains to be rejected as an article of human food." {Marshal's Yorkshire^ vol. ii. p. 164.) The present improved sub-variety of this breed is said to have taken its rise in six Zealand mares, sent over from the Hague by the late Lord Chesterfield, during his embassy at that court 6241. The Cleveland bays {fig. 824,), which owe some of their most valuable properties to crosses with fulWred stSlions to miS^Jof'Si^^ ®°™? ■'T'^' "i-'-'e" have been produced by putting coals travelling aintv milca in tmoVitv ?™t. ih„ P'ougn. inree of these horses draw a ton and a half of lowish or sorrel, with a white ratdi or blkze on their faces ; the head large, ears wide, muzde coais*. 954 PPACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 825 fore.end low. back long sometimes, but always very straight, sides flat, shoulders too far '"p'^wf^f' ^jl'lj- ' * ' ' ' quarters middling, but rather high about the hips, "^"^ legs round and snort in the pabtcrns, deei)-beUicd, and full in the flank. Here, perhaps, lies mucli of the merit of these horses ; for we Kn9W, from ob- servation and experience, that all deep-bellied horses carry their food long, and consequently are enabled to stand longer and harder days' woiks. However, certain it is, that these horsen do perform surprising days' works. It is well known, that the Suffolk and Norfolk farmers plough more laud in a day than any other people in the island ; and these are the kind of horses every where used in tlioso districts." {Cultep on Live Stock, p. 27.) Since CuUey's time much pains have been taken to im- prove this useful breed, and to render them, by cul- tivation, fitted not only for heavy but for light work. It is no uncommon thing for a Suffolk stallion to fetch from 2(iu;. to 300/. The best show of these stallions in England is at "Woodbridge Lady-day fair, where Suffolk cart mares have brought from 100/. to ISOi, and one mare and her offspring a few years ago at this fair brought lOOOA The figure (825.) hardly does justice to the animal. {M.) 6'-2i3. The Clydesdale horse {Jiff. 826.) has been long in high repute in Scotland and the north of England ; and, for the purposes of the farmer, is probably equal to any other breed in Britain. Of the origin of this race, various accounts have been given, but none of them so clear, or so well authenticated, as to merit any notice. They have got this name, not because they are bred only in Clydesdale or Lanarkshire, for the same description of horses are reared in the other western counties of facotland, and over all that tract which lies between the Clyde and the Forth, but be- cause the principal markefttat which they are sold, Lanark, Carnwath, Rutherglen, and Glasgow, are situated in that district, where they are also preserved in a state of greater purity than in most other parts. They are rather larger than the Suffolk punches, and the neck is somewhat longer j their colour is black, brown, or grey, and a white spot on the face is esteemed a mark of beauty. The breast is broad ; the shoulder thick, with the reaching cartilaginous portion of the blade-bone nearly as high as the withers, and not so much thrown backwards as in road horses; the hoof round, and usually black, with wide heels j the back straight and broad, but not too long ; the bucks visible, but not prominent, and the space between them and the ribs short ; the tail heavy, and well haired ; the thighs meeting each other so near as to leave only a small groove for the tail to rest on. One most valuable property of this breed is, that they are remarkably true pullers, a restive horse being rarely found among them. 6244. The W^e&A Aorse C^. 827. o) bears a near resemblance, in point of size and hardiness, to thebest of /^- -^ the native breed of the highlands of Scotland, and other hilly countries in the north of Europe. It is too small for the present two-horse ploughs j but few horses are equal to them for enduring fatigue on the road. " f well remember," says Culley, '* one that 1 rode for many years, which, to the last, would have gone upon a pavement by choice, in preference to a softer road." (Observations on Live Stocky p. 35.) 6245. The galloway (&), properly so called as being found chiefly in that province of Scotland, has now become very rare, the breed having been neglected from its unfitness for agricultural purposes. Galloway is, however, used as a terra for any horse between the pony size and the hack ; and in this point of view is sufficiently numerous, and very commonly bred by small farmers on commons and wastes. The true galloway is somewhat larger than the Welsh horse, and is said to resemble the Spanish horses ; there is alsoa tradition, that some of the latter, that had escaped firom one of the vessels of the Armada, wrecked on the coast of Galloway, were allowed to intermix with the native raca Such of this breed as have been preserved in any degree of purity are of a light bay or brown colour, with black legs, and are easily di&. tinguished by the smallness of tneir head and neck, and the cleanness of their bone. 6246. The still smaller horses of the Highlands and isles of Scotland, (c) are distinguished from larger breeds by the several appellations of ponies, shelties, and in Gaelic of garrons or gearrons. They are reared in great numbers in the Hebrides, or western isles, where they arc found in the greatest purity. Different varieties of the same race are spread over all the Highland districts, and the northern isles. This ancient breed is supposed to have been introduced into Scotland from Scandinavia, when the Norwegians and Danes first obtained a footing in these parts. " It is precisely the same breed tiiat subsists at present in Norway, the Feroe Isles, and Iceland, and is totally distinct from every thing of horse kind on the continent of Europe, south of the Baltic. In confirmation of this, there is one peculiar variety of the horse in the Highlands, that deserves to be noticed : it is there called the eel-backed horse. He- is of different colours, light bay, dun, and sometimes cream-coloured ; but has always a blackish list that runs along the ridge of the back, from the shoulder to the rump, which has a Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 955 resemblance to an eel stretched out This very singular character subsist? ajso in many of the horses of Norway, and is nowhere else known." (,1Valker's Helmdes, vol. ii. p. 168.) " The Highland horse is sometimes only nine, and seldom twelve hands high, except in some of the southern of the Hebrides, where the size has been raised to thirteen or fourteen hands by selection and better feeding. The best of this breed are handsomely shaped, have small legs, large manes, little neat heads, and are extremely active and hardy. The common colours are grey, bay, and blaclt ; the last is the favourite one." {General Iteport qf Scotland, vol. iii. p. 176.) Sect. II. Organology or exterior Anatomy oftlie Horse, 6247. A just knowledge of the exterior conformation of the horse, to be able to form a correct judgment on the relative qualities of the animal, forms the ne plus ultra of a scientific horseman's aim ; but it is a branch of knowledge not to be obtained without much study and experience. In considering a horse exteriorly, his age, his condition, and other circumstances should be taken into the account ; without which attention it is not possible to determine, with precision, the present or future state of a horse when lie is seen under various peculiarities. A horse of five years old, though considered as full grown, yet experiences very considerable alterations of form after that period. He then becomes what is termed /ttr«ts/ied; and all his points (i. e. his adult form), before hidden in the plumpness of youth, or disguised by extreme obesity, now show themselves. From the effects of muscular exertion promoting absorption, he becomes more angular, and to the painter's eye, would prove more picturesque, but less beautiful. A horse like- wise low in fiesh and condition, is hardly the same animal as one in full flesh and condition ; and again, the sleekness acquired from relaxed labour, with full and gross feeding, is very unlike the robust form acquired from generous diet with correspondent exertion. 6248. The examination of the subject cf organologi) is conveniently pursued by dividing it into head, neck, trunk, or body, and extremities or legs. The greater number of well proportioned horses, with the exception of the head and neck, come within a quadrangle ; not one strictly equilateral as depicted by Lawrence (Richard) and Clark, but one whose horizontal dimensions are usually between a twenty-fourth and twenty-eighth greater than their perpendiculars. It must, however, be kept in mind, that with some considerable deviations from this quadrangular form, many horses have proved superiorly gifted in their powers ; and that a deviation from these proportions appears in some instances, as in that of the race horse, not only favourable, but necessary also to his exertions. Nature vrill not be limited, and the perfection of her operations is not alone dependent on the arbitrary arrangement of parts, but on a harmony and accordance of the whole, internal as well as external. To the artist, however, such admeasurement is useful, inasmuch as it prevents any singular departure from a symmetrical appearance, which is but too common among our animal draughtsmen. I'd the amateur it also offers a convenient, though not an unerring guide. Our exemplification of the organ- ology appears by placing a blood and a cart horse within the same square (^. 828.), by which the differences between the various - parts of the one and the other are readily contrasted. 6249. The organs of the head. The head of the horse is remarkable for its dimensions, formed by an elongation of the jaws ; yet in him, as in most of the grazing tribes, its bulk is in an inverse proportion to the length of the neck, otherwise the muscles would not be able to lift it. It is an important part considered as relative to beauty alone, it being in the inferior heavy breeds but little marked by grace or expression ; but in the improved varieties it presents lines worthy the painter's pencil and the poet's fancy. Neither is it too much to say, that in no part of the body is this amelioration of breed so soon detected as in the head. Can any thing be conceived more dissimilar than the small inexpressive features of the cart horse, and the bold striking ones that grace the head of tlie blood horse? The quick succession of movements in his pointed ears, the dilatations of his expanded nostrils, or his retroverted eyes, which ^ve fire and animation to the character of his head when under the influence of any excitement. This is the more worthy of remark, when it is considered that some of the principal aids to expres- sion in the human countenance are wanting in the horse. Man borrows much of his facial expression from his eyebrows, and when to these the varied action of the mouth is added, it amounts to more than a half of the total expression, A great accession of beauty is gained in the improved breeds by the increase of the facial angle, which in them is about 25°, but in the heavy breeds is usually only 23° {a a a a). fiS-TO. The ears (6 h) in the improved breeds are small and pointed ; in the heavy they are not only large and ill shaped, but they frequently separate from each other; these defects gave rise to the barbarous cus- tom of cropping, now happily in a great measure abolished. The ears are criteria of the spirit, as well as of the temper ; we have seldom seen a horse which carried one ear forward and the other backward during hifi work that was not hardy and lasting. Being not subject to early fatigue, he is attentive to every thing around him, and directs his ears different ways to collect sound from every quarter. The ears are also indications of temper, and a horse is seldom either playful or vicious but his ears are laid flat on theneck. It is fortunate that we are j^rovided with such a warning, by an animal that does not want craft to surprise us, nor strength to render his resentment terrible. 956 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part in. 6251. The forehead next pr^ents itself (c c), straight, and of a proper w'lcUli In the improved bree.is, iHiorned by nature with an ^egant jiortion of hair, which, detaching itself from the rest of tne mane, flows down the face to protect both that and the ears iVom the attacks of insects. 6253. The eyes {dd) deserve particular attention, not only for tfieir utility, but as objects of beauty and ex. pression. In the blood horse the orbitary fosss, or eye-sockets, are more prominent and more inclined, by which the axes of his eyes diverge more from each other than those of the heavy breed; by which not only he is enabled tosee further behind him, but the prominence of his eyes gives great beauty and expression to the blood head. The further consideration of the eyes, and their criteria of soundness, will be postponed to the anatomical detail. In old horses most of the fat of the body, which is more superficially placed in the young, becomes absorbed; in this way the eye, which is usualljr embedded in avast quantity of this matter, losing its assistance, sinks within its orbits, and thus the cavities above, called eye-pits, shows themselves deeply in an aged horse. 6353. From the ears to the angleof the jaws (c e) large vessels and extensive glands are situated. Within these branches of the posterior jaw is lodged the throat, and it wiU be observed how necessary it is that these branches should expand sufficiently to admit of the motions of the head, particularly of those in- fluenced by the reining-in of the bridle ; otherwise the blood-vessels and other parts must be injuriously pressed upon. 6254. The hollow between the jaws is called the channel, and at the under part of it (/) a considerable branch of an artery proceeds from the inner side over and around the outer, which branch forms the most convenient situation for feeling the pulse of the horse 6255. The face ig) of the improved breed of horses presents either a straight line, or one slightjy curved inward towards the lower part ; whereas, in the heavy breeds, it is very commonly found to be curved outward. This part comprises, as with man, from the forehead to the lips. When the face is covered wVth white, it is considered a blemish i but when a white spot only exists in the forehead, it is considered a beauty. 6256L The markings in the face are useful to describe a horse by, and frequently lead to the recovery of a strayed or stolen one.. In regimental accounts these marks are carefully noted. When a spot extends down the face, it is termed a blaze; and when ftirther continued into the muzzle, it is called blaze and snip. When a star is distinct, but with it there are white markings which be^n some distance below it, and are continued downwards, it is called a race. 6257. The muzzle (A h) include the lips, mouth, and nostrils ; the darker the colour of this part the more is the horse esteemed : very dark brown horses are an exception, for in them it is usually of a tan colour, and is praised both as a beauty and indicative of excellence. It is both a beauty and an excellence that the nostrils be thin, angular, and large. 6268. TVte lips should be thin, firm, and by no means loose and pendulous, as is the case in the old and slug^sh. The lips in the horse are the principal organs of touch and discrimination, and hence are exquisitely sensible. 6259. The form qfthe mouthy as receiving the bit, is importanf. It is also of more consequence than is usually supposed, that its commissure or opening be sufficiently deep ; when shallow, it is not only in- el^ant, but it will not admit a bridle favourably into its proper resting place upon the bars. Within the mouth are situated the teeth, which are so placed as to have interrupted portions of jaw above and below of considerable extent. These vacancies are called bars, and are parts of extreme importance to the horse- man, as it is by means of agents called bits resting on these parts, and operating on their sensibility by means of a lever, the long arm of which is in the hand of the rider, that he ensures obedience. In aid of this mechanism, to one portion of this lever is attached a chain, called a curb, which acting on the outer part of the chin, increases the pressure. This latter part has been called the barb or beard, but its situation is evidently above that Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 957 iO. The teeth {Jig. 829.), which present themselves on the lower parts of the jaws, are the incisive and canine. The two fVont incisivcs are popularly called nippers or gatherers (a) ; the two next adjoining, separators or middle teeth (JA ; and the outer, the corners (cj ; but it would be more definite to say the first, second, and third incisives, beginning at the comer. The tuska or tushes [d d) occupy part of the intermediate space between the incisive and grinding teeth. I'he teeth, as criteria of age, will be considered in another place, and as organs of mastication, they will be further noticed in the anatomical detail. 6261. The oreans of the neck. The exterior parts which compose the neck are first the upper surrace, which is furnished throughout its whole extent with an elegant assemblage of hair called mane (J^. 828. e e). In some instances, as in stallions, it is of enormous length and thickness. In dark-coloured horses it is commonly black, but in horses of colours approaching to a light hue the reverse is frequently seen, and the mane and tail-are in these often ligliter than the body. 6363. To make the hairs qf the mane and tail tie smooth is an object with most horsemen, but the pulling the hair out in tufts by wrapping it round the fingers is a most erroneous practice, and not only at the time frustrates the end intended, but a mane so pulled will seldom hang well after. The writer of this has always made use of a three-pronged angular mane-puller, which, if used two or three times a week, will bring both mane and tail into perfect order, and will keep them so. This iron is manufactured and sold by Cong, veterinary instrument maker in Holbom, London. 6263L The upper surface c^f the neck (0 should form a moderate but elegant curve, which is greatly favourable to beauty : this curve is, however, not so considerable in the pure eastern variety as in the better sort of northern horse. 6364h The under surface of the neck {k k) should be nearly straight; in the cock-throttled horse it arches outwards, and the upper surface in these instances is sometimes hollowed inwards in equal pro- portions, when such horse is called ewe-necked. When this deformity is considerable, it prevents the liead flnm being carried in its true angle, and particularly so under the action ol the bridle ; in which case the nose being projected forwards, carries the axis of the eyes upwards : such horses are called star- gazers ; and it is to be observed that they are seldom safe-goers. In mares and geldings a very just cri- terion of a sluggish disposition, may be formed fVom the presence of a considerable quantity of flesh on the upper surface of the neck : when the crest is very thick and heavy, it is almost an unerring prognostic of a decided slu^ard. In stallions it, however, forms a distinctive sexual mark, and therefore is less to be depended upon in them. In a well-proportioned horse, the length of the neck, the length of the head, and of the angle uniting the two, should give the height of the withers Arom the ground. When the neck is too long, the head must of course gravitate by the increased length of the arm of the balance : it likewise seldom presents a firm or proper resistance to the bridle. When, on the contrary, the neck is too short, the head is frequently ill placed, and the lever in tlie hand of the rider will be too short also. 6265. The organs of the trunh or carcase are various. Considered as a whole, Clark has not unaptly likened it, when separated from the limbs, to a boat ; within which are disposed various important viscera. The bony ribs he likens to the wooden ones encom- passing the vessel, and the sternum or breast-bone, being perpendicularly deep and thin, carries the resemblance further, and ilts the machine to cleave the air as the boat does the water. Within this animal vessel, according with the justest mechanical principles, the weightiest of the viscera, the liver, is placed in the centre, and the others follow nearly in the relative order of their gravity ; so that the lungs, the lightest of the whole, are stowed in front, where great weight would have been most disad- vantageous. 626B. The shoulders {a a, b b) are commonly considered as extending from the withers above to the point In front, and to the line behind formed from the elbow upwards : but a correct description considers them as those parts immediately concerned in motion ; that is, the scapula or blade-bone, and its attachments. The shoiUders are too apt to be confounded with the withers above, and with the arm below, erroneously called the point of the shoulders. From this confusion, great error is committed in appreciating their nature and action ; but this is removed by recourse to the skeleton {jig. 830. i,*, /}. The withers {e e) may be justly proportioned at the same time that the shoulders may be narrow, straight and altogether badly formed, and vice versa. The shoulders should be muscular and narrow, but not heavy ; and to de- termine between these essential points, requires the eye of experience in the viewer, and the presence of condition in the viewed. A muscular shoulder is essentially necessary, when we consider that the fore extremities are wholly connected by muscle, and not as in man, by the intervention of the bony union of the clavicle or collar bone. In the horse, therefore, we find that large muscular masses unite the shoulder blade, by its upper and inner surfaces, to the chest ; while other powerful muscles suspend as it were the machine between them. By this contrivance, elasticity is preserved and strength gained; for had the shoulders possessed a bony connection, when the body is propelled forwards, its weight and force being received by the fore extremities, painful and hurtful shocKs would have been experienced at every step. Powerful muscles for the shoulders are also as necessary for progression as for attachment It is not therefore with judgment that a very thin meagre shoulder is commonly preferred. It is by the union of strength with just proportions, and a proper situation of the parts, that the value of the animal is determined. 6367. Tlie centre of action in the shoulders (c) is in their common centre, and the extent of action of any part moving on its centre, is dependent on the length of such part; the motion the shoulder enjoys is confined to the perpendicular backwards, and to as great an elevation of the muscles as they will admit of forwards. It will be therefore evident that the more oblique is the situation of the shoulder blade, the greater number of degrees it can go through ; it must be as evident also that when the shoulder blade is long and deep, as well as oblique, that this advantage is increased. It is commonly observed, although it is not invariably the case, that when the shoulder is short, it is also upright (fi b). Obliquity and length in the shoulder favour the safety of the progression also : for as the angles formed between the shoulder, the arm, and fore-arm, are consentaneous, and make, when in" action, a bony arch ;, so the obliquity and length of the shoulders is favourable to a due elevation of the limb, on which, in a great degree, depends the safety of progression. Thus mares are, ceteris paribus, more unsafe than horsL-s, their shoulders being short to corresfiond with the low mare.like forehand ; and their decreased obliquity usually regulates an increased obliquity in the whole limb downwards, or as is familiarly expressed, they stand with their legs under them. Unfavourable as is this form of the mare, both for the speed and safety of their action, it was given for advantageous purposes : for, by such a position in the fore extremities, the hinder are raised higher to afford additional security against the evils of gravitation and dislodgement of the foal firom the pelvis. Few rules can be laid down in the exterior conformation that are more important, or of such general application, as that a short and upright shoulder, particularly when united with an 958 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. inclined direction of the whole limb backwards, is a sure mark of an unsafe goer, and commonly, though not invariably, of a slow one also. It now and then happens indeed, that horses having defective shoulden prove speedy and good movers, which would appear to contravene these principles ; but it will be found, that, wherever horses having these defects in their fore legs yet prove quick and safe m progression, they invariably have hinder parts of great strength and proportion to make up the deficiency. Indeed, it appears probable, that the hind and fore parts do not bear the same relative proportion in all horses alike ; in blood horses, the withers are not always high, and although their shoulders are commonly deep and oblique, yet the fore limbs are altogether short in proportion to the hinder, in a great number of the fleetest racers : for, as speed appears to be a principal end in their formation, and as comparative anatomy furnishes us with abunclant proof that all animals destined to make considerable leaps (and the full gallop is nothing more than a succession of leaps) are low befbre, the end of their formation is really best answered by this arrangement of parts ; it is also more than probable that, although speed in the gallop may be found with a defective forehand, yet, in the slower paces of the canter, trot, and walk, a justly formed shoulder is more immediately requisite. This subject will be stdl further elucidated when we treat on the mechanical properties of the skeleton. 6268. The withers (ee) are formed by the long transverse processes of the dorsal vertebra {Jig. 830. t/), and as their use is to serve as levers to muscles, so their length characterised by the height of the withers must be of great advantage, and enable such horses to go high above their ground ; for the muscles of the back, acting to greater advantage, elevate the fore parts more forcibly. From this we may also learn that the elevation of the fore parts, or the horse's going above his ground, as elevated action is expressed, is not altogether dependent on the motion ofthe shoulders, nor on the height to which the animal may be inclined to lift merely his legs ; but likewise, on the extent to which the fore half of the machine is alto- g ether elevated by the action of the dorsal and lumbar muscles. When the withers are high, or the fore- and well up, as it is termed, it is favourable to the celetity and to the safety of the action : but as these properties are less wanting in the heavy breeds, we find in them a considerable variation ol^ form : in the cart horse, weight of forehand is an essential requisite to his exertions : for drawing being an effbrt of the animal to preserve himself from the tendency which his weight gives him to the centre of gravity when he inclines forward, so the more weighty and bulky he is before, and the nearer he approximates this centre, the more advantageously he will apply his powers. It is not here intended to he hinted that nature gave him this form purposely to enable him to draw: this, indeed, would be an argument of necessity i but this form has been judiciously imposed on him by men, by regulation of the sexual intercourse, and by a careful selection of specimens having some of the requisites to propagate from, until at last we have produced the massive weighty animal whose powers astonish as well as benefit us. 6269. The breast or counter iff) is the part between the point of the arms or shoulders, and which should be moderately wide and extended : when it is otherwise, the horse is seldom durable, or even strong, although he may be speedy; neither have the lungs sufficient room for expansion, nor the muscles great extent of attachment; frequently too it accompanies a general flatness of ribs, and want of circular form in the carcase in general j all which experience has shown to be necessary to the perfection of the machine. The breast may, however, be too wide; it may also hang over or project beyond the perpendicular of the fore limbs, so as to overweigh the machine : this form, however, though unfavourable to the saddle horse, for the reasons just assigned, is much desired in the heavy draught horse. 6270. The back. Where the withers end the back commences (g) ; the length should be moderate only, for a long cylinder cannot be so strong as one of less length ; long-backed horses are easy because the action and the reaction are considerable; but what is gained in elasticity is lost in strength. When the back is too short, the extremities are so much approximated that they frequently overreach each other, and the hind foot strikes that before it, in profession : the back should be nearly straight, it has naturally an inclination in the line of its gravity ; but this exists in very different degrees in different horses. When the incurvation inwards is considerable, such horses are called saddle-backed, and arc usually considered weak ; but, to keep up the counterpoise, the crest in such horses is generally good ; tfiey also ride plea- santly, and commonly carry much apparent carcass ; sometimes indeed too much. When the back is curved upwards, it is called roach-backed ; when considerably so, it is unfavourable to the liberty of action, as well as to the elasticity of motion : in these cases, to counteract the curve outward, the head is also usually carried low. A short^backed horse is in considerable request with many persons, who do not con- sider that when it is too much so there is seldom great speed ; for the hinder extremities cannot be brought sufficiently under the body to propel the mass forwards. 6271. The loins (h) may be considered as the part which extends fi-om. immediately behind the hinder edge of the saddle, when properly placed, to the rump. Anatomically it begins at the sacrum (fie. 830. z), whose processes being sometimes defective or interrupted, leave an indentation, as though tne union between the back and loins were incomplete; and such horses are said to be badly loined : but although it may in some measure deprive the muscles of some slight attachments, yet the evil is not so considerable as is imagined. The width of the loins is of considerable import to the strength of the animal, as it affords a greater surface for the attachment of the powerful muscles of the back and loins ; and the muscles themselves should be so prominent, as to seem to swallow the back-bone amongst them. When the pro- tuberances of the ilium or haunch bone are very prominent, the horse is said to be ragged hipped ; but it operates to his "disadvantage only in appearance, as extent in these parts, being favourable to muscular attachment, is always beneficial 6272. The croup extends from the loins to the setting on of the tail (n n). It should be long and only slightly rounded, which is another characteristic of the blood or improved breed. Jn the cart horse, on the contrary, it is seen short and much more considerably rounded (w n). A long croup is in every point of view the most perfect, for it affords a very increased surface for muscular attachment, and although the large buttocks of the cart horse would at first sight convey an idea of great strength and extent, yet, attentively viewed, it will be found that the early rounding of the sacral line, the low setting on of the tail, and the small space which necessarily exists between the hips and buttocks, all tend to lessen the surface of muscular attachment, compared with the broad croup, wide haunches, and deep spread thighs of the blood horse. 6273. The flamk (A), is the space contained between the ribs and haunches ; when too extensive it in- dicates weakness, because it is the consequence of too long a back ; and such a horse is said not to be well ribbed up. When the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrx are short, as in badly loined horses, this part is hollow. The flank is usually looked to also as indicative of the state of respiration : thns, when it rises and falls quicker than ordinary, unless violent exertion has just been used, it betokens pre. sent fever, or otherwise, chronic disease of the lungs. 6274. The belly (0- Having taken a tour round the upper parts of the carcase, we will carry the survey downwards and forwards. Anteriorly, the ribs should be wide upwards, and as much deepened below as possible, which affords what is termed great depth in the girth. This form greatly increases the surface ofattacbmentof the motive organs, the muscles, and also allows room for the free expansion of the lungs and consequently is favourable to the wind. Posteriorly, the ribs should form the body as much as pos^ Bible into a circular figure, that being of all others the most extended, and affording the best surface for the absorption of nutriment ; thus barrelled horses, as they are termed, are greatly esteemed, and found to be lasting in work and readily brought into condition, and more easily kept so. When the chest is too flat and straight, the belly is also small : hence, neither can the blood absorb its vital principle from the air, nor the lacteals the chyliferous juices from the intestines ; these horses are therefore seldom durable. As less nutriment is taken up by the constitution, so less is eaten, thus also they are seldom good feeders • Book VII. ORGANOLOGY OF THE HORSE. 959 and as the pressure on the intestines must be considerable iVom the small containing surface, so they are usually likewise what is termed washy ; that is, easily purged, whereby an additional cause of weakness exists, from the too early passing off of the food. Such horses are, nowever, very commonly spirited and lively, although not lasting. A knowledge of the advantages gained by a circular form of carcass or belly, as affording the greatest capacity, is what constituted BakewelPs grand secret in the breeding of cattle : he always bred from such animals as would be most likely to produce this form, well knowing that no other would fatten so advantageously. 6275. The wliirlbojie (/), among the jockeys and grooms, is the articulation of the thigh bone, with the pelvis, or basin, and form-, the hip joint The ligaments of this powerful joint are sometimes forcibly dis- tended by violence, and a very obstinate lameness is usually the consequence. The situation of the thigh (/, m) is in the horse, as in most quadrupeds, enveloped within the range of the trunk. ^& The stifle {m) corresponds with the knee of the human figure, and is the point at the lower por- tion of the flank. It is evident that the part below this, which is generally called the thigh or gascoin, is erroneously so named. It should be very muscular and extended; it should also make a considerable angle with the femur or thigh, and form a direct line under the hip or haunch. Its length in all animals destined for speed is considerable. 6277, The fore extremities or legs* In treating of the mechanical properties of the skeleton, we shall have to point out the essential difiFerences between the geometrical structure and functions of the fore and hinder extremities. We shall here content our- selves with a simple examination of the individual parts. 6278. The arrn qfthe horse {b) is apt to be overlooked, nor, without some consideration, does it strike the observer, that the arm covered with muscles, and enveloped within the common skin of the chest, extends from the elbow (a) to the point of the shoulder, as it is termed, but correctly to its own point below and before the shoulder blade. (^. 830.) The same reasons which render a muscular, oblique, and deep shoulder advantageous, also make it desirable that this part should be muscular and extensive in length and breadth, and that its obliquity should be proportionate to that of the shoulder : whence it results, that the more acute the angle between them, the greater will be the extent of the motigraphical State and Circumstances. Climate. Warm in western pans, bleak on South Down hills ; westerly gales violent, unroof stacks, hedges injured by the spray of the sea. Soil. Chalk nearly the universal soil of the South Down hills; clay of the wealds, which constitutes more than half the sur&ce of the county. Kich land about Chichester, and sand and gravel in a few places. Surjiue hilly, most so where the soil is chalk. No high hills. MJneraU. Sussex or Petworth marble used by the statuaries, but not generally. Limestone, Ironstone, sandstone, chalk, marl, and fuller's earth. 2. State qf Property. Largest estate 7500/. a year. Most proprietors hold ]and in tbor own occupation, and pay great attention to its cul- 4 3. Buildings. Noblemen's seats splendid, of stone; farm-buildings gene- rally of stone ; on the South Downs built of flints : houses very generally faced with tiles, which keeps the walls dry. Com generally stacked on circular stone piers, which prevents- vermin. Sheep-yards, or permanent folds walled round, and furnished with sheds and hay-racks, have been built by Ellman and some other eminent sheep farmers on the Downs. Large wooden barns. Cottages of stone, and on the Downs of flints, and more comfortable than in manyparts of England. Mag- nificent semicircular piggery, execteu In £. of Egremont, at Petworth. 4. Mode of Occupation. The most extensive fhims on dry solid. Average of the C 4 1128 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. wealdi 100 acvn. Slse on the Downs IV30 to 2000 acta. Tithe taken In kind in manjr places^ m others compounded for. PooT^ rates high. 5. Implements. Ploaeh with two wheels, larce and slngulaclj clumajr. The Kotherham plough introduced, and deemed a real Improve- ment. Several excellent new implements introduced by the noblemen already mentioned. 6. Enclosing. County encloaed from earliest antiqui^ ; fields small ; hedges very irregular and broad. White thorn fences at Good- wood, by the Duke of Richmond, trained In a masterly man- ner; beinglike walls, orratherhoggedmanesof verdure rising from the earth. 7. Arable land. Tillage bad, three or four horses to a plough with a holder and driver ; plough from one half to three quarters of an acre a day ; fkllowinf; general on the stilf soils, llotation bad, barley often follows wheat. Wheat trod in on the sandy lands ; threshed by flail, and generally cleaned with a shovel and broom ; one or two threshing and winnowing machines. Oats a great deal cultivated on the wealds. Peas much cultivated on the South Downs. Hops much cultivated on the eastern part of ttie county ; but not found profitable. Rhubarb, and the poppy for opium cultivated by E. of Epremont. The roots of the rhubarb, after growing seven or eight years, are taken up, washed, dried In the sun, and then cut in slices and dried on the hot-house flues. (6176.) Incisions are made in the poppy heads, and the exuded juice, when dry, scraped off into an earthen vessel, dried In the sun, and preserved for use. Inci- sions are made as long as milk flows. Andr^, the domestic surgeon, uses the home-grown rhubarb and opium, and no other. Saintfoin does well on the chalkv soils, and lucerne near Bastboume and Brighton. Lord bgremont tried 100 acres of chiccory, and foui^ it support much stocks though on a poor soil. 8. Grass Land. Badly managed ; overrun with rubbish. One person tried hay oiled when stacking ; he oiled every layer, with a watering pan and rose, lightly with linseed oil j the nay came out moist and clammy; and it is said that beasts, and sheep were fond of it, but it was deemed too hot for horses. Salt sprinkled on hay when a little damaged found a great advantage ; it is done in stacking. 9. Orchards. Some considerable orchards, and cider made. One or two fig orchards at Tarring, near Worthing. (See Encyc. qf Gard. Sussex.) 10. Woods and Plantations, 175,000 acres. County celebrated from the remotest antiquity for the growth of its timber, especially oak. County at the conquest one continued forest, which extended from Hampshire to Kent. Underwoods cut at twelve years, for hoops and hop-poles. Ash the most profitable underwood. Fintst oak timber at Petworth. 11. Wastes. Of considerable extent to the north of the county. Some hundreds of acres improved by E> of Egiemont answer well. 12. ImproveTnents. E. of Egrcmont sent for Elkington to find water to fill a lake. E. undertook to do so ; but all his trials and predictions of the effect of certain borings and open cuts, which he caused 7780. KENT {Cant or Angle) forms the south-east comer of the kingdom, and extends over 900,600 acres. It is diversified by chalky eminences in some places, low marshy grounds on the Thames and part of the sea-coast, and an inland, flat, and woody tract bordering on Sussex, called the Weald, or wood (Saxon). It is one of the oldest cultivated counties in England j it was noted even by Julius Cssar, as •* the civilest place of all this isle, and full of riches." Viewed from the great road from Dover to London, it has, with the exception of the Downs near Dover, a more garden-like appearance than any county in Britain. Its agriculture is various ; and it is celebrated for the culture of hops, fruits, barley, and various garden crops. {Boy^s Kent, 1796. Marshal's Review, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1819. Edin. Gaz., to be made, proved abortive and fiilsc : no water was found. Failed In thive remarkable instanceaat petworth, but drained a meadow very well. Lord Egremont considers him at not a scientific drainer, but a very good common drainer, and nothing more. 13. Livestock. Cattle and sheep among the best in the kingdom; total amount of sheep kept is about 460,000; cattle red; little dairying; generally breeding and fbedinf. Oxen worked ex- tenfflvely by E. of Egremont and Lord Sheffield ; broken to the yoke at two years and a half; yokes five feet long used and preferred bv Lord Egremont. Lotd Sheffield hatnesiea the same as for horses ; twelve oxen and nine horses required to work 200 acres in tillage. For hoven cattle one quart of Unseed oil given, which vomits them direcUy, and never fails in giving relief. South Down sheep celebrated. Ellman tlie first breeder both of cows and sheep; brei:dB from the same race. New Leicester and Spanish breeds Introduced to the county by I.ord Sheffield. Rabbits abound and flourish every where, and are the nuisance of the county. Fowls fattened to great perfection at North Chappel and Idnsford; food, oats ground, hog's grease, sugar, pot liquor, and milk, all mixed; or oats, treacle, and suet ; tuf.o, sheep's plucks ; tbey are ke|it very warm, and crammed morning and night; put into the coop two or three days before they begin to cram them, which is done fbr a formight, when they weigh 7 or S lbs. each, and are sold to the higgfers ; average weight 5 lbs., but some weigh double. One of Lord Egremont's tenants crams 200 fbwls a year; many capons fed in this maimer; great art requisite in castrating them, and numbers die in me operation. The Dorking or Darking fowls ettenslv^ raised in the wealds of Sussex ; Horsham principal market forthem. The Jhh-pontlM on the weald are Innumerable : carp the chief stock; but tench, perch, eels, and pike, arer^sed. A stream should always flow through the pond, and a marly soil is best. Carp fed with peas in marl-pits have weighed 25 lbs. per brace. Carp kept five years before selling ; then twelve to fifteen inches long; 100 stores, or one-year-old carp will stock an acre. At one year old, carp is three inches long ; at two years old, seven ; at three, eleven or twelve inches ; at four, ibuiteen or fifteen ; and then ihey breed. Lord Egre. mont has breeding and feeding ponds ; fi^es them eveiy three years. 14. Rural Economy . Labour high, as smu^llng attracts away many young men. 15 Political Economy. Roads bad on the clayey distrlctSigood on the chalky. Rother river rendered navigable at Lord Egremont's expense. Fain numerous. Manufactures of iron, charcoal, gunpowder, paper, bricks, and potash. Large court of poor-houses at Eastbourne, of which a plan and elevation is given in the " Report." la 1772, a society was established at Lewes for the encourage- ment of agnculture, manufocture, and industry, by John Baker Hobroyd, Esq., now Lord Sheffield, and premiums offered ; but, on the breaking out of the war in 1778, it was dropped. In 1797 Lord Egremont established a society at Lewes, and gave large premiums. This society still exists. The patriotic and charitable exertions of E. of Egremont are most exten. sive. He gives away to proper objects immense quantities of clothes ; food twice a week ; feasts all the labouring classes at Chiistmas ; and keeps a surgeon, apothecary's shop, and mid- wife, entirely for their service : they are also inoculated, and instructed gratis. &c. ?■) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate. Subject to cold winds; the prevailing are the N. E. and S.W. ; former in winter, attended by severe frosts, twelve inches of ice, and the destruction of turnips. Milder in S.W. part of the county. In Sheppy and Thanet an early harvest, commences July 20. on the mils 1st August. SvU. That of Thanet rich on rock chalk ; of East Kent very various; chalk, loam, strong loam, hazel mould, stift' clay, flint, gravel, sand. Isle of Sheppv strong stiff clay ; West Itent very various, but chalk and loam on chalk rock prevails; Weald chieflv clay, but mould, sand, and gravel in a few places. Bomney ^arsh sediment en the sea ; a soft loam and clay. Surface. Gently varied hills of chalk ; Downs not so high as those of Sussex. Minerals. Numerous chalybeate springs, at Tunbridge Wells the chief. 2. State of Property. Much divided; number of yeomanry on the increase; 9000 freeholds, and a good deal of church and college lands; socage and gavelkind tenures prevalent. 3. Buildings. Twenty or thirty noblemen's seats, and many seats of gen- tlemen and citizens, merchants, bankers, Sec; few modem- built farra-houses ; old ones of oak or chestnut, and ill con- trived; thatched; now improving considerably. Cottages are in general comfortable, built with bricks and tiles. i Mode of Occupation. Size of ferms greatest on poor lands ; many farms from ten to fourteen acres each, few exceed 200 acres, some 600 to 1500 acres. Tithes in many parts collected in kind. Leases for fourteen years most common. Many church leases on three iives, some on twenty-one years, renewable. 5. Implements. Kentish tumwrest plough almost the only one known In the county, drawn by four horses in heavy, and three in light, soils. Com i^es in use after mown com. Stul)ble rakes to drag stubble together ; first threshing-machine erected at Beish- Euiger by the reporter. 6. Enclosing. Nocommon-field lands butseveral commons; fencesoldand broad, belts of copse more frequent than thorn hedgn. Water fences eight to fourteen feet wide, and from three to five feet deep in the marsh lands ; pos-t and rail fences prevalent In Romney Margh. Neither fences, drains, nor water fiirrowa wanted in Thanet, where com is grown, and often, for years in succession, without manure. 7. Arable Lands. Plough for all crops firom five to seven inches deep. Fallows always made on poor lands. Rotations good. Peas of various kinds for podding are sown from the middle of Febmary to the end of March. Leadman's dwarf and the early grey thought the most prolific. Canary seed and radish seed much cultivated in Thanet and East Kent for the London seedsmen. Radish seed sown in March, and crop seldom fit to reap before October, and is sometimes out on the fields at Christmas without receiv- ing any injury from wet weather ; requires much rain to rot the pods that it may thresh ; will produce frmne^ht to tweuQ- four bushels per acre. Spinach sown in March in Thanet; when in blossom the male plants (it being a dioecious plant) are pulled and given to pigs with advantage. Crop threshed on the field ; produce, two to five quarters per acre. Kidney- beans much cultivated at Sandwich and m Thanet for the London seolsmen ; plant from five to ten gallons per acre be- tween the 8th and 20th of May ; if earlier ui danger of frosts ; pulled up by roots from August to October, tied up in bunches and hung on poles to ripen ; produce, ten to twenty bushels per acre- Cress and white mustsird sown at the rate of two or three gallons per acre in March ; reaped in July and threshed in the field ; produce, eight to twen^ bushels per acre. Weld sown among lieans at the last hoeing in the beginning of July : ten or twelve lbs. of seed per acre ; pulled when in%loom, which happens the second year, in July, and tied in single handfiils to dry ; when dry bound in bundles, weighing thir^ lbs. .- sixty of these a load ; produce, from one halrto one and a half losu per acre. Sometimes remains in stooks or bams for several years for want of a market; at other times 2 U. per load ; gene- rally bought bv speculating merchants, who supply the dvers with it as oppor'iinitv oBezs. Madder finmer^ much cuiti- Book I. AGRICULTURE OF ESSEX. 1129 Tated in the eastern part of the ooun^j now given up ; lint cultivated on a large scale near Feversham. & Grass. Hay chiefly produced in the marshes and the wenld ; pas- tures for dauying on every farm ; but no dairy forms of any extent in the county ; lands hi Kent seldom changed from ^ass to arable, or the contrary. Hay-making badly conducted in most parts of the county, owing to the scarcity of hands. In Thanet and East Kent lean sheep and cattle brought in and put on the maishes and meadows till fit for the butcher. y. Gai'dens and Orchards. Near all the great towns a considerable portion of land de- voted to thecultivationofvegetables; at Deptfolnl and Graves- end are whole fields of asparwus, Qnions, cauliflowers, &c. ; at Maidstone, many fields of m>m one to ten acres of fruit trees; apples, cherries, and fill)erts, raised among hops, Uie culture of which causes the former to grow widi great hixn- riance ; common practice to plant 800 nop hills, ^00 filberts, and forty apple and cberr; trees per acre ; the hops stand twelve J ears, filberts thirty, and the apples and cherries an unknown ength of time. Sometimes apples and clierries in alternate TOWS with two rows of filtterts between ; filberts also raised among hops without any other trees ; trees planted in holes two feet square, and two spits deep ; pieces of rock taken out ; trees Gtalkra and their stems hiu^ed over with lime and night soil, which is said to make them grow exceedingly. The golden nrainet apple and black heartcherries, when a few yeais planted, ftuind to gum and die ; yet many old trees in full vigour : cher- ried do best with land laid down to grass; filberts answer on few soils; best cider maker Stone of Maidstone, mixes all sorts of apples ; golden pippin makes good cider alone ; no occasion to watch the fermentation o£ cider in order to rack it off at any particular time, as alleged in Herofbrdsbire ; eating apples sent to London by the boys, and to the north of England by the coal vessels. Txuit orchards considered the most valuable estates. I^the on fruit2«. per pound on sales. Cherries require a deep soil, and bear well fbr thirty years ; filtierts a stony, aliatteiy, sandy loam, rather inferior; they will notiiear in rich soil ; piiocipal hop grounds about Canterbury and Maid- stone, on deep neb loam with a subsoil of loamy brick earth ; produce two to fiiurteen or fifteen cwt. per acre; average seven cwt. 10. Woods and PtoTitations. Principal produce hop poles, ftiel,*hnsbandry wood, and some little for the dock yards ; &w artificial plantations. 11. Improve-ments. Open drains made between flat ridges by deepening the fiir- rows; turf and brushwood drains in use; chalk will answer when ttelow the reach of &ost; sea beach and refuse brides also used. Several windmills which drive pumps to drain the water from marsh lands. Some liogs dralne Thistles in grass lands' mown while in bloom never come up ngain. Some land in Thnnet recently embanked from the sea ; bank thirty-six feet at base, nine feet high, and three feet wide at top; base of outude angle twenty-two, of inner eleven feet. Borders of the Med way below Rochester ofter great scope for embanking, and perhaps warping. ly. Live Stock. Nether a dairying nor grazing county : little attention paid to the breed of cattle* Romney Marsh breed of sheep remark- able for fatting early. Fine teams of heavy horses kept at a great expense. Afewrabbitwarrens; the rabbits within these niw years affected with the rot. Formerly many pigeons, now few; few poultry but for home consumption; fewheet. 13. Rural Economy. labour generally done by job ; servants, scarce, dear, and saucy. 14l Political Economff. Roads generally good, formed of chalk and flinte; or lime- stone ana gravel ; roads in the weald very bad for want of ma- terials. As clay is there abundant, if duty taken off* bricks they might be burned on the spot and the roads paved; 340,000 will pave a road one mile long and idne feet wide. No canals, but one near (Jravesend ; f^rs and weekly markets very nu- merous. Agricultural commerce of county cxmsistB chiefly in exporting com to London markets. Manufactures trifling. At Down and Maidstone paper mills : at the Isle of Grain salt works; in the Weald ironworks; andatWhitstableandDept- fbrd ci^per works. Gunpowder made at Deptford and Fever- sham ; calicoes printtd, and linens whitened, at Crayford* Poor well taken care of; earn from forty to sixty pounds per annum, by hop picking and other rural employments for tnor wives and chifdren> 15. Miscellaneous Observations. Kent Agricultural Society, established at Canterbuir in 1793, 1^ Sir E. Knatchbuli and F. Honeyman, Esq. Some potatoes dried on an oat kiln were found to letain (neir pro* Iterties during long voyages, as attested by letters from the vic- tualling office. 7781. ESSEX, 942,720 square acres, the greater part marshy grass lands near the Thames, and the rest arable lands of a mixed culture, chiefly of corn and herbage. It is an old cultivated coimty ; contains many small gardens and seed-farms near the towns, and is one of the few districts in the south-east of England where the plough is drawn by only two horses. {Young^s Survet/, 1810. Marshal's Review, 18I& Smith's Geological Map, 1820. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climaie mild ; north and east Che i>revailing winds, which bring blights to p ants, and cold and hoarseness to animals; ague genial botli in ^e high and low lands. SfftT almost every whert a loam, and more generally heavy than light. Generally well adapted for grass or com. Surface beautifiil abont Havering (Have a ringj from Rom- ford to Lord St. Vincent's and Lord Petre's, both fine seat» on the Stour ; also very fine firoin Sharburv to Harwich. Water abundant, in rivers, creeks, and springs. 2. Stttle of Property. Estates vary much in size Scorn 51. to 20,000^ a year : in no 980 county a greater population of small and moderate-sized farms ocmipied Dy their owners. Managers of large estates sometimes attorneys, capital tar- yHi e=i mere, or private gentle- 1 I men. Farmers of all j^ "^^ sorts ; land held by far- -/ ^^^ mers on short leases, ^/^ ^\,^^ often at wUI,sometimes on right, ten, or twen> ^-one years' leases, bome of the seed or garden farms neatly laid out (^.980.). 3. Buildings. Wanslead one of the largest houses in the kingdom ; in 1823 pulled down. Audly- endwell known. Misty Hall a most striking place. Gosstield and Thomdon, the latter finely wooded bv the scientific Lord Fetre. Manyothers: liutsome districts of the county with very few seats. Farm houses good,oat- buildings numerous and convenient ; ex- pensive rick covers and boms. Cottages not ^ Man very good ; some built on a better plai Duke of Buckingham, with a garden < acre to each. Joseiih FSrunch, at hast Hoi better plan f./!g. 981.) 1^ the a garden of one fourth of on acre to each, jo^ih FSrunch, at East Horndon, finding labour dear, and servants difficult to be got, took the plan ta fixing them by building tliem cottages and attaching gardens. 4. Occupation. Some of the largest farms in the kingdom; so early as 1767 Arthur Young found some at 1500/. and 200/. a year. Lord Braybrook farms 1100 acres. Lord Pttre 14GS. Many f innen men of information, ingenuity, and exertion. Tithes average 4«. 9i(. to &t. pL-r acre when compounded for. Many farms held on running leases, terminable or renewable every seven years. The refusal of leases increasing. 5. Implements. Essex plough, a large unwieldy implement, with two wheels. A great variety of swing ploughs, alt bad compared with the Rotheram kind or Northumberland plough. An iron road cleaning plough by Western ; a concave ^Uer and sciaper attach^, delineated in the rejxirt, but no reason given fbr the shape. Many cultivators, scufflers i.fig. 982.), &c. delineated, and a donkey hoe. Some of Pasmore of Doncaster's threshing-mills, and winnowing machines, in use. The Scotch cart, plough, and other improved implements introduced by Western. Flemish scythe dried, hut found not to answer ; did not understand its use. Pau tison of Maldon has made an inge- nious improvement of the common he has made the bottom a wire sieve for sifting the motion of sowing, and attachea ' "^ ■ "' An ant-hill machine. 982 sowing basket ; . out the seeds of weeds ii a cloth bag bemeath for catching them. Good specunens there of amateur improvements on implements. 6. Enclosing. Essex for ages an enclosed county ; still some waste to en- close. Hedges broad and mixed plants, and with pollard trees. 7. Arable Lands. Cultivated better than nine in ten of the other counties : plough with two horses or three horses abreast without a dri- ver ; fallows universal ; rotations good ; potatoes cultivated to a great extent for the London market. Carrots in various places planted for seed three feet apart ; produce five or six cwt. per acre, sometimes ten or twelve ; rye-grass disliked generally ; wire-worm eom^ after it, and is sure to destroy wheat. Rape, ribwort for seed; bops in a few parishes. Saintfoin suc- ceeds well on poor calcareous soils; some lucerne. Wire- worm often injurious to youngwheat, after clover leys ; rolling and treading lessens its eff^ts; on strom; soils slug£ venr troublesome. Famed for the excellence of its wheat, which alwa^ obtains a high price in the London market. 8. Grass Lands. Extensive marges and salt-ings (or salt-islets). 9. Gardens and Orchards. Some cherry orchards at Bumham ; many cottages without nso STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. 10. Woods and Pltmiatiora. Fifty thousand actCA, chiefly natural and ornamental Kcncry. Some fine old dnu at Gossford. At Saint OsyTh the three original Lombardy poplars which Lord Rochford brouKht from Italy about 1758, ana from which the greater part oTthosc in the kinedom have been raised ; tliey arc seventy fbet high and icven feel three inches In circumrercnce, five feet from the ground ; a Portugal laurel mote than lifty-two yards in circum- terence, and a very large ^'rbutus. The larf^est abele trees in England at Bellhousc, Aveleyj large elms; Lord Petrc has ■old thirteen oaks for ROO/. at 13/. a load including top and bark. Oaks at HaUield worth 100 guineas each, Hatfield broad oak celebrated, but now in ruins. An onk at Wimbish increased in girth four and a half inches in thirteen years ; a larchj two teet nine inches in the same time ; the larch, how* ever, was younger. 11. Wastes. Fifteen thousand acres; said that In James the FirBt's time almost the whole county was waste. 12. Improvements. A good deal of draining ; a machine in use like the Flemish moultlebaert {Jig. 59.) for lowering the mirf^ce of ploughed lauds at those places where they intend making cioss-furrows to carry off the water from the regular furrows. The drain- ing wheel (3978.) in use, inventor not mentioned. Chalk much used as a manure. 13. Live Stock. JSssex never famous for this branch. The largest dairy farms at or near Epping, famous for its butter and cream ; no particular sort of cowa kept ; Derby and Leicestershire breeds preferred, but any taken ; fed on natural and artificial grasses in summer, and hay and grains in winter : dairies built on the north sides of tlie farm-housi3s ; milk kept in troughs lined with lead, which hold nine to ten gallons of milk, five to six inches in depth. This in winter Is skimmed four, and in summer two or three times, and the cream, after being kept three or four days, churned ; milk given to hogs. A few coWs kept for milk ; in other places for suckling calves, and feeding on the marshes. Western has the finest swine in the county; feeds them in what he calls a hog case ; a cage which effectually prevents the animal from taking exercise. A hog half fat put into a case gains fifteen pounds a week, if well fed with barley meal and water. A miller, near Mdldon, lias made a treble case on wheeisj to keep moving about on grass land^ for its impiovement. A portable bridge, carried on a pair of wheels, for passing sheep over marsh mtches, in use by Wakefield of Bontnhama {Jig* 983.) A decoy for ducks and other aquatic birds In Mersea island, the largest tn the county. Evenr i»er. son that approaches a decqy takes a piece of lighted turf stuck 983 on a table finrk in his hand, to prevent the ducks from smelling man. Without this caution they will quit the pond. A deco; at Goldhanger, at which one waggon load and two cart loads of dun birds were taken at oue hauiof the nets ; but the disturb- ance so frightened such as escaped, that no more were taken that season. Seven fish ponds at Spaines Mill for carp, tench, and eels, A chain of ponds at Leigh's Priory, belonging to Guy's Hospital, near a mile In length, and occupying about thirty acres, once completely sluiceu and carefully cumvated^ now dry and neglected. l-k Rural Economy. Labour done generally by the piece. 15. Political Economy. Boads mostly good ; few canals ; vaiious fiirs ; and some cattle markets. In the creeks of Crouch, Blackwatcr, and other rivers and estuaries, considerable quantities of oysters are deposited for breeding. The produce is afterwards dredged and deposited at Wivenhoe and other places for feedhig. What are called Colchester oysters are fed there, and sent to Hamburgh, Flanders, and France, in time of peace, as well as to London. Uystcrs are also dredged on the Hampshire coastj and fed in the Coin, or Colchester beds. No distmct account of the oyster economy, however, is given in the report. There are salt-water ponds for various sorts of sea fish in Foulness island; the fish are caught in weirs on the extensive sandy coasts, and deposited, when plentiful, in these ponds, whence they are dragged for with small nets, as wanted. Manufactures of woollen tiave existed from time immemorial in the county; also of sacks, hop bags, calicoes, baize. Ume, bricks. Much baize made at Colchester, Coggeshall, ana other places, for Spain. A sodet^ of ai^iculture at uhelmsfind. la com crops with Cooke's drill practised in various places. Water- cress for the London maiket, cultivated in the streams at Rickmansworth. Sixty acres of fuxze for faggots at Asluridge. 6. Grass. Quantity small, and chiefly a parrow margin near Bamet, 7782. HERTFORDSHIRR A surface of upwards of 400,000 acres, the north part forming a chalky ridge, which extends across the kingdom in this direction j the general features are rich, woody, and the agriculture various, chiefly tillage; the corn produced equal in quality to any in the kingdom. Ellis, a well known agricultural author, farmed in this county. ( Walker^s Report, 179.'>. Arthur Ymtn^s Survey, 107. Marshal's Review, 1818.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate, ayy and healthy. Soil, chiefly loam and clayey loam, next chalk, and a small part bordering on Middlesex gravel ; vales, rich sandy loams, chiefly under pasture, and woods very beautiful. Naturally barren, but rendered Krtile by careful cultivation. 2. Property. Much divided, the coun^ being a favourite one for wealthy persons building villas and other retreats. 7000/. a year the largest estate; great part copyhold, which sells here at six years' purchase less than freehold. 3. Buildings. Hatfield, Cashiobury, Ashridge (partly also in Bucks), Gor- hambury. Brocket, the Hoo, the Grove, Gilstone, Ware Park, &c. noble mansions. Brown's fermyard, at North Mims, one of the best in the county. Immense bams at North Mims and Bedfordbury. Gutters to the eaves of farm buildings at Alkenham ; wide fattening stalls, with conveniences for giving hay, water, and oil-cake. Cottages seldom with land attached. A moveable sheep-house at Hillhouse, a cumbrous expensive affair, of which plans, sections. Sec. axe given in the report. 4^ Occupation. Farms small, largest 500 acres ; many of the very small farmers who rent 30/. a year worse off than day labourers. Sir John Sebright, of Beachwood, a scientific breeder, farms 700 acres, 500 of which are in arable and well cultivated. The Earl of Bridgewater, at Ashridge, farms 500 acres, besides the park of 1080 acres. The Marchioness of Salisbury farms iOO acres, besides the park of 1050 acres, and has made many cu- rious experiments ; a prejudice against leases. 5. Implements. Plough large and unwieldy, with two large wheels, the same as figured in old farmmg hooks 150 years ago. One or two threshing machines (£ MeMe's kind. (Jig. 984.) 6. Enclosures. Various, but still some commons and open fields ; old f^ccs of mixed species; new ones of thorn; planting well under- stood, but the cut with the bill made in a direction downwards instead of upwards, as in Berwickshire, by which the stem tturows out a brush of small twigs at the wound, instead of a Cew strong healthy shoots. 7. Arable Land. By far the greater part of the coun^ In tillage ; crops chiefly wheat, barley, and oats ; turnips and clover supposed to have been introduced in the time of Oliver Cromwell; depth of plou|^iing generally four or fire inches. Gr^, who has written a tract on managing clay lands without naked fallows, ploughs as deep as the staple will admit. Rotations various, generally with a naked fallow, once in three, five, or seven years, or oflener. Combuig or ribbing in use in some places instead of drilling. Turnips cultivated broad-cast, and very poor crops produced ; the introduction of turnips in this county attributed to Cromwell, who is said to have settled 100/. a year on the farmer who first grew tliem. Cabbagesgrown to a large size by the Marchioness of Salisbury, for cows ; large led sort in-eftrrcd. Carrots, parsneps, beets, &c. cultivated by the Manhioness on her experimental farm. Good saiutfoin on tlie chalks. Drilling 9. Orchards. Apples and cherries abound in the S.W. comer of the county on farms of from twenty lo fifty acres. In ten years after planting, cherry trees begin to bear; produce till the twentieth year, six dozen pounds; when full grown, fifty dozen pounds; price, ten-pence to three shillings a dozen. Caxoon, and small black, the favourite sorts. Kentish will not thrive here. None of the apples for cider: orchards kept in grass, but not mowed. 10. Woods. The copse kind abound in the northern and in many parts oi the county ; produce faggot wood and hurdles ; cut at twelve years; black willow, ash, and hazel, best for hurdles ; alders bought by turners and patten-makers. Fine woods, natural ^nd artificial, at the Earl of Clarendon's, the Grove, near Watford. A superb oak at Panshanger, Earl Cowper's ; seven- teen feet round at five feet from the ground ; caUed the great oak in 1709 : on a soil gravelly above, but, doubtless, clay be- .: ??^ timber in Moor Park of great antiqui^, and in a state of decay ; many immense pollards; and, on the whole- one of the most forest-like parks near London. Vast oaks ann beeches at Ashridge and Beechwood. Beech excels there; aljto cedars and Uic oak, asb, larch, spruce, and common pine excel- lent, lieech sold to turners, chair-makersj and for barrel staves. Book I. AGRICULTURE OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 1131 11. Improvements. UnderdralnjnR clay by numerous parallel cuts filled with ttrawj wood, or stones eeneral: manuring well understood; much brought from London of every sort ; bones, sout, sheep trotters, nieht soil, oil-cake dust, ra^^s, leather clippings, fur- riers' clippings, hom-shavinss, malt-(fust, hair, stick lelwcks, &(.'. Top dnssin^ more frequent than in any oiher county. Chalk a very common manure on clayey soils : laid on un- bumed, and left on the surface to be pulverised by heat and rains, or frosts and thaws ; then harrowed with a bush harrow, to spread it, and ploughed in. Some irripattd meadows at Kickmansworth and otiier places ; but the frequency of mills is acainst the process. 12. Livestock, AH the spare clover, hay, and straw carried to London, and manure brought out in return. Sir J. Sebright prefers Suf- folk cows and horses, and uses the Wiltshire bhecp. A pood many house lambs suckled about Kickmansworth, fed with grains and malt-dust in winter. Folding sheep generally ap- proved of. Soiling witli clover and tares common. Grey worts SuHblk oxen in harness, fbur to a team. Hon. ti. Villieis prefers the Glamorganshire oxen for work ; and thinks stall-fed oxen can hardly be kppt too warm ; prefers oil-cake for finish- ing to every thfnf> else ; Lady Salisbury has the wild breed of pigs, which fbtten to forty-eight stone i feeds on lettuces, which is found to answer well. Stevenson, the b:iilitFf bred a gar- dener, which renders him a superior cultivator ot green crops. Lord Clarendon feeds deer (7373.) end sells thera. Poultry at the Grove kept in wheeled coops about twelve feet long and two and a half wide, boarded on one side and open on the other ; these are wheeled Up and down the park, and a boy at- tends them to kee]) away hawks. In the poultrv-yard distinct houses tor all sorts of fowls ; the roosts bo contrived tlmt they may not dimg on one anotiier. 13. Bural Economy. Ploughmen generally hired by the year. 14. Political Economy. Good roads ; few manuihctures excepting plaiting straw; which is vei? general in the county, especially about Dun- stable, St. Albans, Redbum, &c. Weak wheat straw from chalky and white land, and such as grows under trees or near hedges preferred. The plaiters give from two-pence to four- pence a pound for at, ana sort it themselves. Much malt made about Ware and Hertford for the London market. 7783. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 478,720 square acres of hilly surface, and chiefly of clayey or loamy soil ; a considerable part chalky, and the agriculture nearly equally divided between tillage and grass. {Survey by St. John Priest, Secretary to the Norfolk Agricultural Society, 1810. Malcolm's Survey, 1794w Marshal's BevieWj 181& Smith's Geological Map, 1820. EdiTi. Gax. 1827.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate, cold and windy on the Chiltem Hills. Soil, chiefly clay and chalk, with some gravelly loam ; Chiltems wholly chalk ; vales generally clay. Minerala. Some ochre, nsea in painting; a quarry of good marble at Newport, but too deep to be profitably worked; a freestone quarry near Olney. Water. Numerous rivers and canals for sending produce to market; but often filled with weeos, bushes, and other ob- structions, which, after heavy rains, occasion irequent floods: a " commissian u' waters " propisea by the reporter as a re- medy. 2. Property. Some large estates, as those of the Duk^ of Bedford, Buck- ingham, &c. : tenures very various : a description of lands hne called ;fard lands {virgaia terns), which entitle the holders to certain rights of common. 3. Suildings. Stowe, and Ashridge (the latter partly in Herts), the first of Grecian, the other of Gothic architecture, tiie two noblest mansions in the cotm^. Tyringham, Wycomhe Abbey^ ike. also very good houses, and many others: some good farm- houses, and the dairies very clean and neat ; churning often performed by faoise nmchlnery ; the chums of the barrel kind. Lord Carrington has built some goi.d fa meries, and the Duke of Buckingham some very complete cow-houses. Drake has a good circular pigeon-house, with brick cells or lockers in rows, with shelves before fox the pigeons to hght upon ; fre- Suently white-washed, to keep them free fiwn bugs. A foot- ridge at Fawley Court, moveable Upon two pivots at its ends, and oeing heavier on one side than the othor, always hangs perpendicularly, excepting when any one walks upon its ll(;ht side, when ihe weight of the person keeps it flat: hence it admits the passage of men, but not stock : cottages good, and mostly with j^ardens attached : some at Brickhill worse tlian piggeries. Sir J. D. King gives premiums for the liest culti- vated gardens ; also gives clothing and other rewards for good conduct in servitude. 4. Occupation. Size of farms moderate: number in the county 2039; one of 1000 acres, one of 900, four or five between COO and 700 acres, ten between 500 and GOO, twenty -four between 400 and 500, and tlie rest from 400 down to ten acres ; average, 179 acres. Westcar, of Kreslow, a celebrated grazier, occupies 900 acres, of which only between sixty and seventy are arable. Very few leases, and those given with very objectionable cove- nants. Lord Carrington and otlier more enlightened pro- prietors grant leases. 5. Implements. Swing ploughs and four horses in a line common. 6. Enclosing. Has gone on rapidly ; old hedges mixed, and with many a^b and oak pollards. 7. Arable Land. Ridges high, crooked, with waste spaces between, aronnd, or at the ends (Jig. 9H5]. Fallow in general every third year. mort common rotation fellow, wheat, beans: chief grains, wheat and barley ; beans drilled and hand-hoed : some turnips on the light lands. 8. Grass. Pastures a prominent future ; those in the vale of Aylesbury, especially thence to Bicester, very rich ; generally fed, but oc- casionally mown. Removing ant-hills called hanking, a piece of management to which the renters of grass lands are gene- rally bound in their leases. ' They are removed by skinning, gelmng, or gutting, and kept down by rolling; thistles are spudded ; size of grass fields from 20 to 300 acres. 9. Gardens and Orchards. Few of either worth notice : cherries are grown at Hackwell Heath, fer the London and Aylesbury market. 10. Woods and Plantations. Willow pollards planted round the margin? of fields, on soils snitable for hurdle wood. Birch, the most common timber, very abundant; chiefly used for manufacturhig chairs: woods con- stantly fell of young plants from the mast, which grow up and succeed thtse which are felled ; thus the same timber on the same soil and surface for ages. At Shardeloes, a beech seventy- five f^ from the ground, to the first bough : oak and beech trees in Ashridge Park, containing from three to six loads of tiiuber t vfxy fine beeclics at Misiendeu ; mast given to pigs. 11. Improvements. Draining much wanted ; well performed on some bogs on the Duke of Buckingham's estates hy digging a well and boring in the bottom till the spring was tapped, and then leading it off in an underdrain ; paring and burning in general use for bringing grass land to tillage: chalk much used as a manure, sixty or seven^ loads per acre, once in twenty-one years, or forty once in twelve years ; allowed to lie on the surface fbr one winter at least before lieing ploughed in. Only one instance of irrigation worth notice, which is at Cheynies, by a tenant of the Duke of Bedford. 10. Live stock. Cattle kept chiefly fcr beef and butter, seldom for cheese or work ; Hereford oxen preferred, and next the Devon ; Holder- ncss cows for the dairy j some prefer the long homed Lan- caster, and others the Suffolk ; many of the Holdemess cows, after being kept a few years, are sold to the London cow- keepers; men are generally the milkers; only one instance found of women pemrming that operation. Karl of Bridge- water keeps eight teams of Welsh, one of Sussex, imd one of Durham oxen, all yoked as horses; tive used in the cart, and font m a plough ; a few other gentlemen have ox teams ; cattle generally fed off in summer ; cows kept during winter fed on straw, hay, and oil-cajce ; little lierbage or io«ts in use ; milh 1133 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Paiit IV. ^cnilly kept in flat Tcsaelt oF Icodi some wooden tnyB» tinned. In use; skimmed every twclTe hours ; In Bome few § laces three times a day ; cream from first two sIdmmlngH kept ; itself; the third skimmine makes what la called afUac- buttes ; BkimmlnB dish. If tin, cwcular, a foot In diameter, w ith holes fn it, and b nandle upon the top of it ; butter made twice a week, In chums of the barrel kind, usually turned by a horse ; time allowed for the butter to come, an hour and a half; butter made up in lumps of two pounds each, and sent to Ixmdon in square flat baskets, eleven inches deep, holdinR from thirty-Hix to IW pounds. They have each on three of their sides ttiree marks, the number of pounds the basket holds; a letter, denotiDR the farmer's name from whom it is received, and the name and residence of the carrier. The ba-skets and butter cloths are the property of the carrier ; all that the farmer has to do is, to carry his butter to the nearest point where the car- rier passes, and to make his agreement with his butter-iactor In London, and receive monthly, or otherwise, the payment. Quantity m butter made, six pounds per cow per week, at an averaRe, when in good keep, and not nearly dry. Calves ge- neraUy sold to suckleni ; a few suckled In the county, and a few broucht up as stock. „ , , . Stteep. Culture directed to the fettenlng of lambs, and the breeds preferred are the Dorset, and next the Gloucester and Berkshire. , ^ , Hortet generally sidled ; nve or six put to a plough in many places, and never leas than tliree. A team of asaes kept by the Duke of Buckhigham fbr the use of his garden ; many used at the pottinies al Amersham. Hae; an Important article on account of the milk from the dnbries ; tnreed the Berkshire, and next, the Chinese and Suffolk. Ducks, a material article at Aylesbury and places adjacent ; breed white, and of an early nature. They are bred and brought up by poor people, and sent to London by the weekly carriers. One poor man had before his door a small pit ot water, about three yards Ions' and one yard broad : at two comers of this pit are places of shelter for the duclcs, thatched with straw ; at night the ducks are taken into a house. In one room belonging to this man (the only room he had to live In) were on the l4th of January, 1808, ducks of three growths, fattening fbr the London market; at one comer, about *7784. BEDFORDSHIRE. An irregular parallelogram of 290,000 acres, not much varied in surface, and for the most part of a clayey soil The agriculture chiefly directed to the raising of wheat, barley, and beans, but of an inferior description in many respects. Little pasturage ; scarcely any market orchartls, but good vegetable gardens established at Sandy^ on the east of the county, from time immemorial Great exertions made in every department of culture by the late and present Duke of Bedford, by whom were employed many valuable men in conducting improvements, as Farey, Smith, Salmon, and Fontey. A valuable set of experiments on grasses, conducted by Sinclair under the direction of the present Duke. iSter of acres taken from Gary's map, by weight 396,013, by measure, 391,040. From wmch, if we take an average, we shall probably state it as accurately as it can be found to be, 393,526 statute acres ; which, for the sake of round nmnbers, we will call 393,600 statute acres. 1. Geographical State and Circu/mstances. Climate, mild, genial, and favourable to the growth of ve- r tables; rather late: than Hertfordshire; prevalent winds W- ; coldest winds N.E. Soil, chiefly clay, next sand, and lastly in the southern ex- tremitf embracing Herts, chalk. Some of the sands grey silts, and producing nothing but heath, others more loamy, as alwut Sandy, which is supposed to contain tiie best garden-ground in die county. Minerals, some Ironstone; limestone abounding with comua animonis and other shells, petrified wood, gryphites belem- nitcB ; fretstone, chiefly lime, at Tattemhoe. Waier. Frincipal river the Ouse ; several mineral springs. 2. State of Property. Duke of B^ord's estates the largest, next Lord St. John'i and Whitbread's : united rental esOmated at 40,000^. a year. Estate managers attorneys and considerable formers* 3. Buildings. Several flirm-houses were fbrmerly the seats of gentlemen who fanned their own esf^tes. Farm-houses in general badly tituated, sddom at the centre of the farms to which thef belong, and generally consist of piecemeal erections. Francis, Duke of Bemord, erected an octagonal farm house, on a most commodious plan. {fig. 986.) On the ground floor it con- tained a large kitchen (a), bake and brewhouse, and wash- I house (A), a hall or master's room, with a cellar under (c), a good parlour {d), a didry (e), besides a pantry (/), closets, and | beer and ale cellar under. On the first floor were five, and on the second (Jfe. 987.) two good bed-rooms. TheexpenseofthU house on the octagonal pl^ was 6712. ; had it been built io th« Book I. AGEICULTURE OF BEDFORDSHIRE. 1133 Siiaie finrm It would have cost 733/. It Is built of brickj lied* and -was desiigned by Mr. R. Salmon, a \tA\ known meithaniat, resident at Wobum. The Bamc accommodatlona on a square plan fiiims a house more convenient for placing furniture (Jiff.QSS.) WatUe and dab>tliat is, clay plastered on hedge-worlE of si'Unters, mr on wood franae-worlE, and also the Pm^ manner of clay-workinc. In use in some places, both fi>r fann-houses and cottages- /W walls found warmer and cheaper than any otherj and^rhen whitewashed said to make gooa cottage walls. 4. Occupation. Many farms of from KK) to 500 acres; average 150 acres; Duke of Bedford's farms generally of the average size. Fann- ers much improved by Uie example of Wobum jiud tlie an- nual meetings. The experiments made by Francis Duke of BedfonI were to ascertain the quantities of hay consumed by working astea; comparison between large and small cattle as to food; comparative value of difl^rent fbods, &c. Tithes mostly In lay hands; forms held generally &om year to year, some on leases of fourteen ox twen^- ooe years. 5. Implements. Plough of the swing kind, with a wooden board and a wedge nailed on as a mould boards one fixed handle* and a loose one called a plough staff ; the whole singularly rude, though in general use throughout the county. Improved forms of all machines introduced by the Duke of Bedford's North- umbrian manager^ Mr. Wiison, and other enlightened men. A good straw cutter winnowing machine, a hay tedder, and also an excellent weighing machine, invented by the late Mr. Salmon, an engineer of ge- nius, resident on the Di^^s estate* and em- ployed by him as an agent. 6. Enclosing. Ftnmerly three fouiHis of the county unenclosed* now chiefly encloaed. 7. Arable Land wretchedly ploughed. Fallows, which occur on the clays generally once in three years, bamy worked. Usual crops ate follow, wheat* beans, or fallow, barley* beans; turnips common on the sands and chalks, sown brood-cast, and hand-hoed. Chiccon was tried by the Duke of Bedford, who found it yield ample produce ; had twelve acres which, in 1797, kept six sheep per acre firom the second week in April till Michaelmas ; four and a half kept ten sheep an acre firom the second we^ in April till 32d July* and then seven per acre to end of October. Sheep thrive well and free from diseases. 8. Grass Land. Of veiy limited extent, and in many places covered with sedge ((^lex), and ant-hills. 9. Gardens and Orchards. Gardens of Sandy and Gixtfbid long celebrated f Cucumber chiefly to London* and sold at ten and twenJy shillings a bushel for pickling. Orch- ards small- Potatoes* gooseberries* and other small fruits grown in cottage gardens- la Woods and Plantations. About 7000 acres, situated on the slopes of hills on cold marly clays. Various new plantations formed by the principal proprietors, espeL-ially the Duke of Bedford. Fur/e grown on some of the sandy lulls, for burning lime. Some fine trees of the ulver fir, and others of tlie genus Plnus at Wobum, planted under the direction of flie celebrated Miller; a fine beech, figured by Fontey in his Fitrut Prumr. 11. Wastes. Four thousand acres of chalky down at Dunstable* not much any where else. 12. Improvements. A good deal drained, especially bogs. Elklneton's modesaid to have been tried with very partial success. Bush and straw- draining attempted on the clayey soils, and the mole plough a good deal used in the furrows. Irrigation introduced by the Duke of Bedford, and various examples are to be found in difTegrent parishes on his Grace's estates- Feat is used as fuel, and also burned for the ashes as a manure ; ample experi- ments made on manures* hy Dr. Cartwr ight, at Wobum ; but no agricultural experiments on a small scale can be dependtid on. The dairy at Wobum (,^. 989.) is a fanciful struc- ture in Ae Chinese style; but the plan and arrangement is not well calcolated for keeping milk and butter cool and sweeC 9S3 13. Livestock. , .,^ Cattle a mixed breed of long and short homed Aldem^, &c. Some dtdiying conducted as in Bucidnghamshire. some sheep, but ofno particular breed; folding Eenerally wartised and approved of ; horses a heavy breed &om HunUngdomhire; rabbit warrens destroyed as much as possible ; geese kept by many from an idea that they preserve the health of the pastur- ing animabi where they feed. Turkeys and pigeons kept brfore the enclosure in various places, but now much on the decline. Bifes kept by a few cottagers and small farmers* 14. aural Economy, Husbandry business generally performed \f3 day labourers ; though on most large farms a horsekteper, cow keeper, shep- herd, and kitchen maid hired by the year. 15. Political Economy. Almost all the cross roads* and many of the main roads* very bad* Grand Junction Canal passes through a part of the county, and is very nsefiil ; fairs and markets various ; manu- fectures chiefly plaiting of straw and lace; children of tenor twelve yeaia or age acquire the art of plaiting, while their mothers sort and bleach the straw. Cace-making a more sedentary employment, and the women and children generally appear sickly. There are school-mistresses for teachiiK both straw plaiUng and lace-making. B^-in to leam to makelace at SIX or seven years of age; dolittit good for two years, at ten years Mirn two shillings a week* at sixteen as much as can be made by the business, or nearly six shillings a week ; work in sum- mer from six o'clock in the morning till sunset, and in winter from nme till eleven at night ; maid servants scarce in conse- queiice, but poor rates keiit down. Some rush mats made near the Ouse to the west of Bedford. BaJford Ha-ae of Indualry.—" The poor in the house are employed m the following manner : A manufacture of coarse baize furnishes employment for all the boys five yea n of age, I and some of the men; the remaining part of the men cultivabo n34 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. ui acre and r half of carden-Rnnind, and weed and keep In OTder twenty-live acre) of sward land attached to tlic house. The old women spin flax to make linen for the use of the nmliy ; the other women (exclusive of those encaged in doincs- ttc concernfi), and Rirls above six years old, make thread lace. One-sixtli of the eaminRs of the poor is paid weekly to those who work, br way of gratuity. The Governor of the Uoiue of IndUEtry adds, that the above employments have answered the most sani^uine expectations of the directors of the estab- lishment." Many uscflil benefit clubs. 16. Obstacles to Improvement. Want of knowledge and leases. Mice generally destroyed by 7785. HUNTINGDONSHIRE. A dull flat surface of above 200,000 acres; till Edward the First's time one continued forest The name of the county is said to be dcrivetl from the facility it afforded for hunting. The soil is almost uniformly good, but injured by water; it is chiefly under tillage, but remarkable for no excellence in agriculture. Rape-seed and mustard are more cultivated than m most other counties, and timber more rare. {Stow's Huntingdonshire^ 1793. Maxwell^ 1793, Par/cmson, 1811. Marshal's Review^ 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1821, Edin. Gax. 182".} profcsslona) ratcatchcn: some ftnuent keep fen«ts for the rata. Larks destroy a grent (leal of new Kown wheat. They, with other birds, ari^ very abundant in Bedfordshire, especially about Duntuble, where thev are caught In traps, In quantities for the London market. \Vlre-worms supjioBed to be increased by artificial erasscs. 17. Miscellaneous. An agricultural society founded by the T}ukc of Bedford in 1801 ; varioas premiums oftereU and pEild, to the extent of 100/. a year in some years. Cheap publications on axrlcul- ture. It is thought^ would be a comkiderable means a Im- provemenL 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate, tolerably healthy, considering that the east part U ^rted by fens, and but a small part supplied by water &om springs. Sou. lioam prevalent, but the coantv every where spotted with roundish patches orciay, sand, marl, fen, moor, or lakes, which, in the map of soils annexed to Parkinson's Keport, as- sumes a very singular appearance. Water chiefly supplied from ponds; Ouse and Nene the only rivers ; the meres are natural ])onds, surrounded by reeds and other aquatic plants, and a considerable zone of marsh or bog, according as the soil may be loam or sand. Whittlesea Mere contains 1670 acres, hut is not above two feet deep. It abounds with fish and wild fowl. 2. State of Property. Old enclosed lands in the hands of a few proprietors ; half the county freehold, the remainder almost all copyhold. S. Buildings. Farm-hcusea very Inconveniently situated^ partly owing to the want of high and dry sites on central parts of farms ; some Kood cottages lately erected as the only means of retaining farm servants for any length of time with the same master. 4. Occupation. Man; large farms, though small ones predominate; leases frequent ; tithe In kind. 5. Implements. Plough, with one handle, orl^nally from Holland; one wheel, a circular plate of Iron which is kept sharp, acts as a coulter. 6. Tillage. Plough, with a pair of horses^ or three abreast ; two crops and a lallow the common rotation; chief crops, wheat, oats, and beans; rape sown on the fens; lands either once ploughed out of grass, or pared and burned; also on uplands; manured uid treated as turnips; seed threshed in the field; straw generally burned, or used for yard fences ; wheat succeeds well after rape ; hemp sown in a few places ; mustard cultivated with great success : sometimes pays 40/. an acre *>n land worth not more than 60/., but very uncertain. Parkinson thinks hemp, flax, rape-seed, and mustard, sliould be encouraged, as they enrich Uie farmer, and are all good preparatives lor wheat. The only way, he says, to enrich the soil, is to enrich the farmer first. 7. Grass. Kome good meadows on the Oase and Nene; the pastures lie remote from the farm buildings, but are in general rich, though neglected; require to be pared and burned, and brought under aratlon. 8. Woods and Plantations. A good many pollard willows in the fens, and some osier plantations. 9. Improvements, Great want of a general county drainage, such as that of the Bedford level, in the adjoining counties of Lincoln, Cambridge, and Northampton. The advantages of such a drainage is ably pointed out by Parkinson. Kmburkments very exteuuve, and the soil being in general a loose porous sand, puddle walls are generally made In the middle of the mound. 10. Livestock. Stilton cheese,now chiefly made at Liitle Dal by, in Leicester- shire; is no longer made at Stilton, though it Is supposed to have been originally made there about 1720'; or, according to some, by a Mrs. Orton, In 1730. A good many horses bred, and a mixture of Ijincoln and Leicester ; folding sheep much practised. No fewer than 271 pigeon,houses in this county, and a few bees ; one gentleman cultivates rabbits. 11. Political Economy. JBad roads; a lace manufactory at Klmholton ; apapermill at St. Neots ; two sacking manufactories at Standground ; an agricultural society at i^nbolton. 7786. CAMBRIDGESHIRR A flat or little varied surface of 437,040 acres, generally of good soil, and having about one third under tillage; remarkable only for the extent of its fen lands, and their embankment and drainage, both very imperfect The valley watered by the Cam is called the Dairies, being almost entirely appropriated. to dairy farms. Horses are a good deal bred in the county, and also pigeons. ( Vancouver's Cambridgeshire ^ 1795. Gooche's Cambridgeshire, 1807. Marshal's Review. 1813. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) 1. Geographical State and Cir.cumstances. Climate. On the uplands dry and h^lthy, but in the fens the contrary ; there the inhabitants suffer most when the fens are driest. Agues have somewhat diminished since the fens began to be better drained. Soils are very Irregularly distributed; loam, clay, and rich blHCk earth extend themselves in irregular m^es, and nearly of the same extent. The soil of the fens, is rich, black and deep, and may occupy a third of the whole surface. The rich marshes in the vicinity of Wisbeach consist of a mixture of sand and clay, or silt, a sea-sand, finely pulverised by the action of the waves; and the uplands consist of chalk, gravel, loam, and tender clay. There are no minerals. Rivera. The Ouse, the Granta or Cam. The Ouse and Nene also cross part of the county, and the old and new Bed- ford rivers. Alt these are navigable for barges, and are kept open in frosty weather by ice-boats, drawn down the stream by eight hordes, four on each side. a Estates. Vary much in size. Those of Lord Hardwicke, Duke of Bedford, Duke of Rutland, Sir H. Peyton, and Thorpe, are the largest ; greatest part of the county in estates of from 200/. to 500/. and 1000/. per annum ; many from 20/. to 50/. and even 4Q0/. a year, occupied by their owners ; tenures of all sorts, and a variety of college-land tenures. 3. Buildings. Farm-houses and premises in general bad and inconvenient ; lath and plaster, or clay and watUe, the common materials, and clunch or clay walls in general use. Jenyns, of Elottisham, hasadopted Arthur Young's plan of building stacks on frames, which run on an Iron railway, and are pulled into the bnm, where they are forked on to the platform of the threshing machine. Cottages *' wretchedly bad," except a few built by Lord Hardwicke, and some other gentlemen. 4. Occupation. Farms from 20 to 100 acres ; many from 100 to 1000, but few exceed the latter number ; tithes taken in kind in many places. 5. hnplements. Ploughs, with a sharp iron wheel, or running coulter, as in Himtingclonsliire. Shei>herd, of Chippenham, has invented a varie^ of Implements. Some threshing machineE, and the best Lothian implements, at Lord Hardwickc'a. The Ely bear roller is an iron roller, with a number ofpleces of iron like small si»arfes fixed Into it. It is used In the fenny districts for cutting up the weeds, which choke up the slow running rivers. The horses walk along the bank, and draw It several times up and down the river. The weeds are thus rooted up, and car- ried down the stream by the &n>t Oood. 6. Arable Land. Ploughed and cultivated in ^neral as in Hnntingdcnshire ; hemp IS cultivated more extensively ; flax is grown, and mus- tard, near Wisbeach and Outwell'; a few lentils, as in Hun- tingdonshire, but are considered of less value than tares. The reporter says, a second crop of mustard is obtained by what shelb from the first, and that mustard springs up in land where it has not been cultivated for upwards of a century. Woad is in cultivation, and for every forty acres a woad mill. It is said. Is required. No crop pavs equal to the reed, wJiich requires no culture but cutting and bunching; owing to the imjirove- ment of the fens, they are now becoming scarce. Whlleseed (Pba aqudtica), or fen hay. Is produced on many parts of the fen lands, and even on such parts as have been dug for peat. The land is inundated till the crop apjtears above the water, and then, wherever it can be effected, it is let off; in other cases the grass grows to a great height in the water, is mown twice In the season, and often produces two tons per acre each time. The hay is esteemed valuable for cows; causing them to produce much milk, and, it is said, giving the particular flavour to Cottenham cheese. 7. Grass Lands. Extensive ; some under no management, and of little value; others very productive, both as hav and feeding lands. In the district called the Wash, they will carry from one to two bullocks, and from five to twelve sheep pet acre fei the greater part of the year. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Good market and fruit gardens at Ely, Soham, Wisbeach, ecc. which supply Lv-nn and various places, by water carriage, with apples, cherries, and vegetables. 9. Woods find Plantations. Some young plantations. The Rev. G, Jenyns, of Boltis- ham, " does not cut off the tap roots of oaks in the usuai manner, and finds they thrive faster," (That he is mistaken, SBe3*)27.) Osiers are grown in various places for the basket makers, and found to pay as weU as any cnip. 10. Wastes and w^imprl»}ed Fen. In 1794, 158,500 acres. 11. Improvements. In no part of the island droning and embanking so much wanted as In the fens of this county! The former siaie^au:fenlandJi,a.-nA their degradation to their present state, U given at length in the report. chl*-flv from a pamphlet by Lord Hardwicke. It was thp opinion of Atkins (a commissioner of se«'ers in the reign of James I., 1C04J that Book I. AGRICULTURE OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 1135 (U LJIllC iUJUUIllUiaurU 111 llr> raitdng any pari qf the fens appears to ' time ot'EfOwaxd I. (1272, SicT) : many ccess followed. The famous John of these fena 000 acres) were once " of the nature oriaiid-tneaaowaj fruitful, healthy, and very eain- flil to Oie InhabltantBi and yielded much relief to the high- land counties in time of great droughts." Sir W. D|udalc (who was bom 1605, and died 1686J was of the same opinion, adding as aproofi *' that ^reat numbers of timber trees (oaks> fiiSj &c>) fimnerly grew tJiere, as is plain from many oelng Ibund in iU|King canals and drains> some of them severed firoin their roots, the roots standing as they grew, in firm earUi, below the moor." On deepening the channel of Wisbeach riTerj in 1636, the , workmen, at eight feet below the then bottom, discovered a second bottom, whicli was stony, with seven boats lying in it, covered with silt. And at Whittle^a, on digging ttirough the moor at eisht feet deep, a perfect soil was founcT with swards ci' grass lyinc on it, as they were at first mown. Henry of Huntingdon (who lived in the reign of Stephen, 1136,) de- scribed this finny country " as pleasant and agreeable to the eye; watered by many rivers which run through it, diverged 1^ many large and small lakes, and adorned by many woods and islands." And WilUam of Malrasbury (who lived in the first year of Henry II., IIMJ has painted the state of the land round Thomey in the most glowmc colours : he says, " it is a very paradise, in pleasure and delignt it resembles heaven itself; the very marshes aboundini^ in trees, whose length without knots do emulate the stars.' " 'I'he plain there is as level as the sea, which, with the flourishing of the grass, allureth the eye j in some parts there are apple-trees, in others 'Vines." It appears then, on the authority of the authors quoted, that the fens were formerly wood and pasture. The engineers were of opinion that the country in question, for- m^y meadow and wood, now fen, became so f^ora partial embankments preventing the waters from the uplands going to the sea by their natural outfalls; want of proper and siiis- cient drains to convey those waters into theOuse; neglect of each drains as were made for that purpose; and that these evils increased from the not embanking the river Ouse, and the erection of sluices across it preventing the flux and reflux of the sea ; the not widening and deepening, where wanted, the river Ouse ; and from not removing the eravels. weeds. &c. which have f!rom-time to time accumulal The Jirtt attempt at draimiifj have been made in the Ume ' others with various success Gaunt (or Ghent, who died in 1393), and Margaret, Countess of Richmond, were amongst the draining adventurers ; but Gough, in his addition to Camden, says " the reign of EIiza> beth may he properly fixed on as the period when the level began to become immediately a public case. Many plans were ^oposed and abandoned between that time and 1634, when Sine CharlesJ, granted a charter of incorporation to Francis Earl of Bedford, and thirteen gentlemen adventurers with him, who jointly undertook to drain the level, on conation that they should have granted to them, as a recompense, 96,000 acres (about one third of the level). In 1649, this charter was confirmed to William Earl of Bedford, and his associates, by the Convention Parliament ; and in 1663, the level being declared completely drained, the 96,000 acres were conveyed to the adventurers, who had expended 400,000^., which is almost it. is. per acre on the 96,000 acres, and about 11. Sa. on thewhole breadth, if thewhole level contain 286,000 acres, and it is generally supposed to contain 300,000 acres. In 1664, the corporation called " Conservators of the great level of Oie ffens" was established. This body was empowered to levy taxes on the 96,0CX> acr&s to de&ay whatever expenses might arise in ibeir preservation ; but only 8.3,000 acres were vested in the corporation, in trust for the Earl of Bedford and his a^ociates; the remaining 12,000 were allotted, 10,000 to the King, and 2000 to the Earl of Portland. At lirst the levy was an etjual acre tax ; but upon its being deemed unjust, a gradual one was adopted, which is now acted upon. In the year 1697, the Bed&rd level was divided into three districts, north, middle, and south ; having one surveyor for each of the former, and two for the latter. In 1763, tlie north leve) was separated by act of parliament from the rest. In addition to ttie public acts obtained for draining the fens, several private ones have been granted, for draining separate districts with their limits, notwithstanding which, and the vast sums ex- pended, mnch remains to be done ; a great part of the fens is now ( 1806} in danger of inundation : Uus calamity has visited them many times, producing effects distressing and extensive beyond conception^ indeed many hundred acres of valuable land now drowned, the misfortune aggravated by the proprie- tors being obliged to continue to pay a heavy tax> notwith- standing the loss of their land." The interior draijtage qf the Jhjis is jierformed in most places by windmilb, which are very uncertain in their effects. Steam has been trira, and there can be no doubt would be incompa- rably preferable, as worldhg in all weathers. EmhankiTtg may be considered a necesaary accompaniment of draining on the fen-lands. The fens are oivided Into three large levels, and each of these levels are subdivided into nu- merous districts by banks; but as these banks are made of fen-moor, and other light materials, whenever the rivers are swelled with waters, or any one district b deluged, either by r^n, a breach of banks, or any other cause, the waters speedily pHsa through these bright, moory, porous banks, and drawn aU the circumjacent districts. The ffens have sometimes sus- tained 20,000/. or 30,000/. damage by a breach of banks ; but these accidents seldom happen in the same district twice in twenty years ; the water, however, soaks through all fen banks every year in every district; and when the water mills have lifted the waters up out of the fens into the rivers in a windy day, a preat part of the water soaks back through the porous banks m the night upon the same land again. This water that soaks through tiie banfc,drowns the wheal in thewinter, washes the manure into the dykes, destroys the best natural and arti- ficial grasses, and prevents the fens from being sown till too late in the season. This stagnant water, lying on the surface, causes also fen ^:ues, &c. ; thus the waters that have soaked through the porous fen banks have done the fertile fens more real injury, than all the other flootls that have ever come upon them. The remedy for the soaking through of the water is obviously that of forming a puddle wall in the middle, which appears to have been first thought of among the fen bank- makers by Smith of Chatteris, a professed embankt-r, who thus describes his mode of puttiag a vertical stratum of puddle in old mounds: "I first cut a gutter, eighteen Inches wide* through the old bank diwn to the clay ^the fen substratum being generally clay) i the gutter is made neur the centre, but alitUe on the land side ot^tlie centre of the old bank. The gutter is afterwards filled up in a very solid manner with tem- Eered cltiy ; and to make the clay resist the water, a man In oots always treads the clay as the gutter is fiUtd up. Thla plan was tried last summer ( 1794), on a convenient farm, and a hundred acres of wheat were sown on the land. The wheat and grass lands on this farm arc now all dry, whilst the fens around are covered with water. This practice answers so well on this farm, that all the farmers in tlie parish are improving tlieir banks in the same manner, and some have begun In ad- jacent parishes." With respect to embaTiking from the sea, Vancouver is of opinion, that the ground ought to be covered by nature witli samphire or other plants, or with grass, before an attempt is made to embank it j there is particular danger in being too greedy. " If the sea has not raised the salt marsh to its fruit- nil level, all ^pectation of benefit is vain, the soil being im- mature, and not liiiened for enclosure; and if, again, with a view of grasping a great exient of salt marsh, the uanks or sea wall be pushed furiher outwards than where tliere ts a firm and secure foundation for it to stand upon, the bank will blow up, and in both cases great losses and disappointments will ensue." Paring and Imming is every where approved of, and consi- dered the aive tpia nan of the fen district, in breaking up turf. Without it com crops are destroyed by the grub and wire- worm. Irrigation Col. Adeane, of Barbraham, has 300 acres of meadows which have been irrigated from the time of Queen Elizabeth. " Pallavicino, who was collector of Peter's pence in England, at the death of Quteu Mary, having 30,000/. or 40,00U/. in his hands, had the art to turn Protestant ,on' the accession of Queen Elizabeth, and appropriated theJmofi'ey to his own use; lie bought with it an estate at Barbraham, and other lands near Boumbridge ; and procuring a gTant from the crown of the river which passes through tJiem, was enabled legally to bui£d a sluice across it, and throw as much of the water as was necessary into a new canal of irrigation, vhi'ch. he dug to receive it ui the method so well known, ^d comnionly practised in Italy long before that period. The canal^' ana the sluices are all well designed, and are the w6rk of a man evidently well acquainted with the practice ; but in taking tlie waters f^om them, for spreading it by small channels over the meadows, there does not seem to be the least intelligence,- or knowledge of the husbandry of watering. No other art is exerted but that merely of opening in the bank of the river small cuts for letting the water fiow on to the meadoWs always laterally, and never longitudinally, sonecessary in works of this kind. The water then linds its own distribution, and so irre- gularly, that many parts receive loo mucli, and others none at all. From the traces left of small channels in dilferent parla of the meadows, it would appear that the ancient distribution formed under Pallavicino is lost, and that we see nothing at present but the miserable patch-work of workmen ignorant of the business. Irrigation has not spread from this example, but misht be extensively practised on the banks of all the rivers.'' 12. Live Stock. Cattle a breed peculiar to the county; but some of all sorts- Butchers give more tor a Cambridge calf than a Suffolk one, fancying the former whiter veal. The Cottenham cheese ascribed to the excellence of the grass, in great part P6a aqudtica. The cow system consists chiefly in suckling of calves and making of butter ; there is not much cheese made, except the noted ones of Soham and Cottenham. The suckling season is from Michaelmas to Lady-day. It requires, on an average, two cows to fatten a calf. The cows, when at a distance from home, are milked in the pasture, and the milk brought home by a horse or ass, in tubs, slung across : women could not do this work, the travelling being, after the least rain, very bad* even when there is no water to go tbroueh. The butter is sold rolled up in pieces of a yard long, ana about two inches in circumference; this' is done for the conveoiency of GoUcges> where it is cut into pieces, called " parts," and so sent to table; its quality is nowhere excelled. Buttocks of various kinds fattened on grass, and when not ready in autumn, put up and finished on com or oil-cake. Col. Adeane buys in London at a falling market, and keeps till a rising one before he sells. ahrep chiefly as in Huntingdonshire; some NorfoJks and South Downs ; folding on the uplands. Horses of the cart kind much bred, and considered in article in which the county excels; they are very large oiid bony ; black ; with long hair from the knee to the fetlock uailing on the ground. A cart stallion has cost 266 guineas, dhd his colts have sold for sixty guineas. Horses ktpt in the stable through- out the yeai^ at a great expense, because on dry fiOod ; herbage plants, artificial gras£es,and roots being neglected, and no ens in all directions; a few fairs; a jiottcry at Ely for coarse ware; excellent white bricks made there, and at Chatteris and Cam- bridge ; Ijme bunted at various places. 1136 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. 7787. SUFFOLK. A cresccntlike flat surface of 800,000 acres, the soil chiefly in patches of clay, poor sandy soil, and rich loam, and the agriculture directed to the growing of corn. The county «, "owever. famous for its breed of cows, horses, and hogs, and it i& one of those ni which carrots are a good deal grown. One of the largest alieep fairs in the kingdomls held at Ipswich, where it w eaid as many as 150,000 or 200,000 sheep and lambs have been exposed for sale The "lebrated Arthur Young was a native yeoman of the county, and farmed his own estate near Bury. {,Y(mng's Si^lk, 1810. Smith s Geological Map, 1819.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. amalt. One of the driest in the kingdom ; the frosts Eerere ; and the N.E. winds iii spring, sharp and prevalent. Sml. The predominaUng a strong loam on a clay-mart bot- tom hi the centre of the county ; chalk also occurs extensively as a substratum ; a wne of sand stretches alonj? the coast ; and some sand and fen land in the north-west angle; no minerals. Chiefly^ the hands of rich yeomanry, who cultlrate the^ own estates of from 100/. to 400i. a year ; one estate of 1 jOW. a year ; and two or three of 10,0001. Great erections' have been made for the convenience of men of large fortunes : hut not so many for those of smaller m^mes ; farm-houses Imuroved, but sUU inferior to what they mi«ht be , rften of lath and plaster, and wanting requ^iWrei.ai«; barns uselessl? large: cottages in general bad habitations; the door BMimlly opens from the external air into the hvlng room; reparation bad, and the deficiency of gardens general. 4. Occupation. ,^, Farms generally large; some from 20/. to 100/. fj^r; Eenerally ftom 150/. to 900/. ; the largest on the sandy districts. Leases for seven, fourteen, and twenty-one years; but Utile land held at will. 5. Implements. „ ._ ^ The SufTolk awing plough, though known as one of the best of the old English swing ploughs, is now giving way to im- ftrovcd forms j various threshing machines, and other improved mplements introduced ; circular harrows Ifig. SaO.) were used on the farm of the late celebrated Arthur Toimg. 6. ETiclosures. Sutfolk one of the earliest enclosed counties in England; a few recent enclosures. 7. Arable Land. Plough, with two horses, one acre a day on stiff soils, and one and a quarter to one and a half on sands ; ploughmen skilful, and subscribe prizes among themselves for such as draw the straightest furrow, &c. Besides all the common crops, a larger proportion of peas grown than is usual in most counties. Hops, cabbages, carrots, lucerne, chiccory, and hemp, are grown in a few places- The culture of carrots is, of course, connned tothe sandy districts, and that of rape for seed, and of hemp, to the fennv an|ile of the county. A. Young seems to have been the chiei cultivator of chiccory, having had " ninety acres of it for sheep." Hemp is grown both by cottagers and tormerfi, and for the seed as vol as fibre, but never on a large scale ; five acres is the greatest breadth to be met with. 8. Grass. Pastures coarse and not extensive ; both these and meadows badly managed, overrun with mole and ant hills, bushes, tufrs of Irad grasses, weeds, 8tc. Hay-making badly perfunned. 9. Gardens and Orchards. Garden walls built of the width of a brick, by making them wavy. {Encyclopiedia sffGardemngt 1S670 10. Woods and Plantations. Few, and pay badly ; but large oak timber foiinerly prudnoed in the clay districts. 11. Improvements. 'Wheat substituted for zye. Drahiing much practised on the clays; bushes, straw, or stubble used for lilling them; claying and marling the sands practised, but sand laid on clay found of no use, 01 marl on clay, according to the old adage — Marie clay, tiirow all away ; Marie sand, and buv land. Some workmen procured from bjoucestersbire to execute irrigations in the manner of that county. 12. Live Stock. In cowB, horses, and hogs, Suffolk excels. The Buffalk breed of cows sprefid over the whole coun^. To keep the breed polled, homed calves are never reared, but sold to tlie Bucklers. Cows In prime give eight gallons of milk per day, and great part of the season six gfdlons ; best milkers red brln- dle, or yellowish cream coloured; not always the best feeders. Often fed in winter witii cabbages. A pointofbad management is, that the bulls, when three years old or thereabouts, are either sold or castrated for &tting, by which means, when a good stock-getter is thouzht to be discovered, when searched f br he ia no more ; thus no unprovement can be made in the breed, but by accident. Cows are allowed to range over turnip fields and eat where they please, and often the same as to cabbages. In some cases they are tied to posts in the open field, littered, and the vegetables brought to tnem : both barbarous modes of management. Dairy management not particularly good ; wo- men m general the milkers; milk generally seven or eight cows an nour ; one fbt a wager milked thir^ in three hov0D0/. "n atation, and in a very backward state as to agriculture. There are rich grass lands, subjected to thj same dairy management as in Buckinghamshire, and some natural wood lands. The principal agriculturist and patriot of the county is Fane, of Wormsley {Davis's Report, 1794l Arthur Yoimg's Oxfordshire. 1809. Marshal's Review, 1813. Smith's Geological Map, 1823.) 4. Occupation. Farrns generally smaller than in most other counties ; few above flOO acres. Leases of fourteen and twenty-one years not uncomn on ; many of seven years. Farmers in general very Ignorant^ and pr^uch pRejudiced against new practices. 5. lm^^0nis.^ "'" " 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate cold and bleak. On the Cfailtem hills^ cold, moist, and foggy. Soil m three great dlvisiotu, red land, stonebrash, and chJl- tem, or chalky bills; the basis of all these soils is calcareous; there is aho a con^erAble portion of loamy solh 2. Property. Few large estates ; church tenures very common ; one estate of 20,000^ a year, one of 12,000/., one of 7000/., one of SOOOf., Bndsoon. 3. Buildings. Blenheim, me noblest in England; Maylands' house at Broadeaton, recorded by Youtig .as a model tor houses, which cost about 20,000/. building, fn farm buildings the best thing is the coped stone rick and granary stands ; farm buildings ge- nerally of stone, covered with stone slate ; wretchedly contrived, and badly executed, in most parts of the county. Gardens to most of the cottages. Bishop of Durham has built some very comfortable ones at Mungewell. Thg prevaarng plough a ming wooden -boarded implement, arawA,by,from tb^ep to six Jiorses, and incapable of^ making go«l work-imder the guidance of the best ploughman. 6. Arable hand. . Very badly nmnaeed Til general ; on heavy lands two crops ^ a fellow, but rm iyiow kept unploughed for the sake of affording couch-grass leaves for the sheup. Davis of Bloxham, an extensive farmer and' land-8ur*eyor, " never saw any land y?**" ■which a naked fallow is necessary ; not even on the stiffest fiOils; hasbeoi in many counties, andemnloved on twent)--six commissions of enclosure at the same time! Wheat sown early, and either ploughed in or folded ; often both. A scantlet of l^tils cultivated. Turnips in most parts seldom bigger than- D 1138 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. applet. A ^ood deal of ■alntfoln Anxiety to increase the rent-roll induced the landlord to let the whole of his estate of nearly 4000 acres, then under nearly a score of tenants, to two cultivators, instead of trying first the eiftct of one or two moderate-sized farms under the new mode. The same anxiety induced the tenants to otTer too high rents, and to attempt a profit by subletting. Before the estate had been eight months let, it was sold on the new rental for nearly four times the sum at which it was offered for sale only a year before; but the title not proving satisfactory to the purchaser, the purchase was never completed. The landlord Decame involved in difficulties, owing to the expenses of new buildings, roads, drainages, the purchasing up of certain out- going tenants, and other causes : he found, that though one person had been willing to buv the estate held on twenty-one years* leases, yet that it would sell much better if held bj tenants at will ; and was thence induced to buy up from the Scotch tenants tlie leases granted them two years before, and was still unsuccessful in endeavouring to sell the estate. At last the proprietor found himself with the greater part of his lands in hand ; and one farm, it is proper to observe, was put under the management of an Irishman, who rendered himself notorious by some parts of his conduct, and finally left the country clandestinely ; and whose actions have unfortunately often been confounded with those of the Scotch farmers, after all the latter had completely left that part of the country. When peace was concluded in 1814, land fell still lower ; and finally this estate was sold for less than half what it had been sold for in 1809 : but stilt (which may be considered as re- markable) for about double what was asked for it in 1807. It was in 1823 probably not worth a third part of what was given for it by the purchaser, from the change in the times; so that even had the original scheme and sale worked well, it is 7790. BERKSHIRE. One of the most beautiful counties of England; occupies a surface of 474,000 acres, of which about 200,000 are enclosed, or in parka or plantations ; 190,000 in common fields and downs ; 40,000 in forests, wastes, and commons ; and 8977 in roads. Its productions are almost equally corn and stock ; it produces a good deal of butter and cheese, and the breed of swine is noted for its ex- cellence. The celebrated Jethro Tull was a yeoman in this county. George III. and £. L. Loveden, Esq. were among its most noted farmers. On the whole it is a county much more indebted to nature than to art (Pearce'i Berkshire. 1794. Mavor's Report, 1808. Marshals Review, 1813. Smith's Geological ifap, 1821.) - Eroljable that by that time both landlord and tenants would ave been ruined ; for more money might have been raised by mortgage on such an estate ui 1810 than it would have sold for in 1820. The depreciation of the estate has been attributed to tiie breaking up of old turf| a most unfounded error, as there were not lOOU acres to break up, and of them only S50 were ploughed, and, as would have been proved had the convertible system been continued a f^ years.greatly to the benefit of the whole. We regret that the landlord, a most amiable and patriotic man, should have suffln^d in this business ; but he entered into it awa»e that he was incurring an extraordinary chance of loss for an extraordinary chance of bencfit,and of course he takes the result as every man ought to do. Besides he has still a very handsome fortune. A* 11 trait qf'thc Mpiril good many cherries grown for mnrket. Near Abingdon aii orchard of twenty-one acres, confining 541 trees. 9. Woods and Plantations Extent of Windsor Forest, belonging to the crown, 5'154 acres, including wood and. water ; private property, called Forest Lands, 29,000 acres; encroachments 600 acres. Tlie forest is under the government and superintendence of a lord warden, who appomts his deputy lieutenant, the rangers or head keepers of the several walks, and the \inder keepers. Great part of the timber on the forest sold, as well as that retain^, is truly venerable and picturesque in appearance, but rotten or mildewed to the heart in such a way as to be fit only for fi^el. This rot, or mildew as it is called, seems to be the natural process of decay, and is particularly fatal to beech trees, which are by no means so long lived as the oak, ash, and others. Various yoimg plantations on dilTerent estates, especially those of Loveden, Fishe Palmer, Wheeble, &c Osier beds on the moist parts of the Thames meadows. Extensive plantations have lately been made on the Duke of GloucQiter's demesne at BagEhot> under the dh^ction of his very intelligent managers, Christie, Barnes, and Toward. (See Gard. Mag. vol. vii.) 10. Improvements. An account of tlie culture of George III.'s farms, by Kent, dated 1793, is given as of the greatest national consequence, &c. Oxen axe used both in farm and road-work, and the ploughs are the Norfolk wheel plough and the Suffolk iron plough. At a later period the Rothern^ plough, and with which two oxen, yoked in collars, will plough, on the light soil of the forest, an acre a day. Draining m the Essex manner a good deal practised; tne drains filled with straw, rubbish from brick kilns, wood, cinders, or gravel. Peat ashes is a manure almost peculiar to Berkshire, though they might be obtained by the same process wherever peat of similar quality abounds, and are so obtained in Holland, and the ashes extensively used there, and sometimes shipped to this coun^. In the year 1745 peat was first burnt in Newbury, by a Thomas Rudd, who at the same time spread the ashes on clovers, for which the? have ever since been famous. An acre of peat land at that period sold for 30/. : it has since sold, according to its quality, for 300/. and400/., and, in one instance, reached about SOO/. per acre. Over the stratum of peat, which is about five or six feet deep, is a good meadow soil, and under the peat is gravel. The peat varies in colour, but the blackest is reckoned the best, and is used for firing, the ashes of which are most esteemed, and have the reddest colour. What is burnt for sale, is mixed with turf and other substances, which gives it a pale whitish hue. It is usually dug with a long- handled spade, from the middle of May to the end of June, and is conveyed from the spot in little wheelbarrows, to a short distance, where it is spread on the ground, and after lying about a week, the pieces are turned. I'his being three or tour times repeated, aheap is made in tlie middle of the place where the peat is spread, and in the centre of this heap some very dry peat is put, which being lighted, the fire communicates srowly to the rest of the heap. When it is completely lighted, an aa- ditional quantity of peat is put upon the heap, and this oper- ation is continued till the whole is consumed, which generally takes a month or six v/eeks, as quick burning is not approved of. Rain seldom penetrates deep enough to extinguish the fire. The heap is commonly of a circular form, and rather flat at top. At first it is very small ; but at last it is sometimes two or three yards deep, and six or seven yards in diameter. The a^es being riddled, are conveyed away in uncovered carts, to a distance sometimes of twenty miles, and put into a house, or under a shed, to keep them from the wet, till they are wanted to be put on the ground. Tht usual time qf applying peat ashes is March and April. They are generally taken in carts, and sown on the ground be fore or after the seed is sown on the land. The quantity is usually firom twelve to fifteen Winchester bushels per acre, according to the soil and crop. It is supposed that too large a quantity would be injurious. For barley, wheat, and peas, they are not in much estimation ; but for all sorts of artificial grass, more especially, th^ are preferred to all other manures. In turnips Qiej assist to preyent ttie ravages of the fly ; and in grass seeds the formers reckoh on an acre, manured with ashes, producing nearly a ton of hay beyond what it would have yielded without uem. The effect is supposed to be of no longer duration than two years. On meadow land, from fifteen to twenty bushels may advantageously be put; they much improve the grass. 11. Live Stock. No particular breed of cattle; long homed most common. Adairyingtractinthe west of the valeof White Horse; much butter m^e, and some cheese of the single Gloucester kind. Calves a good deal suckled in some places. Buscot parish famous for cheeses, in the shape of pineapples; they axe of most excellent flavour, and sell higher than other cheeses. The curds are well worked with the hands, then pressed into a wooden mould in the shape of a flower pot, and afterwards sus- pended from beams, rafters, or pegs, in an airy apartment, in a net, whose meshes indent their surface like a pine apple. Salt is then rubbed over them, or they are steeped in brine ; weight, 51bs. The milk ia conveyed from the field to the dairies in what is called a tankard, drawn by a horse or ass. tfe. 993.) Sheep, a native breed knovni- aa the Berkshire polled, or notts . IfiS' 99«0 i strongly marked,.l)utln'much less repute than for- maly ; it is now ditGciilt to be met with pure ; they are considered as very hardy, and particularly adapted for the low strong lands> and for folding. Horses of the common heavy black race. Pearce calcu- lated hi 1794, that 12,000 hoises'wejre kept in Berkshbre for the purposes of aericulture, and that one third of the number might be saved by the use of improved implements ; most of the horses are bought from the Northamptonshire breeders ; many, after being kept a year oz two at work, are sold for ttie London drays. „ Hogtt the native breed one of the best m Britain j a cros» 1140 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, Pa ax IV. With the Chinese, now more common than the pure native breed. Wherever there Is a dairv, hora are kept, but they are not counted a proHtahle stock to be fba wlUi what would fntten cattle or sheep. Carcass chiefly mads into bacon ; cured in tfie u.sual way, and dried hi rooms heated with wood or coal. Iioveden has k bacon house, heated by a stove and flues- In rarm-houseSi much Is smoke-dried in the chimn^s with wood fires, which is supposed to have the best Qavouri RalAiU kept in warrens. In one or two places [ and one cen- tleman rears tame rabbits of a pure whitCi the skins of whiph sell high for trimmings. Poultry. Near Oatcin^ham, many are crammed for the market : they are put up in 3 dark place, and crammed with a paste made of barlfty-meal, mutton suet, and some treacle, or coame bugar, mixed wich milk, and are found to be com- pletely ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them. In the eastern part of the county, many geese reared on the common. Pigeons in considerable numbers. flee*, not very common. Sir William East, of Hullplace, a celebrated apiarist. In the forest district, bees are most com- mon. One gentleman removes his hives to a heath at the flowering season. Deer kept in several parks ; S500 fallow, and 300 red deer, in Windsor Great Park. 12. Political Economy. Roads fbr the most part good, especially smce a part has been put under the care of lU'A^m. Gravel, flint, or chalk, abounds in most places. Canals and navigable rivers so inter- spersed, that no part of the county is further than twelve miles txoTo. water carriage. Cloth for sacking and hammocks, ma nufactured at Abmgdon and Maidenhead, also some sail- cloth, and rush, and twine matting. Cotton mills at Taplow. Paper, and formeily blankets and other woollens, at Newbury^ A parchment manufacture at Oakingham. At Reading, a pin manufactonr, and the weaving of^galoon, satin, ribands, and other light fabrics ; a floor cloth roanu&ctory ; twine and rope making ; sail making, sacking, &c. The Berkshire AgricuUural Society, established In 1794. 7791. GLOUCESTERSHIRE, A surface of nearly 800,000 acres, in three natural divisions; the Cotswold hills, the vale of the Severn, and the Forest Lands. Great part of the county is under meadows, pastures, and orchards ; and cheese and cider are its known agricultural productions. It is also a manufacturing county, and its fine broad-cloths are celebrated, as well as its iron, tin-plates, and pins. There is no very eminent gentleman agriculturist, nor any agricultural society in the county, but Dr. Tennant farmed a small estate on the Chilterns. {Turtier's Report ^ 1794. Budgets Report, 1807. Ma7'- shal's RevieWy 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate, cold and bleak on the Cotswold hills; mild in the vale, wliich lies open to the south winds ; on the sandv soils of tlie forest district, the harvest is sometimes cut a fbitnight earlier than in the vale. Siiil of the Cotswold is all calcareous loam or stonebrash; in the vale, a fine black loam, or fertile red loam, and in some plHces a strong clay and peat earth ; the finest soil Is generally sanely loam, sand, or peaty earth. MincraU. None in the Cotswolds, but iron and coal in the Forest of Dean, both worked. Lead found in the limestone rocks of the lower part of the vale ; not -worked. Though iron ore be abundant in the Forest of Dean, only a small quan- tity is raised, It being found more profitable to bring the nctaer ore of Lancashire, which is burnt with the coke of llie forest coal for cast-iron, and plates for tinning. Coal pits numerous, and worked at a shallow depth, fbr want of proper machinery to exhaust the water ; three sorts delivered, kitchen coal, smith's coal, and lime coat. Claystone and freestone found in various parts of the forest ; paving stones, grindstones, yellow and grey stone tiles raised in difFfarent parts of the Cotswolds ; gypsum is raised for stuccoing, and sent to Bath from Uan- Dury I it is also used as alabaster for chimney pieces, &c. Water. Produce of tlie Severn is roach, dace, bleak, floun- ders, eels, elvers, chub, carp, trout, and perch. The sea-fish taken within the limits ot the county, in the Severn, are salmon, lampreys, lamjiems, chad, soles, shrimps, cod, plaice, conger-eel, poruoise, and sturgaui. Salmon formerly caught in great abundance, but now cbmpnratively scarce' Great mischief done by the use of small meshed nets, which take the samlets or fry. Psnuls for water made on the Cotswold hills, as already de- scribed (4467), in the vale in the common manner. The wa- ters, which rise through beds of blue clay, are often strongly saline, as at Cheltenham, &c. 2. Property. Largest estate 8000/. a year among the nobility, and 3000/. among the gentry ^ tenures chiefly nreehold, some copyhold, and about one fortieth corporate or ecclesiastical. Estates un- der the see of Gloucester, leased out on lives ; those of the cor- poration of the city the same ; usual fine forrenewal of a life, one year and a half of the improved annual value. 3. Buildings. Many handsome seats ; farm-houses and cottages on the Cotswoms built of iVeestone^ and covered with stone illes ; often as many on an estate of 100/. a year as are required for a farm of 500/. a year, under the correction of modem Im- provement ; b;u:nsi however, of a moderate size ; wheat stacked on stone staildles. Cottars, as in most counties, nef^lected, and uncomfortable; some judicious remarks on the subject by Kudge. 4. Occupation. Farms differ much in sl^B S few exceed 1000/. or fall short of 50/. a year. Some grazing farms in the vale of 500 acres, but 20n and 300 more common. Leases of ihree yi-ars most common, next of seven years, notj many of fourteen, and those of twenty-one on corporate property. 5. Implements. A narrow-wheeled waggon in general use among farmers. Various ploughs ; a short-beamed one-wheel plough in use on the Cotswolds ; in the vale a clumsy swing plough. Lum- bert's dralning-plough much in use with the improved draught apparatus, and in me old way. Various improved ploughs and other implements, as well as threshing and winnowing machines, introduced. A thistle drawer (,/!^. 2^1.) in use for extracting, the com thistle (5errdtula arvensis) from corn- fields ; cradle-scythe used for cutting beans. 6. Enclosing. The first enclosures during Queen Anne's reign ; eleven dur in^ the r»gn of Geo. II. ; and upwards of seventy during the reign of George III. Hedges of white thom, on which tlie reporter observes medlars might be grafted, and raised in great plenty. Black thom (Prtinus spin6sa] hedges, he says, never suffer from the blight ; a most erroneous idea. 7. Arable Land. 300,000 acres ; much ploughing on the Cotswolds lijghtens the staple of the weak soils ~ seven horses often used in the vMe teams ; ridges in the vale so high that a person six feet high may stand in the furrows, and not be able to see the crown of the second ridge from him ; to reduce them a small ridge ofien begun between them. Fallowing practised on the clays, then wheat and beans, or oats. Rotation on tihe Cotswolds — 1 tumi]is, 2 barley, 3 and 4 clover mown the first year, 5 wheat, 6 oats, tares, or peas ; if oats, frequently laid down with saintfoin. On crumbly soils wheat is sown and ploughed in during rather wet weather, otherwise the seedling plants are apt to be thrown out with the first frosts j the same thing attended to in Oxfordshire and various other councies; this IS called seven-field husbandry. Beans either drilled or dibbled ; a broad bean, the mazagan, used when die land is in good heart, and ticks when less so. The Burbage pea, an early grey variety, most in use. " Some lands have the pecu- liar quality of raising tiddorv peat, or such as boil freely;" on them the Charlton is grown, and sold for splitting: clay lands never have this property. Tares common, and among these a sort called dill, supposed by Marshal tobethe^'rvumhirsfitum L., but erroneously termed jln^thura by Rudge. Turnips on the Cotswolds always broad cast, and sometimes after wheat or tares, and then called stubble tumijis ; consumed by sbeeji m hurdle folds; sometimes given to horscs,and found to induce them to eat bam chaff with a better apjietite. Some flax raised; teasels a good deal cultivated formerly, now not 100 acres of them in the whole county. 8. Grass. Very rich meadows on the Severn, overflown during winter and spring, on which the farmers depends for a crop. When the salt water overflows, the meadows are termed marshes, and f razed by horses and catile that require rest and sjiring physic, n general meadows are mown and pastured alternately, ex- celling near Gloucester, where abundance of manure is ob- tained. Herbage, plants, and rye grass sown on the Cotswolds, but little in the vale ; saintfoin much cultivated on the stone- brash soils. Grass lands ftd in general from May to the end of September, and then the cattle, unfinished, are lakcn in ard completed with hay, oli-cake, and other artilicial food, but seldom with roots. The Crchis miscula so common in the meadows, that it has lieen gathered, lludge informs us, and made into s^go. lOlS-t.) 9. Gardens and Orchards. Most of the cottages, Mich as they are, have garden'., ar.d almost every farm iti> orchard : hut lari^e ones, so as to ai-iisit b* Book I. AGRICULTURE OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 1141 making cider for sale, ate fotind only on the sides of the hills and In the val« and forest district. The stocks are planted in the orchard when six or seven feet hi^h> ten or twelve yardsasunder on pasture, and sixteen or seventeen on arable lands. A year after planting tlicy are grafted. Sometimes fruit trees are planted in tliehed^ rows; hedges arenftfn composed of apple seedlinKSi raised from the kernels in the cider mast ; and here and thei-e the fiirmer often leaves a stetn to rise above the Keneral height of the hed§«, and gratis it ; frequently also -wilding are allowed here and there to rise into trees, and tlielr &uit l-i used wiUi that fVom grafted trees, in crushing tor cider. Grafts are inserted in tiie cleft manner, at seven feet from ttie ^ound, two in each stock : if both succeed, one is removed the following spring, and the stock sloped to the remaining graft, to prevent the lodging of water, and clayed afresh, to facilitate the growth of bark over the wound. After grafting, " braids," that is, inverted wicker baskets* ri^ng about two feet high, are fitted to the stock, which serve at once to guard the grafts, and direct their shoots to a proper form. The stock is next protected from cattle or the plough harness, by four l>oiits placed round it, witli six tier of rails ; by three posts and six tier of rails ; by two broad posts and rails ; by a bundle of thorn branches ; by planting a tliom or briar along with the stock ; or by twisting a shoot of the creeping rose (A6sa arv^ais) round thestock. The modeof plantingacreepingrosewlththe stock, and twisting it round the stem, is said to be found the cheapest and best; but it must evidently impoverish the soil. Pruning is not attended to on young grafted trees, or any otliers, as it ought to be, nor the removal of moss and misletoe. Grafting the branches of old trees often practised with great suc- cess ; a young stock grafted will probably not produce a bushel of apples in twenty years, hut a branch grafted bears tlie second year. Dr. Cheston, of Gloucester, practises root grafting, but whi(^ is quite unsuitable for field orchards. Grafted trees bear little till twenty years of age; their produce increases till fifty years, and is then ten or fifteen bushels ; an apple will bear 100 or more years from this period, and often much longer. A pear tree at Minsterworth 300years old at least. Cidev^nakinff. Best orchardists shake o&^the iruit, and never beat the tree,'Which destroys the blossom-buds ; limb by limb is sliaken by. a person in the tree, and those which adhere allowed to remain some time longer to ripen : the hone-mill used by large, and the hand-mill by small farmers ; the cvlin- ders of the hand-mill of wood, and fluted; sometimes there are tiro pair of cylindos^ one finer fluted under the first pair. and in other cases the cylinders are set wide the first time the apples are passed through, and closer the second ; the other processes as usual. Of the various apples grown, the wliite- btyre of the Forest district makes the strongest and richest cider ; it is often valued equally with foreign wine, and sold at extravarant prices. Ciders flrom the Hagloe crab, golden pip- pin, ana Longney russet, are next in esteem. I lie white- must, woodcock, and half a dozen others, are fine old flruits, but now going off. , ... u » ^ . Perry irom the squash near is esteemed the best ; and next fh>m the HuflTcap and sack. TaUefnati, where farmers live near canals, pay much better than those of the cider kind ; especially those of the keepmg varieties, such as the golden and Moreland pippin, Longney russet, &Ct 10. Woods and Plantations. Most extensive cm the Cotswolds ; the sorts there beech and ash ; timber sold to de^ders, who convert it on the spot to BcantUng for gun-stocks, saddle-trees, be£lsteadB, chairs, and other cabinet work, and staves for sugar hogsheads. Some fine old specimens of chestnut, elm, oak, and ash In the vale. Tortworth chestnut, 500 years old, in the time of Kins .Tohn. In the Forest of Dean a considerable quantity of good timber belonging to government, and nearly 3000 acres lately planted with acorns. The method of planting is, first, to mark out the ground ; then Uking off about a foot square of turf, to set two or three acoms with a setting-pin ; afterwards to invert the turf upon them, and, by way ot raising a fence against hares and rabbits, to plant two or three strong white thorn seis round. They are seldom thinned till they have attained the size of hop poles, and then are left at twelve feet distance from each other, with the view of again thinning them, by taking out every other one, when they are thirty years old, and have attained the size of live or six inches diameter. B\- growing thick, no side-shoots are thrown out, which superseues the ne- ces^ty of pruning ; the young trees which are drawn at the first thinning are transplanted, and, as it is thought, grow equally well with those that have not been removed, and pro- duce tunber as full at the heart, compact, strong, and durable, as " that which Is raised immediately from the acom." The " whitten,"orsmall-ieavediime(rtliacordataX..),ls found In several coppices on the Welsh side of the Severn ; and, what ts singular, ropes for halters, plough traces, cider presses {Jig- 99i.)f draw wells, and fisher; boats, &c. are made firom it as In: Russia. These ropes are found to contract and expand less from moisture or drought than hempen ropes. The baxk is stripped off about Midsunamer, dried like hay in the sun, and manu&ctured on the spot or elsewhere. Many walnut trees in the parish df Arlingham ; the fiiiit shipped to distant places, and the timber sent to Biimingliam for gun-stocks. Artificial -plantatioiu, to a great extent, made round gentle- men's seats on the Cotswold hills. The osier in beds on the Sevan. 11. Improvements. On the lands adjoining the Severn InundatiaiiB were (ire- aqent ; but a commission of sewers have erected banks and bod-gates, which protect upwards cf 12,000 acres. At other S laces private banks or floodgates on llie rivers or banked itches are placed, and operate by tiie alternate influence of the tides ana accumulated inland waters. Drmmng much practised ; both in the turf, stone, wood, straw, and with Liunbert's plough ; the plough drawn by twelve horses, or worked t^ a long lever and axle (2645.), by which one horse gains the power of thirty. Before the mole draining plough a used, it is a good practice to turn off the sward with the common plough; then tomakethe incision for the drain in the centre of ttus ; the sward being afterwards turned back to its place, completely covers the aperture, and {trotects It &om the eflecu ot a subsequent dry season. The ong-continued drought of the summer of 1806 opened many drains which were cut by Lumbert's.ploughi so much that the bottom was clearly seen; while many that "have been done by hand have formed still wider phakm^ ,a&d will probably not answor the purpose intendM atall^ ,* Iii'bpth-i;i&tances there is reason to think, that this would not Kave lianpened if the ope- ration had been performed 'in autumn; '^and the surface turf first turned back, as recommenced* ,' The accumulate maUr ijfuii^^grojind draina raised from low meadows In one parish by a Wiiea diiTfiii by the water ti£ sur- faceditches. Paring and burning practised on the Cotswolds ; weeding Imgaium chiefly pursued in the valleys of the Cotswolds, ad- johiing rivulets, and especially the Coin and Chum. Carried to greatest p^ection in the parish of South Cemey ; first began here tmd!er the Rev. W. 'Wrigbt,who wrote several tracts on the subject. When the-tirst great rains in November bring the 4D waters down in a.muddy state, it is let into the meadows. In December and January the land is kept sheltered by the waters from the severity of frosty nights ; but every ten days, or thereabouts, the water is let entirely off, to give air and- pre- vent the roots from rotting. In iebruary great care is re- quired. If the water now remains long on the meadows, a white scimi will generate, which is found to be very injurious to the grass. On the other hand, if it be taken on', and the land exposed to a severe frosty night, without being previously dried for a whole day, much of the tender grass will be cut off. Towards the middle of this month less water is used than be- fore, keeping the land rather wet than watered. At the be- ginning of March there is generally in such meadows plenty of pasturage for all kinds of stock ; the water, however, should be taken off nearly a week before cattle are turned on, and a little hay at nf^ht during the first week is very proper. It is the custom with some to spring-feed with ewes »id lambs folded, with a little hay. The meadows, however, must be en- . tirely clear of stock by the latter end of April. If May be at all intruded on, the hay crop will be much iniured, and the grass become noft and woolly, like lattermath. After spring-feeding the water is let in again for a few days. It is remarked, that autumnal,winter, and spring watering will not occasion rot in sheep ; but if the water be used for a few days in any of the summer months, the pasturage becomes unsafe for such stock. This is conformable to the general idea of rot ; viz. that it is occasioned by summer moisture, and is seldom known to any considerable extent without a long continuance of warmth and rain. A wet summrav therefore, is always pro one degree more to the north : conformably to mis idea, early at Worcester, and late at Birmingham. Apparently much less rains falls here> than in counties more elevated and more inward. Soil. Ten thousand acres of deep rich sediment deposited tn the Severn, and a good deal on the Avon, Teme, and Stour ; hau therestofthe county, rich clay and loam: some light sandy soils about I^ddenninster, and springy gravel about Bromsgrove. Minerals. Brick-clay, gravel, sand, marl, freestone, coal, at Mamble ; quartzem, a siliceous stone, forms the basis of the Malvern hills. Extensive lime quarries and coal mines at Dudley ; excellent common salt at Droitwich. Water. Rivers, but no lake, pool, or pond formed by nature. Malvern well, a good chalybeate ; it is limpid, without smell or taste. Fish in the Severn, salmon, shad, lamprey, and lampem ; the lamprey grows to twenty-six inches long, and is often three or four pounds in weight ; it leaves the sea in the spring, and is esteemed a great delicacy, but unwholesome when eaten too freely. The lampem goes to the sea at certain seasons; is ten or twelve inches long, about the size of a man's finger, and common in Worcester, potted or preserved; vast quantities sold for baits to the cod fishery. 2. Property. Variously divided among all classes ; many resident families of considerable opulence and fortune. 3. Buildings. Some magnincent residences ; farm-houses erected at dif- ferent times, and no way remarkable, unless for being badly situated and arranged ; great want of sheds for cattle. Cot- tages have nothing to recommend them ; ofien built of timber and plaster, and covered with thatch. Some good stone bridges over the Severn, and an iron one of one arch, 150 feet span and fifty feet rise, at Stourport- 4. Occupation. Farms small &om 40/. to 4001. a year, but some larger; seldom held on lease ; but when a tenant takes a farm on strong lands, where the course is fallow and three crops, he holds it by custom for four years. Knight, of Lea Castle, farms 330 acres in a masterly style; large farmers have a turn for improvement; small ones have seldom on wportuni^ ; many inventions proposed and introduced, but the sensible farmer unfortunately finds few of them that will answer. Picturesque farming by Knight. About 200 acres around Lea Castle, formerly m irregular uncouth divisions, witii witle slovenly hedges^ are now laid, or laying together, the roads better disposed both for convenience and appearance, and the hedges stocked up j but the trees, which are in abundance, carefully preserved, to give a park-like appearance; this is di- vided into lots by temporary hurdles. Militaiy famung. The same gentleman, when the volun- teer cavalry were raised, sold his heavy farm horses, and bought light ones, chielly Clevelands, on which he mounted ten of his own servants for militfiTV service. The horses doing all the farm work, and occasionally serving for saddle horses, or to draw his carriage. 5. Implements. Plough two-wheeled, and drawn by three horses in a line, walking in the furrow ; in the vale of Evesham, a heavy swing plough; these ploughs are seen nowhere else; they are afi wood, excepting the share and coulter ; very long in the tail, throat, and si&board; a load for a team; the four-wheeled trolley is a low waggon, used for harvest work. X^ight uses improved implements, and plouglis with two horses abreast. Various drills for sowing wheat, and stirring the soil between 6. Arable Land. Fallows ploughed four times, which is rather rare in En^ land; rotations generally a fallow and two com cro^, with an intervening leguminous herbage, or turnip crop. iMlUng in use for wheat, in the vale of Evesham and other plaoes; beans commonly dibbled. Turnips cultivated broad-cast; and Carpenter, autlior of A Treatise an Practical and ExperimeBia* j4grici^ture,has discovered since he published his took, that the fly is to be prevented or destroyed by steeping the seed in sulphur before sown, and harrowing as soon as the fly is dis- covered ; " then sow eight bushels per acre of dry lime, or fine ashes, when the dew is on the leaves, so as it may adhere to . them." Carrots sown by Knight and others in the neigh- bourhood, where a good deal of seed is raised for the Xxmaon seedsmen. Hops grown to great perfection, and fruit trees generally tianted among them, at the rate of forty-eight to an acre; 000 stools of hops are considered an acre, whatever ground they may stand on, and labour is paid for accordingly. Gold- ing-ivine, mathon-white, red, nonpareil, and Kentixh grape, local names for varieties distinguished by very slender shatus. Land stirred between the plants with the plcmgh; only two poles to a stool ; picking chiefly by Welsh women. When tithe of hops is taken in kind, the panon may either take evenr tenth basket when preen, or every tentlvgacfc when dried ; in the latter case, allowing 25s. per cwt. for drying, sacking, and duty. The culture of hops having been carried too far» the trade here, as elsewhere, ts on the decline; com, on the average of years, is found to pay better. Asparagus, cucumbers, and onions, grown in the fields of Evesham, and sent to Birmingham market, though thirtj miles distant ; also, poppy-beads for the Ifondon druggiBtl. Clover ibr seed in various parts of the county. 7. Grass. The banks of the rivers chiefly under meadow of the Torj richest kind; employed chiefly in fatting cattle and sheep; clovers and rye grass cultivated. 8. GardeTis and Orchards. Market gardens near most of the principal towns ; produce, besidss local consumption, is sent to Bath, Bristol, and Bir- mingham. Orchards, long and successfully cultivated in the middle, south, and western parts of the county ; round towns, villages, and farm-houses; and all the hedge-rows of a farm often planted with fruit trees, and very productive, fo a plentiful year, or what is called a " hit of friiit,- it will not pay for carriage to market &om remote places; no casks can be got for all the juice. In 1784, cisterns were formed in the ground to receive the liquor, but they ran out ; in Pershore, it is said currents of perry ran into the common seweis. Large quantities of apples rot, or are devoured by hogs ; cider 10 such a year sold for 21*. a hogshead, in Worcester market j two car three tons of cherries often sold in Worcester market in the morning before five o'clock ; six tons have been sold there in one morning ; 2000/. lias been paid for the tonnaee of fruit on the Trent and Severn canal In one year : canal forty- six miles long, tonnage IJt/. per ton per mUe; 7000 tons must Book I. AGRICULTURE OF MONMOUTHSHIRE. 1143 tlierefbre have passed. The stocks ore not grsfted here till three Team after planting out, and saddle Krullne of a pecu- Uar kind (Jig. 996.) Is pre- ' to the ■ ~ 996 ferred to the cleft manner used In Gloucestershire. Some- times the boughn or the stock are each craned in the whip manner. When clcft-eraftlng Is performed, the cleft is made with a saw, and afterwards smoothed with a knife ; little care paid to the trees after- wards ; they bear at live Tears, are at perfection at uiitty, and coDtmue in lull bearing fbr at least thirty years more. Sheep should be excluded from the orchards, and coarse grass or straw burned in them on the first appearance of ablight ; this flimigation destroys my- riads of insects. Fruit is ga- thtared as it fhlls from the tree; no force used till the leaves ore mostly fallen, and then only shaking or striking wiUi a light pole. Cider made as in Gloucestershire, but with no great attention to the mixture of iruit, or its previous sweet and clean state. Pomeroy pro- poses to separate the core and kernels from the putp, by forcing a cuttuig lylinder through each apple, and then grinding the core and pulp apart, as much of tne flavour of cider dqiends on bruising tne seeds. 9. Woods and Plantations. Abundance of oak and elm. Croome, Hagley, &c. well- vooded. Forest of Wire, near Bewdleyi supplies oak polesj rails, hurdles> latlis> hoops, &o. 30. Irrajrovements. Earl of Coventry drains his park by open cuts wide, and their sides turftd to the bottom ; all tlie attention they require js preventing the establistunent of large weeds or coarse tufts of f^rass, which would interrupt the water; some embankments on the Severn, and some meadows irrigated^ but mostly by floods. 11. Live Stock. No particular breeds; land too good fbr breeding; feeding chiefly attended to, and some dairying ; some soUibg, and a good deal of oil-cake nsed for finismng autumn-fed oxen. Mules used in agriculture in some parts of the county, espe- ciail from salt in England. The process of making srdt at Droit- wich is as follows: — A Ittde common water is first put into the pan, to keep the brine from burning to the bottom ; the f)an IS then filled with brinu, and a small piece of resin thrown n to make it granulate fine; when the brine la boiling, the salt first incrusts at the top, and then subsides to the bottom ; yhen subsided, die persons employed ladle it out with an Iron skimmer, and put it into wicker barrows, each containing about half a bushel, in the shape of a sugar loaf, and let them stand at the side of the pan for some minutes ti drain ; they then drop the salt out of the borrow, and place it in the stove . to harden. In 1775, Baker, a druggist, from London, spent 12,000/. in a project nir conveying the Droltwich bi ine in piper to the Severn, without success. Ox. Nash, from i-xperiinent believes Droitwich salt to be neither manure in it»elf^ nor ca^ pable of exciting any vegetative principle on the earth , as animal or vegeuble safts or lime may do ; it produces bad efTects on ploughed lands, by increasing 'their dryness in hot weather, and by making them greasy, and what the ^rmers call raw, in damp weather. He has found it serviceable to scatbT foul salt upon large heaps of manure, to kill weeds and destroy their seeds, but not to enrich ; care must be taken that it be not laid near the roots of the trees, as it will certainly destroy them. If laid at the bottom of pools, it enables them to bold water ; it is wholesome to granivorous and graminivorous animals, but pr^udicial to carnivorous ones> 13. Means qf Improvement. The establishment of village and parish librarlei recom- mended ; and a paper on the subject copied, which appeared in the Worcester newspaper. From the books recommended, as well as other evidence, the writer of this paper is Sir Richard Phillips. The plan is excellent, and would jirobably, in the c»>urse m a generation, efJFect a complete change in the lower classes of society. Le Couteur's treatise Sh apple trees and cider, as applicable to the Isle of Jers^, appended to the survey. 1. Geographical Stale and Circumstances. Climate. Mild in the vales and cold on the confines of Breconsliire, where the snows sometimes remain on tfie ground till a late period in spring ; atmosphere humid, as in most western counties; highlv favourable to the growth of grass. Soil. Clay, loam, and grey soil on rock or marble, and beds of limestone. Caldicot and Wentlog levels on the Severn ; under the court of sewas is a rich silty loam. Soil of the hills a reddish loam. No poor soil in the county. Minerats. Coal, iron, and lime. Upwards of twenty iron works in the coal district ; coal not brought into general use till 1792, when the canals and nul-roads were conuileted. Prin- cipal proprietors of the mineral district. Sir Cnas. Morgan, C. Leidi, Esq., B. Hall, Esq., and the Earl of Abergavenny, A particular description of the mineral basin of South Wales given by Martin {Phil. Trant. 1806). 2. Property. Duke ot Beanfbrt and Sir Chas. Morgan the diief proprie- tors : next class, 1000/. to 3000/. a year ; a third class, 3001. to 1000/. a year. Many proprietorB occupy a part of their estates, and cultivate them well ; some very Email proprietors of or- chards and grass lands. 3. Bladings. Some fine ola seats ; farm-houses of Uie oldest date, timber thatched; new ones covered with tile-stone; seldom any farm- yards ; but cattle-houses and bams scattered about at random ; cottages on the most frugal plan, generally with a garden. 4. Occupation. Size of farms, 60 to 300 acres ; 140 acres about Oie average ; leases not very general. 5. Implements. The proprietors of iron works have introduced man; improved forms from the north ; ven neat iron gates and posts. t/ig.9970 ^ 6. Arable Land. Less than the pasture ; tillage chiefly by oxen. ** Many farmers are so circumstanced, as to be ever on the watdi, lest the avarice of thdr land- lords should interfiare with their in- dustry, by taking advantage of any improvement th^ make In the soil, and unexpectedly raise the rent. That such unrair dealing Is become too frequent, is much to be lamented, and can mly be guarded against b; leases." 4 D 4 1144 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. pa&t iv: 7794. HEREFORDSHIRE. A surface of 600,000 acres, studded with hills, hillocks, and minor swellft^ of various heights and dimensions ; almost every where of a rich soil, devoted exclusively to agriculture, and highly productive in corn, cattle, fruit, cider, hops, and timber. The most cUstinguishetl cultivator in the county is T. A. Knight, Esq.j known in agriculture by his U'reatise on the Appje and Pear, many valuable papers in the Transactions of the Royal Society, and communications to the Board of Agri- culture : and in gardening by numerous essays and improvements, and his honourable office of President of tlie Horticultural Society. {^Clark's Her^ordshirey 179*. Duncombe's Beport, 1808. Marshal's lie- view, 1818.) 1. Geographical State arid Circumstances. Climate, rcmarktibly bealthj ; west winds the coldest ; warm- est and earliest part about Ross. Soil, A marly clay of great fertility extends over most of the county. The heaviest crops of wheat produced on a clayey tract between Hereford and Ledbury ; the l)(;hte3t lands in the south-east about Wormelow, and known as the " Rye lands," from the prevailing produce there in former times. AUnerait. Iron ore in tlic sandy district, but none manufac- turL-d at present. Kcd and yellow ochres, pipe-clay, and fullers' earth, but only the latter worked for. Water abounds ; salmon caught in the Wye, but, owing to the weira and illegal practices, not so abundanUy as formerly. 2. Property. Guy's Hospital, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Oxford, Earl of Essex, Sir G. Cornwall, &c. the largest proprielors. Their estates divided into farms of from 200 to 400 acres. A number of estates from 400^ to 1000/. per annum constantly resided, on by their owners, and cultivated and managed in good style, with a view to the introduction of the best j^icultural prac- tices. The tenures of gavelkind and borough'Cngliah exist in a few places, but are generally nullilied by will* 3. jBuildings. Some fine seats of proprietors, as Horn Lacy, Hampton Court, Downton Castle, &c. Old farm-houses of wood, ill de- signed, and placed : some good new ones on the Guy's Hospital and other estates. Cottages very humble, and of an inferior construction. Strawberries lately cultivated by some cottagers, for the Hereford market, with success and profit. 4. Occupation. Small farms on the decline ; few opportunities now by which an industrious couple can devote oOl. or 100^, acquired by personal labour, to stock a few acres, and bring up their family, and ^ass their latter years in comparative independence. Hence matrimony on the decline, and licentiousness on the increase. Hence Duncorabe humanely recommends proprietors to for^o the temporarv advantages ot throwing the whole of their estates into large farms, and advises some of all sizes, from 5 to 500 acres, as ultimately best for the country. " The old-fashioned farmer of Herefordshire receires any new experiment in agri- culture with great hesitation, if not reluctance. When its utility is confirmed by repeated trials, he slowly and gradually fcills into thepractice; but he wisely leaves the experiment and the risk to tfiose who recommend or suggest it; and happily the county is at this moment well provided with agricultur- ists, who possess the means and the spirit to undertake the patriotic task." Leases of twenty-one years most commonly in three periods of seven years, determinable at the end of each perioaby either landlord or tenant. 5. Implements. Plough called the light lammas, without a wheel, and drawn by three or four oxen generally in a line, abreast ; but often the joke is the usual mode of harnessing. Various improved Im- plements by the amateurs, but none m general use. 6 Arable Land. , Wheat principal grain cultivated, and generally sown on a fallow'.' Cll'arifte'of sedd'pttKfured from the chalk hills of Ox- fordshire; steepM'in brirfe and lime, to guard against vermin ^.nA^, smut. Knight, late of Eaton, now of Downton Castle, steeps In, water and then envelopes in hme, and his wheat was a%jree;from smut and other diseases as that of his neighbours fto'm.phangedseed.'' Hops a '"' " ' ■" ' " disposed of to Bristol dealers. 7. Grass. Fertile, meadpws on the Wye, Prome, and Lug; mown and fed. Not a dairy county for home consumption, seldom tor exterior markets, or Smithlield. Butter supplied from Wales, and cheese .fwm Shropahire and Gloucestershire. "The general soil of Herefordshire ;ippears to be unfavourable to the making of che^e'. _.T. A. Knight, with that accuracy and skill ■whichhe'is kiibwn 'to possess on all subjects connected with agriculture and 'natural history, has proved by experiment, that equal quantities of jnilk in Herefordshire ana Cheshire will produce unequal quantities of curd, highly to the advantage of Cheshire : and farther, that better cheese has been produced in that county, from milk, half of which has been previously skimmed, than is produced in this from milk altogether un- skimmed. The want, therefore, of complete success ^ this valuable branch.qf riu:ai economy is not solely to be attributed to the want of skill in our dairy-maids ; and the cause of failure is rendered more difficult of (Uscovery, and consequenUy more diificpit to he remedied, from an observation that the plants were nearly the same in the Herefordshire and Cheshire pas- tures, on which the above experiments were made: white clover abounded in each, with the crested dog-tail grass and rye-grass mixed with others in small quantities. Of such plants ^e pastures of Herefordshire are generally composed A mode qf manof^ng sound meadonia and patturea has lately been tried, and attended with a great increase of produce. The grass is mown as soon as it is in blossom, and consequently previously to the formation of seed. The after-grass is not Eazed until it begins to contract a yellow appearance. In the Iter end of October or beginning ot November. In this case the ground remains covered during the winter with a portion of maid herbage, through which the young grass springs with the greatest vigour at an early period of the succeeding ipring. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Fruit irees first extensively planted In Herefordshire in flie tjme of Charles I., by Lord Scudamore, of Home Lacy. Or- chards and hedge-row trees of the apple and pear kind are foimd on every aspect, soil, and under every culture. The soil best adapted to most kinds of apples, is a deep rich loam when under the culture of the plough ; the Stjrre and golden pippin. in particular, form exceptions, and flourish most In a hot and shallow soil, on a lime or sandstone. The Itest sorts of pcai trees also prefer the rich loam, but inferior kinds will even flourish wnere the soil will scarcely produce herbage. Tho apples are divided into old and new sorts; each cms com> prises some called kernel fruits, namely, the fruit growing on its native roots, as a distinction from those produced by the cperation of grafting. The old sorts of apples Jire those which have been long introduced, such as the t^tyre, golden pippin, hagloe-crab; several varieties of the Harvey; the brandy apple, red-streak, woodcock, moyle, gennet, red, white, and yellow musks; fox whelp, foan, and old peornaalns; dymoik red, ten commandments, and others. Some of these names are descriptive of the fruit, and others are derived from the places where they have been first found, or found in most abundance. The old pears held in most estimation arc, the squash, so called from the tenderness of its pulp; the oldlield, from having grown as a seedling in a held of that name ; the huffcap, from the quantity of fixed air contained in Its liquor ; the barland, from fields in the parish of Rosbury, called the Barlands; the sack-pear, from its richness; and the red pear, from its colour. Of more common sorts, tlie long- land is the most valuable, and for the general use of the farmer perhaps the best of any. 9. Woods and Plantations. Oak very abundant, and more rapid in its growth in this county and Monmouthshire than in most parts of England, Lord Oxford's estates and Croft Castle contain the finest old trees In the county ; fine woods at Poxley, U- I'rice, Esq. ; most luxuriant oak timber and coppices at lUoccas Court and Stoke Park ; a curious weeping oak at Moccas. Most productive ash coppices at Hampton Court and Ledbury ; cut every thirteen years for crate ware, hurdles, &c. and bring from 18^ to Z5l. per wood acre, which is to the statute acre as 8 to 5. Elm trees are interspersed in the hedge-rows with fruit trees. 10. Improvements. Draining much wanted, but practised chiefly hy proprle- tors; watering little practised, though introduced in KJlO by R. vaughan, Esq. of New Court, whose tract on the subjet-t has been already mentioned. (4376.) One of the greatest expe- riments in this way which have been attempted of late years in Herefordshire, has been attended with complete success on tlio estateof T. A. Knight. By making a weir on the rivtrTemc, with proper courses for the water, that gentleman is now enabled to irrigatetwohundredacresofland,wliich were never watered before, with the assistance of the least flood ; and one half of that quantity even in the driest season. 11. Live Stock. Hereford cattle esteemed superior to most, if not to all, other breeds ; those of Devon and Sussex nearest them in appearance. Large size, an athletic form, and unusual neatness, character- ise the true sort; the prevailing colour is a reddish brown, with white faces. The rearing of oxen for agricultural pur- poses universally prevails ; nearly half the ploughing is per- formed by them, and they take an equal share in the labours, of the harvest. They are shod with iron in situations which cannot be excc^ed by any similar annual collection in England ; on this occasion they are generally sold to the principal graziers in the counties near tlie metropolis, and there perfectedfor the London markels. Herefordshire not bdng a dairifing county, breeders direct their attention to producing that ibrm of animal best adapted for feeding rather than milking. " The whole attention of the I/eicestershIre breeder has been directed to the improve- ment of bis cow ; and for the use of the grazier, he has made her an excellent animal. The Herefordshire breeder, on tiie contrary, has sacrificed the qualities of the cow to those of the ox ; he does not value his cow according to the price which the grazier would give for it, but in proportion as it possesses that form and character which experience has taught him to be conducive to the excellence of the future ox. Hence the cow of Herefordshire ia comparatively small, extremely delicate, and very feminine in its characters. It is light-fleshed when in common condition, but capable of extending itself univer- sally in, a short space of time, when fattening. Experience seems fully to have proved, that these qualities in the cow are necessary to perfection in the ox; and that when the cow is large and masculine in its character, and heavily loadeil with flesh, the ox will be coarse and brawny, and, consequently, unkind and tedious in the process of fattening. It may here be remarked, that there is an extraordinary difference between the weight of a Herefordshire cow and the ox bred from her; perhaps other sorts, eminent for producing fine oxen, are similarly distinguished; but it is a fact, that a Herefordshire cow will not unfrequently be tlie mother of an ox of nearly three times her own weight. T. A. Knight, who made this observation, recollects no instance of this great disproportion in the weight of the males and females of the long-homed cattle. .Thatgentieman farther observes, that ho is unable to discover what advantage the public have derived, or are likely to derive, from a hreetf of cattle which are neither calculated for the dairy nor for breeding oxen. The difference hi (he dairy between a good and an indifferent milking cow, on the pasture which is adequate to the keep of the latter, will seldom exceed five pounds, and if the animal be good, a very poor pasture will be sufRcitnt ; but the difference between a good and bad ox will oft«i exceed twenty pounds, where both have consumed in fattening equal quantities of food ; individuals and the public are, therefore, equally and evidently interested in the imi^ovement of the labouring ox. Persons of little ex- pericnce. Knight adds, in the breeding of cattle, may perhaps think that a soil I^obtainablewhich will unite the two objects; but experience will convince them, that in endeavouring to Book I AGRICULTURE OF SHROPSHIRE, 1145 approach two opposite points at the same time, fliey will never be able to reach either. Where the soil is well calculated fbr the dnir^, every attention should be paid to obtain and improve the best sorts of milking cows ; and where the ox is kept to a proper a^e as a beast of drauprlit, notliin;; conducini; to Ills excelletiL-e ought to be neplet-ted- A cow must, however, give milk enough to keep its calf fat, or it is disqualilied for breeoing a good ox ; because the calf woidd be spoiled before it had acquired the proper ajre to be weaned. Sheep. The pvovincial breed, the Kyeland, named from the snndj district in the neighbourhood of Ross. They lamb in Ft'hruarj- and March ; but durine winter, and particularly in time of lambing, the store flocks are generally confined by nifjht in a covered building, provincially termed a cot, in whicn the>' are tometimes fed with hay and barley straw, but much more frequently with peas-haulm. Some breeders accustom them to the cot only bi very severe weather, and in lambing time. The practice was derived from the Flemings, and intro- duced into England about the year 16G0. A cross has been made between uie Ryelands and the new Leicester sorts, to the advantage, perhaps, of the breeder who b sitiiated on good' land, but certainly to the detriment of the wool. A cross between the Kyclandand real Spanish seerAs the most proluible mode of adding to its fineness and value* Pr. Parry's expLTl- ments have been already related. (7'^i.) 12. Rural Economi/. " If a certain proiiortion between the price of labour and the average price of wheat could be lixcdby law, so as to render the applications for pavoohial aid necessary only in cases of a very large family, of unusual illneas, of scanty scasom, ur any other rfaT emergency ; the measure, it Is iiresi\med, would be honour- able to the country, would stimulate industry and fidelity, would check dishonesty, and endear to a numerous clat-s tlieir native soil." 13. Political Economy. Roads formerly bad ; now improving ; materials, coarse limestone, titoves, to a smalt e&tent, manufactured in Here- ford. An agricultural society establishe©btmcgafeway or embattled tower, it is bad. Cattle protected by^tH? side oPa bamform a picturesque grouii ; but sheltering xmder a Grecian portico, the impropriety ib glaring. iJnen hanging to dry on the hedge of a cottage garden may be passed without displeasure; but the clothes of men, women, and children surrounding the cell of an anchor- ite, or the oratory of a monk, havb their natural unseemliness increased by the contrast. Cm the other hand, a fine-dressed lawn with miserable cottages may be compared to the laced clothes and dirty linen some foreigners were formerly accused of wearing. The whole of a gentleman^ estate should be his pleasure-ground: thevillageshouldbeoneobject in tbe scene; not shut out from it. There may be a little more polirh about the mansion, but it should not be an unnatural contrast to the . surrounding ot^Jects. Tlie face of no countrj' is bad but as it is disfigured by artificial means ; and the cheapest and best improvement is merely to remove what offends, and to take care that the buildings or fences thai are wanted are neat and appropriate, exhibiting distinctly their real intention. Plymley is a friend to single cottages, because two families under one roof may have more causes m contention arise between tliem. On the other hand, in illness poor people have frequently tlie merit of forgetting their differences ; and then tlie assistance ' they are inclmed tc give each othei is made more eas^by near- 1146 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. ness of situation. It b possible* however, where two, or eTcn three houses are Joined together^ to contrive the gardens in Buch a maimer that there may be Uttle interference ; and some- times three neighbouring families may do better together tnan two. 4. Occupation. . On the borders of Wales the fbrms are small, many not ex- ceeding twenty acres; on the east side of the county firom one to 500 acres : fermers in general very indusinous ; work along with their servants; wives brew, bake, dairy, and at spare hours spin, and get up a piece of linen cloth for sale every year. Leases for lives formeity very common. Bishton ot l^iisaii has taken great pains to prepare printed leases, which answCT very well. The term he recommends is seven, tou^^en^ twenty-one years. By being printed the former can read them at his leisure. 5. Implements. , ^ „. Plough with two wheels, drawn by four or five hors^, or six or eight oxen, in the strong lands, and two hcwrses witti a toy to di5ve hi the turnip soils. Various improved ™R«'2™^„?5? threshing-machines: some exceUent mills on Lord Staffoids estates, £riven by steam. Much"?rartSS, and still going on. Plashing bedgra is usually v^iU done in Shrop^hre ; it is a b^^^,*^'=^«: quires great ninety and judgment, and has *)« "^'X^^t SperatoK to perform it hi general ; who m ttie fi^la« en' downward^, &ough mere idlenessi histead o^ "Ewar^>5?i "S- expose the heart oT the plant to the weather. Many miles of he^es latdy planted on the Stafibrd estates. pklioihiE very badly done on the stror^ lands, Conmion y which they could be drained wliile this extensive dislxict continued subject to such inundations. The diffiaiUy which occurred in draining this tract of land arose from the want of level, and from the river Team being pounded so high by die miU-pools as to throw the water bacic to a great distance upon the land. The plan for draining this extensive district was extremely well conceived and judiciously laid out, in the double view of securing tliis object and of in- terfering as little as possible with private property and the ex- isting establishments situated on the Team. It was suggested bv John Bishton, Esq., the first commissioner under the Act. The great oi^ect was to gain as much additional level as would create a ran throughout the whole extent of the moorlands. This was to be obtained by banning the cut which was to carry ofi* the water a considerable way lower down the Team than the water had hitherto been discharged into that river; and a good deal below tiie mill-pool at Long, which occasioned this poundage. The original courses of the strines were straight- ened and w wened, but they were still made to convey the water firom the uplands, and to discharge them into the Team in their original direction. To prevent them overflowing the ad- Joininglands, and to cut off the effects of the back poundage of the Team on tfie upper moors, these brooks were embanked for the whole length of their course through the Wildmoors. These are technically called argue banks. At the back of these banks deep dittoes were candea> but in a more direct line than Uie course of the strines. Into these ditches flie drainage of the moorlands is emptied. The level which was thus brought from the river Team, from below Long Mill, was carried in a tunnel under the Shrewsbuiy canal, and was conducted below the several strines in siphon culverts, and thus communicated with the ditches described as having been made behind the banks which confined the waters of these brooks. In tame instances it has been necessary to construct one set of culverts over another, in order that the waters coming from the uplands may be kept in the several brooks through which they had constantly flowed, and that this water flowing from the uplands might not fall into the back drains ; it bring again explamed, that the water flowing from the higher grounds is srill confined to the original strines or brooks on an upper level ; the dxidnage water alone of the moorlands being thrown into the back drains. Thus has a great additional level been ob- tained, and the whole of this mslrict is now entirely relieved of water, and such a thing as a flood has not been known for years. Tliis district is in some instances so flat, that the old course of the Freston strine, which formerlv conducted the water of that brook in one direction, has with little difficult; been made a part of the drainage, and to carry the drainage water in exactly the contrary direction, a new channel having been cut for the strine. Taking advantage of this drainage, main ditches upon a r^;ular system have been carried into all the neighbouring parts of the estate, thereby enabling the land- lord ana the tenant to execute various other improvements. This dittriet has been subsequently divided Into re^ar en- closvra, by great ditches, which ful into the main drams ; and wherever it has been possible, these ditches have been made to serve this purpose, as well as that of a fence to the new roads which have oeen constructed across these moors. In one instance, one of these roads has been carried in a Btrcught line for about two miles. On each side of this road trees have been planted, at regular distance, which will soon form one of the finest avenues in England. These moors have besides been all regularly under-drained by turf drains, which stand remarkably well. In the different ditches are placed flood-gates, to pound back the water during the summer, Preserving the meadows in a state of perpetual verdure. 'he water is let off at least once in eve^ fourteen days, and being drawn off with as much velocity as possible, it scours and keros clew both the ditches and the underground drains ; — the months of these latter are all defended with tiles. The moorlands have been greatly improved by very heavy and re- peated rollings and top-dressings; and their value as let to a fiurmer, in many Instances, Is ftilly doubled. This improve^ ment has cost a very large sum of money ; which was increas- ed beyond what was necessan', owing to the inefficiency of the late survevor belonging to the commission, wliich is not yet closed. The drainage, however, has lately been put under » surveyor (Lewis), approved of by Zetmittcd, so that the orif^nal breeds of sheep and ht^ are now lost. Pork and bacon are much used amon^ the poorer people, when they can procure them ; therefore the sort which is to be Fed with the least trouble is to be preferred. A mixlure of the Shrop- slilre and Chinese has, in this respect, been found to answer for bacon, and a cross of the wild breed fbr pork. Geese, reared on the commons^ and sold to farmers, who fat- ten them on their stubbles. Turkeys, reared in large quantities by some farmers, and ■old to hiiriors, who drive them to BlrmlnghRm and othrr laripf towns. Markets in general well BUi)ptSed with fowls. It is to be lamented that they are generally carried alive to marki-t. Death is no misfortune to an animal that lins no previous ai>. lirehcnsion of it. But poultry, carried in tmgs or baskets to market, have several hours ot previous suftl'ring, and the bur- den and trouble of carrying ihem thiilier s*,-ein much in- creased thereby. 13. Political Economy. Roads generally bad ; vnriouB canals ; trade of Shrewsbury, flannel, and Welsh webs, used for clothing for the slaves in the West Indies and South Amtrics. Manufactures in the county numerous; iron, pottery, porccladn, glass, dyting cloth, woollens, flannels, linen, gloves, &c. An agricultural society at Drayton. 7796. STAFFORDSHIRE. 765,000 acres of hill and dale, some parts rugged and otliere smooth, but on the whole more a mining and manufacturing than an agricultural county. The Marquis of Staffbrd, Lord Anson, and the Marquis of Anglesea, are the chief improvers. Excellent markets for produce within the county m consequence of the numerous manufacturmg towns and villages. {PUfs Beport, 1808L Marshal's Review, 1813. Loch's Improvements, 1819. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) 1. Geographical State and CtrcuTnstances. Climate, Air sharp and cold, and inclining to wet ; annual i-ains thirty-six inches ; those of London twenty or twenty-one inches ; of Upminster, in Essex, nineteen inches and a quarter ; Lancashire forty -two ; of Ireland forty-two to fifty. Annual rain on the west side of the kingdom double that on the east side. Surjhce. In the north side of the county hills arise, farming the commencement of a ridge, ri^ng gradually higher and higher into Scotland, under different names : here called Moorlands, then Peak, then Blackstone Edge, then Craven, then Stanmore; and then, parting into two horns, called Cheviots. . - . Soil. Vary various ; about one third of the county strong loam or clay ; one third mixed soils of almost all sorts, and the remainder ught, calcareous or alluvial ; no chalk. MtTierala. Valuable and extensive; 50,000 acres or upwards of coal. Iron ore and lime of unknown extent. 2. Proper^. Largest estates 10,0001. a yeEcr, and many of all sizes, from that amount down to 40*. a year. Attorneys generally the ma- nagers, but some excellent examples of gentlemen of from 200/. to 6000/. a year managing their estates themselves ; re- siding on them, and cultivatmg a part, and giving every en> couragement to their tenants. 3. Buildings. Some noble mansions, as Tientham, Beaudesart, Ingestree, &c. Excellent farm-houses constructed on some estates, as Trentham,LordStafrord's;but the majority ,as in other counties, bad, and badly situated. A farm-j-ai'd has been constructed at the family seat of the Ansons, for a demesne farm of 2000 acres. It was buUt by S. Wyatt, of London, and consists of the farming steward's house at one end ; a range of building along one side contains a breivhouse upon a large scale, a water com- mill for the family and farm use, and in which com is ground for the neighbouring poor gratis, and a malt-house : the oppo- site side and end are occupied by stalls for feeding cattle, store- rooms, stables, and other appendages ; and in the middle of the yard is a very complete hoggery, built of large stones set edge- ways, and covered with slate, with a boiler for heating hog- food, a cold bath supplied by the mill stream, for giving an oc- casional swill to the young pigs. In this building a number of hogs £re fatted on dairy refuse, boiled roots or vegetables, Kulse, ground barley or bran, supplied by the mill near at and. At some distance above is the stack-yard and bams, where a powerful threshing-machine is worked by the same stream that afterwards supf^les the garden, and turns the com mill in the farm-yard. 4. Occupation. Farms ofall sizes, from twenty-five to 500 acres ; many con- Bolldated since 1795. Some very good cottages with gardens, and containing comfortable and commodious accommodation for agricultural or manufacturing operatives. A specimen of one is given (,>J^. 10O2.),which contains a livjng-room(a), working orlodgingroom (6), pantry, dairy, cellar, &c. (c), cow-house (fi), with a water closet, and three b^rooms over. Leases generally granted J r twenty-one years. Little made by farming unless 1002 ^^ 3 with a combination of all, or most of the following circum- stances;— First , an easy rent ; second, a pretty good andextensive farm ; third, economy and industry ; and fourth, length of time. In die present system, of farming, at a moderate rent, the writer of this knows ftom experience, that it requires not only the most diligent industry, out also the most prudential economy, to keep the balance on the right side. Towhich Marshaladds, ■• I' have rarely found a farmer making a fortune by bis profes- sion alone, unless on fresh land, on virgin marsh, old grazing- STOUnd, ancient sheep-walk, or well soiled common ; a fortune. I mean, any way resembling that which, with the same ability and industry, and with a small share of the outset capital, he would have been making by trade, manufacture, or com- merce." 5. Implements. Very various ; double furrow -ploughs drawn by four horses, a good deal in use in the light lands. Excellent threshing-ma- chine, and various new implements introducing liyimipnetorB, and especially by the Marquis of Stafibrd. 5. Arabic Land. Most annual field-crops cultivated, including hemp and fiax. 7. G^'tiss. Meadow on the rivers and brooks, and artificial grasses sown ; feeding in general preferred to dairying. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Common to many farm-houses ; but few or no sale orchards, and scarcely any fruit crushed for liquor. 9. Timber and Woodlands. Best-timbered estate Blithfield Park, Lord Bagot; the park contains many hundred trees of extraordinary bulk, containing from 200 to 400 feet of timber each ; much of it is mentioned by Dr. Flott as full grown in 168C. Chillington and Beaudesart also remarkably well timbered. The remains of Necdwood forest, chiefly remarkable for its beautiful hollies. On the whole the country abundantly wooded. iSneid's coppices cut once in six years to make crates and large hampers for the pottcrir^. 10. Improvements. Irrigation and draining practised, the former only to a mo- derate extent. Jessop, the engineer, suggests that nine parts in ten of the waters of the kingdom at present run away in waste, a great part of which might be usefully emplojed ; nay, further (putting expense out ofuie question), that every stream in the kingdom may be made to run equally through the whole year. This position, however extraordinary, is easily demon- strable ; for if, upon any given stream, one or more reservoirs be made, capable of containing its flood water, and through the dam or dams be laid a pipe or pipes, whose apertures will Just discharge the average produce, the business is done: and though there may be no probability of this business being ever brought to so great a nicety, yet from hence some idea may be formed of the prodigious extent to which improvements by water may be carrieo. Great and radical improvemenia have been effected on the Trentham estates. The first object was the laying the lands together, in farms of considerable extent, varying in size ac- cording to the nature of the soil, and other circumstances. In effecting these necessary changes, wherever the old tenant was removed, which was done as seldom aspossible,he was, unless he took a farm elsewhere, accommodated with his house and his best grass crofts for his life, at a low and inadequate rent ; and in every case where it was possible to treat with the person beneficially interested in the lease, and whose continuance in the farm was incompatible with the new arrangement of the land, his interest was purchased either for an annuity or a sum of money, to enable him to look out for, and to stock a new farm. The size of the farm being thus enlarged, it was neces- sary to enlarge the size of tlie inclos'ures, and to lay several closes into one, and, where possible, to give them a more regu- lar and uniform shape. This arrangement enabled the land- lord to get rid of the long useless lanes, by which a considerable addition to the number of arable acTes was acquired. In order to give each tenant every advantOfie in drmmne hit Jiirm, the great lines of ditches were executed by the land- lord; and wherever it was possible, thete were made the boundaries of flie farms. Thus the whole drains on the es- tate were conducted according to one uniform plan, by which the system of drain.ige was rendered much more complete, and the interests of the whole, and not that of any individual tenant, were consulted, nor was any one allowed to interfere with the interests of his neighbour. Such aperfect system will nave the effect of renderuig the condition of these estates more complete in this respect than that of any other in England, Attention hits also been paid, in the execution of these works, to make the watei- available tor the construction of water-mea- dows, and for impelling the thre^iing-machines of the respec- tive farms. In cotuejuetice of the complete slate of ruin in which t/ie jarm buildtngs on these estates were found, it was necessary to incur a serious expense in constructing new ones. In this way it has been necessary to erect thirty-seven newi and to repair throughout eight other, extensive sets of farm offices, besides me smaller repairs which such estates necessarily require. They have been executed in the most substantial manner. They are built of the best possible brickwork, covered with tilCa-or slates; and their cost, including the expense of those thorolighly repaired, may, on an average, be stated at from 1500/. to 1600/. each. We have already given examples of these buildings (2955. nnd 2957.), which are remarkably complete in design, and siiK- stantial in execution; and several of them arefuiiiUhHl»'.h Book I, AGRICITLTURE OF STAFFORDSHIRE. 1149 tiiresMi^fnachines, tlriven by water or steam* a thtiif; rare in England, excepting in Northumberland. It is believecli T^ch observeSfthat they unite as many advanta^^ with as lew faults as any buildinf^ « &te sortj and that they wUl supply useftil liints to others- It had been at one period the custom to permit hnta to be erected in all parts of the estate. These huts amounted in number to many hundreds; they were intublted by the poorest} and, in many instances, by a profligate population. Tluy were not ref^ularly entered in the rental book, but hod a nominal payment fixed upon them, which diey paid annually at the court Jeet. These cottages were built on the sides of tiie roadS) and upon the lord's waste, which was gradually absorbed by the encroachments which the occupiers of these nuts made nom time to time, by enclosing that which lay next to them. They gradualty fell into the hands of a body of middlemen, who underlet them at an extravagant rent to the actual occuniora. In this manner the poor people were oppressed, and the land- Ifnrd was in danger ca losing iila property. To remedy tlie eviU arinn^ out ^ thia austem, the vMasera were made iitanediait iettants to the landlora, and thdr rents made payable at the half-yearly audits; an arranpiement perfectly satisfactory to them, as they were no longer expo»d to the vexations of an intermediate possessor, and, in many instances, their rents to their landlord were less tiian Oiey had been accus- tomed to pay to those &om whom they had hitherto held thtir houses. Since they have been placed in thia situation, greater attention has been necessarily paid to thdr conduct and cha- racter, as well as to their wants- As they know that th«r good conduct will now be noticed 1^, and meet with the ap- probation of, their landlord, a considerable improvemeDt in their habits has taken place. There can be no doubt but that these important and necessary arrangements were far from Ixdng agreeable to those who sufTercd &om ihem. In alter- ing such a system, not only was the direct interest of the exist- ing middlemen afFected, but also the expectant interests and influence of many who contemplated the chance of one day benefiting from their favour. l*hese were not few, and it did not always happen that the person who expressed his dissatis- faction loudest, was the one most likely to succeed in his wishes; and in proportion as this object was near Its completion, was the vexation and discontent of those who were disappointed. To the larger farms some of these cottages have been added, to enable the occupier to put into ihem married fitrm-servants, who have thus a great inducement to behave honestly and in- dttsCriously, and to attend with good will and zeal to the inter- est and the business of their master. It is by giving such inducements as this, and by making them feel an interest in acting right, that this most invaluable class of labourers can alone be maintained and supported. What haa been done by the proprietor, hM been tveU aeeonded by the exertiooB tff his tenimtt, A more respectable and enterpris- ing body of men do not exist ; and, while Uiey are in a better situation of life than a sreat body of this class, they have not allowed themselves to ferget, that it is by a consent attention to their business, by th^ keeping in the line of ]5Se to which they belong, and never attemptmg to commit the mauEige- ment of their affairs to bailiff, that they have gone on steadily improving and bettering their condition. In the knowledge of stock, in their capaci^ as raccellent market-men, in the man- agement of their grass rand, and in tiie cultivation of and in cleaning their lighter soils, they are surpassed by no ^vrmers in the kingdom. The rotation they follow is the Norfolk hus- bandry; and in the cleanness of their crops, and the excelleiice of their drill turnips, th^ cannot be surpassed. The bi^adth of turnip annually sown is very great, and the rapidity with which they have adopted the drill system of husbandly is as creditable to them as it is satis&ctory in the result. JBxcept ploughing ivith too many hareet, and not being suffi- ciently active in getting in their harvest, they have fbwer prac- tices to abandon, and there are fewer tbings which they Aave to adopt from any other of the well cultivated districts oT the island, than is generally the case. Every means has been used to explain to tnem the advantages of ploughing with fewer horses ; and there is every reason to expect that thdr good sense will soon see the nroprie^ of these suggestions, as many qf-them have already adopted this ^stem. The fact is, that the difficulty consists in being able to persuade the ploughmen to adopt it as the labour of holding the plough is more severe : it is impossible for one or two iiuividuals to contend success- fully ag^nst tlie feelings of a country ; but when undertaken by so numerous and wealthy a tenantry, supported by the influence of the landlord, these feelings must speedily give way. TMs mode (^ptoughing haa made rapid progress at Treidham. The reason of which is, that it is more generally admitted, that this system is calculated to suit the stin'better than the l)f;htpr soils, inasmuch as two ploughs, drawn by two horses afaxeast, do much more work than a double plough, drawn by four hoises, can do in such soil : the superiority o^ the work, also, is very conspicuous. On the other hand it is argued, and provement which can be adopted in these soils. They also, until lately* hurt these cold land* Im making use i\fa large quantitv qf a bad sort afred day marl, which they dug out of every field. The effect produced was, to increase the tena- city of the soil, and to render it still less fit for the purposes of agriculture. Of this Act, all the intelligent part of the tenants are themselves convinced, though some of tliose who are still wedded to th^ old customs, lament the regulation which pndiibits fiiem from n^ng this article. On those farms where the inctosures have been entirely renewed, and where, in con- sequence, a portion of several cS the ancient inclosures have been thrown into one dose, the bad effects of this system of marling is perceived in a remarkable degree, and a distinct line in the appearance of the crop, points out with precision the land which had been formerly so treated, from that which had not- The consequence of this prohibition has been, that the tenants have apphed ttiemselves much more to the use of lime as a stimulant, which has rejiaid them, as might have been expected. It has also put a stop to the rapid deterior- ation of property, which was occasioned by the digging of the pits, which every where disfigure and dstroy a considerable portion of the ferms of this district To level dotvn these maH-pita, and to i-ender them again Jit for the purpoaea qf husbandry, lias been an object of great attention. In this way there was applied the labour of a great proportion of the parishioners, to wnom, from time to time, employment had been afforded. In those years when the. circumstances of the country rendered such an exertion of the landlord's bounty necessary. This was more particularly the case in 1817 ; in which year a vast body of men was employed on each of the Marquess's estates. In anoUier particular, the management i\f ike stiff' soils might be conaiderably amended ; which is, in the mode or working the fallows, which are lefl too generally to grow full of weeds, in Iilace of being cleaned as they ought to be. The muck, aUo, s laid on at an improper season of the year, by which its good effects rather go to encour^e the prowth of weeds, ttian to improve the crop. At Trentham, the strong soils are of a far superior quality, fit in every respect fijr the most improved system of wheat and bean husbandry. But the lands were so much subdivided, and the capital of a large proportion of the tenants, until lately, ^as sp inadequate to the right cultivation of their land, that no improvenicnt could take place or be expected, and this estate remained stationary, amidst the general progress which was so conspicuous in me other part? of the county. These defects have been remet'jed in both instai^ces ; and the introduction of some skilful farmers from Shropshire and Cheshire, at Trentham, has given rise to that spirit of enterprise which at present characterises the tenants of these estates, and which must prove so beneficial to the country, by the additional surplus produce which will be brought to market. The rotation which they Jbllowed, on both estates of the stiff soils, was, fallow, wheat, oats,- clover. That is now altered, by clover being substituted after the wheat; and an attempt has been made to induce them to try a six-shift course of hus- bandry, by introducing beans into their rotation. Little pro- gress, however, has as yet been made in this experiment. To this they have considerable objection, which arises fi-om the defective mode of culHtVating tbeir bean-crop. In the first place, they are unwilling; to sow them in drills. They are, besides, longer in planting them, and allow them to stand laler in the year than they ought to do. The consequence is, that ttieir crop is often damaged, ajid the nutritious matter of the bean-straw is entirely lost. They cannot be persuaded, there^ fore, that it forms an excellent and nourishing food for horsed and catUe ; and the complaint that they make of its being aii exhausting crop is quite correct, in consequence of their per^* mitting it to stand so long upon the ground. One improvement the tenants have paid much attention to^ and a more valuable one they could not adopt, which is the cottstrucHon of water-meadows. They have lost no opportunity in making use of whatever watei they could obtain for thia purpose- They were allowed the rough materials to construct the flood-gates, and theexample was shown ihcm as to what could be done in this respect to a very great extent at Tren- tham. The value of this improvement is well known to every experienced agriculturist in England, and no opportu- nity should be lost in taking advantage of every circumstance to promote its adoption. There has been lately finished a new water-meadow on the home farm at Trentham, at the expense of about twenty pounds an acre, which will now let for near four pounds an acre, l>e&ides the advantage derived to the ad- joining upland. This meadow was not worth ten shillings an acre previous to such an improvement. It consists of a small deep dingle, with steep banks, in which a copious spring rises near the top : the upper part being formed into a fisli-])ool. Prom this head the water is conducted on the different levels on each side, with the proper catch-water drains carrying the water round the various knolls. The whole being adomctl by some fine trees, it fbrms for its extent a very perfect union of useful and ornamental farming. It shows how much may he made of such a piece of land, incapable of any other sort of UBF-ful occupation. Miidimoney, honiever.in Has nelgbbaurhood has been thronm awny by watering land which has not been previously tho- roughly drained ; this latter improvement is the foundation of all others. Another mistake has also been fallen into, by at- tempting to convert into water-meadows peat soils, without first bringing them to a proper state of consistency by means of repeated heavy rollings and top-dressings. A proportion of ten acres of water-meadow to every hundred acres of pasture or arable landf adds at least two shillings and sixpence en acre 1150 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. to ttie TOloe of every ncre of suc^ a fann, in addition to a ftit rent being put upon the meadow. The atteraion and influence qf Lord Slaffbrd has been usod in whatever way it could be employed beneficially in extcndini; the comfort or advandne the good behaviour ot hia coCtafrers ; a conduct so characterisuc of uie great and wealthy propnetors of these kingdoms, that it must ever distinguish them In the history of human benevolence. School; wherever they liave been necessary, have been en- couraged, either aiding them by subscription, or by granting the aocommodation of school-houses. Two Banlcs for Savings, one at Lilleshali and another at Trcntham, of which liord StafFbrd is the treasurer, have been establish^, and the whole details are conducted by his managers, assisted by the parochial clergymen and the principal tenantry, and their success among the agricultural labourers li« been very gratifying. The cliarUies qf thit famllu are worthy of an Enj, man; and during the residence of the Marquess and Mar. English noble- chionesfl at Treiitham, there is diatributetl daily to every poor object, who Is travelling along the road, and who applies for the same, a portion or good wholesome brtad, in quantity about fourteen ounces to each full-grown man, and less in nroporlion to women and children, with a pint of good tuble- fceer. Tbe number of people who received this donaton in 1819, amounted to 9504 men, 2376 women, and 1789 children, conauminR 1590 loaves, and 1703 gallons of beer. From this charity are excepted all soldiers and sailors receiving the King's pay, all persons residing within the parish of Trenttiam, or in its imme^ate vicinity. Other distributions take place on particular occasions ; for example, to those who reside in the parish, annually on St. Thomas's day, there is a distribution c^ a certain quanti^ of beef to the poor. During 1819, there were 12,785 quarts of rich soup, and above 8.500 quarts of milk, distributed within the parish, besides 14,134 quarts of milk given away under the head of allowances. Such facts are strongly illustrative of tlie beneficial elfects derived to the poor ^om the residence of tbe great families of England on their r^pective estates. The foregoing statement would have been given with some hesitation, had not the &cts been of a nature rather to exhibit and illustrate the character and extent oithe dutritiea dUtribided by the f^rati families qf Ejiglatid in general, than as being at all peculiar to the instance to which the details belong; and these focts may help to explain to foreigneis the nature of the connection which exists between the richer and poorer classes in this country. The town qf Lane.End, one of those which compose the Staffordslure potteries, is partly situated on, and is partly contiguous to the east end of the Trentham estate. The inha- bitants being ill supplied with water, carried in barrels, they petitioned to be provided with this necessary article, which re- quest has been complied with ; and this town, after a very considerable outlay, now enjoys a regular supply of water, con- veyed in iron pipes. 7797. WARWICKSHIRE. A surface of nearly 639,760 acres, mostly flat, but generally rich in soil and beautiful in appearance. It is chiefly a corn county, and produces excellent wheat ; but also many fat cattle, and formerly much cheesa There are no distinguished agriculturists in the county ; but it has produced, more good to agriculture than many others, by giving birth to EUcington, who gave rise to much discussion on draining. XWedge's Report^ 1794. Murray's Report^ 1808. Marshal's Review, 1813. JSdm. Gax. 1827.) The character qf the numerout eattagera \tpm Ihe eitalei Is also an object of great solicitude, and without any interfer- ence with tne maimer in which a man may choose to occupy himself, their regular and decent behaviour is made the sub- ject of care and attention ; and the steward has strict directions lo watch careftjlly over them, and where possible to promote their improvement. Wherever a potato garden can with ad- vantage be added to their cottage, that accommodation Ib afforded them. In the vicinity of Trentham the cottages are of the best sort, and with their gardens kept in the nicest order. To almost every one of them is attached land for the maintenance of one or two cows. It is a circumstance worthy of remark, that of all the labourers who possess a cow, none receive relief from the poor's rate, except one widow at Tren- tham, who has a large family, and even m this instance, the re* lief she receives is In a less rauo than any person labouring under simitar dilUculties. (Loc/i in 1819.) 11. Live Stock. Cattle generally of the long-homed breed. The Staffbrd- shire cow Ls generally considered a tolerable milker, as well as feeder. SIteep. Three sorts considered native breeds : the grey-faced hornless, en: Cannock heath sheep, with fine wool ; the black- faced homed, with fine wool ; and the white-fiuwd hornless, with long wool. Sroirtc. A cross between the j«]ouched- eared and dwarf breeds ; require little attention or tending, and easily get fat on the refuse of the dairy or bam. Pitt, the reporter, had a very fine sow, which littered ten at the first Utter. Rjibbila. Wild in the sandy lands. A good many bees kept ; Thorley's plan tried, but bees are found to succeed best in straw hives thatched in auturaji. " Those which have not raised a sufficiency of food for winter, it Is doubtless humanity to destroy, as sudden sufibcation is better than a prolonged but certain starvation." 12. Political Economy. Koads now generally good ; numerous canals ; several pri- vate rail-roads. Manufactures, iron, hardware, nails, glass, toys, japanned goods, potters' ware, cotton cloth, silk fabrics, leather, woollen, linen, and many others. Manufactures some- times carried on in the country in straggling groups of houses, but for the mc^t part in towns. Many thousands both of men and women employed In making nails. An agricultural socie^ at NewcaatlCi and another at Litchfield. Experimiminl Farming. " It would be awholeeomeplanfor the Board to commence fanning upon their own Ideas, parti- cularly in counties where the modes of agriculture seem impro- per; for instance, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, Northumberland, &c. ; by which ocular demonstration their filan might be imitated ; for hearing or reading of any particu- ar practice will not do for farmers In general." Such is the reporter's opinion. In ours a most erroneous oae> 1. Geographical State avid Circu?nstances. Climate, mild and healthy. S. W. the prevailing winds ; effects of an easterly variation felt till the middle of May, and vegetation checked ; not, however, by excess of damp or frost. Soil, chiefly clay or sand, marl, and limestone. The portion of sandy or moonsh soil very small. The tract of land called the county of Coventry is a rich, red, sandy loam, chiefly in grass. The land near Birmingham is generally either sand or stiff clay. Minerdh, coal, limestone, freestone. Iron, blue flagstone, marl, blue clay, and soapy clay, which the late Earl of Warwick attempted to prepare for sale as a soap. 2. Property. Larfffist estate Stoneleigh, Chandos Leigh, Esq., 25,000 acres ; but a great variety & extent, and some curious and ab- S. Buildings. Warwick Castle and Hagley first-rate edifices. Old farm- houses built of mud and Umber, and frequently at the extre- mity of the forms. The Duke of Buccleugh, at Dunchurch, has constructed some good farmeries. 4. Occupation. Farms from 80 to 500 acres ; 150 the average size ; on the increase. Farmers in general exceedingly shy and jealous ; one, considered as at the head of his profession, told Murray '* he did not see any advantage the county of Warwick would derive fi-om such a survey [ that it must do a great deal of hurt instead of good ; and that such being his opinion, he declined giving any information on tbe different heads of queries put to him." Lands generally held at will, but very low rental. Cheap farms, in general, are a drawback on industry and im- Dvements : farmers that have cheap farms may farm well ; those that have dear farms must &rm well, or their career will soon terminate. 5. Jmp/ements. Ploughs the double and single Rotherham ivith wheels, the double drawn by five or six horses In a line, the single plough by thri>e and four, or five horses in a line, and in both cases with a driver- Small's plouRh, with two horset; abreast, and no driver, the reporter remarks, would make better work, and do more of it. Some winnowing and threshing machines In use by proprietors. 6. Tillage. Large crooked ridges gathered very high with a small one 7. Grass. 235,000 acres In meadows and pastures, and 60,000 In arti- ficial herbage. Formerly dairying common, and Warwick- shire cheeses produced in abundance ; but now breeding is fast assuming its place. Old pastures overrun with ant-hills and rubbish. Minrray very prophetically observes, that if peace were to take place, grass lands would he safer for the farmer than com lands. Dairying and feeding both in practice. 8. Gardens and Orchards. The gardens of the Marquis of Hertford, at Ragley, noted for their pine apples ; few sale orchards of any extent. 9. Woods and Plantations. Oak and elm evez; where abounds ; the Leigh estate the best wooded, but every where abundance of timber 10. Improvements. Much draining done in the northern part of the county ; but It is rather singular that the names of Fazelev, Elkington, or their farms, are not once mentioned in Murray's report. Joseph Elkington lived at Princethorp, In Stretton on Duns- moor, six miles S. W. of Coventry, and afterwards in Birming- ham. He died in 1806. He was a mere empiric practitioner. and knew nothing of geologv, the only foundation for drain- ing on scientific principles ; less even than some of his con- '^rappraries, as Farey has ably shown in the Derbyshire report. Irrigation practised in a few places on a small scale. temporaries, as Trrigation pra 11. Live Stock. No particular breedof cattle; but as feeding Is the prevailing practice, farmers buy in whatever breed they think will pay them best. Sheep a good deal attended to; the 1arg°'polled sheep, or fmcient Warwickshire, now generally mixed with other breeds. The first cross of a Leicestershire ram and Warwickshire ewe produces the best sheep for the butcher. Horaet, tbe heavy black Leicestershire breed ; a good many bred, of cart, coach, riding, and bunting horses. Poultry abounds, owing to tbe prevalence of small farms; great quantities sent to Birmingham and London. Game, as pheasants, partridges, and hares, more than com- monly abundant. 12. Political Economy. Roads tolerablv good ; several canals ; Innumerable manu- factures, especially at Birmingham, for iron, and others of the metal kind, and Coventry for r four, or five liorses, or cattle in a line walking in the furrow. Thirty yean ago, wheels were first appfied to the fore end of the beam, and ft was found that by pituiing the ploughs a little deeper, and setting the wheels so as to prevent its drawing in too asep, the wheels were a sufficient guide, and the plough required no one to hold it, except in places of difficulty; one person attending was therefore sufficient to drive on the team, turn the plough hi and out at the ends, or guide it in particular hard or soft places. Soon after another forrow was added, by slipping an additional beam to the off side of the former one, somewhat lengthened, with foot-share and shelboard ; the same number of wheels, viz- ("le on each side, guiding the two furrows. Among the uncommon implements may be included, a rack and manger f^ four colta on wheels, to be drawn from one pasture to another. It is square in the plan, and therefore each colt has a side to Itself, and cannot kick or bite at the others ; a break for dioeing oxen ; a fastening for ewes, to lessen the Gitigue of ^e ram during copulation ; and also several ploughs, rakes, &c. ttie invention of Uanford and Co. at Hathmi, near 6. Arable Land. Many farms have none. Drilling com crops principally in- troduced; but not for turnips, even at Dishley; thought to lose ground ; cabbages and rape a good deal cultivated on the coils too stnmg for turnips. 7. Grass. Excellent meadows on the rivers and rills ; fertilised by in- undations; upland pastures sometimes manured. Stilton cheese made m most villages about Melton Mowbray. On the Trent, considerable patches of reed, which pay as well as ' the best meadow land. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Gaidens much wanted to cottages ; orchards rather n^Iect- ed, though the soil is in many places well adapted for them. 9. Woods and Plantations. Few, excepting about gentlemen's seats, and in the hedge- rows. Willows, as pollards, grown on Dishley and other farms, to supply stuff for hurdles, rails, and gates. 10. Improvements. Elkington was a good deal emplojred by the proprietors. Ir- rigation more extensively practised in this county than in most omers. 11. lAve Stock. Cattle, the long-homed breed. What was the particular breed m cattle in J^icestershire before the middle of the last centun, about which time Bakeweli began his exertions, it is difficult to determine; perhaps there was not any distinct breed, with particular specific characters, whereby they might > determine; perhaps there was not any distinct , h particular specific characters, whereby they might De distinguished ; although tliere were always great numbt'ra bred, yet the produce was never equal to me supply of the coun^ : there alway^ was, and still is, an Influx from Irdand, Wales, Scotland, Shrop^ire, Stafturdshire, Herefurdsliire, Northumberland, and Lancauiire; the latter of which were most probably the stcick fiom which Bakeweli began his breedj His first best cows, it is believed, were artfully oivtaEned from Webster of Canley, in Warwickshire ; and his famous bull. Twopenny, was bred from one of these cows, or ftom one procured from Phillips of tiarrington, and a bull fVom North- umberland. From these beginnings, with great Judgment and attrition, In a short time -he reared some beautiful cattle ; they were long and fine in the horn, had small heads, clean throats, straiebt backs, wide quarters, and were light in their bellies and ofrals; they were gentle and quiet in their tempers ; they grew fat with a small proportion of food, but gave less milk than some other breeds. Some years ago, Bakeweli put three new-miilched cows In three separate stalls, a Holdemcss, a Scotch, and one of his own breed; the Holdcmcss ate most fbod, and gave much the greatest quantity of milk ; the Scotch ate less food, and gave less milk, hut produced most butter ; his own cow ate least food, gave the least milk, and made the least butter, but laid on the most flesh : h^ce it will follow that the Dishley cattle are most adapted for the grazier, and the produce of beef. No man, perhaps, ever made more com- parisons betvreen the diffbrent breeds of cattle than Bakeweli, and no one that was able to tell so much has told us so little about them. Many capital herds of cattle in the county, and a number of dairies, from which great quantities of cheese is sent to market. Sheep, The present stock consists of three varieties, the old and new Leicester, and the forest ahe'p. The old breed, which is spread over Noithamptonshite, Warw ick, and Lincolnshire, are an improvement on the ancient stock of the common fields. The new Dreed Bakeweli produced by breeding from selected sheep from his neighbours' flocks, or those of the Gibbers. A ram soci^ was fcnrmed by Bakeweli and others, and still exists, the ol^ect of which wasa monopoly ofram-Ietiing. The late Bakeweli bound himself, and hU successor, Honeyboume, binds hims^f, not to engage nor show his rams to any person tiB the members of the society have seen them arid are sup- plied, and not to leb- a ram to any person within fii^y miles of Leicester, for a less sum than fifty guineas, for which, and other privileges, the society pay a large annual sum ; and Honeyboume, and ttie other members of the society, con- fine themselves not to sell, nor to let, their ewes at any price, nor to show their rams at any public fair, nor at any othor fAsxx than their own houses, and that only at stated times, from tibe 8th of June to the 8th of Jidy, and again from ttie 8th of September till the end of the season; with several other regulations of a similar tendenc)-. Ram-Utiing alone has produced to Bakeweli 3000/. in one year. The greatest prices were paid about 17S9 ; since that time they have declined ; still, about 1807, from sixty to one hundred guineas have been given for the use of a ram for one season. Much curious information on this subject will be found in the report. Folding is not practised. Fatting is practised as usual with grass, and in winter and spring with artificial food. Bakeweli frequently fattened sheep in stalls; in three days th^ were reconciled to their confine- ment, and b^an to feed. " Further than this,'' the reporter's informant, Bakewell's successor, " knows not, or is not incUntkl to communicate." The Jbrett aheep are confined to Cbarrwood : they are grey- fticed, and partiuly homed, but now almost exllnct- Bona have heea bred in Leicestershire from time imnic- morial,' and the breed considered superior. Bakeweli went through Holland and Flanders and purchased some Friesland mares, which excelled in those points wherein he thought his own horses defective, from which, with great labour, expense, and judgment, he produced some capital horses, and in par- ticu^r,lus famousnorse Gee, the noblest, and most compute and beautiful, creature of the kind that had been seen iif Europe. How far his elegant points were adapted for the labour that horses of this smt are principally designed to per- form, is a question, perhaps, undetermined ; be this as it may, beyond all controversy he was strong and handsome, and com- manded the admiration of all who saw hiin ; for a time he was the first subject of conversation, and almost the wonder of the day ; he was takoi to Tattersall's, and shown tliere to the nobility and gentry, with great approbation; and Bakeweli had the honour of showing him personally to Geo. HI.; he is said to have been ver;^ quiet and docile, and Bakewetl, in de- scribing his points, invited his majes^ to touch him, which was dndined. He was killed by lightning, in his pasture. The present horse-system at Dishley is this :— 71 hree or four very capital black stallions are constantly kept ; these are occasion- ally worked, and are always rendered docile enough for that purpose, if wanted; those kept at home cover at two guineas the mare, and those let out never at less than one guinea. Eight or ten brood mares, of the same stout black breed, are also kept, but no geldings ; these do all the farming work of between 400 and 500 acres, with occasional assistance from the stallions, as well as from bullocks and heifers; of the mares, all that are fit are put to the bors& of which three are reckoned upon the average to rear two foals, allowing one in three for casualties. ' Aaaea used in many parts of the county for carrying burdens, and lately introduced as farmer's stock ; especially for clearing green crops from clayey soils, in wet weather, their step being ughtl The tumip panniers open at bottom, to let out the loaol Lord Moira had Spanish stallion asses, fourteen hands high, , which he let out to cover at two guineas a mare. Midea have long been in use for the saddle, road-work, and theplough. Boga greatly improved by various breeds. Honeyboume's seem to have a cross of die wild boar, Astlev's is between the Chinese and Berkshire. At Donnington Ls a German boar, the bacon fi-om whose progeny is of extraordinary sweetness and good flavour. Beea attended to, but not so much as they deserve. 12. Poli/ical Economy. The roads in the north-west of the county,in flienrighbour- hood of Loughborough and Ashhy, are many of them laid out upon the concave ^stem. . ,^ Bakeweli and others were advocates for this sjsteni; butie doB not appear that they are considered to be attended with 1152 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part I^ inffs: aUo cotUm-varla, hats, pat^t nct-lace for veils, &e. THe Leicestershire and Rutlanduluie agricultural society esto. any advantages by those who live beside them, and constantly ' line them. Various railways and canals. Manufaclures, wool- ' comblugj woollen yam^ worsted, and especially worsted stock- . 7799, DERBYSHIRE. A mounUinous andhUly surface of 622,080 acres of great variety of soilfl, biA more remarkable for. its mining and manufacturing productions than its agriculture. It is, however, at the same time both a com and pasture county, and noted for its cheese ; it is every where ftill of ingenuity and interest ; and the Report by Farey, in three volumes, is one of the most interesting and valuable of the county reports : it is an example of extraordinary industry, research, and excellent general views, and will be read with great profit by every class of readers. Farey, indeed, was a philosopher ahead of the age in which he lived. (Brown's Derbyshire, 1794. Farcy's Agricultural and Mineral Survey, 3 vols. 1811 to 1815. MarshaVs Rev. 1812.) 1. Geograpkical State and Circumstances. Climate. Cold on the hills, but mild in the plains; inthevales hoar frosts often injurious; no pievailing winds; rain about twenty-eii^ht inches per annum. Soil very various, chiefly calcareous. MineraU, Lead and iron those chiefly worked ; also some zinc, calamine, black jack, manganese, sulphur, &c. ; coal, lime, alabaster, slate, freestone, paving stone, rolling, grinding, Boythe, and cutlem' stones, and a variety of others, ootli for use and ornament, as spar, &c. Clay in some districts, as at Over- moor, is burned lij spadefuls, dried, and mixed with small coals in heaps, for tlie roads. E, M. Mundaj.Esq. of Shipley, formed his private roads of a sort of bricks, made without the comers to avoid the duty. Waler. When scarce, drinking ponds made by i)uddling and paving in the Uloucestershire manner. An artificiai pond dis- covered in 180S, concealed under peat, the head of which was puddled in the centre ; a proof that puddling is no new art. Ntone cisterns, placed in the lines of neatly cut thorn hedges, serve to supply two fields : the water brought to them in thin zinc pipes, as being cheaper, and perhaps more durable than lead. 2. Estates. Of various sizes as in other counties ; managed by attorneys, at a low salary, who make it up by law busmess, and other- wise. 3. Buildings. Chatsworth, Keddlestone, and some other noble stone man- sions in this county ; some good houses, covered with cement (known in London as Atkinson's), made from clay stones found on Lord Mulgrave's estates in Yorkshire, andwliich Farey con- siders as superior to that made 6rom the clay 'oalls of the London clay stratum. Grottos frequent, fitted up with the spar of the county. At Ashover a fnze of a chimney-piece, representing a section of the strata taken across the parish. At Chatsworth, and various places, the spits in the kitchens turned by water- wheels, of the overshot kind, supplied by small lead pipes. Hair lines, in covered boxes, placed on drving parts, and the lines wound and unwound by a handle, for urying clothes. At several houses foot lath-wheels, turning spindles, on which were other wheels, dre^ed with emery for cleaning knives; also brush spindles for boots and shoes, as at the Angel Inn, Oxford ; boot- rack, in which boots are reversed on upright pins and taken off by a stick, which prevents dust settling inside the boot. Farm-hotaes as in other counties ; a few good ones recently erected. One of the most complete farmeries is that of the Earl of Chesterfield, at Bretby Park ; it is of hewn stone, slated, and combines a general farm-yard, dairy court, and twopoultry courts, including pheasantrics. Buildings in general roofed with grey stone or other slate ; water, in some cases, conducted down from gutters by a light wooden rod, down which the water runs as well as if it were in a spout or tube, and not blown about by the winds, as it would if no rod were there. Fire-proof floors made by arching them with hollow bricks ; in the cottages, cast-iron ovens by the sides of the fires very common, and also iron cisterns for hot water ; both these were oriinnally brought into notice by the Griffin foundry, about 1778. Cottages better than in most other counties ; some good ones erectedbytheprincipal manufacturers and noblemen. Virgin's bower, or other beautiful flowering creepers, and shrubs, and plants, are not uncommon at the cottage doors in ^is county, among other indications of their attention to neatness and of their comforts, compared with the inhabitants of the miserable huts in many other districts. 4. Occupation. Farms generally of small size ; farmers rank higher in intel- ligence than those of most southern counties ; nothing but leases and larger occupations wanUng to render this one of the most improved counties of England. Best fanners also at same time manufacturers or miners. 5. Implements. Swing ploughs and pair ; one-horse carts ; good harrows (^^.1003.) ; weeding scissars, for clipping off weeds among com 1003 close, or rather under ground; weeding pmcers ; threshing- machines; cast-iron rick stands; cattle cribs mounted on posts, which turn round on a pin, so that when the cattle have well txolden ^e Utter on the two opposite sides, in standing to eat from the crib, it is turned half round for them ta tread and dung, &c. in the opposite direction. [Jig. 1004.) Tumip-Bllcers, ch^-cutteis, bruisers, slate cisterns as milk vessels* &c. 1004 6. Enclosures. In setting out fences, less attention paid to separating the different kinds of soils than is requisite ; walls frequent ; and holes oflen made in tbem for passmg sheep; to be closed when not wanted by a flat stone; slacked lime plastered on the face of a newly planted hedge (as clay is in Norfolk), to prevent the weeds from rising. Young thorn hedges, with a northern aspect, do best, as the morning sun in sprmg injures the bud of those facing the south when previously covered with frost. Roots of thorns, sometimes planted as sets with success ; old thom-hedges effectuaUy renewed by cutting off the shoots below the surface of the ground ; the roots then throw up vigorous shoots. Neatly clipt hedges at Ashboume. Magne- sian, limestone, and marly soils found to suit the holly better than any other. 7. Arable Land. Only one fifth of the county in aration ; formerly six horses were generalW employed in ploughing, now only two ; turnips drilled in the Northumberland manner in various places ; some wheat dibbled ; oats a good deal cultivated, and oat-cakes or Haver (Ger.) cake made, by pouring sour dough on a hot stone : a sprinkling of parsley sown with clover to prevent cattle hov- ing ; sides of oat ricks tucked in with a spade, to leave no loose straws for sparrows to rest on. Chamomile " is cultivated to a very considerable extent on the limestone and coai strata near Ashover;" the flowers are picked by children, dried first in the shade and then on a malt-kiln, afterwards packed tight into bags, and sent to the London druggists ; the crop stands three years, and then gets weedy and declines." Waatl cultivated on a small scale. Widmv-wort (Genfsta tinct^ria) infests old pastures, and is pulled when in flower, and dried and sold to the dyers. Yarratv {^chill^ JIfi lief {ilium) is in some places also taken up, tied in bunches, and dried for the dyers. Vaierian {Valeriiina officinilisj is grown at Ashover, and also elecampane (Z'nula Hel6niu«t), lavender, peppermint and rhubarb, on a small scale, in one or two places. Truffiet (Tixtter cib&rium) collected in various places, espe- cially und jr the shade of the beech trees, and on dry hedge banks. Roses formerly cultivated for tlie flowers, but not at present. 8. Grass. _ Three fifths of the county under permanent grasses (though It appears by the marks ofridges to have been formerly every where arable), and the application chiefly cheese-making. Droppings of cattle andhorses on pastures spread by rakes,which injure the grass less than any other implement. Fern and other weeds collected from wastes, and dried and burned, and thehr ashes made into balls, and laid aside, to be used as ley for washhig. This practice declines with the frequency of enclo- ^res. When worms are engaged forming worm-casts in fields, scaUer barley chaff, fresh and dry from the winnowing machine, which, sticking to the worms when they come out, prick them, and prevent their return to their holes, till rooks, &c. devour them. 9. Gardens and Orchards. GooA market-gardens at all the principal towns, and few of the farm-houses and cottages without gardens. " Samuel Oldknow, Esq. of Mellor keeps a profe^io if gardener, on three acres of rich sheltered land, by the river Goytc, on the Cheshire Bide of it, who cultivates, gathers, prepares, and delivers ail the useful vegetables and common t^rden fruits in season to his cotton mill work-people and tenants, and renders an account once a fortnight to the mill-agent, who deducts what they have purchased from the gartren from their several wages ; the perfection and utility of his arrangement for these purposes cannot but prove highly gratifying to those who wish to see the labouring classes well and comfortably provided for from the fruits of tteir industry. I'roper rooms, for drying, cleaning, and preserving p-nrden-seeds and fruits, and his wool-chamber and other like offit es, are attached to the gardener's house, and Book I. AGRICULTURE OF DERBYSHIRE. 1153 ce." A most nroducdve /jarden, at Belper, but Irrigated In winter trom a cesapoolj in placetl under on a very poor soil, but „ vhich centres the liquid manure of fifty cottagesj belonging to Messrs. Strutt's cotton mills. Ordiarda seldom planted^ though tlie soil is well adapted for them in man; places. 10. Woods and Plantations A good many coppicesi the produce of vhich Is much tn demand both for mimng and agricultural purposes. Sir Joseph Banks, at Ashover, has planted some exposed sites in a new . manner : first planting narrow slips of Scotch fir at the dis- tance of 100 yards, then Intersecting them by others* so as to leave tiie surface checkered ; after the Scotch firs are grown a few years, it is the intention to fill the intervening patches with •archesj at such a distance as that they will never require any tliinnine. This plan, as Farey justly nints, is more mgenious or fant^l than likely to be useM ; the mixture of the larch and Scotch firsi with a proper attention to thinning, would be a more effectual, speedy, and economical mode of producing timber. Some judicious observations on pruning trees, and the propriety of Pontey's mode, pointed out by various examples. Hedge row trees, sparingly introduced and well trained, are near^ all that fertile agricultural land ought to contribute to the nationalstock of timber. Key-bearing ash trees, or any forest tree much given to bearing seeds, no longer Increases much iu tim- ber, and therefore ought to be cut down ; hence male ashes pre- ferable to females, or such as have both male and female flowers on the same tree. The use of the spray and buds of the oak s bark recommended, as practised in Cheshire and South •^ales; when collected, they should be immediately sent to a mill and crushed. A mostcompleteseasoningkilnfortimberat Belpcr. Timber often sold by ticket sale, — thus described : the vender meets the proposed purchasers, writes his price in an envelope, and puts it in a glass ; the offerers do the same ; the vender opens tne envelopes) and if any price comes up to his, then he accepts it, if not, the process is three times repeated, and then the vender must show his price, if none has come up, but not if any one has gone beyond it. In felling trees with an axe, cut duAtf;^, if young shoots are expected to succeed, as the soonn the centrerots the better the wavers thrive. Larch trei^ b^iT neglect better than any others, as tliey never produce timber boughs. Birch mine has been made from an open grove of about 100 birch trees, near Overton Hall, for sixty or seventy years past. Thirty trees or more are tapped in a season, about six or eight inches above theground, in March. A piece of hark, about three quarters of an inch in diameter, is cut out with a gouge, and uiewood penetrated an inch or more ; an iron spout 0g.l(Ki5.a). 1005 IS then drivai into the bark below the hole, which conducts the sap to a bottle (c). Jn warm weather the holes soon grow up, and will cease to run in four or five days; but in windy weather th^ will run for a month. Some trees will run twenty-fbur gallons in twenty-four hours, others not half a pint. The water is sold at ^pence a gallon, to those who make small wine as a substitute for small beer. If the water is scalded (not boiled), it may be kept a month befbre it is made into wine ; if not, it will not keep above a day or two. For making die wine, two pounds of coarse sugar, and a quarter of a pound of Malaga raisins, are added to eve^ gallon of birch water, when cold : it is then boiled about an hour, until it is observed to grow clearer, when it is set to cool ; and when about at the same heat tiiat becx is set to work, a toast of bread, spread with yeast, is put into it, and for four days suffered to work freely, when it is barrelled, and the same quantity of raisins as before, and about an ounce of isinglass to every twenty gallons is added. It seldom works out of the barrel, and in two or three wee^ is ready for close buneing down,to remain for three monthSjwhen It should be hottledoffl and in two or three weeks after it is fit for drinking, but is the better for keeping longer. 11. ImprovBTnent. Magne^an or hot lime very thinly spread has its inimical properties ; and it would seem such limes ma; be used where a stimulant ratiier than an addition of calcareous earth is required. Lime over-bumed melts and runs together, will not slack* and becomes useless; the consequence of too strong a fire being applied to magne^an limes more especially. Afight not the dried mud of limestone roads be used instead of lime ? Many bmie mills in use : they are composed of Tatchet-Iike iron wheels and rollers, between which the back- bones of horses, with their adhering ribs, pass with facili^, and are crushed into small pieces ; the bones collected in Lfmdon, &om the churchvards and other sources ; seven quarters dress an acre. Coat ashes almost entirely neglected, though a valu- able manure. Importance in draining of bearing in mind the difference between mi&ce and spring draining, and bog and upland draining. 12. Livestock. Cow stock for the dairy the ]pi%valent stock in Derbyshire ; no particular breed ; noticed nme breeds and nine crosses ex these. Many consider that rather poor land makes the best cheese* and old sward more and better than artificial grasses. In some cases some slacked and powdered lime strewed on Ihe willow trees within the reach of cows, to'^revent their eating them, and tasting the butter. Milk set to raise its cream in yellow dishes, with lips ; in some places in slate troughs ; car- ried home in suspended tubs. {.fig. 1006.) Sheep. Ten different breeds, and seven crosses of these and others ; wool chambers generally form a part of the accommo- dations of the farmeries. HoruM. Those of Derbyshire ranked next to those qf Leicestershire, for lieing stout* bony, and clean-legged. 1006 4E Aaaa in considerable number used by the smaller manufac- turers, and in the coal-works, potteries, &c. ; also on the iron railways. Sniine. The Earl of Chesterfield supplies his table with delicious sucking pigs, of a fortnight old, from his Otaheile sow ; plan of shaving off the grisUy or homy projection of the dnout, to prevent di^^g, recommended. Tethering by the neck also suggested for eating down sturdy herbBKC crops. A Eln and screw to be used like those for fixing down Salmon's armless man-trap. (JVajw. Sac. Arts, vol. xxvii. p. 183.) Poultry. The Earl of Chesterfield's poultry yards at Bretby, perhaps as complete as any in the kingdom. The roonting- house is well contrived, with covered places for the ducks and geese under the fowls, and the whole is constantly keptsirewed with fresh saw-dust. The sitting-house, and which serves also for laying, is furnished with flues, to preserve an equal temper- ature in nosts. In the feeding-houses, the fronts, partitions, and floors of the pens, are all of lattice-work, which readily take out in order to wash tiiem thoroughly ; shallow drawers with fVesh sawdust pass under each pen to catch the dung. The fatting poultry are fed twice a day, and after each the food is taken away, and the daylight excluded, for them to rest and sleep. A breed of Arown American turkej/a at Brailsford ; they roost upon trees or the high parts of buildings : cocks weigh twenty pounds when fat, but the hens much smaller. Geese when let out have a stick about two feet long slung be- fore the breasts of the old ones, which is found to prevent them creeping through hedges, &c. ; f^ on Festfica fluitans, &c. When waters are much impr^nated with lime, the eggs of geese and ducks that frequent uiem are so much thick- ened that batching becomes difficult. Hetis. At Plesby a fine breed of black fowls I round Winger- worth many game fowls kept for cocking. In Tansley the cockpit converted into a metbodist meeting-house. Bggs pre- served bung in nets, and turned into a fresh position each day ; this being the main essential in preserving eggs, whose yolks subside sRiwly when left unmoved, and come at length to touch the shells on the lower side, when rottenness almost immedi> ately commences. Bees kept in various places. £'ish. Certain ponds in Sir Thomas Windsor Hunlocke's Park, in Wingerworth, are appropriated to the feeding of cas- trated male carp and tench, which are found very superior in size and flavour to other fish ; the lateSir Windsor Hunlocke s aw t his practised in Italy, many years ajgo, and had one of his servants, who was with mm, instructed in performing the ope- ration ; which is less diflacult or dangerous than might be sup- posed, and in consequence of whichj not more than one in four- teen or fifteen of the fish die. Angling permitted at Combs-brook reservoir of forty-five acres, the angler paying sixpence per pound for the fish taken. Salmon pass and trap on the Derwent, at Belper bridge. 31. Rural Economy. Rewards are offered by the Agricultural Society at Derby, as by most others in the kingdom, for long and meritorious hired or day service, but seldom for having performed the greatest quantities of Job work, creamed the most money by such at fair prices. Atthebeginningofthepr^ent century, it was cal- culated, taking the labourer's wages at two shillings and six- Sence per day, that he must work four and a half timesas many ays to earn the same quantity of food, as from three to five centuries back he could, when his daily wages was from four- pence to twopence per day ! Part of this was doubtless occa- sioned by the many idle saints' days which the church of Borne imposed on the people at the earlier periods. 14. Political Economy. Various concave roads formerly, made through the influ- ence of Joseph Willcs, Esq. of Measham j these in a very in- dine-ent state, and illustrate the absurdity of the principles on which they are constructed. To level across a road a string level used. It consisted of a piece of boxwood eleven inches long, one and a half broad, and one and a quarter deep, into the top of which a spirit-level tube was deeply sunk, and to the top, at each end of this level, several yards of strong whipcord was fastened. In using this instrument, a labourer was placed on each side of the road, having the cord in his hand, which they pulled very tightiy, and steadily against each other, and thmeby made the bubble assume the middle of the tube or either end, according as the two ends of the string were held level or one higher than the other. Some remains of wavy mads (3551.), but nothing to justify any deviation from the general form of slightly convex roads, with straight or even surfaces as to length. The road between Bjpley and Little Baton, where washing or irrieation has been adopted as a mode of clearing (Com. B. Ae. vol. i.) was " miser- ably deep, loose, and bad." In Mantifliciures Derbyshire ranks next to Lancashire, Staf- fordshire, and Warwickshire. 1. Trades, S^c. depending on the Animal Products (if the countit. Blanket-weaving, and scouring. Bone-cruahing millsv^ , - 1154 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part J V, Butter. Button-moulds, of horn and bone. Candle malung, of tallow. Carpet-weaving . Cheese. CunicTfi or leather-dressers. Fell mongers- Fulling mills. trlue-makers. Leather mills, for oiled and chamois leather. Meat, beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal. Shoe factory. Skinners, or leather-dresserSf chamois, &c. Soap -makers. Sto(;kings, of worsted . Tanyaitb. Woollen-cloth factories, yam spinning, weaving, and cloth dressing. Worsted spinning, for the hosiers, by hand and jennies. S. TradcM, S;c. dcpeiiditig on Animal Suiutuncci, imported. Hat-making and unspUt straw hats. Silk-spinning mills. Silk-stocking weaving. 3. Tradea, S^c. dependine on Vegetable ProducHona qfthe couiiti/. Basket and wicket making. Besom or broom do. Boat or barge building, for the canals Chamomile flowers. Charcoal burning and grinding. Charcoal mills, for grinding it. Com, barley, beans, oats, peas, wheat. Hoops for casks, of wood. Malt- makers. Mattresses, chair -bottoms, &c. of straw. AfUlers, flour or meal makers. Sfevcs, or riddles for com. Shelling, or oat-meal mills. Timber. Turning mills, for wood, bobbins, bowls, cheese-vats, dishes^ tool-handles. 4. Trades, S^c. dependine mi Vegetable Substances, imported. Bleacbing-houses, and grounds. Calico-printing. Callco-weavi ng. Cam bri c- weaving. Candle-wick, bump or bomp spinning-mills Cotton -spinning mills. Dye-houses. Flax-spinning mills, linen-yam mills. Fustian -weaving, thicksets. Hop-bag sjiinning and weaving, wool-bags, &c. Lace-weaving, or warp frame-lace making. Lace-working, or needle-working of frame-lace. Linen-weaving, sheeting, checks, 6sc. Muslin-weaving. Nightcaps, of cotton frame knitting. Packthread spinning, string, twine. Paper- making. B^pe-making, cords, halters. Sacking weaving, I'om-bags. Sail-cloth weaving. Stocking-weaving ; principally of cotton, some of worsted frame -knit. Tape-weaving mills. Thread-spinning. "Whipcord-spinning. 5. Trades, S^c. depending on Mineral Produeta of the countu. Bakestone making. Boiler-making, or wrought iron, for steam-engines. Brick-mahdng, builduig, draining, fire, paving. Building-stone, or free-stone, ashler, caping, eaves-slates, gable-stones, paving, ridging, grey slates, or tilestones and stack-posts. Cannon-balls, or shot and sheila. Cannon-castbig and boring. Chain-making, iron and cast-iron. China-stone, or white potter's chest-pits. Cisterns and trouglis of stone, to hold water. Clay-pits, brick, china, fire, pipe, pottery, and tile. Coal-pits. Coke-burning. Copperas-stone, brasses or pyrites pits. Frylngpans of iron. Grind- mills, blade-mills, grindstone mills- Grindstones. Gypsum, alabaster, plaster. Hammer mills, tbrge, tilt, planishing mills Hoops for casks, of Iron. Iron forges and furnaces. Ironstone pits, ar^llaceous ore. Lead-mines, or veins of lead ore. Lead-smelting cupolas, and slag-mills. Li me -kilns. Limestone quarries. Malt-kiln plates, of perforated cast-iron. Marble quarries. Marble sawing and polishing mills. Marl pits, for manuring. Mill-stone quarries. Mail-making, of cast-iron. clasp (or carpenter's), and spikes, &c. - ■■■' ■ horse-shoe. shoe-makers. Ore dressing washing, buddling. Patten rings, or clog irons. Pipe-making, tobacco pipes. Pipes, of earthenware, hollow bricks, for conveying water. — tiS lead, drawn. .— of zinc. Plaster of Paris work?, gypsum. Potteries, earthenware, stoneware. Pot-stones, pye or lump stones for the iron forges. Puncheons, stauncheons or props, for the coal pits. Red-lead works,jninium. ■ • Bivets, of iron, softened, for coopers, boiler-making. Rolling and slitting milU, for iron bars, plate iron, nail rods. Rotten-stone, or iioUBhing earth. Sond-pits, caslhig or founders", house-floor, mason s mortar, scouring, and scythe-stick sand. Saw mills, for utonc and wood, also witli circular saws. Screws, carpenters', for wood. . , ^ . Scythe-sticks and stones for shariiening scythes, hay-knives. Sheet-lead, milled lead, rolled lead. Common sheet-lead ia cast by most of the plumbers and glaziers of the county. Shot, leaden. Slitting mills. Spar-workers, petrifaction workers, gypsum, calcspar, fluor. Sulphur-works, annexed to the principal smelting houses. Tenter hooks, of cast-iron, softened. Tile-kilns, draining, gutter, hip, pan, plane and ridgo. Tire for carriage wheels. ■Whetstones, nibbers, hones. White -lead works. Wire-drawing, steel. Wire-working, safes, sieves, screens. Zinc mines, blend and calamine. • — work, malleable plates, wire )>ipes, &;c. 6. Trades, l^c. depending princiiiatfyf on mineral Substances, tm. ported. Axes, hatchets, bills, adzes. Brass foundry. Bridle -bits and buckles. China factories. Chisels, gouges, plane-iron5> and other edge tools. Clock and watch making. Colour-grinding mills, paint. Cotton machinery makers, for the cotton-spinning tnilta. Cutlery, knives, forks, &c> Flic -making, rasps. Flint-grinding mills, for pottery glazing. Frame-smiths, stocking-looni makers. Glass-making. G unpo wder-m aking. Hoes (garden, turnip), paring shovels, trowels, &c. Implement makers, agricultural tools. Malt mills, steel mills. Mangles, for linen clothes. Mechanists, machine, tool and engine makers. Millwrights. Needle-making. Reaping-hooks, smooth- edged. Scissars, of caet-iron, cemented to steel. Scythe-smiths. Sickles, toothed reaping tools. Soda water makers. Spades, shovels. Spurs, of steel. Stirrup-irons of cast-iron, cemented. Tin-pfate workers, tin-men. Washing machines for clothes. Worsted machinery maker, for the worsted spinning-mills. Notwithstanding that many of the manufactures and pro- ductions above mentioned are separately of small importance and may contribute little or nothing towards an export trade from the county, yet, taken in the aggregate, they must be admitted to present a most flattering picture of the varied and great manufacturing industry of the county ; showing it to contribute fkr beyond most other counties towards the supply of all its own wants, and contributing at the same time, m no small degree, towards the supply and general trade of the king- dom at large. Education, Among the labouring classes, the reporter observes, is better attended to than in most of the adjoining counties. He ap- proves of the great attention paid to bringing up children m habits of frugality and industry; and contemplates, as "the great and desirable end, their complete emancipation from the moral slavery of poor-law dependence, and its attended vices and misery." There are some persons, no doubt, who ma^ not approve of all that Mr. Farey has advanced on this subject; ftr where is the writer that can please every reader ? but there are none, we hope, who would not be gratified with his sincere and ardent desire for the more general and uni- versal happiness of the Brirish poor. Though we are of opinion that very litUe amelioration of that division of society which constitutes the agricultural or labouring class can be effected without an alteration in the laws; yet we are eqjially con- vinced, that no great alteration of^ what are called the jioor laws would be advisable, till the poor are prepar^ for it, by having imbibed such a degree of knowledge as would enable them to meet the consequences with advantage, or at least without an increase of misery. We agree with the reporter, that the case is somewhat different with the operative manufacturers, and mechanics congregated together in towns; for the wages of their labour depends, in most cases, as the wages of all labour ought to do, on the demand and the supply ; whereas the weekly wages of the agricultural labourer depends but too often on the decision of the parochial vestry. The consequences of this state of things are ruinous to the rustic labourer, and call loudly for legislative interference and general sympathy. The extraor- dinary exertions at present making by the different classes ol mechanics, to enlighten and ameliorate themselves, cannot tail m a short time to awaken the dormant powers of the country labourer. 15. Means of Improvement. There are reading societies in most of the principal towns: to hp r^iTCtted that the funds of the board of agriculture do not permit it to circulate cheap agricultural books; agricul- tural books have as large a sale in Derbyshire as in most other counties; some tal« the " Farmer's Maga/ine," and a great number the " Farmer's Journal;" which, if the stamp duty were taken off, would greatiy increase in circulation, and be an mcalculable source of improvement. An agricultural so- ciety at Derby, since 1794; a society for fat wetiier sheep at Itepton : at Haylield, a society of mountain sheep kee|>era, smce 1790. A list given by Parev of ninety-three agricultural societies m England and Wales. The late Earl of Chjsterfield'i premiums annually to his tenants, as recorded in the Parmer's Journal, S*7th December 1813, and ISfli January 1810. Book 1. AGRICULTURE OF LINCOLNSHIRE. 1155 7800. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 495,000 acres of uneven or hilly surface, in great part a sandy soil, and more a corn than a pasture county. It contains the Forest of Sherwood, the only one belonging to the Crown north of the Trent. This forest was once celebrated as being the scene of the adventures of the famous Robin Hood. Very little wood, however, now remains. The report is one of the most defective and least interesting which the board have published, and is, besides, above a fourth of a century old. (Lowe's Report^ 1798. Marshal's Review, 1812. Smith's Geological Map, 1821. Edin. Gax. 1827.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate, remarkably dry. Soi7, chiefU sandy, great part clayey, and the remainder a lime and coal district. Mitterala. Stone, lime, coal, gypsum, and marl. 2. Properiy. Estates from 12,00W. a year, downwards. 3. Buildings. Few countries tiontaln more gentlemen's seats in proportion to its ^ze. Alston Grove, a noble residence; the gardens formerly in the ancient stjle, but lately modernised. Clum- ber Park contains four thousand acres. Newstead Abbey, celebrated as having been the residence of the Byron family j but now sold and divided. Thoresby park, thirteen miles round. Welbeck Abbey, the scene of the horticultural im- provements of Mr. Speedily. Woolaston Hall, a singular mansion of the date of Queen Elizabeth, by Thorpe, the same architect who built Holland House, near London. Farm- louses " not very spacious," of brick and tile, sometimes thatched ; now and then of stud and mud. Good farmeries, and centrical on the new enclosures. 4. Occupation, Few farms exceed 300/. per annum : generally from 100/. to 201. Few leases. 5. Implements. Rotheram plough general ; waggons have wide frames move- able for harvest u^. 6. Various. Enclosing going on rapidly ; in arable culture, rotations good, but no reraarkaue practice mentioned ; various hop-grounds and orchards, many woods and plantations ; extensive woods raised from seed on the Welbeck and Clumber estates ; the ground is first cleared of surface incumbrances, then cropped with com two years, and turnips one year; the fourth year acoms, at the rate of four or six bushels, ash keys four, haw- thorn berries one, and Spanish chestnuts one bushel, are sown broadcast on an acre, and ploughed in. The stocking and lace trade, cotton and silk manufacture, pottery, and various others carried on at Nottingham and other towns. 7801. LINCOLNSHIRK 1,848,320 acres of uplands, vale and water formed lands. The soil in most places rich, and chiefly devoted to grazing ; yielding on an average more beef and mutton per acre than any county m the island. Examples of embanking, draining, and warping, are numerous along the sea- coast and the Humber. {Stone's Report, 1799. Arthzir Young% 1794. Marshal's Review^ 1812.) 1. Geo^aphical State and Circumstances. 5. Implements. Plough with wheel coulter used in the ien tract as in other fens; the wheel coulter being considered as better adapted (or ploughing among stubble and couch-grass than the su-ord one. Plans given of a cover of canvass and boards for ricks, and a boat with a net fence round for conveying sheep ; at best, we fear, but an expensive incumbrance on agriculture. 6. Arable Land. Climaie, formerly unhealthy in the low parts, now the ^ue much less frequent. N.E. winds prevail in spring ; much of the rain in summer from the northern and eastern quarters. Surface, a great extent of low land, once mar^, and fen along tbe coast, now rich land in consequence of the embank- ments and drainage, which have been going on for nearly two centuries. Adjoining the lowlands are the wolds or calcareous lulls, and the mainland part of the country' is in general flat and uninteresting. Some parts of the county, however, as about Dolby, SipiJsby, Stainton, &c. are varied and wooded, and command hne views of the low country. Sml. There are large districts of clay, sand, loam, chalk, peat, and considerable extent of mixed soils. 2. Tr^erty. Very much divided in the isle of Axholm ; inhabitants col- lected in hamlets and villages, and almost every one is pro- prietor and farmer of from one to forty acres, as in fS-ance; and, as in that country, every farm cultivated by the bands of the femily, and the family poor as to money, but happy as to their mode of existence. " The poorer &riiiers and other fa- mihes work like negroes, and do not live half so well as Oie inhabitants of a poor-house ; but all is made amends by pos- sessing land." Xord Carrington, Sir John Sbefheld, and — Goulton,Esq. great proprietors in the county; largest estate 25,000;. a year, others of 14, 11, 10, 8, 7, &c. and six of SOOO/. a year. Lacely, a prett? village, " where each man lives on his own." In the management qf a great atate, " I remarked a circum- stance at Reevesby, the use of which I experienced in a multi- tude of instances. The liberality of Sir Joseph Banks opened every document for my inspection ; anid admiring the singular fkcilit^ with which he laid his band on papers, whatever the subject might be, I could not but remark the method that proved of such sovereign efficacy to prevent contusion- His ofBce, of two rooms, is contained in the space of thirty feet by ' sixteen; there is a brick partition between, with an iron plated door, so that the room in which a fire is always burning might be buxat down without affecting the inner one ; where he has 166 drawers of the size of an ordinary conveyance, the inside being thirteen inches wide, by ten broad, and five and a half deep, all numbered. There is a catalogue of names and sub- jecte, and a list of every paper in eveiy drawer; so that whether the enquiry concerned a man, or a drainage, or an enclosure, or a fann, or a wood, the request was scarcely named before a mass of information was in a moment before me- Fixed tables are before the windows (to the south), on which are ^read maps, plans, &c. commodiously, and those labelled are ar- ranged against the wall. The first room contains desks, ta- bles, and book-case, with measures, levels, &c. and a wooden case, which when open forms a book-case, and joining in the cenbre by hinges, when closed, forms a package ready for the carrier's waggon, containing forty folio paper-cases in the form of books ; a repository of such papers as are wanted equally in town and country. Such an apartment, and such an appa- ratus, must be of incomparable use in the management or any great estate, or, indeed, of any considerable business. At Wintiingham, Lord Carrington has a man employed, whose only business is to be constantly walking over every part of the ^tate in succession, in order to see if me fences are in order : if a post or rail is wanting, and the quick exposed, he gives notice to the farmer, and attends again to see if the defect is remedied." (Vming'» Report.) 3. Buildirigs. Several good new &rm-houses; old cottages of stud and mud, thatched ; but new ones of brick, and tiled. 4. Occt£pation. Farms on the Wolda from 300 to 1£00 acres, on the rich lands 400 and SOO acres, downwards ; many very small. The late Sir Joseph Banks dechned throwing his farms together, because he would not distress the occupiers, though he lost considerably in rental by it. Farmers met with at ordinaries, liberal, industrious, active, enlightened, free from all foolish and expensive show, or pretence to emulate the gentry ; they live comfortably and hospitably, as good farmers ought to live ; and in mv opinion, are remarkably void of those rooted prdndices whida sometimes abound amon^ this race of men. *' r met with many who had mounted their nags, and quitted ttejr homes, purposely to examine other parts of the kingdom ; and had done it with enlarged views, and to the benefit of their own cultivation." Leases rare. Near Market Deeping the common fields in alternate ridges of pasture and arable, tfie latter gathered high; three to live horses used in both plough and cart tejims ; wood extensively ciiltivated by Cartwright, at Erotherstofl farm, near Boston. Parsley sown along with (jover to prevent the roL 7. Various. " Rich grazing land ae glory of Lincolnshire." In some E laces will carry six sheep per acre, or four bullocks to ten acres. Ine of the most extensive graziers was T. Fydell, Esq., M.F. at Boston. Very fow orcliarda; some considerable young plantationa on tlie Wolds, but not much old timba. 8. Improvements. Most extensive drainages and embankments. Deeping Fen drained, which extends eleven miles to Spalding. 10,000 acres taxable, for maintaining the drains and banks, which are ma- naged by a commission. Through all the fens_what is called the soak exists ; viz. water, supposed to be that of the sea, rising and falling in a subtratum of silt : hence low-lying land al- ways charged with moisture to a certain height. Sticklebacks sometimes sold at a half-penny a bushel, and used as manure. In the Wolds dry straw spread on the land and burned. Embajikmettis. Since 1650, 10,000 acres have been saved from the sea in the parish of Long Sutton, and 7000 acres more might now be taken in, by altering the channel of the river. Holland Fen is a country that absolutely exists but by the secu- rity of its banks ; they are imder commis&iono^, and very well attended to. At Humberstone there is a large piece taken in &om the sea by a low bank, which is well sloped to the sea, but too steep to the land ; so that if the sea topped it, the bank must break. Great tracts of valuable land remain yet to be taken in from the sea about North Somercots, and other places on that coast; but "Ido not find that anyexijeriments have been made in Sir Hyde Page's method of making hedges or gorse facines, and leaving the sand to accumulate of Itself into a bank. Mention- ing this to Neve, he informed me, that he had observed at least a hundred times, that ifagorsebush, or any other impediment, was by accident met by the sea, it was sure to form a hillock or sand." The extent of sand dry at low water on this coast is very great ; the difference between high and low water mark extending even to two miles. In the reparation of the banks which secure the marsh land from the sea, the frontage towns are at the expense ; but in case of such a breach as renders a new bank necessary, the expense is assessed, according to the highest tides ever known, by level over all the country below such level of high water, under the direction of the commissioners of sewers ; the distance from the sea subject to drainage will, therefore, vary according to the level of the country. South Holland, grossly estimated at 100,000 acres, within the Old Sea-dyke bank, has lon^ been an object of embankment. Ravenbank, the origin of which is quite unknown, appears to have been the third liank which had been formed for securing a small part of this tract from the sea, leading from Coubit to Tidd St. Mary's. About six miles nearer to the sea is another bank, called the Old Sea-dyke bank, which is unquestionably a Roman work. A very curious circumstance is, that a fifth bank, called the New Sea-dyke bank, two miles nearer than the Roman one, re- mains, but it is utterly unknown when or by whom it was made. The new bank mentioned above takes in about two miles more in breadth. In staking the levels for making the new drain, it was found that the surface of the country, on coming to the Roman bank, suddenly rose six feet, being six feet higher on the sea-side than on the land-side, and then con- tinues on that higher- level, b^ing the depth of warp, or silt, deposited by the sea since since' that bank was made. The first navigable canal that was made in England is, m all probability, that which was made from Lincoln to Torksey : it is evidently a part of the Carflljco* an immense Koman work, which served to prevent the living waters from runnine down upon the fens, and, skirting the whole of tliem, troni i'etcrbo- 4 E 2 1156 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. given for three weeks or a month, found preferable to spring physic. liabbita. Several warrens on the wolda. GeeMe formerly much kejit in the fens, and plucked four or five times a year. " The feathers of a dead goone wortli six- pence, three givhig a pound. But plucking alive does not yield more than three-pence per head, per annum. Some wine them only every quarter, taking ten feathers from each goose, which sell at five Bhillings a thousand. Plucked gecae pay in feathers one shilling a head in Wildmoor fen. 10. Political Economy. Roads in many places made of silt j " dreatlfully dusty and heavy in dry weather : on a thaw or day's rain like mort-ir." A number of canals, and, as already observed [3802.), the first ir. England, made tiroin Lincoln to the bca. A fabric of brubhea and sacking at Gainsborough ; llax spun in various pinces. An agricultural society at Falkingham, established in 1711I). rough to Lincoln, aflFbrded a navigation of the utmost conse- quence to this fertile country. Some irrigationi and rvarpini', on the Humber, where, as ahready described (4444.), it was Invented. 9. Livestock. More attended to in this county than the culture of com. The Durham short-homed cattle are preferred, but any sort fatten well, and there is little dairying. Sfuxp, County carries one sheep and an half per acre at an average. Lincoln br»ied preferred ; Leicester much tried, and croises between them frequent ; upon inferior land the Leices- ter preferred, as fatting easier ; since the enclosure no folding ; several ram societies. Bortct, of the heavy black kind a good deal bred both for carta and coaches ; in various places saddle horses also ; some farmers keep their horses all the winter in open sheds, with littered yards for them to go out and in at pleasure. Ground- sel eaten, said to cure the grease; oats malted in saltwater 7802. RUTLANDSHIRE. 91,000 acres, resembling in soil and surface the uplands of the adjoining county of Lincolnshire. The western part of the county is under grass, and the eastern chiefly in aration. The soil is almost every where loamy and rich ; and the agriculture partaking of that of Lmcolnshire and Leicestershire. The operative classes seem more comfortable in this county, and more humanely treated by the proprietors and farmers, than in many others. The Earl of Winchelsea has made great exertions to this effect {Crutchley" s Report^ 1794. Parkinson's General Review, 1808. Marshal's Review, 1812.) thus writes to him : — " In my opinion watering renders the quality of the herbage and the land the worse for the process. Where land is tolerably productive, and in a siiuation where a quanti^ of grass food is not required, I should certainly not advise it. Ithink the land may be turned to better account without it. But I think there are many situations, particularly on gravel, sand, or open soils, where It may be very advantage- ous; the produce, by such means, is certainly much increased, and, in some instances, rendered larjfcr when very little other- wise would be produced. Though the produce is increased^ 1. BuildiTigs. Some comfortable cottages built by the Earl of Winchelsea, containing a kitchen, parlour, dairy, and cow-house, &c. with two bed-rooms over. Others for three cows, and with a calf-house, piggery, dairy, kitchen, living-room, and two bed-rooms over. A ttiird sort for operatives without a cow, containing a kitchai, pantry, closet in the stair over, and two bed-rooms, one witti a fire> Several with small taxms of from five to twenty acres attached. \Jig. 1007.) 1007 2. Arable Lands. Generally better managed than in Lincolnshire, and very productive. The barley said to be of very superior quality. 3. Pasture, Chiefly upland. Thecustomof letting part of it to labourers, and also of taking in labourers' cows at so much per head, pre- vails, and is encouraged by the Earl of Winchelsea. 4. Several Orchards. In several places the cottagers take small portions of fields from the farmers to use as gardens. At one place, three acres and a half is divided into fourteen gardens ; and at Oakham, a field of three acres is divided into twenty-four gardims, and let at five shillings per garden. 5. Improvements. Parkinson, one of the reporters, and a man of sound Judg- ment, has altered his opinion on the sul>iect of irrigation, and says, it is now in conformity with that of a correspondent who WISU wouiu uc piuuuuiru. ii uuu({ii uie jJiuuuijB la uiuiciiaeu> yet it becomes in time, in a few years, of so coarse a nature, and mixed with rushes and plants, that cattle frequently refuse to eat it ; and when it is eaten, the appearance of the cattle pro- claims it far from being of a nutritious nature." He adds, " I was formerly an advocate for irrigation, and am still on such soils as are cfescribed in the above extract ; but having had since opportunities of viewing several water meadows which have been of long standing, wiiich have operated to the disadvantage of both the nerbage and land, I have been obliged, in a great measure, to alter my opinion." 6. Live Stock. Not much breeding, but chiefly feeding. P. considers that much depends on the application to iallow, and is of opinion, that the large Durham ox did not eat more food to raise liim to that enormous size, than some others would to bring them to half the size or weight at the same aue. Nor is it at all probable that Lambert, of Leicester, who arrived at such an astonishing weight, had eaten more food than Powell, the celebrated pedestrian, who was a very thin man. An animal for the shambles is seldom too large if he has an aptitude to fatten i and much depends on the constitution of an animal in this respect. A good plan for washing sheep at Burleigh ; but not so sim- ple as the Duke of Bedford's. Horses of a very heavy, slow, unprofitable sort are raised in the county. OibecB, 1176 hives kept by the cottagers. 7. PoUiiiial Economy. The Leicestershire and Rutlandshire Agricultural Society established in 1806, meet at lUelton Moworay and Oakham alternately. Less want of knowledge in this county than in most others. 7803. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 617,600 acres of billowy surface, rich in woodlands and pasture lands, but much behind in the culture of corn. The soil is almost ev&cy where excellent; and by the introduction of good husbandry, the marketable produce of the county might be amazingly increased. {Donaldson's Report, 1794. Pitt's Report, 1806. Marshal's Review, 1812.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate. Favourable both to health and vegetation ; exempted from deep falls of snow and long-continued rains ; highest point in the county supposed about 800 feet above the level of the sea, and there is neither mountain nor bog. Donaldson found that wheat harvest generally commences here about a fortnight earlier than in Perthshire. Sail, Great part on a calcareous bottom, limestone, schistus, or slate, and the remainder of sandstone. The surface earths may be classed as strong and deep loam, hght thin reddish soil, thin light clay, and fen and meadow. Minerals. Clay, limestone, marly freestone, and slate. 2. Property. AlmostwboHy in large estates ; thhrty-seven ofor above 3000/. a year, halfof which are from 5000/. to 10,000/.; managed by steivards. 3. BuildiTigs. Althorpe, Burleigh, and Castle Ashby, noble mansions. Farm-houses " as badly constructed as improperly placed ; " built of stone or brick, and covered with slate or straw; farmers and their farmeries crowded together in towns and villages ; cottages of mud and thatch. 4. Occupation. No large farms ; 130 acres the average of open fields, and 200 the average of inland fstrms ; few or no leases. 5. ImplCTnents. " Plough a clumsy piece of work, with a long massy beam and timber mould, being drawn by four or five horses in a line." Donaidbon says, a small plough, with two horses abreast, will make better work ; but Pitt (who seems to know very little of the matter) joins with Smith of Tuchmarsh, who Ba)s, " I have heard and read much on the subject;, and tried a great variety of ploughs ; but it is ridiculous to assert that two horses can plougn abreast in almost any part of this county. I have met with no ploughs which serve so well (!) or run so easy as the ploughs in common uses." So much for the ignorance and presumption of Farmer Smitli, and the prejudiced opinions of Pitt the reporter. A ribbed or plated roller, formed by letting in sixteen bars of u:on lengthways of the roller, is found preferable either to a spiky or smooth roller for breaking clods. 6. Arable Land. Fallow, wheat, and beans, the common rotation, but othersi which include turnips and clovers, beginning to be introduced on the light lands. Most of the other plants in cultivation tried by amateurs or others. Woad cultivated by two woad growers, who live in the county ; it requires rich old pasture land, for which the woad grower pays the landlord from !jI. to 71. per acre, per annum. Tor two or three years, the farmer being com- pelled to give it up for that terra, and to take to it again after- wards at the old rent. The land is ploughed early in spring, well harrowed, and sown broadcast, as thick as gram, by hand- fuls ; a great deal of harrowing and dressing is necessary to bring it to fine tilth- When the plants appear, they are hoed, and kept perfectly clean, in a garden st\-le of culturi-, and the crop appears somewhat like a broadcast crop of spinach ; the leaves are gathered by hand, in baskets, three times in a season (except a plot sometimes saved for seed), and carted to a mill, where they are ground to a pulpy mass, by vertical wheels, crossed with iron plates, and moved round by horses : this pounce, or jelly, is then formed into balls, by hand, and dried on hurdles, in a shed ; these balls are afterwards broken up, and fermented, and finally dried in small lumps, somewhat re- sembling horse-dung in colour and appearance; it is ttien packed up in casks mr use. Onions cultivated to great perfection about Northampton; 2a0 quarters known to have been sent to Daventry fair at one time. Tobacco cultivated by some farmers for the^iurpose of dress- ingsheep for the scab. I-iirze in a few places for oven-fuel. 7. Grass. Supposed to cover 375,000 acres; 40,000 acres In meadow, on the borders of the Nen and other rivers. One farmer says, ' A great improvement on all mowing meadows, incapable of Book I, AGRICULTURE OF YORKSHIRE. I1S7 beine watered, fs to graze> once In two or three years as bare as possiole, aiid nnish with store sheep ; shut it up at Christmas tcxr mowhig ; this is as good as a top-dres!>ing.'* Feedine sheep and cattle the chief application oi the grass lands, and next, dairying and lareeding horses* 8. Gardens and Orchards. Good market gardens and orchards about Northampton : all common articles grown there well, but melons, grapes, peaches, and pine-apples to be had from London cheaper than viey can be grown in the county. 9. Woods and Plantations. Very extendve ; there are forests, chases, purlieu woods, and woods and plsintations being freeliold propmy. Rockingham forest the most considerable, nearly twenty miles in length, and covering S or 10,000 acres. Whittlewood eleven mSes, and 7000 acres, with Salcey forest, making in all 20,000 acres : the chases and other classes are supposed to amount to 20,000 acres more. makinB in all 40.000 acres of woodland in the county. The forest lands are in general very unprofitably managed ; the Crown has a right to the timber, the Duke of . tirafton and others to the underwood, and the town^p to the pasturage, &c. ; woods which are private and entire property are better managed. 10. Live Stock. Cattle of the count?, the long-harnGd breed : but varioui others Introduced for Kitting and the dairy. Sheep of various breeds j a good many new Lcicesters. Hones of the strong black breed, bred for the coach, the armv, or large waggons. Blood horses formerly bred, but left off, as the least blemish renders them unsaleable. Hoga, a breed between the Berkshire and the Tonquin. 11. Political Economy. Bad roads, but manv handsome bridges ; some canals. Ma- nufiictures j — ^oes for the army and nav;?, and exportation ; bone lace, woollen stuffs, as tammies, callimancoes, and ever- lastings. Several small friendly societies for the promotion of agriculture, consisting chiefly of farmers. The Lamport So- cfety is one oF those which was founded in 1797, meets at I^mport ; it has a fund for purchasing books on agriculture and domestic economy, and seems to be a description of asso- ciation yen commendable. A great source of improvement would be the breaking up of the inferior grass landK, and the temporary laying down of the continually cropiied tillage lands. Donaldson has ^awn an able comparison between the manage- ment of lands in the Carse of tiowrie, in Perthshire, and those of Northamptonshire, which shows how very far behind the latter county is in arable culture. 1. Geographical Slate and Circtcmstances. Climnte, moderate and healthy, excepting on the low siu'&ce near the Ouse; rain at Sheffield about thirty-three inches in the year. Surfaee irregular, but the middle and eastern parts nearly level ; arable lands generally enclosed with walls and hedges. Sail various, from deep strong clay to peat. MintraU. Coal, lime,lronstone, lead and some copper, which have been wrought for ages past. Rivera.' Ouse, Don, Calder, Aire, and Wharfe, all consider- able, besides others of lesser importance. 7804. YORKSHIRE, 3,698,380 acres divided into three Ridings, each of which is as extensive as the generality of other counties. 7805. West Riding of Yorkshtbb. 1,568,000 acres of irregular country, hilly and mountainous towards the north, and more level on the east. It contains a great extent of surface well adapted for husbandry, and is the seat of large and extensive manufactures. A survey of this Riding, of singular ability and interest, was made by three Scotch farmers ; and the reprinted copy, as it contains the notes of several gentlemen of the county, will in future times be considered as a curious document ; displaying as it does local opinions so different from those considered as liberal and enlightened. {Brown^s West Riding, 1799. Marshals Seview, 1818. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.) generally made fat on grass, and finished by stall feeding on turnips; sheep sometimes ted on turnips, by hurdling. Grazing much better understood than aration. 8. Gardens and Orchards. A particular species of plum grows at Sherborne and in the neighbourhood, called the winesour. It grows well both upon gravel and limestone, is hardy, a good hearer, and answers upon any soil ; but does not bear so well, ijot is its flavour so ^tod, on any as on limestone or gravel. On a stronc deep land, ttie trees run too much to wood, and do not bear fruit in pro- portion. These plums blossom better than any other sort, and are produced from suckers. The iinit sells from 21«. per peck, when sound and good, to 4«. 6el. when cracked and damaged. Th^ are easily hurt by rain. Plants are to be had from most {lublic nurseries, and in gardens they should be planted on a ayer of lime or chalk. 9. Woods and Plantations. Much oak and ash wood grown, and a ready market found at the shipping and manufacturing towns. 10. Waste Lands. Two hundred and sixty-five thousand acres capable of culti- vation- 11. Improvements, ■ Warping the most remarkable; ably described by Lord Hawke, and Day of Doncaster. 12. Live Stock. A great variety of breeds of cattle and sheep in use, but no one generally preferred. Near Leeds, when milk tastes of turnips, a tea-cup full of dissolved nid;e is put among eight gallons of milk, which entirely removes the flavour. Horses generally used in draught: not many bred excepting in the eastern part of the district; sort in use among the ^nners a small hardy race. 13. Political Economy. Many good and many bad roads ; various canals- Numerous manufactures of shalloons, callimancoes, flannels, and every branch of woollen goods. At Sheffield every kind of cutlery, since Chaucer's time ; at Botherbam, iron-works. These and other manu&ctures the cause of the wealth of the West Biding. 14. Means of Improvement. Leases, division of commons, enclosing of wastes, better xo- tations, &c. Much divided, but some large estates, as those of the Duke of Norfolk, E. Fitzwilliam, E. Uaxewood, &c. 3. Suildings. Wentworth House one of the largest and most magnificent in the kingdom ; farm-houses hacT and badly situated as in nsost EngOsh counties; Lord Hawke has erected a commo- dious ancT elegant farmery for his own use. Great want of cottages for farm operatives. 4. Occupation. Farms small ; for one of 400 acres a dozen under fifty ; occu- pier of 100 acres styled a great farmer ; few leases ; the tenants on one estate warned off because they had become methodists ; tenantry in general much plagued by attorney stewards, who must have business or make it. 5. Implements. B^itheram plough general over the whole district, but one- horse carts and otlier improved implements, as well as better ploughs, are wanting. 6. Arable Land. B>ound manufacturing towns great part of the land held by manu&cturers, that by farmers not well managed compared with Scotland, but tolerable compared with other districts of England. No grain will ripen on the eastern moorlands at an elevation of 800 feet ; but on the calcareous wolds of the East Biding it ripens considerably higher, and at 600 feet better than here at 800. Such is tiiie etfectof a calcareous soil. Be- sides the usual crops, some flax, rape, liquoiice, thubaib, and weld, cultivated. Some excellent remarks on fallows. 7. Grass. Great part of the count? under old pastures, including some meadows, chiefly applied to the feeding of homed cattle : cattle 7806. North Riding op Yorkshire. 1,311,187 acres of bold hilly country, with some fertile vales and extensive moor lands, chiefly remarkable for breeding horses, and especially the sort known as Cleveland bays. iTuke*s Report, 179P> Marshal's Review^ 1808. Smithes Geological Map, 1821.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate ^y, like that of other districts bordering on the German Ocean. Cold east winds during the first half of the year. Milder in June^ when west winds begin to prevail, ve- getation not vigorous till June. Soil and ntrjaee; on the coast, clays, and lightish nxA on alum strata; a loam upon freestone, and in some valleys west of Whitby a deen rich soil: of Cleveland, fertile chalk, and sur- ^ce hilly; valS'of York generally a rich soil. Minerva. In^iaustible beds of alum in the hills of the coast and Cleveland ; and the only alum works in the island car- ried on there; pyrites being fonnd in the alum mines, sulphur was fimnerly extracted from them ; but as it Te' '"'= °f ^ "'k ry time of foaling, after which they have usually two or three weeks' rest, before they are again taken to work ; the foal, during the time the dam is worldng, especially whilst it is voung, is shut up in a stable; and it is the practice of some, before she is suffered to go to the foal, after returning from work, to bathe her udder with cold water, and to draw most of the milk from it, to prevent the milk, which may have been heated by labour, &om hav- ing any hurtful effect upon the foal. Some continue this practice as long as the foal sucks : others, after the foal has got sufficient strength to travel along with the mare, take it -' ng with hei into the fields, and firtquently suffer it to suck. from an opinion^ that by the milk being frequently drawn, less danger arises of its being heated, or of possessing any quality pr^udlcial to the foal. The general time of foaling is about May-day (from which day the age of all horses is reckoned}, and that of weaning about Michaelmas, when the foals are put into good after-grass, or the best pasture ihe farmer pos- sesses : they remain there as long as the weather permits (if there be sufficient food), and, on the approach of winter, have a little good hay given them, where there is a stable, or hovel, that they can go into at their pleasure. The oolts are usually gelded in the spring following, and in summer are allowed only an inferior pasture j the next winter they make their living in the fields, or in the straw-yard, except they are in- tended to work in the spring, which is frequently expected of those of a strong kind : such are rather better kept as the time of labour draws nigh, and are only put to light and easy work, and generally work only half a day at once. Some keep their colts a year longer, before the operation is performed, and find that such become the stronger and handsomer horses. The foal always receives a great check by being weaned, which it does not well recover before it gets the fresh pasture of the following summer. The ffaals which are gelded at one year old receive a second check, at the very time they should begin to recover from the first; whereas at two years old they appear to be in the best condition for the operation, and recover at least as well as at one year old, an4 are much improved by the keeping of the preceding year. Exportation qf kortet. The horses which are sold for the London market, if for the carriage, are chieCly bay geldings, with hut Utde white on theh: legs and faces, those which have much white, with chestnut, roan, and other unusually coloured horses and mares, generally do not bear an equal price in the London market; but with other slight and undersized horses, are more sought afler by foreigners, and eagerly pur- chased by them for exportation ; or are exported by people of this country, who carry them to the foreign markets, and ultimately obtain a price equal to that obtained for those sold at home ■ by these means of exportation, contrary to an usually received but ill-founded opinion, has a strong tendency to re- duce the price of those horses which are calculated for the home market ; and since as many fillies as colts are naturally bred, and one third of the colts at least will either have too much white for the home market, or be of some other colour than ttiat which is fashionable at the time, if the breeder had not a mar- ket for those, which appear to be two thirds at least of all he unavoidably breeds, he would be compelled to put such a price upon tile one third which happened to suit the home market, or variable taste of the moment, as would pay for the other two thirds ; which last would either be unsaleable, or fetch very inadequate prices. The consequence naturally flowing from this would be, that the price of horses used at home would be far greater than at present, when a foreign demand procures to the breeder nearly as good a price for the horses that would otherwise be useless and unsaleable, as for those which are valued at home. Rabbits are kept in one or two warrens ; in one the silver grey is kept, the skins of this variety being worth double those of the greys : not used for fblts like the common skins, but dressed as furs, and exported to China to be worn by the Mandarins. 11. Political Economy. Roads in an improving state ; bridges better attended to ttian in most counties ; but guide-posts nmlected, which an annotatoT on Tuke's report justly remarks, is a sort of revert- ing to barbarism ; as an attention to these sort of minutiee is one of the most strikbsg marks of civilisation. Various canals. Manvfadtirea of sail-cloth and cordage at Whitby and Scarborough ; at various places in its neighbourhood, alum works ; 4000 tons of this article anually shipped from Whitby ; linens, cottonSj woollen, and paper maniuactured in various places. 7807. East Riding of Yorkshire. 819,200 acres of moderately wavy surface, intersected with numer- ous, deep, winding valleys ; not remarkable either for ita arable lands or pasturage ; but productive of horses for the coach and saddle, and of the excellent Holderness breed of cowa. (LeatkaTn^s General Fiew, 179*, Strickland's View, 1812. Marshal's Review, 1812. Smith's Geological Map, 1821.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. CKmatcof the wolds severe and variable; N. and N.E. winds nrev^l in winter and spring ; in the vales milder ; mild, but not very healthy, on the Humber ; rain at Hull twenty-seven inches and a half yearly at an average. Soil of the wolds calcareous loam ; of Holderness fertile clay and stiff retentive clay- On the banks of the Humber, from Paul nearly to Sperm Point, there are 13 or 14,000 acres of warp-land,ofastrongcla/ey loam, the producttveness of which can haidly be equalled. Sunk Island on the Humber Is a modem creation by that estuary. It first began to show itself about 1667, at ebS tide, and as no man pretended title to it (it being a detached island), agrantof It was made by the crown in the same year. In 1787 ' 1600 acres of the land were embanked and under tillage, pro- ducing a rental of 900/. a year, with a chapel and several farm- houses erected on it. That part of Sunk Island which was first embanked was originally about two miles from the shore, and many persons are btill hving who recollect vsssels passing be- twet;n It and tlie mairdand, to which it is now unitedly a AGRICULTURE OF DURHAM. 1159 bridge across a itatrow channel, eerving as a drain to the a^a- cent country, ^t contains at present withbi the banks about 4700 acres and twenty-four families, and is continually Increas- ing in size, an exten^ve tract having been recendy embanked, with a probability of its being still further enlarged. MineraU. Cbalk and a very hard shelly limestone, producing a lime little valued either by the farmer or builder. Chalk for the sole purpose of examining the modes of culture, of purchasing or hiitag the most improved breeds of stock, and seeinff the operations of new invented and more useftil implements. 5. Impleinents. Of the most approved kind; and Gome of these, as the ploueh, drill* hoise-hoe, &c. owe their chief merits to the improvements m Bailey. A pair of pruning shears recommended as preferahle to those in common use for cutting hedges. They consist of a strong sharp knife, six inches long, moving betwixt two square-edged cheeks; the upper handle is two feet six inches long, and the other two feet Oiree inches. (See EiKVclotxBdia qf Gardening, 2ded. 1334.^. 122.) 6. Enclosures. Size of fields varies with the size of the farms ; in some parts from two to six or eight acres ; in thg northern parts, where the farms are large, from 20 to 100 acres. The quicks should never be planted nearer each other than nine inches, and, upon good land, a foot. Quicks four or five years old, witli strong dean stems, are always to be preferred to those that are yoimger and smaller. It is a custom in some parts to clip young quicks every year: this makes the fence look neat and snug ; out it checks their growth, and keeps them always weak in the stem, and, when they grow old, open at bottom ; while those that are left to nature get strong stems and side branches, which, by interweaving one with another, make a tliick and impenetrable hedge, and if cut at proper intervals (of nine or ten yearsj, will always maintain its superioritv over those that have been clipped from their first planting. In point of profit, and of labour saved, there is no comparison ; and for beauty, we prefer nature, and think a luxuriant hawthorn, in full bloom, or laden with its ripened firuit, is a more pleasing, en* livening, and gratifying objectj than the stifi^ foimal samenesa produced by the shears. 7. Arable Land. Trench ploughing practised by a fewin breaking up grasa lands. About 1793^^ when horses were scarce and dear, a good many oxen were used for ploughing and carting about the farm; butafter a few years' trial, they were given up: they were harnessed both with yokes and collars, and only ploughed half a day at a time. Fattondng on all soils once in three or four years, was general through the county till the introduction of turnips. <%i soils improper for this root, the naked fallow still prevails ; but the quantity of fallow probably on all soils will, afler a long series of good culture, become less necessary, and may in many cases be finally dispensed with. Tumipf were first grown in the northern parts of the county about 1723. Proctor, the proprietor of Roch, brought Andrew Willey, a gardener, to cultivate turrijps at Roch, for the pur. Eose of feeding cattle ; that Willey afterwards settled at Les- ury, as a gardener, and was employed for many years to sow turnips for all the neighbourhood ; and his business this way was so great, he was obliged to tide and sow, that he might despatch the greater Hoeine Hirmpa was introduced at the same time, and at first practisf^ by gardeners, and other men, at extravagant wages. Ildeston, about thirty years since, had the merit of first reduc- ing the price of hoeing, by teaching hoys, girls, and women to perform the work equally as well, if not better than men. The mode he took was simple and ingenious : by a light plough, withcut a mould-board, be divided the field into small squares of equal magnitude, and directed the hoys and girls to leave a certain number of plants in each square. In a snort time they became accurate, regular, and expert hoers ; and, in a ffew 'ears, all the turnips in the county were hoed by women and ivtt, at half the expense, and better than by men. I'he broadcast culture of turnips, in the northern parts of the county, was not inferior to an/ we ever saw ; and in respect lo arcurate, regular, clean hoeing, superior to what we ever ob- served in Norfolk, SufTolk, or other turnip districts which we have frequently examined. \Bailey.) Driltir^ tumipt was first introduced to the county about 1780. I&illing this, as well as other crops, evidently originated with TuU, whose first work, Speciimn qf a Work on Horte- hoeing Husbandry , appealed. ini75l. It appears that Craig, of IArhlBland, In DumfHesshire, began to drill tiimips about ITdS ; and next we find Philip Howard of Corby thrilling in 1755; and Pringle drilling "from hints taken from TiM'a book," in 1011 ye< DO" l~t~ °feet 1756 or 1757. William Dawson, who was well acquainted with the turnip culture in England, having been purposely sent to reside in those districts for six or seven years, wlier^ the best cultivation was pursued, with an intention, not only of seeing but of makinf^ liimself master of the manual operations, and of all the minutiEc in the practice, was convinced of the superiority of Pringle's mode over every oOier he had seen, eitner in Norfolk or elsewhere; and in 176^, when he entered to Frogden &rm, near Kelso, in Roxburghshire, he imme- diately adopted the practice upon a large scale, to the amount of 100 acres yearly. Though none of Pringle's neighbours fol- lowed the example, yet, no sooner did Dawson, an actual or rent- paying farmer, adopt the same system, than it was immediately followed, not only by several t^armers in his vicinity, but by those very farmers adjoining Pringle, whose crops ttiey had seen, for ten or twelve years, so much superior to their own : the practice in a few years became general. 8. Grass. Not much old grass in die comity. 9. Woods. Not verv numerous, though a con^derabte demand for small wood by the proprietors of the cdilieries and lead mines. Aiti* ficial plantations rising in eveiy paxt of tlie county. 10. Improvements. Embankuig and irrigation practised in a f^ places which require or admit of these operations. 11. Live Stock. Cattle the short-homed, long-homed, Devonshire, and wild cattle. Sheep, the Cheviot, heath, and long woolled. The modem maxims of breeding were introduced into the county by one of Bakewell'a first disciples, Cnlley of South Durham, well known for his work on Live Stock, previous to which, "trig bones" and "large size" were looked upon as the principal criterion of excellence, and a sacred adherence to the mle of never breeding within the canonical degree of relationship : but those prejudices are at this period in a irreat measure done away ; and the principal farmers of this district mav now be classed amongsi the most scientific breeders in the kingdom, who have pursued it with an ardour and unremitting attention that have not failed of success. Horses for draught brought from Clydesdale. Goals are kept in small numbers on many parts of the Cheviot hills, not so much as an object of profit, but the shepherd asserts, that the sheep flocks are healthier where a few goats do pas- ture. This probably may be the case, as it is well known that goats eat some plants with impunity that are deadly poison to other kinds of domestic animals. The chief profit made of these goats is, from their milk being sold to invalids, whocome to Wooler in the summer season. 12. Political Economy. Roads of whin or limestone, and mostly good. Afannfac- tures, gloves at Hexham, plait straw for cottagers' and labourer^ hats, and also for those of the higher classes. Woollens in a few places ; and a variety of works connected with the coal trade and mines at Newcastle. No agricultural sorirties, these Bailey holds in little estimation; but thinks if public farms were established in each county, and supported by a rate on the income of its proprietors, they would be the most efi'ectual means of promoting agricultural improvement. 7810. CUMBERLAND. 970,240 acres of mountainous district, remarkable for its picturesque beauty, and also of late greatly improved in its agriculture. The exertions of the late Bishop of Llandaffin plant- ing, and of J. C. Curwen, Esq. in field culture* have contributed much to the improvement of this county, which, as far as its soil and climate permit, may be considered as on a par with Northumberland. {Prin- gle's General Revieiu^ 1794. General VietOf by J. Bailey and G. Culley^ 1804. Marshal's Review, 1808. Smith's Geological Map, 1824.) 1. Introductory Observations. Pringle informs us that " trees and plants, being altogether passive, accommodate themselves very slowly to a change of climate : but the idea has been alreatly thrown out, that even those of the torrid zone may be made to flourish in the northem regions ; may be even gradually inured to the climate ; that the climate itself mav be changed for the better; and that some thousands of years henc^, reposing under their own olive trees, fbture Britons may quaff their own wine, or sip their own tea, sweetened with the juice of their own sugar-cane." Pringle " finmd it impossible" not to mention to the Board that he was remarkably well treated when he surveyed the coun^, which '* filled him with peculiar feelings of pleasure and respect." Some of those feelings he voids on Sir John Sinclair, in the following terms:— "What gratitude is due to him (!) who first called the attention of the nation to its most important interests, and whose unremitted efTbrts are directed to promote the good of his country ! How well does he deserve, and what a sure road has he chosen to, immortal fame that will survive the ravages of time, and smile at the fleeting celebri^ 116Q STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. of martini ochleTcmcnts 1 •• " This," Marshal observa, «' most umredly means^ not Aim, but me. * In some preliminary oluervatiotu to this report by Watson, Bfihop of Llandatr, arc suf^cEtions for settling voor jieople in cottafres on the wastes, as has been done in Spain, and on the advantages which would result from plantuig them, especially vlth the larch and oak. 2. Geographical State and Circumstances. CUpiate. Healthy, though subject to preat and frequent fells of lain, especially in autumn, which renders harvest late and precarious: snow on the mountains for six or idght months. Average rain at Keswick seventy inches. Soil. Clays and toams on the better parts of the valleys and liill sides, and peat earth on the mountainous districts. Sujfiice. Beautifully and greatly diversifieil, chiefly moun- tainous, and incapable of being improved by the plough ; but part of the valley and plains are cuttivatable soils. Mineralt, Chiefly coal, lime, and lead ore; there are also black lead, copper, gypsum, lapis calaminaris, and excellent slate and freestone. Waters. Sixty-seven miles of sea-coast, several large and small rivers, and die lakes well known for their beau^, and the excellent char, trout, and other fish which some of them produce. 3. Property. Few counties where land is in such small parcels, and these occupied by their owners. The annual value of these tene- ments vary from bl. to 50/. a year ; generally from \bl. to 30/., some few 100/. Largest estate in the county 13,000/. a year. Tenure of by far the greater part of the county " customary tenure," a species of vassalage, by which the holder is subject to fines, herlots, and varloua services to the lordi of n good deal has been unfrancliised. Copj-hoKl .ind leasehold ars rarely met with ; what 1b not customary is freehold. 4. Builditigs, Implements^ Amble Land, SfC. Approaching to tliat of North urabLrl and. A f^eat many young plantations rising on the sides of the mountains. 5. Live Stock. Cattle of various kinds ; breed of the county a small long- homed kind ; but the most improved vaiieties are now intro- duced. Sheep bred in the county the Herdwicks, a hardy mountain sheep. Some horses bred by the farmer, and bees very com- mon. In every [larish the taking of moles is let at a certain sum, and defraved by a parochial rate per acre ; a plan wliich will soon eradicate ttiis animal from tlie county. 6. Improvements. VBrious kinds, as draining, watering, planting, ficc. made by Watson, Bishop of Llandaff, at Colgarth Park. Those df J. C. Curwen, Esq., of Workington, especially in feeding and fatting stock, have made a dibtinf 7814. CHESHIRE. 665,600 acres of verdant surface, exclusive of upwards of 10,000 acres of naked sands in the estuary of the river Dee. It is one of the most productive grass-land districts in the kingdom, the grass retaining its growth and verdure, in a great degree, during the whole year, owing to the moist- ure and mildness of the climate. The department of husbandry in which it excels is cheese-making ; and it is also noted for its salt-works from brine springs and rock. (Hedges* General View, 1794. Hoi- land's General View, 1806. MarshaVs Review, 1809.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. CHmaUt supposed the most rainy in the kingdom. General au^fiice an extended plane, apparently thickly cover- ed with wood. Barren hills on the eastern margin of the Smla diiefly clayey or sandy ; clay prev^dls, but very generally the two earUifi bl^ded together, producing clay^loam and candy loam. Svhaoil chiefly clay, or marl ; but also rammel, foxbench, gra- vel, or red rock. lUunmel is a composition of clay, sand, gravel, and oxide of iron ; it is in strata of from eighteen to thirty inches, on white-coloured sand, or (jay marl. Foxbench is iron ore or oxide, which crumbles to pieces when exposed to the air ; but is hard and rocky when und^ the soil, and is more injurious to trees than rammel, as it cannot be penetrated by their roots. Minerata. Fossil salt and coal both extensively worked. There is also cojmer, lead, and freestone, but very little lime- stone. Salt is made from brinesprings, as at Droitwich (7792.}, and from beds of fossil salt. The former have been worked from time immemorialj and the Utter from about 1670. By the opoiition of blastin^g, and the mechanical instruments usuaify employed in mining, the rock is obtained in masses oT considerable size, differing in form and purity. The purer rock is pounded and used without other preparation ; but the less pure is dissolved and refined in the same manner as brine. Waier. Several rivers and meres ; the former are very muddy aflerrains, and not remarkable for theix fish ; but the latter abound in pike, bream, perch, dace, and etiis. 2. Property. Few counties of equal extent with so many wealthy land- owners. Fifty proprietors resident in the county, with estates of firom thre.; to iO,000/. a year, and as many from one to 3000/. " From the advantages which have been derived firom trade, and from the eflects of the increase of taxes, which have pre- vented a man living with the same degree of comfort on the same portion ofland he could formerly, many ofthe old owners have Been induced to sell their estates, and new proprietors have spread themselves over the countiy, very different in their habits and prejudices. It may be douhtrul whether the change on the whole has been disadvantageous. Land, when baxiSLerzed, is georaally improved by its new possessor. With a view, and often a more enlightened view, of its advantages and resource3,he brings with him the means and the disposition to try experiments, and to give to his new acqui)>ition its greatest value. JHe feels the want of comforts and conveniences, which custom bad rendered ^miliar to a fbrmer occupier; he builds, drains, and plants ; and, by his spirit and example, stimulates all around mm to increased exertions. 3. Buildings. Many noble mansions, especially that of the Earl Grosvenin', at Eaton. Farm buUdiTiga, on the large dairy farms, in flie middle of the coun^, extensive and convenient ; in other places the reverse, and crowded in villages ; oldhuildings of shed-work, wattled work, and clay, and covered with thatch; new of brickand slate. An excellent set of buildings {iig- lllS.J baa been erected at Bromfield, near Warrington, on the estate of Sir P. Warburton. " A gentle descent &om the ground at the front of the house has afforded Beckett, the occupier of this farm, the opportunity of conveying from a pond (a) a smull stream through the farm-yard, with whtch ne irrigates the meadows below the buildings. The superior richness of vege- tation in these meadows fiunniBhes abundant proof of the ad- vantage which Beckett derives from availing himself of this Beginning with the drvelling-hmiae of this farmery, it con- tains an entrance and passage (1]> house-place (S), servants, dining-room (3), back parlour (4), dairy, with whey pans and sink'Stone (5), room fin: the cheese after it is taken out ofthe salt (6), milking-house and salting-room (7), stairs to cheese>- room (S), parlour with a cellar under (9), pantry (10). The immediate appendages of the house chidEly connected with the dairy are ranged on three sides of the inner yard (11), and con- sist of a coal-bouse (12), wash-house, with pigeon-house over it (13), mimp (14), jpjpe to boiling-pans (1&), boiler for pig meat (16), privy (IT), place for ashes (18), privy (19), inner pig-cot (20), outer pig-cot (21), passage (22), inner pie-cot (23), outer piE-cot(24), inner pig-cot (25), outer pig-cot (Ze), pas- sage (27r, inner pig-cot (28), outer pig-cot (29). TAe ^mu/ard consists of a court, containing a large duck, pond and dunghill, Burrounded by a broad passage, and en- closed on the west, east, and south sides m^buildings, the north side bring the wall of the inner yard. These buildinsa 1164 STATISirCS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. consist of a cow of society. Lord Penrhyn'a pmUtrv-lumaea, at Winnington, are supposed the most magnificent that have ever been built. They are united in a building, which consists of a handsome regular front, extending about 140 feet ; at each extremity is a neat pavilion, with a large arched window. These pavilions are united to the centre of the design by a colonnade of small cast- iron pillars, painted white, which support a cornice and a slate roof, covering a paved walk and a variety of different con- veniences for the poultry, for keepmg eggs, com, &c. The doors into these are all of lattice-work, also painted white, and the framing green. In the middle of the front are four hand- some stone columns, and four pilasters, supporting likewise a cornice and a slate roof, under which and between the columns is a beautifhl mosaic iron gate ; on one side of this gate is an elegant little parlour, beautifriUy papered and furnished; and at the other end of the colonnade a very neat kitchen, so excessively clean, and in such high order, that it is delightful to view it. This front is the diameter or chord of a large semi- circular court l>ehind, round which there is also a colonnade, and a great variety of convpniences for the poultry : this court is neatly paved, and basacircularpondandpumpin the middle of it. The whole fronts towards a rich little field or paddock, called the poultry paddock, in which the poultry have liberty to walk about between meals. It happened while the reporter wasthere tobe their dinner-time,atoneo'clock. Atthishour a bell rings, and the beautiful gate in the centre is opened. The poidtry being then mostly walking in the paddock, and knowing by the sound of the bell that their repast is ready for them, fly and run from all comers, and rush in at the gate, every one striving who can get the first share in the scramble. At that time there were about 600 poultry of different liinds in the place, and although so large a number, the semicircular Courtis kept so very neat and clean, that not a speck of dung is to be seen. This poultry place is built of brick, excepting the pillars and cornices, and the lintels and jambs of the doors and windows, but (he bricks are not seen, beine all covered with a remarkably fine kind of slate from his lordship's estate in Wales. These slates are closely jointed and fastened with screw nails, on small spars fixed to the brick ; they are afterward! painted, and line white sand thrown on while the paint is uct, which gives the whole an appearance of the moat beaatiful freestone. 4. Occupation. Farms very small ; a great many under ten acre ; only one or two at 350 or 400 acres; excluding all those under ten acres, the average of the county mav be seventy acres. Large and small farraers completely diffferenl chamcters ;— dHFerent in their habits, and, bv consequence, in their ideas. Industry and excellent noanacement of the dairy-women of this county much to be commenaed ; leases generally for seven years* 5. Implements. Rothernam plough and other good ImpTements. A short strong scythe, witii a blade twenty Inches in length, and con- cave m the middJe, is used fox scooping out the crowns of rush stools. 6. Arable Lands. In small proportion to the postures. Cabbages a good deal cultivated for iiattle. Carrots near Altringham for the Man- chester market, and also seed fot* the London seedsmen. Onions also for the Lancashire markets. The soil about Altringham dry and loamy ; the carrots large, coane, and fit only for horses and cattle. 7. Grass. Natural meadows numerous, rich, and fertile. They are ^tuated on rivers, which, from the frequency of heavy rains, overflow and enrich them. Extent of upland pasture very considerable ; that on a tolerably stilf clay soil, especially with a substratum of marl, is reckoned the best for the dairy ; more milk may be had from cows pastured on a rich loamy soil, but it is esteemed inferior in point of qualitv. Many farmers com- plain that their land is too rich for the dairy, by which the ad- hesive properties of the cheese is diminished : feeding of cattle little practised. 8. Gardens and Orchards, Good gardens to most of the farm-houses. "All the varieties of raspberries, currants, strawberries, and gooseberries are to be met with in the farm and cottage gardens In Cheshire. The culture of the latter fruit has been particularly attended to of late years ; and there are several meetings in different pirts of the county, where small premiums are adjudged to those who produce, out of their own gardens, gooseberries of the greatest wdght. The common fruit trees, such as the apple, pear, cherry, and plum, are likewise grown in almost every garden. Of the latter kind, the damascene plum is by mucn the most common; and is an article of considerable profit to the cottager. Orchards not numerous, and rather on the decline. 9. Woods and Plantations. Few of large extent, yet the quantity of timber very greatly exceeds what would oe a fair average for the kingdom at large. In the northern and middle parts the number of trees in the hedge-rows and coppices is so considerable, that, from some points of view, the whole county has the appearance of an extensive forest. The most considerable anciunt woods in the Earl of Stamford's park at Durham Massey. Few spots can boast such an assemblage of stately oaks, elms, and beeches. During a storm of wind, on the 21st of January, 1802, several hundred trees were torn op by the roots. One of these, when liarked, contained 403 feet of timber, and was sold at six shiltinus and sixpence per foot, to the extent of 373i feet. An elm blown down at the same time measured 146 feet. A colo- ny of herons had for ages fixed their residence on the summits of these trees ; but on one of them being tom up, they retreated to a neighbouring grove of beeches, where they have ever since enjoyea a secure anode. A plantation of 1000 acres at Taxall, F. Jodrell, Esq. ; it was planted by White, the landscape gardener of 'Woodlands, I>urhain, at five pounds per acre, half the trees to be firs. Ex- tensive plantations by iVshton, on Delamore forest. Whiieiy, an ingenious tanner, at Ashley, near Knutsford, made some experiments a few years ago with the twigs and ends of the boughs of oak, as a substitute for the bark. These ground down, and used in the same way as the bark, mani- fested strongly astringent properties: but the necessity there was found to be for their immediate application took away very greatly from their value ; and their use is now almost en- tirely discontinued, though the plan at that time was adopted by several other tanners. 10. Improvements. Draining a good deal practised, especially with bricks and stones. Paring and buming, marling, sanding, claying, and liming, also practised to different de^ees of extent. Sand of advantage, chiefly by altering the texture of the soil, as that used contains no calcareous matter. 11. Live Stock. Present stock of dairy cows a mixture of the long and short homed, the Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Welsh, Irish, Scotch, and New Leicestershire cattle. Those covit reckoned best which are bred on the farm. Calves reared from the best milkers, and at two years old put to the bull. Cows housed about the middleof November; permitted togodryten weeks before their time of calving: usual dry foods, wheat, barley, and oat straw, hay, and crushed oats. The two former kinds of straw are found to make cows go dry much sooner than the latter ; and another generally allowed effect attri- buted to such straw is, that more than the usual time will be required to chum the cream of cows when so fed j but wheat straw is esteemed much more wholesome than barley straw, 3& having less of those effects attending iL Three or four weeks before calving, hay given ; and from calving to turning to grass, some ground or crushed oats twice a day. The cows are tumed into an outlet (a bare pasture field near the build- ings), about ten o'clock in the moming, and housed again about four in the afternoon the winter through, or earlier if they showed an inclination to return; but have no fodder in the outlet. Turning the cows out to gra^ in good condition is a matter much attended to, in order that tht^ may, as the term is, " start well ;" for if a cow is not in good condition when tumed out to grass, or has been too much dried with barley sfraw, it is a long time before she gets into full milk. The ox-cabbage and Swedish tumip are the kinds of green food most esteemed and cultivated in Cheshire. The former il Bo3K I. AGRICULTURE OF HAMPSHIRE. lies usually given to the cows when the af>er-(n^ss !s consumed { it is sometimes given in the Marine to cows that have newly calveil. The iaxge sugar- loaf cabhage has been occasionally used, ^rhen the pasture begin to fhil and the after-gi'ass Is not ready ; a circumstance whteh frequently happen)!, especially m dry weather. Turnip are (fiven to the catUe in the winter> while tliey arc ti>edms on straw j and as, at Oiis time, no cheese is raadcr any objection to their nse> from the flavour they Rive to the milk, is of little consequence. The reporter made enquiries from several fanners, with a view of ascertain- ing whether the stall-feediuR of their milch cows might not bo continued during the whole year, but he found the general opinion to be against this practice ; thoiiRh it did not appear that any experiments, sufficient for the decision of the point, had hitherto been made. It was suggi>ste(i to him, how- ever, that it would be an improvement upon the prcseiit ma- nagement, to let the cows stand in their houses during the heat of the day in summer, where, by giving them a few cabbages or tar^ the milk would continue fonnin;;, and the cattle be defendeii from tlie gad-fly, which, by tormenting them in the fields, frequeutl; injures both the quantity and quality of the milk. Time of calving March and April. At calving-Ume the cow- man, or the master, are frequently up two or three times In the course of a night, to see whether any thing is amiss. The racks and manners are every day well cleaned out, while due atten- tion is paid to tlie appetites of the different beasts, and the quantity of food is covemeil accordingly. After this is done> tne master himself generally goes round from stall to stall just before bed-time, itnd adds to or diminishes the quantity of rodder as occasion may require. In maktitff butter the whole of the milk and cream is churned together. Cheese made from the wh^ pressed from the curd used in making cheese. dieeae-making has remained stationary in Cheshire for many years ; best size of cheeses sixty pounds. Cows milked during summer at six o'clock, morning and evening. " The evening's milk (of suppose twenty cows) having stood all the night in the coolers and brass pans, the cheese-maker, in summer about six oVlock in the morning, carefully skims off the cream from the whole of it, observing first to take off' all the froth and bubbles^ which may amount to about a pint : this not being thought proper to be put into the cheese, goes to the cream mug to f>e churned for butter, and the rest of the cream is put into a brass pan. While the dairy-woman is thus employed, the servants are milking the cows, having previously lighted a fire under Uie furnace, which is half full ot water. As soon as the night's milk is skimmed, it is ail carried into the cheese tub, except about three fourths of a brass pan full (three or four gallons), which is immediately placed in the fmrnace of hot water in the pan> and is made scalding hot; the half of the milk thus heated in the pan is poured also into the cheese-tub, and the other half is added to the cream, which, as before observed, was skimmed into another brass pan- By this means all the cream is liquified and dissolved, so as apparently to form one homogeneous or uniform fluid, and in that state it is poured into the cheese-tub. But before this is done, several bowls or vessels fidl of new milk will generally have been poured into the cheese-tub, or perhaps the whole morning's milk. Care is taken to skim off all the air bubbles which may tiave formed, in pouring the new milk into the cheese-tub. The night and morning's milk, and melted cream, being thus 7815. HAMPSHIRE. A maritime county, which includes also the Isle of Wight : the latter contains 94,000 acres, and the continental part of the county 968,150 acres. The climate of this county being remarkably mild, and the soil in many places being calcareous, and consequently warm, very early arable crops are produced in some places, and peas grown better than in many districta. The culture of the county, however, has little to recommend it, either in its tillage or pasturage. Its woods are extensive. {A. and W. Driver's General Fiewt 1794. Vancouver's General View, 1808. Warner's Isle of Wight, 1794. Marshals Review, 1817.) all put into tiie cheese-tuh> it is then ready to receive the rennet and colouring, or, in the terms of the art, to be set together. The rennet and colouring being put into the tub, the whole is well stirred together, a wooden cover is put over the tub, and over that is thrown a linen cloth. The usual time of coming is one hour and a half, during which time it is frequently to be examined : if tlie cream rises to the surface before tlie coming takes place, as it often does, the whole must be stirred together so eis to mix agahi the milk and cream, and this as often as it rises, until the coagulation commences. A few smart strokes on different sides ot the tub, with the cheese ladder, &c. will forward tlie coagulation, if it is found to be too long in forming. The cuTd is %n ike next place broke by the knife and hands, and then left half an hour to subside; then it is gently pressetl, the curd broken by the hand, and the whey ladied out of the tub as it drains nom the curd. Afterwards, the curd is broken in a brass pan and salted, and next put into the cheise- vat, and pressed with a sixty pound weight, till all the whey is removed. It is then again broke, washed with warm whey, and finally put in the press under a weight or power of about 14 cwt. After being fbrty-eight hours m the press, it is put in the salting tub, where it remains three days covered with salt ; it is then taken out and placed- on the salting benches, where it is turned once a day; it is then washed in warm water with a brush, and wiped dry with a cloth j in two hours it is smeared over with whey butter, and then put in the warmest part of the cheese-room. In the cheese-room it is well rubbed, to take off the sweat or fermentation which takes place in cheese for a certain time after it is made, and turned daily for seven days, and smeared with whey butter ; afterwards it is turned daily, and rubbed three times a week in summer, and twice in winter. The clieoae-rooma are commonly placed over the cow-houses j and this is done with a view to obtain that moderate and necessary degree of temperature so essential to the ripening of cheese, to which the heat arising from the cattle underneath is supposed very much to contribute. On dairy farms, one woman servant is kept to every ten cows ; these women are employed in winter in carding, spinning, and other house- wiiery business ; but in milking, the women, both night and morning, during summer, where large dairies are kept, are assisted by all theother servants,' men and boys, except the man who drives the team. Sheep little attended to in Cheshire. Sorsea brought from Derbyshire and Leicestershire. _ Hogs, a mixture of long and short eared breeds. PouUrtf of the common kind abundant in most farms for their eggs. Geese kept by the cottagers till midsummer or later, and then sold to the farmers, who fatten them on their stubbles. Bees to be found at many of ihe faim-houses, and at some of the cottages. 12. Political Economt/. Roads bad ; various canals ; an extensive commerce of coal and salt, and manufactures of silk, woollen, linen, and cotton. An experimental farm established at Waverham, near Nortli- wich, by some gentlemen and tiirmers of the neighbourhood, but it was soon found so expensive and losing a concern as to be abandoned. Those on the plan suf^^ested by Bailey (7^09.) seem the most likely to be effective and permanent. 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate generally mild. Sml in ue central parts a sFrong flin^ calcareous loam ; in otho parts generally gravelly, or sandy and calcareous. The soil of the Isle of Wight is partly a clayey and calcareous loam, and in part lighter. MitKrals : none of any consequence ; potter's clay, sand, and building-stone iivdififerent places. Water scarce in dry seasons in the chalk districts, where it is preserved in tanks, and drawn up from wells 300 or 400 feet deep. In some parishes, after a long dry autumn, there has been more strong beer than water. A good deal of fishing on the coast ; of eels after floods in the smaller streams ; and some fish ponds on Bagshot Heath. 2, Property. Largest estates on the chalky districts ; largest 8C0O^ per annum. Great bulk of the lands held and cultivated by yeomanry ; tenures, copyhold and leasehold, ttom the superior lords or freeholders. Houses of proprietors numerous: farm-houses mostly of great antiquity > those of the larger kind were formerly grange or manor-houses; out-buildings numerous, and generally ruin- ous ; cottages often of mud (proutH. col) walls, but better on the whole than in some other counties. Some fknciful rustic struc- tures as shelters or temporary lodges for cattle, in the forest district. { fe. 1113-) 4. Occupation. Farms various, rather small. 5. Implement. Hampshire plough, an extraordinary bulky clumsy struc- ture; the Suffolk plough is used in the southern parts of the county, and in the Isle of Wight. The patent Hampshire waggon is formed by uniting two caris, corresponding with (he fore and bind parts of a waggon, by bolting them together. The thrill of the hind part passes under the bed, and rents on the pillow of the fore-cart. The union is simple, yebso com- Slete as to render this waggon as strong as the common kind, 'not stjonger- 6. Arable Land. Tillage difficult and expensive in the chalk district, light and easy in the vale of Avon. Feas a good deal cultivated on the chalks, especially the Marlborouf^h gr^ or partridge, ttie Charlton and pearl; in warm situations they are drilled and often sown before Christmas, or in January. 1113 ' A considerable mysterystill seems to hangovercertainpropertiesof these peas, with regard to their boiling well for soup or porridge; good boilers being sometimes sown upon fields which have never been known to refuse yielding a produce possessing a similar quality, but 'hat effect afterwards ceasing, and a hard indis- soluble pea has been produced that continued for several suc- cessive periods ; whilst, on the other hand, land that had never been known or even suspected of being able to communicate a boiling quality to its peas, would unexpectedly give to the produce of a hard and almost impenetrable pea all the pro- perties of being excellent boilers. Through all the cedar-co- loured sand ana gravellj loams in Devonshire, good boilers are stated to be uniformly profluced, and in continued succession. The same kind of soil, and in every respect under similar cir- cumstances, in the iHle of Wight will onlj; occasionallj-, and by accident as it were, produce good boiling peas. Some opinions seem to refer this effect to a peculiarity m the seasons ; hut this cannot stand against a well known truth, that good boilers are produced every season." 1166 STATISTICS OP AGRICULTURE. Part IV. Baintfoln cultivated wltfi succesa on the chalky soils, and very productlTe. Hops on the borders of Surrey. A vineyard was Slanted at UnderclitT, in the Isle of Winht, by the late Sir Lichard Worsley, in 1792, and an Anjou Tine^Iresser broufiht Over to attend it ; the extent was about two and a half acres, and a light wine was made; but in 180S, when M. Vancouver called to see it, he found the vines had been grubbed up, and the p^ound chan;^ to a la^vn of tuif. 7. Grass Lands. The county famous for water meadows, which are well ma- nafffid, and productive : they are chiefly in the nciRbbourhooil of VVinchester, on the Itchen ; but there are instances on moat of the other rivers and streams. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Excellent market gardens near Gosport and Portsmouth ; Portsea island noted for its broccoli ; white-washed mud walls, with coiling of thatch used as fences, and for wall fruit in some cases ; and fruit walls only half a brick thick, and waving at the rate of one foot in twenty in use. In other cases an^lar walls are in use, the angles bemg right angles, and the sides ten feet each. The advantage in both cases is the saving of bricks; but it is evident they cannot be carried very high, nor, sub- ject as they are to the driving and drawing of nails, can they DB of great duration. (See Eiicyclopadia qf Gardenitig, 1567.) Orchardg in various places, and cider made both in the county and in the Isle of Wight. 9. Woods and Planiations. Extensive beechwoods on the chalk district, those of Ditch- am grove very ^ne ; elm scarce in the countv, but abundant in Strath fieldsay Park (now the Duke of Wellington's). Oak abundant in the New Forest district, and many young plant- ations there, and throughout the county. Cobbett raised a great many American trees of various species at Botley. There are several considerable forests, viz. the New Forest, Alice Holt, Woolmer, and Bere. The New Forest is situated on the south side of Hampshire ; it was formerly bounded on the east by Southampton river, and on the south by the British Channel, being near thirty miles in length, and ninety in circumference ; but, since the disalfor- estations by Henry the Third and Edward the First, its bound* aries are much reduced, and now only extend from Gadshill, on the north west, to the sea, on the south-east, about twenty miles ; and from Hardley, on the east, to ICingwood, on the west, about fifteen miles ; containing within those limits about 92,365 acres, the whole of which does not now belong to the crown, as several manors and freehold estates, to the amount of 24,797 acres, are private property ; about 625 acres are copyhold, belonging to His Majesty's manor of Lyndhurst ; 1004 acres are leasehold, held under the crown ; 902 acres are encroachments; 1193 acres are held by the master- keepers and groom keepers, attached to their respective lodges ; and the remaining 63,844 acres are the woods and waste lands of the forest. The other forests are ofmuch less extentand interest. 10. Improvements. Good examples of draining by tapping were exhibited bv Elkington, on Cadland Fzurk estate : the strata lying at a small angle with the horizon, enabled the principles of what is called Elkington's mode of draining to be carried completely into effect. In the eastern part of the Isle of Wight are various tracts of marshy ground, the largest of wliich, Brading Haven, containing about 900 acres, was granted by James I. to one Gibbs, a groom of the bed-chamber. The owners of the adjoining lands contested this grant, which the king was very earnest In supporting. After a verdict obtidned in ttie Court of Exchequer against the gentlemen of the island, Gibbs sold his sh.irL< for 2000/. to Sir Bois Thelwall, a page of the king's bed- chamber, who admitted the famous Sir Hugh Middleton to a share. They employed a numl>er of Dutchmen to enclose and recover the haven from the sea. The first taking of it in cost 4000/. and 1000/. more was expended in building a dwelling- house, bam, water-mill, trenching, quicksetting, and other necessary works ; so that, Includuig the original pitfchase, the total expenditure amounted to 7000/. But after all, the value (^ the ground did not answer the expectations of the under- takers ; for though that part of it adjoining Brading proved tolerably good, nearly one half of it was found to be a light running sand ; nevertheless, an incontestable evidence ap- peared, by the discovery of a well, cased with stone, near the middle of the haven, that it had formerly been good ground. Sir Hugh Middleton tried a variety of experiments on the land which had been taken in, before he sold his share j sowing it with wheat, barley, oats, cabbage, and finally with rapeseed^ which last was alone successful : but the greatest discourage- ment was, that the sea brought up so much ouze, weeds, and sand, which choked up the passage for the discharge of the fresh water. At length, in a wet season, when the inner part of the haven was full of fresh water, and a high sprine tide, the waters met under the bank, and made a breach. Thus ended this expensive project; and though Sir John Oglander, who lived in the neighbourhood, conf&sed himself a friend to the undertaking, which, besides its principal object, tended to render that part of the country more healthy, he declared it as his opinion, that the scheme could never be resumed to any pr oil table purpose. 11. Live Stock. * No exclusive breed of cattle. The Sussex, Suffolk, Leicester, Hereford, Devon, &c. are indiscriminately met with. Several ox teams. Sheep. In the Woodland district the heath sheep, old Hampshire, or Wilts breeds, hut most of the improved breeds also to be met with. The horses used in teams generally large, heavy, inactive animals. Small horses bred in vast numbers upon the heaths and forests, and which have not improperly acquired the name of heath croppers. Their ordinary height is about twelve hands. They propa|gate indiscriminately upon these wastes, where they seek their living throughout the year, and at four years old may generally be purchased at above five poimds. The native liog of this county is a coarse, raw-boned, flat-sided animal, agreeing in no respect with the idea entertained of it in other parts of the kingdom. The great number fed fbr a few weeks in the close of autumn, upon the acorns and mast which the forests and other woodlands produce, in the county, and the excellent mode of curing hog-meat pra(;tised by the house- keepers, have contributed in a far greater degree to establish that superiority ascribed to Hampshire bacon, than any in- herent excellence in its native oreed of hogs. Very f&w, however, of the genuine native hog are to be met with, the common stock being either the native Berkshire breed, or a considerable predommance of that blood in the native swine of the county. 12, Polilical Economy. Roads in general good, especially in flie New Forest. Several canals, and various manufactures and public works at Ports- mouth and other places. The machinerr for making blocks (1830) is reckoned the most ingenious ana complete otits kind in the kingdom. 7816. WILTSHIRE. 870,000 acres of varied surface, partly chalky downs, and partly rich vale land ; and both a com and grass county. It produces excellent cheese and butter, fat cattle, pigs, and store 6heep. The agricultural report of this county was drawn up by T. Davis, steward to tne Marquess of Bath, at Longleat, a man of great experience as a land steward, surveyor, and farmer, and universally respected. He divides the county into two districts, the south-east and north-west j a very judicious plan for giving correct agricultural information, (fiavt's's Wiltshire, 1794. Marshal's Review, 1809. Edin. Ga%. 1829.) 7817. South Wiltshire. Wiltshire downs contain about 600,000 acres of hilly sur- face, mostly unenclosed and in common pasture ; the atmo- sphere cold and sharp, with a chalky soil, seldom varied by patches of loam, sand, or other earths. There is scarcely a river or brook in this district that is not appUed in some way or Other to the purposes of irrigation. 1. Property. Near large towns property is generally subdivided when sold ; in this district, when any is sold it is generally bought up by such as are considerable proprietois ; hence estates generally large. Shape of the manors snows that many of them were the property of one lord; each borders on or contains a rivulet to Bupply water and the accompaniment of rivulets in that dis- trict, meadow land, with hill for wood ; or, where these were wanting, they were supplied by a grant of those articles from Other property. Proprietors generally resident on their estates. 2. Buildings. Farm-houses generally crowded together in villages, for con- venience of water. Some of late years erected centrical to their farms, by the Earl of Pembroke, and other proprietors; wells and ponds an important article in ttiese erections. S. Occupation. Farms of two kinds ; those in severalty, or not subject to rights of common, are from 150/. to 500/., and one or two at luOO/. a year ; cHstomary tenements, subject to rights of com- mon, are from 25/, to 40/. or 50/. per annum. There are exten- sive sheep commons and cow commons, to which the occupiers cS both descriptions o^" lands have a right to turn in stock, ac- cording to certain fixed and customary regulations. Leases Beven, fourteen, or twenty-one years. 4. Implements. A heavy two-wheel and one-wheel plough in use; the latter sometimes with afoot instead of a wheel. 5. Arable Land. An old error exists, that of over-pulverising the uplands by too fisquent ploughings, by which the wheats were thrown out dur- ing winter, or if they stood the winter, the March wmds blew away the earth from their roots, and " hanging by one 1^," and thus not receiving any assistance from the coronal root, the plants ore weak in straw, and produce small thin ears. " Many modes have been introduced to prevent this evil, by giving a sufficient texture and firmness to the land previous to a wheat crop. The best farmers have made a point of getting then: lands clean ploughed by midsummer, ana treading it as hrm as possible with the sheep-fold a longtime before sowing; while the slovenly formers nave invented, and generally practise, a very short and cheapway of attaining this nrmnessin the land. They rafter the land (as they call it), that is, they plough half of the land, and turn the grass side of the ploughed furrow on the land that is left unploughed. They do this as soon as they can spare the feed of the summer-field, and leave it in that state till near seed-time, when they harrow it down and plough it for sowing. This rafter is usually ploughed across the ridges, or what is better, diagonally ; the latter mode being less sub- ject to drive the land up in heaps before the plough. The land thus raftered is sometimes ploughed twice, but more frequently only once, previous to sowing ; and after it is sown they drag it two, three, or four times, and harrow it four, five, or six times. A very heavy kind of drag is used; and as Wiltshire Down farmers are very cautious ot ploughing their land too much, ttiey make much use of these drags instead of ploughing, ana frequently let in their seed-wheat with them. This practice having been found to answer, has been gradually improved upon. The down lands of this district will not bear fallowing, especially in hot dry weather; they are too thin and light already, and require rest. Two years' rest for wheat is equal to the best coat of dung. Dung may give the quantity, but rest must give the quality. The course er of places. The wattled hurdles of Dorsetshire consist almost invariably of ten stakes, which the hurdle-makers drive into augur holes, that are made for that purpose in a piece of timber, which is sup- ported at a convenient height from the ground by other pieces of timber, and then the stakes are wattled. Stones set on edge, and rublestone walls used as fences in various parts. 6. Arable Land. Deep ploughing generally less approved of on the chalky soils, ana cross ploughing never practised, even for turnips ; two or three horses form a team. Fallowing general all along the coast; but what is here termed a summer fallow is, in moat cases, no other than a preparation of ley ground for a crop of wheat, by ploughing it three or four times, the first plough- ing being given m June or July, and sometimes as late as August. Upon the thin chalky soils around Blandford, and upon the hillsintheneighbourhoodof Abbey Milton, the course of crops with the best armers is as follows : viz. one seventh oif the land is in saintfoin, and the vest of the arable is cultivated in the rotation of one, wheat ; two, ire, winter barley, or winter vetches, to be fed with sheep in the spring, and the whole fol- lowed by turnips, rape, &c. ; three, oarley or oats ; and four and five, artificial grasses, to be followed by wheat as before. Upon the thin chalks and shallow flinty loams, wheat is gene- rally sown on the back of a two years' clover ley ; but, even on those thin soils, a great deal is sown after turnips, rape, &c. fed off with sheep early enough to sow it in the same autumn, and in most instances a good crop is produced of a fine sample. On the better sorts of chalky and gravelly soib, the same practice Erevails, except upon the ley-ground, which continues in grass ut one year instead of two ; the wheat is taken after the first year's ley, and is supposed to answer better than it would in tfie second year, upon the latter description of soils. Old saintfoin leys broken up without paring and burning. Hemp and flax a good deal cultivated. 7. G7ass. 300,000 acres, or about three fifttis of the county ; GOOD acres of meadow in the chalky district irrigated. Application of the meadows ; fatting cattle, and of the uplands the dairy. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Both are frequent appendages to farm-houses and cottages ; some of the cottage gardens are small enclosures taken from the sides of the highways. The goosefoot (Chenopjtdium b6nus Henricujf cultivated by a few persons here, as in Lincoln^ire and elsewhere, and calculations made by Batchelor, to show what would be the expenses and profits of an acre for the London market. The plant is greatly inferior to spinach, but might be used as a substitute for it in spring, as it is a perennial, and veryearl;^ in leaf. Sea-cale, which grows on the shores near Burton, is now generally introduced into the gardens of farmers. Orchards to the extent of 10,000 acres; application cider, in making which bops are sometimes added to make it keep ; proportion one pound to a hogshead. Twaity bushels of appFes will make a hogshead of cider. 9. Woods and Plantations, Timber scarce, and chiefly to be found in parks and hedge- rows. Many young plantations lately made on the heath lands. 10. Improvements. Irrigation carried to considerable extent and great perfection. and one of the best books on the subject is by Boswell of Piddletown. A dry meadow of good quality is worth forty shillings J watered, sixty-five shillings per acre; produce of hay two loads per acre. 'The streams in Dorset are in general shallow, and have a considerable fall ; the meadows are narrow, and the water is supplied with comparative regularity, in con- sequence of its having to filter through immense masti^ f£ chalk previous to Its exit at the springs ; and hence the process of irrigation is much facilitated. The sheep of Dorsetshire are well known as supplying the metropolis with house-lamb at a very early season. Parl£iEon considers the Dorset ewe as the best homed ewe in the kingdom, those of Somerset excepted ; and they are so nearly alike, that few people, save the natives of the two counties, would know the difference. In the Isle of Portland there is a small breed, which some contend is the true breed of the county. Lowman of Portland observes, it is the practice tht-re to fold tlicse dwarlish animals from Candlemas to Murtintide, putting them in late at night, and letting them out early in the morning. The mutton is deemed the best In England, and the wool as good as the South Down kind. Some of them have been pur- chased by sheep -breeders, with a view to obtain a cross be- tween these and the Merinos. Both ewes and wethers are kept, and generally till they are five years old ; sometimes they remain tifl a greater ag^, but it is not thought a prolitable inetliod. Such as are fatted are put into a common, at the northern part of the island, which is pretty good land, and remain there from the 12th of August to the 5tn of November, on which day Portland sheep-fiiit is held. All the sheep of the island are kept pretty generally upon the commons from No- vember the 21st to Candlemas. X'he Portland mutton is sold by the quarter in general at ten shillings and sixpence. It is never weighed, but would come to one shilling a pound when common mutton is only seven-pence : it seldom weighs more than ten pounds a quarter. Several Socles of pure Merinos, Down Merinos, and other breeds. General maiiagemejit of sheep. The lambs which are bred for the regular supply of the flock are dropped at Christmas, or soon afterwards, and the couples are kept in the best ewe-leozes, &c. on grass, hay, and turnips, if necessary ; and such as have watered meadows, depasture their sheep there, on the early grass, till old May-day, when the lambs are weaned, and the sheep go to fold ; but sometimes the two latter circumstances take place as early as Lady-day. The ewes are folded constantly. and kept on the Downs, on artificial grasses and other pastures, till near the ensuing Christmas, at which time they have another crop of lambs, the rams having been put to the fiock about the end of July. There is, probably, no part of England where the practice of sheep -folding is more admired, or more earnestly pursued, than in the coun^ of Dorset. Fifteen dozen of hurdles, with a like number of stakes and withes to confine them together, will enclose a statute acre of ground, and will contain 1200 or 1300 sheep very commodiously. The hurdles are moved every morning ; consequently the same number of sheep will manure an acre of land daily. The real value of the fold there is no means of ascertaining; it is undoubtedly very beneficial to the arable landj but it has reduced the Downs to a stale of poverty. Ewes are generally kept till they are four years and a half old, when they are sold to the dealers. A sin^lar custom prevails of colouring them with ochre, for which no other reason is given than that of being able to distinguish them from the Somerset sheep. jJHc; were formerly kept by some fanners, but are now given up, having be«n found destructive to hedees, &c. " It ap- peared that six asses would plough as much land of any kind m a given time as three horses, and four asses were sufficient to plough broken land. It is believed that two asiies will per- form as much work as one horse, and they do it more conve- niently in the hilly part of the county, as they carry their lading in panniers, where it would be difficult to use wheel carriages. Geese kept on the com pastures inPurbeck,&omanideatnat they promote the health of the cattle. Bees kept in various places ; does not answer to feed them ; the only way to render Uiem profitable is, after the honEiy -season to destroy all hives under twenty pounds weight. 11. Political Economy. Roadsof fiint, and in general good: anironrailway, of three miles and a half, for conveying potters' clay from Norden to a place opposite Footc, where it is shipped for Liverpool. No canals. Manufactures of flax and hemp at Bridport and Bea- minster ; upwards of 2000 people employed in making sail- cloth, cordage, sacking, tarpaulin, &c. ; flannel at Shafresburv, and woollens at Lyme Regis ; twisting and making up raw silk into skeins at Sherboume and other places ; shirt buttons ex- tensively at Shaft^bury, Blandford, and the surrounding vil- l^es; the buttons made of wire and thread; many thousands of children in this manufacture ; wicker baskets, with a small hole at top, called lobster pots, at various places on the coast, and a variety of other articles. Many very uncommon pro- vincial terms used in this county. 7820. SOMERSETSHIRE. About one million of acres, chiefly of meadow and pasture land, hilly and mountamoufi m some places, and with marshes and bogs in others, but on the whole, though far behind in artificial culture, celebrated for its natural fertility. The climate is various, in general cold and boisterous on the elevated parts, but almost without a winter near the sea. The county is divided into the north-east, middle, and south-west districts, by its very able reporter, J. Biliingsley, Esq. of Ashwick Grove. {Billingsley's GeJieral View, VJffJ, Marshal's 2leview, 1817.) 7821. NOKTH-EAST DlfffRICT. Surface very Irregular, hitermixed with lofty hills and rich fertile plains: climate various; soil chiefly clay, and in part peat; application chiefly pasturage; several thousands of acres overflown by the tide in the river Yeo ; 4000 acres protected by a wall of stone and lime, elevated ten feet above the level of the land within, but high tides frequently break over it and make Minerals. Lead and calomine in the Mendip bills, but little worked, for want of a propfer level to carrv ofF the water. Coal abounds, and is worked forthesupitly ofBath, Wiltshire and Somersetshire ; from 800 to 1000 toiu raised weekly. Propert}/. Many large proprietors from 2000/. to 60002. ner annum, but the greater part in tlie possession of respeclaole yeomann. , from 50/. to 600/. a year. Buildinffs. There are many splendid gentlemen's scati, Book I. AGRICULTURE OF DEVONSHIRE. 1169 omanKmted with extenoive plantations, in this district, anclthe farm-houses uid cottages are Ibr the most port commodious and comfortable; but, on all the dairy farmR, a shame^l inat- tention prevdils in riapect to outliou»es and sheds tor their stock to retire to in the winter months. Cattle are almost uni- versal^ served with their provender in the field i and many a dairy farmer, with twenti cows, scarcely makes, in the whole winter, a quantity of dung sufficient to manure one acre of land. Occupation, Farms seldom exceed SOf)/. a year ; some of the dairy farms are so small as not lo exceed dOl. or 70/. per year; and many instances can be produced of such litt'e farmers brinpng up a \axge family in a very respectable wav. In such Instances, it Is {;enerally found thnt the wife undertakes the whde management of toe cows, and the husband goes to daily labour. Imptrmad: Plough with a foot or wheel ; spade with iX-e blada curved in its brendth, to prevrnl adhesion of soil ; it is much narrower and longer than those used in other counties, tighteen inches by six inches. ArabU land but in small proportion, and little attended to. Teazles and woad grown for the clothiers ; potatoes cultivated to a very considurable extent. The reporter has known thirty- two successive crops of potatoes from the same field, and the produce as good at the latter part of the term as at the be- ginning. ThL; will puzzle the theorist, with his peculiar sub- stances of nutrition. A sack of potatoes is equal to a hundred weight of hay. Gtoms the predominating surface. " On the rich maish land near the Bristol Chaim.l, the grazing ^stem prevails. In the vicinity of Bristol and Bath, the scythe is in constant use; and at a greater distance nothing is scarcely seen but the milking pidl: on the stonebrash, andfreestonegrit noil, saintfbin takes the lead : next to sainUbin, rye grass, marl grass, and white Butch clover are in deserved repute, when the land is Intended to remain some years in grass ; but when it is intended to be ploughed again in the course of a year or two, broad clover is preferred to all others. Bay-tea (1807.) much in use, by which means it is cona- dered as mudi nourishment is obtained as if the hay were eaten, while after boiling the culms mav be dried and used as litter! In some places, however, a pr^udice ^dsts against ufeing hay for litter, on tlie supposition that it breeds voinin in cattle. Market GarJens for the supply of Bristol and Bath. A clergy- n^an has eif;ht or ten acres of nursery ground, the labour of which amounts to 25/. per acre. Orthards aluund throughout the whole district ; the 6ivourite apple, both as a table and cider fruit, is the court of wick pip- pm, a seedling from the golden pippin. WaadM atid Ptantatioui not numerous. £iiiff Slack. Cattle mostly abort-homed ; the long-homed breed of North Wiltshire have l»een tried, but Uie customary breed preferred. Both cheese and butter made. RooiU preltv good ; some canals j woollen mamiractiire (!x< tensive, and that of knit worsted stockings considerable. 7822. MmnLE Distuict. Between 4 and 500,000 acres of varied surface and soil and mild climate; incluiUnga great ex'^nt of marsh and fii land, great part of which has been drained and embanked. Half this district occupied by the owmrs. Grass the ch'ef product; farms fipom 40/. to fiOO/. per annum, partly grazed with hei&rs, but cldefly by cows for the dairy : tlie cows let out to dairymen, as In Dorsetshire. Aralde Land, flax and hemp extensively cultivated, and also turnips. Orehardt numerous ' and very productive ; soil particularly suitable; plantations f^w. Live Stack. Small cows, well fed, preferred for the dairy and the object chieflv cheese ; that of Chcddcir much admirea the others in general sold in I^ndon as double Gloucester, A dairy-maid can manage the milk of twenty cows. RoiuU excellent, especially from Wells lo Bridgwater ; on- tcnsive woollen manufactures, many of hemp and flax, and siamv of gloves. 7823. South-west Distbict. Kough mountainous hitis, and rich ft^rtile slopes and plains ; fi\rms rather less than in the last district, but the husbandry much the same ; more land in tillage ; moimtainsuncultivattd, and pasture with sheep and young bullocks; in the vicinity of these hills the principal com crop is o'ts. Fences. The beech hedges around Dulverton, Dimster, &c. are not only beautitiil to the eye, and excellent fences and shelter, but are a source of annual profit to the proprietors. The banks on which they arc planted are six or seven feet high, and between four and five feet wide at Uie top ; the moulder- ing of tbe sides is frequently prevented bv a dry stone wait, four feet high. There is no ditch ; and the hedge consists of three rows of beech, planted on the top of the bank, at about one foot distance, llieir growth is very rapid, and they seem to defy the destructive qualities of the sea breezes, so fatal to the white-thom, and most other plants ; when at maturity, the middle row is cut to the ground, and the outside rows placed. The quantity of fiiel supplied % these hedgt^ is very consider' able : and the only olijection that can be made to them is, that the earth used in the construction of the hanks is so consider- able a quantity, that a large portion of the field is rohbt d of its vegetable matter, and rendered for some years unproductive. ^ome' Norfolk Jitrmert introduced on the Barnard estate, and rhubarb cultivated to great perfection by Ball, at Wil- liton, near Watchet. Many orchards, and excellent cidi-r made ; not much wood, but elms attain to a large size in the hedges. Lii'e Slock. North Devon cattle and Dorset sheep used round Taunton Dean ; oxen worked chiefly in yokes. Manufactures at Taunton on the decline. A salmon and herring fishery at Forlack, Minehead, and Watchet. 7824. DEVONSHIRR 1,595,309 acres of strongly marked hilly surface, includingthevpleof Exeter, ** the garden of the west;'* the Forest of Dartmoor, a barren waste ; and NoTth, West, South, and East Devonshire, each with distinct features. The county is celebrated for its breed of cattle, its daity, and its orchards, and of late years for extensive improvements undertaken in Dartmoor, where is also the im- mense depAt for 10,000 prisoners of war. (^.11 14.> ( TyrwhiWs Tracts on the Improvements at Dt^imoor, 18W Fraser's General new, 1794. Vancouver's Vieii\ 1807. Marshal's Review^ 1817.) 1114 1. Geogrtmkical State and Circumstances. Climate in North Devon less mild than in South Devon, but st'iU myrtles are used as garden hedges ; in South Devon the climate is supposed more mild and salulniouB than in any other l>u>tof England. Eml in great varied, trat in general calcareous. AlineroSr. Some iron and copper worked, also Creestone, limestone, and marble, &c. 2. Property. Much divided, only a few large estates ; formerly letting for UvM mtkch ia use. It has fiKquenily hapv^nedt tbatin letting an estate, tlie landlord agreed to tlischarpe tithes and all paro- cl lal paymei ts. About the yt-ars 1800 and IHOl, the rent of several estate-, in this county was absolutely insufficient to meet such disbursements, and consequently all the estates so cixcum- btanced brought their proprietors in debt. 3. Buildings. Houses of proprietors too generally going t" ruin from non. residence. "We defy ingenuity to plan and place farm-houses worse than they are." " (jarden-walls, f^rm-hou'WS, barns, stabtcs, lime-kiliu, village fences, uid collages, are all built 4 F 1170 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. with mad, and left wittioiil rough-cast, or whitewash, to con- ceal the native colour of the loam." J115 4. Occupation. Fhtiiis of nil sizes ficom 10/< to 600/. a year; 5. Implement!'. I'lough of the Bwinj; Vlnd, with a woodun mould bonid. Scaridera, called tormentors. Two sorts of prubhine miit- tocks are in use {Jig, 1 1 lb.a,b), one called the boe mattock (a), and the other a two-hill or double-liitted mattook (b). Paring-shovels (c) ure very well constniclcd. Com-staclv in harvest secured frmn n e sudden and heavy thunder showers to which this coun- try is liable, by canvass cover- ings, like thoie used in Mid- dlesex for coveriiif; lia^ licks. 6. Arabic Land. Much less than the gra^s land ; not much to t>e leami'd frum its culture ; artificial herbage not generally sown, and rotations bad. 7. Grass Lands. In the low tracts of good quality ; application, breeding and the dairy ; butter good, cheese indifferent, and generally con- sumed in the county. 8. Orchards^ fVoods, and Plantations. Very abundant in most paris of the county, and excellent cider made in the Herefordshire manner. Fruit trees rather iie(;lected than otherwise ; generally pasture beneath ; often in the hedgerows. T/ie Foreit qf Dartmoor ia parcel of the Duchy of Cornwall ; extensive improvements have lately been itroposod, and in part carried into execution, under thPdirection or" Sir J. Tyrwniit, the steward of the Duchy. Extensive aali marihea on some parts of the coast. 9. Improvements. Draining and irrigation not much practised. The Rev, M. Froude, of Darlington parsonage, communicated to Vancouver a mode of emptying the water from a pond without the ne- cessity ofattending to it personally when full. It is more matter of curiosity than ingenuity or use. The water, when the pond is overflowing, flows by a gutter into a basin, suspended be- yond the head, which when full, by means of a lever, raises a plug at the bottom of the pond. After a time, the box being .eaky, it becomes empty, and when the pond is nearly empty, the plug re-drops in its place. If the pluTg were placed nearer the surface of the water, it would in general cases be more useful, and less likely to lose the fish. 10. Livestock. The North Devon cattle well known for their superior adapt- ation, both for feeding and draught. For the uses of the dairy or for milk, it is a breed by no means held in general estimation, as their aptitude to look well (without being fleshy) is derived from the peculiar nature of the animal, which disnoses its se- cretions in the accumulation of fat, rather than in tne produc> tion of milk. For the purposes of labour, this breed can no- where be excelled for docility, activity, or hardihood, in proof of which DO stronger circumstance can be adduced, than that it is a common day's work, on fallow land, for four steers to plough two acres with a double-furrow plough ; and that a general use is thus made of them, and for most of the otlier tiurposes of draught In the coun^ where th^ were originally bund, and in others to which mey have been since trans- planted. The rules generally pursued in breeding and raising this va- luable.anim^niay be considered as follows :— The greatest num- ber of calves fall between Candlemas and May, and some much later ; but, among the best Iireeders, such late calves are not so generally approved of. The usual mode of raising them is, to let the calf suck as much as it will three times a dav, for the first week ; then bring it to the linger, and feed it with warm new milk, in like manner for three weeks longer. This is the ordinary treatment for the first month, and the calf is then fed for two months longer, twice a day, with as much warm scalded skim-milk as it will drink ; when, gradually abating its mominf^ and evening meals, at the end of four months the animal is weaned from all milk draughts, and left . to itself. Small portions of finely pounded linseed cakes are often used, and xecommended to be mixed with the skim- milk, particularly in the first period of its being given in the place of new milk. The full-sized North Devon cow, when fattened to its ^roe, will not exceed eight score per quarter; and the ordinary average of its ox, at five years old, and equally well fattened, must not be rated higher than three score per quarter above the weight of its fattened mother. The usual practice in this district, is to sell thesteers, at four or five years old, to the graziers in the coim^ of Somerset, who Jeed them for a supply to the Bath, Bristol, and London mar- kets. Very few in the proportion raised are ffed in the district, which may in a great measure be ascribed to the great indif- ference hitherto manifested in the culture of green food for a winter supply ; and for which, indeed, a sufHcient reason may be drawn, from the -deplorable wet state in which the lands are suffered to remain from the want of draining. In South Devon we find a mixture of the North Devon with a larger animal of the same kind, called the Old Marlborough Red. This breed is said to have originated from the South Malton stock, although at this time they dif&r very materially ftom them in size, and in having a dirty brown, or rather blackish colour at the ears, nose, and encircling the eyes, and in all such paits as the orange hue prevails in the genuine North Devon breed. A cross with this Inreed is, however, much prrfetrtd, as it produces a greater aptitude to fatten in a given time tiian is experienced in the South De\'on stock, which in all its points is a much coarser animal, and produces a greater offal. There does not appear to be any particular choice with regard to colour in this breed. SAmb, the Exmoor breed, a homed animal, with a modern ately long staph; of wool, which heretofore, and before tlie cloth manufacture fled from this county into Yorkshiie, was much used by thectothiersof North and South Malton, CoUumpton, Thorverton, Tiverton, and other places in the county. The sheep most approved in the division of I'iverton are the Hampton Notts. I'ne first cross of this breed with the New Leicester Is growing greatly in esteem, from its improving the form, and bringing the animal three months sooner to market. The sheep generally depastured on the moorlands are tlie Exmoor, Dartmoor, and the light hardy breed of the lower moors and commons in the county. The autumnal rains fre- quently inundating the cold clay lands, are very apt to occasion Uie caw, or rot, among them, and which has been sometimes experienced to an alarming extent. The Merinos, Ryelands, Downs, and other fashionable breeds have been tried by amateurs ; but Devon is less a sheep than a cattle county. Native breed of hogs large, and long-li^gcd. Htirset, a small compact breed ; with the exception of the farin-borscs in Ireland, those in Devonshire have perhaps as hard a measure of neglect and ill-usage dealt out to them, as is any where to be met with in tlie united kinjjdom. 11. Political Economy, Had the roads of this county been laid out In the judicious manner practised by the Indians of North America, th^ would have been found to follow the water courses in all cases whei'e they might lead in their general direction, towards the point assigned lior carrying them. In doing this, infinitely more judgment would have been displayed, and a far greater benefit secured to posterity, than in that which has been adopted by the original projectors of some of the most important and most frequentetl roads in Ihis country. This is clearly de- monstrated by the road between Barnstaple and Chuinleigh, wliich, instead of being conducted through the valley of the Taw, is carried over the highest brows of the river hills, where the traveller is unceasingly compelled to ascend and descend the sharpest hills in the county. The same may be said of the road between Bideford and Torrington, bv the great omission of its not being carried along the foot of^the nver hills, and through the vaUey of the Tomdge river. Manufactures of woollen of various sorts were formerly com- mon; but are at present on the decline; many manufactures and works employing numerous hands at Plymouth. Two ajjricultiural societies, but both ill attended and on the de- cline. Education of tlie Poor, or Lower Claaiea, Vancouver concludes his report bv some pages of observalions which, happily, are seldom equalled in illiberality ; and, viewing the subject as we do, they compel us to look on him as tm enemv to human na- ture, and to turn from his book, his name, and memory, with feelings of dislike- " It is an incontrovertible truth," he says, " that the restless disposition of the Irish, and their emigration to America, is owing to thdr being generally instructed to read and write. The disposition of the Scotch and Germans to emigrate arises from the same reason, and the English peasant under the same influence will be acted on in the same man- ner." He "respectfully submits to the consideration of the Honourable Board, the propriety of opposing any measure that may rationally be supposed to lead to such a tatal issue." This man, like Charles X. and hi^ ordonnances of 1S30, and Wel- lington, ^\ ith his speech against reform of the same year, may have done good without knowing it. Marshal, whose considerate and humane spirit justly objects to the term peasantry, as at all applicable to the operative classes of Britain, has the following excellent remarks on this subject: — With respect to the etmgration of the Irish, " well it ia," he says, " for Ireland and America, that they do so. The one is overstocked with the class that frunishes work-people ; the other wants enlightened workmen. Of slaves and savages it has enow. The unlettered Irisli stay at home, to riot, plot, and murder; tocommit acts of treason, stratagem, and spoil; or emigrate to England, to revel awhile in outrage, and be hanged." On Vancouver's ideas on education. Marshal observes, "After some other groundless arguments, the reporter sums up in Italics, and with the aid of foreign tongues, in the fallowing ultra-royal manner : — 'In short, the peasant's mind ^ould never be inspired with a desire to amend his drcumslances by the quitting of his cast' (this, says Marshal, is Hindoo), ' but every means the most benevolent and feeling heart can desire should be employed to make that situation as comfort- able and as happy to nim as possible ; and to which end nothing more essential could contribute than by exciting a general emulation to excel in all their avocations, even to those of breaking atones for a lime-kiln, or for repairing the hi^- ways.' 'Hear, hear!' says Marshal — * 'Phis is English.* Good heaven ! And is there an Englishman (or a Dutchman — they are brothers in sentiment) with nerve enough to write the two first lines above quoted 1 ! \ He surely could not know that many men of ' uie brightest genius,' and who are much more estimable members of a community,— many great and good men have, in England, been moulded and nurtured in the ' peasant cast.' " "Fortunately for socie^ in England, the writer's exotic notions have not taken root. Seminaries, for civilising the children of the labouring classes, have been, and are rapidly In a civilised nation, early schooling tends to reclaim children from savage propensities, and to prepare them for civilised society ; inculcates a propriety of hehaviour, one of theveiy first lessons a child should be induced to learn ill a civilised nation. In the savage state, savage manners may he deemed a virtue, as being, in that state, conducive to self- preservation." " Attendance in a school inures children to a requisite degree of restraint ; and a division of time employs their minds, and prevents idleness, and other vicious habits, from taking root; thus tending to raise them to the rank of rational oeings. While the unfortunate offspring of indigence, that are suffered to loiter away theu: early days on commons, in lanes, and bye- places, acquire habits of indolence and pilfering; give a loose to their own wills and unrestrained tempers ; commit acts of mischief, and add to them the guilt of lying (the se^-bed of fraud) to screen them from correction." " The discipline of a well-governed school impresses on youthful minus subordination> Industry, patience, and its Book I. AGRICULTURE OF CORNWALL. llT'l consequent, pcrscTerance ; and thus habituates Ihem to receive | In the world ; and we hope ail those whom he destenatea pea- instruciIfHis. ' I aantry, who may ever happen to read the above extracts, iviH Where Vancouver is at present we do not know ; we hope iio I see the necessity of fortiiying themselves, by knowledge and may long live to witni;^ the extenition df education which is I good conduct, against the degradation attendant upon ignor' now t&king placej not only in this, but in almost every country ' once and vlce< 7825, CORNWALL. A peninsular hilly surface, of 7.')8,484 acres, remarkable for its mines, and of late greatly improved in its agriculture, the object of which is chiefly com It is the country of Sir H. Davy, who may be considered as having eminently contributed to agricultural science by his agricul- tural chemistry. The inhabitants have been remarkable from the time of the Romans for their mildness and complacency of temper, urbanity, hospitality, courteous n ess, and liberality. {Fi-azer's Cornwall, 1794. Worgan'sComwall, 1810. Marshal's Review, 1817. Edin. Gax. abridged, 1829.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances, Climafe, ukethatof other peninsular ^tuations lying .^to the south and west, inconstant as to wind and rain, and mild as to heat and cold. Plants, shrubs, and even the most hardy trees on the sea-coast, sustain much injury from tlie violence of the westerly ^vind, and the salt spray oi the sen, which it drives with great force before it; hence trops of wheat and turnips have been totally destroyed. After a storm, the plants have their roots much torn, and their leaves coiroded and shrivelled as if scorched, and taste of a pungent saltness. Trees and Bhrubs shrink and lean away to the eastward, and appear as if clipped by tlie gardener's shears. The only ^rub which seems to bear the sea air is the tamarisk. Suijbce remarkably unequal ; ascents and descents follow in rapid succesion ; some hills very steep. Soil generally slaty and loamy, mixed in a manner that ren- ders it almost uni)OS^ble to designate the boundaries and extent of each. JSineriUa chiefly tin and copper; for the former Cornwall has been famous from the remotest antiquity, as some think> from the days of the Phoeiucians. 2. Property. Very much divided, subdivided, and vexatiousW intermixed. Estates from twenty acres to 500 acres, very few exceeding 400f, per annum. Many gentlemen and clergymen in this county occupy their own states and glebes, and keep their grounds in a very superior state of cuiuvation. The manage- ment of great estates is generally given to attorneys. Entailed eatatet. " I was in hopes that I had been a singular sufFbrer in Cornwall, from this kind of deceptive tenure ; it would then not have been worthy of notice; but mmy excursions through the county I have met with fellow -sufferei^, and with others who are likely to become so. As such cases have oc- curred, and may occur again, it behoves every man who is about to occupy a fiirm for a term by lease, to make enquiry whether it be an entailed estate or not ; because the possessor having the power of letting for his own life only, in caseof hi& death, the occupier is left entirely at the mercy of his suc- KXSBXx,"{WorgarCs Survey, 22.) 3. Buiidi7igs. Old farm-houses of mud and thatch ; the lower divisions con- sist of a kitchen, and an apartment dignified with the name of xarlour, but called (provincially) the higher side, a cellar, and dain-room; but these latter are frequently under a lean-to xoof^ ttie rooms very low, not ceiled, and two bed-chambers over; thefloorsof the chambers are of oak plank; the ground- floor earth, lime-ash, or flag-stone. The f^rm-of&ceS] built of the same materials, consisting of a bam, cow and ox sheds, and bog-sties, stand in confusion about the dwelling. The intervening and circumjacent ground is called the timer's town-place ; for as to that essential append- age, a regular farm-yard, it is a convenience not often met with in any part of the county- Some good new farmeries erected centrically on newly en- clceed lands. One for forty-six acres has a very neat elevation ifig. II 16.), and Ihe plan l,fig. H17.) contains a feeding place into which the lumips are carried (the cart being backed into it), and from whence the sheep and oxen are fed (a) ; place for a yoke of oxen {b), eitiier for soiling or winter -feeding : the oxen are tied to posts {c c) ; there are troughs for turnips id] ; cribs, or racks for hay or straw (e) ; lean-to, for store sheep (/); lean- to, in which lialf a score sheep are kept to fatten, ue number being completed again soon as any are sold (y?) ; fodder house, used as a bam {h} ; open shed fat tools (tj ; luinging doors with 1116 bolt inside, and through which the fodder is handed to supply 1117 the cattle, and is thus kept always dry ik] ; door and staircase leading up to the -wool chamber (I). The stairs rise quick, so as to be quite out of the way of the ox feeding in that side of the house. Cottages. " I had occasion often, in my dreary walks during my survey, to take shelter in some of these miserable dwellings^ and found the poor inhabitants busy in placing their bowls, crocks, and pans, to catch the water pouring in at the rorf. However, the meanest cottage generally has that great source of comfort, a garden, attached to it." Some very comfortable plans of cottages, by Captain Penson of £thy, are described by the surv^or. 4. Occupation. Farms &om three or fbur to three or four hundred acres, mostly from 30/. to 501. a year. Leases on rack-rented farmi generally from fourteen to twenty-one years. 5. Implements. No county affords a greater varie^ of wheel and other car- riages. The harvest waggon {fig. 1118.) has a lade before and behind, and is open in the middle ; it carries about 500 sheave of com. When drawn by horses, shafts are applied ; when by oxen, a pole. An arch or boards over the hind wheels prevents the com &om bearing on them. T/k main is another light useful carriage for carrying com and hay. It consists of a light, open, long body, home upon twt^ wheels ; a railed arch over the wheels prevents ihe load from bearing upon them; it will carry from 200 to U50 sheaves which are secured by ropes, it having no sides or lades. A ated^ for com, hay, ox faggots i^. 1119. a) ; sUde butt (b) ; 1119 ^ ! (('K\ A> i- c V ^-' 4 1' 3 1172 SIATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. quam liutt for earth or stoncs(c); diine-imts < -'ere (r/J for dung o ' — " r JunfT-pnn- riiere (r/( for dung or Rtoncs ; .ind iMnnlers wiili hooks, for JanKot wood and sheafed com (c), are ni»o in use. Box hand-harrnws and grnsa barrows (.fig. llliO.) are also used on a few farms. 1120 The Cornish plough ts a small swinf; plough with a straight pifce of wood as a mould board. Darn boardt for threshiiip on are four or five planks laid acrois bcamR, but about one thirrt of an inch asunder; so that the com as it is threshed may fall ihrounh and not be bruised. In some places wheat is separatid from the straw by bearing it on a barrel or inclined plane, usually lijr women. Fences gene- rally made of storn;, or raised banks of stone, slate, and earth, ■omeUmes uIank*Hl. 6 Arable Land. The pilez, or nakwl oat, cultivated on worn-out ground j its straw verv fine, and reckoned nearly as good as hav. A quantity of potatoes exported yearly , but not enough of wheat grown for home consumption* 7. Grass. Chiefly near towns and villages, on sheltered slopes, and the uncultivated lands known as moors, downs, crofts, and wastes; •ome meadows watered. 8. Gardens. Common to cottages and farms, and better attended to than in most counties ; orchards also attached to many farms. 9. IVoods and Plantations not abundant. 10. Improvements. I) nuning practised to a considerable extent, and one or two examples of einbankini;. The maritime situation of Comwall presents the farmer with three valuable manures; fish, sea sand, and sea-weed. In some years the farmers who live in the vicinity of fishing towns have an opportunity of buying the bruised and small pilchards; which being deemed unfit for market, are rejected and called " cotf ;" four cart-loads of twelve bushels are considered as the £ roper quantity for an acre. The usual mode of management I to bury the coff in a pile of earth, deep enough to secure it from dogs and hogs, adding to the pile a sufficient quantity of sand, weil mixing; and turning all together after having lain some months. Without this practice the fiRh would not decay sufficiently for perhaps a yeir or two. The fish are sometim>is used alone ; they are then spread thinly over the ground before the plough, antf turned under furrow. One pilchard cut up emnlt will amply dress one square foot of ground. The old salt which has been used to cure the pilchard, and Judged to be no longer fit for that purpose, is advantageously applied for a barley or a turnip crop ; twenty to tliixty busheU OCT acre. It Is commonly hand-aown, in the manner of com i and it should remain on the land fiveorsix days before the seed is sown. It is liest adapted to light lands, particularly furac crops. Twenty bushels per acre have been etrewed ovct griiM lands, and over a wheat crop, in the month of March, with evident advantage. j , ^ .. . Another ariicTe of manure obtained from this useful fish is the liquor which drains from it while under the process of curing, conslsiingof blood, brine, and some oil which escapes, and which Is caught in pils; the diligent farmer carts ihis away in casks,forthepurposeof pouring over and mixing with his piles of earth and sand, which it greatly enriches. 11. Live Stock. Devonshire cattle prevail ; but It Is only among the more en- lightened and spirited breeders that the uenuine Is'orth Devon are to be met with. Cows are kept in winlcr in sheds open to thebouth ; one of which for seven cows and a fatting calf {Jiff. 1 1'Jl .], describetl by the surveyor, contains cribs for hay or straw inwinter, and lucem, vetches, «c. in summer (a); troughs for turnips, potitoes, cabbages, &c. ('>) ; beds or platforms for the rows to stand and lie on (c) ; gutters sunk two or three inches to receive the dung ( sent to the London fruiterers and seedsmen. Orcltarda generally attached to all farms. Jersey uder in much esteem, and a principal article of export. Most of the tarm-houses have large arched doors, made wide on purpose fbr the passage of cider-casbs. A valuable work on the subject of cider by the Uev. P. Le Conteur, entitled Ajiercu sur la Cul' ture dea Pornmea, Jersey, 1806. The pomeril, lamme, noir- toit, and gros-amer, the cider-apples at present in vogue. 9. Woods and PloTitations. Very limited extent, and the waste ground a little more so ; only ^>out 500 acres of rocky summits of hills ; these might be planted- 10. Improvements. No calcareous manures fbund on any of the Norman islands. Sea-shells tried on clay with great advantage ; and sea weeds (trraic, whence vrack). Irrigation in^asim^le manner, practised in the narrow valleys from time immemorial. Sea encroachinf; in some plares^ and jetties and embankments proposed, but nothing done. 11. Livestock. Aldemey cattle well known. Though there can be no doubt that the breed was derived from the contiguous Conti- nental coast, yet it is not known that in an;ir part or it at present the same bret-d is preserved in equal purity. Next, perhaps, to the iMissession atvraic, the treasure highest in a Jerseyman's estimation is his cow. She seems to be a constant object of his thoughts and attention : tliat attention she certainly de- serves, but she absorbs it too exclusively ; his horse he treats unkindly ; his sheep most barbarously ; but on this idolised cow his affections are rivetted as firmly as ihos& of an Eastern Bramin on the same animal. It is true that in summer she must submit to be staked to the ground ; but five and six limes in the day her station i« shifted. In winter she is warmly housed by night, and fed with the iirecious parsnep. When she calves she is regaled with toast, and with the nectar of the island, cider, to which powdered ginger is added. Could she be prevailed upon to participate in all ner master's tastes, there is no doubt but that he would willingly bestow on her the quintessence of vriac itself. To guard the purity of her genealogy, and to prewnt others from oeing conveyeroved under the government of Sir John Doyle. Bricks and tiles manufactured, and some spirits distilU d jwhich formerly found its way into England imder the name of fVench brandy. Sect. II. Jgriculturcd Snrvey of Wales* 7829. A hilly mountainous surface of 5,206,800 acres, with a climate colder than that of England, and more moist in the proportion of thirty-four, the average number of the inches of rain which falls in Wales, to twenty-two, the number for England. The soil is generally of an inferior descri))tion, and the great proportion of mountainous surface is fit only for pasturage and planting. IJttle exertion was made in cultivation till the middle of the eighteenth century ; from that period to the present agriculture has been gradually improving. A general view of it, as in 1809, has been published by the Rev. W. Davis of Montgomeryshire^ whose work we shall adopt as our guide. 7830. NORTH "WALKS. l,974,510acres,chiefly of mountainous surface, in six counties, including the Isle of Anglesea. The climate humid ami cold in elevated situations, but warmer in the vales and near the sea. The soil moory, coarse, clayey, and otherwise unfavourable in most places, excepting in the vales on the banks of streams. Minerals chiefly copper, lead, and iron. 1 he famous Mona and Paris ('oi)per mines in Anglesea have been worked since 1768 ; lead is chieHv worked in ITlintshirc. Excellent felate 4 F 3 1174 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. U found in various partfl of Caernarvonshire, and worked to a great extent, especially on Lord Penrhyn a estate. Marble is worked in Anglesea; and limestone, freestone, and other stones and minerals abound in diffferent places. 1. Property. Estates from thirty shillinRS to 30,000/. The oiTect of the custom of g>avelkind, which prcvailcti all over Wales, was a too pilnute division of proncrtv. KqualJtv and poverty went hand in hand. But when the custom was aboUshciI, and alienation permitted, an accumulation of property was the necessary con- sequence, which became very prevalent in the two last centu- ries : and havine arrived at its maximum early in the eigh- teenth century, it has, since that period, shown some instances of retrofpradauon : but subdivision and accumulation of estates will naturally fluctuate. Here are petty lairds or tacksmen, as in Scotland and Ireland. Gentlemen of moderate income, and residinfr in the country, transact the affairs of iheh: own c?states. Those of greater pro- perty commit the whole care of rents, repairs, and contracts of sale or purchase, to the raanapement of agents; who, in Gene- ral, are persons well qualified for the undertaking, brought up solely to the business, and make it a point of honour and inte- grity to do jjsUce to the landlord, and a point of conscience not to oppress the tenant. Some of tlie lawyer agents, having bv their own indiscretion and rapacity destro^-etf the very m« vifai of litigation in the people, necessarily dimmished the num- ber of their successors. Only two copyhold tenements have been noticed in the whole district. All tlie other estates are held either mediately or im- mediately in capiie of the king, by a kind of mixed tenure, be- tween the feudal and allodial, gomg under the common appel' latjon of freehold. £. Buildings. Some fine castles, as Powys, Penrhyn, and Chirk. Of farm- eiies, about seven in ten are in a very wretched state; good Cottages in these and other counties are truly the habit- ations m wretchedness. One smoky hearth (for it should not be styled a kitchen), and one damp litter-cell (for it cannot be called a bedroom], are frequently all the space allotted to a labourer, his wife, and four or five children. The consequences are obvious; tilth, disease, and, frequently, premature death ; and they would be more obvious, had not these evils an almost unsubduable vigour of constitution to encounter. Three fourths of the victims of the putrid fever perish in the me- phitic air of these dwellings. However, in some parts, espe- cially near lime-worjcs, mines, collieries, &c., the example of one neat cottager is followed by others, flere, their dwellings are frequently white- wash ed ; their children are hidustrious in collecting road manure, which is preserved within circles of loose stones^ for the use of their gardens. These minutiiB, though trifling, are wovthj of record, as they are descriptive of their general character. Some exceptions in different places, and especially on Lord Penrhyn's estate. The reporter gives an excellent plan of a cottage for a cottage farm, and also plans of farms of different sizes, adapted to such cottages. The cottage Jitrm-housc i,fis- 1122.) contains a kitchen (a)jbed- 1122 r "1 c « / j—X h Zl a d g ri n=r- 1 C r room or parlour ib), pantry (c), barn-floor (d), two hays (e and f), cow-house (g-), calving place and calf-house (ft), pigsty (i), and stairs (fc) to garret and bedrooms. One cottage farm for the same house, and nine acres of land, containsseven small enclosures (.^g. 1123. a) includin{> the gar- den. One for six acres, contains six enclosures (A) mcluding the garden. 3. Occupation. Largest farm of cultivatable land about 600 acres, on the mountains 1000 acres and upwards, at one shilling, or one shilling and sixpen<.'e per acre : size on the increase, and ad- mittea to be favourable to wealth by the reporter, who adds, " yet that wealth should he valued, not in proportion to its national aggregate, or quantity in the abstract, but as it is a 1123 b widely and generally diff'uscd. An analogy exists betwe n monopoly in all it!) forms and a macroceph.ilous constitution, which never can possess the energy of a body symmetrically proportionate. Farmers, properly so calle<1, are, as we may naturally ex- pect them to be, rather too tenacious of old customs. It is, however, illiberal to charge them with obstinacy, in delaying the adoption of pretended improvements ; for, as it is not aU gold that glitters, neitberareonehalfofthepa en t implements and machines, nor one tenth of the writings of visionary theo- rists, better than lumber and trash ; for which the farmer should not tlirow away his hard-eaminl money, before they are put to the test of experience, by those who have opulence enough to bear disappointment ; and wlio, from the advantage of (.uperior education, may be better qualified to form a Judg> menl of the probable cffecta. Show the farmers their true in- terest, and, m general, their minds are as open to conviction, and as susceptihle to reason, as any otlier class of men wl\at- Leaaet out of repute. It cannot be denied that leases have done good in Scotland. We are, therefore, driven to the necessity of sup(iosine, that the Scotch and Welsh tenantry axe very dilferent kinds of beings. The circumstance that ren- ders the Welsh leases ineffectual, is the want of capital ; and what enhances the evil of this want is, the ignorance of many farmers in the right application of what small capital they have. By tilling too many acres, they, as well as the public, suffer loss in every acre- Many a fkrmer, who has means t>arelv suf- ficient to manage a farm of 50Z. a year tolerably well, tninkg a £irm under lOtW. or \tSQl. beneath his notice ; and granting a lease to such a tenant^ who has not one fourtli of tlie capital requisite to carry on improvements, would be prejxtsterous. Lord Penrhyn executed draining, fences, roads, and all im- provements requested by his tenants, and approved of by his agents, at five potuds per cent on their amotmt added to the rent. 4. Implements, The original Welsh plough, a clumsy wooden febilc, still in use in Caernarvonshire, and a few places in other counties ; about 1660, Lainmjis's variety of the Rotheram introduced, and now common ; Scotch plough now generally known and approved; the other improved implement tried by the amateurs. 5. Arable Land. " That farmers convert too much of the lands which were formerly in tillage, into pasture, is but a groundless cause of alarm. Farmers should, and always will, consult their own interests; and whether the conversion of their lands into tillage or into pasture be found themostprofitahle to them- selves, the same will eventually be found most beneficial also to the public." Tnecom raised in North Wales not equal to its consump- tion : fallows general and defended as necessary. In Aiif^Iesea, a rotation of Ave white crops in succession ; most of them barely return the expenses. Very little wheat grown, main corn-crop oats, and next barley. Scarcely any flax or hemp grown ; potatoes beginning to become a general crop. On the whole, the management of arable land wretched, excepting by the amateurs or proprietors. 6. Grass. Land well adapted for tillage j is commonly left too long in pasture; hy which neglect it becomes mossy, and in some instances covered with ant-hills. It has been said of some meadow-lands in Wales, that a man may mow in them all day, and carry home his day's work at night. This m^ appear hyperbolical ; but it is so iar true, that in some meadows the mark ofthe swath never disappears; and a mower may be cer- tain of having followed the same line, to a half-inch width, for twenty or any number of years back. In such meadows, the trouble of raking the hay toi^ether is the great work of harvest. In the eastern parts of the counties forth Wales. Proprietors planting upon a large scale, and not raising trees from seed in their own nurseries, formerly used to procure seedlings of larch, fh-s, and pines, &c. from Scotland ; but owr ing to their heating in close bundles, and otherwise damaging upon the road, not above one fourth, and fre- quently not above one eighth ofthe number could he ex- pected to grow. They are now more given lo encourage nurserymen at home, and nurseries art; accordingly esta- blished in different parts ofthe district. " One and two year old seedlings of all sorts of forest trees, nearly as cheap as in Scotland, reckoning carriage, and one thou- sand worth two of theirs." This Ls true when the tenderness of seetllmgs, distance of carriege, and length of time, are con- sidered. Williams, and other nurservmen, insure trees of their own growth and planting for a nuinber of years. 9. ■ Improvemejits. A marsh of 3000 acres in the southern comer of the island of Anglesea attempted to be embanked in 1790. The embank-, ment was brought forward from both sides at the same time, and was mtended to be joined in the middle of the marsh, where the force of the tide was greatest ; when within about twenty roods of a complete junction, owing to some of the proprietors withholding their dividends, (he work wal dc- -.erted, after expending nearly 12,000^, and when a few pounds Book I. AGRICULTURE OF NORTH WALES. ins more would have completed the vliole) asthetinaterinlawere already cEirrletl on the spot. On the 23d of January, 1796. an uncommonly high tide added twenty rocds more to the breach. in which state it now lies. The bank was made of furze fag- gotst bound with double cordage, covered with sand, then with sodK> and on the sea-side with a atone pavement, eighteen inches deep at the lop, and diminishing to nine inches at the bottom. It was fifl:y>one yards wide at the base, four yards at the summit, and five yards high ; the slope of the sea-^de to that of the land-^de. as seven to four. The embaaknma and improi>emeni of Traeth-Mawr and Tratth-Bschan aandt, between Caernarvon and Merioneth- shires, have been above 170 years in contemplaticm, and never yet performed. In 1625, Sir John Wynne, of &wydir, in- tended to have brought over Sir Hugh Afyddteton, the cele- brated engineer, to undertake the work ; but no materials w^re wasted, save ink and paper. In the year 1719, some Dutch adventurers made a proposnl to the proprietors, but to no effect. In 1770, the late Bell Lloyd, Esq. who was always active in works of public utility, and others, brovght the sub- ject afresh under con^dcration ; at the same time proposing a nearer road from London to Ihiblin, across the Traeth-Mawr sands, when embanked. Golbome, the engineer, was sent down by the Duke of Ancaster, and twO estimates wore made. The late Dr. Worthington was peculiarly active in forwarding (he work. He had gone ho fbr a.i to procure subscriptions to the amount of 29,000^ and upwards, when the whole scheme was frustrated by the mean spirit and refractoriness of some neighbnurtnc proprietors. In 1809, W . A. Madocks, Esq. M.F., having a considerable estate on the Caemarvonshire side, and havinc there em- bimlwd Penmorva marsh with great profit (Jig. 1124. a], and founded the village of Tremadoc [b), commenced embanklne the sands of Tiaeth-Mawr (cf, by carrying out from boifi shores an immense bank (d) of stony materials deposited and leh to find theiE own slope by the washing of the tides. The two banVs were within fess than a furlong of being joined in the middle ; but owing to the force of the tides, and tlie em- barrassments of the veiy spiritedproprictor, it was not com- pleted before he was ruined. The persons, however, into whose hands the property fell brought it to a successful con- clusion ; and its proprietor, who had settled in the neighlwur- hood, and is lately dead, yet lived long enough to see realised by others all that he had anticipated, and for which lie had sacrificed a very ::onsiderable fortune. The River Dee Companu, established by Act of Parliament In 1740; by several embankments made in the years 1734, 1763, 1769, and 1790, on the river Dee, in Flint^iire, to keep out file tide and land-floods, they have been enabled to gain 3100 acres, which are now covered with good croi« of com of lucem, and of artificial grasses ; and the whole redeemed waste is incorporated into a township, bearing the very appro- priate name o£ Sealand " In various ^rts of the coast of Anglesea, and the ofter maritime counties of North Wales, there is still much to be done by embanking. Caernarvonshire has been eminently fortunate in theacquisilion of W. A. Madocks among its lead- ing improvers. Indeed his improvements are of such magni- tude and variety, designed with such taste, and executed -with Buch fhcihty, that a minute report of them would appear, to those who have not personally visited the place, more like the reveries of romance, than the narrative of genuine description. In harbours, embankments, canals, buildings, roads, plant- ations, and rural and commercial improvements in general, ngthing less than a Tremadoc Guide pamphlet can do Justice to the founder." la Live Stock. Cattle and copper the .stable exports of Anglesea. When numerous herds are bought in the island for the English mar- kets, they are compelled to swim in droves across the strait of the Menai ; and althouf^ numbers of the weaker sort are sometimes swept down by the force of the current for some miles, yet losses, seldom or never happen. A chain bridge has been thrown across this strait. • The characteristics- of a choice Anglesea ox, must agree in most points with those of a Roman one, as described by Columella: coal-black colour, with white appendages; re- markably broad ribs ; h^h and wide hips; deep chest; targe dewlap; flat face; and long horns, turning upwards. Bake- well tnaught, that in some points Uiey were nearer his idea of perfeciitm in shape, than any other he ever saw ; his own Im- proved breed excepted. Some farmers aspiring at a select stock, by having ttieix he-calves gelt under their dams, their horns become of a yellower colour, longer, and finer than com- mon ; and, upon the whole, nearer the present idea of sym- metry. The average weight of their quarters, when fet, at three or four years old, is from eight to eleven score poimds. The promontory of Lleyn and Evionydd, in Caemarvonshire, having the same kind of undulated surface, though not al- together so good a soil as Anglesea, has likewise a breed of cattle similar in several of their characteristics. The cattle in the remaining part of Caemarvonshire, and in the whole of the county of Meirionydd, some few select stocks excepted, seem to be diminutives of the above breeds of Angle- sea, Lleyn, and Evionydd j having nothing to recommend them, save their esctreme hardiness, and consequent che-tpness of rearing. The hiEjhlands of the counties of Denbigh iind Montgomery abound with the same punjtrace. In the vales, and in the county of Flint, the cattle are of a superior kind, larger, and of all varieties of colours. The natives of the sea- coast from Abergelen to Holywell, and thence along the Dee towards Cheshire, are reckoned very quick feeders. Neither good butter nor cheese are made in North Wales by ordinary farmers. Sluep, The largest of the native breeds is that of Anglesea; they have white legs and faces, and ore generally without horns. The second kind of sheep in North Wales is that peculiar to the mountains. They have generally white faces and l^gs ; some have horns, and others none. The smaller sort of them weigh from seven to nine pounds per quarter ; and give wool from three quarters of a pound to one pound and a half. The third kind is peculiar to ihe Kerry hills in Montgo- meryshire ; being, perhaps, the only species in North Wales which produces perfect wool i tliat of every otlier Welsh 4 F 4 1176 STATISTICS OF AGUICULTURE. Part IV. breeil being more at less mixea with coarse Iotr hair^, called hy the mamifactnrers kemps, making the articles in which they aiipear of much less value. The characterisUca of thh lireeil arc, larije woolly cheeks, white bunchy fbrelieads, white Icits coveretl with wool, no homsf and a broad beaver -like tall. They are very hardy, and comparadvely tame ; being not so much disposMl to ramble as most other wild sheep. Jn shape, liowever, thi?y are far short of compact svmmet>V > and were this derect improved liy the care and attention of the fanners, the breed would be worthy of being universally ado[ite(l throughout the principality. They wnigh, when fet, from ten to fourteen pounds per quarter. The average of wool, includ- ing the whole flock, is ten stone, of fifteen pounds each, Arom every 100 sheep. The fourth kind is the black-faced and fine-woolled .sheep, bred on the Long Mountain, ne>ir Welsh Pool : and on other hJlbt, on the borders of England, in a line from thence to Wrexham. The flavour of the mutton of the sheep feeding upon the Jilanymyneich and Porthvwaen lime-rocks is reckoned very delicious, by the nice-palated pupils of the Epicurean school : and their wool is as fine as any In England ; that of the Rye- land breed, perhaps, cxcepte plained. Farmert may be classed as proprietors fanning a part of their own estates, small proprietors or yeoincn, farmers of the old school, and book-farmers. " Book-farmersj the aeiialists of Marshal, are those who know agriculture only by reading about it. Theory is their ne -pl'is ultrit, as they generally grow tired before they are BUich acquainted with practice. The practice of the country they come to reside in is all wrong, and the inhabitants all savages. They bring ploughs and ploughmen generally &om a distance; and when the masters retire, the ploughmen re- turn and the ploughs are laid aside. Tliey hold the farmers of the old school, as they caU them. In sovereign contempt ; who in return deride their puerilities, and, in thuir own quaint ~ ]ihrase, style their ineffectual attempts to establish a system of improved agr.cultiure ' a Jlaah in the plan * They do consider- able good in the vicinity th(?y dwell in by employing labourers ; and By tlicir imported implements they open the eyes of me- chanics. Most of the harm diey do is to tbenaselves. They injure others mostly by an exorbitant advance in the wages of servants, especially of such as pretend to be farm bailif1%. They ctve double the wages that the old established farmers in the Best cultivated counties, Salop or Hereford, &c. will give. They have gentfrally very exalted notions of the value of land, and the powers of soil. They read of the high returns of crops in Eneland or elsewhere, and calculate there upon the value of land in the uplands of Wales; which, if they nave farms to let, makes it extremely difficult to deal with them. Their opinion of manure depends on the book they have read last. ii Jethro Toil is their favourite autbor, soil requires nothing but ploughing and stirring. With A. lime is every t/drifj ; with his brother B., only a few miles distant, and on the same kind of SDil,/ime ia notktvg." 3. Impleinents. The Welsh plough is in common use; and perhaps a more awkward, unmeaning tool is not to be found in any civilised country. It is not calculated to cut a furrow, but to tear it open by main force- The share is like a large wedge; the coulter comes before the point of the share sometimes, and sometimes stands ahove it; the earth-board is a thing never thought of, but a stick-(a hedge-stake or any thing) is fastened from the rirfit side of the heel of the share, and extends to the bind part <» the plough : this is intended to turn the lurrow, which it sometimes perfbrmE> and sometimes not ; so that a field ploughed with tnis machine looks as if a drove of swine had been moiling it. The Rotheram and other improved ploughs are in use among the proprietor and book-farmers, and the Scotch plough is coming into very general use. A gentleman, a naval ofBcer, in Cardiganshire, introduced the li^t Kotberam, and insisted on his ploughmen using them- As soon as he turned his back, the new p'oughs were dismissed the service, and the old ones brought into the field. One day, in a rage, be committed the old to the flames, and xt the new ploughs a-going. Afterwards taking a ride to cool hii i self, and returning, he tound the new ploughs in the dl ch, and old ploughs borrowed from the neigh- bours at work : the master then Unnking it useless to persevere, gave up the content. " I have," said he, " seen various kinds of human beings, in different parts of the globe, from latitude ten to latitude fifty-four, but none so obstinately bent on old practices as tlie Welsh." H. I^ewis, £sq., of Gallt y Gog near Caermarthen, bnng Sually Unsuccessful in effecting a revolution at once, tried the . in m altering the old ploughs in a slight degree, and hopes, by one alteration after another, at lengih to transform them into Kotheram ploughs " unawares to his sturdy ploughmen." Woffgont and clumsy two and three horse carts are in general use; ahnost every farmer of forty pounds a year rent has a waggon. Singlehorsecartsgainground but slowly. They were introducedintothevaleofTowy, several yeaisago, hy Lord Ro- bert Seymour ; into Cardiganshire, by the late Thomas Johnes, Esq. ; and into Hrecknockshire, by Sir Edward Hamilton. A hay rake, with the head forming unequal angli-s with the handles, is in use in reed at Chil- lingham (6804.); they appear to have been in a wild state so late as the time of king John. The present stock are of four kinds : the coal-blacfc.s of Pembrokeshire ; the brownish blacks, or dark browns, of Glamorgan ; the black runts of Cardigan- shire, Caermarthenshire, and the western parts of the counties of Brecon and Radnor ; introduced breeds, from Herefordshire and Shrtipsbire, into the eastern and more fertile parts of Bre- con and Radnor. Cows are kept for breeding, and making butter and Ekim-milk cheese. Johnes has proved, that at Hafod cheese may be made at will so nearly resembling Parmesan, Stilton, Glou- cester, or Cheshire, that the difference cannot he perceived by good judges; and that the whole mystery consists in various modes ofproducing it from Ihe milk. The thetp of South Wales are of four kinds : mountaineers, Glamorgan vale sheep, Glamorgan Down sheep, and crossed and interi^ixed breeds. MotirUaincers occupy the hills in the several counties of the district. The Glamorgan vale sheep is the only breed in Wales, not introduced withia memory of man, that produces combing HOOl. The Glamorgan Down sheep Is a beautiful and excellent small breed. Feeding upon the oldest and sweetest pastures ot the limestone tract, tneir mutton is superior ix quality to moBt, and inferior to none ; their wool is of the short clothing kindj and fine. They arc generally polled- WUh crossed and tntenmxed Itrcedt many experiments have been tried within the district, and most of them confessedly without the expected success. Particular breeds (tf sheep have their peculiar diseiises, which continue in their constitution- wherever they are removed. The limestone tract may be con- hidered as the htallhiest for sheep within the district, but even there the iinporled modern breeds havcbrooght with (hem the scab, the foot-rot, the goggles, maggots, and a long train 1178 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. of discasa never heard of bcforo in Wales j tbese are to be ranked amon^ (lie nrofirR of commerce. Hortet. The small Welsh mcrlina ot palfreya are now In nianT parts nearly extinct : they are a piKmy race, and may now and men be found In the hilly walk^ of the interior of the district. There were formerly a very good breed of hardy strong punches, fit for riding and walkina upon the farm,beink a cross between agood-Blzcdhorseand the small merlins; anil very useful they were; but the breed has almost been totally neglected and lost : for they cross now too much with the large and sluggish cart-horses. 10. Political EconoTny. Roada as In North Wales, or worse. Road ploughs In use ; a characteristic both of their state and of the nature of the materials. Good limestone) however, in the coal districts, and especially in Glamorganshire. Manufactures of woollen in many places ; and, owing to the abundance of oak copses, many hides tanned- Potteries on a large scale at Swansea, Cardiff, and other ])laccs. Extensive iron and coal works, Ume works, and a slate miarry in Cardiganshire, &c. The Liat limcHone, (lime and iron combined, the stone of a bluish or greyish colour,) though found in many parts of England, Is nowhere so valuable as that at Aberthaw. When burnt into lime, it is of a buff colour, the characteristic^ ac- cording to the engineer Smeaton, of all limes setting in water. Jjiaa limestone in all parts has a peculiarity of stratification and exterior character, so that a rock of it may be known at a distance. The strata are of various thickness, flrom a few inches to a few fuct ; and tliose commonly separated by a few inches' thickness of marley clay. The ferruginous ingredient seems to be concentrated in the interior part of each stratum : the outer sides thereof being more porous, and of a paler colour. In inland places the strata arc burnt altogether, the argillaceous as well as the ferruginous calcite- Here, at Aberthaw, or other maritime coasts, the strata tumbled down, within reach of the tides, are broken and rolled about, until they are reduced to rounded pebbles or nodules, from a few ounces to many pounds weight ; and Uiese consist only of the nucleus or kernel part, the more useless shell being worn off by the abration oi the furious tides. These rounded has pebbles are driven on sliore in inexhaustible quantities. Of agricultural taeietitf there are several ; that of Brecon instituted in 1755, the earliest in Britain aAer that of Edin- burgh. Sect. III. jigricultural Survey of Scotland* 7832. The surface of this country is estimated at 18,944,000 acres, in three natural divisions. The first lies north of the chain of Highland lakes, which stretches from Murray to Mull, and consists of little else than dreary mountains and some moors : the second, or middle division, extends from this chain of lakes to the rivers Forth and Clyde ; it is mountainous, but cultivated in the valleys, and on the eastern shore to a considerable extent : the remaining division is covered by hills with some mountains, but almost every where cultivated or improvable, and highly favourable for most branches of agriculture. Though Scotland, as elsewhere observed (770.), was far behind England in cultivation till the middle of the last century, it has now greatly outstripped that country, especially in arable husbandry ; a proof that this is the general opinion of enlightened men may be deduced from the notices just given of the English and Welsh counties, in which it appears that the improvements introduced or attempted to be introduced on arabfe land are, with few exceptions, the implements and practices of Scotland. In the management of meadows or old pasture, Scotland cannot be conspicuous j as the climate is not naturally calculated for that kind of husbandry. The winters are too long and severe, and the surface too irregular. In regard to live stock, the palm of improvement was till lately borne away by Eng^land ; but though there is not that enthusiasm in Scotland, nor such large prices given for capital specimens, it may be safely asserted that breeding and feeding are conducted as systematically and successfully there as in England. We shall glance at the different counties in the order of their proximity, beginning with that containing the capital. It may be sufficient to mention here that leases are universal in Scotland, generally for nineteen years, often for twenty-one, sometimes for fourteen, but seldom for a shorter perimi. The poor are supported by voluntary contributions at the church doors; though an assessment on property, half paid by the pro- prietors and half by the tenants, may be made if necessary, which is not generally the case. Assessments for the poor are common in the border counties and the Lothians, and occasional assessments, imposed upon the same principle, are resorted to in most of the other counties. Voluntary contributions are found inadequate, except in the most thinly-peopled districts. It is therefore a great though common mistake in England, to suppose that there are no poor-rates in Scotland ; but they are comparatively moderate, and will likely continue so while the power of assessment remains with those (the landed pro- prietors) who have to bear an equal share of the burden with their tenants. It is here that an essential distinction exists between the poor-laws of England and Scotland. Tithes were commuted for their value in land and land's produce at an early period. Every parish has a schoolmaster, who is paid jointly hy the proprietors and the farmers. There is a professorship of agriculture in the Edinburgh University, ably filled by Dr. Coventry, a man of whom it may be truly said, that he is universally esteemed and beloved. The best account of the agriculture of the Scotch counties is to be found in Black's edition of the Encyc. Brit. Edinburgh, 4to, 1829. 7833. MIDLOTHIAN, or EDINBURGHSHIRE, contains 230,400 acres: one third hilly and inac- cessibleto the plough, and two thirds in tillage, pasture, or wood. The store sheep fanning is practised on the hills, and a mixed agriculture on the low grounds. Green crops and potatoes are extensively culti- vated for the Edinburgh market, and most farmers are more indebted to the manure they receive in return, than to the soil, or their superior skill : many of them are townsmen, amateurs, and speculative cultivators. The Dalkeith Farmers' Society, one of the most useful that has been formed, and which still exists, -belongs to this county; and in it also was founded the British Wool Society, now extinct. A variety of interesting information respecting the progress of improvements in this county, and in East and West Lothian, will be found in Rural Recollections, 8vo, 1829, by George Robertson, author of several county surveys, and whose personal knowledge extends from 1765 to the present time. [Robert' son's Survey^ 1795. Edin. Ga%. abrtdgedt 1829.) 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Climate &ee nrom extreme heats or colds ; snow seldom falls on the low parts of the country before December, lies from three to ten weeks. In eight years, the greatest quantity of rain that fell in any year was 36.8 inches, and the least quantity 9.6 inches. Soil much diversified; lands banging to the north always the most fi^ile. Minerals. A bed of coal extends across the county from S. W. to N. E. from seven to eight miles in breadth ; worked for two centuries. Limestone, freestone, granite, and whinstone vet^ abundant. Millstones in the parish of Pennycuick, also marble. 8ome copper and iron ore, marl, and Jasper pebbles on Arthur-seat. . Water. Streams inconsiderable. Esk (Vsk, Gael.) the largest river ; few fish from the rivers or streams, but abimd^ce from the firth or sea. 2. Property. About 540 estates in the county, divided by the reporter into seven classes; first class from *£ to 3000/. or upwards; fifth class 100/. and upwards ; sixth class, least properties ; seventh class, properties of corporate bodies. Total rental in 1795, 191,000/. ; Duke of Buccleugh the first proprietor. 3- Buildings. Many gentlemen's seats, and some fine ruins of castles aud religious houses. A farmn't mains, as it is here called, consisted formerly of a set of low buildings, in the form of a square; one side was occu- pied by tlie master himself, whose habitation was composed of two or three dismal apartments, on an eartben floor, having a low ceiling and a few diminutive lights. On another side stood the bam, in which the roof Umbers, from the idea of giving more strength, were built into the wall from the fbundation ; the wall itself not being more than five feet in height. Oppo- site to the bam were uie stables and tbe byre, or cow-house. The stables were totally without division, and the horses fcd in common ; but the neat-cattle, less passive, were each con- fined to their stakes. The cottages occupied the remaining side ; in the midst of all lay the dunghill. These buildings were made of turf and stone alternately, or with stone, and clay for mortar: theroof of thatch, or oftbatch and diicrf (tutf or sods) intermixed. Further details on this subject will be found in Roltertson's Rural Recollection; p. 70. Farmeries now in the first style of commodiousness. An example given of Gogarbank farm. Cottages formerly very mean, now much improved. Robert- son, in his Recollections, gives a figure of a modem Lothian cottage in its last stage of refinement, which is by no means invibng. Farms vary from 100 to 300 acres. Farmers divided into three classes; speculators, converts from other professions; industrious labourers who have acquired some proper^ ; and farmers sprung from farmers. Speculators. " In the immediate vicinity of the town, the greater part of the lands are cultivated, not by actual farmers, but what may be more properly termed speculators in agricul- ture, people with whom farming is but a secondary ofjject; thfir chief employment beingstill what was their original pro- fession, as bakers, brewers. Innkeepers, or some other distinct occupation j and who are oftener to be found in their town lodgings, or in their comptJng-houses, than in the midst of their farms, attending to the operations of husbandry- One certain effect, which the speculations of this class produce, is, that the rent of land is raised above its natural level ; for, as tliey have always some other business to live by, they arc Book I. AGRICULTURE OF MIDtOTHIAN. 1179 enabled to aflbrd more rent ; and In fact give more than an actual iftiiner, whose sole dependence is UDon hvisbandrvj is able to pay ; while their ezerUons In agriculture, thouen in general founded on p>od principles, commonly (aid in disap- pointment to themselves, for want of that unceasinf; attention which is indispensable to t^ood cultivation, but Which their otlier avocations prevent them from bestowing." The moor land Jhrmera, as if in conformity to the soil, which hns undergone very little melioration, and to the climate, which is naturally seirere, seem still to retain a strong cast of the man- ners of their forefathers, and to live ' and toil under the same uncomfortable circumstances. Their houses are damp, smoky, and diminutive; their fare simple and limiftd; and their labours hard and even oppressive. But the^ have days of re- laxation, in which they et^oy themselves at fairs and markets; their marriage f^tiviUes are almost boundless, and their funerals are pompous and ostentatious. Bellgion is maintained Id all the austeriff of Oliver Cromwell and the covenant. These farmers are the only ones in a county containing a capital town, who are likelv to better their condition. Being inured to the practice of the most rigid ei-onomy, they will, -when translated to a warmer climate and more geniid soil, very forcibly ^1 a melioration in their circumstances; jind if they have fortitude enough (as the first race of them generally will) to persevere in tlieir original habits of finii^ity, they may, by dint of mere saving^ at the rate, perha])s, of two and a half per cent yearly on the& capital, accumulate, in a lifetime, a sum that may be esteemed considerable. But tfiis thriving state will only last during the first generation. Their sons ha- bituated in time to an easier mode of liffe, will, amid the groat Iuxur>r with which they are surrounded, lose their primitive simplK^ty of manners, and wtih it the facullj of saving, on which alone their prosperity depends. 4. Implements. ^ Old Scotch plough, long and hea'n, and drawn h;r four or six horses or oxen, and till about 1768, when Drs. Grieve and Carlisle, cterEvmen, tried, wheel ploughs of a lighter construc- tion, which thev had seen in use in Dalkdtn Fork. Soon afterwards SmaU's improved plough came into notice. Ho- fiertson mentions that the olaen race of farmers were very generally tlieir own plough-wrights, and makers of their own implements of husbandry, with very little assistance from the professional mechanic. These implements were indeed mnde in a very clumsy manner, but otherwise strong and handy enough. They had all of them a set of wright's tools for the furpose. iRvral RecollecHona, p. 84.) The late Mr. Thomas liiells, at Grothill, near Edinburgh, made with his own hands the first winnowing machine used in the Lothions, from a model of one imported from Holland, {llnd. 148.) 5. Enclosir^. No commons^oT common-fields. Hedges first planted about 1760. ^ " 6. Arable Land. When ridges are raised high, th^ should not be laid south and north, as the crop on the east side of such ridge is com- monly found very detective. The same thing holds in the county of Lancaster. 7. Grass. Very little permanent grass exclusive of the hills and moor- iands. Alluvial lands on the banks of streams so liable to mimense floods, bringing down soil, &c. that if in grass it would (rften be much injured ; considered therefore more profitable to keep them in com. There is some very pro- ductive meadow land near Edinburgh, irrigated by the water which flows from town, carrying along with it nignt-aoil, &c. The produce of twelve or.fifteen acres <£ this meadow sold in 1S26 at an average of 42/. per acre ; part of it reached nearly 6tU., the purchaser cutting and carrymg it off, and incurring all other charges. This, of course, is only for one summer, but it will yield four or five cuttings during that season, or rather between the end of spring and the beginning of winter. 8. Gardens and Orchards. Henry Prentice, who died about 178^ was the first who cul- tivated white peas, potatoes, turnips, and sundry other culi- nn»y plants, on an extensive scale, for the Edinburgh market, about the vearl746. Before that period, (he supply was li- mited to what could be carried in baskets ; his cart being the first that appeared with kitchen stuff in the rtreets. He even raised encumbers in the fields ; but his cart-load of these met with so little sale, as not to encourage a repetition. Though he died a pensioner on the poor's funds of the Canongate, his name deserves to be noticed with reapecj, not only as having introduced several of onr best vegetables into cultivation, but from his practice as a cultivator, which was spirited and judi- cious, however little it turned out to his own account. Strawberriea About 200 acres on the banks of the Esk, and chiefly near Roslin- Crop continued on the same ground without end ; but digging down and replanting every fourth year. To change every twenty or thirty years esteemed a better practice. Lands in nursery 200 acres. Mawer's hothouses at Dairy, and hotwalls of his invention, figured and described. iTie hothouses heated by steam. lUawer was a Lancashire man, and fbrmcrly gardener and steward to the Earl of Aber- com. He was an excellent gardener and farmer ; a man of very general information, and highly respected. He was exten- sively employed as a layer out of gardens and roads, and had the genera] charge of the gardening and tree department on some gentlemen's estates. The compiler of this ETncyclopiedia was his pupil, amanuensis, and draughtsman for the three years preceding his death, which happened suddenly firom ■-apoplexy in 1800. 9. Woods arid Plantations. About 50n0 acres so occupied, the grcatestpart artificial, and planted since 1750. Hedgerow trees never come to any thing tor want of shelter ; belts do no good unless tweniy rows thick at least. 10. Wastes. None : but extensive tracts very poor. 11. Improvements. Draining well understood and extensivply practised. Johnston, who wrote an account of Etkington's mode of draining, a na- tive of the county. Edinburgh and Leifh aflhrd about 40,000 cubic yards of street dung annually, which is commonly laid on the lands within five miles of town. Hcnrse dung, however, carried twelve milos or farther. More need for weeding on Uic arable lands of this county than in those of any other in Scotland ; supposetl fVom moro town manure being used. The town manure contains the seeiU brought in from the country in hay anes the origin and progess of the British Wool Society, which was begun In this countar by Sir John Sinclair, in 179 i. The economy of Johnston's dairy is deserT- ing of notice for accuracy in the details,, and for new practices, such as making butter from whey, feeding cows on whins, &c. Mackniehl, another amateur, and Hepburn, an Ingenious landlordond cultivator, are also worth reading* 7834. EAST LOTHIAN. 190,363 acres of surface, under an exceedingly variable climate, the greater part of excellent soil, and well adapted for cultivation ; but the«BOUthem district, Lammcrrauir, hilly and mountainous, with a moory soil, severe climate, and chiefly under native grass and herbage. Some of the most distinguished Scotch agricultural patriots, authors, and mechanics belong to this county, as Cockburn of Onniston, Thomas sixth Earl of Haddington, Fletcher of Salton, Adam Dickson, Robert Brown of Markle, the projector, and for a long time editor, of the Farmer's Magazine, Somerville, author of the agricultural Report, Meikle, inventor of the threshing machine, and various odiers. {SomervUle't General View^ 1805.) 1. Property, Generally in conuderable estates; the largest about 15,000/. and not many under 100/. a year. Tenure generally of the crown (i. c. freehold), some hold of subJHcts superior (copy- hold), and some of the corporate towns of Haddington and Dunbar. S. Buitdmes and Implements. It may be sumcient to state that they are such as we have described in th>! body of ^is work as of the best description- Farms generallv large; medium of the county about 4u0/. a year; highest 1500/. to 1800/. The first enclosures were made aiiout 17^0 ; farmers were inuoduced from Holland in 1710; the two-horse plough in 1772 ; and the first threshing-machine in 178(i. Fallowing was introduced from England about the same time as hedges. The sixth Earl of Haddington wat the first proprietor, and John Walker, of Beanston, near Dunbar, the first farmer. He took the hint from some English travel- lers, while they spent a night at his house, and with whom he had a good deal of conversation upon the subject, so much to his satisfaction, that he made an experiment upon six acres the following summer, which he carried tiirough in spite of the animadversions of his neighbours, who were divided in their opinions as to the sanity of his mind, or the stability of his cir- cumstances. The result of the experiment gave them a better opinion of both, and the return was so abundant as to induce him to extend his next jiear'sfallow break to twenty acres; soon after which the practice began to spread, and so early a-i the year 1724, fallowmgupon all the deep strong soils was common throughout the county, and has continued to be so ever since. There can be no doubt that the early excellence of the East Lothian agriculture was in a great measure owing to the intro- duction en fallowing, which, together with the use of drill craps, have continued to place it at the head of the Scotch counties. Potatoes introduced to field culture about 1760; tumins first by Cockburn, of Ormiston, about 1720 ; re-intro- ducea and cultivated in the drill manner in 1760. Flax sown from time immemorial, but chiefly on a small scale, and ftr the home consumption of the country inhabitants. Every cottager has a small quantity, from half a peck to a peoksown, the pro- duce of whicn furnishes linen for the use of his family. Lwxrti tried with the greatest care ; but, owing to the cli- mate, it was found to produce less bidk oi herb^ than red clover. 3. Grass. Natural meadows and pastures are not admitted into the East Lothian system ofhusbandry, as they are found only where nature, or certain local circumstances, render them, in some measure, unavoidable, and are never kept voluntarily, or from an idea of profit. Many farmers fallow land to lie for a few years in grass, especially where it has been exhausted by long and imperfect tillage; but fields of this description are not to be ranked as permanent pastures, for the object is to restore them, as soon as possible, to a state capable of bearing corn- crops to advantage. Clovers introduced by the sixth Earl of Haddington and Cockburn, about 1720 or 1722, but made little progress till 1740; now generally sown wi;h rye-grass. Application, graz- ing, soiling, and hay, but chiefly soiling. 4. Gardens and Orchards. Some few market gardens and nurseries ; but the climate does not admit of orchards, which are very rare. Every cottage has a ^rden annexed, sufficient to produce the various com» mon kitchen vegetables for the cottager's family. This class of people are remarkably attentive to the cultivation of their little spots, and derive great advantage from them, at small ^ cost ; the labour is entirely performed aAer their ordinary work is finished. 5. Woods and Plantations, Scarcely any of the former, and none of the latter, of any ex- tent, excepting In gentlemen's parks. 800 acres on Tynning- ham demesne planted by the sixth Earl of Haddington, who wrote a treatise on planting, about 171d- Osiere cultivated by the late JVlr. Sherrief, of Captain Head, for which, in 1803, he received the gold medal of the Society of Arts. 6 Wastes and Com,mons. Are in this as in other Scotch counties generally enclosed, which is here an easy matter in comparison to what it is in England, in consequence of a general Act of Enclosure by the Scottish Parliament, in 1695. 7. Improvements. Faring and burning little known, and not wanted, because very little ground is kept long in pasture that can be profitably employed m tillage, and new grass lands do not require these op^ations. One attempt at irrigation on a sandy waste near Dunbar, the levels of which were taken by, and the water turned on under tJie direction of, the compiler of this work, in 1805. 8. Live Stock. The practice of East T^thian, in this department, does not present much that can h-j generally Interesting. Grazing, in nine cates out often, is carried on only as subservient to tillage, and therefore held a secondary object by cultivators. Many I cattle are fed, but very few reared, in the county. Almost I every person who practises the sheep husbandry, In the lower districts, buys and se however, lielonf^ l> this class ; married servants are uniformly preferred ; those who rraide in tlitir master's house are, in many coses, not employed in regular labour, but perform tliat sort of extra work, and kind of household Arttagay, which requires some hands on every condderable form. The far greater part of the rc^Iar labour is performed by idLarrled servants, called hinds; a class more numerous here than in other districts. These dwell in houses jirovided by their masters, and recrive their wages wholly or chiefly in kind ; tbe circumstances are so comfuitable under which they aie generally placed, as to secure a full supply of such servants at alt times. They are more steady generalU- than youn^ men : their families, and tbe projierty which they have ncquir«l,give them a sort of interest m their situations, and affom some se- curity for tbeir cnntinuinf; longer in their places. The hind occupies a house urovided by his master, for which his wife works in harvest ; lie has a cow kept ail the year round, generally ten bolls of oats, three bolls of barley, two bolls of peas, all of the best quality upon the iarm, seeord KaimeN, was one of the e;irly improvers of thiscounty aboutl74G,«t i^almes,iiow Mesborough. About 1750, the ardour of enclosing and improving the land spreafl generally among the Berwickshire proprietors. Paring and burning, irrigatiou and embanking, not practised or required. 9 Live Stock. The cuttle of Berwickshire are so murh mixed by crossiTig, as scarcely to admit of any particular description. Upon thu whole, they arc short homed, thin hided, and kindly feeders, and have been much improved by crosse^t with bulls of the Teeswater breed, which is the kind chiefly admired In this diitrlct. GeneraUy speaking the oxen are not carried on to any age, and they are never worked. They are well fed from their youth up, and axe generally fod off for market in their fourth year, very few reaching five yenrs old. Cows, on the contrary, are generally old before they are fed off. (freat numbers of smaller cattle are bred upon the lower hilts, and are disposed of to graziei^ in the low country for feedin;:, either on grass or turnips, or by a succession of both ; and many Highland cattle of various descriptions are bought In yearly for contiuming straw, or for feeding on tumips during winter, and on grass in spring and summer. The ahccp bred in Berwickshire are of several kinds. In the most exposed of tlie Lammermuir and Lauderdale hills, the flocks are mostly of the black fhced, or Tweeddale kind, and are there exclusively kept for breeding. In the cultivated tract the new Leicester breed, in a great variety of degrees of perfection, now universally prevails ; and it is believed that no other known breed, in the peculiar circumstances of (his county, could be so profitable to the farmer. They require, however, always to nave abundance of food, and easily ])to- cured ; tor, being shortplegged, heavy-bodied, and carrying a ^reat weight of wool, they are unable to undergo much fougue or hardship, and do not thrive unless plentifully sup- plied at all seasons. This supply the agricultural system of the district amply affords, and is indeed admirably calculated for providing. On some of the best interior hills, and upon the higher exterior lands, vertnng on Lammermuir and Lauderdale, called the moor-edges, the Cheviot breed, or long sheep, are kept. An intermediate breed between the Cheviot and Lei^ ccster, usually called half-bred sheen, is very prevalent upon the best of these situations. As a singular circumstance, the reporter records the case of a ewe of this county, which inro- duced eleven lambs in three succeeding seasons. HoTKa, as in Cast Lothian, brought from the west of Scot* land. 10. Rural Economy. Farm st^rvants manned as in East Lothian, and. Indeed, almost every where in uie low country of Scotland. 11. Political Economy. Commerce chiefly grain, wool, and salmon; scarcely any manufactures, excepting the paper-mills. The salmon fishery, including Berwick bounds and the English side of the river, employs about seventy small boats, and nearly 300 lisherment All their fish are sold to a very resnectablp fraternity of traders In Berwick, named cooiiers, from their former business of mak- ing kits, and boiling the fish, whi'h is now entirely discon- tinued. By them the salmon are packed in ice, and sent to London, to be disposed of bj factors on commission. This em- ployment of ice was first essayed by Messrs. Richardson, of Perth, on the suggestion of George Dempster, of Dunnlchen, Esq. who had accidentally read that such a practice was not unusual in China. 7836. ROXBURGHSHIRE or TEVIOTDALE contains 448,000 acres, of which about three fifths are in sheep pasture, and the remaining two fifths, are occasionally under the plough, except about 8000 acres occupied in woods, pleasure-grounds, and the sites of towns and villages. The surface is exceedingly irregular, being in some places ninety, and in others 2000 feet above the level of the sea. The climate is equally various, and excessive rains, winds, frosts, and even hail and snow are by no means uncommon in spring and harvest There is a good deal of moss and peat soil in detached portions over the county ; but the general character of the district is, that the low or arable part consists chiefly of a light or turnip soil, and the hilly division of dry green pastures. There is a good deal of high, wet, barren land ; but this is by no means the character of the county at large. Limestone abounds in most parts of the district, and coal has been found, but is not worked. The agriculture of the arable lands is in all respects the same as that of Berwickshire, and that of the pastures resembles the store farming of the latter county and East Liothian. Dawson, of Frogden, belongs to this county, and may be looked on as one of the greatest im- provers of British agriculture. {Douglases Boxburghshire, 1794. Edin. Gax. abridged, 1899.) 1. Property. Generally in large estates, and little change of proprietorship has taken place for many years. The largest between S5,000i. and 35,000/. a year. 2. Implements. Arable Land. Fanner a, the reporter states, were first made in this county by one Rogers, a farmer, of a mechanical (um, near Hawick, in 1733) or at least before 1737, who is said either to have seen a model, or a description of one, which had been brought from Holland. {Report qf North irrigation In a few places, and some embAnkments made on the Solway Firth, and the Nith and Annan. There are few orchards. Some remains of copiiice and forest, which, according to apiiearances and authentic records, seem in former times to have spread over great part of the county ; apd numerous young plantations. Some jcars ago many young Scotch firs died from the attacks of the Teredo pinftrura, as some suppose ; but the ciiu.se does not seem clearly known. Some very large oaks, beeches, elms, ashes, and larch firs are described in the Uepon. 5. Improve?nents. As a spiicimen, we shall give some notices of what has been done on the estate of Mount Annan, by General Dirom. I he extent of Mount Annan estate is 2730 acres. The general liegan his Improvements in 1 793, and planted, before 1819, 1C8 acres. Assisted In laying out a considerable extent of public road and building bridges, the road pas-.inK through the estate. Made an improvement in the construction of Ume-kilns, smce per- fected by Booker of Dublin. (3863.) The Umu quarried and dried by means of a small stream from more elevated lands; this stream being made to turn an overshot whetl, which works two pumps. The village of Bridekirk began m 1800 (3850.) on the new road, and where the river Annan affords the whole of the exterior circle o( two smrdl broad wheels, and as they no round the knives cut the furrows ncrosa. i he ax e and franii; of a roller are used for these wheels, so that Uie weight inav Iw Increased bv loading the Iwx of the frame, if it should bu ncceisary to make the knives cut through the fur- rows. It is dragged with great ease across the ploughetl moor by one horse; and when it is moist the furrowh are t-ut through with the greatest facility, in pieces of any length, according to the nuinb.t of turns Uken by the machme. The furrows, when a little dry, are then turned over by the brake (brtak) harrow, and being all cut into small piece*, are in the bebt state for being reduced by rep'-'ated harrowing, or for being llirown lo- getlier m heaps and burnt. fi. Weekly Reportit. " In carrying on the improvements which have been men- tioned, at a considerable distance from my general rcKldence, they have been greatly facilitated by requiring my overseer, or mannger, to send me a weekly report of what wds doing upon the farm and the estate. It shows how the servanU and horses have been employed during every dav ; contains a journal of the weaOier,and of the progress ofdilterent works; and a slate of his receipt!: and disbursements duriim the week. Thcae re- ports, besides enabling one to judge ot what is doing, and to give any directions that may be necessary, arc extremely useful to refer to, and excite the overseer and servants tu be diligent in my alisence." Increase of population on the estate In fifteen years, 39fi; viz. : from 175 to 571 inhabitants. Total expense of purchase and improvements up to 1811, 30,01)0'. Clear annual rental at that time, 2000^ a year, exclusive of the value of Umber, and of the mansion, garden, and hot -house, &c. as a gentleman's residence. 7. political Economy. Improving roads, and some canals and railways ; some con- merce bv sea with the port of Ihimfries ; manufactures incon- siderable; paper, stockings by frames, muslin weavers. Asmalt iron-work at Kirkconnell, in which from three to four doicen spades daily are made. Cotton spinning and weaving In a few places. Carp t weaving. Sec, ''Salt, ffom the richest parts of the sea sleech, collcctd with horse drags in dry weather in summer, and then placed so as to be washed and filtered, and the brine that runs out ot it boiled." ample falls for machinery. Farms arranged of different sizesj and three eminent farmers settled with a view to improvement. Cottage farms, one or two ; cottages ; improveil stock on the demesne farm ; improved farm building ; lea:tes for lifttjen vears ; stone quarries opened, others drained and improved; trick clay found, and bricks made; salmon fishery improved. Irrigation, liorin, spring wheat, moss composts, mole ]elieve th^e is notliing peculiar to Galloway. There are a few market gardens and several nurseries." 6. Woods and Plantations, Ofa very limited extent, but rapidly increasing. John Ear] of Stair planted extensively at Mount Kennedy, In the be- f Inning of the eighteenth century ; and Douglas Earl of Hel< irk soon afterwards. The Earl of Galloway, the present Earl of Selkirk, Murray of Broughton, and various others, are great planters. 7. Live Stock. The Galloway breed ofcatUe is well known. The breeders per- hajis, in general, understand the management of cattle as well as, or better than, most others in the kingdom. They all know how to distinguish a good bull or a good cow from a bad one : and fail not to select from their own stock such as are best adapted for the improvement of the breed ; and from this ge- neral attention, it no doubt arises, that the cattle in Galloway are pretty uniformly good. But among them have arisen no enthusiasts in the profession ; none who have studied it scien- tifically, or dedicated their talents almost exclusively to this one objecL No fair test has yet been given, of what might be done by aproper selection of (he choicest individuals of both sexes for breeders, and uniting them in such a manner, as seemecotland f;;raduaUy declining. Kinging not prac- tised ; but the two strong tendon^! of the snout cut by a sight 7841. AYRSHIRE. 664-,g60 acres of irregular but not mountainous surface, and clayey or mossy soil, under a moist cUmate j half the county bog, hilly pasture, or waste, and the rest chiefly under alternate grass and corn. The agriculture followed is in great part the dairy system; Dunlop cheese, already described (7063.), being chiefly produced in this county. \,AUon's General View, ISll.J 1. Minerals. Coal and UjnalotK are to be fiiund in most parts of the county, and there are several kinds of building stone, but no metallic ores worth working, excepting iron. Coal is tbe sta- ple minttal, and is exported in large quantities to Glasgow and other towns, along the west coast, noithward and southward. 2. Buildings. Somegood castles and mansions, asCulzean, Loudon, Eg- linton, eec. Farm buildings are improving, though but slowly. Some neat elevations, and comfbrtiible interiors on Lonl Egiinton's estates ; single (Jig. 1126.a], and double (A). Each of such cottages Is surrounded by a neat garden, con- taining a pigstr, pump, and bee-house ; and the house con- taining a porch (1), kitchen, oven, and stair to bed-rooms (2}, parlour (5), store closet (4), bed closet (6), pantry (6), costt closet (7),back entrance (8), tool house (9), and water closet (10), with two garret bed-rooms over. 3. Occupation. Farms small Irom £0 to 150 acres, and thtnr culture imper- fect and iiTvgular, though rents axe high ftom the population of ihe manufacturing towns. 4. Livestock. Horses are bred and sold under the general name of Lanark- nhire or Clydesda'e, and are in great demand ; as ate the Ayr- diire cows for the Edinburgh and Glasgow dairymen. Indeed these cows, as we have seen (678!).), axe preferred to all others in most parts of the low country of Scotland. The native horses began lo be improved bj crosses about 1740. In that year RotjertWoodbum, in Mains of I.«udoun, sold what was then considered the best stallion in the county, at the price of five guineas. The common price of draught horses did not then average more than 3/. each. Till about 1780, the work usually done by farm-horses was not more than one half of what they now perform- Four horses were then yoked to every plough, while as much is now turned over by two homes. {Aitvn't Dairy Hvabandry, p. 180.) 5 Woods and Plantations. Most of the proprietors are extensive planters. On the Culzean estate are extensive woods, raised m the face of the west winds j most of the trees lean to the east, excepting the common maple, which is generally erect, or nearly so, and is one of the best trees for an exposed sea-coast. There are a few ' native coppice-woods, and some fine old birch, ash, and oak trees round Egllnton Castle. 6. hnprovements. Captain Smith, the proprietor of a small place abounding with peat bogs, about 1790, began to drain and dig, and lime the surface, and succeeded in reducing the peat to a black mould, andrearing tolerable crops of oats, potatoes, andclovtr. After five or six years, he was able to venture horses and cattle on these bogs; but at firsi; every operation was manual. 7. Political Economy. Carpet and other woollen manufactures at KUraaraock ; thread at Beith, cotton at Catharine, iron at Muir kirk, salt and kelp on the shores, and earthenware and the usual minor manufactures, as leather, hats, fee, at various places. The harbour and other works carried on at jArdrossan, under the auspices of the Earl of Eglinton, and the harbour of Troon, and the railway from thence to Kilmarnock, formed almost entirely at the expense of the Duke of Portland, are worthy monuments, no less of the enlightened judgment and energy, than of the wealth of these two patriotic noblemen. The harbour lately completed is one of the safest, most' cnpaciouB, and most accessible on the west coast of Britain ; possessing many advantages over the harbour in the Frith of Clyde, situate in a narrow channel, which can be navigated only when the wind blows from particular points, and which, for upwards of tweni? miles below Glasgow, is both shallow and dangerous. A circular pier of 900 yards was finished in 1811, and every thing was then ready to begin the wet-dock, which, according to Telford's plan, was to contain from 70 to 100 vessels, in water sixteen feet deep. The other works have rather languished of late, and are not likely to be comjtleted soon without public aid. It was part of the Earl of Eghnton's plan to raise a neat regular-built town at Ardi-ossan, in which some progress has bsen made ; and he has constructed excel- lent baths, which draw to it a number of visitors at the proper season. The harbour at Ardrossan was only a part of the general plan, and that from which, viewed by Itself, the smallest ad- vantages perhaps were to be expected. The leading idea was to open a direct communication between Glasgow, Paisley,, and other large towns in the vicinity and the west coast, in- stead of the present circuitous passage by the Frith of Clydek A canal was therefore to be cut from Glasgow to Ardrossan, about thirty-one miles and half, at the estimated exivense or li!5,000/. of this a third part was executed, that is, fi-om Gla.sgow to Johnstone, and this part, it is said, cost about 90,000/. 'I'he harbour at Troon, connected, as it now is, with Kilmar- nock, by means of an excellent railway, seems to possess almost all the advantages of that of Ardrossan, and promises to he- come, in a much shorter period, of vast utility to the populous coimiry around it. 7842. LANARKSHIRE or CJLYDESD ALK 5nG,%m acres, m great part mountain, moor, and peat- bog, with a portion of ^iable loam, and some retentire clays. The climate is cold, moist, and unfavour* able, excepting in the low vales, where vegetable is chiefly injured by spring and autumn frosts. Aver, age of the rain which falls at Glasgow, 30'8 inches. The minerals are lead, ironstone, coal, limestone, freestone, and whinstone, all worked to a considerable extent The lead mines at Leadhills have been already noticed under Dumfriesshire. The hu.sbandry of the county is chiefly distinguished for its breed of horses, and for orchards, the latter a rare production in Scotland. John Naismith, the author of a work on Industry, another on the Elements of Agriculture, and also of the Report, seems to have been a native of this county. {Naismith's General View, 1803.) 1. Property. Three fourths of the surface the property of great land- holders ; the rest niiich divided. Farm-houses and offices were formerly very indifferent ; but in this as in other adjoining counties, where the leases of ^rmsfall in, the landlord gene- rally enlarges or renews the buildings, as a necessary step to getting the full rental value for the land. A good deal of ground feued out to operative mechanics, weavers, &c. for building cottages. 2. ('cctipation. Much the same as in Galloway. Breeding farms are large, and corn f^nns moderate. The mountainous district is occu- pied mostly with flocks of sheep : upon the ridges on the E. and W. sides, where the ground is marshy, and less proper for sheep, and the exposure too bleak to encourage the cultivation of com, eatdeare mostly pastured, and those generally milch cows and their young, many of which are reared; a snqall quantity of com only being cultivated, principally for the sake of wintor provent'er. The less rugged and less exposed parts are more occupied in the culture of com; and the banlcs of Ae Clyde, between Hamilton and Lanark, with orchards. 4 3. Gardens and Orchards. Gla^ow is abundantly supplied with the common culinarr vegetables from market gardens. Orchards are chiefly found in two districts in Scotland, in Clydesdale, and the Carse of Gowrie. " The Clydesdale orchards lie mostly between the bottom of the lowest fall of the river, and the mouth of the south Calder. They are chiefly of apples, with a mixture of pear trees, and some plums. Cherries are more rarely culti- vated, being much subjea to the depredations of birds. Few of the orchards are large, but many small ones are planted up and down the counti?- The whole may cover 340 acres or upwards, and are on ine increase. The produce Is very pre- carious, the fruit being frequently destroyed in the blossom, by spring frosts and caterpillars. The value of the fruit is not always in proportion to the number and size of the trees. Those who cultivate the ground around the trcfs, taking care not to Injure the roots, and giving manure from time to time, have finer fruit, and a much greater quantity in proportion, than those who do. not. Much also depends on adapting the tree&to the soil and exposure. These orchards are mostly planted on very steep hanging banks, and on such they baw G 1186 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Paiit IV. The back straight and broad, biit not too Iodk; the lorn brViad Md rais^l a little. Hucks visible, but not prommont, and but a short space between them and the ribs. iho Bides, from the shoulders to the hip, nearly sUalRht; the tlJiahs thick, and rat-ctlnR each other flo close under the fun- dament, as to leave only a small cioove for uie tall to rest on. The tail strong, stiH', heavy to lift, mid well haired. A large sheath (vagina) is considered to be one of the marks of a good horse, and a small one the reverse." Aiton. They have been much improved of late, and are stUI improving, especially in size and weight. , . , . , ^ . HoeM. " A kind of Jewish abhorrence of swine seems to have taken place, about the rigid times of the Reformation, in the western counties of Scotland. They were unclean beasts ; it was sinfiil to eat their flesh, and neither creditable nor profitable to keep them ; and though these prejudices are now pretty much worn out, pork is not yet, in general, a fa- vouiite food, and, of course, tlie number of hogs Icept and fed are not considerable." 5. Political Economy. The roads are in many places bad, but have lately been im- proved ; though the materials begood and abundant, the wet climate is much against them. There are several canals, the river Clyde, navigable to UlHsgow, and some railways. The manufactures and commerce of Glasgow are of great extent and well known. There is a corresponding agricultural Bocie^ there, and some minor societies. 1127 been found to succeed better than on plains, as BUbten-aneoua wattT (lows most quickly nway. Mrat of them stand on soils Rreatly cohesive, and on such the trees have been supposed to lie surer bearers than on open sandy soils: yet there arc in- stances of ort hards, on friable and gravelly soils, uncommonly productive. Plum trees arc genera ly planted round the verge of the orchard, and are proHtablc, not only for the fruit they bear, hut for shfjltering the other trees. The depredations committed on the orchards arc become more frequent and daring, as the manufiictures of the county have increased, and are a great discouragement to this snecies of cultivation, par- ticularly that of small orchards, which cannot defiray the ex- pense of watching In the night." . Besides the larger fruit, great quantities of gooseberries and currants are cultivated, and, when well managed, are said to pay Tciy well. The gooseberry and currant trees are dug around annually, kept on a single stem, and dunged every second year. CopnwooiU, or native timber trees, are not abundant ; the oldest trees are on the Clyde, in and near Hamilton Park and Bothwell Castle. Many new plantations axe forming in every part of the county. 4. Live Stock. Cattle a mixed breed; the Ayrshh* beginning to become ge- neral. Oxen formerly employed In labour, and still used by a few of the amateurs in spite of the better sense of their tenants and bailifls. Few sheep kept, excepting on the mountains, where the black-faced sort prevails. The datiglU horiea of Clydesdale have long been in high esti- mation. Dealers from different parts of England come to the Glasgow and Kuthe:-glen markets to purchase them, and prefer them to the Derbysiure blacks. Those of tlie upper ward, where the greatest number are bred, are es- teemed the best. The native breed began to be improved by crosses from England and Flanders about 17G0. Tlie Lanarkshire breed of horeet vary in height from IS! to IS hinds; but from 14 to 16 hands is consi- dered the proper size. ** HLs general aspect (.ftf- 11S!7.) is stately, handsome, and dignified. He is round, fleshy, well proportioned, strong, and heavy, with- out being coarse or clumsy. His countenance is sweet and agreeable, yet lively and spirited ; and his motions are steady and firm, but nimble and alert. His head is in due proportion to his body, rather small than large, no way clumsy, and not so full and prominent below the eyes as some of the lilnglish breeds. His nostrils ate wide, his eyes full and animated, and his ears erect. His neck is neither long nor slender, but strong, thick, and fleshy, with a good curvature, and the mane strong and bushy. He is broad in the breast, thick in the shoulders, the blades nearly as high as the chine, and not so much stretched back- wards as those of road horses. The arm tapers to the knee. The leg rather short ; bone oval and strong, but solid and clean. The hoof round, of a black colour, tough and firm, with the heels wide, and no long Hair on the legs, except a tuft at the beet. The body round and heavy ; the belly of a proportional size, neither small uor large, and tlie flank full. 7843. DUNBARTONSHIRR 147,300 acres of exceedingly irregular surface, in two parts, distant from each other six miles ; possessing little agricultural interest The arable lands are of very limited extent, and lie chiefly on the banks of the Clyde and Leven : the greatest part of the county consisting of lofty mountains incapable of cultivation. Coal, lime, freestone, and ironstone abound, and are exten- Bively worked. There is also ochr&, schistus abounding in alum pyrites, which are made into copperas, and a large quarry of blue slate, Lochlomond is well known for its scenery. (Whyte and Macfarlaue't iJ^or/, 1811.) 1. Property. Two large estates ; one exceeds 3000/. a year. One third of the county under entail, which greatly retards its improve- ment. 2. Buildings, More than a common sb^reofel^antvillas and gentlemen's bouses. The most magnificent is Roseneath, the Duke of Argvle,built by Bonomi, in \^{)Zeiseq. It is 18'lfeetlong, ajid 121 in breadth, with two magnificent fronts, both omamented with columns of the Ionic order. On his Grace's farm, which is cultivated in a very superior style, there is also a large set of farm offices, surmounted with a high tower. Common farm- houses and cottages formerly very wretched, bef^inning to im- {)rove, but the progress slow. Dunbarton bridge 300 feet in ength, and twenty-five feet high in the centre. 3. Occupation. Average extent of arable farms fifty acres ; sheep, or moun- tain farms, average GOO acres. Farmers men of limited edu- cation, wittiout capital, and implicitly following the practices of their forefathers. There exists among the labouring class in this district an inveterate attachment to the possession of land. When a young man is disposed to marry, tie looks out for a small farm, takes it at an extravagant rent, stocks it on credit, and draws from it a scanty subsbtence, while at the end of his lease his effects are often unequal to pay the debt which has accumulated during its currency. In fact the feudal state of society has not entirely dis^pcared in this county. There were lately, on manji estates, and are still on some, farms let to tliree or four tenants, as conjunct lessees, to be cultivated by their united, or ratiier discordant exertions. Lands always let on lease, seldom for a shorter period than nineteen yean. 4. Implements. Curved harrows of a semicircular form are used by the best formers for dressing their potato ridges. The diameter is equal to the distance between the drills ortidges, generally near three feet ; and they are used, before the young shoot of the potato springs, to dress the surface of the riage,and destroy any weeds which may have begun to appear. The highland hand-harrow is still in use in some comers of the highland district. It is about two feet long and fifteen inches broad, consisting of three bulls, and as many cross bars, with twenty-seven teeth and two handles bent, like a hoop, with which it is wrought. Jt is em- ployed on bits of land wnich have been dug witn the highland spade, either on account of their b^ng too steep to be tilled by the labour of a horse, or firom thei^ consbting of a number of small comers among rocks emd large stones, to which a common harrow could not find access. Wilkie's wheel plough, with a shifting muzzle {fig. 1128.), b used to clear water-furrows on wet lands, and also for the common purposes of ploushing strong clays when wet; the muzzle bring set so as both horses may walk in the furrow. 5. Enclosing, Gentlemen who pay particular attention fo their hedges never allow them to be cut with shears. In place of that implement a hedge-knife is used, with a short and slightly curved blade, thick in the middle, and tapering to a thin and very sharp edge on each side. By cutting always upwards, the twigs are cut clean over without being bruised or cankerea, and the hedge is kept, of what is universally allowed to be the best shape, broad and busby at the bottom, and contracting to a shaip ridge at top. Book I. AGRICULTUUE OF WEST LOTHIAN. 118Y a Ambie Land. Potatoes cultivated better than any other crop tn the county > and with the greatist success. They are planted on ever;r va riet; oif soil] and thrive even on the iititrest clays whi;re there is B sufficioit declivity to carry off tiie surface water ; but a gra- velly loam suits them best : about twenty tons of manure per acre Is the common dressing. Drilling and dibbling nre the common modes In the lowlands, and by large beds in the up- lands ; avera^ produce twelve tonsj but eighteen are frequently obtained. 7. Gi-ass Land. Some bog meadows, but no others ; some pasture fields round gentlemeiTS houses, but none on lowland farms; mountains wholly in natural po^iture, moss, heath, bog, and moor. 8. Woods and Plantations. Copeewoods form a very important and prominent Article In the produce of this county. They cover some thousands of acres of soil which would otherwise be altogether or nearly useless, and yield an income to the proprietors little inferior to what ihey derive &om their best arable land. Tlie steep slop, jog banks of Loch Lomond and Loch Long, where the bases of the mountains run into the lake, aie in man;^ plaL'es covered with them. The thin dry soil which appears in small patches amone the rocks seems to'be particularly adapted to the growth of oak coppice, which, from its superior value, is chiefly en- coura{;ed in auch sitilalions, while the moister and more unfa- vourable spots are allowed lo be occupied by less valuable trees. These are chiefly ash, yew, holly, mountain-aah, birch, hazlc, aspen, alder, crab, thorn, and willow. Ulie seven last kinds are considered inferior in value to the rest, and commonly known by the name c£ barren timber. Gopsewoods are cut from the twenty-second to the twenty- fourth year ; affer the latter period the bark of oak becomes hard and corky, and of less value to the tanner. PlaniatioM very generally formed on the uplands. 1000 acres planted at Lusa previously ta 1794. The Duke of Montrose, a great planter in StirUngthire, and partly in this county, allows §00 Scotch pine, 400 larch fir, and lOOU hardwood trees, to an pare; prefers oak ulants of several years' growth; and after they have been establlsned several years, cuts them down, when they Sush long and strong shoots. Plants by stellate slits, as already escribed (3953.), as pits in a retentive soil only serve as a re- ceptacle for water. Firs, pines, and all trees now regularly Jnined. In the Isle of Skye, Lord Macdonald planted, in S2I, 47,500 trees, and received the honorary premium of the Highland Society of Scotland. {Tram. Bight. Soc vol. vi. p. 25S.) The finest tree in tlic county is an ash in Bonhill churchyard. Its trunk is about nine feet high, and, where smallest, upwards of eighteen feet in circumference. Of the three principal arms into which it loanches, the largest is eleven, and the smallest near ten feet in circumference. The branches spread in every direction with uncommon regularity, covering an area of near 78 Ml. STIRLINGSHIRE. 450,5f>0 acres, inuch diversified by rivers, mountains, woods, and valleys, containing some rich alluvial soil, extensive peat-bogs or mosses, and some bleak hilly districts. The culture of wheat and beans is the chief agricultural feature. Potatoes first cultivated in the fields in this county by Prentice, a farming gardener at Kilsyth. {Belscke^s General Fiew, 1796.) 100 feet In diameter, and the general aspect Is singularly vener- able and maJL-stic. There are no data from which its a^e can be conjectured. Nearly 100 years ago it was remarked by Mar- sham of Strntton, near Norwich, a celebrated planter, as one of the first aslics he had seen ; and a tendency to decay in soma of the boughs seems to indicate that it has stood there for se- veral centuries. Yew trees and hollies abound on the banks of lAXh Lomond. A yew at Rosedoe is twclvt; feet round, and very high ; one at Stockintibbert twenty-eight feet round, and the top spreading in proportion. 9. 7mprvve7ne7its. Some proprietors have drained bogs, and rendered them tolerable meadows; and drained and planted moors. Mosses sometimes burned, the ashes ploughed In, and the land cropped withoatSj&c. Irrigation, by means of the rills on the hill sides, tried in some places with success. Bmbankmentt have been made on a small scale, and gome o< considerable exttnt might be formed with success. 10. Live Stock. Highland cattle fVom Argyleshire in general use ; but little feeding, dairying, or breeding of this species of stock. Sheej) of a smalt black-faced kind bred in the county, to the extent admitted by the upland pastures. Horses, a small hardy breed. Boffs increase as the prejudice against pork disappears. iiOO fallow deer occupy two of the largest Islands of Loch Lomond. The stag, or red aeer of the mountains, has disappeared since the introduction of sheep. A few roes stUl inliaoit ^e wood> lands. Beet common. 11. Political Economy. Manufactures oF iron, glass, cottoil, paper, alkali ; printinj; and bleaching works, &c. Window glass manufactured extensively, and equal in quality to any in the kingdom. Pay 50,000^ a year of excise duties ; employ 10,000 tons of dipping, and consume 1200 tons of kelp. The distillery of pyrolignous acid at Milbum employs about seven hands, and consumer daily a ton of small timber, chiefly oak, from which the liquor, a kind of coarse vinegar, is ex- tracted. The process beautifully simple. A number of iron ovens, or retorts, are placed in a row, and filled with the timb^ cut into small pieces. A fire of coals or charcoal b kindltd in a furnace attached to each, and by its heat forces the acid to fly off in the form of vapour. This vapour is conducted by asmaU tube, proceeding from each retort, into a refrigeratory, or long metal pipe, on which a jet of cold water from above is conti- nually falling. Here the acid is condensed, and runs from the end of the pine in a considerable stream, of a reddish browQ colour. Besides the liquor thus procured, which is employed in mixing colours for the calico printers, there is a considerablq quantity of tar and charcoal produced during Ihe process, the value of which is esteemed equal to the expense of fuel. Principal river the Forth, and mountain Benlomond ; the latter a cone, upwards of 3262 feet high, of slieep-walk, be- longing to tiie Duke of Montrose. LJme, coal, ironstone, granite, whinstone, and freestone abundant. The carse lands constitute one of the most remarkable soils In the county. They lie in a low situation on the banks of the Forth, and extend about thir^ miles in length and two in breadth, at an average. They are elevated from ten to twenty- five feet above hifih-water mark, and a small portion of them in some places is overflowed at times by the river. The soil is universally allowed to be the alluvion deposited by the Forth and its tributary streams, and consequently to be the spoils of Ihe higher grounds, through which ttfe river takes its course. It chi^y consists of a hazel-coloured clay, a small quantity of sand, and a pret^ laKe mixture of once organised nfiatter. In some places are patches of till of various colours ; but not a ■tone, so large as to obstruct the plough, is to be found. The soil of the best qiiallty ; when dug first from the natural bed is of a blight blue colour, and of a substance resembling the richest soap, and sometimes even serves as a substitute fox fiiller's earth. In many places the clay is excellentiy fitted for making bricks, tiles, and a coarse kind of crockery ware. The depths are &om five to fifty feet. The subsoils are various, as a stiff bricic clay, hard till, and sea-shells in a natural state. These beds of shells are from a few inches to four varda in thickness ; they are chiefly large oy^iers, with a mixture of cocfc'es, whelks, and some other shells at present found in the frith. These lands are in fcrms from fifteen lo 100 acres each. In the high^ parts of the county the extent is from twenty to 1000 acres. Of moor* above 90,000 acres. Coppice Ti'oods extaisivc, and plantations considerable. Carron iron-works of great extent, and well known. Lar^e cattie fairs held at Falkirk. Chief commerce the fibipuing ^ . Carron articles for London and other places. 7845. WEST LOTHIAN or LINLITHGOWSHIRE. 71,580 acres of gently varied surface, without bills or mountains ; clayey soil, and rather cold and vaiiable climate. The minerals are coal and lime in abundance ; freestone, whinstone, and some lead and iron, but the latter arc not now worked. The coal at Eorrowstonness has been worked upwards of five centuries. In an agricultural view, the county may be considered on a par with Mid-Ijothian. {Trotter's General View, 1811.) Property is In the hands of about forty proprietors. Q 1129 Iiord Stair is supposed to have introduced the culture of clover, turnips, and cabbages at Newliston, in this county, as early as 1720 ; and also the Rotheram plough, for which purpose he sent a mechanic to England, to acquire the art of constructing them. A hay drag, of a very simple but convenient (M)nstruction, is used in this county. Flans of a more decent form of cottages (,/i^. 112i).) are given than are to he found in some reports. Eai'h cottage consists of two rooms (fl, b) ; the one to he used as a Kitchen has a space for two press or close beds {c}( and in the other room there is a space for one bed (rf) ; in each room is a cupboard (e), but no closet, which is a great deftet. The contrivance for making horses draw etjually in threshing-machines (2786.), was invented in this county, by G. Henderson, of Bonbard. The culture pursi ed is the £ast Lotluan husbandry on the clays, and the Perwick* shire on the turnip soils. The chief commerce is from the port of Borrowstonness, and there is scarcely any manufactures, unless spinning, knitting, and tambouring bi private fbroilles may be named. • '^^ ?J'A5^?-'*'^?'^A^?"j''5^ . ^'l^ ?"''■ Pnncipally of carse land, on the north bank of the nver Forth ; but partly of hilly district, belonging to the OchiUs. {ErsMne's General View, 1795) 4 G 2 1188 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. The cane lands are very fertile ; but part of the hilly and rooory dUtrict of Uttte or no tbIoc. The agriculture is similar to tliat of Stirlingshire. After the Invention of the thru^hinR- machine, one of the fir^t was nected at Itillugiej by George Meikle, in 1787 ; it is driven by water. A curious source of manure 1.4 found in this county. The moss floated down CVoin Blair brumtnond (2IS90 accumulates in the bays, and is mixed as dqiosited with the sea-vreed driven on shore by the tide. This moss and weed is taken out and fermented with a small proportion of stable dung ( or the formers spread It over their cattle-yards, and it forms most excellent manure. 1 bus. what is a complete hinderance to improvement forty miles dU- tant, is brouBht hereby the river at no cost, and forrasamort valuable addition to the resources of the cultivator. 1111 I/GO. no wheat was grown in this county, though it appears by old abbey runtals that wheat was paid as rent atCambus Ivennelh so early as 1147. Now wheat enters into almost every rota- tion. 7847. KINROSS-SHIRE. 47,642 acres, of varied surface, but generally low. There are extensive mosses and muirs, and not much rich soil. Their agriculture is mixed, and of no great interest ( Ure s General View, 1795.) liochleven occupies 3308 acres ; three small streamlets run into it, and the difference between its highest and lowest surface, at diKerent seasons, is three feet. The trouts of this lake in high esteem ; those of the river I/even larger, weigh- ing five pounds and upwards- _ _ „ . . , . ,,, ** Dr. Coventry, the learned Professor of Agriculture in the Umversity of Edinburgh, possesses an estate in this county. where he sets an example of knowledge, industry, ana good management to all his neighbours." Adam, of Ulalr Adam, the son of the celebrated architect, the most extensive iinprovL-r in the county ; draining, enclus- ing, planting, more especially the larch and Scotch pine, and building commodious cottages, extensively and Judlciouiily pursued. 7848. FIFESHIRE. 322,560 acres, exhibiting almost every variety of surface and soil, fVom the moun- tain to the plain, and from gravel to moss. The climate is generally mild, owing to the surrounding waters • and what adds to the value of the county, both for culture and for the formation of country-seats, it is rather drier than that of other counties equally far north. The agriculture is mixed, and may be said to excel both in the corn and cattle department. The reverend reporter displays more than the usual share of adulatory phraseology for that " highly patriotic individual, Sir John Sinclair," our " gracious Sovereign," the Board of Agriculture, and the Government, " chalking out to the people a path by which they may rise to opulence and consideration." {Thomaon^s General Fiew, 1800.) 6. Grass. One fifth of the county inaccessible to the plough, and In store sheep and cattle pasture; some boff or coarse lushy meadows on peat, and a few spots of good alluvial meadow. 7. Gardens and Orchards. The remains of an orchard at Lindores, but none of modem formation. Some market -gardens near the towns, hut most of the inhabitants have gardens of their own. Some good nurseries. Sang, an eminent nurseryman, and manager of gentlemen's plantations,— a valuable man to the county,— has introduced an excellent system of planting, pruning, and draining. Some of the first private gardens in Scotland are in this county, as that of Keith, Wemyss Castle, &c. 8. Woods. Not extensive, hut young plantations very numerous and well managed. More cedars and rare sorts of trees in this county than in any other. 9. Live Stock. Black cattle of Fife long disUnguished. The reporter has heard an English dealer say, that a Fife bullock of forty stone will bring an equal, and often a higher, price at the London market than an English bullock ten stone heavier, and equally fat. A good Fife cow will give from five to seven gallons of milk per day, from seven to nine pounds of butter, and from ten to twelve pounds of cheese per week, tron weight, for some months after calving. Breweries, distilleries, floM and barley mills, frequent. The linen manufacture extensive. Salt made from the sea. Tan- neries, vitriol, &c. T/ie Fife Farmiw Society and the Invtrkeilkw^ Club, sup- ported chiefly by farmers, are considered useful institutions. The first was formed about six years ago, and at present consists of nearly 200 members. The principal objects aimed at by this Institution are, a mutual communication of disco- veries and improvements in husbandry ; common protection against thieves and depredators who shall unjustly invade their property ,- and raising a joint stock or capital for the be. nefit of their widows and cfiil«i&en, and of members reduced to distress or indigence. Members pay one guinea at their entry, and half-a-guinea yearly. None are admitted but men of good character ; and such members as shall be found guil^ of crimes and misdemeanors punishable by the laws orthe land, are liable to expulsion, and a total derivation of all benefit from the Society s fund. No member can draw any thing from the fund till It amounts to 500Z. ; neither can any one be entitled to any allowance until five years after his admission. The allowance fixed for a member fallen into distress or indigence, is thirty shillings per quarter ; but this allowance is wanted upon the express condition, that he has not brought the^tress upon himself by drunkenness, or any other kind of disorderly ^f \i^"K n ^"/ "^T""^ *^ l''"^ ^^ '^ receiving the allowance. If he shall be found guilty of dissolute or immoral behaviour. It IS put m the power of the managers to deprive him of iL ihe widow of a member is allowed twenty-five shillinas quarterly, so long only as she remains his widow, and main- toins a good character. And the chUdren, when no widow is L^Lf*??*'"^*'*u*'''^T*^e^a'f<'f what their father contri. i?^' t? member shall die, and leave neither widow nor chi dren, his next heir, or whoever shall be appointed by him, 6^11 be entitled to the half of what he has JoStributed. after deducting a proportional share of the expenses incurred by the SSS^^"H^°"*^V.^^'* society is, at present, to a vSj req»ectable and flourishing condition, , » taj 7849. PERTHSHIRE. 4,068,640 acres, almost every where mountainnno hnf ^ui, -„* of strong clayey soils, fertile in corn ; some gravelly tracts ^nH^rnt!!?^' but with intervening vales mountains on tfie southern side of the^ountyrwhere^theraVr^^^^ ^°^J' ^^^ "^°°'"«- ^S^ summits ; those in the northern parts with pasture heath and rnmp ®fe ""P"^"^^^ ^''^ Pf tpre to the stone, slate, whinstone, granite, &c. the metall c ores fron l^d anLonn^r n'STw T K-^t "™^' '''■^^■ sent worked. This county serves to divide that part of SWnn fhf K "^l^^? ?^ which are at pre- to the raising of grain, from that of the north7wMch7with few^^^ also divides those parts of the kingdom on the north, where firsaSiS fn r™**"*^^ *^' parture. It found in the mosses, from those in the south, whS carr^ ?ak^and I viie?v^f ^^^^^^ ^"^^ 1'"^''"* natural firs. It is also the general boundary, n regard to ^al and «aniTp S.^^^iJ^l*^ ^'^°^' **"' "*» moderate extent, the former in the north, and the litter \n the south^ THp h^.S^^*""***, »^ ^°^1^ '** ^ noted for its claV, or carse land cultur^. and for i^pla"n^'«orJ^ar^^ 1. Geographical State and Circumstances. Coal, lime, and the usual rocks abound ; ironstone and lead and copper ore abound, but none workud. Nearer Burntis- land, upon the shore, and ai^o in some other parts of the county, there are quarries of hard stone, of a dark colour, with the peculiar property of resisting the force of fire. It will endure for many years, without being wasted or broken, though e^osed to the most intense heat. Un this account it is used for the soles of ovens, and for the sides of chimnc)' grates. Common and fire bricks manufactured of an excellent quality. ITIumuon's General View, 1800.) 2. Property. Estates moderate ; largest, 8000/. a year. 3. Buildings. Few counties so richly studded with noblemen and gentle- men's houses ; about a hundred enumerated as deserving of notice. Many magnificent buildings in ruins. Religious houses, castles, and Falkland Palace. Farm-houses and cot- tages formerly very bad, now greatly improved, and suptaior to tlwse in most counties. 4. Occupation. Farms from 50 to 500 acres of arable Iands« and some of mountain pasture twice as large. Some of the largest and best farmers are men who have emigrated fronn other counties to this less improved district ; tut the greater mimber are sons of local farmers, and not a few farms have been in the same family for several generations. The reporter is an advocate for corn-rents, a mode first revived in this county with the im- provement of not taking the com, but paying in money, according to the average prices- Leases for nineteen years ; some formerly for one or more repetitions of the period ; in general the restrictions reasonable, for the minagprs of estates in this county are generally resident factors, and not Edin- burgh lawyers. 5. Implements. Ploughs with convex mould boards preferred for loose soils, especially when in a wet state ; they free thenaselves more readily ta the earth, and make a neater furrow. An addition to the plough, called a ridder {.fit;. 1130. a.), adopted in some places, andtound to clear away the stubble from the coulter. 1130 Book I. AGRICULTURE OF PERTHSHIRE. itm have been, or are. Lord Kaimes, the Duke of Athol, and Lord Breadalbane; (Dr. Eobertson's General View, 1813.) its growth of any tree »e have* and the most valuable species of the i)ine< It is cloiier in the porcS] has fewer knots, and the wood m more durable thnn the common pine, and withal it in- crea^ies double the numbur of cubical feet, in any f^ven time; which is a sinj^lar projierty. It may vie in growth and profit with the Huntington willow, which has been Hafd to buy the horse, liefore any otlicr tree could buy thi; snddlc." There is a nalural^r rfwd on tlie south bide of Loch Hannoch which covers !i666 acres- One formerly existed on theUreadal- bane estate, but there are now only a few gleanings. There are more oak nouda, and of greater value, in this county tlian in all the rest of Scotland. The counties of Dun- barton, Argyle, and Slirllnf;, come next to that of I'crth. The copse of oat is cut once in twenty-four or twenty-aix years. A few spare trees of the most promising appearance and of the best figure are left at proper distances, I'rom one cutting to another, and someiimes for three or four cuttSnf^. The straightest are generally snared, without attending to this circumstance, that crookea oak is more eagerly sought after by ship-builoers, and brings a higher piice, than oak which IS straight. Yet as coppice wood is the object, straight trees injure it least. Scotch oak has been found in general too close in the grain to bend into planks for tlie sides of ships, andevt;n for the same reason it is fourd to snap when used as ribs to a ship: Its closeness in the grain is the eflfect of slow gi'owth^ owing to frequent checks by early and late frosts. Beiore agncullural improvements were so well understood as they aie of late, or occupied so much of the attention of all ranks in thiscountrj-,many mooritih tiacts of lands were deemed incapable of cultivation, or of making a reium in any other way equal to tlieir being planted. Proprietors, even in the Carse of tiowrie, and in the Stormont, being actuated by this principle, about thirty years ago, planted the waste lands of their estates with Scotch lirs. They have now found that this soil, by being wrought, will make good arable land,, and will be more proiitably employed in tilHige. Some thou- sands of acres have accordingly been cleared; the plantations rooted up; and the soil subjected to tlie plough, which now lets at a progressive rent, in some cases amounting already to twenty shiliings the acre. Betwixt Cupar, Angus, and I'ertb, a tract of thirteen miles, the plantations on two tliousand acres, . upon both sides of the pubhc road, have been grubbed up ; and the operation is still going on, both there and in other places. So powerful is the principle of imitation, that we all go frequently one way until we have gone too far. All men can imitate example, but all men cannot reason so far as to form a principle of action to themselves. In a certain degree this operation is salutary ; but if carried to excess, it will leave the face of the country naked ; and, perhaps, in all cases, the cost is not counted, nor the balance fairly stated between the plantation and the produce arising from some poor soils by an arable system ; yet it must be admitted, that no trees are equal in value tccom and grass, either to the landlord or the public, where the cultivation of these can be prosecuted with success. 5. Wastes. Estates ore of all sizes, but the greater number large. The management of the great estates was unithrmly committed in former times to tlie fiictor or chamberlain ; but agriculture has become so much the amusement of tlie country gentlemen, since the middle of the last century, that many of the proprie- tors, besides the general superiutendence of their estates, have a farm in their own possession, which they manage by an over- iieer. Many of our improvements In agriculture are suggested by the gentlemen of the army, in consequence of their remarks on the practice of other countries. The gentlemen of the law, during therecess of their courts of judicature, turn much of their attention to the cultivation of their estates ; and their habits of application to the former study, quickens their ardour, and ensures their success in pursuit of the latter. If the property be extensive, besides an overseer on the land- lord's farm, there is generally a factor or steward, and some- times two or more are appointed to manage the more distant parts of the estate. In these cases, urdess the landlord have a turn for business, he is apt to lo!« sight of the detail of his own affairs ; and if he be indolent, he has a good apolo^ for neg- lecting his interest, because he pays another person tor taking that charge off bis hand. The prosperity of the estate, and the comtbrt of the tenan ts, depend in these cases very much on the diiiptsition of the factor. The boundaries of estates are marked according to the na< ture of the country. In the valleys of the highland^, different properties are separated ^ther by substantial stone^walls with> out mortar (provincially dry stone dykes), or by a river, or a brook, or a range of rocks, or some other natural limit. The lower hills too are sometimes bisected by these walls; but more generally by bounding stones^ fixed in the ground, and set up singly ; in other instances, if the stones be small, they are piled in heaps. The higher mountains are frequently divided in a simitar manner, especially when difl%rent pro- i»rietors occupy the same side ; but when they occupy dif^^it sides of the same ridge or general line of mountain, as com- monly happens between parallel glens, their properties are determined as wind and water divides, which means the line of partition on the top of the mountain between the windward and lee-side, or as it is still more nicely marked by the tendency of rain water, af^ it falls upon the ground. A great proportion of this county is freehold. Many of the small proprietors hold of a subject superior. When a great baron m the feudal times had occasion to borrow money, he had recourse to wadsetts, or feued oS a part of his property at a quit-rent, which was greateror less, according to the amount of the premium that was paid in hand. The wadsetts are paid up ; but the feus, lieing irredeemable, remain. > S. Occupation. .Arable farms from 30 (o 500 acres. Farms in the moun- tains large, and their extent generally defined by miles. Leases seldom »iorter than nineteen years' endurance. Kent, in a few instances, partly in money apd partly in the money value of com, on an average of two or three by-gone years, accord- ing to the modem system. Tbe culture requires scarcely any remark, since there are only two kinds of aration in Scotland, that of the clay soils of East Lothian, in which a fallow and alternate com and green crops are introduced; and that of Berwickshire, which substitutes turnips for fallow, and allows from two to five years of pasture, according as the soil is weaker or stronger as resting crops. A full account of the clay- land culture has been given by Donaldson- In the mountain- ous r^oD, cattle chiefly, and sheep to a certain extent, are bred and sold for feeding in the low arable districts, and sent to tbe south of Scotland and England. 3. Gardens and Orchards. In the Carse of Gowrie, a number (perhaps thirty) of orchards of apples and pears, the Iruit of which is sold to the neighbour- ing towns. A few other parts of the coun^ adapted to open orchards, as the banks of trie Tay, Eam, &c In the valleys of the highlands, geans and cherries abound. The trees thrive well, hve long, and carry fmit of the finest flavour and most savoury taste: The cream-coloured cherry of Ardvorlich, and the black gean of Castlemenzies, are highly esteemed in re- spect of beauty and relish. 4 Woods and Plantations. The Highlands of Scotland formerly covered with wood, as the trunks of oaks and firs in the mosses, from that of Moss- Hunders, near Sthrling, to the bogs of Sutherland and Caith- ness decidedly prove. Planting did not become general in Perthshire till after the middle of the eighteenth century. The county is now distinguished by its extensive tracts of larch, common nine, and other trees, and by the enclosure of oak, birch, and hazel; copses and woods formerly leil open to the browsing of deer and cattle. Diflerent accounts have neen given of the introduction of tiie larch into this county. Dr. Rohert- son states it as "said to be brought to Athol, fromCamioIa, by oneof the Dukes of Athol." According to others, thedrst plants were obtained from a nurnory at Edinburgh, and planted at Dunkeld in 1741, having been previously introducea into Scot- land, by Ijord Kaimes, in 1734. ( Encyclopedia ofGard. Sid edit. 7053.) Some of the first planted larches in the low grounds, near Dunked, have grown to the height of 120 feet in fifly years, which gives an average of two f^t four inches and a quarter a year. It is stated by the Duke of Athol, in a rommu- nication to the Horticulniral Society, made in June, 1820, that on mountainous tracts, at an elevation of 1500 or IGOC) feet, the larch, at eighty years of age, has arrived at a rfze to produce six loads (30o cubic fcpt) oi timber, appearing in dura- DiUty and every other quality to be likely to answer every purpofie, both by sea and land. (Hort. Trana. iv. 416.) " The largest larches in Perthshire, or perhaps in several counties around it, are at Monzie, the seat of (General Camp- bell, which measure five feet in diameter, and about fifteen m circun^erence. There are larches of a great size at Blair lirummond, Gleneagles, IloKue, and many other places in Perthshire. Posts of larch, which had been put into a moist soil about fifteen years ago, seemed still to be fresh and strong. It Is only of late that this tree has been generally planted, and its excellence known in tliis country. It is the most rapid in 4G The mosses and moors of this county are very extensive, and great and successful efTorts have been made for then- improve? ment. The most remarkable is tliat of Kincardine moss,.- commenced by the late Lord Kaimes, and already descritied. (2183-) Draining, paring and burning, irrigating, embanking, and all the different mot^ of improving land, have been prac- tised ; and some, as draining and burning, to a very consider- able extent. 6. Live Stock. Breeds of cattle very various ; none peculiar to the county ; Angus, Fife, and Argyle herds common among the farmers. English, Ayrshire, and most of the approved breeds of the south tried by the proprietors. Breedmg is the chief object, and next the nutter dairy. S/ieep. The ancient breed of sheep in this county were the white^ced. They were few in number, compared to the fiocks at present; and in the highlands were housed in cots every- night in winter and spring. About forty years ago, the black- faced or mountain breed was introduced from ihe south, and bought in, either when lambs, or at a year old. Their numbers have increased beyond all expectation, since that time, over the whole highlands of Scotland. In gentlemen's enclosures wa see different kinds, according to their fancy, or the superior profit expected from one kind more than others. Horses. The original breed were ponies, twelve to thirteen hands high, and loo light for two-horse ploughs. Four of them were used abreast, as is still the case in some remote places. In the Carse of Gowrie and other lowland districts oxen were employed to draw the plough, till about 1779 ; and the horses were only employed to harrow in the seed, to carry out the dung, and bring nome the com to the stack-yard. When oxen were discharged from the])lough,it became neces- sary to purchase larger horses than were then bred in the county ; and the markets ot Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling, and Perth werfe resorted to for that purpose; which practice still conlinucs. At present some Northumberland stallions have been pro- . cured by proprietors, and lent to their tenants in order to raise' an improved breed. Snnne. The prejudice against swine's flesh was such, that, not many years ago, no highlander would touch it ; that is now fast wearing offi and the culture of swine extendinff. There is a rabbit warren at Dunkeld, and red deer and roes in one or two places. There are also three or more kinds of follow deer in the county. Bees much attended to, and found profitable. Paterson of Castle Huntley sows mignonette for his bees, which gives the honey a most delicate flavour. Rosemary does tbe same. Tbe honey of beans is pale ; the honey of heath brown. Their fla- vour IS also different. 7. Political Economy. Roads wretched before 1745: still only bridle roads in many places of the interior. No canals ; salmon fishery to a gre-rt extent on the Tay. Linen manufacture, bleaching, and va- rious other manufactures and public woiks. The principal salmon fishery is rented by Richardson firom diPTerent proin-ie. tors, and for the sum of 7000^ a year. The^e are five otlieni which produce from 100 to 200/. a yeart 3 1190 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. 7850. ANGUS or FORFARSHIRE 532,243 acres, one half, or more, of clayey and alluvial lowlandB, and the remainder mountain pasture, moor, and bog. The climate cold, moist, and variable. U is both an agricultural and manufacturing county, and in respect to antiquities, facilities of further improvement, natural productions, &c. of great interest The botanic fiimiiy of Don are of this county. A most valii. able report has been furnished by the Rev. James Headrick, and is the last of the Scotch reports which lias been published, {Headrt'ck's General View^ 1813.) 1. GeographiceU State and Circumstances. The Grampian mouniaitu abound in granite, which contains topazes, or rock cr>-stals. Quartz, mica, porcelain etone, lead, limestone, slate, jaier, somewhat similar to the Dutch hoe^ which has a long wooden handle fastened into it, and a bag of strong leather fastened by whipcord around its rim. The bag is per- forated hy small holes, to allow the water to draui oiF, and nas 8 thon^ at its bottom, by which it can be turned over, and Its contents discharged hito the boat. After the boat is firmly fastened by ancliors, extended from each end, one man forcibly presses down the scoop to the bottom, by means of a long pole at the stern of the boat, while another man, by means of a windlass, or wheel and axle, fixed in the opposite end of the boat, drags the scoop along the side of the boat, by a rope at- tached to it, and then raises it up to the boat's side, where the contents of the bag are emptied into the boat. When the boat has received her load, the marl is thrown out upon a wooden platform at the side ctfthe loch, to drain. Sandstimcjlofjt are very abundant in the neighbourhood of Arbroatli, and are een tried in the open sea, and considerable quantities taken in June, July, and August. Those earliest taken were plump and fat, which shows that all former theo- ries concerning this most nutritive and abundant of all fi .hes are erroneous, and how mucli it imports the interc-sts of Bri- tain, that the herring fishery should be conducted according to the Dutch methocL in the deej) sea, and, as in the Isle of Man, from May to September. Garvies or sprats, and spir- lings or smelts, abound in the" Frith of Tay. The sprats resemble herrings, though of smaller size, and different flavour. They arc taken in great quantities at Kincardine, and other places near the junction of the Forth with its estuary, by nets (W wicker traps, sunk in the ebb of the tide. The smelts are smaller than the sprats, and when iresh, emit a smeil resem- bling that of green rushes ,- but when fried, make delicious food. I'hey are caught during spring, along the Fortli, often as far up as the Bridge of Stirling, by nets in the form of bas- kets, fastened to the end of long poles- Haddocks, whitings, &c. cured by smoke, a practice first suggested by He^idrick, the reporter, in an essay published by the Highland Society of Scotland. Dempster, of Dimnichen, in this county, first siiggest-^d the idea of conveying salmon to London packed in ice. Reporter remembers when servants in the neighbourliood of Stirling u^d to stipulate that they should not have salmon oftener tnan thrice a week ; now they seld6m have them once a year. Bverj/ rit'er is aaid to liave its particular breed qf salmon. They have recourse to fresh water, to escape the attacks of seals, otters, and porpoises, and to get rid of tlie sea-louse, a small black animal, whose attacks seem to inflict upon them excru- ciating tortures. A few gulps of river water seem either to kill the sea-louse, or to deaden the pain it inflicts. Salmon never remain longer in fresh water tiian is necessary to efTect the pur)>oses which brought them there ; but sometimes Uiey are surprised in the rivers by long droughts, and cannot get over mill-dams, and other obstructions which lie between them and tlie sea. When this happens, they soon get lean and mangy, and d'e, their bodies covered with white worms. But in &esh water, they take various kinds of bait, and eagerly catch at flies, and hence become a source of amusement to the angler. During autumn, the salmon always run up the rivers to deposit their spawn. Tlie apawnine ofaalman seems to be a very slow and laborious process; and they get very lean, and even liecome unwhole- some food, while they are engaged in it- The scene of this operation is generally where a stream begins to Lssue from a stagnant pool, over a sandy bottom. They begin by digging a hole in the bottom, by pushing the sand and gravel l^ore them with their snouts, in the direction of the current, until they raise it into the form ofa bank, which checks the rapidity of the current, while it allows the water to percolate slowly. The male seems to exert himself most in this work ; and be- fore its commencement, his snout becomes longer and harder than usual, while, befcrc it is finished, it is often worn entirely away. ^Vhile depositing their spawn, the m^ile and female rub their bellies upon each other ; the latter throwing out her roes or eggs, while the male emits among them a milky juice, vhlch seems to efTect their imiiregnation- Afier one stratum of eggs is deiiosited in the artificiaMiollow described, they cover them with light sand, to prevent them from being washed away by the water ; and thus they form alternate layers of eggs ana sand, until the hollow be nearly (illtd up. The eggs l>eing dropped into a hollow place, are warmed into life by the sun's rays, in early spring. The fry, being ilien vtry small, easily escape from their covering of loose sand, and toon ac- quire tlie size of small troUts, and are called salmon fry, or smolts; which seeius to be a contraction of iamlel». The fir^t flood now washes them Into the sea ; and they are generally swept from our riven before the middle of May. Salmon trmit, or grilses, which ascend the rivers towards the close of the tiding season, are by some coniddered a distinct spccia of tish ; but some CajthnGsis fishers assured tlie re- porter, that they proved by expeiiinent, that grilses are only salmon of one year's growth, (wii. p. 103.) The tea trout resembles the salmon, and frequents all the streams where it abounds. Fresh, ivater eeU, contrary to the practice of salmon, breed In the sea, and thrive and fatten in the ^esh-water lakes and ponds. During summer, myriads of their young fry are seen constantly ascending ih-i fresh-water streams, where they keep near the sides, that they may avoid the current. In places where they meut with interruption, such as bi^hind a mill- wheel, they often accumulate in large masses, and fVequentI; make their way up the crevices of the building, or over the dry land, until they reach the stream above, in which they continue their course. The larger eels arc caught in Urn' countv, while they are descending the streams during autumn, probauly to deposit their spawn in the sea. The observations of the reporter on various other species of fish, and on salmon and other fisheries, are, like every thing which flows from tUs pen, new and interesting.' 2. Property. Much divided, lai^gest estate 12,000/. a year : property, at an average, changes its proprietor every forty years. Durmg the dark night of suptnrstition, a man could take no step respecting his property, or his domestic concerns, without having half a dozen or a score of priests to advise liim : and he was obliged to compound for the- safety of his soul, and the secui ity orhla Srooerty, by ample donations to the church. When a man iea without granting these donations, it was presumed to be his intention to do so ; and what was originally an alms, or favour, was claimed as a right. In our davs, a man can hardly venture upon any step of impor'ance without having a posse of lawyers at his elbow; and, after all, often finds Imnself ai &r from his purpose as if he had not employed them. 3. Buildings. Sixtv gentlemen's seats enumerated ; not many with hand- some buildin/^. Farm-houses and cottages most wretctied* and slower of improvement fiian in most other counties. 4. Occupation. Farms of all sixes, but chiefly small. On the (rrampians, estimated by the number of sheep they will maintain. 5. Jmpletnents. Did Scotch plough still used in a few remote places, and found an instrument well adapted for brealdng up waste land that is encumbered with the roots of shrubs, or with stones. At no remote period, it was usual to yoke four or six horses, abreast in this plough. The driver walked backwards before the horses, and struck them in the &ce to make them come forward. At present this plough is commonly drawn by four sometimes by SIX horses, which are yoked tn pairs, and the driver walks beside them. But, exceiH for the purposes al- ready specified, the plough which was first invented by tlie late Ijmall, near Dalkeith, and from him named Small's plough, is universally used. A ihres/iiiifr-mactdne, ofa very peculiar construction, adapted to very high falls of water, erected at Howmuir, by Stirling, an ingenious man; but is not yet perfected, and if it were, could never become general. A picA or lever with a tread, used in the same manner as a fork or siiade, for loosening hard earth or gravel : in fdct it may be called a one-pronged fork. 6. Tillage. Fallowing general. Seed-wheat washed with a ley of sof^ Eoau, to remove the smut. Potatoes introduced to the gardens in 1745, but not to the fields for many ye;irs afterwards. The iRte Dr. Walker, Professor of Natural Histoi'y in the Univer- sity of Edinburgh, was in the habit, especially during vears of scarcity, of using yams in place of bread in his ownYamilv. He cut them into thin slices, and either boiled ihem over the fire, or dressed them in the f/^ing-uiin with as much butter as prevented the pan from burning. When dressed in this way, their ta-.te was very pleasant ; and they were used in ^I cases where bread is commonly used. 7. Garden-! and Orchards. A great p ^judice in favour of covering wall trees with nets, to preserve the blpssoms from the frost : woollen nets i»re- ferred. 8. Woods and Plantations. Few woods, but many plantations. In the mosses the trunks or large trees found. 9. Rural Economp. Farm-servants live chiefly on oatmeal, and notatoes and mdk. Their breakfast is porridge, whidi is maae by stirring meal among boiling water, or mifk, in a pot over the tire, wi.h a little Ealt ; and when it cools it is eaten with milk. Or they use broee, which is made by jtouring warm water upon meal, in a wooden dish, with a little salt, taking care to stir it well. This too 15 eaten with milk, or with beer which is furnished in place of milk, when the latter is scarce. Sometimes, when they are in a hurry, they mix the liquid with the meal in a cold state. Their usual dinner is oat-cake, witli sometiines butter or skim-milk clieese, and milk. Their supptr is the same with breakfast, except that sometimes thL-y ure sowens or potatoes, in the place of jwrridge or brose. Butcher's meat is only used on particular occasions; and fisli by those who are near the rivers and the sea-coast. Much ridicule has been thrown on tlie Scotch, on account of their immoderate use of oatmeal. This has h-en repre- sented as inflainbig their blood, and proihicing their favourite disease called the Scolch,flddle, and other cutaneous eruiitions. But oatmeal is as much used hi some dihtrirts of England as inany partof Scutlatul; and cutaneous enuitioiu sue much Book I. AGniCULTURE OF ABERDEENSHIRE. 1191 more frequent In Bome of these districts than they ore here, where they are selilom or never heard of. The latter oiijfht rather to be ascribed to dirtir linen or clothing, tlinn to oat- meol, or any uartlcular species of food. Oatmeal, when It Is sulBdently diluled with any sort of ti()uidf is known to be a laxative aperient, wholesome, and at the same time a stren^itnung food for those engaf;ed in hard labour. Engi- neers, who superintend the excavation of canals, have assured the reporter, that those labourers who lived entirely upon oat- meal and milk did a third more work than those who used butcher's meat, beer, and spirits. All of the former saved monev, while many of the latter involved tliemselves in debt. As this sort of work is done by the piece, it affbrda a fair 7851. KINCARDINESHIRE or MEARNa 243,44* acres* chiefly of mountain, but containing about one third of culturable surface. The climate is severe and hilly. The soil is gravelly, mossy, or clayey,' and scarcely any where naturally fertile. The only minerals are lime, found in a few parts, and granite, whin, and freestone. Improvements commenced in this county about the middle of tlie eighteenth cen- tury, and have since been carried on with great spirit {Robertson's General View^ 1795.) 1. Prope^-ty. In few hands j larsest estate 40,715 acres, the rest in eigh^ or ninety estates. comparison, not only of the who'cnomeness of oatmeal In promoting health, but of Itit )>ower in supnjjinf* labour. All families that have a noiiHe of their own use tea and wheaten bread ; but among cottagers this is a rare and always a ceremonious entertainment, at cnrbtenings and other solemn occasions. Several agricultural societies : the first founded by Dempster of Dunnichen, an eminent improver. An account of ihe na- tive plants and animals of the county by Don, the cetubralcd Scotch botanist, who resided at Forfar, pos^ies-ses gte&x interest for the naturalist. Indeed (he whole survey ranks, in this re- spect, with that (£ Farcy of Derbyshire. 2, JSuitdings. Some old farm-houses still remain, bililt of stone and turf, and in all respects wretched ; but as leosi^ are renewetl, new farmeries are erected on the most improved plans, with com- modious dweltidg-houses. So much cannot be said of the cottages, -which have undergone very little alteration in struc- ture, for a long space of time. The habitation of the termer may have advanced in el^ance and accommodation a hundred fold ; but the cottager still lives in the same simple kind of fabric as his ancestor did in tlie most remote ages of civilis- ation. A cottage built of stone and turf, or more generally of Btone and clay, commonly consists, like the ancient farm- house, of two apartments divided by the furniture. In each of these there is a tire-place and a window. The fire is still without a grate ; but the window has two, and in some cases four, panes of glass. The house may be about thirty feet in length, and twelve feet (seldom more) in breadth, in the in- side. The walls never exceed six feet in hLd;;ht; and the roof is covered first with thin sods, and next with thotch, carefully renewed from time to time, and tied firmly on with straw ropes. The whole lias much the appearance of a low hay-sow, Evny cottager has a little garden or kail-yard ; and many of them bestow much care, and show no little taste, in its cul- tivation. Besides reusing difterent kinds of coleworts, cab- bages, onions, carrots, &c., for the pot, they frequently have rows of gooseberry and currant bushes, together with roses and other flowering shrubs* Some of them decorate the walls of their houses with honeysuckles, or with ivy ; and in some in- stances with cherry and apple trees> 'Vhe furniture m a Meams cottage consists, in general, of two close wooden lieds, which are so arranged as to make a ■eparaCion between tvro apartments ; one or two wooden chests for holding clpthes ; a cask for holding meal ; a set of dairy utenrils; an iron pot or two for cooking the victuals ; a girdle, or heating iron, for toasting the bread ; and a few dishes, some of wood and some of stone ware Two or three chairs or stools, and a a press or cupboard for holding the crockery ware, and the bread, the cheese, the butter, and, at times, the whisky bottle. A tea equipage, on a small scale, has also of late become an indispensable article of cottage fur- niture; for tea-drinking has now found ita way every wTiere. It seems to be gentle species of ebriety, which sets the imagin- ation and the tongue at work, without incurring the imput- ation of drunkenness, or breaking any one precept, human or divine. Wheiever it is once introduced, it ket'ps Its ground as certainly as snuff or tobacco, and becomes nearly as inveterate a habit; but happily it serves as an article of food, at the same time that it is a luxurious gratification. The value of the furni- ture of a cottage may be estimated at from ten to twenty pounds. ^ The cottagers are moderate and plain m their food ; but the; are not so m their clothing. Hardljr any thing but English manufacture will serve them. At kirk and at market, it is difficult to distinguish the man from the master, and still more so, the maid-servant from her mistress. Either the one or the other have seldom less than (ivejiounds worth of clothes, and oflen twice that value, on their back at once. The village of Laurence-kirk was founded by the late Lord Gardenstone, about 17(iO, and in 17S1 he procured a charter by which it was declared a burgh of barony, There is an excellent inn here, with a library and museum for the use of the traveller. There is a manufactory of sycamore snuff- boxes ; and the lands in the neighbourhood have been raised in value &om ten shillings to three and four pounds per acre. 3. Occupation. Arable farms of various sizes ; man; small ; some 400 or 500 acres> Hill pastures let in tracts by the thousand acres. One farm occupies 30,000 acres. Leases formerly let on periods of two, three, and four times nineteen years, with sometimes a life-rent anei' ; of late the term seldom exceeds nineteen or twenty-one years, unless when great improvements are ex- pected to be made by the tenants. The arable land is culti- vated under Judicious rotations, in which either turnips or fallow enters, according as Hie soil is light or ctavey. The mountains are devoted to the breeding of cattle. There are few or no public gardens or orchards, but great extent of young plantations, and some patches of native birch and hazel ccm- S'ce. The cattle ore a small, hardy, kindly feeding bre^, orses of tlie Clydesdale variety are reared by many tormers, and most kinds of improved stock have been tried. Bees are generidly kept. There is a good deal of sea-fishing, and some valuable salmon fisheries ; but excepting ropes, nets, canvass, &c. ttiere are no manufactures of any consequence. 7853. ABERDEEKSHIRK 1,270,744 acres, one sixteenth of Scotland, and one fiftieth of the area of Great Britain. The surface for the greater part not rery irregular, but hilly and mountainous in the dis-. trict adjoining Inverness-shire : the soil in general clayey and moory ; the climate milder in winter than that of Middlesex, owing to the circumambient sea, but the summers short and cold : the agricul- ture assiduously pursued, and the products chiefly corn and cattle ; — great part planted with trees. The report of the county is more than usually intelligent, and contains two preliminary sections, on the lessons which other counties may derive from Aberdeenshire, and on the improvements which this county may derive from others. Aberdeen exhibits a successful example of spade and plough culture combined, in the small holdings of tradesmen, mechanics, cow-keepers, and gardeners ; and may profit from other counties southwards, by greater attention to collecting manure, employing women and children in the lighter ope- rations of husbandry, and limiting tenants to a certain number of subtenants. The celebrated Dr. James Anderson farmed extensively in this county at Mounie, now the property of his eldest son, Alexandeif Anderson Seaton, a distinguished horticulturist. IKeith's General VieWt 1811. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) the money expended upon them Nothing will prove such an allurement as good buildings, and long leases on equitable tenns." Since 1794, when Dr. Anderson wrote the above para- graph, we have got farmers from Berwickshire, Angus, Meams, and other southern districts, who have taken farms in Aber- deenshire, and many of whom have shown excellent examples in agriculture, as well as improved their own capital ; and the native farmers of the county, in consequence of their example, both in requiring good houses, and in raising good cropSj are now in a much more nourishing situation. 4. Occupation. The greatest diverdty in the size of farms ; from six acres to thousands ; scarcely a mechanic, journeyman, or master, who has not a farm of one acre or two, or a garden; besides the produce, they find the labour highly conducive to health, by counteracting the effect of in-door confinement, and prolonged unfavourable bodily postures, or contaminating respiration. 5. Implements, Turnips formerly sown from a small tin box, nine inches long, and one inch square, with two or three holes at one end, through which the operator shook out the seeds ; thinned by a part of the blade of an old scythe fastened to a bit of iron like a common hoe ; the advantages of the latter are its sharimeis, but it is easily broken. A child's cradle rocked by water. 6. Evcloswes Stone fences, or ditches and earthen banks, the common fences ; this frees the land from loose stones, which abound every where, or serves to drain it. 7. Arable Land. Potatoes, as well as various other improvements, first intro- duced to field culture after the calamitous year 17R2 ; not liked by fiirmen. so well as the turnip. The rqiorter tried various experiments in distilling from potatoes, whicli arc recorded In 1. (jreosraphical State emd Circumstances. NometaTs or coal, and very little limestone, but abundance of excellent granite, which is used for every sort of building at home, and exiwrted to London in great quantities. Besides the durability, there is one other excellence attending the use of this stone ; the expense of carving it has simpllfieu the style of architecture. The Braemar mountains abound with caim- gonns and other precious stones; some topazes and beryls nave been found, the latter of great value. 2. Property. Much divided ; only two or three large estates. Lord Aber- deen's the most valuable, consists of 50,000 arable acres, and 35,000 waste. a Buildings. A number oi ruined castle* and religious buildings, and a few handsome modem houses.. An ample descriptive list of gentlemen's seats, which are very numerous. Farm-houses, formerly wvetch«l stniclurea of clay, turf, and thatch, axe now greatly improved ; cotta^ improving. " Decent farm- Itoiua " first be^in to be thought of about 1760. In 1794, Dr. Anderson observes in his report of the county on which the present one is founded, that they are " for the most part verr nnni.. ITiiK ■ viz. Vi.% showed it to have grown and increaaed in size for 229 yearst besides the time tMt it continued stationary. Its wood was declared, hi all who saw It, to be much superior in qua'it,> to any that h.id '-ver been imjiorted fVom the north or Euroiiei There are thousands of pine trees in Bracmar, some of \\ hich are nearly six feet in diameter, which are superior, xo puini of quality, to any wood of that denomination that was ever im- porietl into any place in Great Britain. 10. Improvements. Trenching has been already mentioned : wl'ifain three miles of Aberdeen, above SOOO acres trenched ; some acres paid 5(1/. per acre for granite bowlders for exportation. Practice of trenching very general throughout the county. Irrigtmaa adopted on poor iron-stone clay, not worth two shillings per acre, but raised In v ilue to two pounds. The ope- rator brought from Gloucester, by Ferguson of Pltfour. 11. Live Stock. Mate cattle bred than In any other county. Scotch cattle first irnproved by crossing some English cows sent down by Henry v 1 1, to his eldest dauiihter, queen of James IV. The produce was known as the Falkland breed. Williamson's three brothers sell annually about 8000 head of caitle of varioun breeds, in ttie south-country markets. They decidedly jireter the true native, unmixed, and raised by good keeping, to the mixture of the Falkland, or Fifesbire breed, with that of this county; and consider both these to be much superior to the English, or to any foreiini breeds. They justly rtmaik, tliat the food, or keep, should be always above the breed, and not the breed above the keep. They consider the small highland cattle, whicli are generally t>ouglit le tied up, but allowed to feed loose, in order to get gentle ex- ercise along with his food ; that the second year he may be jtiit to high feeding, and be tied up, and may be continued with this high feeding as long as he seems to ttuive; but that he ought to be killed whenever he loaths his foodj ox appears to be sickly, or not thriving. The sheep few, and of a mixed breed. Horses are nanve ponies, or purchased from Clydesdale. Poultry very common ; great demand for eggs, both for the At>erdeen and I.ondori markets. Ked deer m great numbers in Braemar, and roes on the hills of Cromar. 12. Manvfactures. County long celebrated for its woollen manufactures. About 1660, (larden of Gilconeston, a wealthy sheep farmer and ma- nufacturer, had a daughter, who married Lieutenant Cadogan of Cromwell's army, who afterwards was made a peer, and firom whom sprang the Duki; of Richmond, Earl of Jjeicester, Lords Cadogan, Vernej-, Holland, C. J. Fox, and the heads of other eminent £)nglish lamilies- Woollen, linen, and cotton, now extensively manufactured. Knitting ox stockings and spinning lint formerly common, but little attended to since tlie introduction of macmnery. 785.^ NAIRNSHIRE and MORAYSHIRE, forming together 512,000 acres of mounuinous surface, and some narrow arable vales, are included in one survey. The climate along the Moray Frith has always been noted for its mildness, which is partly owing to its localities, and partly to the general prevalence of a dry sandy soil. On the mountains the climate is more severe. Lead, iron, lime, marl, freestone, slate, &c. are found, but the first two are not worked at all, and of the others, only the freestone, to any extent {Leslie's General View, 1810.) 1. Property. In very large estates ; as, for example, those of the Duke of Gordon, and Earls of Findlater, Moray, Fife, and Lord Cawdor. 2. Buildings. Considerable as ha? been the alterations in the houses of proprietors, it is nothing to that which has taken place in those of farmers. Prior to the year 1760, in the dwellings of tenants there were neither floors, ceilings, nor chimneys. In a few of them, the low wall was rudely raised of stone, and clay mor- t -r, and had a small glass window ; in one only of the apart- ineiits was any plaster, and it was raked over the walls in the most artless manner; a loft, on wliich the roof rested wiUiout any dde wall, distinguished a very few of the most respectable habitations. There was in general but one fire (which served all domestic occasions) in the apartment, where the servants and master, with his wife and maiden daughters, lived and fed tt^ether. In the higher parts of the district, matters were much worse. Now, upon every farm of ariy consideration, the buildings are substantial, commodious, and neat. 3. Occupation. As in Kincardineshire ; but the arable lands being generally light, the turnip husbandry Is more prevalent. It is a singular fact, that in an island in a lake, Loughnadurb, in this county, the turnip is found more plentifully m a wild state than any wliere else in Britain. This island contains a fortress, and the reporter conjectures that turnips being introduced at an early period from the Continent, the small plot of ground within the ■walls could not be occupied by any crop more convenient for its temporary inhabitants than that of turnips and coleworts. It may be conjectured that the last crop, probably sown from 5(W to 400 years ago, had never been gathered. Until of late the turnips in this island sprung up aimually in a thick bed. without culture. The root, in some favoured situations, ft is said, had been found of one pound weight; but they resemble in general the wild kind, havmg a long root iike a small radish, of acid juice, and a rough pointed leaf. Some plants of red cabbage were also distinguished among them. Both were used as pot-herbs at the tables of the country people, on which ac- count they were sometimes raised in their gardens. When they began to run to seed on this island, young cattle were fer- ried in to feed on them. The Kev. Francis Forbes, minister of Grange, has seen rentals of the family of Crai;.'jvar, from which it appears that turnips were paid as an article of rent in the end of the seventeenth century. The quantity (about 200 bushels) shows that they must have been applied as food for cattle. By the famine which unfortunntelv took place at that period, how- ever, every agricultural branch of industry was so deranged, that this important object, instead of being extended, was, even there, wholly abandoned. The cultivation of turnips, as a food for cattle, was first in- troduced into this district, from the ftonnty of Norfblk, by the late Larl of Findlater, about the year 1760. When the artificial grasses and herbage plants were intro- duced, only r^ular gardeners were employed to sow them ; now common country operatives perform the operation. Few orchards; apples imported from England; a few natural woods, and extensive artificial plantations. In general it may be observed^ that in this, as in the other counties of the north, every description of improvement has been tried, and s-dch m are tound to answer, as draining, burning, brigation, planting, road-makmg, &c. earned to a great extent. AH the improved implements have been tried, and the reporter even proposes an aUdmon to them, in the form of circular harrows; the circle of cast ifMi, and the tines of wrought iron, screwed in or fastened with nuts and screws. (See fi^. 7787-1 There is a good deal of hshing earned on along the coast, and in the Moray Frith. foindfbit oAlybuilding-stone. and lim*e are ^&%'dcTS^s afrl^My^^^ilS^ """■"""" '"'" yPloperta. '"""iBiBe of the stale of aericnlture In these snd oOier norlh- Is in te» liana., and till of lato underuent but few chansc!. em oonnlies, previously lo ifie tebellioi, in the year 17« cm lis There arc no sources of uiforination from winch a precise ilcrivcdi butfcmi what 11 ha£ bcanfacc that time, mull about Book I. AGRICULTURE OF SUTHERLAND. 1193 1760, It may safely be concluded, that agricultural knowledge v/as neither sou;{ht for nor di^ived. The mode of manaKement which has Iteen iiractised in these (»innties, and in other parts of the highlands, and which has been handed down from father to son fin many generations, is still to be found In the midst of the most improved districts. We still see the aniiile land divided into small crofts, and man; of the hills occupied as ctmmons. On the west coast particularly, the ground is scon covered with heaps of stones, and larf;e quantities are col- let-ted on the divisions lietwccn the gelds ; so that a consider- able portion of the land> capable of cultivation) is thus rendered useless, by the indulgence of the most unpardonable sloth. The management of the native farmers is most destructive. The soil or one field is dug away to be laid upon another; and crop succeeds crop, until the land refuses to yield any thing. It is then allowed to rest for a season, and the weeds get timeto multiply- Such, we must suppose, was the system of Arming before uie rebellion ; we cannot Imagine it to have been worse. S. BuildinM. The old hiehland tenantry bu« universally HI accommodated. They live in the midst of glth and smoke ; that is their chuice. But wherever fiuros have been laid out on a proper scale, and ere occupied by substantial and well-educated men, we find the larm-houses and offices handsome and commodious. Every proprietor who wishes to see his estate rapidly improved, will erect suitable buildings, at his own expenscf before ne invites a eood tenant to settle upon it. The interest of his money will e cUways cheerfully paid; and if the landlord agrees that the repairs snail be mane at the mutual expense of himself and his tenant, the latter will thrive, and the former will never have to demand his rent twice. The present race of highland tenants will yet find themselves much happier, and more com> fortable. In tlie capacity of servants to substantial tenants, than in tlidr present situation. The dwellings of cottagers are not worse than thone of the native farmers. The same roof covers men, women, children, cuttle, dogs, Pigs, poultry, 3ta. Jt must afTbrd great pleasure to every lover of his country to observe the neat cottages Uiat are erecting in evtry part of the country j but it win be long ere the people will learn the comforts of cleanli. ness and the use of chimneys. In many places where these have been constructed, the people do not use them, but prefer breaking a hole in the roof of tnc house, and lighting their fire on the floor. Smoke, they say, keeps ihem warm. The oecwpation and management of land Is the same as in other mountain dtetricts. Some gi'ain, chiefly oate, is raised in the low groumts, with root and herbage crop>, and the pastures ore devoted to tiie breeding of cattle and shi.ei). Every im- iirovement is tried by the principal proprietors; and enlifjiitened armers from the south of Scotland, accustometl to breeding, induced to settle on their estates, by long leajtcs and moderate rents. Ftom these the smaller nadve farmers take an example sooner than they would from the operations of ju-oprietors, which they are apt to consider as at least of dulious value. When a rent-paymg farmer, however, adopts pliins new lo them, tlie case is very diffurent. Of woods, in this dlstTict, there are very few; but many plantilions have l)een lately made round gentlemen's scats, especially Lord Seaforth's. Jii 1821, Colin niackenzie, Esq. of Kilcoy, planted ^00 acres with 5000 trees ; the sorts, oak, Scotch pine, larch, .aider, birch, ash, and some ornamental trees. {Highl. Soc. Trana. vol. vi. p. 258.) The greof p(M roads in this district have been made, in ^art by government, and in part by the proprietors- Thtre is a cotton manufactory at Cromarty, and the reporter suggests the idea of manu&cturing tar from the trunks of fir trees, found bedded in all the mosses of this and otlier highland districts. 7855. CAITHNESS. 395,680 acres, three eighths of which is deep, mossy, and flat moors, covered with heath : three eighths mountain, moor, and some hilly pasture ; and the remainder in cultivatable land, lakes, &C. lliere is very little wood, either natural or artificial ; but excellent lime and freestone. On the whole it is one of the coldest, wettest, and most dreary counties of Scotland ; and is in no way remarkable, unless for being the scene of Sir John Sinclair's practical attempts at improvement Of these the chief seems to have been the enlargement of the town of Thurso ; of which, and of various other schemes, ample in- formation is given in the report, and in a number of appendices to % by Sir John himself. {Uenderson^s General Vtew^ 1812.) 1. Property. Is in a few hands, and the Irish practice of tacksmen tenants exists, and has existed from time immemorial in tlie county. These tacksmen, as they are called, generally occupy a part of the land themselves, and sub-let the remainder to the snrtall fanners, for a certain money-rent, payments In grain, customs, and service (the latter in many cases unlimited) ; so as to'have, upon the whole, a surplus rent for the trouble and risk of reco- vering their rack-rents from the sub-tenants. A few young men from the south of Scotland have been brought to this county, to superintend the proprietors' farms or domains, for the purpose of introducing the practice of modem husbandry. These, from time to tinie, hare taken farms in tliis county ; but whether their a^icuUural skill was superfi- cial, or that they did not understand the mode of farming best adapted to this cold and moist climate, they have neither in- creased the cropsi nor improved the landlords' farms placed imder their dir..ction ; nor has thrir industry or skill produced better crops on their own farms than what is raised by a similar classof the county farmers, who have never been out of it. 7856. SUTHERLAND. 1,872,000 acres, chiefly of mountain and moor; and a climate about a fort- night later than that of Edinburgh, The greater part of the county is the property of the Marquess of StaRbrd, whose astonishing, masterly, and successful improvements tiave been amply detailed in Loch's work, from which we derived so much information for Staffordshire and Shropshire, and to which we again recur. {Henderson's General View, S[c. .LocJi's Improvements of the Marquess of Sta^-d, Sgc. 1819.) The principal faxmen in the county under review are intelU- gent gentlemen, who have been for some time in the army, or ibl- lowed other avocations, either in the southern counties tiS Scot- land or in England, who work their farms upon the iirinciples of modern agriculture, .is practised in the southern counties of Scotland, as far as the state of the county, as to climate, roads, the means of improvement, markets, &c. will admit, but at a much greater expense than is done to the southward, and. of course, much less benefit to themselves. In general they have other sources of income, which enable them to live in a social and comfortable state in society ; they arc better educated than farmers paying a similar rent m England; agricultural know- ledge, therefore, is soon circulated amongst them. The smaller class of fanners, with but tew exceptions, are in- dustrious, sober, sagacious, and moral in their behaviour. They have, unfortunately, a turn for litigation, and expend more money than they ought to do in law, by which their circum- stances are often ii^uxed. The ettatei of Sidlterland have only latdy undergone that change which began to operate in England as far back as the reign of Henry Vil. This change had for Its object the cre- ation of a middle class, by the depression of the barons and the raising up of the next class of the community. This object was gradually and succ^sfully accomplished in England by the time of Queen Elizabeth, and in the south of Scotlimd soon after the union of the two kingdoms: but the highlands, or most northerly counties, undorwent no change till me discom- fiture of the pretender, and the abolition of the heritable Juris- dictions then existing in the north, in 1747. This invaluable act having brought the highland chieftains within the pale c^ the law, and placed them on the same footing as the other gentlemen of the land, they began rapidly to acquire the same tastes, to be occupied with the same pursuits, to feel the same desires, and to have the same wants as their brethren in the south. In order, however, to indulge the^e propensities, and to be able to appear in the capital with due oTect, it was ne- cessary that they should convert their estates to that mode of occupation mostsuiied to their circumstances, and from which they could derive the greatest income. Luckily in this, as in every otber instance in political economy, the interest of the individual and tlie prosperity of the state went hand in hand. And the demand for the raw material of wool by the English manufacturers, enabled the highland proprietor to let his lands for quadruple the amount they ever before produced to him. These arTangemcnts continued to be carried into effect from time to time, in the southern and central highlands, up to about the commencement of the French revolution war ; not always, however, without serious resistance on the part ta the peoplcu The turrOiem higlilandt ttill renmned to undereo thai change tvhich IJie rest qf tlie itlatid had alreadu adopted. In this disti-jct it naturally began to be followed in the counties situated near- est to those into which it had already been introduced. In RoRs-sbire, accordingly, it was undertaken on a great scale, in 1792. The dissatisfaction produced was so great, that the most serious affrays took place, and the milttanhad to act, and blood was shed before quiet was restored. Between that time and 1815, thegreater portion'of the coun^ of Sutherland, belonging to liord and I^dy Stafford, was arranged according to those plans so universally adopted. This ancient condition of society prevailed longer on the estate of Sutherland than in any otiier part of the island, on account of its difRcult acccts across the Dornoch and other friths, and the total want of roads in the county till 1809. The estate of Sutherland [fis- 1131. a, a, a), includingthebiirony of AssyntfA, A, bj, and the late purchases made by the Marquebs of Stafford, up tQ IS 19, was computed to contain more than 800,000 acres. The estate of Lord Reay (c) is more than half that extent ; it wa? purchased some time ago by the Marquess of Stafford, and an.f nexed to his own estate. The residue of the coun^ belongs to different smaller proprietors (d to n). In 1809 was begun a line of road, conducted according to the best principles of the art, and made in the most perfect manner, from the town of Inverness by Beauly and Dingwall, to the boundaries of the county of Sutherland ; two excellent stone bridges, consisting of five arches each, having been built across the Beauly and Conon rivers. The two principal ob' structions these roads had to contend with and to surmount were those which were occasioned hy the two fiiths of I)amoch {,Pg. 1 131 . 1.) and of Loch Fleet (2). The former, especially, presenti'd obstarles of considerable moment, arising out of the width of the channel, and the want of a proper foundation on which to construct a bridge. If the same plan had been fol- lowed in this instance, which has been adopted on the two southern ferries, namely, of ascending to the point at which the frith terminates and becomes a river, it womd have carried the road so much into the interior, as to counterbalance those advantages which are at all times obtained by the substitution of a bridge in the place of the most perfiect ferry which can be ^tablished. To avoid either of these inconveniences, a very ^™id survey of the whole frith was made j and the engineer, i. elford, determined to recommend the construction of an iron Midge of magnificent dimensions (See an engraved view in the Ed. Encyc.) at Bonar, a point where the frith narrows itself considerably, and above which it again expands, though not to ita former dimensions. This structure consists of an exten- sive embankment, with two stone arches of fifty and sixty ffeet 5E?">"^^tively; and one iron arch of 150 feet span. It cost 13,971*. From this point, the heritors of Sutherland have con- structed a road (4, 4) to Tongue (c), the seat of Lord Reay, smiated upon the Northern Ocean. In many places, these ro^ are cut through the hardest rock : in others, they are obliged to he supported on t'Ulwarks of solid niasoniy. Expensive drains to protect them from the mountain floods, and orldges over the innumerable streams that rush from the hills inevery direction, ore required. These 1194 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE- Part IV. miut be (brn»d of the m«t dumbb matertaU. «.d the bert , tht« br|'»8«'^'S ."SS" ^& W^'S**^"?^!^!^ S workmaiuhlp. to nsUtlhe impetuosity of the toirents. No- ""« "^L?! K.f^hK twS rf tw^We? bSde« ^^ thing will set this in so strikinR a point of view, as to state, that t?">*Ho«^,'i? °^K*^,d £5 Stafford uiwntlie projected road to A^ntra distance of forty-six mUa, I of Inferior dimensions, would be requirea. un »e o«. «iu 1131 . NORTHEENOCE/»-N estate excellent Inns, often combining farmeries, have been huill in a number of places at an enormous expense. As an example, we may refer to one C/i(f. 1132.) contammg an outer kitchen and servants' stair {a), with a pantry {b), two best par- lours, with mov;ible partition for preat occasions (c), principal entrance ((0. a small parlour (e), small room (/), kitchen (ff), back kitchen and servants' stahr (A). Over are five bedroomSi and nine garrets for beds. Thus, in the course of twelve years, has the county of Sutherland been intersected, in some of its most im- portant districts, with roads, in point of execution superior to most roads in England. And owinR to the equally praiseworthy exertions of the counties of Koss and Inverness, on tlie one hand, and of Caithness on the other, the same perfect means of communication now exists, from the burgh of Inverness to the town of Thurso upon the North Sea. Fetv districts of Scotland possess so small a proportion of land fit for cultivation, compared with its extent, as Sutherland ; and previously to the year 1811 but even a smalt portion of that was brought into cultivation. Each shore is fringed (if the expression may be used) with a narrow border of arable land, which, on the Kiuth.east coast, extends from a few hundred yards to about one mile in breadth : the interior consists entirely of mountains. The lands were let to tacksmen, as in Ireland, till in latter times, when a certain district was let to the whole body of tenants resident in each " town or town- ship," who bound themselves, conjointly and severally* for the payment of the whole rent. This land waa held, as expressetl in Scotland, " nm rig," or like com- mon field land in England. The eftect of this arrangement was to scatter thickly a hardy, but not an industrious race of people up the glens, and over the sides of the various mountains ; who, taking advantage of every spot which could be cultivated, and which could with any chance of success be applied to raising a i>recarious crop of interior oats, of which they bnked their cakes, and of here, from which thev distilled their whiskey, addet all the domestic animals belonging to the establishment. The upper iiorlion of the hut was appropriated to the use of the family. In the centre of this upper division waa placed the fire, the smoke from which was made to circulate throughout the whole hut, for the purpose of conveying heat into its farthest inttremitics. The effect l-eiiig to cover every thing with a black glossy soot, and to produce the most evident injury to the a]>pearance and eyesight of those most exposed to its influence. The floor was the liare earth, except near the fire-place, where it was rudely paved Mlih rough stones. It was never levelled with much care, and it soon wore into every sort of inequality, according to the hardnessoflhe respective soils of which it wascomposed. Every hollow fcormed a receptacle for whatever fluid happened to full near It, where it remained until absorbed by the earth. It was impossible that ft should ever be swept ; and when the accimulation of filth rendered tho place uninhabitable, an- other hut waa erected in the vicinity of tlie old one. The old Book T. AGRICULTURE OF SUTHERLAND. 1195 rafters irere used In tTia construction of the new cottage, and tliat which was abandoned, formed a valuable collection of manure for the next crop. The ititrodMtion vfihtpatato, in the first instance, proved no hles^g to Sutherland, but only increased this i^tate of wretch- ednettK, inasmuch aa Its cultivation required less labour. So lonR as this system iust descrlbtiA remained in full force, no attempt could be made to improve or meliorate the situation of these poor people. To better their condition, however; to raise them fVom such a state of continual poverty and occasional want J to supply them with the means, anti to create in them the habits of industry, was, and is the bounden duty of the owners of every such pro])erty. And it was not less their du^ to do so, because the same arrangement which was calculated to produce this salutary elftet, was at the same time ihc best suited to increase thu value of their property, and to add to tlie general wealth of the commimity. Tnefumlamental piindfle qfagriaittural improvement In this case was derived from no speculative reasoning, but from what has actually taken place in a diiferent but similarly circum- stanced part of the kingdom. Jt is well known that the bonlers of the two kmgdoms were Snhabited by a numerous population, who, in their pursuits, manners, and general structure of society, bore a considerable resemblance to that which existed in thebifihlands of Scotland. >Vhen the union of the crowns, and those subsequent transac- tions which arose out of that event, rendered the maintenance of that irregular population not only mmccesaary, but a burden to the proprietor to whom the land bcloneed, the people wera ren^ov 'd, and the mountains were covered with sheep.- Ho that it had been for a length of time proved bv the experience of the stock formers of those mountain tracts which comprise the northern districta of England, and the southern parts n f^cot- land, that such situations were peculiarly suited Tor the main- tenance of this species of stock. Taking this example as their guide, experience had still further proved, tliat the central and western highlands of Scotland were equally well calculated for the same end. Reasoning from this succeM, and observing that the climnte of Sutherland, owing to its vicinity to the ocean, and to its being considerably intersected by arms of the sea, and much more moderate than this latter district. It was fairly concluded that this county was even better iitted for this system of management than the heif^lits of Fcrtlishire and InvemesH- shire. The Inferior elevation of its mountains con- tributed still tiirther to this effect, and held out every encour- agement to adopt the same course which had been pursued with such success in both parts of the kingdom. The propriety qf converting the mmintaitioiu parts of the county into aheep-n-alka was in this wav rendered evident, provided the people could bo at the same time settled in situations, wheroj by the exi-rcise of their honest industry, they could obtain a decent livelihood, and add to the freneral mass of national wealth, and where they should not be exposed to the recurrence of those privations, which so frequently and so terribly afflicted them, when ^tuated among the mountains. The principle t^prmndmg for the longer eltua (\f tenants In/ the ^^bUahment qfjitheria was tJms derived : — It had long been »."own, that tlie coast of Sutherlfind abounded with many oiiTCTent kinds of fish, not onlv sufficient for the consumption or the county, but affording also a supply, to any extent, for more distant markets, or for exportation when cured and saltod. Besides the regular and continual supply of white fish, with which the shores thus abound, the coast of Sutherland is annually visited by one of those vast shoals of heriings which frequent the coast of Scot- settle there. Such is tlie policy of Lord Slaffhrd's opera- tiotis, in which he has expendi^d, and continues to ex- pend, independently of the cost of improvemenis on the mansion (,^f^. 1134.) and park of Dunrobin, immense sums. Happily the success has equalled the most sansuine expecta- tions ; but for tlie very interesting details of execution, our limits oblige us to refer to the work of I^ch, which, as alreadv observed (7795.), we consider of very singular agricultuval mterest. jana. It seemed as if it had been pointed out by nature, that the system fbr this re- jnote district, in order that it might bear its suitable importance in contributing ita bhaie tothe general stock of the couniy, was, to con- vert tlie mountainous dis- tricts into sheepwalks, and to remove the inhabitants to ^he coast, or to the valleys near the sea. Stveral sea- P rts were improved by the instruction of piers (,/fg. 11^. a) and brrakwatera (A) ; and the plan of a town being fermerl, the inn, ehurch, poRt-office, market- nlace, and other public ■ buildinp, were erected by Lord hutherland, and the most liboral encMmragement Riven by loans »if moncv, grants of land at litllf or no feu duty, fee. to fishprs, manufacturers, tradismcn, &c., both on a large and Small scale, to ccine and 1134 1196 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV 7857. I^rVERNESS-SHIRE. Upwards of 7,000,000 of by far the most mounteinous region in Scotland. It reaches from sea to sea on the main land, and comprehends many islands, which are scat- tered far and wide. The hills and moors were formerly covered with fir woods, the remams of which ai e dug up in all the moors in abundance. The climate is rainy, mild on the west coast, but less so on the east. The soil of the vales ia loamy or gravelly. The principal economical minerals are granite, lime, stone, and slate ; but lead, iron, marble, &c. have been found in different places. The county is remarkable for its native tir woods, and for that stupendous national work, the Caledonian Canal. IraprovemenU were first commenced about Inverness by Cromwell's soldiers. {Robertson^s General View, 1810.) sby( 1. Propertp. In few hands ; larsest. Lord Macdonold, of the Isle of Skye, the onlj nobleman who re^des in the county . The mounUihi farms are large, and, as in similar cases, reckon by miles, or by the number of sheep they are bupposed to cany. 3. Gardens and Orchards. To be found in a few places ; and someoldpear tree9,plantcd by themonks, are still in a bearing state at Beauly, andoncor two other places. There is an excellent fruit and forest tree nursery at Inverness. S. Woods and Plantations. The Scotch pine, for the most part, took possession of the south Bide of the valley, and made choice of a northern ex- posure ; the birch, the hazel, and the oak, occupied the warm- est side of every district; while the alder and a few ashes ran along the streams. Not only the continental parts had this natural mantle, but the islands of this country appear, fVom the fragments of trees found in the mosses, to have ueen at some remote period, mostly, if not wholly, under forests. The only remains of growing wood at present m the iitlandR are at Portree and S'ate in Skye, and a little in the island of liaasa- Trees were burned or felled to make room for men, by en- lar^g the pasturage of cattle, and affording friish Kurface for corn. At present the Scotch pine covers more surface in this county, than all the other kinds of trees taken together ; and the natural pine-woods of Invcmess'Shu;e exceed the quantity of this wood growing naturally in all the rest of Britain. In Strathspey alone, it is reported, upon authority which cannot be called mto question, that fifteen thousand acres of ground are covered with natural firs. On the south-side of IVochar- kaig, of Irlengarry, of Glenmoriston, Strathglas, Glenstra- faras, and at uie head of Loclisheil, as mentioned above, the bounds of country imder this wood are reckoned by miles, not by acres. 'D\e oak woods of this coun^ are not so large, nor so well taken care of, as they are in Perthshhre. There are extensive birch woods, the timber of which is used for fencing and the coarser articles of husbandry, and the bark for tanning. 4t Live Stock. Cattle ate of the Skye or Kyloe breed, usnallv, however, known as the highland breed, and already described. (6796.) The cows yield only half the quantity of mil£ of the breeds of the low counties; generally from two to two gallons and a half; but it is rich, and productive of butter of excellent flavour. The diseases of highland cattle are few. The manner of disposing of catUe is as follows : When the drovers, from the souin and interior of Scotland, make their appearance in the hii^hlands, which always happens during the latter end of April, or ths beginning of May, they give intimation at the churches, that upon a particular day, and in a central place of the district, they are ready to nuTcha.se cattle from any who offer them for sale. The drovers are of two descriptions : either those who buy by commission for persons of capital, who, being diffident of their own skill, or averse from fatigue, choose to remain at home ; or those who purchase cattle on their own account. Much address is used on both sides, to feel the pulse of the market at these parochial meetings, before the price of the season is mutually settled ; and it may happen, that many such small trysts or meetings take pWe in tUtfbrent parts of the highlnnds, before the price be finally determined. The anxiety on both sides is sometimes so great, that the cattle are given away upon a conditional contract, that if the price rises within 7858. ARGYLESHIRE. 2,433,000 acres ; the eleventh part of Scotland, and the thirtieth of Great Britain, and nearly the whole of the Scottish kingdom from A. D. 503 to the subjugation of the Picts in 843. The surface of the country is rough and mountainous : in the northern parts « Alps piled on Alhs hide theu: heads in the clouds." The climate is moderately mild, very moist in the vales and on the coast, but cold and severe on the elevations. The soil of the vales is generally light ; the minerals are copper, lead, iron, coal, strontian, freestone, granite, limestone, marble of several difTerent colours, slates, &c., but the two first are not worked at present. There are numerous bays, inlets, and lakes, in some of which excellent fish is caught. The county is in no respects remarkable in an agricultural point of view: it furnishes immense quantities of cattle and sheep to the graziers and feeders of the south • and there are some oak coppices and artificial plantations. iSmith's General Vieui, 1810. Edin Gaz. 1827 ) a Ilmkedtime, the seller will receive so mnch more; but it the lean catUe fell in value, the drover will get a reduction. Shtep are extensively reared, and generally of the Linton or Lammermuir black-feced sort. The Cheviots arc also very , prevalent - Horses either the native pony or Improved breeds from the low countries fiirther south. Roes are frequent in a wild state in all the woody and warm fflens. 5. Political Economy. Hoads and bridges have bi-en going forward at the expense of Government ever since 1745, and earlier; and the Cale- donian Canal is well known for its magnitude and the excel- lence of its execution. There are various fisheries on the lakes and coasts ; but few manufactures. Asoneof the olistaclcs to improvement, common to thlsand the other highland counties, and indeed to every county, the reporter mentions the stubbornness of the common people, in ailhering obstinately to old and slovenly habits. As men rise in years, the reluctance to make any uncommon exertions, and particularly to introduce change into any thing, which relates to their personal accommodation, gradually grows upon them. Having oeen long accustomed to a certain course of employ- ment, of gratification, of lodging, of dress, and of food, they resist strenuously the relinquishment of any of these habits ; they move on in the current of human life mechanically, like a wheel, without any apparent alteration in their motion, unless it be accomplished by some external force ; and, if left to them- selves, they never change their course. This propensity to remain the same men, and to rptain the same customs, is more unconquerable among the illiterate and ignorant, than among the learned or enlightened part of mankind. By means of 6o> ciety, of conversauon, and of reading, the latter acquire an enlargement of the mind, to which the former are strangers ; and if they be accustomed to reflect on what they hear and see, they are always more ojien to conviction. 'When that mulish- ness of the disposition, which, whether in the rich or the poor, the uncultivated oi the refined, is still the child of ignorance, takes fast hold of the mind, it becomes so obstinate, that it can seldom or never be removed. Its universality would lead to theopinion, that it is an original principle in the human frame; its progressive influence, which increases with age, and the apofogy which such men urge in their own defence, that their fathers did such things before them, would imply that it is the effect of imitation. The reporter, notwithstanding the above sentiments, goes on to state that he considersthattheprospcrity of the wotlu would be more promoted by the steadiness and obstinacy of men living in error, than it would be by a spirit of Kckleness, and a desire of change. It mi^ht easily be shown that the real meaning rf" such a sentiment is, that those who are already prosperous, that is, those who have alreadv a sufficient share of the good things of life, will stand least chance of losing what they have, while things remain as they are. The prosperity of the world, it unfortunately happens, has hitherto been too frequently un- derstood to mean the prosperity of those only who are already prosperous. 1'his state of things is in the natural course at the progress of society from darkness to light ; but it will pass away in its turn, and the time will come when the prosperi^ of a people will really mean what the words Import. When this time arrives, what the reporter would probably call fickle- ness, and a desire of change, will be found to have had some share in bringing it to pass. 1. Properti/. In the hands of 156 owners. Farms of the smaller size reckoned by acres, the largest by miles. One, supposed to be the largest m Britain, is eighteen or twenty in length, by three or four miles in breadth ; several contain from two to six square miles : object, as in Inverness- shire, the breeding of cattle chiefly, and next sheep. 2. Ifnprovements, Have been made by most of the proprietors : some plans of farmeries are given by the reporter. One is circular, and con- sists chiefly of cattle sheds ; but the elevation is of that mongrel Gothic, which is displayed in most of the modem highland chateaus. The fin-share or Argyleshire plough (2618.) wasin- vented in this county by the reporter. 3. Woods and Plantations. There are about 30,000 acres of coppice, chiefly oak, birch and hazel, which, being now valuable for the hark, and the poles to be used as spokes for wheels, is beginning to be en- closed from the sheep by stone walls. The Duke of Argyle is the chief planter, and his larch plantations are of great extent, and contain an immense quantity of valuable tunber. The Oldest and largest of the trees at Inverary are supposed to have beOTi planted by the Marquess of Argyle between the years 1660 and 1660. Those of the next largest size and age were raised trom the seed by Archibald Duke of Argyle (called a iree- monger by Walpole), in 1746 or 1747. These consist chiefly of larches. New England pines, spruce and sUver firs. 4. Live Stock. Cattle, the west highland breed ; the best in the districts of Argyle, Lorn, Hay, Colonsay, and Mull. Slieep, till lately, much neglected. Horses, a hardy native breed, larger than the pony. 5. Political Economy. Roads as in Invemess-ablre. A canal from the coal works In Campbeilon to the sea : ffew manufactures. An agricultural society at Kintyre. J.^^hSltA^I^SSi'^'«^''-^mt?yV"'^^^^^ 300 i''^""'. ^Sh'y-'i'' of which which the contin^iul part of Scotland is t'^r^Tet'l^i^^r^^^°^^, ^i^Zt(re:.S:eJet great abundance ; and coal has been found in various places thougK it has not Sn rccessfullv wOTk(i Steatite, or soapstone, from which porcelain is manufactured ; fuUers' earth" and rBrea^Tariety "f otha Book I. AGRICULTURE OF THE HEBRIDES. 1197 economical minerala, besides rare and curious species, 1796. Macdonald's General View, 1811. Edin. Ga%. 1. Property. Inthehands^for^-nlnepropiietors; highest rentel 18,0001. and acres 312,600. A great many tacksmen. Those or Ila; are saiA to " combine with the spirit and elegant hospitality indigenous to this counts, the accuracy in dealing, the punc- tuality in paving, and all the useful qualifications of first-rate low counO^ farmers. It must not be forgotten, in mentioning the order of tacksmen, that they are exceedingly useful^ and often necessary, for maintaining good order and government in the country. Without their aid, the efforts of the clergy and officers of justice would be painful and unavEuling: and uiere- fbre they ought not to be rashly hanLshed, were they to be viewed in no other light than merely as subsidiaty to the police and moral administration of the Isles. 2. Buildings. Farm-houses throughout &.e Hebrides are either houses of tacksmen, of tenants, or subttmants. Tacksmen's houses, though still far behind those of considerable farmers in the principal counties of England and the lowlands of Scotland, are, how- ever, in ^neral, beginning to be tolerably decent and comfort- able; and on ul the large estates th^have been very much improved within the last twenty-fiveyears- Most of them are now built of stone and lime, and roonid with blue slates, two stories high, and furnished with kitchens and other accommo- dations. In many instances* indeed, the office-houses are still in a deplorable statei but even these are rapidly improving ; and should this order of fiumers exist for halt a century; longer, th^ houses wilt, probably, be as commodious, and their olnce- houses as juditnously planned, as tliose of the same description of men in any p^ ot Great Britain. The houses of the occupying tenants are, generally speaking, wretched hovels, and those of the subtenants nasty and miser- able beyond description. Pennant describes them as habit- ations made of loose stcmes, without chimney ordooiSj excepting the faggot opposed to the wind at one or other of the apertures pemuttuig the smoke to escape in order to prevent the pains of suffocation. Furniture corresponds : a pot-hook hangs aom the middle of the roof, with a pot banging over a grateless fire, filled with £ire that may rather be called a permission to exist than a support of vigorous life: the inmates, as may be sup- posed, lean, withered, dusk?, and smoke-dried. It cannot be denied, that this picture is, in some d^^ree, realised in a few of the Hebrides> even at the present day. The cotta^ in the Hebrides are almost universally so miser- able, both in plan and execution, that they deserve mention oidy as pioofi, that a sensible and sagacious race of men may, by a combination of unfavourable circumstances, not only be gradually brought to endure privations, which, to their equals in other countries, would seem intolerable, but also, in the course of time, they may lose the power, and even the will, of surmoimting them. Three fburuis of the 40,000 cottagers of these isles live in hovels which would disgrace any Indian tribe; and many of diem are found on islands of the first rank in point of population and extent. At least 7000 of the natives (S Lewis (for instance) know no- thing of a cMmney, table, glass window, house floor* Ing, or even hearth stone, hy thdr own experience at home ; and what we call their furniture 1^ as may be imagined, wretched and scanty beyond description, cor»sponding vrith their shabby ^terior. In tne woods of the park at Bute were formerly fine specimens of Swiss cottages and other &ncy wooden buildings. {Jig. 1135.) 3. Occupation. In estimating the sizeof Hehridean &rms, the com- mon plan is to attend to three leading objects : first, the number of live stock which the farms in question can maintain; secondly, the number of bolls of grain which can be sown, or of plouglis requisite for their tillage; and, thirdly, the quantity of ketp that can be made upon them. Grazing forms, whether for sheep or cattle, must gradually oeenlaiged; and keIp,or merely a^cultural tannSt must as naturally become limited and confined in point of extent. The hay on many of the grass- forms, and sometimes the com on arable grounds, is obliged to be dried by hanging on poles, trees, ox rods {Jigt 1136.), as in Sweden. 1136' are found in different islands. {Headrick*s Survey, mi.) The clotvminkt or wooden tongs, for drawhig thistles, &c. differs little ftom those in use in England. 5. Arable Land. Tillage is in Its infancy over the Hebrides, In all the isles northwaid of Mull; excepting half a dozen forms in Skye, a fiart of M'Leod, of Kasay's estate, two forms in Uist, and a ittle lately done in Lewis, near Stornaway, and by Campbell, of Islay, on a small island between North Uist and Harris. These improvements have been carried on within the last fif- teen years- It would be rather ludicrous than usefiil to describe the til- lage generally practised in the Hebrides ; and, accordingly, we shall not dwell upon it, or insult the common sense of the na- tives, by seriously requesting them to abandon the many barba- rous customs which have so long disgraced their countiT. A man walking backwards, with his face towards four horses abreast, brandishing his cudgel in their noses and eyes, to make them advance to their enemy, followed by a ristte-plough em- ploying a horse and two men, the three commonly altogether superfluous, still followed by four horses, dragging clumsy har- rows, fixed by hair ropes to their tails, and a1 most bursting their spinal marrow at every tug and writhing of their tortiured car- casses. All this cavalcade on ground unenclosed, undrained^ 4. Implements. Some are nearly peculiar to the Hebrides, as the caschrom or crooked spade ijig- 1137.), which, in two parishes in the Isle of Lewis, entirely supersedes the use of ploughs in the raiting of com and potatoes. The great advantage of this in- strument is, that it enables the operator to work in mosses or bogs, where no horses can walk, and in stony ground inacces- sible to the plough. Many districts of Hatris and of Skj-e would be unsusceptible c^ tillage without it. Its superiority to the common trenching spade, or to any tool which penetrates the ground peipendlailarly, is very great, resulting both from the ease with which fhe operator wields it, and the length of the horizontal clod which its powerful lever enables him to turn over. The ridUt or sickle plough (a sort of paring plough), is used far cuttbw the strong sward oi old land, or the tough roots of plants, which would Otherwise greatly impede the passage of the plough. and yielding at an average little returns for the seed sown, and sometimes uist altogether by the depredations of cattle, or by accident in a late harvest, is a barbarous spectacle, which must gradually vanish. It will soon rive way, as it has already done m Islay, Colonsay, and part oi Skye, to improved systems of tillage. 6. Gardens and Orchards. It is not to be expected that much should be done in garden- ing, in a district of which by for the greater part of the propri- etors are non-resident, nor is the climate suitable for that art. The winds are too violent, and the sun too shy of showing his face. Until trees and other sorts of shelter become, therrfore, more general, the gardens and orchards of the Hebrides will probably be little more than an empty name. 7. Woods and JPlantations. in the sixteentli century it appears most of these isles were covered with woods, and even so late as Buchanan's time. One exhilarating remark, however, occurs to the traveller who traverses those bleak and woodless recesses, amidst the melan- choly impressed upon him by comparing their present aspect with the description which he reads in Buchanan and Monro, namely, that where trees have formerly grown they will i;row again; and that anv regions which were once sheltered and adorned by the hand of nature, may still be in a far higher de- gree improved and embellished by the industry of man. In Bute the late Lord Bute, in Islay Campbell of Shawfield, and in Skye Lord Macdonald, have planted extensively and successfully, and other proprietors are following the example. The present Marcpiess has almost natuxalised the turkey in th« plantations of Bute Park. 8. Live Stock. The ancient Hebridean breed of rattle is now no longer to be found. Some persons imagine it to be the Skye, others the Mull, and others again the Lewis or Long Island variety. A Seison habituated to accurate observations on cattle, can easi^ istingulsh those different breeds from one another, and au oi i them from the larger breed now uitrodnced into tolay. Colon- 1198 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. say, and some parta of the Loni; Islanil, espcclnlly Barray, bv ^rtions wlio pay attention to m) important a department of attrcstic economv. Sheep. Only lately attended to. There are now tliree difrer- ent breeds to be met witli in almost all the lar^t^r Islands, viz- 1. The natlTC aboriginal bvecd, common to the whole Helmdea forty years ago, and still more numerous than the other two brwds taken logetJ\er ; 2. The Linton, or Wack-faccd sheeji of the south of Swtland ; and, 3. The well known, fine-wooiled, Cheviot breed. The historian Lalnp has a large flock of Me- rinos in the Orkneys. , ^. , Hor*ea. The Hebridean breed of horses resembles that which we fintl In almost all countries of the same descriplion of cli- mate and surface. It ia small, active, and remarkably durable aud hardy. It possesses tlie prominent marks of pertectloii in this sort of animal, i. e. it is strong and nimble, of a ROod form and proper size for Its work, healthy, patient, Kood-tempered, and very easily kept in good condition. It is found in tlie Highlands of ScoUand, in Wales, Norway, Sweden, Switzer- land, Tyrol, Hungary, and Transylvania, and with little va- riation in shape and size, in all the hilly districts of Europe. The averaite height of what are deemed sLzeablu horses is from twelve to thirteen hands ; but that of the lower tenants* horses in Mull, Jura, and the northern isles, rarely exceetls eleven or twelve hands. They are handsomely shaped, have Email letts, larne manes, little neat heads, and manifest every Bjmptom of activity and strenffth. The common colours are grey, bay, and black; the last-mentioned colour is the favourite. Excepting in Islay, and in a few gentlemen's farm.s, not ex- ceeding two dozen in number in all the Hebrides, very little has liitherto been done fin: bringing this breed to perfection, or preventing it from degenerating. The breeding of liorses for sale Is not carried 6n to A consi- derable extL-nt in the Hebrides, nor does any of them export at an average of ten years more than it imports, excepting Islay, and perhaps Arran and Eig^;. Hose. Considerable numbers of hogs are now reared in the Hebrides, where the ancient prejudira against pork has gradu- ally vanished, since their more intimate connection with the lowlands of Scotland and England. Goate still maintain their ((round on several islands, and in certain circumstances constitute a valuable stock. But wher- ever wood is to be reared, aud enclosures guarded and preserved with attention, they must be banished; for, being more a browsing than gra^ung animal, the goat will strain every nerve to crop twigs and planla of every description, and U o mortal enemy to every species of growing woods. Nen> epedea, or wrletiea ofatnck. KxceptinR the asa, and per- haiis the mule. It is not clear that this extensive region would gam by introducing any new sorts of domesdcated iinimala ; indeed, the great want felt by the Hebrides is not tlvitofani- mals, but or food in winter and spring for those which they possess. The native breeds of cows and horses are, perhaps, the very best possible for the country to support, and may, bv due attention to feeding, and to selecting the strongest anil handsomest pairs as breeders, be Improved to an indelinite pitch of excellence. The breeds of shcup already recommended and described may be improved, and reared to tivc tlni> s their present numbers, without seriously injuring the agriculture or other interests of the country ; and a vast accession of wealth and food miifht accrue from breeding a competent number of hags, for which these isles, abounding in potatoes, are ex< tremely well adapted. But all these improvements must go on progressively and slowly, and they must advance in the train of other agricultural and economical improvements. 9. Political EconoTny. Roads much wanted, antf, excepting in Bute, Islay, and Skve, In a very wretched state- No iron railwajs or canals. No equal portion of European population, not even excc])tlng the Hu so few manufactures as the people of the Western Islands of Scotland. This is, amon^ other causes, a principal source of poverty and depression ot the people. It makes the little mo- ney acquired by the iisheries, and drawn in exchange for black cattle, kelps, and the other producitionii of the district, conti- nually flow out of it, and prevents that gradual advancement in wealth, comfort, and agricultural and economical improve, ments, which are conspicuous in all other parts of Scotland * and although it does not absolutely keep these isles In a quies- cent state, it greatly retards their progress. Kelp is a well known Hebridean manufacture, and is in an advancing; state. Macdonald, of StafFh, is distrnguislied tor his attentions to this branch of Hebridean economy ; and has accordingly preserved for his kelp a character, which enables him to dispose of it at a higher price than the average of the Hebrides obtains, lliis results principally from its being begun early In summer, its being duly attended to in the i.atriage and drying of the sea-weeds, and especially its being kept clean and unmixed with clay, sand, stones, and all other imiiurltles, which greatly diminish the value of kelp on many Hebridean estates. 7860. The ORKNEY ISLANDS are thirty in number, and contain about 384,000 acres. Many of them are uninhabited, and only afford pasture for sheep. The soil is generally peat moss or bog, but sand, clay, and gravel are found in some of the valleys. The soil is seldom more than one or two feet in depth, lying on a bed of rock. Husbandry is in a very backward state. The plough used is generallv the single-stilted one ; the manure is chiefly sea-weed, and on the quantity procured the farmer relies for his crop. The plan of husbandry is to till very shallow, and to harrow sparingly. Faliows are rarely u.sed, and a proper rotation of crops never followed. Black oats are sown about April, and barlev early in Mav ; the crop is generally gathered in August ; and ^ it remain "till after the beginning of September, it is frequently lost from the violent gales and storms which follow the autumnal equinox. Except some stunted birch and hazei trees, and a few juniper bushes, scarcely a tree or shrub is to be seen ; the chmate is variable, and not healthy ; violent storms of wind and raiii, mingled with snow, visit the islands even in the month of .June, and check the progress of vege- tation. From the shortness of the days in winter, the sim in December and January not being more than four hours above the horizon,very little agricultural work is done in that season. The summer days are proportionably long, and it is light enough to see to read at midnight. The pnncip'il animals are small horses, black cattle, sheep, pigs, and rabbits. Thesheep are very numerous, and it is calculated that there are above 50,000 In the islands ; their flesh is, however, coarse and dry, and, from their proneness to feed upon sea-weed, it has a dis- agreeable flavour. Till within the present century, the Ork- ney sheep were suffered to run wild about the hills, without any care being taken of them ; when in this state, the weight ot the entire carcass rarely exceeds twenty-five or thirty pounds, and the wool seldom one pound and a half: when carefully treated, however, they grow much larger, and the flesh becomes very good. Une of the greatest curiosities In these Islands Is the circum- stance of large seeds being treouently wasihed on shore bv the Atlantic. They are called Molucca or Orkney beans, and are supposed to beof American and West Indian origin. Pods of the Mimdsa scdndens are the most common. Strange fishes, marine shells, and even exotic fowls, are also sometimes cast on shore in violent weather. There are many varieties of wild fowl in the Orkneys, and eagles are not only common, but so large as to make great havoc among the lambs. The Islanders have a law, by which every man who kills an ea^le is entitled to a hen from every house in the parish where it was killed. The corhy (Cdrvus Cdrnix) is also a dangerous enemy to the newly dropped lambs. The inhabitants on the coaat live by fishing and making kelp. The staple article of trade In the other parts of the isiands, is wool, which used formerly to be torn from the sheep by the fingers; the sheep are now shorn, and as they are never smeared (except when actually ill of the scab)^ the wool is remarkable for itst-oftneas. {Bdin. Gia. 1827. Blukie on Sheep Uusbajtdry in Orkrtej/, in Tram. HiglU> Hoc. vol. Iv. p. 599. 7861. The SHETLAND ISLES are about eighty-six in number, of which forty are inhabited; the whole contain about 48,000 acres, nearly equally divided between pasture land and arabla The climate is very humid, and cold northern and easterly winds are extremely prevalent. Winter may be said to occupy fiill six months in every year, and if the harvest is not over in September, the crops are generally spoiled from tempests. There is atireat diversity of soil; often deep moss on a bottom of sand, though sometimes the moss or peat is only a foot thick on a bed of clay. There are scarcely any trees or shrubs, ex- cepting Juniper, and occasionally a few mountain ash ; the roots of large trees are, however, often discovered on digcnng deep into the ground. Turf and peat are used for fuel. The Shetland horses are well known; they are very small, rarely exceeding ten hands in heiitht, and are celebrated for their spirit, and their power of enduring fittigue. The cattle axe also very small, though thev fetd well, and weigh astonishingly heavy, in proportion to me size of their bones ; they give gene- rally about three English quarts of milk a day, though in rich pastures they sometimes produce double that quantity. The number of sheep kept in the Shetland Isles is calculated to be between 70,000 and 80,000. The wool is very short, and though generally fjni^ is sometimes nearly as coarse and hairy as that of a goat. The islands are well supplied with fish, and have multitudes of aquatic birds ; the Inhabitants are much annoyed by eagles and other birds of prey ; there are no rivers, but abunh breed of cows is almost extinct, and their place is supjilied bj the short-horns and other breeds from England. Fuel iii scarce and dear ; peat and bog ofLen cannot be procured, and the tenant is obliged to substitute straw, or any other combustible material thatne can get. Thore is a con^derable salmon fishery on the liffey, in which also abundance of eel and pike are caught. There are sea fisheries of herrings, white nsh of different kinds, and oysters both in natural and artificial beds ; the shells of some of the fed oysters have been found as large as a horsesof its turf and the fineness of its pastures. But the cli- mate of ICildare is said to be more moist tlian that of any other part at Ireland, which, if the statement be correct, is a very unfavourable circumstance, as a clay soil prevails very gene- tallv, and much of it is (xceetlingly tenacious of moisture- There are a few iar^e etlaieg in Kildare, particularly the Duke of Leinster'g, which extends over a thira of the county ; and several proprietors, according to Wakefield, have from 6000/. to 7000/. a year ; yet many are less considerable, and property seems to be more divided here than in most r and turnips ; the two latter, however, not generally. The soil is mostly light; but in some parts it is rich and deep. Few or no manufactures. The principal river is the Shannon ; and there are a number of beautiful lakes well stocked with tish ; the trout in Lough Dim are said to have an emetic quality. One of the largest of the lakes is full of wooded islands. There are few large estates, but many gentlemen of mode- rate fortunes, from 2000/. to 3000/. a year, most of whom are resident. The leases aie commonly for twenty-one years and a lift, tbongh in some instances for thirty-one years and three lives. A great many fine long-homed cattle and long-woolled 7874. LONGFORD, 234,240 acres, in great part bog, mountains, and w^te ; the climate on an average ^ving 140 dry days in the year. {JVak^ld, ^c. Svp. Encyc. Brit.) Landed property is in estates of from 3000/. to 7000/. a year. Xjeases are commonly for twenty-one years and a life. Farms are, for the most part, very small, where tillage is the principal object ; but only a small proportion of the district is under the 7875. LOUTH. 177,926 acres, mountainous towards the north, but in other parts undulating and fer- tile, with little waste land, no considerable lakes, and a great number of gentlemen's seats, of which Col- lon is the chiet (JVak^ld. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) It is chiefly occupied in grazing, in which the resi- Lry almost exclusively em]^loy the farms which thej plough, dent gentry retain in tLeir own hands. Some linen manufacture. Irfnufa/jn-opeifi/ is in estates from 1500/. to 2000/. per annum. Farms are, in general, larger than in mt^t other parts of Ire- land; but there are still many very small; in some parishes, scarcely one above twen^-five acres,jmd in others they do sel- dom extend to eighty acres. As the land is chiefly occupied in tillage, little attention is paid to the improvement of cattle and sheep; ofthe latter, though a few are kept on most farms, the number is inconsiderable. Wheat and oats are the prin- cipal com crops, barlE? being very little cultivated. The other crops are potatoes, flax, and a little hemp. Clover and turnips are idmost confined to the farms of proprietors. It is only on these that the general management is good ; that of the com- mon &rmers being, for the most part, slovenly ; and their lands requiring heavy dressings of lime and marl to keep them productive. Yet a spirit for agricultural iihprovement has lately happily appeared in this county, and many of the tenants are in easy circumstances, well clothed, use meat in their fa- milies, and in every thing but their houses and fai-m buildings are in a condition superior to that of their brethren in most other parts of Ireland. It is common to renew the leases some time before the old ones expire, so that the tenants are not often changed ; but fines are frequently paid on these renewals, which carry away much of the capital that should be applied to the soil. Tithes are very seldom taken in kind ; their value is as- certained about the end of harvest, and the tenants grant their notes for the amount, which, though payable in November, is, in some cases, not exacted tilt almost twelve months after. The linen manufacture Is carried on to a considerable extent. 7876. WATERFORD. 454,400 acres, the greater part hilly and mountainous, but rich and productive on the south-east ; the climate so mild, that cattle sometimes graze all the year round. ( Wak^eldt Cur- wen, §-c. Sup. Encyc. Brit.) Some very large estat^ of which the most extensive belongs to the Duke of Devonshire. Leases are commonly for twen^- one years and a life ; and on the banks of the riven, where the I^nd is most valuable, fkrms are small. According to Wake- field's information, " In this county, when the eldest daughter of a fermer marries, the father, instead of giving her a portion, divides his fenn t>etween himself and his son-in-law; thenext daughtergetsonehalf of the remainder; and this division and subdivision continues as long as there are daughters to be dis- posed of. In regard to male children, they are turned out Into ttie world, and 1^ to shift for themselves the best way they can." The rent is chiefly paid from the oroduee of the dair\-, which Is conducted on a greater or smaller scale over all the county, and from the pigs, which are partly fed upon its offals. Some of the dairy farmers, most of whom are in easy circum- stances, pay 1000/. a year of rent ; and a great deal of butter is 7877- CORK, 1,048,799 acres of Irish plantation measure of greatly varied surface , bold, rocky, and mountainous on the west, rich and fertile on the south and east, romantic and sublime in many places, and one fourth part waste, ( Wakefield. Townsend's Survey of Cork, 1810. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gax. 1827.) The tlimntt ts mild ; hut a very general opinion exists that it is changing for the worse. The rivers of this county flow with rapidity for the most part ; a circumstance unfavourable to their being rendered na- Tirable, but presenting many eligible situations for ^e erection of^machineiy. The most vi^ul Jbtiiti are limestone, marble, and slate ; coal and ironstone have been discovered, but not worked to any ex- tent. RttateB are generally large ; tillage farms are very small, sel- dom fUiove thirty acres : and, when tliey are larger, often held 4H made, even among the mountains, where small cows, suited to the nature of the pastures, form the principal stock. In the neighbourhood of Waterford, cows were let for sixteen iiounds, eighteen pounds, and even twenty pounds, for the season. There are very few sheep, and those ot a bad descriiition ; and, comparatively, but a small portion is in tillage. Where lime is used as a manure, it must be brought from a distance, as there is no limestone to the east of Blackwater, and it costs upwards of five pounds for an acre. Orchards are numerous on the banks of this river, and extensive plantations of timber-trees have been formed in various parts. Furze is so much used as fuel, that whole fields are kept under this shrub for the pur- pose. Hogs are an important branch of trade at Milford Haven ; glass and salt the principal manufectures. in partnership, -and the shares of each further diminished by the common iiractice of dividing the paternal possessions among the sons. The leases used to be for thirty-one years, or three lives ; but of late the term has been reduced to twenty-ona| years, or one life; and the farms, instead of bwng let out 'to middlemen, who used to relet the land in small portions to 6c- cupiers on short leases or at will, are now held in most cases by the occupier from the proprietor himself. There is here the usual minute division of tillage lands, cultivated by thte spade. in preference to the plough ; the usual dependence on potatoes, as the common and almost exclusive article of food ; with miser,' 1202 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. able cabins, crowded with filth, povcrtj, and Indolence. The crom are potatoes, in favourable situations, succeeded by wheal and oats, tat one or more years ; sometimes barley follows tlie wheat. Flax Is cutttvatefl In many small patches. Hemp very rnrely. Turnips and clover are seldom to be seen on tenanted lands. Sea-sand, sea-weed, nnd lime, form a useful addition to the stable and form-yard manure ; which Is, however, in many cases, allowed to b« washed away by the rains, and fjreatly re- duced in value by careless management. Faring and burning is practised in every part of the county, as an established mode of preparation for ttie first crop In the course. The implements of husbandly are generally bad : the common Irish plough and harrows, seldom furnished with iron tines, drawn hy horses or mulfr., and. In a few instances, by oxen ; wheel carriages have become common. A considerable numlier of dairies are kept In the vicinity rf the city of Cork, where the produce, in the shape of butter and skim -milk, finds a ready market. In general the cowsj whicn are dhiefly of the half Holdemess breed, are let out to a dairyman, at a certain rate for each, by the year ; yet many farmers conduct the business of tlie dairy tiieinsel vta. The average number of cuw s in a dairv may be from tliirty to forty. A tew tihoep are Itept on evi-ry farm, commonly in tbt- ters, and upon the moKt worthless ijabtures. Proprietors have introduced stranger breeds, and nnd them to answer; but sheep can never become an object of importance In a district where farms are so small. Tillies, of which no inconsiderable part are lay property, are generally paid by a composition with the farmers. The usual mode is to have them valued before harvest, and to appoint days of meeting with the parishioners, for the purpose of letLin^ them. The principal manufactures arc Fail-cloth, duck, canvass, and drtlling ; osnaburfn for negro clothing ; coarse wooUens ; spirits at several large distilleries in Cork; and gunpowder in the neiglibourhood of the same city, the only manu&ctory of that article in Ireland ; it belongs to Government. 7878. TIPPER A RY. 882,'-98 acres, diversified with heaths, mountains, and fertile vales ; of which the Golden Vale is among the richest land in the kingdom. The climate so mild, that cattle graze out all the year. There are 36,000 acres of bog in this county, including part of the Great Bog of Allen. From the survey made by Mr. Ather, under the direction of the commissioners for enquiring into the nature and extent of Irish bogs, it appears that this waste land might be easily drained. (fVakeJield^ Sfc. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Ediii. Ga%,) Minerali. Slate, lead, and coal are worked. EatfUes are of various sizes, some of them very large, but a greater number of a medium extent, worth from 4000?. to 60001. a year. Of tlie proprietor^, the influence of Lord Llandalfis by &r the most considerable, though several others have estates worth &om 10,000/. to irjflQOt. a year and upwards. The graziers here, as in Roscommon, have leasehold properties, fre- quently of much greater value than the freeholds, of which, also, they often become the purchasers. Properties of this de- scription, worth from '2000^ to 4000/. a year, are very common. Tillage farms, however, are generally of small extent, one of ninety Irish acres being tliought large ; yet the management is, in many instances, more respectable than in most other parts of Ireland. But the principR) business is grazing, every variety of this kind of land being found here. The exemption of graz- ing land from every kind of tithe operates as an encouragement to persevere in this system. Leases are commonly for twenty- one years and a life. The cattle, which are [oiin-homed, may be ranked with the best in Ireland, and many of th'- fine flocks of long-woolled sheen are not InfMor, in. Wakefield's opinion, to those of liClcestersnlre. The rich lands proiluce a kind of flax, very difterent from that which is raided in the north : it grows to a great lielght, and appears to be exceedingly wdl adapted for sail-cloth* The manufacture oF broad-cloth is carried on to some extent at Carrick ; and that of linen, worsted, and coarse woollens, as branches of domestic industry. But the wealth of this extensive district chiefly consists in its cattle and sheep, com, and other land produce. 7879. LIMERICK. 622,975 acres, of Tow-lying fertile lands, surrounded by higher grounds. fieldy %c. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) (Wake- Laruled property is in large masses, generally let to tacksmen, on long leases, and sub-lst almost ad iitfinitum. The land seems to be of greater yearly value than in most parte of Britain at a distance from large towns i for, according to Wakefield's in- formation, the green acres would have let. In 1808, for three guineas the Irish acre, or almost forty shillings the English. Considerable farms brought five guineas the Irish acre, and in some instances more. Thcrent of tlie mountain land had in- creased in a still greater proportion than the grazing and com farms. One grazier held land of the value of 10,000/. a year; and in one season slaughtered, in Cork, 800 head of cattle. Maiw of the best long-homed cattle of the United Kingdom are fiittened here, and also a considerable number of sneep. Two-vear-old wetiiers sold then, without their fleece, at from 21. 10«. to 31. Only a small proportion of the land is in tillage ; the produce of this, and some of the adjacent counties, in proportion to the seed, is stated by the same autiior to be at a medium : of wheat ten, bere seventeen, barley twelve, oats nine, and potatoes ten. Hemp was fonnerly cultivated extenNively on the rich low grounds, called the Carcasses, on the banks of the Shannon ; but this tract is now occupied in grazing. Flax of an excelUnt quality for sail-cloth is still grown in several parts. The com* mon term of leases is thirty-one years and three lives. Great fart of the provision and com trade is possessed by the city of limerick. The soil is remarkably fiertile, and consists chiefly of fine mould covering a light limestone gravelly soil : it produces all kinds of grain in abundance. 7880. CLARR 962,560 acres, nearly half productive land, and the remainder moors, mountains, and bogs, with more than 100 lakes interspersed. The climate, though moist, is not unfavourable to health and longevity; fevers, which sometimes prevail to a great extent here, being occasioned chiefly by the dampness of the houses, and inattention to domestic and personal cleanliness. {Button's Sutrvey of Claa-e, 1808. Sup. Enct/c. Brit. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) Limestone abounds, and coal, ironfitone, black marble, lead, &c., have been found, but not worked. Landed property is in a few large estates, of which the moat noted was that bGlonging to the Marquess of Thomond's heirs, lately sold and divided. The aixe offarnw varies greatly. Those under tillage are from one or two acres to fif^, but of the latter size there are few. Grazing farms extend from 100 to 800 acres, several of which, and sometimes in distant situations, are held by one in- dividual. Frequently several persons join in the occupation of an arable farm, and nave about ten acres each. The general term of leases from proprietors is for three lives or thirty-one years ; sometimes, but not often, for three Uves and thirty-one years; twenty-ohe years or one life, and twenty-one years and a life. The tenure of under tenants is variable, and often arbitrary. All the difTteent species of grain are cultivated with consider- able success. Rape and flax, the former chiefly for Its seed, and the latter for home manufacture, are sown to amoderate extent. Potatoes occupy a part of every farm, and their cul- ture is conducted with more care and judgment than that of any other crop, though at a greater expense of time and labour than would he thought necessary in most other places. In re- gard to the kinds of crops cultivated, the grentest defect is in what are called green crops, com being, with potatoes, the chief and almost the only objects of attention to Ihe arable farmer ; and tumips and cultivated herbage being either grown on a very small scale, or, .is is the case throughout he greater part of the county, altogether disregarded or unknown. The com crops thus necessarily follow eacli other, until the soil is exhausted ; and where extra manure, such as sea-weed and sea- sand, both of which are used as manure with good effect, can- not be procured, it must be left in an unproductive state for several years afterwards. Potatoes are in moat cases planted upon land that has been prepared by burning ; and the same crop is sometimes taken for two years more without manure ; in the fourth year wheat follows, and then reneated crops of oats, as long as they will replace the cost tectu>n against the trespassing of cattle, it is customary to tie the legs of each quadruped together with wisps of straw, and sometimes to yoke two together ; even fowls and turkeys are thus bound. (SicAmd.) Coal and iron works were fbrmerly carried on, but are now neglected. E^ata were once Tery large ; but they have been broken down in some instances, by the granting ofleases in perpetuity ; a practice which has given rise to a class of landholders, hiter- posed between a few great proprietors on the one hand, and a numerous body of cultivators on the other. Some of the best long-homed cattle and long-woollcd sheep in Ireland ffed, but there are ffew dairies. During the late war, its fine green pastures, under this management, afforded a very ample rent, and tillage was therefore conducted on a small Ecau : but the plough has been more in request since the peace, both here and In other parts of Ireland ; and the soil ot sudi rich (grazing lands, requiring nothing more than the com- mon opi^rations of tillage to jield large crops, the growth of com throughout Ireland has been greatly increa&ed ; yet, within these few years, agriculture was here in a very backward state. " In R nies, the plough is seldom or never employed at all, the tillage beii^ penormed by the spade ; and m othera they use the spade in cultivating potatoes, and the plough only for com. Yet potatoes, oats, and on the sea-coast barley, are sown to a considerable extent, and also flax. Wheat is cultivated only in particular spots, and chiefly by proprietors, a few of whom have also introduced tumips, peas, beans, rape, and cabbage. There is some excellent grazing land for cattle in the barony of Ty- rawley, and good uieep pastures in Kilniain. Some graziers; hold 3000 Irish acres. The English long-homed cattle, which' were imported by the principal proprietors, have greatly im- proved tne native breed. The habitations of the labourecB, or cottan, are in general very wretched, and shared by them with their cow and pi^ 7885. JLEITRIM. 407,260 acres, one half bog, waste, and water, and the remainder dark fertile soil, incumbent on limestone. (Jfcf'Porton's Survey <^ Leitrim, 1802. JVakefield. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gax. 1827.) Coal, ironstane, lead, copper, &c. are found, but not worked. Etlatea large, and nearly all the great proprietors are absent- ees. The Msues are commonly for three lives or thirQr-one years. Agriculture is here in a very low state. The tillage farms are small, seldom exceeding fif^ or sixty acres, and these are almost edways occupied in common by a number of tenants. The plough is very little used. The most common Implement is theloy, a kind of spade eighteen inches long, about four inches broad at the bottom, and nve or six ini^es at the top, where it is furnished with a wooden handle about five feet lone. The first two crops are potatoes, which are followed by flax, and then oats for one or more years. Clovers and other green crops are unknown to the practice of the tenantry. The county raises grain and potatoes sufficient for its own consumption, but exports very httle of either. Its cattle have been much improved by the introduction of English breeds, to which some of those now bred and reared in it are said to be not in- ferior. There are no consideiable dairies, yet a good deal of butter is made throughout the district. The sheep are of the native race, small, and but few in number. About the beginning of the Eighteenth century, Leitrim is said to have been almost a continued forest. There is now lit- tle wood In it, and no considerable plantations. The proprie- tors, however, have of late paid some attention to this method of improvement, and several large nurstries have been esta- blished for the sale of fbrest and other trees. There are several bleach-fields, and Some coarse potteries j and a number of people are employed in weaving. _But the linen made here, as well as the coarse woollen goods, is chiefly for the use of the inhabitants themselves. The houses of the lower classes are of the worst deBcrijition ; even the more re- cently erected farm buildings, incluuing a little bam and cow- hohse, do not cost more t&n ten or twelve pounds. Turf u their only fuel, and potatoes and oaten bread the chief articles of food, meat being used on extraordinary occasions only. 4 H 2 1204 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV- 7886. SLIGO. 397,0fi0 acres, a third part bogs, mountains, and waters, and the remainder fit for tillage or grazing. {M* Parian's Survey qf SUt^o, J802. Wakefield. Sap. Encyc. Brit. Edin. iraz. \Vi£i.} The soil is generelly of a light, sandy, fn-avelly loam, or tnoory ; in some parts the lands are rich and fertile, but the cnlisoil of a considerable Uract is a grey flag, provinclally leaulea, imfavouralile lo veeetadon. Numerous streams and lakes ; the wooded islands and scenery around Ixm^h Gill very striking. On the Slicoand Moy, coruiderable salmon fisheries; trouts abound, and white lish on the ^ores. Eatatea of almost every size- A few arc worth ftam SOOf. to 90001. a year ; yet a consideralile proportion of the county is divided into small properties. The principal proprietors are absentees. Farms vary in size, from tliree Irian acres to 500 j the larjjer farms, however, are not held by individual tenants, but in partnership. The leases are for thirty-one years and three lives, and, in some mitances, for sixtj -one years and three lives ; beint;, in general, longer here than in other parta of Ireland. Tillage-farming is still in a very backward state. The plough is worked by three or four horses yoked abreast, directed by a man who walks backward before them. Oats, barlev, and potatoes are the principal urops. Of the two former, a great proportion is consumed in illicit distillation, which, within these few years, was carried on in almost every part of the county. It was to the sale of these spirits that many of the small tenants looked as the means of paying tfieir rents. In some parts, both cattle and sheep .ire kept in considerable numbers, and a great deal of butter Is exported from the town of Sli^o i but tlie land occupied in tills way beam but a small proportion to the whole ; to grow corn, beine the principal object. Limestone and limestone-gravel, which arc in abund. ancc in most places, are In general use as manures ; also marl, and, on the coast, sea-wcedH. Among the hills arc several I.irijc l?ikcs, and ahuntlance of rivers. The maittijbclures for export are linen, salt, and kelp. The cabins, food, fuel, and clothing of the lower classes, seem to lie as uncomfortable as in any of the Irish counties. 7887. CAVAN. 499,957 acres, almost entirely covered with hills; the surface, soil, and climate, being alike bleak and uncomfortable. There are no fewer than 91 bogs, occupying 17,000 acres. [Coote's Sta- tistical Account. Wakefield. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Ga%. 1827.) Near Famham, the appearance of the country is favourable j the lakes there are picturesque, and communicate with each other by a riv(T. The fossils arc various, but neglected. Two ettatct are of 50,000 and 26,000 acres ; besid^i these there are none of very graat extent. Nearl^f tlie whole of the land is imder tillage, nut the agricidture in every respect is very bad. The size of the farms is from 50 to 100 acres; but these are generally subdivided into farms of from two to twenty acres, which are re-let to the manufacturers or " cottars," who pay a high rent for them, by means of their other employments. Their principal object is to raise a sulh ci en t quantity ofoata and potatoes to feed their families, and of flax to give employ- ment to the women and children. Most of the land is dug with the spade, and trenched : where the plough is used, they put three or four horses to it; and when Voung visited the county, he found that all over it the horses were yoked to the ploughs and harrows by the tail; that practice, however, is now disused. Almost the only grain sown is oats, which are reckoned to be in the proportion of seventy to one, to all other grain ; there is scarcely any wheat. In 1800, there were 4300 acres of flax, from wmch 6500 bushels of seed were saved. Though the very tops of the hills are tilled, yet it does not ap. pear that this county produces more grain ttian is necessary for its home consumption ; nor has the bouniy on the inland car- riage of com to Dublin, increased the very tri.'liny quaniity brought to that market. From the coldness and moisture of the climate, all the com of Ciivan is obliged to be kiiu-dried. The ttock-farmt generally consist of about 100 or 150 acres, the farmers buy young cattle, and sell them again witliout fat- tening; a few, however, fatten bullocks or shee)!, but the latter are very poor. There are very few dairy farms, though from these, as they are in the richest parts of the county, a good deal of butter is sent. Many pigs are kept by the cottars; and near all the cabins are to be seen goats tethered to the tops of the banks, or " ditches," as they are here called, which divide the fields. Cavan was formerly celebrated for its extensive woods, and trees of an immense size ; but at present it is, in general, bare of timber, except near Kilraore, Famham, and a few other places, wakeneld remarks, that the ash is confined to parts of the county, and to Tyrone and Fermanagh. The linen manufacture Is the staple. . 7888. FERMANAGH, 450,000 acres, in great part covered by water, and much of the rest of the surface rugged and mountainous, but better wooded than other parts of Ireland. ( Wakefield. Sup En- eye. Brit. Edin. Gax. 1827.) The luh grows in the hedge-rows ; beeches come to a large size, and also the yew, near Jjough Erne ; and lir, oak, and yew are found in the bogs. The grand feature in the natural scenery of this couniy is Lough Erne, which occupies about tfna eighth of the surfnce, and contains more than three hun- dred islands. It contains most of the lish that are found in otlier fresh water lakes, and is noted for its salmon and eels, Sarticularlv the latter. Four of the eel weirs near the falls of Ijeleck afford a rent of 100/- each. Eitates are large; three proprietors mentioned by Wakefield have 1-3,000/. a year each, and other three from 6000/. to 7000/. The leases are most commonly for twenty-one years and a life- In the northern part of the County, the farms are larger and more productive than in most other parts of Ulster. Oats, bar- ley, potatoes, and flax are the principal crops : verv little wheat, clover, or turnips being cultivated, except in minll patches near the towns. The high grounds are chiefly occupied in rearing cattle, and much of the better pastures with dairy stock. There are no large flocks of sheep, and their breed of this animal isof a very inferior description. Agriculture is in a very backward state, and as lately as the year 1808 the peasantry were accustomed to fasten their ploughs to the horsat' tails. Linen, seven eighths wide, manufiictured to some extent ; and there are several bleach -fields, which finish for sale the linens sent to England. Illicit distillation is said to be verv general. 7889. MONAGHAN. 288,500 acres of low grounds, with detached hills, and a considerable space occupied by bogs and small lakes, {Coote's Survey of Monaghan, 1801. Wakefield. Sup. Encvc Brit Edin. Ga%. 1827. There are s.f&n) large esfalet, but the greater part small ones, many of which do not even yield a free income equal to the or- dinary wages of labour. A few years ago, there were only 172 freeholders of 50/. and upwards, out of nearly 6000 ; most of the conaderable proprietors are absentees ; and very little of the landed property is in the hands of Catholics. Farms were so small a few years ago, as not to average ten Irish acres over' the whole county ; and the management, as might be expected, was exceedingly unskilful and unproduc- tive. The spade was used much more than the plough : the latter being an implement which, with the team required to work it, and the party to attend and direct it, could be brought into action only by the united efforts of several tenants. The general term of leases is twenty-one years and a life, or some- times three lives. The principal crops are oats, potatoes, and flax, with wheat and barley in a small proportion ; these last, however, extend over a much greater tract now than they did a few years ago. They make a good deal of butter, but there are no large dairies. Goats are in greater numbers than sheep, which is of itself a sufficient proof of the low state of its aiiri- culture. ^ The linen manufacture is said to have averaged, twenty years ago, about 200,000/. a year. It is carried on by the greater portiomof the inhabitants of both sexes, all the small armeia being also weavers. 7890. TYRONR 813,440 acres in great part mountainous, and containing, among other mountains Bessy Bell and Mary Gray, celebrated in song. The territorial value of this inland and northern district IS much mfenor to that of most others. (M'Evoy^s Survey qf Tyrone^ 1802. Sap. Eiicyc. Brit.) and sheep are accordingly of a very inferior description ; and tne latter, H hich are not numerous, may frequently be seen tethered upon the small patches of herbage which are inter- spersed among the shares of tliese partnership concerns. The tillage land, too, is more fyequently stirred with the spade than Oie plough ; and where a plough is used, the team, consisting ot norses, bullocks, and even milch cows, must be supplied by the contnbuiions of three or four neighbours, who unite their means for the purpose, each attending the operation, lest his Eoor anmial should have more than his proper share of the la- °^C Pof atoes, oats, and flax are the principal crops. Ihe /ine» manufacture is carried on to a great extent, and the pottenes and colUeries employ a considerable number of hands ; to which we may add illicit distillation, which prevails ffiroughout the north-western counties of Ireland, lihe food »"« lower classes is oatmeal and potatoes ; wheaten bread and butcher-meat never being used but on extraordhiary Various valuable ^«n/« found, but not worked : the best pot- tery in Ireland, near Dungannon- Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland, covers 110,000 acres, but is not celebrated for its sceneiy. Bttatet are of very great extent, many of them worth from 5000/. to 7000/. a year, and the productive or arable land di- vided into very small Rimis, not often exceeding twenty Irish acres. The chief pr-onrietors are the Marquess of Abercom, Lords Belraore, Northland, and Moimtjoy. The leases are for various periods, tliirty-one .years and three lives, three lives, and twenty-one years and a life. On some estates the land passes through the hands of middlemen, in portions of various sizes, till it reaches the actual cultivator, for the most part, in very minute subdivisions. It is customary for several persons to be concerned in one townland, which is held in what is called rundale ; the cultivated land heing divided into shares, which are changed every year, and the cattle pasturing in common — a system utterly inconsistent with prolitablp occupa- tion, or the amelioration of the soil and live stock. The cattle 7891. DONEGAL. 1,100,000 acres of ragged, boecv anrl mmTr.fai«n..c, ^.-.^^^^ ™-*i- i^ AGRICULTURE OF ANTRIM. l20i Landed properh/ is In few hands. AgriaiUwe is iu a very backward state In DoneKah The use of the plough is conlined to a small pro|iortion oflhe cultivated land, and is generally of a had construction ; spade labour is preferred In most places. BArley is the chieftain crop, and It is almost all used in distillation; oats are oniv grown for home consumption, and wheat is confined to a few favourite spots. Thei'eareonly two flour mills in the county. Theciil- ture of flax is considerable in the barony- of Kaphoe, and is ex- tending even in the mountain districts. Potatoes are cultivated every where; turnips, clovers, and other creen crops, are al- most unknown amon;; the tenantry. Village or partnership forms still abound, but farms now begin to be let to individuals as separate holdings. In ihe low country they are from ten to fifty acres in extent, and from 40 to 500 In the mountains. The fencej are commonly nothing better than ditches, with banks of tuif or clay, so mat the cattle requir&to be herded while the crops iire (jrowtng ; and In many parts (liey are allowed to graze promiscuously as soon as tiie crops are removed. Sea- weed and shel'-sand areused as manurcH, hut verv little lime- stone, or limestone gravel. Tlie practice of pai-ing and burning, so common in many parts of Ireland, is seldom resorted to m this county. leases ate granted for twenty-one years and a life. The «tep/e manvfactwre of Donegal Is linen. Women are muuh employed in knitting stockings. Kelp is prepaml along the north-west coast-; and, during the fishing season, three or four salt-pans used to be kept in full work. But whisky, savs Dr. M'Parlon, pmicuiarly in the mountain region, and all around ^e coast, is the chief manufacture. '* It is by runniiie their barley into this beverage that they provide for one half- year's rent. This is, therefore, a tax raised by the rich on the morals aiid industry of tlie poor." 7899L LONDONDERRY. 510,720 acres, generally mountainous, fertile and beautiful in the valleys, and containing every variety of soil (Sampson's Survey of Londonderrt/, 1802. IVakeJicld. Sup. Encye, Brie. Edin. Gax. 1827.) Landed pnperijf. With the exception of lands belonging to the church, and the towns of Londonderry and Colerainc, and certain portions reserved by the crown to be afterwards erected into freeholds, the whole of Londonderry wias granted by •fames I. to the twelve companies or guilds of London. The estates are, therefore, held&om these companies, either in per- petuity, or on determinable leases. The principal proprietors or leastfholders are Lords Waterford and Lundondeny, Conolly, Ogilby, and the families of Beresford and Fonsonby. The average rise qfjiirmt is firom five to twenty Irish acres, or at a medium little more than fifteen acres English. Whole districts are subdivided into patches of seven or eight acres, but in a few situations there are farms of upwards of 300 acres. The leases, though most commonly for twenty-one years and one life, are frequently for such verv short periods, as to be a great drawback upon agriculture. The practice of letting land upon short leases js, however, only recently introduced. Tlie prtnctpai crops are potatoes, barley, oats, and flax. Wheat is nut in general cultivaiion> Turnips are very rare-, and sown grasses and clovers far from being common. No imifonn robition of crops is recognised in practice, but it is Uhual to take two crops of oats successively, and sometimes flax the year following. Florin is the predominating plant in the meadows, where it grows bpontamonsly with great luxm'iance. The live stock presents nothing worthy of particular notice. Grazing grounds are not extensive, and there are few dairies. On the east side of the Bawa there are two extensive rabbit- The principal manvfbctiire is linen ; the value exceeds half a million sterling, besides brown or unbleached linens. Granite, freestone, sandstone, and those beautiful rock crystals, which, when cut, are termed Irish diamonds, are fbund in various parts. Iron, copper, lead, and coal have also been found. 7893. ARMAGH. 293,871 acres of varied and rather interesting surface of mountain, plain, and bog; with rivers, streams, and lakes, and a climate mild for the latitude ; 244,000 acres are esteemed fit for cultivation. The celebrated George Ensor is a native of this county, and resides on his own estate at Loughgall, near Armagh. (Coote's Swvey qf Armagh^ 1804. Wak^id. Sup. Encyc. Brit. Edin. Gaz. 1827.) STarble of an excellent quality, and of great beauty , is wrought in Armagh. The chain of mountains called the Fews, of which Sleive Gullian is the highest, present many highly sublime and picturesque scenes. Etttffet in tnis county are not large, there being only seven or eight proprietors who possess them of the annual value of from 6(J00/. to 10,000^ The farms also are small, being commonly from live to twenty acres, and seldom exceeding for^ or fifty. Neither the arable nor the pasture husbandry of this county present much that is worthy of notice. Potatoes, flax, and oats are the chief produce of the arable districts ; and those are cultivated in a very rude and inferior manner, in conse- quence of the ignorance of the farmers, and their want of capital. There are no extensive dairy farms, nor are there any farmers exclusively in this branch of husbandry; nevertheless a con- siderable quantity of butter is made here. One hundred weight per cow is considered as the average produce. The proportion of the milch cows to the size of the farms is, on Small farms' under five acres, one cow ; on farms exceeding five, and under ten acres, perhaps two cows, seldom more. A considerable number of cattle are reared. From the low country they are sent to the mountain farms, and frequently afterwards sold in, the Scotch market. They are in general of a small stunted breed. The native sheep are an awkward breed ; the wool coarse, and in small quantity ; very little of it Is exposed to sale, there being hardly sumcient for domestic use. Goats, swine, and poultry abound. Wild geese, swans, wild ducks, and several other species of aquatic birds, are indigenous to the lakes and rivers. Formerly bees were much att^ided to, but at present th^ are neglected. The roada in general are bad ; and, what is extraordinary^ the turnpikes are the worst, and the cross roads the best. The principal manujiicture is that of linen. 7894. DOWN. 559,995 acres, of which one eighth are mountainous and waste, the remainder hiUy and productive, cultivated by small manufacturers, and embellished by plantations, bleaching grounds, aiid neat white-washed habitations. The climate is variable, but not subject to extremes. {Dnbourdieu's Survey of Down, 1802. Sup. Encyc. Brit Edin. Gaz. 18^7.) Landed property. There are some large estates, though in general it is much divided, and has all the different gradations, from the most opulent nobleman to the tenant in perpetuity who farms his own land. Most of it is freehold. The rental was above the average rental of the best counties in Scotland, as returned to the commissioners of the property-tax in 1811. The^mu may be divided into two kinds : the first, such as are possessed by farmers who have recourse to no other branch of industry ; the second, such as are held by weavers and other tradesmoi. The former run from twenty to fifty, and, in some instances, so far as 100 acres ; the latter ate of every size, from one to twenQ acres. It has been remarked that the divisions of the farms are so minute, as to be extremely pre- judicial to agriculture. The rent is always paid in money ; personal services are never extracted. Some leases are for lives and years, others for lives alone. Fences consist chiefly of a ditch and bank, without quicks of any kind, or sometimes with a ffew plants of frirze stuck into the race of the bank ; but dry stone walls are fieouent in the Bton;^ mountainous parts. (Treat improvement has been made in its agriculture within these twenty years. Threshing-mills and two-horse ploughs have been introduced ; but it cannot he said that a goou system prevails generally, which the small size of the farms, indeed, rt^nders impracticable. A regular rotation is rarely fallowed in the crops ; fallows, clovers, and tiunips, are upon a very small scale ; and from the greater part of the arable land, it is still tlie practice to take crops of grain in succession, only partially interrupted b? potatoes, flax, and peas. Oats, the principal grain, are grown on all soils; barley is usually sown after potatoes, and also wheat to some extent on the coast. Of flax they sow fonr bushels an Irish acre, and the medium produce is fmy stones. Rye and peas occupy bat a small space. Lime, marl, shelly-sand, and sea- weed, are used as manures. Faring and burning are confined to tlie mountains. 7895. ANTRIM. 622,059 acres; on the east and north mountainous, destituts of plantations, and' abounding in bogs ; the other parts more level and firuitfulj and the climate drier than in some other counties. (^etvc»Aam'£ Statistical Survey. Wak^ld, Dubourdieu's Survey qf Antrim, IdlS; Sup. Encyc. Brit,) 4 H 3 There are exfenaive meadons on the banks of the Bann and the Laggan ; but the soil, except on the mountains, is thought to he better adapted to tillage than pasture. A good many beasts are' fatted, but cows are the prevailing stock, kept in small numbers on every fkrm. Thev are long-homed, thin in the sides, and deep in the belly, but yield much milk when well fed, and each of them from 60 to as much as 120 pounds of butter in the year, or about two thirds of the medium produce of the butter dairies of England. Numerous horses are reared in the mountainous districts ; and goats, furnishing the inhabitants with milk are seen around all the cottages, sheep, in flocks of any size, are confined to the mountain districts. They are very small, many of them, when fat, not weighing more than seven or eight pounds a quarter. On the low ground there are a few, seldom exceedinghalfascore, on almost every farm. A great number' of hoep are fattened ; many of them bred in the county, but not a tew brought from the west of Ireland. The dry hills of this county, covered with heath and odoriferous herbs, are well adapted to bees, but the number of hives has greatly decreased within these twenty years. The principal mannfachtre is linen, which js carried on in all its branches. Kelp is also an article of commerce. Copper and lead arefound within the precincts of Down, and marine exuviae among the hills at a great distance from the sea. There is also black marble susceptible of a high degree of polish, slate, coal, freestone, and crystals. Natural wood^ are seen ■ n ' some parts, but plantations are scarce ; there are a good many orchards, a small one being attached to almost every cottage in Uie bleaching districts on the low grounds. Bleaching is con- ducted on a considerable scale upon the banks of the rivers : and vitriolic acid is made in several of the towns. Fish abound on the coast ; hut the inhabitants of Down derive litd« benefit from the bounty of nature in this particular. 1206 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. Mtnerale. Besides basalt, limestone, qspsam, coals, fossil- wood, or wood-coal, sanclstone, &c. are found. The fossil- wood, or wood-coal, in most places, is covered with columns of Dssait,and is curious as explanatory of the oriKtn of coal. Not- withstanding the compressed state in which it is found, tlw nark and knots are quite distinct, and the rings denoting the annual growth of the wood may be counted. In some Instances the roots of the trees ma; he traced. Of the only two coal mines which are wrought in the province of Ulster, there is one in Antrim, at Bally Castle. The coats are bituminous, and of a bad quality ; a great part of them are exported. Landed Prnperty. Estates are in general freehold, being either immediate grants from the Crown, or held under those grants. The exceptions are the properties under the see of Connor. Some of the estates are very large. The Marquess of Hertford and the Antrim family possess the fee of the major }>art of the county. The former has 64,000 grten aeret ; that s, land capable of tillage, and independently of bog and mountain. Most of the Antrim estate » let on perpetuity, in farms worth 2000^ or 3O00/. per annum. The other great proprietors are the Marquess of Donegal, Lord Templeton, and Lord O'Neil. The estate of Lord Templeton, however, is only leasehold under the Marquess of Donegal, who lets his land for sixty-one years and a life, but renews at the end of a few years for a price. The^rmi are in general very small. The principal feature in the tillage system is the potato fallow. Tlie small size of the farms, and, in some places, the rockiness of the soil) precludes the use of the ordinary means of culture* and therefore a part of the land is dug with the spade. The qntrntlty of potato-land Is regulated by me quantity of manure that can lie collected. After potatoes, flax is sown, and the quantity of flax ground is regulated by the ability to purchase the seed, A crop of oats finishes the regular rotation. When the ground is exhausted. It is turned to rest, that is, it is suffered to lie tUl it is covered with natural gross. Such is the most general plan of husbandry Iiursucd in Antrim. In those parts tvhere the farms are too arge for the spade rulture, the land is ploughed by tliree or four neighbours uniting their strength; one supplying the plough, and the others liringing a horse, bullock, or even a milch cow. Wheat is a plant or very modem inboduction in Antrim, and very little oifit is sown. The most important crop is flax. The cattle consist chiefly of milch cows, belonging to small occiipiersj of a small stunted breed. Sheep are very little attended to ; and the few that are kept are of a very infin-ior kind. Goats are numerous in the mountainous parts of the county. Pi^s also are kept hi great numbers. This county by no means abounds with wood ; nor aie fruit- trees cultivated In great abundance, or w ith very much success. Of the apple, however, several new and valuable varieties have lately been introduced, and advantageonsly cultivated. Antrim has long been dislinguishi^ for its linen mamijtidurt ; but latterlv the manufacture of cotton has, in some measure, supplanted it, especially in the vicinity of Belfast There is a considerable salmon-fisbin^ on the coast. The stupendous assemblage of basaltic cohimns, called " the Giant's Causeway/' li^ on Ute maritime confines odTAjitTiint Chap. IV. Literature and Biblwgraphy cf Agricvlture. 7896. The first books on agriculture were written by the Greeks before the Christian sera, and by the Romans about the commencement of that period. Hesiod is the only writer of the former people exclusively devoted to husbandry ; the earliest Roman author is Cato ; and the latest, Falladius, in the fourth century A.D. The works of these and the other agricultural writers of antiquity have been already enumerated (25. and 44.), and the most interesting have lately been re-translated (7110. anno 1800). 7897. In the dark ages few books were written except on religion. The first author that appeared on the revival of the arte was Crescentius in Italy, in the fifteenth cen- tury ; and soon after, in the sixteenth, Fitzherbert in England, Olivier des Serres in France, Heresbach in Germany, and Herrera in Spain. Since these works appeared, many others have been published in every country in Europe, especially in England, France, and Germany. Though our business is chiefly with the works which have appeared in Britain : yet we shall, after enumerating the chief of them, notice also what has been done in other countries ; many foreign works, especially of France, Germany, and Italy, being familiar, either in the original or by translations, to the reading agriculturists of this country. All the works of importance, whether foreign or domestic, published or to be published since 1825, will be found noticed or reviewed in the Gar- dener*s Magazine, commenced in that year, and in continuation. Sect, I, Stbliography of British AgricuXture, 7898. A general view of the literature of British agriculture having been already given (801.), we have here only to supply the bibliographical enumeration confirmatory of that view. Of agricultural books very few at the present day are worth reading for their scientific information ; they are chiefly to be considered as historical documents of the progress of opinions and practices ; and this is the reason we have arranged them in the order of their appearance, instead of classing them according to the subjects treated of. Those who wish to see them so classed will be amply gratified by Watts's Bibtiograpkia Britdnnica. In our list we have omitted many works on subjects belonging to political agriculture, as the corn laws, tithes, poor-rates, &c ; and also most of those on veterinary surgery, horsemanship, bees, hunting, planting, &&, as not strictly belonging to the subject, and as being for the greater part, those on the veterinary art in {■articular, worse than useless. In short, the improvements in chemistry, animal and vegetable physio, ogy, and the comparatively clear views of political economy which have taken place chiefly since the commencement of the present century, have rendered most books on agriculture, whether political or professional, not published within the last ten years, of very little value, and a number of them more injurious than useful This second edition of British authors on agriculture is considerably reduced in order to render it more select ; and, through the obligingdisposition of Mr. Forsyth, perhaps the only man in existence thoroughly acquainted with the bibliography of British agriculture and Eardenine. it is rendered much more accurate. e e» 1500. Groshede, Bishop of Lincoln. Here begyneth a Treatyse of Husbandry, which Mayster Groshede, sotyme Bysshop of Lyncolne, made and translated out of Frensshe into Englyshe. Lond. 4to. 1523. Fitzherbert^ or Fiizherbarde, Sir Anthony^ a very learned lawyer, and also known as the father of English husbandry, was born at Norbury, in Der- byshire, and died there in 1538. He was made judge of the Common Pleas in the 15th of Henry VIII., and wrote several books on law. 1. The Book of Husbandry, Tery profitable and necessan- linr all persons. Lond. 15!i3, 4to: 1632, 16mo. S. SnrreyiDK. Lond. 1523, 4to; 1539, 16mo. 3. De Eztenta Manerii. Lond. 1539. . 1538. ^oKse, Sir Bichardt Canon of Marton Ab- tey, near London. TtteManoer of Measuiyngali Manerof Land. ISmo. 1557. Tusser, Thomas, styled the British Varro, was bom near Witham, in Essex, 1515 : received a ^'eral education at Eton School, and at Trinity H^. Cambridge ; lived many years as a farmer in Suffolk, and afterwards removed to London, and published his experience in agriculture and gar- demng. He died in 1580. 1. A hundreth Rood Pointes of Husbandrie. Lond. 4to. *• Five Hundreth Points of Good Husbandry, suited to as many of Oood Huswlfere ; with divers approved lessons con- cemiOR Hops and Gardening.. Lond. 4to. 1573. 1581. Mascall^ Leonard, author of a work on sowing, planting, and grafting trees, &c. 1572. 1. The HiMbandlye Ordering and Government of Poultrie. occ. Lond. 8vo. i" '^^^^'^*^^oo^ofCiMe},8cc. Lond, 1587. 4to. 3. A Booke of FishhiB with Hooke and Line, and al" other InBtnunenW thereunto belonging : another of Sundrie Enginei Book I. BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE. I SOT and Tntppes to take Folecnts, Biizards, Rats, Mice, and all other kindus of Vermin and Beasts whatsoever; moste pro- litable tor all Warriners, and suche as delight in tliis kinde ra sporte and pastime. Lond. 1590< 4to. 1601. ATion. God speede the Plough. Lond. 4to. 1601. Plat, Bugll. The new and admirable Arte of setting of Come, with all the n<:cessarte Tootes ; and other Circumstances belonging to the same. Lond. 4to. 1610. Vaughan^ Rowland. Most approved and long experienced Water Works : con- taining the Manner of Summer and Winter drowiiine of Meadow and Pasture bv the Advantage of the least River, Brookei Fount> or Water Trill adiacent. Lond. 4to. 1613. Markham, Gervaae, Jarvise,OT Gej-uas. An author who wrote on sP great variety of subjects during the reigns of James L and Charles I., and dfed about 1685. He appears, says Harte i£s~ sai/Sfii. 32.) tobet^fifirsl Englishman who deserves to be called a liackney writer. t. The English Husbandman ; 2 Farts. Lond. 1613. 4to. Si. Farewell to Husbandry. Lond. 1620. 4to. 3. Cheap and tiood Htisbandry, for the well ordering of all Beasfct and Fowls, &c. Lond. 1616, 1651. 4to. 4. Enrichment of the Weald of Kent, &c. Lond. 1630, 1631. 4to. 1616. Stevens and LiebauU. Maison Rustique, or Ihe Country Farm ; translated into English by Richard Sorflet^ I^ctitloner in Fhysicke, newly reviewed, &c. ; and the Husbandrie of France, Itjily, and Snaine reconciled and made to agree with any here in England. By Gervase Markhara. Lond. fol. 1635. Calthorpe, Charles. The Relation between a Lord of a Manor and the Copy- holder, his Tenant. Lond. 4to. 1639. Plattes, Gabriel^ author of some tracts on Gardening; a poor man but a useful writer. Harte says, he had a bold adventurous cast of mind, and preferred the faulty sublime to faulty mediocrity. As great a genius as he was, he was allowed to drop down dead in London streets with hunger j nor had he a shirt upon his back when he died. He be. qneathed his papers to Hartlib, who seemis to have published but few of them. 1. Discovery of infinite Treasure, hidden since the World's banning, in the Way of Husbandry. 4to. 2. Discoverie of Suhterraneal Treasure, viz. all manner of Mines and Minerals, firom the Gold to Oie Coal, &;c., with di- rections for the finding them. Lond. 1653. 4to. 3. Observations and Improvements in Husbandry, with Twenty Experiments. Lend. 1653. 4tQ. 1645i, Vermuyden, Sir C, a native of Holland, and a colonel in Cromwell's army. Discourse touching the DrejTiing the great Fennshing within the several Counties of Lincolne, Northampton, Huntingdon, Norfolke, Suffbike, Cambridge, and the Isle of £ly. 4to. 1645. Weston, Sir Ricftard. Discouiseof Husbandry used in Brabant and Flanders, shew- ing the wonderful Improvements cf Land there. Lond. 4to. 1649. Blitk, Walter, an officer in Cromwell's army, who, with other English gentlemen holding commissions at that time, was eminently useful in introducing improvements into Ireland and Scot- land. 1. The English Improver, or a new Survey of Husbandry, discovering to the kinj^om that some Land, both Arable and Pasture, may be advanced Double and Treble, and other. Five and Ten fold. Lmd. 4to. 2. The English Improver improved ; or the Surrey of Hus- bandry surv^^. Lond. 1652. 4to. 3d Edit. 1651, Hartlib, Samuel, an ingenious writer on agriculture, and author of several theological tracts. He was the son of a Polish merchant, and came to England, according to Weston, about 1640 ; but the time when he died is imknown. He was a great promoter of husbandry during the times of the com- monwealth, and was much esteemed by all inge- nious men in those days. Milton addressed to him his treatise on education, and Sir WiUiam Petty inscribed two lelters to him on the same subject. Cromwell allowed him a pension of 100/. a year. 1. L^acy; or, an Enlargement on the Discourse of Hu&- handry msbA. in Brabant and Flanders. This work is said in the CentuM Lileraria to be written by Robert Child. Wifli an Appendix. 1651. 4to. Lond. 2. Appenchx to the Legacy, relating more particularly to theHnsbandryandNaturalHistoryoflTeland. Lond. 1652. 4to. 3. Essay on the Advancement of Husbandry and Learning, with propositions for erecting a College (^ Husbandry. Lond. 16dl. 4to. 4. The Reformed Husbandman ; or, a brief Treatise of the Errors, Detects, and Inconvenience of our English Husband, in ploughing and sowing for Com ; with the Reasons and ge- neral Item^es, and a large yet &ithfnl Offer or Undertaki^ig for the Benefit of them that will joyn in this good and public Work. Land. 1661. 4to. 5. Design far Plenty, by a Universal Planting of Trees; ten- dered by some well-widiers to the Public. Ixmd. 16S2. 4to. 6. Discoveij fiv Division, or Setting out vi Land in England and Ireland. Load. 1653. 4to. 7. The Complete Husbandman ; or» a Discourse of Hus- bandry, both Fweign and Domestic. And a particular Dis- course of the Natnial History of Husbandry in Ireland. Lond 1659. 4to. .1659. Speed, Jdam, If Adam out of Eden ; or, an Abstract of diveis excellent Experiments, touching tlie Advancement of Agriculture. Lond. I'imo. 2. Husbandman, Farmer, and Grazier's Complete Instructor. Lond. 1697.' 12mo. Km. Dusdate, William, History of the embanking and drayning of diven Pens and Maxfiheit, both in forraln pntts mid in thi-; kingdom. Lond fa\. 2d edit. pt. 1772. Revised by C. N. Cole, Esq. 1664. Pm-ster, John. England's Happiness faicreased ; or a sure and easle Method against all succeeding dear Years, by a Plantation of the Roots called Polatues, &c. Lond. 4to. 1665. Dodson, Colonel Wi/liam. The Design for the perfect Drainhig of fte great Level of the Fen, called Bedford Level, with Maps,&c. Lond. 4to. 1669. Worlidge, John, gentleman, author of some works on gardening. Systema Agricultura, &c. Lond. fol. 1670. S?nith, Johti^ Gent. England's Improvement revived; plainly discovering the se- veral Waysof JmprovinKthe seveial Sorts of waste and barren Grounds, and of eiiri^ching all Earths; with t1 e natural Qunliiy of all Lands, and the several Seeds and Plants which naturally thrive thevein, observed; ttu^therwith the manner of planting all Sorts of Timber iS-ees and Underwoods; experienced in 3U Years' Practice ; in G Hooks. Lond. 4to. 1673. 1681. Houghton, John, F.R.S. A Collection of Letters for the Improvement of Husbandry and Trade. Lond. 4to. Again in 1728, 4 vols. Svo, revised by R. Bradley. 1683. Lister, Martin, M.D., an eminent physician and natural philosopher; was burn in Buckingham- shire about 1638; practised in London ; died 1711-1^. He wrote various works. Of Plants which may be usefully cultivated for Grass or Hay. 1696. (Phil. Tram. N. Abr. iv. 136.) 1685. Moore, Sir Jonas, Knight, F.R.S., a very respectable mathematician, and survey or- general of his majesty's ordnance, was bom in Lancashire, 1617 ; died 1679. 1. History or Narrative of the great I^vel of the Fenfi called Bedford Level ; with a large Map of the said Level, ah drained, surveyed, and described. Svo. 2. £ngland's Interest ; or the Gentleman and Farmer's Friend. Lond. 1695. Svo. 1694. I2offd, Edward. 1. Account of Locusts in Wales. {Phil, Trans. Abr. iii. p. 617.) 2. On the spontaneous Combustion of several Hay-stacks, &c. (IA.p.618.) 1697. Donaldson, James, a native of Scotland, and one of the^ earliest and most useful writefs on the agriculture of his country. husbandry Anatomised; Or an Enquiry into the present manner of Tilling and Manuring the Ground in Scotland. Edin. ISmo. 1697. Meager, Leomard, author of The English Gardener and other works. The Mystery of Husbandry. Lond. 12mo. 1700. Nourse, Timothy, F.R.S. Campania Felix ; or a Discourse of the Benefits and Im- provements of Husbandry. Lond. Svo. 1707. Mortimer, John, author of some tracts on religious education. His works on husbandry were translated into Swedish, and published in Stock. holm, in 1727. The whole Art of Husbandry, m Oie way of Managing and Improving Land. Lond. Svo. 1717. Lavrence, Edward, brother to John Lau- rence, a clergyman, author of a work on gardening. (See A. D; 1726.) The Duty of a Steward to his Lord; with an Appendix on Farming. Lond. 1727. 4to. 1721. Sradi™, Richard, F.R.S., and Professor of . Botany in the University of Cambridge; a most vo- luminous writer on gardening, botany, &c. ; died 1732. {Encyc. ofGard. p. 1102.) 1. Philosophical Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. Lond. 4to. 2. The Country Gentleman, and Farmer's Monthly Director. Lond. 1721. Svo. ^ r^ , ^ 3. Experimental Husbandman and Gardener. Translated fromtheGermanof G.A.Agricola. Lond. 4to. 1726. 4. A Complete Body of Husbandry. Lond. 1727. Svo. 5. The Weekly Miscellany for thd Improvement of Hus- bandry, Arts, and Sciences. 21 Nos. 1727. Svo. 6. The Science of Good Husbandry, or the Economy of Xe- nophon ; translated fVom the Greek. I.ond. 1727. Svo. T. The Riches of a Hop Garden explained, with the Observ- ations of the most celebrated Hop Planters in Britain. Lond. 1729. Svo. 1724. Anon. A Treatise concerning the Manner of fallowing Ground, raising of Gias^ Seeds, and training of Line and Hemp. Edm. Svo.^ Plates. _ „ 1726. hawretice, John, M. A., author of The Cler~ gytnan*s Recreation, a gardening work of use in its time ; he died in Durham. 1732. {Encyc. of Gard. p. 1102,) ^ ^ The New System of Agriculture; bring a complete Bodyot Hnebandiv and Gardeninginallthepartsof them. Lond. fol. 1729. Mackintosh^ Borland. ^ , Essay on Ways and Means for Inclosing, Fallowing, Planting, ace. Scotiand, and that in sixteen Years at farthest. Ldin. Svo. -, 1730. Richards, John. ^,, . ^ , . The Gentieman's Steward and Tenants of Manors insUurtcd Lond. Svo. 4H 4 1208 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. 1730. Rye^ George. Observations on Agriculture. Dub. 8to. 1731. TuUf Jeitiro, was born in Oxfordshire ; he was a barrister, and made the tour of Europe : after which he settled on his paternal estate, which he cultivated with so much attention as brought on a disorder in his breast He then went abroad, and, on his return, fixed his residence on a tarm in Berkshire, where he renewed his experiments in horse-hoeing husbandry : he died in 1740. His son, John Tull, was an officer in the army, but ruined himself by projects, and died in the Fleet in 1764. (Gent. Ma^ Mr. Tull'a farm was ** situated at a place called Prosperous (probably so called from his great success), in a tract of very indifferent land, lying on the north side of the Hampshire hills, near the borders of Wiltshire, but being itself in the county of Berks. It is, I believe, in the parish of Ink>pen. I visited it in the company of Mr. Budd of Newbury, who had visited it long, before with Arthur Young, who, like me, visited it in the cha- racter of a pilgrim, and in honour of the memory of the real founder of every recent improvement that has been made in the agriculture of England." (Cobbeit's Treatise on Cobbett's Corn, chap, vi.) 1. Specimen of a Work on Hoiae-hoeing Huabandiy. Lond. 4to. 2. New Horse-hoeing Husbandry ; or an Essay on the Prin- ciples of Tillage and Vegetation ; wherein is shown a Method ot Introducing a sort of Vineyard Culture into the Com Fields, in order to increase their Product, and diminish the common Expense bj the use of Instruments^ described in' Cuts. 1733. fol. 3. Supplement to the New Horse-hoeing;, Ace. Lond. 1730. 1732. ElliSt William^ a tarmer at Little Gaddes- don, near Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire. 1. The Modem Husbandman; - or. Practice of Farming. Lond. 1744. 8 vols. Svo. 2. The Country Housewife's Family Companion. Lond. 1750. Svo. 3. The Complete Planter and Cjderist. I.ond. 1757- 8to. 4. Ellis's Husbandry abridged and methodised. Lond. 1772. 2 vols. Svo. 1737. Phillips^ Robert Dissertation concerning the present State of the High Roads of England, especially those near London ; wherein is proposed a New Method of repairing and maintaining them. Lond. 8vn. 1741. Blackwellf Alexander, M.D., a native of Aberdeenshire. Blackwell studied physic under Boerhaave at Leyden, took the degree of M, D., practised as a ph ysician at Aberdeen, and afterwards at London, but meeting with no success, turned printer, and became bankrupt in 1734. About 1740 he went to Sweden, turned projector, and laid a scheme before his Swedish Majesty for draining the fens and marshes. He was suspected of being concerned in a plot with Count Tessin, and was beheaded August 9, 1748. His wife Elizabeth was the author of a curious herbal. A new Method of Improving cold, wet, and barren Land, particularly clayey Grounds, &c. Lond. Svo. 1743. Maxwell, Robert, an eminent Scotch im- prover. 1. Select Transactions of the Honourable Society of Im- provers in the Knowledge oLAgriculture in Scotland. Edinb. 5743. Svo. Plates. 2. The Practical Husbandman. Edin. Svo. 1757< 1744. Claridge, John. The Shepherd of Banbuiy's Rules to know of the Change of the Weather. Lond. Svo. 17.^7. Home, Francis, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica in the University of Edinburgh. The Prmciples of Agriculture and Vegetation. Lond. Svo. 1757. Lisle, Edward, Esq., late of Crux-Easton, in Hampshire. ObservationN on Husbandry. Lond. 4to, and 2 vols. Svo. 1759. Stillingfleet, Benjamin, grandson to the bishop of that name, and an ingenious naturalist and miscellaneous writer, interesting in agricuL ture as a promoter of the introduction of artificial grasses ; was born about 1702 ; died 1771. 1. Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Natural History, Hus- bandry, and Physic. Translated from the Latin; with Notes. Lond. Svo. 2. Calendar of Flora, Swedish and Enelish, made in the year 1755. Lond. 8vo. 1761. 1759. Mills, John, F.R.S., author and translator of several works, and among others of Gyllenborg's Natural and Chemical Elements of Agricteltitre, an ingenious work for its time and country. 1. A Practical Treatise of Husbandry, collected by Du- bamd, and also the most approved practice ol the best EngUsh fermers. Lond. 4to. 2. A New t ' " Lond. 1762-5. _ 3. An Essay on (be Weather ; with Bemarks on the Shep- herd of Banbury's Rules for Judging of its Changes, and m- rections for preserving Hives aud Buildings from the fatal effects of Lightning. Lord. 1770. Svo. 4. A Treatise on Cattle, &c. Lond. 1776. Svo. 1760. Hilt, Thomas, gardener to Lord Manners, at Bloxholme in Lincolnshire, and author of a me- ritorious work on flruit trees. A Treatise of Husbandry ; or the Improvement of dry and. barren Lands. Land. Svo. 1761. Mordant, John, The Complete Steward ; or the Duty of a Steward to his Lord. Lond. 2 vols. Svo. 1762. Dickson, Adam, A.M., minister of Dunse in Scotland. Considered a good classical scholar, and an excellent practical farmer. He died before The Hmbandiy of the Ancients was prepared for the press, which is the occasion of some defects in that work. 1. Treatise on Agriculture. Edin. Svo. This is one of the best works on tillage that ever has appeared. 2. The Husbandry of the Ancients. Edin. 1778. 2voLi.STo. 1763. Anon. Museum Rusticum et Commerciale ; or Select Papers on Agriculture, Commerce, &c. Lond. 6 vols. Svo. 1764. Ladnar, of Kroy, in Yorkshire. The Farmer's New (juide. Lond. Svo. 1764. Randall, J., some time master of the aca- demy at Heath, near Wakefield, Yorkshire. 1. The Semi-Virgilian Husbandry, deduced from various Experiments. Lond. Svo. 2. Construction and extensive Use of a new-invented Seed Furrow Plough, suited to all Soils; of a Draining Plough; and of a PoUto Drill Mnchine; with the Tlieoi^ of a Common Plough; illustrated with 7 plates. Lond. 1764. 4to. 1765. Fordyce,^ George, M.D., r.R.S., a distin- tinguished physician, and teacher of medicine in London ; was born at Aberdeen, 1736r died 181^ Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation. £din. Svo. 1766. Homer, Hem-y, an excellent classical scholar, was born in Warwickshire, 1752 ; died 1791. 1. An Essay on the Nature and Method of ascertaining the specilic Shares of Proprietors upon the Inclosure of Common Fields. Lond. Svo. 2. An Inquiry into the Means of Preserving and Improving the Public Koads of this kingdom. Oxf. 17G7. 8vo- 1766. Anon. The Complete Fanner : or a General Dictionary oF Hus- bandry in all its branches, &c., by a Society of Goitlemen, Members of the Society of Arts, Manufattures, &c. London. Fol. Plates. London, 1807, 2 vols. 4to, 5th edit- entitled The Com- Elete Farmer, or General Dictionary of AgricuUnre and Hns- andry, &c., wholly re-written and enlarged. Plates. 1767. Young, Arthur, F.R,S., an eminent agricul- turist, secretary to the Board of Agriculture, was the son of Arthur Young, a prebendary of Canterbury, and author of An Historical Dissertation of Corrup- tions in Religion. He was born in 1741. He served bis apprenticeship to a wine merchant; but on entenng into the possession of his paternal estate, near Bury St. Edmunds, he became a farmer, and impoverished himself by experiments. After this he set up as a teacher of others, and in 1771 pub. lished a volume called The Farmer*s Caleridar, which was followed in 1784 by The Annals of At^ricuJ- ture, inwhich:hehad Ralph Robinson, George III.'s farming bailiff, for a correspondent. Young also made excursions through the British islands and on the Continent, to collect information on subjects of rural economy. At length a Board of Agriculture was established, of which he was appointed secre- tary, with a salary of six hundred a year. He became blind some years before his death, which happened February 20. 1820. His works are numerous, and his travels amusing. (Annual Biographv.) 1. The Farmer's Letters lo the People of England, &c. Lond. Svo. 2. Tbe Farmer's Letters to the Landlords of Great Britain. Lond.-1771. Svo. 3. A Six Weeks' Tour through the Southern Counties of England and Wales. Lond. 1768. Svo. 4. Treatise on the Management of Hogs. Lond. 1769. Svo. 5. A Six Months' Tour through the North of England. Lond. 1770. 4 vols. Svo. 6. The Parmer's Guide in Hiring and Stocking Farms, &c. Lond. 1770. 2 vols. Svo. 7. Rural Economy ; or Essays on the Practical Part of Hus- bandly. Lond. 1770. Svo. 8. A Course of Experimental Agriculture. Lond- 1770. 2 vols. 410. , ..?.'„'^i*'' Farmer's Tour through the East of England. Lond, 1770. 4 vols. Svo. 10. Observations on the Present State of the Waste Lands m Great Britain. Lond. 1772. Svo. 11. Tour in Ireland; with General ObBervaUons on the E^^*^l Svo. 26. Advantages wlucti have resulted from the Establishment of the Board of Agriculture.. Lond. 1809. Svo. ^7. On the Husbandry of those celebrattid British B &c. Lond. 3 vols. Svo. \1770. Peters, Matthew. 1. The Ration^ Farmer. Lond. Svo. ::. Winter Kiches. Lond. 1771. Svo. 1770. Comber^ Thomas, LL. D., Rector of BUck- vorth and Morborne, in Huntingdonshire, died 177a 1. Free and Candid Correspondence on the Farmer's Letters to ihe People of Kn);land, &c.j with the Author and Arthur YounSj E^. Lond. Svo. if. Heal Improvement in Agriculture^ on the Principles of A. Young, Esq. To which is added, a Letter to Dr. Hunter of Vurk, on the Rickets in Sheep. Lond. 1772. Svo. 1770. Huntei; Alexander^ M.D., F.K.S L. and R was born at Edinburgh, 1733 ; settled as a physician at Gainsborough, at Beverley, and finally at York, where he dief the earliest writers among that class in Scotland. The Present State of the Husbandry in Scotland. Edin. 6 vols. Svo. 1777. Black, James, of Morden, Surrey, a>urveyor, in his day in great practice. Observations on the Tillage of the Earth, and on the Theory of Instruments adapted to this end. Lond. 4to. 1778. Marshall, William, Esq., a native of York- shire, brought up to trade ; he was some years in the West Indies, as a planter; returned about 1775, and took a farm in Surrey j went down into Norfolk as agent to Sir Harbord Harbord's estate in 1780 j he letl this situation in 1784, and went and resided at StaflFord, near the junction of the four counties of Leicester, Warwick, Stafford, and Derby, where he remained till 1786, occupied in collecting materials for his Economical Surveys, and in printing some of his works. From this time till about 1808, he re. sided chiefly In Clement's Inn, London, in winter, and visited different parts of the country during summer. He spent one summer in Perthshire, chiefly on the Earl of Breadalbane's estates at Tay- mouth ; and partly also on the Earl of Mansfield's at Scone. He proposed arrangements for the tenant- able land, and also the park and woody scenery on various estates ; and finally retired to a considerable property he purchased in his native country, in the vale of Cleveland, in 1808, where he died at an ad-' vanced age in 1819. He was a man of httle educa- tion, but of a strong and steady mind ; and pursued in the most consistent manner, from the year 1780 to his death, the plan he originally laid down ; that of collecting and condensing the agricultural prac- tices of the different counties in England, with a view to a general work on Landed Property, which he published ; another on Agriculture, which he did not live to complete ; and a Rural Institute, in which he was supplanted by the Board of Agriculture. I. Mimitesof Agriculture, made on a Farm of 300 acres, of various Soils, near Croydon, Surrey. Lond. 4to. Si. Experiments and Observations concerning Agriculture and the Weather. I^ond. 1779. 4to. 3. The Rural Economy of Norfolk. Lond. 1783. 2 vols. Svo. 4. The Rural Economy of Yorkshire. Lond. 1788. 2 vols. Svo. 5. The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire. GIouc. 1789. 2 vols. Svo. G. Rural Economy of the Midland Counties. Lond. 1790. 2 vols. Svo. 7. Rural Economy of the West of England. Lond. 1796. 2 vols. 8vo. 8. The Rural Economy of the Southern Counties of England. Lond. 1798. 2 vols. Svo. 9. Proposals for a Ruxal Institute, or College of Aniculture, and other Branches of Rural Economy. Lond. 1799. Svo. 10. On the Appropriation and Enclosure of Commonable and Intermixed Lands. Iiond. 1801. Svo. II. An Elementary and Practical Treatise on the Landed Proper^ of England, containing the Purchase and Improve- ment of Landed Estat«s. Lond. 1S04. 4to. 12. Treatise on the Mnnagement of I^anded Estates. A General Work for the Use of Professional Men^ being an Abridgment of the former. Lond. 1808. Svo. 13. A Review and Comp'ete Abstract of the Reports of the Board oF A griculture ^om theseveral Departments of England, Lond. 1S17. 5 vols. Svo. 14. Of the B'^ck Canker Caterpillar which destroys tba Turnips in Norfolk, (thil. Traia. Abr. xv. 386.) 1783. 1780. Boswell, George, a cultivator of his own estate in Gloucestershire. Treatise on Watering Meadows ; wherein are shown the many Advantages arisuig from that Mode of Practice, parti liurly on coarse, boggy, or barren Jjonda. Lond. Svo. 1210 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Faut IV 1784. TwmnleiKj, Dairting Gxcmplitied ; or the Business of Chcesemaking laid down from appioved Rules, &c. Warwick, 8? o. 1784. Smaltt James^ a plough-wright, and small fanner in Roxburghshire } but afterwards settled at Edinburgh as an agricultural machinist Treatise on Ploughs and Wheel Carriages. Edin. %so- 178+. Turnery Nicholas. An Essay on Draining ind Improving Peat Bogs. Lond. 8to. 1785. Stone, TTiomas, lately a surveyor and land- agent to the Duke of Bedford ; died at Paris, 1815. 1. An Essay on Agriculture, with a View to inform Gentle- men of Landed Property whether their Estates are managed to the greatest AdTantage. Lond. 8vo. 2. General View ofthe Agnculture of the County of Hun- tingdon, I^nd. 1793. 4to. 3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Bed- ford. Lond. 1794. 4to. 4. General View of the Agriculture of the Cwnty of Lm- coln. Lond. 1794. 4to. 5. A Heyiew of the corrected Agricultural Survey of Lhi- colnsldre, by Arthur Young, Esq. liond. 1800. 8vo. 6. A Letter on the Drainage rf" the East, West, and Wild Moor Fens. Lond. 1800. Svo. 7. Letter on tl.e intended Drainings and Liclosures of tlie Moor Fens in the County of Lincoln. 1801. 1786. Young, Davidy of Perth. Natural Improvements in Agriculture, in Twenty-seven Essays. Edin. Svo. 1786. Cullei/y George, born at Denton, in the county of Durham. In 1762 he went to Dishle>', and remained some time a pupil with Bakewell : he then returned, and took the farm of Fenton, in Northumberland, in 1767, and died in that county, at Fowberry tower, in 1813, aged 79. 1. Observations on Live Stock; containing Hintsfor choosing, and improving the best Breeds of the most nsefol Ifinds of Domestic Animals. XiOnd. Svo. 2, General View of the Agriculture of Northumberland. (See Bailey, J., A.D. 1797.) 1787. Lei/, Charles, land surveyor. The Nobleman, Gentleman, Land Steward, and Surveyor's Complete Guide; in which is described every Circumstance relative to the proper Management of Estates ; comprehending the Duty and Omce of a Land Steward in all its Parts ; with some useful Hints to Surveyors : also the Current Prices of Eiitates throughout the Kingdom, by which any Gentleman or Steward may ascertain the exact Vsuue of any £!state, whether ia Fee, Copy, or Leasehold. Lond. Svo. 1787. Winter, George, a practical agriculturist. A new and compendious System of Husbandry : containing the mechanical, chemical, and philosophical Elements ot Agriculture. Brist. 8to. 1789. Adam, James, Esq. Practical Essays on Agriculture. Lond. 2 vols. Svo. 1789. Wright, Rev. Th&tnas, Rector of Auld, in Northamptonshire, 1. Account of the Advantages and Method of Watering Meadows by Art, as practised in the County of Gloucester. Lond. Svo. 2. The Art of Floating Land, as it is practised in the County of Gloucester, shown to be prrftfrabie to any other Method in use in this Country : with Minute and Pluin Durcctions, and Three descriptive Plates. Lond. 1799. Svo. 3. On the Formation and Management of Floatf d Meadows ; with Corrections of Errors found in the Treatises of Messrs. Davis, Maxshnlt, Bosweli, Young, and Smith, on the Subject orFloatmg. 1810. Svo. 1790. Naismi'th, John, an ingenious cultivator in Clydesdale. 1. Thoughts on various Objects of Industry pursued in Scotland. Edin. Svo. 2. General View of the Agriculture ofthe County of Clydes- dale. 1794. 4to. 3. Observations on the different Breeds of Shera, and the State of Sheep Farming in the Southern Districts of Scotland. Edin. 1795. 4to. 4. Elements of Agriculture j bring an Essay towards esta- blishing the Cultivation of the Soil, and promoting Vegetation on steady Principles. Lond. 1807. Svo. 1789. CurtiSy rFi/^mm, an eminent botanist, bom in Hampshire, 1746, died 1799 j author of various works on practical botany and the culture of plants. Practical Observations on the British Grasses best adapted to the laying down oi improving of Meadows and Pastures. Ixmd. Svo. 1790. Swavne, G., A.M., vicar of Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire. Gramina Pascua: or, a Collection o€.the Specimens of the Common Pasture Grasses. Lond. fol. 8 pages, and 6 plates. 1790. Sinclair, Right Hon. Sir John, Bart, LL,D., M.P., Founder ofthe Board of Agriculture, author of The Code of Health and LoTigevity, and various other compilations. 1. B«portonthe Subject of Shetland Wool. Lond. Svo. U,w Address to the Socielg for the Improvement of British Wool, constituted at Edinburgh, 1791. Lond. Svo. jE. Account of the Origin of^the Board of Aericulture. and it9 Progress JEox Three Years after its Establishment. Lond. 1796. 4to. 4. Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Blight, the Rust, and the Mildew. 1809. Svo. 5. An Account of the Systems of Husbandry adopted in the more improved Districts of Scotland ; with some Observ- ations on the Improvements of which they are suscepUble. Edin. 181i!. Svo., with numerous plates. fi. The Agriculture of the Netherlands. 1816. Svo. ^ 7. Tlie Code of Apiculture. 1820. Svo. 1793. Elstobb, W. „ , „ Historical Account of the great 'Levpl of thf FcnS, cal.ea Bedford Jjevel, smd other Fens, Marshes, and Low Lands, in this Kingdom, and other Places. Lynn, 8vo. 1793. Lebrocq, Philip, M. A. and curate of Eahng. i „ n , . The OutlhiBS of a Flan for improving the Tract of Land called the New Forest. Lond. Svo. ■ 1793. Fraser, Robeit, Esq, , 1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon. Lond. 4to. ! 2. General View of the Agriculttire and Mineralogy, pre- sent State and Circumstances, of- the Coqnty of Wickfow. Dub. 1801. Svo. 3. Gleanings in Ireland; partlcniarly resiiL'cting its Agricul- ture, Mines, and Pishei :cs. Lond. IStW. Svo. 4. A Letter on the most eHeulual NJcans for the Improve* ment of the Coasts and Western Islands of Scotland, and the Extension ofthe Fisheries. J^nd. 1803. Svo. 5. Statistical Survey of the County of Wexford. Dob. 1807. 8to. 1794. Rennie, George, Esq , an eminent East Lo- thian farmer, and also a proprietor. General View of the A griculture of the West Riding of Yorfc shire, by Ml'ssts- Rennie, Brown, and Shirretf. Lond. 4to. 1794. Pringle, A. General View ofthe Agriculture ofthe County of Westraor land. Edin. 4to. 1794. Malcolm, Williamy James, and Jacob, of Stockwell, near Clapham, nurserymen. 1. General View of me Agriculture of Buckinghamshire. Lond. 4to. -i. General View ofthe Agriculture ofthe CounQr of Surr^. Lond. 179'!. 4to. 179*. Mmmsell, Willinm, LL.D. Letter on the Culture of Potatoes from the Shoots. Svo. 1794. Leatham, Isaac. General View of the Agriculture ofthe East Riding of VoriC* shire. Lond. 4to. 179i. Monk, John, of Bear's Combe, near King's- . bridge, Devon, 1. An Agricultural Dictionary ; consisting of Extracts from the most celebrated Authors and Papi;rs. JLond. 3vo1n H\o. a General View of the Agriculture of tlie County of i-eic«s. ter. Lond. 1794, 4to. 1794. Driver, Abraham and Wilham, land sur- veyors and agents, London. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Hunts. Lond. 4to. 1794. Donaldson, James, land surveyor, and land steward for some extensive estates, and author of some ofthe County Surveys. Modem Agricu'ture ; or the present State of Husbandry in Great Britain. Edin. 1795-6. 4 vols. Svo. 1794. AmoSy William, of Brothertoft, Lincoln- shire, farmer. 1. The Theory and Practice of Drill Husbandry, &c. Lond. 4to. 2. Minutes of Agriculture and Planting, &c. Ixind. 1804. 4to. 1794. Davis, Thomas, Esq., steward to the Mar- quis of Bath atLongleat; aman of strongmind and great integrity, universally respected; he died about 1818. General View ofthe Agriculture of Vl'iltshire. Lond. Svo. 1794^ Clark, John, F.S A., land surveyor, Builth, and at Pembroke. 1. General View of the Agriculture of Brecknock. Lond. 4to. 2. General Viewof the A griculture of the County of Radnor. Lond. 1794. 4to. 3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Here- ford. Lond. 1794. 4to. 4. An Inquiry inio the Nature and Value of Leasehold FrcH perty. Glouc. Svo. 1794. Pitt, William, of Pendeford, near Wolver- hampton. 1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Staf- ford. Lond. Svo. 2. A GenCTal View ofthe Agriculture of Northamptonshire. Svo. 3. A General View of the Agriculture of Worcestershire. 1795, Cochrane, Archibald, Earl of Dundonald, an amateur chemist and agriculturist. 1. A Treatise showing the intimate Connection that subsists between Agriculture and Chemistry, Lond. 4to. 2. The Principles of Chemistry applied to the Improvement ofthe Practice of Agriculture. 1799. 4to. 1795. Holt, John, of Walton, near Liverpool, wm born in Cheshire, 1742 ; died 1801. 1. General View ofthe AgricultureofUie County of Lancas- ter ; with the Observations on the Means of its Improvement ; drawn up for the Board of Agriculture. Lond. Svo. 2. An Essay on the Curl of Potatoes. 1795. Robertson, George, formerly farmer at Gran- ton, near Edinburgh, now living in Ayrshire, 1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Mid- Lotldan. Edin, Svo. 2. Rural Recollections; or the Progress of Improvement in Agriculture and Rural Afikirs. Irvine. 8vo. 1329. 1795. Macphail, Jwmes, twenty years gardener to the Earl of Liverpool in Surrey, and author of The Gardener^s Remembi'ancer, an esteemed work. Book I. BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE. 12J1 179a Kir&patrick, H. An Account of the Manner In which Potatoes are cultivated and preserved, and tlie Uses to which they are applied in the Counties of Lancaster and GheHter ; togemer with a Deacrijp- tion of a new Variety of Potatoes* peculiarly convenient fir forcing in Hot-houses and Frames. Iiond. 8vo. 1796. BoffSt John, farmer at Betshanger in Kent A General View of the Agriculture of the Coun^ of Kent. Lond* 8vo. 1796. ATistrvthert Sir John, Bart. Remarks on the Drill Husbandry. Ix)nd. Svo. ■ 1796. tVHght, Sir James, Bart Observations upon the important Object of preserving Wheat and other Grain from Vermin- Lond. 4to. 1796. Kirwan, Richm-d, LL.D., F.R.S.L. and E., P.R.I. A., an eminent philosopher and various au- thor; died 1812. On the Manures most advantageonsly applicable to various Sorts of Soit, and the Causes of tnetr Benencial Influence in each particular Instance. Lond. Svo. 1796. Lawrence^ John^ a veterinary surgeon. 1. Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Hones. Lond. Svo. I79&. Svo. 3. The Modem Land Steward- Lond. 1802. Svo. 4. A General Treatise on Cattle. Lond. 1805. Svfk -S.-The Farmer's Pocket Calendar. 1808. e. The New Farmer's Calendar. 1809. 7. History and Delineation of the Horse in all Its varieties, with 15 engravings bv Scott. Jjond. 1810. 8. The Horse in all his Varieties and Uses, &c. Land, small Svo. 1829. 1797—1819. Anon. Communications to the Board of Agriculture. Lond. 7 vols. 4to. New Series, 1 vol. 8vo> 1797. Mm-ley, Christopher. Practical Observations on Agriculture, Draining, Sec., in two Letters addressed to Sir John Sinclair. Lond. 4to. 1797. Johnstone, John, land surveyor and drainer at Edinburgh. An Aecount of the most approved Mode of Draining Land, according to the System practised by the late Mr. Joseph Elk- ington. Edin. 4to. Subsequent editions in Svo. 1797. Lawsorif John. Bssay on the ITse of mixed and compressed Cattle Fodder, particidaxly adapted for Horses and Cattle on Shipboard, in Camps, or in Garrisons, with useful Tables, Sec. Lond. Rvo. 1797. Hix^ William Spier. Remarks on a newly invented Patent Machine, for clearing Grain from the Straw, instead of threshing it with the Flail. Lond. 4to. 1797- Bailey, John, Esq., originally a schoolmaster, afterwards steward to Lord Tankerville ; a man of enlightened mind, various useful and elegant ac- quirements, and sound practical agricultural know- ledge. He was much respected by all who knew him. I. A General View of the Aerimltuxe of the County of Northumberland, by J. Bailey and J. CuIIct. Newcastle, svo. . 2. A General View of the Agriculture of Durham, &c. Lond. 1811. 8vo. 3. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Cum- berland. Svo. 1798. Smith, Rev. John, D.D., minister of Kil. brandon, in Argyleshire, afterwards one of the mi- nisters of Campbelton. A General View of the Agriculture of the Coun^ of Ai^yle. Edin. Svo. 1798. Douglas, Robert, D.D., minister of Gala- shiels. A General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Rox- burgh and SelWrfc. Edin. Svo. 1798. Tatham, William. 1. Remarks on Inland Canals, the System of Interior Navi- gntion, and various Uses of the Inclined Plane. Lond. 4to. 2. The Political Economy of Inland Navigation, Irrigation, and Drainage ; with Thoughts on the Multiplication of Com- merciat Resources, and on the Means of bettering the Conditioa of Mankind by Construction of Canals. 11 Plates. Lond. 1799. 4ta. 3. Communication concerning the Agriculture and Com* merce of America ; containing observations on the Commerce of. Spain with her American Colonies in the Time of War. Written by a Spanish Gentleman, and now edited with suniby other Papers renting to the Spanish Interest. Loud. 1800. Svo. 4. An Historical and X'ractical- Essay on the Culture and Commerce of Tobacco. Lond. 1800. Svo. 5. National Irrigation ; or the various Methods of Watering Meadows; affording Means to increase the PopuIation,Wealth, and Revenue of the Kingdonu by an Agricultm^, Commer- cial, and general Economy in toe UBe of Water. Lond. 1801. Svo. 6. Auxiliary Remarks on an Essay on the comparative Ad- v^tages of Oxen for Tillage in competition with Horses. Lond. 1801. Svo. 7. Two Reports on the Navigation of the River Thames. Lond. 1803. Svo. 1798. Middleton, John, Esq., land surveyor, Lon.. don. 1. A View of the Agriculture of Middlesex. Lond. Svo. 2. Observations on the various Kinds of Manure. [SUiul- ton's Joumai, iJL 340.) 1799. 1799—1815. Anon, and W. Dickson, the author of Practical Agriculture. The Commercial and Agricultural Magazine. 13 vols. Svo. to ISOS. Continued b<- Dr. W> Dickson, London, from 1808 to 1812. 11 vols. Svo. New Series, fironi 1813 to 1815, e vols. Svo. 1799—1830. Afum. , Pjrize Ess^s, and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland. Edin. to IS20. 6 vols. Svo. New Series, puhlislied > in The Qitarterty JoumalqfAgricuUuTe, commvncina 18^8, to 1831. 2 vols, forming the 7th and 8th. 1799. Wright, Thomas. The Art of Floating Land, as it is practised in the County of Gloucester. Lond. Svo. 3 Plates. 1799. Parkinson, Richard, of Doncaster, a farmer, traveller in America, and afterwards steward to Sir Joseph Banks, in Lincolnshire. 1. The Experienced Farmer. Lond. 2 vols. Svo. 2. A Tour in America, in 1798, 1799, and ISOOj exhibiting a particular Account of the American System of Agriculture, with Its recenllmprovements. Lond. 1805. 2 vols. Svo: 3. The English Practice of Faimhig, exenaplified in tlie Ma- nagement of a Farm in Ireland. Lond. ISOo. Svp. 4. Treatise on the Breeding and Management of Live Stock. -f Lond. 1809. 2 vols. Svo. 5. General View of the Agriculture of Hunthigdonshire. Lond. ISll. Svo. 1799. Brown, Robert, Esq., formerly farmer at Markle, near Haddington, one of the projectors, and for many years editor, of the Tarmer^s Maga- ' mne (see 1800.) ; a man of vigorous intellect, sound knowledge in political economy, energetic language, and an excellent bean and wheat farmer. 1. General View of tlie Agriculture of the West Riding of Vorkshire, surveyed by Messrs. Rennie, Brown, and ShirreiF, in 1793. Lond. Svo. S. Treatise on Aural Affairs ; originally published in tiie Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Lond. 1811. 2 vols. Svo. 3. Letters on the Distressed State of Agriculturists. 181(i. 1799. Banister, John, Gent, of Horton Kirby, in Kent A Synopsis of Husbandry. Lond. Svo. 1799. Somerville, Right Hon. John, Lord. He died at Vevay in Switzerland, on his way to Italy, about 1815, was buried in the churchyard there, and after- wards disinterred and brought to England, 1. Address to the Board of Agriculture on the Subject of She^and Wool. Lond. Svo. 2. The System followed during the Two last Years by the Board of Agriculture, &c. 1800. 4to. 3. Facts iind Observations relative to Sheep, Wool, Ploughs, and Oxen, &c. Lond. 1803. Svo. 1799. Robertson, James, D.D., minister at Callan- dar, Perthshire. 1. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Farth. Perth, Svo. 2. General View of the AgricultOie of Invemess^shire. Svo. 3. General View of the Agriculture of Kincardineshire. 1811. 8vo. 1800—1825. Anon. (R. Brown of Markle, near Haddington, farmer, and afterwards J. Cleghorn of Edinburgh, accountantj Farmer's Magazine. 1Bdii|| 26 vols. Svo. Plates. 1800. Washington, Gen. George, first president of the United States of America, and commander in chief of the armies, was bom in the county of Vir- ginia, 1732; died 1799. The most illustrious charac- ter of the age in which he lived ; his mantle seems to have fallen on General Lafayette. 1. Letters from him to Sir John Sincl^r, on Agricultural and other interesting Topics ; engraved from the original Letters, so as to be an exact Pac-simile of the Handwriting of that celebrated Character. Lond. 4to. 2. I^ettflrs to Arthur Young, Esq., containing an Account of his Husbandry, with a Map of his Farm ; his Opinions on various Questions in Agriculture, and many Particulars of the Rural Economy of the United States. Lond. 1801. 1800. Thomson, Rev. John, D.D. General View of the Agriculture of OieCoimtyofPife. Edin. Svo. 1800. Stacep, Rev. Hemi/ Peter, LL.By F.L.S. Observations on the Failure of Turnip Crops. Lond. Svo. 1800. Parr^, Caleb Hillier, M.D., F.R.S., physi- cian, Bath. He cultivated his own estate, and greatly improved the Merino- ryland breed of sheep. Facts and Observations, tending to show the Practicability, and Advantage to the Individual and the Nation, of producing In the British Isles Clothing-wool equal to that of Spain ; toge- ther with some Hints towards tlie Management of fine-woolled Sheep. Lond. Svo. 1800. Dalrymple, WiUiam, Esq. Treatise on the Culture of Wheat- Lond. Svo. 1800. Darwin, Erasmus, M.D., F.R.S,, an emi- nent physician, philosopher, and poet, was horn near Newark, in Nottinebamshire, 1731 ; died 1802. Fhytologia ; or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening. Land. 4to. 1802 Alderson, John, M.D., physician at Hull. On the Imiwovement of Poor Soils, in Answer to the follow- ing Question : — «' What is the best Method of cultivating and improving Poor Soils, where lime and Manure cannot be hadP" Lond. Svo. 18D2. Bwrtlqf, Nehemiah, Esq., secretary to the . Bath Agricultural Society. Some curson Observations on the Conversion of Pasture Lands into Tillage, and, aAer a certain Course of Crops, relay- ing the same into Pasture, &c. Lond. Svo. 1802 Tighe, William, Esq. Statistical Observations relative to the County of Kilkenny. Dub. Svo. 1213 STATISTICS OF AGRICULrURE. Pakt IV, 180a Bcll^ Benjamin, F.R.S.E, surgeon, Edin- burgh. £ssavs on Agriculture. Edin. 8vo. 1802. Findlater, Ucv. Charles, minister of the pa- rish of Newlands, in the county of Peebles; a man of sound views of political economy, whose work, and w^ose communications to thv!,Far?nej-'s Maga- xiney have greatly enlightened the farmers in Scot- land, on the subjects of rent, demand and supply, market prices, value, &c General Survey of Uie Agricu !din. 8vo. IfUn. Knappt J. L., Esq., F.L. and A.SS., author of T/ie Journal (if a Naturalist. Gramina Britannlca, or Representations of the British Grasses; with Remarks and occasional Descriptions. JUmd. 4to. 1804. Dickson, R. W., M.D., of Hendon, Middle- sex, author of various works. He died in London, in penurious circumstances, in 1834i. 1. Practicil Agriculture. Plates. Lond. 2 vols. 4to. S. Agricultural Magazine ; or Farmer's Monthlv Journal of Husbandry and auraf Affairs, &c. From July 1807, to De- cember 1S08. 8 vo^. 8vo. (Sev 1799.) 3. The Farmer's Companion: beinfr a complete System of Modem Husbandry. (Being Practical Agriculture, with a new title-page!) Lond. 1811- 4to 4. An improved System of Cattle Management. Lond. 1S32. 2 vols. 4to. 1804. Forst/th, Robert, Esq. advocate, Edinburgh, author of Elements of Moral Science, and other esteemed philosophical works. Principles and Practice of Agriculture systomaticaUy ex- plained; bein); a Treatise compiled for the Fourth Edition of theEncj*cIopffidiaBritannica,revii>edanclcnlarged< StoISi 8vo. 1805. Luccock, John, woolstapler at Leeds, !• The Nature and Properties of Wool illustrate; -with a Description of the English t'leece. Leeds. 12mo. 2. An Essay on Wool ; containing an Exammation of the present Growth of Wool in every District throughout the Kingdom, and the Means pointed out for its Improvement. 1805. Pearson, Geoi'ee, M.D., F.R.S., senior phy- sician to St George's Hospital, lecturer in chemis- try, and on the theory and practice of medicine in London. A Communication to the Board of Agriculture, on the Use of Green Vitriol, or Sulphate of Iron, as a Manure; and on the EfHcacy of Paring ana Burning depending partly on Oxide of Iron. Lond. ita. . 1805. Somerville, Robert, a surgeon in Hadding- ton, and for some time joint editor with Brown of Markle of The Farmer''s Magazine. (See 1799.) He died irt 1803. General View of the Agriculture of East Lothian, from the papers of the laie Robert Somerville. Lond. Svo- 1805. Aiton, Williatn, sheriff-substitute for the middle ward of Lanarkshire, author of various papers in The Farmer's Magazine. 1. Essay on the Origin, Qualities, and Barth. Glasg. Svo. 2. General view of the Agriculture of the Count? of Ayr, V with Observations on the Means of its Improvement. Glasg. 1*11. Svo. 3. General View of the County of Bute, &c. Glasg. 1S16. 4. A Treatise on Dairy Husbandry. Edin. Svo. 1825. 1805. Barber, iVUliam, a London architect 1. Farm Buildings; containing Designs fpr Cottages, Farm- houses, Lodges, Farm-yards, &c. Six I'lates. Lond. 4to. 'i. A Description of the Mode of Building in Fis^. 1806. 4to. 1805. Hood, Thomas Sutton, Esq. ; sometimes called Sutton Thomas Wood. A Treatise on Gypsum ; on its various Uses, and on its Ap- plication as a Manure. 8to. 1805. Malcolm, James, land surveyor to the Prince of Wales, &c. A Compendium of Modem Husbandry, &c. Lond. 3 vols. 8vo. 1806. Smith, William, engineer and mineralogist j a man of extraordinary exertion and merit, more especially as having been the first to compose a geological map of England, and also most valuable county geological maps. 1 . The Improvement of Boggy Land by Irrigation, as carried Into effect by him. Lond. 8va. 2. Observations on the UtUity, Form, and Management of Water Meadows, and the Draining and Irrigating i'eat-bogs ; with an Account of Frisley Bog, and other extraordinary Im- Srovementb conducted fcr the Duke of Bedford. Land. 1809. vo. 3. Geological Map of England and Wales and part of Scot- land. 1815. ' 4. Geological Table of British ommisedFosnls. 1819. 5. County Geological Maps. 1819. 1806. Amslie, John, a land surveyor at Edin- burgh. 1 . Tables for computing the Weight of Hay, Cattle, &c. by Measurement. Lond. 12mo. 2. Fanner's Pocket Companion. Edin. 1812. Svo. 1807. Vancouver, C&arles, land valuer. 1. A General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon. Lond. Svo. 2. General View of the Agriculture of Hampihire, including the Isle of Wight. 1811. Svo. 1807. Holland, Henry, Esq., M.D., honorary mem- ber of the Geological Society, author of Travels in Greece, and other works; an eminent London physician. General View of the Agriculture of Cheshire- Lond. Svo. 1807. Headrick, James, a clergyman in Angus- shire, an excellent chemist, a good naturalist, and an agricultural philosopher. 1. View of the Mineralogy, Agriculture, Mannfectures, and ' Fisheries of tlie Island of Arran, &ic. Edin. Svo. 2. General Viewoftlie Agriculture of the County of Angus. 1§13. 'Svo. 1808. Tibbs, Thomas, farmer. The Ex])ffiimental Farmer. Svo. 1808. Coventry, Aiidj-eiv, M.D., professor of agri- culture in the university of Edinburgh ; a learned, ingenious, and most benevolent man. He cul- tivated his own estate in Kinross-shire, and was extensively employed as a land valuer and rural counsellor. He died in December 1830. 1. Disi'ourse explanatory of the Natureand Flan of a Course of Lectures on Agriculture and Hural Economy. Edin. Svo. 2. Observations on Live Stock, in a Letter to Henry Cline, Esq. Edin. Svo. 3. Notes on the Culture and Cropping of Arable Land. Edin. 1812. 8vo. 1808. Gray, Andrewt a retired machinist at Edin- burgh. Plough-Wright's Assistant ; or, a Practical Treatise im various Imjileiiients employed in Agriculture ; illustrated with 16 En^raymg^. Edm. 8vo. i8(j8. Bchdocs, Thomas, M.D.,horn in Shropshire, 17fi0, was let'turer in Boton, at Oxford, and after- wards physician at Bristol, where he died, 1808. 1. Good Advice for the Husbandman in Harvest, and for all those in Labour in Hot Births; as also for others who will take it in Warm Weather. 8va. 2. Un the Means of foretelling the Cliaracter of the Summer Season, and the Benefits to be exiiected from the Cutivation of Grasses which vegetate at low Temperatures. {Hie. Jour. v. 131.) 1802. 1808. Bakewell, Robert^ Esq., an eminent geolo- gist and mineralogist, author of Travels in the Ta- rentaise, SfC. j an instructive and entertaining work, published in 1823. Observations on the Influence of Soil and Climate upon Wool, with an easy Method of improving the Quality of Euf^lish Clothing Wool, and Hints for the Management of Sheep, &c. ; witti occasional Notes and Remarks by the lliglit Hon. Lord Somerville. Lond. Svo. 1808. Dutton, Hely, Esq., landscape gardener. 1. Statistical Survey of the County of Clare. Dublin, Svo, 2. StatisticalSurveyoftheCountyofGalway. Dublin, 1824. Svo. 1808. Curwen,Jokn Christian, M.F., of Working, ton Hall, Cumberland. 1. Hints on the Economy of Feeding Stock, znd bettering the Condition of the Poor. Lond. 8vd. 2. A Tour in Ireland. 2 vols. Svo. 1819. 1809. Stevenson, IV., Esq., M.A., librarian to the Treasury, author of various works, and a writer in the principal encyclopsdias. He died in 182*). General View of the Agriculture of the County of Surrey. Lond. Svo. 1809. Kerr, Robert, surgeon, F.R. and A.SS. Edinburgh, an excellent naturalist and general scholar; died, 1814. Statistical, Agricultural, and Political Survey of Berwick- shire. Svo. 1809. Williamson, Capt Thomas, upwards of 20 years in Bengal. Agricultural Mechanism; or, a Display of the several Pro- perties and Powers of the Vuhioles, implements, and Machinery connected with Husbandry. Lond. Svo. 1810, navies, Walter, A.M. A General View of the Agriculture and Domestic Economy of North Wales. Lond. Svo. 18X0. Hunt, Charles Henry, Esq. Treatise on the Merino ^nd' Anulo-Merino Breeds of Sheep. Lond. Svo. 1810. Adoffns, George. A New System of Agriculture and Feeding Stock. Lond. Svo. 1810. Parish, John, Bumfries. A Treatise on Fiorin Grass. Svo. 1810. Edgeworth, Richard Lovell, Esq., F.R.S, and M.R.I.A., civil engineer, resident at Edge- worth Town, Ireland, author of various works. -4n Essay on tHe Construction of Boads and Carriages. Lond. Svo. 1811. Keith, George Skeene, D.D. ^P.V^^f\ ^'^'^ ^*^ Agriculture of Aberdeenshire- 8vo. 1811. Henderson, Robert, farmer at Broomhill, near Annan, Dumfriesshire. Treatise on the Breeding of Swine and Curing of Bacon ; with Hints on Agricultural Subjects. Edin. Svo. 1811. Farey, John^ sen., mineral surveyor. A man of sound views on all subjects ; a philosopher and an agriculturist, and territorial improver of great experience. General View of tl\e Agriculture and Minerals of Derby- shire. Lond. 3 vols. 1811. Loudon, John Clauditis, F.L.G. Z, andH,S., landscape gardener, author of the EncyclopcefUa of GardeniTig, and other works, and founder and con- Book I. BRITISH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE. 1213 ductor of the Gardener'^s Magaxene, and of the Magaxine qf Natural JSistor^; born in Lanark- shire in 1782, began to practise in 1^ ; to farm extensively in Oxfordshire in 1809, and in Mid- dlesex in 1810; travelling on the Continent in 1813-14^15, in 1819, and again in 1S26.S!9; now residing at Bayswater. 1. Deigns for laying out Fanna and Farm Buildinj;[s in the Scotch Style, adapted to England ; comprising an Account of the Introduction of the Berwicksltire Husbandry into Middle- sex and Oxfordshire. Lond. 4to. 2. An Encyclopiedia of Agriculture> Lond. Svo. 1825. 1813. IValker, W. An Essaj on Draining Land by the St^m Engine. Lond. Svo. 1813. Jiavyt Sir "Humphry^ president of the Royal Society, LL.D., V.P.R.I., F.R.S., Edin. M.R.I.A., &C. Elements of Agricultural Chemistry; in a Course of Lectures for the Board of A^rricultuie. 4to and Svo. 1814. Shirreiffl John, farmer at Captain Head, near Haddington, Scotland, and one of the authors of the Survey qf the West Ridit^ of YorkslUret along with Mr. Brown and Mr, Rennie (see 1799] ; after- wards a land agent, and finally steward to a noble, man near Stirling. . General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands. Edin. Svo. 1815. Moubrau, Bonnimton^ Esq. A practical Treatise on the Method of Breeding, Rearing, and Fattening Domestic Poultry, Pigeons, and Aabbita. Svo. 1815. Little, John. Practical Observations on the Improvement and Manage- ment of Mountain Slieep and Sbeep Farms. Svo. ISH — 1815. Simpson, Pindei: 1. Treatise on the Cultivation of Mangold Wurzel, as Win- ter Food tor Cattle. Lond. Svo. S. On tlie improved Beet-root as Winter Food for Cattle. 1815, BirMeck, Morn'Sf Esq. , formerly a farmer in SutiToIk, afterwards an extensive proprietor and resident cultivator in the Illinois. Drowned there ^n 1825. 1. Notes in a Journey through France from Dieppe^ through Paris and Lyons to the Pyrenees, and back through Toulouse in 1814 ; describing the Habits of the People, and the Agri- culture of the Country. Svo. ^. Notes in a Journey in America, from the Coast of Vir- ginia to the Torritoty ot Illinois. Lond. ISIS. Svo. 1815. Hornby, Thomas, Esq., surgeon, York. Dissertation on Lime, and its use and abuse in Agriculture, embracing a View of its Chemical Effects.^ 8vo. 1816. ATiderson, Williajn, farmer, Angusshire. Observations on a new Mode of Stacking Com, peculiarly adapted to Wet Seasons ; recommending a Flan, successfully practised, by which com may be stacked with advantage soon after being cut down. Svo. 1818. Macwilliayn, Robert, Esq. architect and sur- veyor, London. An Essay on the Origin and Operation of the Dry Rot ; to which are annexed, Suggestions for the Cultivation of Forest Tre^, wd an Abstract of the Forest Laws. 4to. 18J9. Radcliffe, liev. T. A Surv^ of the Husbandry of Eastern and Western Flan- ders, made under the Authority of the Dublin Farming Sociefy. Svo. 1819. Williams, T. TV. The Farmer's Lawyer; containing the Whole of the Law and local Customs In regard to Agricultural Possessions, Pro- perties, and Pursuits. 8vo. 1819. Swinbourne, R. The Farmer's New and Complete Account Book. 1819. Blaikie, Francis, first gardener, and after- wards steward to T. W. Coke, Esq. M.P. of Holkham. 1. On the Conversion of arable X^and into Pasture, and on other rural Subjects. Lond. 1819. 12mo. 2. On the Management of Farm.yard Manure, and on other rural SuMects. Lond. 1819. 12mo. 3. A Treatise on the Management of Hedge and Hedgerow Timber. 12mo. 4. On the Economy of Farm Yard Manure, &c. ISmo. 5. On MUdew, and the Culture of Wheat. 12mo. IS21. 6. On Smut in Wheat. 12mo. 1S22. 1820. Rigby, Edward, MAX F.L.S. 1. Framlingham, its Agriculture, &c., including the Eco- nomy of a small Farm. Svo. 2. Holkham, its Agriculture, &c. Svo. 1821. 1820. Grisenthwaite, William, apothecary, of Wells, in Norfolk. A new Theory of Agriculture, in which the Nature of Soils, Crops, and Manures iSj-foplained, many prevailing Prejudices are exploded, and the A'^lication of Bones, Gypsum, Lime, Chalk, &c. determined on scienti&c Principles, iliino. 1820. Monteaih, Robert, a forester in considerable practice as agent and valuator. The Forester's Guide. Stiriiiu;. 12mo. 2d edition with Ad- ditions, &c. Edin. Svo. 1824, plates. 1820. Mather, John, Castle Hill, Carse of Gowrie. The Farmer and Land Steward's Assistant ; or,a Specimen of Farm Book-keeping, exhibiting, in a concise and simple Form, the Transactions in the arable, grazing, and woodland Departments; a general Cash Account; and an Account of the Charge and I^scharge upon each Department ; tlie Whole selected from Books of real Business. 4to 1820. Johnson, Cuthbert William, F.L. and H.S. An Essay on the Uses of Salt for Agricultural Purposes, with InfitrucUons foi Its Employment ns a Manure, and in the Feedmg of Cattle, Sec. New EdIUon in 1827. 1820. Burroughs, Edward, Esq. Essays on Practical Husband^ and Rural Economy, Svo. 1820. Beatson, Major General Alexander, late Governor of St. Helena, &c. A new System of Cultivation without Lime or Dung on Summer Fallows, as practised at Knowle Farm, in the County of Sussex. Lond. 1820, Svo, Plates, and Supplement. ISSfl^ Svo, Plates. 1822. ^inlauson, John, of Kaines, near Muirkirk, Inventor andFatentee of the self-cleaning Ploughs and Harrows, a practical farmer and an ingenious man. A Treatise on Agricultural Suhiects. Svo, plates. Subsc-- r changed to The British Farmer, &c. London. 1830. 1822. Salisbury, W,, formerly a botanical nursery- man, now a private teacher of botany, ike. The Cottager's Agricultural Companion. 12mo. 1822. Munro, Colonel Innes A Guide to Farm Book-keeping, founded upon actual Prac- tice, and upon new and concise Principles. Royal Svo. ' 1822. Napier, Hon. William John, F.R.S. Edin. post captam In the Royal Navy; a vice-president of the Pastoral Society of Selkirkshire, &c. ' A Treatise on Pi^ctical Store Farming, as applicable tb the Mountainous Region of Ettrick Forest, and the Pastoral District of Scotland in general. With Engravings. 8vo. 1822. Cleghorn, James, Esq., formerly a practical farmer, afterwards editor of The Fm-mer's Maga- zjfnf, author of the article " Agriculture*' in the Supplement to the Encyc. Brit, and of various articles in that work. One of the best modern writers on agriculture. Mr. C. is now an accountant in Edinburgh. On the depressed State of Agriculture. Edin. Svo. 1823. Fairbam, John. A Treatise upon Breeding, Rearing, and Feeding Cheviot and Black-faced Sheep in high Districts ; with Observations on flaying out and conducting a Store Farn'.&c. Berwick. Svo. -1823. Low, David, Esq. said to be editor of the Quai-terli/ Journal of Agriculture. Observations on the present State of Landed Property, and on the Prospekts of the Landholder, and the Farmer. Edin.Svo. 1824-. Morice, Francis. .berdeen. Svo. 18S4. Sinclair, George, F.L.S F.H.a, formerly gardener to the Duke of Bedford, at Woburn, now of the firm of Cormack, Son, and Sinclair, nursery- men. New Cross, Deptford, Hortus Gramineus Wobumensis ; or, an Account of the Results of various Experiments on the Produce and Fattening Properties of different Grasses, and 'other Plants used as the Food of the more valuable domestic Animals ; instituted by John Duke of Bedford. To which is added, an Appi^nilix, pointing out the different Grasses best adapted for tlie Manu- facture of L?ghom Bonnets, &c. Lond. Koyal Svo. 18^4 Western, C. C, Esq. M.P. A few Practical Remarks on the Improvement of Grass. Land, by means of Irrigation, Winter-flooding, and Drainage ; in a Letter to the Owners and Occupiers of Land in the County of Essex. Lond. Svo. 1824. Slaney, Robert A., Esq. barrister. Essay on the beneficial Direction of Rural Expenditure. Lond. 12mo. 1825. Holditch, Benjamin, a farmer on the Duke of Bedford's estate, near Peterborough, and for some time editor of the Farm. Journ. newspaper. Essay on the Weeds of Agriciilmre. Lond. Svo. Edited by G. Sinclair, for the benefit of his widow. 1825i Hayward, Joseph, author of the Science of Horticulture. The Science of Agriculture, comprising a Commentary on, and coniparative Invfstigation of, the Agricultural Che- mistry of Mr. Kirwan, ana Sir Humphry Davy ; and the Code of Agriculture of Sir John Sinclair, Sir Joseph Banks, and other Authors on the subject : with Remarks on the Rust, or black Blight in Wheat ; of which the true Cause and ita Prevention are explained. Lond. Svo. 1825. Anon. A Treatise on Milk. Lond. Svo. 1825. Bayldon, J. S., land-agent and appraiser. The' Art of'^valuing Rents and Tillages, and the Tenants Bight on entering and quitting Farms. 2d edit- Lond. Svo. 1825. Buchanan, George, civil engineer. A Treatise on Road-making, Railways, Wheel Carriages, and (he Strength of Animals. 1825. Cteghurn, James, accountant in Edinburgh, conductor of the Fnrmer^s Magazine. ThouglitB on the Expediency of a Gereral Provident Institu- tion forthe Benefitofthe Working Classes, &c. &c. Edin. Svo. IS'ifi Steele, Andrew, a proprietor in the neigh- bourhood of Edinburgh. The National and Agricultural History of Peat Moss, &c. Edinburgh, 8vo. 1826. Withers, William^ junior, Esq. of Holt, Norfolk. A Memoir addressed to the Soeie^ for the Encouragement of Arts, Manuiactures, and Commerce, on the Planting and Rearing of Forest Trees, fitc. &c. Holt and Irfindon, Svo. pamph. 1826. Waistell, Charles, Esq., chairman of the 1214 STATISTICS OF AGUICULTURE. Part IV: Committee of Agriculture, of the Society of Arts. Edited by Jos^h Joplin^, architect, member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, inventor of the Sep- tenary System of generating Lines by simple con- tinuous Motion, Instruments for drawing Curves, &c. &C. Designs or Agricultural Buildings, &c. &e. : to which are added. Plans and Remarks on Caterham Farm-yard, as It formerl; ivas ; and also as it has been improved. Lbntl. ttvo 1826. CoUyns, fT., Esq., surgeon, Kenton, near Exeter. Ten Minutes' Advice to my Neighbours, on the Use and Abuse of Salt as a Manure, 2cc. Exeter, pamph. 8vo. 1826—1831. Fiemitiffy—j and J. Main. Fleming's British Farm^s Ma^fflzine. Lond. 2 vols. 8vo. Continued under the name of the British Farmer's Magazine, 2 vols. Sto. 1827. Anon. The Farmer's Register and Monthly Magazine of Forelcn and Domesdc Events. Glasgow. In svo numbers, monthly. Completed in one volume. 1828. Meadows^ Arthur, Esq. Hints to the Farmers of the Baronies of Forth and Bargy on the Cultivation of Mangold Wurzel, Beans, Carrots, and Parsneps. Wexford, 8vo. 1828—1831. ATunit believed to be David Low, Esq. The Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. Edinburgh, 2 vols. 8vo. The Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland are publiahing along with this work. 8ee 179it. 1828. Kennedy i Lewis, Esq., son of Mr. Kennedy the late eminent nurseryman of Hammersmith, steward to Lord Willbughby De Eresby, author of the Tenancy ^f Land in Great Britain, &a 1. On the Cultivation of the Waste Lands in the United Kingdom, for the pu^ose of finding Employment for the able Poor now receiving Parochial Aid, and thereby diminishing the heavy Burdens of the Poor Rates ; and on the Expediency of making some Provision for the aged and disabled Paupers oS Ireland. Ixmd. Svo. 2. The present State of the Tenancy of Land in Great Bri- tain; showing the principal Customs and Practices between incoming ana outgoing Tenants, &c. liond. Svo. 1829. Lambert, Joseph, Esq. Observations on the Rural Affairs of Ireland, or a Practical Treatise on Farming, Planting, and Gardening, adapted to the Circumstances, Resources, boil, and Climate of the Coun- try. Dublin, Svo, pp. 327. 1829. Stephen*, George, drainer, member of the Nerecian and Wermlandska Agricultural Societies in Sweden. The Practical Irrigator; being an Account of the Utility, Formation, and Management of^Irrigated Meadows, with a particular Account of the Success ot irrigation in Scotland. To vhich is addedj a Practical Treatise on Btraightening nratcr-counes, protecting River Banks, and embanking Loir Lands. Edln. bvo. 1829. D(Mle, Martin. Hints ori^ially intended far the small Farmers of tha County of Wex&rd ; but suited to the Circumstances of many Parts ot Ireland. Dublin, ISmo. 1829. FaU, Thomas, Surveyor of Roads. The Surveytn's Guide ; or, every Man his own Road maker : comprising me whole Art of making and repairing Roads, Prices for Work. East Retford. 12mo. 1829. Barley^ FK/Z/zam, originally a manufacturer in Glasgow ; afterwards a great cow-keeper and builder there. He died in London in 1830. The Harleian Dairy System, and an Account of the various Metiiods of Dairy Husbandry pursued by the Dutch, Also, a new and improved Mode of ventilating stablea ; with an Ap- pendix, containing usef^il Hints (founded on the Author's ex- perience) for the management of Hedgerow Fences, Fruit Trees, &c., and the Means of rendering Barren Land fVuit* fill. Lond. Svo. 1829. Strickland, G., Esq. A Discourse on the Poor Laws of England and Scotland, on the Poor of Ireland, and on Emigration. Lond. Svo. 1829. Trimmer, Joshua Kirby. Practical Observations on the Improvement of British Fine Wool, and the National Advantages of the arable Svstem t^ Sheep Husbandry ; with Remarks on the Saxon and French Systems. 1830. Anon. The Library of Usefiil Knowledge ; Farmer's Series. Svo^ 13 numbers to January 1, 1831. 1830. Je7Kiings,James, Esq., author of the FomiVjr Cyclgpiedia, &c. A nractical Treatise on the History, Medical Properties, and Cultivation of Tobacco. London. 1830. Berry, the Rev. Henry, an extensive farmer in Worcestershire, and understood to be the prin- cipal proprietor of the British Far?ner't Maga- zine. Improved Short-homs, and their Pretensions stated ; being an Account of this celebrated Breed of Cattle, derived from authentic Sources : to which fs added, an Enquiry as to their Value fbr General Purposes, placed in Competitioa with ttie improved Herefords. Lond. pamph. Svo. 2a edit. 1830. Brodisan, T/iomas, Esq. ♦ A Botanical, Historical, and Practical Treatise on the To- bacco Plant, in which the Art of Rowing and curing Tobacco in the British Isles is made familiar to every Capacity, as deduced from the Observations of the Author in the United States of America, and his Practice in Field Cultivation in Ireland. Lond. Svo. 1830. JOavey, John, Esq. Observations on the Disease which has lately been so de- structive to Sheep, called Bane or Coath ; particularising the Causes, and minutely describing the Modes of effecting Its Cure; andpointingoutthoseMeans which ought to be adopted to prevent its Recurrence. Bath, pamph. Svo. Sect. II. Bibliogfaphy of Agriculture in Foreign Cowniries* 7899. Numerous works on agriculture are published in the French and German languages, and a con- siderable number in the Italian j but a great proportion of these are translations from British authors. Very few agricultural books have been printed in the Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Spanish, or Portuguese languages, and scarcely any in those of Russia or Hungary. We shall notice the principal French, German, and Italian works, exclusive of translations, and add a few American books. SuBSECT. 1. Bibliography of French Agriculture. 7900. Of French books on agricuUu/re we have ^ven a selection only : those who wish to see a complete list are referred to the Bibliograjihie Agronomigue, Paris, Svo ; in which are given the titles of upwards of 2000 works, including translations and hooks on gardening. A general idea of French culture in all its branches may be obtained from the iVoMfeaw Cotirs Complet dM^"i'cKW7/j-e, 16 vols. 8vo (edition of 1821,), compiled by the members of the Section of Agriculture of the French Institute, each of whose names are given to the articles he contributed. 1529. Etienne, Charles, et J. Liibatdt, physicians. Etienne, i.e. Stephanus or Stephens, in thebeginning of the sixteenth century published various small tracts on Gardening and other rural topics ; and in 1529 he collected them together and published them, under the title of Preediutn Rusticum, treating of gardens, trees, vines, fields, meadows, lakes, forests, orchards, &c. Having married his daughter to lii^bault, they afterwards studied agriculture con- Jointly, and published the Maison Rustigue, the modem editions of which are still the most popular agricultural works in France. 1. iSrsdium Rusticum ; in fol. 2. L'Agriculture et Maison Rustique. Paris, in 4to, 1570. 1569. Hesson, Jacques, of Dauphiny. De I'Art et Science de trouver surementlesBaux, Sources, et Fontaines cach^es sous Terre, autrement que par les Moyens Vulgaires des Agriculteurs et Architectes, in 4to. 1583. Begemon.PhiUbert, a lawyer born at Cha- lons-sur-soane. Died in 1595. ija, Colombi^re et Maison Rustique, contenant nne Descrip- tion des Douze Mots et des Quatre Saisons de I'Anntfe, avec En- seignement de ce que le Latraureur doit &ire par cbaque Mois. Paris, in Svo. 1600. Serres, Olivier de, the Lord of Predel in Languedoc. He was born in 1539, and died in 1619, at the age of 80 years. He was employed by Hen- ry 1 V. to form a plantation of the white mulberry in the garden of the Tuilleries j and he is generally considered as the father of the culture of that tree in France. He published a great many useful works, the principal of which is his Theatre d' Agri- culture, the first edition of which was published in 1600, and the 20th in 1675. Le Theatre d' Agriculture et Mesnape dea Champs. Paris, small 8vo. An enlarged edition in 2 vols. 4to, with volumin- ous Notes, and a Historical Introduction, in 1804. 1602. Letellier. Brief Discours contenant la Mani6re denouirir les Vers i Boie, &c. Avec de belles Figures. Paris, in 4to. 1004. Laffenas, Barthelemy de, valet de chambre to Louis XIII. La Fa^on de fiiire et semer la Graine de MOriera, les Oliver et replanter, gouvemer les Vers h Sole au Climatde France. Pans, in lamo. 1607. Vinet, Elie, a learned professor at Bour. deaux, author of a work on land surveying. La Maison Champestre et Agriculture. Paris, in 4to. Book 1. FRENCH WORKS ON AGRICULTURE. 1215 1663. Pathit CharleSi son of a physician of that Dame. Traits des Touvbes Combustibles. Paris, in 4to. 1703. Z,i^tfr,Z,(KHs, born 1658, died in 1717. In the latter part of his life he seems to have been a book- seller, or an author by profession. 1. Dicdonnnire G^n^ral des Termes propres b rAgrtculture> avec leurs Definitions et Etymologies. Paris, in 12mo> ^. La Nouvelle Malson rusdque, ou Econoinle GiSn^raledes Biens de la Campagne. Paris. 2 vols, in 1755. 3. L'Economie G^^rale de la Campagne, ou Nouvelle Miu- son niBtique. 1768. 4. Mouveau Syst^me d'Agricnltuve. 3 vols, in 8vo. 1775. 174Q. Boucher d'Argis, Antonine Gaspard^ advo- cate and author of some works on jurisprudence. Code Rnral> ou Maximes et IWglemens conoenunt les Biens de la Cempaniei 2 vols. 1749. Beaumur, Bin4t Antoine FerchatUty sieur de, a learned naturalist, born at Rochelle in 1683, died in 1757. Art et Pi^tiqae de I'Art de f^re Adorer, en toutes Saisons, des Oiseaux Domestiques de toutes £qi6ces. Paris, Imprim. Rt^ale, 3 vols, in ISmo, avec fig. 1750. Hamei, Du Monceau, Henry Lewis du, a famous French writer on Rural Economy and Vege- table Physiology, was born at Paris, 1700 ; died there 1782. 1. Traits de la Culture des Terres. Par. 6 vols. 12mo. S. E16inens d'Agriculture. Far. 17MifivoIfi. 12nia. 3. Traits de la Conservation des Graines^ et en particulier au Froment. Par. 1764. ISmo. ' 4. Traits des Aihres et Arbustesi qui se cultivent en Francej enpleine Terre. Par. 1755, 2 vols. 4to. 5. Ttaite complet des Bois et des For£t&. Par. 1758, 6 torn. 4to. 6. Des Semis et Plantations des Arbres, et de leur Crdture. Par. 1760. 4to. 7- Histoire d'un Insecte qui devore lea Grains de I'Augou- mois. Far. 1762. 12mo. 8. De rExploitatioo des Bois, ou Mojen de tirer Farti des Taillis demi Futajes et hautes Fulajes- Far. 1764. 2 vols. 4to. 9. M^moire sur la Garence et sa Culture, in 4to. 1765. 10. Da Transport, de la Conservation, et de la Force du Bois. 1767. 4to. 1751. DesboiSt Francis Alexander Aubert de la CAf,»uii'e, a laborious Dictioiiary.niaker; was born at Em^e in the Maine, 1699 ; died 1784. DictiotuiairedjAgriculture. 2 vols. 8vo. 1765. Blavet, librarian to the Prince of Conti. Essni sur I'Agriculture Moderae- Paris, in 12mo. 1755. Tillet, du^ of Bourdeaux, a zealous agri- culturist, author of several works. He died in 1791. Dissertation sur la Cause qui coirompt et noircit les Gralnes de BI£ dans les E'pis,in 4to. 1756. Hasffer, F. W. Instruction sux la Mani&re d'^^ver et de perfectionner les Betes a Lsune. Paris, 2 vols, in 12mo. 1760. Alletz, Perns A-ugustin, an advocate, and in.- defatigable compiler. L'Agronome, ou Dictionnaire portatif du Cultivateur, 2 vols, in Svo. 1760. Buch'oTLy Pierre Joseph, a physician, and member of several societies ; born at Metz in I73I, died in great distress at Paris in 1807. He wrote above three hundred volumes relative to medicine, agriculture, the veterinary art, and natural history. A plant (Buchozi^na) was named after him by l.'Heritier. 1. Lettre sur la M^thode de tfenrichir promptement et de conserver sa Sant^ar la Culture des V^g^taux, in Svo. 2. Lettre surle Bl^ de Smyrne, in Svo. 1768. 3. Histoire des Insectes nuisibJes h. THomme, aux Bestiaux, &c. in 12nio. 1781. 4. Manuel usuel et ^onomique des Flantes, contenant leur Fropri^t^ pour les Usages ^conomiques. Paris, in 12nio. 5. Histoire des Inse<:tes utiles h Homme, aux Animaux, et aux Arts. Paris, in ISroo. 1785. 6. Traits de la FCche, ou I'Art de soumettre les Foissons k I'Empire des Hommes, pr^cM6 de I'Histoire Naturelle de ces Animaux, in ISmo. 1786> 7> Dissertation sur la Betterave et la Poir^, leur Culture, M^tbode pour en tir«r du Sucre, &c. fol. 1787. 8. Dissertation sur le Cochon, in fol. 1789. 9. Dissertation sur le Lin de Sib^rie, in fol. 1789. 10. Dissertation sur la Taupe ; les Mo>-ens de la prendre, in fol. 1790. 11. Dissertation sur le Tbrage dela Sole, in fol. 1792. 12. Manuel Tabacal et Stemutatoire des Plantes, ou Traits des Flantes qui sont propres k'p\.\re dt^muer, avec la Mani^re de cultiver le Tabac, de ie preparer, et de juger de ses bons EfTetsdansla Socifet^, in 8vo. 1793. 13. Manuel Territorial des Plantes, in Svo. 1799. 14. Manuel V^t^naire des FUntes, in 8vo. 1799. 15. M^moire sur ie Bl^ de Smyrne, sur le Bl BousBole Agronomique, ou le Guide des Laboureurs, in Svo. 1762. 1762. DesplaceSy Laurent BcTwist. 1. Frfeervauf contre I'Ag^nDmie, ou I'Agriculture r^uite H ses vrais Principes. Paris, in 12mo. 2. Histoire del'Agriculturelancienne, cxtraite de I'Histoire Naturelle de PUne, avec des Eclalrcissemens et des Bern arques. 12mo. 1765. 1762. JDespommiers. L*Art de s'enrichir promptement par I'Agriculture. Paris, 12mo. 1762. LcifaillCf Clement, advocate, and member of several societies. 1. M^moire sur les Mo^ens de multipUer ais^ment 1(» Fumiers dans le Pays d'Aunis. 2. Essai sur I'Histoire naturelle de la Taupe ; sur les dif- f^rcns Movcns qa'on pent employer pour la d^truirc. La IlocbeUe,b]12mo>tig. 1768. 1762. L'Etang de lO'Salle, Simon Philibert de, of Rheims, a lawyer. Des Fr^ries artilicielles, ou Moyens de perfertionner I'Agri- culture dans toutes les Provinces de France, surtout en ChampagnejparrEntreticn et le Renouvellement de I'Engrais; avec un Traits sur la Culture de la Luzerne, du Trifle, et du Sainfoin, et une Dissertation sur I'Exportation du Bl^. Paris. 8vo. 1763. Barthez de Moi-mori^res, an officer, secre- tary of embassy, and member of various societies. Mfemobres d'Agncutture, &c. Svo. 1763. iJMUerg^^, a physician of Tours. An^se ch^mique des Terres de la Province de Touraine, dw difrerens Engrais propres k les am^liorer, et des Semences convenables k chaqueSs-p^ue de Terre. Tours. Svo. 1763. Frangois, Nicholas, de Neufchateau, mem- ber of the Institute, the Senate, &c., a distinguished member of the Paris Agricultural Society, and author of numerous papers in their memoirs. 1. Avis aux CultivateuTs et Propridtaires de Troupeaux, sur I'Amfelioration des Laines. Paris. Svo. an. vii. 2. Essat sur les Moyens de tirer le Farti le plus avan- tneeux de I'Exploitation d'un Domains bom^, ou S;st6me d'Apiculture pour les petits Propri^taires. Neufchateau. Svo. 3. Essai sur la Nfoessit^ et les Moyens de fnirc entrer dans rinstructionpublique I'Enseigriement de I'Agriculture j lu i la Socitit^d'AgricuJture dela Seine, &c. Svo. 1802. 4. Rapport sur le Feifiectionnement des Charrues, fait& |a Soci^t^ Libre d Agriculture du D^partement de la Seine. I'aris, 1763. Pr4fontaine. Maison Rusti^ue k I'lTsage des Habitans de la Fartie de la France ^uinoxiale, connue sous le Nom de Cayenne. Svo. 1763. Thierat. An officer of the royal forests author of some tracts on gardening. '' Instrucdoos fiimili£re& en forme d'Entretten sur les prin- cipaux Objets qui concernent la Culture des Terres. Paris. l2mo. 1764. Bertrand, Elie, a clergyman at Orbe in Switzerland, and member of various societies ' 1, Traits de I'Irrigation des Prfc. 12mo. 2. Elfimens d'Agriculture, fondfe sur les Faits et les Ral- sonnemens, k IT/sage du Fenple de la Campaene. Svo. 1774. ^ 1764. Bertrand, Jean, brother of Elie B. De I'Eau relativement k I'Economie Rustique, ou Traitfe de I'Irrigation des Fr6s. Lyons, 12mo. 1764t JDnpont, of Vemouns, formerly a member of the constituent assembly. 1. Lettre sur la Difference qui se trouve entre la Grande et la Petite Culture. Soissons, Svo. 2. Journal d'Agriculture, &c. Svo. 17C6. 1765. Cha7nl»-ai/, Louis, Marquis de, an amateur apple grower and ciderist. X'Art de cultiver lea Pommiers, les PoJriers, et de faire les Cidres, selon I'Usage de Normandie. pHris, 1 2mo. 1765. Sarcey-de~Sutih-es, an officer in the army and " gentilhomme servant " of the king 1, Agriculhure expi^rimentale k I'Usage des Agriculteurs, Fenniers, et Laboureurs. Paris, 12mo. "="", et Art ""78s"*'*^' d'Agriculture, ou Lemons p&iodiques sur 1768. Lesbros-de-la-Versane, Louis, of Marseilles. Traits de la Garance, ou Recherches sur tout ce qui a Rap- port k cette Flante. Svo. " 1768. Mnrchand, Jean Henri. Les Dflassemens Charapetres. 2 vols. 12mo. 1768. Palteau, Guillaume Louis Formanoir de, of Sens, author of a work on bees. Observations et ExpiSriences sur diverses Parties d'Aerioul- ture. Sens. Svo. 1216 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part W. 1769. Chanvallont a clergyman. Manuel des Cbamps; ou ll«cue)l cholsi, InstnicUr, et nmu- sunt de tout ce qui est le plus Utite et le plwi NtJi-cuMurc pour vivre avec Aisance ct Agr^ment k la Campagne. Fsrls- 12 mo. 1769. Le Br^. Essai sur le Haras ; ou Exaraen des Moyens proprea pour fitabllr, dirlger et f^re prosjjtfrer les Haros: suivi tl'une M^thode facile de blea exainmer les Chevauz que I'ont veut Bchcter. 8vo, fig. 176!*. Rigaud de Vlsle^ of Crest, in Daupliiny. M^inoire mx la Culture de I'Ei-parcette, ou Sainfoin. Paris. 8vo. 1769. Sieuve. 1. M^inoire et Journal d'Obserrations sur les Moyens de garantir les Olives de la piq&re des Inxecte.-. et nouv He M6- thode pour en extraire I'Huile plus abondante par I'lnvention d'un Moulin domes lique, avec la Manii^re de la garantir de toute Kancissure. Paris, 12tno. a. Mi^moires sur diverges Constructions en Terre on Argile, propres !i faire jouir les petits M^naf;ej de riSconoinie des com- bustibles. I'oitiers, fclvo- 1804. 1770. Ajuiot, Le P., missionary at Pekin. Keflexions sur I'Agriculture, et sur ceux qui s'y consacrent : tiriSesde I'^loge de 1 1 Ville ile Moukdeii et de sea Environs. Famine compost par Ifaeii-Long, Empereur de la Obine et de la Tartarie, actuellemen reliant, trartuit en Fran<}ais par le P. Amiot, et public par M. Deguignes, Membre de I'Acad^oiic Royale des Imcripbons et Belles Lettre:^, ct Professeur des Langues Orientales au College Royale. Paris, 8vo. Cel uuvrage est curieux sous plus (run rapport. 177U. Beauai4t Antoine, an eminent French che- mist, was born at Senlis, 17^8 ; died 1805. M^moire sur les Argiles ; oU) llecherches sur la Nature de Terresles plus propres k I'Agriculture, et sur lesMojensde fertiliser celles qui sont St^riles. Paris, 8vo. 1770. Riem. £ncyclop£die Economique, ou'SystSme g^n^ral d'Economie mstlque, contenant les meilleures rraliqued pour fertiliser lei Terres, la Conservation des Grains, &c. ; par quelques Mem- bres de la Soci^ d'Agriculture de Beme. Vverdon, 16 vols. 8vo. 1770. Rozier, Frant;oiSt born in Lyons, 1734, and killed there on the 29th September 1793, during tJie siege of that city, by a bombshell, which buried his shattered remains in the ruins of the apartment which he occupied^ he began his career as an author, by writing in the Journal de Physique et d^Histoire NatureUe^ of which Gauthier Dagoty was editor. He next occupied himself with his Agi-i'cul. . tural or Rural Dicttcmaryy the work by which lie is chiefly known. He cultivated a farm near Bezi^res, which Arthur Young went to see 'when on his tour in France in 1787 ; but the Abb^ had left it on account of the Bishop of Beziferes, who kept a mistress somewhere near, and for his more com- modiously visiting her, got a road made across the farm at the expense of the province. This occa- sioned a quarrel between theAbb^and the Bishop, which ended in the former being obliged to quit his farm. The Abb€, like all other men who depart from common practices, was looked on as a fanciful and wild cultivator ; and, because hepaved his stables and cow-houses, it was reported by his neighbours that he paved his vineyard. He wrote a great many works, chiefly on agriculture. 1. L'Art du Ma^on piseur, extrait du Journal d'Observ- ations sur la Pbysique, in 12mo. 2. Traits de la meilleure Mani^re de cnltiver la Navette et le Colsa, et d'en extraive une Huile D^pouill^e de son manu- vaise Go{kt et de son Odeur d^sagri^able. Paris, in 8vo. 1774. 3. Cours Complet d'Agriculture, Thtforique, Pratque, Economique, etc. ; ou Dictiounaire universel d'Agriculture. VZ vols, in 4tO. 1796. 1773. Bexon^ Gabriel Leopold Charles Ame, a French miscellaneous writer, was born at Remire- mont, 1748 \ died at Paris 1784 : he had a great turn for Natural History, and assisted Buffon in the latter volumes of his great work. 1. Le Syst^me de la Fertilisation, 8vo. 2. Gat^chisme d'Agriculti "" " la Campagne. 1773. i2mo. 1773. Trotker. Z/Art de fertiliser les Terres, et de preserver de la Gelife, commod^ment et h pen de Frais, les Arbrts et Arbrisseaux, lesVignes, &c. M^thode d'Education natioaale et particuliire. Paris. 3 vols, in 8vo. 1774. Leroueej a. friar of the order of Citeaux, in the abbey of Trisay. Principes de Cultivateur, ou Essai sur la Culture des Champs, &c. avec un Traits abr^g^ des Maladies des Cultivateurs, de leurs Bestiaux, et des Retn^des pour les gu^rir. 2 vols. Id 12mo. 1778. BuUiardy died at Paris in 1793. Aviceptologie Frangaise ; ou Traits g^ni 3. (Euvres d'AgricuIture de Varenne F^nille, troisi^me et der- id6re ParUe; M^moires et Exptfriences sur PAgriculture, et •paitlcuU^rement sur U Culture et I'Am^lioration des Terres, !e Dess&ihement et la Culture des Ktanira et des MaxaiSi la Cul- ture et rUsage du Maraisj &c. 8vo. Ig08. 1790. CottCf L.t a priest of the oratory, author of some meteorological tracts. 1. I«9onB dl^mentalres d'A(^cuIturei par Oemandes ct par B^ponses, & l*Usage des Eniansi avec uue Suite ile Questions surT.Vgriculture. I2nio. 2. CaC^chisme h I'Usage des Habitana de la Campaf^e, sur les Dangers auxquels leur Sant£ et leur Vie sont exposes, &c. ISioo TV99. ^ ' 1790. Dubois^ J. J?., author of an interesting me- moir on tiie hay-forks made of the forked branches of the nettle tree in common use in the south of Franct Peuille d'Agriculture, d'Econoniie Burale et Domestiquej & rUsage des Propri^taires, &c. 4to. 1790. Mayet, Ktienne. M ^moire sur les Moyens de mettre en Culture la plus Avant- aeeusc les Terrains sec et arides, principalement ceux de }a Champagne. Svo. 1791. ^6^iVte, K, of Toulon, Ob^rvations de la Soci€t^ d'Agriculture sur la Question Buivante, propose par le Comit^d'Asiculture et de Commerce de I'Assembfde Nationale ; I'Usa^ uea Domaines cx>ng^ble est-il utile ou non au Progrfe de I'AgricuUure ? 8to. 1791. LamotgTion t,MalesherbeSt Chretien GvU- lavane, a statesman, born at Paris, 1731 ; guillotined 1793 : he was esteemed a patriot, a man of correct morals and elegant taste. Id^es dHm Agiiculteur Fattiote sur le D^fridiement des Terres incultes, sA:bes et mai^resj connues sous le Nom de Landes. Gairigues, G&tines, Fricbes, &c. Svo. 1791, FaiUet. Instructions sur la Flantationj la Culture) et la R6;olte du Houblon. Svo. A translation firomtbe EngUsb. 1791. TessieTt Henri Alexandre^ professor of agri- culture and commerce in the central schools ; he has paid great attention to the Merino breed of sheep, and the Angora variety of goat, of which government has put a large stock under his care. 1. Avis aux CultiTateurs, sur la Culture duTabac en France. Publfte par la Soci^l^ Kojale d'Agriculture. Paris, in 8vo. 2. Journal d'Agriculture k llJsage des Habitans de la Cam- p^ne. Svo. 1791. 3. Annalesde I' Agriculture Fran^ise, par M M. Tessier and Box. 12 num,bers annually, amounting now (1S30) to several volumes 8vo> 4. Instruction sur les Moyens de d^truire les Rats des Champs et les Mulots : publi^ par Ordre du Alinistre de I'ln- t^ienr. 8vo. £. M^moire sur I'Importation & France des Cb^vres h, de Duvet Cach^nne. Svo, pp. 32. Paris, 1819. 1792. Comtereazuc, Ft-angois, an architect, but more occupied as an author. 1 . Architecture Rurale, &c. Pai^ in Svo. 2. Cours d'Arcbitecture Rural Pratique, &c. Svo, avec figures, 1792. 3. Les Erreura de mon Si^le sur l'Agricu}ture, 1793. 4. Almanacb perp^tuel des Cultivateurs. Paris, in 12mo. 1794. 5. Nouveau Traits d'Economie Rurale. Svo. 1803. 6. Des nouvelles Bergeries, de ce qui les constitue bonnes et tr^ salubies. Svo. 1805- 7. Des nouvelles Dispoeitions et Constructions des Faisan- flniea, et des Moycais ae multiplier les Faisins, avec la Ma- ni6re d'£lever les Oiseaux, &c. 1805. 8. Ecole d'Arcbitecture Rurale. lortms, in Svo, an iv. 9. La F«rme. In 4to. 10. Nouveaux Murs de Texrasses soUdes et durables, et gui dispensenL de cette Profusion de Mat^riaux qu'on y emploie : Ouvrage utile k tous les Pays ; principalement aux Architects, Ing^meuiB, Mauons, et tous Propri£taires, Agens, et Fermiers. Svo. 1805. 11. Traits de I'ancien Pis^ des Remains, &c. Traiti^ qui indique les Quality des Terres propres au Fis£, les Enduits, &c. Traits eur les Manufactures eties Maisons de Campagne. Traits qui enseigne le nouveau Pis^, la Mani6re de le fairelors des Pluies, des Neiges et des Frimas. Svo. 1794. Belair, A. P. Jalienne de, an engineer, for- merly in the service of Hollsnd and Prussia ; he has written also on military subjects. M^moire sur les Moyens de pafvenir & la plus grande Per- fection de la Culture et de la Suppression des JactiSres. Svo 17941. BertroTidt inspector-general of roads and bridges. Avis Important snr I'Economie Politique et Rurale des Fays de Montagnes, et 5ur la Cause et I^ Efifets Progiessives d^ Torrens, £c Paris, in Svo. 1794(. Ftmtalardt Jean Frangois dCy of Lorrain. Frincipes raisonnfe d'Agricnltore, ou PAgriculture d^mon- tite par les Frincipes de te Cbimie Economique, d'aprds les Ob servations de plusieurs Savaiis; Ouvrage tradnit en Fran^ais, sur la Ver8ieanx, avec d'au- tres Ouvrages sur les Moutons et stu: les Laines. A posthu- mous work. Svo. 1802. Frontage de Feugre, C. Jlf/cArfK, veterinary Erofessor of Alfort, and author of many works on is profession. Dea Cbenilles, des Avolnes, et des Moyens d'empScber leur Ravages. Paris, 8vo. 1&02. Pictety Charles^ of Geneva, one of the con- ductors of the Sibliothegve Sritannigne. !• Faits et Ubservalions concemant la Race des Merinos d'Espagne k l^aine superfine, et les Croisemens. Svo. 2. Quelques faits concemant l.i Race des M^inos d'Espagne, Jl Laine superiine. Geneve, in Svo, fig. an viii. 3. Comparison detroiaCharrues. Svo, pn. 128. avec planche. tien^e, 1823- 180S, Raiichf F. A., engineer of roads and bridges. Harmonie hydro-v^g^tale «t M£t£ocologique, ou llccbercliei 41 1918 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTUHE. Pajit IV. «ur Ics Mcmns de ncttee, nvco nos Forets, la Force des Temptf- raturos et la R^ulorlt^ ties Saiaona par des Plantations raiion- ntes. 2 vols, in 8vo. 1803. Depradtf Z)., archbishop of Malinea, almoner to Nap. Bonaparte at Warsaw, and since the restor. ation of the Bourbons, author of various political works, which have excited considerable interest 1. De I'Etat de la Culture en France, et de ses Am6Hor- Atlons. 2 Tols. in 8to. S> Voyage ARronomliiuc en Auvergne. Puis, 8vo. 18iS. 1803l DourcheSf Charles, member of several so- cieties. 1. Trait6 des Prairies et du leurs Irrigations, in Svo. a. Aper^u G£rL6ral des ForGts. 2 vols, in 8to. an xiil. 1803. Si7iety, Atidr6 Louis Esptit, member of seve- ral societies. L'ARTiculture du Midi, ou Traitfe d'Acriculture popre aui D6partemens M6ridlonnux, &c. Marseilles, 2 vob. in 12mo. 1804>. Jacquin, M. E. Instructions sur I'Econoinie Rurale et Domeatique aux Habi- tans dea Campngnes : publiies par la Soci^tti d'.(V.sri culture du DfiiiBrtement des Deux-S6vres. 8vo. iSiJy. Aigom, member of the Agricultural Society of Ivre(?. M^moire sur I 'Amelioration du Troupeau de Merinos et de Betes k Laine indic6nes £tabU b. la JViandria de Chivai;, Dd- parlement de la liOire, et sur les Frogrte d'Agriculture dans ce Domainc. In Svo. 1805. Tallard, Claude^ member of various socie- ties, and who visited most parts of the Continent; afterwards a nurseryman near Paris, and finally a corn-merchant Traits des V6g6taux qui coraposent I'AgricuIture de I'Smpire Fran^aise, &c. 12mo. 1806. Bagotj member of the Agricultural Society of the Seine. 1. Mfimoire sur les Froduits du Topinambour, compares avec CGUX de la Luzerne, et de plusieurs Bacincs Idgumineuses. Paris. 2. Annales de I'Agiicultute Frangaise, contenant des Obser- vations et des M&moires sur toutes les Parties dc I'AgricuI- ture. • 1806. LuUin, Ch. J. M. Pes Prairies axtificielles d'Etd etd'Hiver; delaNourriture des Brdbis, et des Ameliorations d'une Ferme dans les En- virons de Geneve. 2e edit, revis^ et consid^rab lenient aug- ment£e. Genfeve, Svo, pp. 532. 1807. Gagon Dufour, Marie Armande Jeanne. Dictionnaire Rural Kaisonn6, dans lequelon trouve le Detail des Plantes Preservatives et Curatives des Maladies des Bes- Uaux. 1807. Morel de Vindiy peer of France, a proprietor of a beautifully situated estate near Marly, In the neighbourhood of Paris, 1. M^moiresurl'ExacteParit^desLaines Merinos de France et des Ijaines Merinos d'Espagne, suivi de (^uelques Eclaircisse- mens sur la vraie Valeur que devraient avoir dans le Commerce les Lalnes Mferinos Frangaises. Svo. 2. Quelques Observations pratiques sur la Tbdorie des Assole- inens. Paris, 8vo. 1822. 3. Essai sur les Cuniitructions Rurales Economiques, contenant leurs Plans, Coupes, Eli^vations, Details, et Difvis £tablis aux plus bas Prix possibles. (Les Details de Constructions et Difvis par A. L. Lusson, Arcbltecte.) Paris, in folio, pp. 40. avec 36 Planches, 1822. 1807. Prevost, BM4dict. M6moire sur la Cause ImmMiate de la Carie ou Charbon des Bite, et de plusieurs autres Maladies des Plantes, et sur les Pre- servatives de la Carie. Montauban. 8vo. . 1809. Calvelj Etienne, member of the Museum of Toulouse, and of other societies, author of various scientific works on rural subjects. M^moire sur I'Ajonn, ou GenSt ^pineux considfirfi sous le Rapport de Fourrage.del'AmeodementdesTerres St^riles,et de Supplement au Bois. Paris, jn Svo. 1812. T/iouirit M. Andri, Le Chevalier de, profea. sor of culture in the University of Paris ; author of various memoirs on gardening and agriculture, in- serted in the French encyclopaedias, dictionaries, and periodical works, and in the transactions of their learned bodies ; an excellent man, and esteemed one of the first gardeners in Europe. He died in 1824. fSee Encvc. of Gard. p. 1117.) Description de I'Ecole d'Agriculture Pratique du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. 4to. 1815. Delabergerie, J. B. B., membre de plusieurs 6ocii?t6s savantes nationales et ^trangi:resj ancien pr^fet Histoire de I'A^culture Frangnise, con^dgrecdans ses Rap- ports avec lea Lois, les Cultes, les Mceurs, et le Commerce ; prfe- c6dte d'une Notice sur I'Empire des Gauleset sur I'AgricuIture des AmienB. Paris. Svo. 1816. Bonnemain, a physician, member of several Gocieties. Observations sur I'Art de faire telorer et k £lever la Volaille cans le Secours des Ponies, ou Examesi des Cases qui ont pu emp£cber aux dlverses Tentatives qui oat et£ faites en Europe, pour imiter les Egyptiens. Paris, in Svo, pp. 36. 18ie— 1830. Anon. Journal d'Agriculture d'Economie Rurale et des Manu- factures du Royaume des Pays-Bas, &c. Brussels, Svo, in monthly numbers. 1816. Chatelaint le Chevalier j a cavalry officer. M^moire suz les Chevauz Arabes ; Frojet tmdant k aug- menter et h. am61iorcr les Cbevaux en France ; Notes sur les difl%rentes Races qui doivent fitre prtfi&rdes h ce sujet, &c. &c. Paris, Svo. 1817. Bomot, M. A., a notary at Savoisy. Pratique Raisonn^e de la Culture du TrfiUe et de SalnSjlih ParU, Svo, pp. 100. „ _ , , 1818. Aorouin, Foulon, mayor of Semblancay. EssaJ sur les Dfifrlchemcns des Landes, et Ic Desfecbement des Marais. Tours, Svo, pp. 40. 1819. PeyrousCf Baron Ptcot de La. „ ^ , A Sketch of the Agriculture of a District in the South of France. Translation with Notes. Svo. 1819. FiUeneuoe, Comte Louis de. Essai d'un Manuel d'Agriculture, ou Exposition du Systeme de Culture sulvl pendant 19 ana dans le Doinainc d Hantenvc, Commune de Cartres, IWparieinent du Tours. Toulouse, Svo, pp. 908. 1819. Yvast, A. Victor^ Member of the Institute, and one of the writers in iheNouveau Cours d* Agri- culture^ &c. 1. Excursion Agronominue en Auverene, principalement aux Environs des MonU d'Oretde Puy-ile-Uome ; suiviede Recherches sur I'Etat, et I'lmportance des Irrigations en Rrnnce. Paris, Svo, pp. 218. 2. Conbidferationa etfn^rales particullires sur la Jachereet sur les meilleurs Mojens d'anivtr graduetlement h sa Sun- presHion avec de grand A vantages. Imprimtf parOrdrt dela Sutitft^ Royale et Centrale d'Agriculture. Paris, Svo, pp. 220. avec Plancnes, 1822. 1829. Audouin, Maurice. Expos£ du Projet d'Etab'issement d'une Ferme experimen- tale dans chaque D^partement du Royaume. Paris, Svo, pp. 8. ' 1820. Crud, Le Baron E. V. B., the translator of Thaer*s works from the German. Economic de I'AgricuIture. Geneve, 4to, pp. 414. 1820. Deslandes. EMmens de I'AgricuItureet dee Sciences qui s'y rapportcnt, ire. Paris, 2 vols. l2mo, pp. 600. 1831. Guillaumey Ch. Instrumens aratoiies, invents, per&ctionnds, dessinds, et graves. Par Ch. G. Paris, oblong folio, pp. 28. avec 12 Planches. 1821. LajonSt M. de, mayor of Atigat, Abr^rtf felfementaire d'Agriculture Pratique, d'apr^s les Principes de Rozier, Arthur Young, Duliamel, &c. : principca applicm^s h la Nature du Solles Pyrentea, a sa Temperature, Su:. ToiUouse, Svo, pp. 632. avec fig. 1822;. AdamsoHf Madame Aglae. La Maison du Campagne. Paris, 3 vols. 12mo. pp. 1098. 1822. Frances, Ain4. I/Art de la Stercoration, ou les Loisirs d'un Agriculture Fracticien x&px6 k la Campagne ; M^thode pour fabriquer une Quantity immense de Fumiers qui duxeront 8 Ans, tandis que lesFumiers or"--' ' '- "" — ^ ''- Toulouse, Svo, pp. •. aue les Fumiers ordinaires sont dvapor^ dans deux annta. 1822. Moro^esy Baron de. Essai sur les Moyens d'amfillorer I'AgricuIture en France, particuli^rement dans les Provinces les moins riches, et no- tamment en Soulogne. Paris, 2 vols. Svo, pp. 932. 1822. Thie7-y, P. J. (officier comptable du d Paris, ISmo. 1826. Delpierrey Ltfocade. Nouveau Guide du Fermier. Ch&teauroux. Pamphlet. 18mo. 1826. Un Jardinier Asronome. Annuaire du Jardinier et & i'Agronome, pour 1826. Paris, ISmo. 1828. L4garr4y J. D.. Esq.. editor. The SouUiem AKriculturist, and Register of Rural Aifhira; adapted to the Southern Section of the United States. Charleston. In Svo Numbers, monthly. 18^8. Delpiert-e, Leocade. Manuel du Fermler. Paris, ISmo. 1828. Anon. M^moires d'Agriculture, d'Economie rurale et domestique : Subli^ par la Soci^td Uojale et Centrale d'Aj^riculture. Fari% vo, 1 vol. 1829. Anon. Journal de la Soci6t6 d'ABronomle pratique (auquel s'cst r£unl Le Journal des Jardins). Paris. In Svo Numberi monthly. 1829. Moleon, J. G. V. de, cond. Recueil Industrlel, Agdcole, et Commercial. Paris, Svo monthly Numbers. SuESECT. 2. Bibliography of German Agriculture 7901. The German agricultural works are as numerous as those of the French, but chiefly translations, and these, for the most part, from the English. We have given a very limited selection, the German lan- guage being less generally understood than either the French or Italian. In forest management IForst- vn'^enschqft) the German bibliography is very rich ; and it is chiefly these books, and descriptions of local practices, which can be of any interest tothe British cultivator. The older German works in rural affairs are enumerated in Haller's BUtltogra'^hy j and the modern ones, and new editions in Ersch's Handbuck der Deutschen Litteratur, and the Leipsic Catalogues, published annually. Thaer of Moeglin is decidedly the highest in repute as an author, and Sicklex's Deutsche Landwirthschqftj a voluminous work, will give a general idea of every part of German husbandry 1578. Heresbachius, Conradus, counsellor to the Duke of Cleve ; was born in 1508, died in 1576. He wrote various theological works, besides his Rei Rustics, libri iv., which was published in 1570, and his LeguTn rustica/rum et Operamm persingu- los Menses digesUSt in 1595. The former was trans- lated by Barnaby Googe, of Lincolnshire, with the , fiillowing title :— , Foure Bookes of Hushandrie, containing the whole Art and Trade of Husbandrie, Gardening, GrafBng, and Planting, with the Antiquitie and Commendation thereof. Newly £ngiished and increased by Bamelw Goose, Esquire. At JuindCTi, 4to. 1678. Leaves 194, besides the Dedication, Epistle and Table at the b^inning ; and Olde English Rules in Vene for pur- chasing Lande, at the end. His authorities extend from the Bible and doctors of the church, through the Greek and Roman writers, Homer, Cato, &c,, to fJie modems as low as Ruellius, Fuchsius, Matthiolus, Cardanus, and Tragus. He subjoins a list of his friends and others who assisted him. S. Nich. Malbee, M. Cap. Byngham, M. John Somer, M. Nicas. Yetzwert, M. Fitzherbert,M. Willi. Lambert, M. Tusser, M. Tho. Whetenhall, M. Rl Deering, M. Hen. Brookhu 1 M. Franklin, H. King, Richard Andrews, Henry Denys, WilUam Pratte, John Hatche, Philip Par- tridge, Renworth Daforth. The work is in dialogue. The persons are Gono, a gentleman retired into the country ; Rego, a courtier; Metella, wife of Cono; and Hermes, a servant. 1591. ColeruSt J. 1. Calendarium4aeconomlcnmetperpetuum. WittehergEE. 2. Economiie Pars prima; qua ttactatur auemadmt^um bonus (Economus famulos buos n^ere debet et Bcma sua aueere Sotest per veras honestas Artes, et ntilia Compendia circa Res omesticas, Agriculturum, Piscatum, Aucupia, Venationes et Vinearum Culturum. Wittebergae, 4to. 1^3. 1592. Porta, J. B. Villee, lib. xiii. Francofurti, 4to. 1735. Zeigerus, Ajitoine. Introdnctio rationalis ad (Economiam et Artem perficiends Aipriculturae, in quil Methodus exponitur Experien'ia coniiT- mata Omnegenus Agrontm sine consueta Stercoratione fecun- dandi. 4to. 175+. Eckharty J. Gli. von. Experimental Oekonomie Uber das Anfmalische V(>getald- Hsche, und Mineral Keicbe, oder vollstSndige HausbaltungS' und LandwirthschaABkunst. Jaia, 1754. Svo. 1760. Der Schweizer. Gesellschaft in Bern Sammlung von LandwirthsdiaQlichen Dingen ; oder Abhandluneen und Beobachtungen durch die Skonomische Gesellschaft m Bern gesammelt. Zurich, Svo. 1762. Wiegandy J. Wohlerfahmer Landwirth ; oder Anleitnng wie der Luid- wirthschafts Oehonomie leu verbessem- Wien, Svo. 1766. CrameTy John Andrewy diedlTJl. AiUeitUDgzum Forst-wcsen. Braunsch. fol. 1766. Dirieule. M^moires de I'AgricuIture en g^n^rale, et de I'AgriculturA de Pologne en particulier. Berlin, Svo. 1769. LUderSy Ph. E. Grundriss einer zu errichtenden Ackerschule, in welcher die Landjugend zu einer richtigen Erkenntniss und Uehung im Landbau engefiihrt und zubereitet werden kSnne. Flens- burg, Svo. 1773. KrunUZy J. G. Okonomische tecbnologischeEncyklopSdie, oder allcemeinefc System der Staats, St^dt, Hans, und Landwlrthsohaft in Al- phabetiscber Ordnung. Berlin, Svo. 1775, Albrechty J F. E. Zootomische imd Fhyaikalische Entdeckungen von der in- nem einrichtung der Bienen, besonders der art ihrer begat* tung. Gotha, Svo. 1775. Suckovj, G. Adg. Abhandlung vom Nutzen der Chemie zum Behuf des btlr- gerllchen Lebens und der Oekonomie. Manheim, Svo. 1779. Borcke, H. A. GraftUy Count de. Account of the Management of tus Estate of Stargordt, iD Fomerania. Berlin, 4to. 1780. Christ. J. h. Patriotische Npcltichten, &c.; or, Patriotical Accounts and Instructions cor cemlng theprofitable Culture of Tobacco, and more especially of that called Asiatic Tobacco. Francf. Svo. 1781. Rossigy Karl Glo.y author of some works on gardening and forest management. Versucb einer -pragmatischen Geschichte der Oekonomie,, Polizey und Camieralwisiienschafien, seit dem 16 ten Jahr- hund^rte, bis auf unsere Zeiten. Deutschiand Leipzig, Svo. 2. Die Geschichte, der Oekonomie der voraitglichsten Len- der und Vfilker der Sitern mittlem und neuem Zeitineineni kurzen EntwUrfe dargestellt. Leipzigi Svo. 1798- 1784. Hiltenbrandy Ant. Erste AufangBgrUnde dcr zur Landwirthschaft nfithigen Mechanik. lVien,8vo'. 1784. Hofmann, Gil Bd. Freyherr von. Die Landwirthschaft fttr Herm und Diener. Frag. Svo. 1785. Fischer. C. F. J. Geschichte des Deutschen Handels, der SchiflFfahrt, Fische rey, Erfindungen, KUnste, Gewerbe, der Landwirthschaft, Pauzey des Zoll-Mtlnz-und Bercwesens, der Staatswirthschaft und des Luxus. Hanover, "2 vols. Svo. 1786. nartig, Fr. Grafen von. Historische Untersuchung Uber die Aufiiahme und den Verfall der Feldwirthschaft bey verschiedenea VOlkem. Fr..g. und Wien, Svo. 1786. Bizhauh. Brevis Bei rustics Bescriptio. Giessen, 12mo. 1790. Hartiz, Georges Louis. Observations Historiquea sur les Progrds et la Decadence (1« I'AgricuIture chez diflereoa Peuples. Vienne.S vols. Svo. 1791. Anon. Kleine Schriften aur Stadt-undLandwirthschaft von der Bko- nomischen Gesellschaft in Betn heiausgeueben. Zurich, Svo. 1791. JVa», Bh. Seb. Theoietisch praktisches Handbuch fllr Oekonomie, Berg- baukunde, Tecbnologie und ThierarznCTwissensohaft (.n Alphabetischer Ordnung) von einer Gesellschaft bearheitet* Zurich, Svo. 4 12 1220 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. 1792. Bosc, K. Ad. M von. Katechctische Untcirfcht zum Peldbau odcr ftcundschaft- Jlche GesprHche uber die vorzUttlichstcn Gegenstando der alien und neuen Irfmdwitthschaft j nobst elnem Anhangc, wie die Wohn-und WirUischoflsgebaude unf kleincn Rittcr- f;Utem und grossen Bauerj^tem bequem und wohlful anzu- tgea. Halle, Svo. 1792. Riem^J. 1. Monithlich praktluh Skonomische EncyklopHdie fUr Deutsche, Oder zusammenhangL-nder LelirbeRriffdet" pemein' nUtzicon praktLschen Wlrtbscnafiskundc, Stc, Lmvp'/Aq, Sto. 2. nlodell Magazin fUrOekonomcn ; oder Abbiluuncenund Beschrelbungen dcr nurzlicbsten und bequcmsten uertith- schaften, Werkzeuge und Gescbirre fllr Haushaltung Land- wirtluchaft, VleKucht, &c. Leipzig, 1802, 4tO| mit K.Up- fem. 1794. Stump/. G. Biographie und scbickaale des Okonomiscli cameralisticheii Instituts zu Jena ; mit den nUthig^ten Documenten. Jena, 8vo. 1796. Ilubcj-f Francis^ memher of the Society of Natural Philosophy and N^itural History of Ge- neva. Nouvelles Observations sur les AbelUes, adress6cs & M. Charles Bonnet. Far. 12mo. 1796. Zehmens, Cp. H. Adf. von. System der Lnndwirtnschaft, nach ph^sischon und chemis- EChen Grunds&tzen bL'bandelt, und diurch lan^'e Erfabmngen geprUft. Leipzig, 8 wo. 1797. Fischer, H. L, Katcchismus der Ilaushalt und des Ackeibaues zuin Ge* brauch in Schulen. Braunschweig, 8vo. 1797. Krnntx, GuillauTtie. De rAgriculture comme Source prindnale du Bien-fitre et de la Pro-spferitfe d'une Nation. Viennc, Svo. 1798 Thaer, Alb.y of the establishment of Moge- lin in Prussia, one of the most enlightened German agriculturists, author of numerous works, all in h igh repute. (576.) He died at an advanced age, and deeply regretted by all who had the happiness of iieing his pupils, in 18S9. 1. Binleitung zur Kcnntniss der Englischcn Landwirth- scbafl. Hanover, 8to. 2. Vermischte LandwirthschafUiche Schriflon aus der drey entten J'ahrg^ngen der Annalen der niedersachischen Land- wi'tshschaft, ansgew&hlt und anszugsweise in Ansehung der ei^en Avbeiten verbeasert> Hanover, Svo. 1806. 3. GrundsiLt':£e der rationellen Lacdwirthschaft. Berlin, 4to. 1809. 4. Annalen der nieders^chsischen Landwirthschaft beraus- gegcben von der Braunschweigi.-.chen Landwirthschafte Gesell. schaft durch Alb. Thaer una J. I-lx. Benecke. Zclie. Svo. 1799. 1799. Anton, K. Glo. Versuch einer Geachichte der deutscTien I/andwirthschaft von den Sltesten Zeiten bis zu Ende des 15 ten Jahrhunderts. GOrlitz, Svo. 1800. Riickert, G. Ch. Alh. ■ Bemerkung Uber Thaers Einlcitung zur Kenntnlss der EngUschen L^ndwlrthscbafit. Wien, Svo. 1800. Sieindel, A. H. vov Bemerkungen Uber Thaers Schreilien, &c. L^pzig, Svo. 18U1. Huher, P., of Lausanne, in Switzerland, and son of Francis, previously mentioned. 1. Memoirs concerning the Influence of the Air, and several gaseous Substances, ou the Germination of various Kinds of tirain. Geneva, Svo. 2. Kecherches sur les Mceurs des Fourmis Indigenes. Far. 1810. . 1802. Costa, Ch. Essai sur I'Am^lioration de I'Acriculture dans les Pays Montueux, et en particulier dans la bavoie. Svo. 1802. Esclienbach, Ch. Ghld. Kunstmagazin der Mechanik und techniscben Cbemie ; oder Sammlung von Abbilddungen under BeschreiOungen er- Srobter Mascbinen, zurVervoTlkommnungdesAckerbaueSjder lanufacturen und Fabriken. Iieipzig, 4to. 1802. GoUhard, J. Ch. Das Ganze der Luidwirthscbaft ; ein Systematisches Lehr- buch fUr Oekonomen, so wie fUr jeden, der sich dieser Wissen- Gcbaft widmet. Mainz, Svo. 1803. Engel, Lud. Hm. Hs. von. Anwendung der EngUschen Landwirthschaft auf die Deut- sche und beiue gegen einander gestellt nach Thacr's Einlei- tung. Leipzig, 8vo. 1803. Hermbsfddt, Sgm. F. Arcbiv der Agricultur-Chemie, fUr denkende Landwirthe ; Oder Sammlungen der wichtigsten Entdeckungen, ErfahrruTi- gen und Beobachtungen in der Fhysik und Cbemie,&c Berlin. 1803. ^eber, R Bd. Handbuch der iikonomischen Lltteratur ; oder Rystematische Anieitung zur Kenntniss iler Deutschen Okonomischen Schrif- ten, die sowohl die gesammte Land-und Hau^wirthschaft, als die mil densell>en verbundenen Hulfi>-und Nebenwissenschaf- ten angehen ; mit Angabe ihres Ladenpreises und Bemer- kung ihres Werths. Berlin, Svo. 1804. Richter, JL F. 1. Cberaisch Oekonomisches Taschenbuch f Ur Wirthschafit< beamte, oder Darstellung der chemiscben Elementargesetze welche mit dcr Oekonomie in der engsten Verbindung stuheo. Chemnitz und Leipzig. Svo. 2. Historische, Tabellarische Darstellungen der in jedem Monathevorkommenden Landwlrthschafllichen Arbeiten: auf jedes Fahr anwendbar, fUr iUtteigutsbesitzer, PSchter und Verwalter. Chemnitz und Leipzig, fbl. 1S04. 1605. Sickler, F. Ch. i., son to the celebrated German pomologist, and author of some interesting gardening works. (See Encyc. qf Gard. p. llSfi.) Ix Spirodiphirc, ou Char a planter le Bid, avcc deux Planch. Palis, Bvo. 1808. Fellenberg, Emmnnurl, of the celebrated agricultural establishment of Switzerlaiid, already noticed. (350.) , , 1. Rapport h S. Ex. Ic Landamman et ti la Dictc dea 19 Cantons de la Suisse, sur les Etaljlissemuns agricoles de M. Fellenberg k Hofwyll, par M. M. Heer, &c. Paris ct Geneve, Svo. 2. Vu(s relatives h I'Agriculture de la Suisse, et bux Moyens de la perfect ion 11 er. Geneve, 1808. 3. AnEtalten der scliweitzer Lanawlrthschaft und i\n zweckmassigsten Mittels sie zu vervollkommnen. Carlsruhc, Svo. 1809. 1808. Escher, von Berg. Briefe Uber die Fellenbergische Wlrthschait zu Hofwyl. Zurich, Svo. 1808. Thei-ess, Thdr. Theorctisch-Prakliscbes HandM'iirterbuch der gcbaramtea LandwirihHChafl; oder Anwcisung zur Kenntnlss, Beband- lun;; und Benutzung aller Laiidwirlhschartlichc-n G(;gL'ii- stUnde; als des Feld-und Garteubaumi, der Viebzucht, &c. Guttingeii, Svo. 1809. Plitff'mann, A. Ueber Fellenbergs Wirtbschaft in Hiifwyl; neljst Aniiier- kungen und eine Naclischrift vun Alb. Thaer (uus dun Anna- len des Ackerbaues.) Berlin, Svo. 1HU9. Sdir^old, L. Berichtigung des helvetifichen National Rapports Uber die Landwirthschiifttichen Anstalten des Herrns i!.m. FellcnbGrgB zu Hofwyl, Erlanj^n, Svo. 1809. Tmntmnn, Cp. Lehrplaii der Landwirthscbaft* Wien, Svo. ISIU. Schontentner, M. Nachrichten Uber die kiinigliche Landwirthschaftscbule in Weihenbteplian und Uber das dort eiiigefuhrte Thaerbchc Ackersyst^m. MuncliL-n, Svo. 1824. Voghtj Baron von, a proprietor and culti- vator at Flotbec, on the Elbe, near Hamburg. Meine Ansicht der Statik des Landbaues. Hamburgh, Svo. 1825. Huber, M. Ueber die Urbarmarcbung des Flugsandes. Berlin, Svo. 1825. Anon. Wurtembergiscber Correspondenz des Landwirthschaft Ve- reins. -Vol. 8. 1825. Frangue,Dr. Die Lebre von dem KOrperbau, &c. Wiesbaden, 8\o, 1 tbeU. 1825. Schuster, J., and M. HaberlCf professors in the University of Hungary. De Stipa Noxa. Perth, L2mo. 3825. WeidenJcellei: Arcbiv fUr Ffdidektnntni&s, ficc. Svo. 1825. LeuchSy Char. Volstilndige Anieitung zur MSstung der Tbiere, &c. Na- leinberg, Svo. 1825. Hazxi, M. de, councillor of state. Gekroente PreisschriJEt ueber Gueter-Arrondirung, &c. Munich, Svo. 1825. Schwertx, K, director of the Experimental Agricultural Institution of the King of Wirtemburg, author of some excellent works on the agriculture of the Netherlands and Alsatia. Anieitung zum praktlscben Ackerbau, &c. Stuttgard, Svo. 1825. Grf{ffeny E.G. Auf Erfahrung gegrUndet Unterricht, &c. Leipsig, Svo. 1825. Reider, T. Das Ganze des Karden dislelbaues. Nuremberg, 12mo. 1826. Ha%%i,M. de, councillor of state of Bavaria, author of an Essay on the Union of Detached Pro- perty. Vom DUnger als Lebens princip der Landwirthschaft, &c. Munich, pampb. 4 to. 1826, Wittmann and Denglaex, superintendants of the domains of the Archduke Charles of Austria, Landwirtbschaftlich Hefte. Vienna. 3 sheets. 1826. Ribbe, M., Professor in the University of Leipsic. Daj, Schaaf und die Wolle, &c. Ldpsic, Svo. 18^6. Galb, L. Anieitung fUr der Landmann, &e. Treves, pampb. Svo. 1826. Ctosen, Baron de. Die landwirthschafUicheErziehungsanstalt mGem. Mu- nich, Svo. 1S26. Metzger, J., gardener to the University of Heidelberg. EuropEEische Cerealien, &c. Heidelberg, fol. 1826. Anon. Loudon's EncycIopSdie des LandwirtbschaA, &c. Trans- lated from the English. Weimar, Svo. 1828, Haxzi, M. von, knight, councillor of state to the King of Bavaria, member of many societies ; editor of the Bavarian Aericulfural Jownal, and author of various works. Thefather of agriculture and of agricultural schools in Bavaria. Neuster Katecbismus des Feldbaues, &c. Munich, 12mo. 18S8. Kops, M., professor of botany and rural economy at the University of Utrecht Etat de I'Agriculture dans le B^yaume des Pays Has pendant I'annee ISiiS. The Hague, pamph. Svo. 1828. Wagner, J Ph. Ueber Merinos-Schafzucht. Konigsberg, 6r. Svo. 7p1ate» 1829. Eisner, J. G. TVi rsicht der £uro[>, vercdeltep Schafeucbt. Prague 2 theile, Rvo. Book X. IIALIAN WORKS ON AGRICULTURE, 1221 SuBSECT. 3, Bibliography o/" Italian A^rkuUure* 7902. A number qf Italian agricultw^al works have been published j such as they are, perhaps more of them are original than of the books of the French or Germans, because the culture of other parts of Europe is but ill adapted for Italy, The vine, olive, mulberry, orange, and the irrigation of lands, have a good deal occupied the Italian writers. Re may he reckoned their general and popular author, and hid Nuovi Elements 4 vols. Svo, 1815, and Annali del Jgricultwa, &c. 2i vols. 8vo to 1814, will give a good idea of Italian husbandry and gardening, the two arts in that country being for the most part combined. 1471. Cresceiitius, Crescenzio, or De Cresceiaifs was born at Bologna about 1233 ; died 1320. 1. Oi)us Huralium Commodorum, sivede Agricultura, libii xii. Augsburg, fill. 2. De Agricultural Omnibusque Plontarum et Animalium tieiicribus- Sasil, 1533. 1496. Bertochtis, Dionysius^ of Bologna, who printed some very early works at Vicenza. ScriptoF9S de Re Kustica. Tt\is contains the Agricultural Works of Columella, Varro, Cato, and also of Pallauius, &c. 154G. Alamanniy Luigi. La Goltivazione e gli epigrammi, colle Api di Gio. Rucellaii e 2. La Vinti Giomate dell* Agricoltura, e de* Placeri deUa Villa. Turin, 1379. 4to. 1622. Soderinit Giovanvettorio,e Semardo Dava- zati. CoItivaiuoneTuscauadelleTitied'alcunialberf. AgehintoTi Coltivasuone degli Olivi, di Pietro Vettari. Firenze. 4to. 1628. Castelli, Benedict, an Italian mathematician, and the particular friend of Galileo, was born at Brescia, in the year 1577 ; died about 1640. Treatise of the Mensuration of Running Waters ; also. Let- ters and Considerations touching the Draining of Fens, Divi- tiiuns of lUvers, &c. Translated b; Thomas Salisbury. Lond. IGGl. fol. Published at Borne in 1628. 1658, Fanara, Vincenxo. L'Kconomia del Cittadino in villa. Romaj in 4to. 1718. Borro, Alessandro del. Diino5tra7ioni e prove sopra I'Altivita, ed uso vantaggioso del Gran Coltro. Milano, in 4to, fig> 1736. Aquino, Charles d*. Nomenclator AgriGultunn. RomiE, in 4to 1758. Gavelltis, Nicholas. Storia diRtinta, e curiosa del Tabacco, concemante la sua Gcaperta, la Introduzione in Europa, e la Maniera di coltivarlo, conservarlo, e prepararlo. Pesaro, Svo. 1767. Cattaneo, Giacomo. Delia Idropisia de' Gelsi. Milano, in Svo. 1772, or earlier. Tarello, Oamillo. 1. Bicordod'Agricoltura colle note del PatreScottoni. Ve- neda, in 4 to. 2. Ilicordo d' Agricoltura corredato d'Annotazioni da Paolo Sangiorgio. Milano, 1816, in Svo. 1776. Canciana. Saggi soura laL^islazione propria alleatti dell' Agricoltura Ufline, in Svo. 1777. Salvinij Gio. Istruzione al euo f^ttore d! campagna, in cui si da una plena norizia di tutto cdO cti' appartiene alia maggiorpromoicione deir arte agraria, e suoi tnetodi, ec Venezia, in Svo. 1778. Caniuni, Carlo Antonio. Istruzionl pratiche intomo all' Agricoltura, e tenuta dei Bi- gatti. Be^. in Svo. 1778. Castellet, Constans. Istruzionl circa il tnodo d! coltivare i geld, di allevare i ha- clii da seta, e di filar le sete, con nuove appllcazion e refles- ^oni. Torino, in 8vo. 1778. Bidet, M. Trattato sopra la coltlvazione delle viti ; del modo di fare 1 vini, e di Bovemarli. Venezia, in 8vo, fig. 1780. Beriramd. Element! di Agricoltura, fondati sui fiitti e sni raziociijii a/1 uso delle per&one di campagna. Vicenza, in Svo. 1780. Cavrera, Antonio. Dissertazione sull' Economia Rurale. Vene^, inSvo. 1781. Btuenon^, Gio. 1. Trattato delle xazze de" cavalli, col disegno della fabbrjca della regia mandra dl Chivasso, e quelle del pascoll e prati. Torino, in Svo, fig. 8. Boometria, o ^a delU conformazione estema del corpo del bestie bovine, delle loro bellezze e difetti. e delle avver- tenze d i aversi nella lora compra. Torino, 1802, in Svo. 3. Ippometria,osia della conformazione estema del Cavallo, dell' Asino e del Mulo, delle loro bellezze e difetti, e delle at- tenztoni da aversi nella loro compra. Torino, 1302, in Svo. 1715. Amoretti. 1. Istmzionl pubblicate deflla Societa Fatriottica di Milano, intomo ad alcuni quesiti della mcdesima proposti per I'anno 1785. 4to. 2. Delia coltivazione deUe Patate, e loro uso. Milano, ISOl, In Kvo, fig. n. Delle Torbiere esistentl nel dipartimento d'Olona e liml- trofl, e del loro vantaggi ed nri. Milano, 1 807, in 4to. 4. Qoltiyagiaas delle Api nel Regno d'ltalia, Milano, 1811, 5. ItetlaTorba e della lignite nel Regno d'ltalia. Milano, In Svo, fig- 6. Domande relative all' Agricoltura. Mil. m 4to. 1785. Barbara, Marco. Esperimenti Bopra il grano fermentato, ed altre agrarie mo- perte. Milano, in Svo. 1790. Bocca, Abb4 DellatWQaT general of Scyros. Trait^ complet sur les .^VbelHes, &c. i. e. A Complete Trea- tise on the Miuia^ementof Bees, as practised at Scjros, together vith an account of that Island. Paris. S\o. 1791. Carone/li, Pietro. 1. Auotegmi Agrarii, o sia istruzioni jwr via di massime tratte oalLe o[iere de* due insigni a^onomi Catone e Varrone. Venezia, in Svo. 2. L'Agricoitura Italiana ridotta in proverbi, owero istru- zioni per via di massime tratte dalle opere de* due insigni agro- nomi Catone e Vairone. Venezia, iSi)?, in Svo. 1793. Lastri, Proposto. _ Calendaij dodici, o sia Corso completo d'AgricoItura pra- tica. Venezia, vol. iv., in Svo. 1798. Comparetti. S^gio sulla coltura e govomo dei Boschi. Padova, in Svo» 1798. i)o?i"fl!, Lmgi. Istituzioni georgiche per la Coltivazione de* grani ad uso delle uamiiagne Romane. Roma, in Svo, fig. 1800. Hv^, Cav. Three Memoirs on Agriculture; 1. On tlie Use of the A'lga marina in Agriculture and in Che Arts ; 2. On the Treatment, of Vines ; 3. On the Economy of the Flour which fliea awaj in the Mill, and during the separation of the Bran. Palermo. 1801. Simonde de Sisjnondi, a distinguished lite- rary character, who formerly managed an estate ill the Vale of the Arno. Tableau de I' Agriculture Toscane. Geneve. 1802. Fabbrorti, Adarm. Dissertazione sopra il quc&ito : Indicare le vere Teoiie, con le quali devono eseguirsi le stime del terreni, ec. Firenza, in 2. Delia economia agraria dei Chinesi. Memoria. Venezia*' 1802, in Svo. 1802. Tareicffiij Luigi. 1. Lezioni dj Agricoltura specialmente Toscana. Firenze. vol. yi., in Svo. 2. Memorie su I'Agricoltura, la Pastorizia, e I'A )>plicazione ddi Natural! prodotti agli usi de^li abitanti dell' Italia, ed alia loro indUstria. Napoli, 1814, vol. ix., in Svo, fig. 1803. Carradori, Gioachino. Della fertUitB della terra. Pisa, in Svo. 1803. FtUUe, Alexandre. Insti-uctions ^^mentaires d'Agriculture, ou Guide N£cessaire an Cultivatcur traduit de L'ltalien de Fabbroni. 1804. Runcotd, Ignazio. Dizionario d'AgricoItura, o sia la Coltivazione Italiana, in cui bi contlene la coltura e conservazioiie dei diversi produtti riguardanti le terre seminative, i prati, i boschi, le vigne, ed i giardini, eo. Venezia, vol. v., m Svo. 1805. Ptacenztty Giovanni. Nuovo metodo di fare le mi^ure dei fieni, a che si aegiunge qual sia la migltore Agricoltura de' prati. Milano, in 8vo> 1807. Barelle, Giuseppe. 1. Delia Malattia della Golpe del grano turco. Milano, in Svo, fig. 2. Saggio intomo la Fabbricauone del Cacio detto Parrai- giano. milano, 1808, in Svo. 5. Mono^ratia Agronomica dei Cereal! del FrumentOa trattato diviso in tre parti. Milano, 1S09, in Svo, con rami b tavole. 1807. Biroli, Giovanni. 1. Del riso, trattato economico rustico. Milano, Svo. 2, Trattato di Agricoltura. Novaxa, 1812, vol. iv. in 8vo, COD tavole. 1807. Galeotte, Frasicesco. Metodo per nugliorare ed accrescere I'Agricoltura nello stato di Parma. Pair,aa, in Svo. 1807. Gautierif Giusejwe, inspector of woods and forests to the Viceroy of Lombardy, author of a tract on forests. {SeeJSnct/c. ofGard. p, 1128.) 1. Delia ruggine del Frumento. Milano, in Svo, fig. 2. De! vantaggi e dei danni derivanti delle capre in con- &onto delle pecore. Mil. 1816, in Svo. 1808. Aobate, Antonio. Coltivazione dei Bigatti o sia Metodo pratico per farii nas- cere, coltivarii nei varii period! della loro vita, e ^bbricame la semcnte. Milano, Svo. 1808. Be, Fitippo, librarian to the Patriotic Society at Milan, afterwards in the employ of Government, at Turin, where he died in 1820 or 1821, He wrote a great number of works on rural and economical subjects. 1. Element! di economia campestre, ad uso de* Licei. Mi- lano, in Svo, carta fina. 2. Annali dell' Agricoltura del regno d'ltalia cominciati in Gennajo 1809, e terminate in Giugno, 1814, fascicoli 66, for mant! ^2 vol. in 8vo, con circa 50 rami e tavole. ?. Del Cotone, e delle awertenze uer ben coltivarlo. Mi' lano, 1811, in Svo. 4. Nuovi Element! di Agricoltura, volumi 4 in 8. Dedicati a S. A. R. Francesco IV. d'Bste, Duca di Modena, ec. ec* 5. Dei Letami e delle altre sostanze adopcrate In Italic, fet migtiorarei terreni e del come profittiime ; Saggio. Milano^ 1815, in 8vo. 6. naggio sopra la Storia e U Coltivamonto dell' £zba Medico. Milano, 1817, in Svo. 4 13 1223 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Pam IV. 7. Ragffto Blorico buIIo stato o lulle vicende dell' Affrlcoltura Antica dai )>aesl noiti fra I'Adrlatico, I'Alpe. e rAppcnnlno, ^o ol Pronto. Alii. 1817, 8vo, 1807. TupfMti^D. Riflcriom sur I'Etat de rAgrlcuIturej ct de quelques autrca panics de rAdmlnistratioii d;ms le Royaume de Naples, sous Ferdinand IV. ; pr6c£d&cs d'une Intioducdon oo Coup>d'oeil sur I'andcn Jiltat ue ce Pajs, et suivies d'ua M6moire, mtitut^ Recherchessurla Flante TiUgaixcmcnt noiiun£e Stoitadons le Royaume de Naples. Sto. 1SU9. Arduinio, Luigf. 1. Memoi-ia intomo la coltuia ed \ui economici del Cino- snro Corakan. Mil. 8vo, fig. 2. Nuovo metodo per cstrarre 1o zucchero dalle canne dell' Olio di Cafreria. Padova, 18 11, Svo, fig. 1809. 2'ozzetti, Oct. Targ., M. D., professor of agriculture at Florence, and director of different national establishments there. 1. Dizlonario del Nomi di Botanica e di Agrlcolturaj Latino- Italiano e ItaUano -Latino. Firenze, 2 vols. 8vo. 2. Lezioni d'Agricoltura. f^enze, 6 vols. Sto. 1810. Beneiti, Santo. L'accorto FutUir di Villa, o sia Osscrvazioni utili ad un &t- tore per 11 soverno della Campagna e per la sopr^ntendenza al Coloni. VenezJB. 8vo- 1810. Spadoni, Paolo. 1. Modo di coltivare 11 Napo Sllvestre detto Tolgamiente Havizzonc, c del metodo dl cavame 1' olio alia maniera del Bolomesi. Vcnezia. Svo. Si. Delia stabilimento. piantagione e conservazione delle siepi, con 11 dliiegno per oea foimarle. Venezia^ 181D. Svo. 1811. Albertazzif Jacopo Antonio. II Padre dl famiglia In casa ed in campagna. Milano, vol. vl. 12nio. 1811. Giacinto, P. Carlo, professor of botany in Malta. Agricultural EssajSj adapted to the Island of Malta. Mes- tina. 1811. LampadiuSt Augusta Gttglielmo. Esperiraenti sopra lo zuciStero di Barliabietolei Novara. Sto. 1811. Losana^ Matieo. Delle Malattie del Grano in erba Don curate o ben conos. clute. Carmagnoli. Svo. 1811. JSassiy Agostino. 1. II Pastore bene instruito. Mllano. Svo. 2. Sell' utilita ed uso del Fomo dl Terra, Q del metodo migliore di coltivarlo. Lodi, 1817. Svo. 1812. DandolOi Fiticenxo, 1. Nuovi cenni sulla coltivazione de' Pond dl Terra, e van- tag^ della medesiina, rapporto al ben ^ssere dell' uomo e d^^ stato, Lettera al Cav. Filippo Re. Como. Svo. 2. Enologia, ovvero I'Arte di fare, conservare, e far viaggiare f vlni del Regno d'ltalia. Mllano, 1812, vol. ii. Svo, fig. GagiiardQ, G. B. Catechismo agrarjo per uso d^ curati di cam]paf^e, e de* fiittori delle ville. Napoli, terza edizione, con aggiunte. Svo. 1815. Galliziotit Filippo. Sulla dimora alli^ campagna ded rlcchi possidenti e dell' utility deir istruzlono degll ecctcsiastlcl nell' agrlcoltura. Fircnze. Svo. 1815. Malenotti, Ignaxi'o. H padrone contadino, osfiervozlonl ograrlo-crlttche. Collo. Svo, tig. 1816. Finorchit Anton. Maria. Regole teorlche-pratiche e rustico-legali i>er &re le stlme del predj rufitici. Firenzc. 8vo> 1816. Bicciy Jacopo. 1. Catechlsmo Agrario. Firenze. Svo. 2. Dei vino, delle sue malattie, e del suoi rimedj, e del mezzl per ificoprime le fiiLsificazf one ; del vini artinciali, e della fabricazione dell' aceto. Bvo. 1816. Onoratit Niccola Columella, 1. Oelie patate, loro coltura, uso economlco^ e manieca dl fame U pane. Mllano. ISmo. 2. Saggi dl economia campestro e domestica pd dodici mesi dell' anno, ad uso degli agrlcoltori, del pastori, e di altra gtsnto industriosa. 18 mo. 3. De' Vinaccioli e del modo di eatrame 1* olio, e dl altri vantaggl che si possono attenere da' medesimi. Napoli, 1818. Svo. 1817. Landeschif ■ , parish priest of Saint Miniato. Sageio diAgrlcoItura, con note dl Antonio Beccbit Firenze. Svo, ftg. 1818. FetTario, G.A. L'Agi^te in Campagna o sia regola esperlmcntata per mi- tliorare i prodotti d ogni genere d'Agricollura secondo le tPrro el riifno d'ltalia; opera accominodata all' intelUgenza da contadini per loro maggior profitto. JUilaoo. Svo. 1818. Gialdi, Giuseppe. Lezioae proemiale d'Agricoltura practica ragionata. Panno. Svo. 1818. Redolfiy Cosimo. Memoria sopra un nuovo metodo per oltener la farina dl patate; suU' orzo, suU' acido muriatico, tiuile zuppe L'cono- miche, e sulla ruggine del erano. Firen. Svo. 1825. GiacintOf Carlo. Mezzo stabile di prosperity pcx le Isole di Malta e Gozo. Malta. Svo* 1825. Anon. Alti del real institute d'lncoraggiamento, &c. Dl Napoli. torn. 1, 1826. Le Privet de Rivolta. Nuovo metodo di Agricoltura. Lodl. 16mo. 1826. Anon. II fiittore di campaguEU A monthly agricultural JournaL Milano. 8vo. 1826. Morettit Dr. G., editor, professor of rural economy in the university of Pavia, Bibltoteca agraria. Milan. liSmo, vol. 1. J 826. Sartorelliy G. B. Osservazioni sopri i mezzi di conservare i Bosch! mediante. 1827. BonafouSf M. Mathieu, Director of the Experimental Garden of the Royal Central Agri- cultural Society of Turin. Ossenvazioni ed Esperienze agrarie. Turin. Svo> SaBSECT. 4. JSibliograpky of the Agncvlture of the other Countries of Europe^ 7903. Germany and Britain are the only countries in Europe in which it answers to print agricultural books for the sake of the indigenous readers. In Britain, education is so general among the middling and lower orders, that reading among them is a necessary convenience of life ; in Germany, education and reading are equally general and essential : and consequently, in either of these two countries a book will pay by its sale within the country. But this is not the case in any other European country. In P'rance the mass of the people do not read, but books printed there pay, because they are in a language more universal than any other, and perfectly understood by all men of education in Europe. Italian books pay, because they are enquired for by the agriculturists of the south of France, all Spain, and in part of Spanish America. 7904. Spanish and Portuguese books on agriculture are in much too limited a demand for production. The earliest Spanish author is Herrera, in 1596 ; and there are scarcely half a dozen sinc& After the most particular researches of a book agent at Madrid^ he was only able to send a list of translations, and the transactions of the Economical Society of Madrid j who have also published Herrera's work with notes within the present century. In 1815, a professor at Madrid published Lecciones de AgricuUura explicadas en el Jarden BatanicOy 2 tomes 4to. An anonymous author, Disertacianes sobre varios PiaiUos AgronomicoSy 1 tom. 4to. Of Portuguese books we could hear of none. 7905. Of Flemish and Dutch books on agriculture there are scarcely any. These languages are very limited, and every reader in Holland or Jtlanders understands French or German. Many works have been published in the Low Countries in Latin and French, but these cannot be considered indigenous. The few Dutch works on culture belong almost all to gardening {Encyc. of Gar. 7695.). The result of our correspondence with Amsterdam is a Nieuwe Naamlijst van BoekeUy ^c, from which we see little worth taking. There are several translations from British works on culture, and French veterinary books, and the following seem the latest on husbandry. Magazijn van Vaderlandschen Landbouw, door J. Kops, Commissaris tot den Landbouw. 6 deelen kompleet met register. Aanwijzing ter verbetering van de Akkerbouw en Landhuishoukunde, in de Nederlanden, door Pro- fessor A. Bruchausen. 2 deelen. De Boeren Goudmijn, of kunst, om van verschillende soorten van Landerijen, het meeste nut te trek- ken, meer Vee te kunnen houden, en andere Wetenswaardigheden tot den Landbouw. door J F Ser- rurier en J. Kops, met platen. Lichtervelde, J. F. rfe. Member of the Royal Society of Agriculture and Botany of the city of Ghent: La Beche, ou la Mine d'Or de la Flandre Orientale. Brussels. 8vo. Cale% M. V. Af., M.D. at Liege: Instructions sur le Parcage des Moutons; ou. Moyen d'eneraisser les Campagnes en faisant coucher les Moutons dans les Champs. lAhge. Pamph. 8va 7906. Of Swedish and Danish books on agriculturCy there are necessarily very few; these languages being of very limited use, and the mass of the people too poor to be able to afford to read about ordinary matters, or what they consider as already well known to them. The time such a people give to reading will be devoted to religious subjects, heroic and romantic poetry, or history. The universities of Stockhobn and Upsal, every one. knows, have produced some useflil naturalists: some of these have Book I. POLICE AND LAWS OF AGRICULTURE. 1223 written tracts on agricultural improvements, .eapeclally on planting fl-uiUtrees (Frufct^Tr'dd.) and culti- vating culinary vegetables (Koc/is-och Krydd). A few of such works we have enumerated in our Biblio. graphy of Gardening (7t!96.), but we can scarcely find any fit to be inserted here as agricultural. Tfie - Natural ajid CItemical Elements of Jgr^cuUure^ by Count Gustavus Adolphus Gyllenborg, a learned Swedish statesman, were translated by John Mills in 17V0, and may be considered as the prototype of Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. There are several treatises on the culture of the potatoe in the Swedish Th-ansactions s also on tobacco, on the management of sandy soils, on the cultivation of the Cereklia ; and on the hop and plants for fodder. 1825. Jtum. : KongL Svenska Landtbriiks Academiens Annala. Year 9. Fart I. 8vo. 1826L Winsti-upi M., machinist to tlie king at Fredericksberg, near Copenhagen : Afbildwinger af de bedste og nyeste Agerdyrkningsredskaber, &c. Copenhagen. 4to. 7907. Of Polish and Russian books on omHculture, it may be easily conceived, there are very few. Some translations from French works were made into the Polish language under Fred. Augustus II. ; but few or none since that time, the German or French being universally understood by the reading class. Books of agriculture in the Russian language could be of little use. The only things printed in that way there are in the transactions of the Economical Society of St Petersburgh, by foreigners resident there, and in Latin or German. The best informed Russian nobles read French or German like the Poles. There is an aghcultural society at Warsaw, which occasionally prints its transactions ; and ai:iother has lately been established at Moscow, which publishes an agricultural newspaper. (See Gard. Mag. vols. i. and ii.) 1825. Parlqfy M. : Zemliedeltcheskaia Chimia, Moscow. 8vo. 1825. Apraxin, M., a nobleman possessing one of the largest houses in Moscow: Zemli^diMtchesky Journal, &c. Moscow. Svoi. 1825. Anon : Avantages resultant de Tlntroduction de la Culture vari^e des Terres. Warsaw. 8vo. SuESECT. 5. Agricttltwai Bibliography of North AmerKa* 7908. There are a few American books <^ agriculture^ and republications there of most of our best works on the subject. Dean's New Mnglmid Farmer*s Dictiojiary and Dwight's Travels may be considered as giving an idea of the husbandry of that part of the country, and Roughley's Jamaica Planter of the agriculture of the West India Islands. A number of interesting papers on the subject will be found in the transactions of the American, New York, Philadelphia, and other socieUes. 1744. 5ar/ra»z,Jb/in, M.D, Philadelphia. On the Salt Marah Musell : On Oyster Banks and the Fresh Water Musell of Fennsylvania. {Phil. Train. Abr. ix. p. 70.) 1754. Tlmnyng, or Flemings Malcolm, M.D., of Brigg, A Vraposal in order to demonstrate the Proeress of the Dis- temper amon^ Honied Cattle : supported by Facts. York. Std. 1755. Belgrove, William. A Treatise upon Husbandry and Planting. Boston, New England. 4to. 1764, FlMot. Essays upon the Husbandry in New England. Xiond. 4to. 1779. Can-ver, Jonathan^ Esq. , born in America in 1732; died at London, 1780, injgreat poverty. A Treatise on the Culture of the Tobacco Plant, with the Manner in which it is usually cured, adapted to Northern Climates, and desjenied for tlie Use of Landholders of Great Briton, with two Plates of the Plant and its Flowers. Lond. 8vo. 1785— 182a Anon. Memoirs of the PhiladelpWa Society fiir promoting Agricul- ture ; containing Communications on various Subjects in Hus* ' baiidry and Kural Al&irs. Philadelphia. 8vo. 1789. Antillf Hon. Edward, Esq., of New Jersey. 1. An Essay on the Cultivation of the yme, and the making and preserving of Wine, suited to the different Climates of North America. {Americ. Trans, i. 181.) 2. The Method of curing Figs ; and Observations on the raising and dressing of Hemp. [lb. i. 266.) 1789. BartranZf Moses. Ofaservationa on the Native Silk Worms of North America. lATneric. Trant. i. 294.) 1789- Carter^ ifflw^oM, of Sabine Hall, Virginia. Observations concmdng the Fly'-weievil that destroys the Wheat; with some useful Discoveries and Conclusions! {Traiu. Americ. Soc. i. 2740 ^"^ 1790. Dean, Dr. -^w New England Farmer^ DictionS. 1796. Higginst Jesse, of DelawarU A Method m dr^nina Ponds in Level < Amer, Soc. vol. iU* -p. SZS.) 179 . Greenway, Dr. JameSj of Ginv/iddie county f in Virginia. , Of the BcAeficial Eflfects of the CAssia ChamiEcrfata in re- cruiting worn-out Lands, and enriching such as are naturally Poor. (Traiu. Amer. Soc. iii. p. 226.) 1800. Destere. La Science du (vuttivateur American : Ouvrage deStin^ anx Colons et aux Commerffans. 8vo. 1801. Bordl^y, J. B. Essays and Notes on Husbandry and Rural Affairs. Phila- delphia. Svo. 1812. Barton^ Benjamin Smithy M.D., professor of natural history and botany in the university of Philadelphia. On the Native Country of the Solknum tuberbsum, or Fo< tato. {Nic. Jaur. xsxi. 290.) 1821—1826. Aii&n. Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of tlie State of New York. Albany. Svo. 5 vo]s. to 1826. 1822. FessendeniThomas G. The New England Farmer ; containing Essays, original and selected, relating to Agriculture and Domestic Economy, with Engravings and the Prices 'of Country Produces. Boston. 5Tols.4toto 1827. 1823. Boughley, Thomas, nearly twenty years a sugar planter in Jamaica. The Jamai^ planter's Guide ; or, a System for planting and managing a Sugar Estate or other Plantations in that Island, and tmroughout the British West Indies in general* Illustrated 'With interesting Anecdotes. Svo. 1825. Anon. The Plouehboy. Vol. ii. 4to. 1825. j^on. Massachussetts Agricultural Beposibvy and Journal, 7 vols. 4to. 1828. Anon. New York Farmer and Horticultural Bepositoiy. New York. 4to. 1829. Lathrop, E. i., Esq. The Fanner's Library ; a Series of Essays and Papers for th* Promotion of the Study of Agricultuxe> (WindGor^u.S.lSoio. Chap. V. Frofesmmal FoUce and Public Laws relative to Agriculturists and jigriculture. 7909- Fi/ prfffessional police we mean those associations which agiiculturists hav^ formed, at different times and in different manners, for mutual benefit or instruction ; and also those institutions for the same purpose established by the legislature, or of such a nature as to be considered public or national. By laws we allude to those special legislative enactments which affect more particularly agriculture. These are So nu- merous that we must refer the reader to his lawyer or law dictionary. 7910. There are few or tto agricultiiral lodges of the nature of those of masonry or gardening. In Scot- land it would appear something of this kind had existed among ploughmen at one time, as the passwords and initiatory ceremonies are talked of in some of the counties by old men. In Forfar, Kincardine, Banff, 414 1224 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part IV. &c it (s not uncommon for ploughmen, as well as various descriptions of operatives, to telong to gardeners iOdges. In the southern districts where sheep farming is followed there are some shepherds societies, tor mutual interchange of experience, and aid in case of Tossed of such sheep as are the shepherd s perquisite. There are some ploughmen's clubs in different places, and various associations among them ol tlie nature of benefit societies ; but these do not oome under the description of professional ^ ^, . . . 791 1. Agricultural societies for interchange of knowledge are of modern date, but they have mcreasert rapidly since 1794: the number at present or lately existing in the British xslea is at least equal to the number of the counties. Societies of this description are either general, as the Board of Agriculture and Society of Arts ; national, as the Highland Society and Dublin Institution i particular as the Bath and West of England Society; provincial, as county societies i or parochial, as being limited to a few indivi- duals within one parish. Of this kind are farmers' clubs, ploughing societies, &c. In regard to the end in view, these societies either embrace the arts in general j the rural arts in general ; some branch of the rural art, as agriculture : or some department in that branch, as hve stock, sheep, wool, &c. 7912. All these societies hold meetings at stated periods. Most of them offer premiums for particular objects, — specimens of vegetable or animal culture or produce, agricultural operations, moral and profes. sional merits as servants, &c, ; some of them form a library and museum of models or full-sized implo. ments j a few publish transactions ; and one or two, as the Dublin Society, send out itinerant ploughmen and agricultural mechanics to instruct practical farmers. These societies are almost wholly supported, and the funds for premiums raised, by the subscriptions of members, and by voluntary donations, legacies, &c. ; hut some, as the Board of Agriculture and the Dublin Sodety, have received assistance from go- vernment 7913. Of English agrictiliural societies the oldest is the Society of Arts, founded in 1754 oy Lord Folk- stone, Lord Romney, Dr. Hales, and Shepley. They have published many volumes of transactions, awarded immense sums in premiums, and on the whole done much good. (See Bees*s Cyc. art Society.) the article AgricuUure in the nipplument to the Eneyc. Brit., that the Boara never dincted ita efforts in a manner suitable 7914. The Bath and Wert of Ertgland Societjf was founded in 1777, for purposes similar to those of the JDondon Society of Arts. Thev have published some valuable volumes of trans- actions, and distributed variom rewards, &c. {Reet'a Cyc. i^c.) 7915. The Board of Ai^riculture was founded, under the au- thority of government, in 1793. Much was expected from this Eioard ; but, except the publication of the county reports, and the general attention which it called to agriculture, it may well be asked what advantages arosn from it. Their Commu- nicatiafu, in several quarto volumes, contain fevrer valuable papers, in proportion to their total number, than the publica- tions of either the London Society of Arts or the Bath Socjety. In short it has been ably shown, hi T/ie Farmer'a Magazine and 7916. Of Welsh societies there are only two or three, of inferior note, which have been already noticed in the topography of the country. 7917. Of Scotch societies the principal now existing are the Highland Society and the Dalkeith Farming Society. the removal of the political obstacles to agrlcuhur^ and to the uliciting of agricultural talent by honorary reward8>&c. IVo idea in more erroneous than that of such a Board, or any other^ doing much good by a national " exiierlmental farm." The government withdrew its support frum thLs Board about 1616; and there being no longer funds for a handsome salary for a secretary, it soon after fell to pieces, and is now only remem- bered, at least by us, for its lofty pretensions and its worse than inutility. 7918. The Highland Society of Scotland was established in i 171/3, to enquire into the state of the highlands, to consider the mean; of their Improvement and the preservation of their lan- guage ; it is chiefly supported by the subscriptions of its mem- | hers, at a pnimea each a year, and soon after its establishment it had a grant of 3000i. from government. It has published 7 vols, of prize essays and papers, and now extends its prizeK to all the low counties of Scotland. {Farm. Mag. vol. 16. p. 316.) 7919. Of Irish societies the principal are the Dublin Society and the Cork Institution. 7920. The Dtdilin Society was established in 1731, and incor- porated in 1749. Arthur Young observes, that it was the parent of all the similar societies now existing in Kiirorw; hut the Edinburgh Agricultural Society, as we have seen (775. and soil), was established nearly ten years before. The Dublin Society, in its |)resent advanced state, is one of the mo^ com- plete establishments of the kind. •{Rees't Cyc. art. Ihiblin.) 7921. The Farming Society of Ireland was established under the patronage of the Bubiin Society, in 1800. The object is to improve theagricultureand live stock, of the kingdom. [Arcker'M DuAh'n, 160.) 7922. The Cork Institution, for applying science to the com- 7924. The only other institutions for the improvement qf agriculturists and agriculture are public profes- sorships. Of these there is one in the university of Edinburgh, established in 1795; one in Dublin, sup- ported by the Dublin Society ; one in Cork ; and one is destined to be established at some fUture period iQ Oxford, agreeably to the will and donation of Dr. Sibthorpe (806. and 7789.), professor of botany there. mon purposes of life, originated in private subscriptions, about the beginning of the present century. It has since been Incor- porated, ana has received the assistance of government. It posse^es a house and a large botanic garden, and under its auspices are delivered lectures on chemistry, botany, agricul' ture. Sec. ; it is not, however, m a flouristuog state, and haa never been of much use. 7923. The principal county mcieHei in the three kingdoms have been noticed in the topography of agriculture: many oi them were established several years ttefbre the Board of Agri* BOOK II. THE FUTURB PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN BRlTAiy. 7925. Thb improvement of agriculture, like that of every art, manufacture, or com- modity, necessarily depends on demand and production : a powerful or effectual de- mand will ensure produce, and excellent produce will, to a certain extent, create demand. A general nicety of taste in coach or saddle horses will call forth a superior description of these animals, and superior animals will tempt purchasers ; if the inha- bitants of any district who live chiefly on barley or oats indicate a preference for wheat, and a willingness to pay for that grain, wheat will be produced, and so on. Afain, as the object of every individual who engages in art or trade is to acquire gain, the ad- vancement of an art will depend mainly on the profits it affords ; an art or occupation which affords less than the average profits on capital will only be followed by such as, from habit or other reasons, cannot apply themselves to any thing better, but extra-profits Book II. IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 1225 will command both capital and skill. From these considerations it is obvious, that the improvement of agriculture depends on the profits on capital employed in it, on the taste of those who purchase its products, and on the knowledge of those who sore engaged in agriculture as a profession. The first subject would lead us further into political economy than would be of much use in a work of this kind, and therefore we shall limit ourselves to a few remarks on the other topics. Chaf I. Improvement of Agriculture, 6y refining the Taste of the Purchasers of its FroductSj and iTicreasiTtg the knowledge of Agricultural Patrons* 7926. The dedre of being cornfortahle is the first step towards improvement ; but before any thing can be desired, we must know what it is. Men, when they know of nothing better, rest satisfied with what they have ; and therefore one of the main sources of im- proving the taste both of those who purchase agricultural produce from necessity, and of those patrons of agriculture who purchase from the conjoined impulses of neces^ty and choice, is the increase of knowledge. However paradoxical it may seem, discontent is. the parent of all improvement, as certainly as the acorn is the germ of the future oak, or the time present that of all future times. The grand achievement of the present age, an eminent writer observes (Examiner, Jan. 9. 1831.), " is the diffusion of superficial knowledge ; " and on this diffusion, superficial though it may be, the progress of agri- culture and of every other art depends far more than on any thing else. 7927. Tn Scotland and Ireland could a taste for wheaten bread and butcher's meat be introduced generally among the operative classes, the advantages to agriculture would be immense. Could the same persons be taught to desire a greater degree of cleanliness, light, and warmth in their cottages ; a greater variety of potherbs, salads, fruits, and flowers in their gardens ; and handsome dresses for their wives and daughters, how great the general benefit ! Much may be done to bring about this change, by the opulent who are willing to reside on their estates and to take a little trouble: Building good and comfortable cottages ; attaching proper gardens stocked with trees and plants from the demesne garden j and offering Little premiums, or marks of distinction for keeping them in the nicest order, and for decently clothed welUbred children, would soon have a sensible e^ect Attending to that kind of education which consists in teaching infants civility and politeness, with mutual respect and restraint as occasion requires ; and instructing grown children how to work at almost every thing likely to come in their way, as done in the improved German and Swiss schools, would, independently of reading and writing, do a great deal to soften and humanise the peasant mind. Encouragement should be given to save money for imforeseen wants, or against old age ; and the certain effects pointed out of early marriages, followed by a numerous offspring. These and a variety of similar means would be productive of some change of taste in the operative part of rural society. 7928. The introduction qf mam^acturiiig establishments, wherever it could be properly done, would contribute to the same effect : those who work at manufactures, and even common mechanics, generally live better, and are better clothed and lodged, than the common country labourer ; therefore their example would be of use in introducing a salutary degree of luxury. *' The endeavouring to impress on the minds of the lower classes the propriety of being contented with the simplest and cheapest fare, is extremely pernicious to the best interests of mankind. Encomiums ought not to be bestowed on those who are con. tented with mere necessaries : on the contrary, such indifference ought to be held disgraceful. A taste for the comforts, the enjoyments, and even the luxuries of life, should be as widely difi\ised as possible, and, if practicable, interwoven with the national character and prejudices. This, as it appears to us, is the best mode of attempting the amelioration of the condition of the lower classes. Luxuries, and if you will have it so, even wasteful habits, are incomparably better than that cold, sluggish apathy, which would content itself with what can barely continue mere animal existence.'* Mr, Feel observed in the House of Commons that " he thought it one of the first duties of the le^slature, to do all in its power to excite a taste in the humbler classes of society for those comforts and those enjoyments — those luxuries, he might add — of civilised society, the desire for which, and the habitual possession of which, would form the best guarantee for their good conduct, and the best guarantee that the higher classes could have for the possession of their property and their power, as at present enjoyed.** {Manual Qf Cottage Gardemngj, Busbandri/, and Architecture, B[c.) " In those countries," Kicardo judiciously observes, " where the labouring classes have the fewest wants, and are contented with the cheapest food, the people are exposed to the greatest vicissitudes and miseries : they have no place of refuge ftom calannity ; they cannot seek safety in a lower station ; they are already so low that they can fall no lower. On any deficiency of the chief article of their subsistence, there are few substitutes of which they can avail themselves, and dearth to them is attended with almost all the evils of famine.'* {Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Com Laws.) Such is the case in Ireland, where, amidst the germs of the greatest rlcnes and luxury, the inhabitants are contented to live on less than any other people in the world. 79-'9. The taste of the superior patrons of agriculture is to be improved by visiting the best cultivated districts, reading agricultural works, attending agricultural societies, and, above all, by cultivating a farm, and establishing on it a systematic order and regularity in every detail Let such observe the hedges, gates, verges of fields, and the beautiful rows of turnips, of Berwickshire or Northumberland ; the cor- rectly drilled beans of East Lothian ; and the live stock of Leicestershire. But few are the proprietors of lands who either employ a proper bailiff or demesne steward ; and of those who do, how few who do not limit and fetter them io their operations, or else neglect them and leave them to sink into that supine state in which the uppermost wish is to enjoy the comforts of the situation with the least possible degree of exer. tion ! Some proprietors desire to have their home farm managed with a view to profit, as the cheapest way of getting hay, straw, mutton, &c. ; these are sordid patrons. A home farm ought to combine an elegant orderly style of management, high-kept horses, harness, implements, &c., well clothed servants, and every thing in a sujierior style to what is seen on common farms. Particular attention ought to be paid to the buildings, which should combine architectural design, fitness, strength, and elegance ; the roads ought to be like approaches to a mansion j the hedges like those of gardens ; the green verges round the fields kept mown like lawns or grass walks, and the ditches, bridges, and gates in corresponding neatness ; the finest trees ought to be encouraged in proper situations, and correctly pruned ; substantial watering places formed and kept supplied ; every operation on plants, or the ground, performed in a garden-like manner ; and no individual of any species of stock kept, of which a drawing might not be taken and preserved as a beuuty. Even the dress and deportment of tne servants on such a farm ought to harmonise with the rich culture, orderly display, and high keeping of the whole. 1226 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. PautIV. Cha^ II. Improvement of Agrmdture, by tJie better Education of those who are engaged in U as a Profession. 7930. Bt/ education is generally understood that portion of knowledge which is obtained at schools; but in a more extended sense (as Mills observes), it may be defined the means which are employed to render man competent for pursuing tlie part which he undertakes to perform in life, with increased satisfaction to himself and others. Education may thus be considered as extending to every thing which operates on the body or mind, from the earliest periods of our existence to the final extinction of life. It is unnecessary here to embrace the subject in its full extent; but we shall offer some remarks on the education of practical men in general, on the professional education of an agriculturist, and on the general conduct and economy of his life. Sect. I. Degree of Knowledge which may he attaiTied by Practical Men, and general Powers of the human Mind as to Attainments. 7931. 7%e kind and degree of education that we think ought to be given to every human being in this and in every country, and in every state of civilisation, may be thus defined : — All the knowledge and accomplishments that a child's body or mind, and the state of knowledge and the art of teaching at the time, will admit, previously to the age of puberty ; giving preference to those branches of knowledge con- sidered the most useful, and those accomplishments and manners considered the mbst humanising, by the wise and good of the age. It seems unreasonable to employ any child in aiding to procure the means of its subsistence, or that of its parents, before the age of puberty. Previously to that age, by means of infant schools, and of the adoption of the various improvements that liave been recently made in modes of teaching, all that is worth knowing may be taught more effectually than common reading, writing, and arithmetic are, during the same time, by the common methods. Man, so trained and instructed, and living under an enlightened government, will become as different an animal from what he is at present, even in Sritain, as the most enlightened modern moralist and philosopher of Europe is from an African savage. " It is not necessary," says Lequinio, writing in 1792, ** to render an agricuU tural labourer a learned man j" but I am well assured, from my own experience, that the knowledge of every thing useful, and of much that is agreeable, both in knowledge and manners, is perfectly consistent with a life of labour in the fields. But hitherto the education of the labouring classes in the country has proved rather an obstacle to the developement of reason than otherwise. Eight or ten years are employed in filling the head of a child with chimeras and prejudices, which twenty years of study will scarcely suc- ceed in entirely rooting out. It remains for national philosophical institutions to destroy this national evil ; and we shall one day have under the thatched cottage of the country hamlet thinking men endowed with reason, and capable at once of taking a part in the political and moral affairs of their country, and holding the plough or guiding the cart on their own farm. " 11 faut," says this admirable writer, " quo les premieres legons soient I'apprentissage des droits de I'homme, et qu'ils soient enseign^s sans aucun melange des perfides principes du fanatisme et des fruits barbares des gothiques prfejugfes, de quelqu' espfece que ce puisse 6tre. lies notions de la raison et du bon sens tombent sous tons les intellects. Les droits de I'homme interesscnt tous les individus, et I'esprit et le cceur seront bient6t d'accord pour s'en faire une science impferissable ; graves une fois, je le repute, ils ne 6*effaceront jamais; ils se con^oivent avec Usance, et ils se fixeront bien plus solidement que ces antiques assertions donnees sur la foi d'autrui, et transmises a travers les t^nfebres des si&cles les plus obscurs ; assertions ridicules, et qui, pour la plupart, n'ont seulement pas en leur la simple vraisemblance j ils se fixeront, sur-tout, parcequ'ils seront ais^ment et avantageusement compares ^ toutes ces faussettes miraculeuses et folles dont le n^ant alors ^clatera pour tous, et parcequ'ils seront encore plus avantageusement mis en parallfele avec ces mystferes absurdes que rhomme ne pouvait admettre qu'en rejetant I'evidence, et en se dfepouillant totaleraent de son intel- ligence et de sa raison. C'est par ce simple enseignement que s'elfevera tout d'un coup dans nos campagnes une espfece raisonnante et libre. Sortie, par cette creation morale, du cahos t^nebreux, et de I'existence I^thargique oii, depuis le commencement des si^cles, elle croupissait sous le joug de tous les impudens habiles qui se permettaient de la dominer, nous la verrons une race nouvelle, intelligente et bardie, laisscr un espace incommensuri&le entr'eUe et les generations qui I'ont preced^e." (Les Pr^ug^s ditruitStpar J. M. Lequinio. Paris, 1792. Parochial Institutions s or, an Outline of a Plan fo? a National Edu- cation Establishment, ^c. ; and Des Etablissemens pour rEducation Publique en Bavih-Cy dans le Wur- tetnberg, et daris le Pays de Bade.) 7932. A high arid equal degree qf education has some powerful advocates in North America, and, it ia thought by many, will, at no distant period, be adopted in several of the states. TheiVctw York Daily Sentinel and the Working Man's Advocate are two of several newspapers which support what are called * working men's measures." Among these the first and most important is a " republican education, free for all, equal for all, and at the expense of all ; conducted under the guardianship of th^ state, at the expense of the state ; embracing every branch of useful instruction, moral, intellectual, and operative, and extending to the e»tire protection, maintenance, and guidance of children and youth, male and female, without dis- 7933. This high UTid equal degree of education we consider to be as much the birthright of a child in a community where there is a high degree of civilisation, as food and clothes are its birthright in the rudest state of society ; because, without it, a man or woman is ushered into society without a fair chance of being able to procure those means of subsistence and of happiness which belong to human nature under the given degree of civilisation ; in short, without a fair chance of making the most of life. To introduce an igno- rant youth into a highly civilised country, under the supposition that he could obtain the requisite degree of prosperity and happiness, would be more absurd than to turn an educated child into a country of savages. This is one view of the subject, and it is a view on which all who can afford the expense act with respect to their own children. If we regard the subject in the light of humanity, and the sympathy of one part of society with another, this principle will equally dictate the duty of bestowing, as tar as practicable, that good on others which we feel to be a good in ourselves, and which we are convinced would add to the general happiness. Viewed as a matter of public policy, and considering that the grand object of every government ought to be, with reference to its subjects, their happiness and prosperity ; and, with reference to other governments, its own stability - reason dictates the use of the most important means for gaining these ends ; and that it would be prudent, no less than just, in government so to legis- late, as that every individual subject should have the degree of education above defined. Let none. Book II. IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 1227 therefore, exist in Bociety who have not their minds matured by the care and culture of public teachers, as their todies are by the nourishment and clothing of their parents. The religious and humane owe this to the poor as a part of human nature ; the benevolent^ as sympathising with the miseries they suffer ; the enlightened, in order to raise them to their rank m the scale of creation ; the rich, to give them a greater chance of possessing property, in order that they may respect the property of others : the pru- dent, that they also may become prudent j and government, that they may not be made the tools oi faction, foreign or domestic. [Parochial Institutions^ S[c.) 7934. Knowledge gives powers and if one part of society has the degree of cultivation desired, and the other has it not, it is evident that there can be very little sympathy between them. The experience ot ages shows the continual tendency of the powerful in wealth or in skill to oppress the weak ; and the continual tendency of the weak to re-act by personal force, by cunning, or by numbers, on the strong. Materials so discordant can never form the basis of a sound, healthy, and permanent state of society : the poor and ignorant becoming, under such circumstances, little better than slaves to the rich and enliglitened, regard them as their enemies, and often finding them to be such, must and will rebel ; and the result is, sooner or later, a subversion of society. It would evidently contribute to the stability and harmony of society to moderate this action and re-actlon, by a more equal distribution of power; and, as knowledge gives power, the most obvious and effectual way of attaining the end proposed is, by diffusiug such a high and equal degree of school education as we have defined. It must be evident, we tliink, that the state of society which this degree of education will sooner or later produce, will include in it every amelioration and happiness of which human nature, under any given circumstances, is susceptible. (Ibid.) 7935. The knowledge qf languages^ history, geographf/j arts, sciences, and literature, which an a^cul- turist, whether a ploughman, shepherd, bailiff, steward, or rent-paying farmer, daily occupied with his profession, may acquire by his own exertions, provided he begins at the earliest moment, say at fifteen years of age, and continues to employ his leisure hours in reading till he is twenty or twenty-five, is by no means inconsiderable; not that he can or need become learned; but, if desirous, he may become generally intelligent, render himself fit, as far as conversation is concerned, for good society, prove instructive and entertaining to others by his conversation, and provide a reserve fund of ei^oyment, by laying up a store of ideas for reflection in misfortune, disease, or old age. : 7936. The utili^ of knowledge to that part of mankind who are doomed to a life of mechanical labour, or rather who suffer themselves to be doomed to it, has been questioned; it is said to render them dissa- tisfied with their condition, to produce various other evils, and at all events in no way to add to their happiness or the good of society. To a man whose business in life is the mere mechanical performance of operations which any other animal might perform if furnished with hands, education is doubtless less necessary than to a man whose business is to direct the operations of others ; but it does not follow, that though less necessary, it may not be highly useful : if, for example, it renders him dissatisfied with his condition, it will, at the same time, be more likely than any thing else to lead him to some proper mode of improving it ; or if almost unimprovable, education certainly will be more likely than a state of igno- rance to teach patience and submission, by enabling him to reflect on the folly of grieving at what is inevitable, and the conseq,uences of committing what is unjust or criminal to relieve himself. " The low Irish," Marshal remarks, " are sufficiently dissatisfied with their condition ; those who know how to alle- viate it by emigration, go to Britain or America ; those who know nothing, stay at home, commit acts of violence, and are hanged." 7937. To decide as to the utility qf knowledge to the operative parts qf society would perhaps require a previous decision of the question, " What constitutes happiness f " The general answer is, the exercise of all our faculties of body and mind : every one who has lived thirty or forty years in the world, knows that there is no such thing as absolute happiness : the Prince de Ligne, a man of great natural parts, with every advantage of person, birth, and wealth, and in favour at ail the courts of Europe ; fond alike of war, literature, gallantry, and agriculture, and who lived to be upwards of 90 years of age, has left on record that he was only perfectly happy two or three times in his life, and only for a few minutes each time. Forsyth (Principles of Moral Science, vol. i. chap. 1.) says perfect happiness is a thing not to be thought of; and that all that men and women can do in order to make the most of their existence, is to occupy themselves and make progress in whatever they engage in : progress in enjoyment, or approxima- tion to happiness, is therefore the object to have in view. 7938. The utility qf knowledge to every human being is consequently, in our opinion, unquestionable, on the mere principle of adding to enjoyment ; nor do we believe that there is more danger from excess of knowledge In any particular class of society, high or low, than there is frova. excess in their eating or drinking, A number of men possessed of property or power by inheritance, favour, or chance, who are very conscious that they never could have acquired those advantages by the common competition of talent and industry, and who are in fact wrapt up in selfishness, are naturally jealous of the progress of know- ledge; their secret maxim is to keep down the lower orders, and to impress on their minds only the duties of loyalty, religion, and, as Vancouver adds, hard work. This monopoly of power and knowledge, however, cannot be maintained for ever, and in every country it is found rapidly yielding to the general progress of society. It is only those who have to dread this progress that fear the diffusion of education ami liberal principles. 7939. Education in all coimtries, in as far as it has been carried, has had the effect of rendering the poor content Compare the poor of Sweden and Germany with those of England. The uneducated are prone to consider wealth and happiness as synonymous, a delusion which knowledge quickly dispels ; philosophy teaches its fallacy, and history exemplifies it. For our own part, we can see nothing in education but increased security to the rich, and increased happiness to the poor. One of the great evils which at pre- sgnt afflict society in this country is over-production ; not only of manufactured poods, but also of human beings. We are apt to believe that even this calamity might be remedied^ if every labourer in the country considered a high and equal degree of education as a necessary of life, and no more to be dis- pensed with in a child than food or clothing; as in that case he would not think of marrying till he could bestow this degree of education on his children. If any labourer acted otherwise, he would bring himself into disgrace among his own class ; he would suffer a loss of reputation for good sense and good taste ; and his wife and himseff would no longer be able to associate with their neighbours, either from the extraor- dinary exertions which they must make, in order to educate their children up to the general level, or in consequence of not being able to do so, and having it done for them by the parish as paupers. The dread of the reflections and neglect of the children when they arrived at maturity, and found that they were indebted to the parish more than to their parents for their education, and that they had, in fact, to pay the parish for this education themselves, would also act as a powerful inducement to prudential conduct. Besides, when parents themselves have once enjoyed the degree of education defined, they will consider it cruel and unjust not to bestow the same degree of education on their children. This is, in fact, the feeling of all educated parents ; and one great object that we have in view is to communicate the same feeling to the very lowest member of society. We are justified in concluding that universal education would do so, by what actually takes place at present among the educated classes. (Parochial Imtitu^ iions, SfC. ,* and The Objects to be obtained by Reform in Parliament, Sec.) 7940. The terms knowledge and ignorance are entirely relative : the knowledge of a modern chemist's fiorter would have subjected him to be hanged and burned in the days of the first popes ; and any brick- ayer's labourer of the present day, who reads the London newspapers, has more correct ideas of the prin. ciples of political economy than nine tenths of the nobility in Russia and Spain. It is impossible to set limits to the knowledge which may be obtained by those who are destined even to the most severe and constant labour ; the intelligence of the miners in Scotland and Sweden may be referred to as proofs 1228 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Takt IV. The miners at Leadhills have a regular library and reading society j and the works they make choice of are not only histories, voyages, travels, &c. but even works of taste, such as the British cfassins, and bcKt novels and romances. The degree to which knowledge will prevail among any class of labouring men will depend jointly on their own ambition, on the demand for knowledge, or the reputation in which it i» held, and on the opportunities of acquiring it A dull, stupid person, with fittle native activity, wiU never desire to know more than what enables him to supply the ordinary wants of life ; but where the wwrkmen of any art are required to have technical knowledge of any particular kind, they will be found invariably to possess it Thus carpenters and masons require some knowledge of the mechanical principles of archi- tecture, and working engineers of the strength of materials; and these kinds of knowledge are acquired by them without anliour*8 interruption of their daily labour : on the contrary, tHe habit of evening stutly renders them more steady, sober, and industrious than other workmen : than bricklayers and paper- hangers, for example, whose employments require much less intellectual skill. If every cook-maid, before she could obtain a firstrate place, were .required to be able to read Apicius in the original tongue, there would be no want of learned co(A8 ; and if no bailiff could obtain a first-rate situation who had not written a thesis in Greek, or who had not made the tour of Europe, there would soon be found abundance of bailiffs so qualified. A Caledonian, when he comes to the low country, soon acquires the English tongue, and, if he has been taught Latin, thus knows three languages. The servants at the inns on some parts of the Continent, frequented by different nations, often acquire a moderate knowledge of three or four languages : a late custom-house officer on the island of Cronstadt spoke and wrote ten lan- guages : and the bar-maid at the hotel de Loudres, at which We lodged in Moscow, in 1814, could make herself intelligible in Swedish, Russian, Polish, German, French, Italian, and English. 7941. The certain wca/ of obtaining any thing is to be impressed with the necessity of possessing it, either to avoid the evil of being without it ; or to satisfy the desires of others as to ourselves ; or our own desires. There is scarcely any thing a rational man can desire that he may not obtain^ by maintaining on his mind a powerful impression of the necessity of obtaining it \ pursuing the means of attainment witb unceasing perseverance, and keeping alive that enthusiasm and ardour which always accompany powerful desires. All may not acquire, by the same degree of labour, the same degree of eminence ; but any man, by labour, may attain a knowledge of all that is already known on any subject, aud that degree of know- ledge is respectable ; what many never attain to, and what few go beyond. 7942. The grand drawback to evert/ kind qf improvement is, the vulgar and degrading idea that certain things are beyond our reach ; whereas the truth is, everj' thing is'attainable by tlie employment of means ;. and nothing, not even the knowledge of a common labourer, without it : there are many things, which it is not desirable to wish for, and which are only desired by men of extraordinary minds ; but let no man fancy any thing is impossible to him, for this is the bane of all improvement Let no young plough- man, therefore, who reads this, even if he can but barely read, imagine that he may not become eminent it) any of the pursuits of life or departments of knowledge, much less in those of his profession : let him never lose sight of this principle— that to desire and apply is to attain, and that the attainment will be in proportion to the application. Sect. II. Professional Education of Agriculturists, ^94-3. In order that a professional man should excel as sttch, every other acquirement must be kept sub- servient to that of his profession. No branch of knowledge should be pursued to any extent that, either of itself, or by the habits of thinking to which it gives rise, tends to divert the mind from the main object of pursuit; something, it is true, is due to relaxation in every species of acquirement ; but judicious relaxation only serves to whet the appetite' for the vigorous pursuit of the main object. By the pro- fessional education of agriculturists, we mean that direction of their faculties by which they will best acquire the science and manual operations of agriculture, and we shall suppose agricultural pupils generally! to have no other scholastic education than some knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic. 7944. All young men who intend embracing agriculture as a profession, whether as-ploughmen, bailifft, stewards, land-valuers, or rent-paying farmers, ought to undergo a course of manual labour for one year or more, in order to acquire the mechanism of all agricultural operations. When the pupil is not destined for any particular county, then he should be sent to a farmer in a district of mixed agriculture; as, for example, EastLothian, where he would, if placed.in a wheat and bean culture farm, see at no great distance the turnip system and feeding, and a few miles off, the mountain sheep-farming or breeding : when the pupil is intended to be settled in any particular county, he ought to be sent to a county as near as possible ot similar soil and climate, where the best practices are in use ; as from all the turnip counties, pupils should go t6 Northumberland or Berwickshire ; from the clay counties to East Lothian, or the Carse of Gowrie ; fVom a mountainous district to the Cheviot hills, and Tweeddale, &c. 7945. The term of apprenticeship completed, the future time of the pupil ought to be regulated accord- ing to the ultimate object in view : if he is intended for a ploughman, shepherd, or hedger, perhaps to introduce new practices in other counties, he may remain for a year or two longer with other masters in the same district, in order not merely to acquire but to habituate himself to all the improved operations and practices. If he is intended for a bailiff, then, after having been two years on one character of farm, let him engage himself for a second two years in a district of an opposite or at least of a different cha- racter J and for a third two years, on a third character. There are, as already shown, only three descrip- tions of farming in Britain : the bean and clover, or clay-land farming, which includes feeding by soiling; the turnip farming, which includes feeding both by soiling and pasturage; and the hill, or mountain, or pasture farming, which includes all the varieties of breeding. A young man therefore of ordinary intel- lect, who has worked two years in East Lothian on a clay farm, two years in the lower Berwickshire, or in the low part of Northumberland, and two years on the Northumbrian hills, must have a very competent knowledge of that part of agriculture known as farming or husbandry. 7946. The higher branches of agriculture, or what may be called the engineering valuing, and estate- agency departments, can only be completely acquired by first going through the course above described, as suitable for bailififfe and common stewards, and next placing themselves under an eminent steward, land valuator; drainer, road engineer, irrigator, &c. as the case may be ; making choice of a steward who has extensive woods and plantations, and also, if possible, some quarries, fisheries, or even mines under his care, and of a land valuer or drainer in full employment "When a solid foundation is laid by a thorough practical knowledge of all the operations of common agriculture, the higher part is attained with ease, and maybe practised with confidence; but, on the contrary, when young men who know nothing of common country work are sent direct from school, or from an attorney's office, to a land steward or agent, in order to acquire the art of managing landed estates, the worst consequences may be dreaded, both to the proprietors and the occupiers of the territory which may be subjected to them. The condition of many estates and tenants, managed by attorneys, may be referred to in proof of our assertion. 7947. Young men intended as rent-paving farmers^ after two years* labour as common servants, should be kept as assistant bailiffs on other farms, till they are at least 25 years of age : no young man, in our opinion, ought to be put in a farm on his own account, or employed as a master batli^at an earlier period. 7948. In all cases when young 7nen are destined for particular pwposes, they should be sent chieSy to particular districts; as, for example, young men intended for road-surveyors, to where roads are best managed, drainers to a draining country, embankers to Lincolnshire, warpers to the Humber, irrigators to South Cerney, hedgers to Berwickshire, wobdmeu and foresters to Dunkeld, or Blair in Athol, &c. It Hook II, ECONOMY OF AGRICULTURISTS. 1229 wuuM contribute much to the improvement of agriculture in the backward counties, if landed gentlemen would prevail on their tenants to send their sons as apprentices, or even as ploughmen or farm labourers, to the improved counties ^ or if lads brought up by the parish were sent there with a view to their acquiring the use of the improved implements. 7949. IVhatever is the kind (if m-qfessional knowledge to be acquired^ the means of attainment is the pupil's paying such attention towtiat he sees and hears as to fix it in his memory. One of the first things, therefore, that a young man should do is to cultivate the faculty of attention, which he may do every hour of the day, by first looking at an object and then shutting his eyes, and trying whether he recollects its magnitude, form, colour, &c. ; whether he would know it when he saw it again, and by what special mark or marks he would know it or describe it. When he goes from one part of the farm to another, or js on a walk or journey, let him pay that degree of attention to every thing he sees and hears, which will enable him to give some account of them when returned from his walk or journey; and let him try next day, or some days afterwards, if he can recollect what he had seea then, or at any particular time and place. 7950. The attefttion to be exercised in such a utay as to ingress the fnemorffy and enable the observer or hearer, not only to recollect objects, but to describe them, must be exercised systematically. A thing or a discourse must be attended to, not only as a whole, but as a composition of parts ; and these parts must be considered not only as to their qualities of dimension, colour, consistency, &c., out as to their relative situation and position. To be able to give an account of a town or village, for example, the first thing is to get a general idea of the outline of its ground-plan, which may be done by looking f^om a church tower or adjoining hill ; next, its relative situation to surrounding objects, as what hills, or woods, or waters join il^ and in what quarters ; next, the direction of the leading street or streets must be noticed ; then the intersecting or secondary streets, theprincipal public buildings, the principal private ones, where the lowest houses and narrowest streets are sit lated, and what is the character of the greatest number of houses composing the whole assemblage, 795L To treasure up in the mind the characteristic marks of particular varieties and subvarieties of stock is a most important part of an agriculturist's professional education. To do this effectually, some know- ledge of sketching is of great use, and, if possible, ought to t)e acquired by every person intending to fill the situation of bailiff or steward. Ihe knowledge of soils, plants, and their culture is a very simple business compared with the knowledge of stock, which is not only of diflicult and tedious acquirement, but easily forgotten or lost : for one gentleman's bailiff that knows any thing of stock there are at least a score that know nothing. 795S. In connection with professional studies, the pupil may find it necessary, if his education has been neglected, to go on at his leisure hours with all the usual branches of education, either assisted by books alone, or by books and the best assistance he can procure. If his school education has extended to arith metic, mensuration, mathematics, and drawing, he should occupy himself in acquiring a knowledge of botany, zoology, geology, and mineralogy, without a tolerable knowledge of each of which he will ever be in the dark among modern agriculturists, and in reading books on the subject. Next, let him study the various arts and manufactures that have any relation to agriculture, and store his mind with all he can acquire from one of the best general Encyclopcedias, as that of Rees, or the Encyclopcedia Britannicay with its excellent supplementary volumes. If he will go farther, and if he wishes to know the extent to which he may go, he may consult what we have advanced on the subject of education in the Encyclopedia of Gardening. Sect. III. Conduct and Economy of an Agricultunst* s Life* 7953. A plan for the general conduct qf life should be fixed on by every one when he arrives at man- hood, and steadily pursued for the time to come : most commonly such a plan is formed by the parents soon after the child's birth, and, at the latest, when the boy is taken from school The boy arrived at manhood, howeverj is entitled to examine this plan, and amend it, or devise another more congenial to his own notions; but the risk of any change of this sort by persons so young and inexperienced is so great, that no youth ought to venture on it without the utmost consideration, and the firmest persuasion in his own mind r where the parent has done his duty, such changes of plan will not often be attempted j for, by the early infUsion into the mind of a child of ideas relative to the pursuit that is intended for him, a taste for that pursuit or employment will grow up wit^ him, and become as it were his own natural inclin- ation. This will happen in most cases, but in some children the bias or force of nature for some parti- cular purpose is so strong, that by no parental intreaties or reasoning can it be overcome ; even where a sense of duty induced compliance with a parent's wishes for a time, the dormant inchnation has at last broke out and taken the lead. In such cases, the parent may generally conclude, that where the pursuit or purpose is not bad, the force of natural inclination will be more likely to command success than the in- fluence of parental authority : and that a pursuit or business, commonly of little profit or repute, will be more profitable and respectable when followed by a genius powerfully impelled to it, than a profitable and reputable business followed by any one against his inclination. 79.^. The plan and conduct qf life are in most cases determined by accidental circumstances. The son of the labouring man grows up without any regular training or education for a particular end, and fincis himself at the age ofmanhood engaged in rural labour, and apparently incapableof any other i his notions and his ambition are so limited that he dare not venture to desire a change for the better ; for no man ever desires that which he thinks it impossible to attain, and the mere idea of this impossibility, however erroneous, effectually restrains tfie attempt at improvement The life of the ploughman or labourer, much as it differs from that of a man of eminent natural powers and superior education, is capable of much amelioration by being directed to a suitable end or object as the ultimatum, or in other words, by proceeding on a plan ; plan indeed, as we have elsewhere observed {Encyc. of Gard. 2d edit 7778.), is predestmation, as conduct is fate. 7955. The greater part qf mankind enter on life without any fixed pltm. or object in view, or, if they have gome general notion of acquiring wealth or distinction, they form no plan by which it is to be accom- plished : the consequence is, that such persons, after blundering on through their best years, arrive at the end without having gained any thing but experience, now of no use to them. No man is bom in posses- sion of the art of living, any more than of the art of agriculture ; the one requires to be studied as well as the other, and a man can no more expect permanent satisfaction from actions performed at random, than he can expect a good crop from seeds sown without due regard to soil and season. When we look round and observe the quantity of misery in the world, the greater proportion is, or seems to be,the result of a want of plan, or of a bad plan of life. How many parents are unsuccessful in their struggles to maintain a large family, the result of too early marriages : how many find themselves arrive at old age with no other resource for support but charity, the consequence of want of foresight in expenditure : how many are suffering under poverty, brought on by their own want of frugality, or positive extravagance j or under disease from excesses and irregularities committed in the heyday of life : and how many among those not born to inherit property, who, at no period of their life, have any other alternative between hard labour and deficient food, than disease and want ! 7956. Want of plan may not in every case be the cause of all this misery, because accident enters into life for something, both on the unfavourable as well as the favourable side of the question ; but we have no hesitation in asserting, that want of plan, as a cause of misery, is as ninety-nine to a hundred : any Elan at all, even a bad plan, is better than none ; because those who set out on any plan will, in all proba- ility, sooner discover its errors if a bad one, and correct them, than tbosa who set out on no plan will _ 1230 STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE. Part I V, discover the want of one and form a boocI plan. The young man who 1b just setting out In life may weU tremble at the consequences of proceeding on the journey without the guide of a judicious plan ; this plan he must form himself, because lie alone fcels what he wants, and what he can do to gratify them j all that we can do is to offer a few hints. ^ . *.. , s * * i, ** - i 7957. In order to be able to form a plan it is previously necessary to determme the object to be attained by it Happiness is the object of every action of human life, and consists in the gratification of certain wants and desires : some of these desiderata are peculiar to youth, and others to old age ; but many, as clothing, food, rest, relaxation, entertainment, &c., begin with the earliest, and continue to the latest period of life. All these gratifications are procured by labour j in savage hfe, by hunting, fishing, and gathering fruits, till the man, no longer possessing strength enough for these labours, is obliged to he down and die of want : in civilised society, they are also obtained by labour ; but here what is called property exists, and man, in the vigour of his days, when the supplies of his labour are greater than the demands of his wants and desires, or when he chooses not to gratify the latter to the full extent admitted by the former, can, as it were, embody a part of his labour, to be made use of when he is no longer able to per- form it with ease : a man in this case is said to arrive at independence, instead of want, as in the case of the savage, or of beggary, as in the case of the improvident. _ ,..,,, 7958. Independence is the grand object which every man destined to live by the exercise of his labour or talents ought to have in view. At certain periods of life, when the imagination is vivid, and health and animal spirits in their utmost vigour, some may prefer present enjoyment, mere animal gratifications, or imaginary distinctions, amatory conquests, titles, rank, military glory, and high literary or professional reputation : it is a noble attribute of our nature to prefer some of these to the mere accumulation of money ; but a great warrior, poet, or painter, arrived at old age and want, if the latter be brought on by common improvidence, will not findhimself surrounded by many marks of distinction; and though it may possibly be some consolation to him that the three or four letters composing his name will be sometimes pronounced together after he is dead, yet it will not he much, 7959. The exercise of his pi-ofessian is the most rational mode in which an agriculturist, of whatever grade, can pursue independence. Only extraordinary circumstances can justify a change of profession ; in common cases it indicates a want of steadiness of character, or a want of success, and the latter is commonly attributed to want of skill ; it is better, therefore, to pursue unremittingly the profession to which we have been educated, even though we should not be very successful in it, than to risk an infringement on character by adopting another. The practice of agriculture, as we have already seen, t7710.) is carried on by three different classes, serving, commercial, and artist agricnlturists : on each of these classes we submit a few hints to aid them in forming a plan of life, and regulating their expectations. 7960. The greater number qf agriculturists must ever belong to the lower grades of the serving class s and act as ploughmen, herdsmen, shepherds, hedgers, woodmen, and labourers of all-work. These form the greater proportion of mankind in every civilised country, and must ever remain the bulkiest material in the social fabric. Comjaring one age and country with another however, there may be the greatest difference in their intellectual and physical condition. The ploughman of Russia is but a remove from his horse. The ploughmen in different parts of Britain are as intelligent as their employers: in Scot- land they have the Bible by heart, are familiar with the history of their country, and not ignorant of its literature ; they lead a laborious life, but they enjoy the inestimable blessings of health, sound sleep, and peace of mind, till the latest period ; they are almost always independent, either from their labour, their savings, or, in old age or sickness, from the assistance they receive of their children in return for what was laid out on their education. _ These men are as happy, relatively to "their capacity for happi- ness, as any other class whatever : if their measure is smaller, it is as full as the largest ; for the essen- tial materials of comfort and happiness are the same in all classes, and in all classes a man's wants and wishes accommodate themselves to the means of gratifying them. The rich have no wants, and their desires for the most part are no sooner expressed than gratified ; the pains and pleasures of life are neutralised into a kind of insipidity, till ennui brings on disease, which to this class becomes a blessing, by procuring for them the occupation of taking medicine, the duty of attending to the doctor's regular tions, and the pleasures of convalescence. 7961. Constant labour^ even that of the humblest description in the country, when it is not oppressive, and where it is accompanied with abundance of food, sufficient clothing, and good health, is by no means inconsistent with happiness. It is a common but most erroneous idea, that happiness is confined either to the rich or the independent. Health and activity are the woods, and a rich man who has nothing to do is unquestionably more miserable than any ploughman in the empire. " Happiness," says one who has thought much on the subject, " is the full and vivid satisfaction of the mind ; and it consists in content and uninjurious enjoyment, that is, enjoyment not injurious either to oneself or to any other. Among the very first requisites to this satisfaction, it will readily be perceived, is employment, either bodily or mental ; and the more energetic, without exhaustion, is the employment, the more full and vivid will be the satisfaction. The human mind is naturally active; and, except in sleep, if even then, cannot with impunity be motionless or torpid. Occupation is as necessary to its health as circulation of the blood is to the body's. Employed it must be, to know content or feel enjoyment ; for, by any want productive of pain, either bodily or mental, especially the latter, content and enjoyment are, according to the degree of the pain, destroyed or diminished ; and the want, which the unemployed mind invariably feels, is as invariably productive of uneasiness, of listlessness, and lassitude, and their inseparable attendant, mental pain. Indeed this pain is, not unfrequently, altogether unendurable. * All the impor- tunities and perplexities of business,' says Dr. Johnson, * are softness and luxury compared with the incessant cravings of vacancy and the unsatisfactory expedients of idleness.' * It is this intolerable vacuity of mind,' says Paley, * which carries the rich and great to the race-course and the gaming-table.' It is this vacuity, says experience, which often arms them against themselves, and hurries them to self- destruction. If, also, employment is necessary to the health of the mind, exercise is to that of the body. Employment to the mind and exercise to the body are in some degree substitutes for each other: but, for the full content and enjoyment which constitute happiness, they both, in due proportion, are necessary." (Co-operative Magazine^ vol. i p. 6.) 7962. The plan of life suitable for the operative agriculturist may very well be founded on the condition of this class of men in the northern counties of Northumberland, Berwickshire, East Lothian, and others. We have already (7809. and 7834.) described in general terms the manner in which farm servants are hired, lodged, and paid in these counties ; and details by an eminent Northumberland farmer will be found in the sixth volume of the Gardener's Magazine (p. o89.). The essence of the mode consists in the employer providing the employed with comfortable cottages and gardens, and paying them chiefly In the necessaries of life, in so much meal or flour, so much ground to grow potatoes and flax or hemp, a cow's keep, the run of a pig, if a shepherd so much wool or so many sheep, the loan of a team to bring home coal or other fuel, and a certain proportion of money. By this mode of payment the operative countryman is always sure of a comfortable home and food, sure of milk, butter, meal, bread, and potatoes, the produce of a pig, poultry, and bees, and of the produce of his garden ; and this, however high may be the prices of these articles in the public market. These good things can only be rendered nugatory by the evilof a bad wife. All country servants hired by the year might be accommodated and paid more or less in this man- ner ; and to this mode of life and payment they ought to look forward as the ultimatum of their grade in the scale of operative agriculturists. By prudent conduct, in regard to the increase of their family and by frugality, they may live in decency and comfort, educate one or two children, and save something for old age, or unforeseen occurrences. Book II. ECONOMY OF AGRICULTtJRISTS. 1231 7963. TAe Noi-thmnherland ploughman is the hai)piGst of labourers, and never feels a bad season. His wages are certain ; and with frugality and care, his wife may bring up a large family upon this income. The reverse is sometimes the case ; but this is attributed to a bad wife, who wastes the produce of the cow. The small stock of the hind being always his own, and the cowgenerally so, makes him prudent and careful during single service to save as much of his wages as will set him up for himself. To this, and the fact that the wagesof labour are never -paid out of the poor's rate, the enviable state of the Northum- brian labourer is to be attributed^ It appears to operate as a preventive check upon population, and beau- tifully illustrate Mr. Malthus's theory ; or, in the words of Burns, it teaches them to " know that pru- dent cautious self-control is wisdom's root." They are all anxious to give their children such edunatinn as they can command. When they are within the reach of a charity-school they thankfully avail them- selves of it, and we find in every hamlet some person who teaches the younger children the rudiments ; and several of these, when they get older, work and save the wages of summer to pay for putting them- selves to schools in winter, (J. C. in Gard. Mag. vol. vi. p. 591. See also Denson*s Peasant's Voice.) 7964. The day labourer who has jio particular emploi/ert and probably no fixed residence, is much less comfortable than the yearly servant; in England more especially, under the present system of poor laws and ]}arish management, which is calculated to degrade him, and effectually to prevent any attempt at improving his condition. If, as Slaney observes, " by unremitted industry, he has been enabled to do without parochial relief, and bring up his children decently, it is as much as could be expected ; for an attack of illness, or the temporary loss of employment, he is in general totally unprepared j he thinks not much of the morrow, and, as it stands, it is perhaps well for him that he does not anticipate evils which he cannot prevent Every one knows how beneficial to the community, how advantageous to the indi- vidual, the hope of bettering his condition in life is : it cheers him in adversity, encourages his industry; promotes his content^ yet from this hope the major part of the agricultural labourers of England are excluded; they toil indeed, but it is to continue, not to better their existence." {Essay on the bene- ^ial Direction qf Bural £iependiture, p. 170. ; see also the succeeding chapters of these judicious and utelligent essays.) 7965. The condition qfthe labouring classes has lately been considered by the editor of the Scotsman^ in an article in his xivth volume (Nos. 1131, and 113^, which is also published separately in a tract entitled The Scotstnan's Advice to the LabouHng Classes. The condition of the labouring classes, it is observed in this tract, may be deteriorated in two ways ; " by increasing their numbers too rapidly, and by diminishing the capital which provides them with employment. Now capital is either diminished, or its natural growth is impeded, by the enormous sums paid to the government, by the tax on corn imposed for the benefit of the aristocracy, and by the many absurd restrictions on industry, which have arisen from the ignorance or misconceptions of our legislators. To repeal or reduce taxes, and relieve industry fi:om the restrictions which fetter it, benefits the working classes by enlarging the fund which creates a demand for their labour. The sufferings of these classes are therefore, in no small extent, imputable to the exactions and misconduct of the government. Culpable and injurious, however, as the extravagance of the government has been, I am convinced that were all the public burdens annihilated, and all the obstacles to freedom of industry removed, the relief given would be but temporary. The misery of the working classes might be mitigated by such means, but it cannot be eradicated by legislation, nor by any human means except such as shall put some check on the increase of their numbers. Scientific thinkers regard this conclusion as established on the clearest evidence ; how then is theprinciple of increase to b^ checked ? Only in one way : by enlightening the minds of the working classes ; by inspiring them with feelings of self-respect ; by teaching them the immense importance of habits of prudence, forethought, and self-control to their own happiness ; by giving them true notions of their situation as moral agents, responsible for the consequences of their acts, and endowed with powers which, if rightly used, would make them to a great extent masters of their own destiny." 7966. A radical evil in human conduct^ is that *' in the article of marriage men consider life aBalottery, and they rush into the most important of all ties, without making any provision for discharging the obligations It lays upon them. This applies to the middle ranks as well as to the lower." Thousands and tens of thousands marry every year whose earnings hardly suffice for their own subsistence j and multitudes throw their offspring on the world " with as little rational consideration about its future well-being, as the crocodile shows when she drops her egg in the sand, and leaves it to the sun and the winds to hatch her young into life." Such persons shelter their thoughtless conduct under the plea of trusting to Providence : but what is trusting to Providence but trusting to chance ? Nature has endowed us with reason to regulate our conduct, and in most of the common concerns of life has enabled us to foresee the consequences of our acts. After making all the use of our reason that we can, enough will still be left for chances, which may turn out, as every day shows, as much against us as for us. " Tp neglect the admonitions of reason, and then trust to Providence to free us from the evils induced by our own thoughtlessness, is to call upon the Deity to work a miracle in our favour ; and this, instead of pro. moting our improvement, is only to harden us in our folly." 7967. There are two truths qf vast importance to the well-being of the labouring classes ; the first is, that as no efforts of legislation can lift them out of their misery, their happiness must always depend on their own habits of prudence, forethought, and self-controL The second is, that no man has a right to bring human beings into the world, who is not able to provide for their support and education. The law punishes severely the act of exposing a child ; but the man who marries and becomes the father of children, without having any reasonable prospect of being able to keep them from beggary with all its attendant miseries, is guilty of the same crime in a lower degree. 7968. To convert the burthens which marriage brings with it into money, the Scotsman suggests th prevail during this month. The calendar of animated nature is much more to be depended on than the vegetable calendar; for except the catkins on . trees, the state of the other plants during this month depends much on the character of the preceding autumn. London - Edinbnigh Dublin - 35 9 3* S 39 92 G S9 66 29 194 29 721 1-957 inch. 2*994 a-697 L CaleTidar of Ananated Nature round Loftdon. In the firit nreefe.' shelless snails (H^Ux] and eaxth-worms (l^umbrtcus terr&tris) appear. Second nieek : redbreast (Jtfotacflla Rubfcola) whistleSi nut- hatch (ffltta europse^a) chattersj missel thrush (Tiirdus viscl- vorus) sings, and wagtails (Jlfotacflla Alba, et flkva) appear. ThtTd meek: the common lark (^atida arv^nsis] congre- gates. Pitartk neek ; snails (H£Iiz hort^nsis) and slugs (Llmax kter et hyilinus) abound in the sheltered parts of gardens i the hedge sparrow (AfotacTlIa modulkris) wnist4e3, the large tit- mouse (P&rus m&jor) sings, and fllis appear on windows. 9. Calejidar of Vegetable Nature round London. tn ike ,first meek : some plants accidentally in flower ; and others, as the LaurustinuB, continued from December. Second tneek : winter aconite (Erintlils hyemilis), Christmas rose (fiellftiorus foe'tidas) hi flower, and hazel {Cdrylns A-vel- lana) catkins beginning to appear : common honeysuckle (Lonio^ra Perfcl^menum) buds begin to appear. Third meek : primrose (Prfmula vul^is) flowers in sheltered places ; daisy (B^Uis per^nnisj and chickweed (Alsiae m^dia) Duin to flower. . Fourth meek : mezereon (Diphne Wesh-eum) begins to flower ; and sometimes spurry (Sp^rgula arvtoris), pansey (Fiola fcrf- color), white scented violet (riola odorjita), archangel (X^iniium rCibrum), and coltsfoot (Tu5si%o purpjirea et odo- rata) show blossoms. 3. Farm-yard. (2902.) Attend to eattU, whether in the open yard on straw and a few turnips (5411.), inhammels for feeding (6855.), or in stalls (6852.). See that the weak are not driven from thdr proper share of green food by the strong ; notice any in bad condition, and put them in a place by themselves for a few weeks. 'When the hay or straw is of inferior quality or flavour, sprinkle with salt water, which will make it more palatable. Threahing (3199.) goes on pretty regularly at this season for the sake ofa supply of straw. In some districts it is common to thresh an hour every morning l? candle-light during the three winter months, the candles neing hunj^ up lu lantema. See that the gudgeons and other places are kept oiled, and the teeth of wheels greased or soaped, or coated with anti- attrition. Implemenia not now in use may be repaired, also harness greased, ropes spliced, and various evening jobs executed, where it is customary to work a part of the winter evenings. Men's lodge. (4160.) In some districts the unmarried &rm- servants have a common living-room in the farmery, with a sleeping-room over, or sleeping-rooms over the horses. It is the duty of the fhrmer or bailifr to see that these young men are properly occupied during the ,l(ing winter evenings. A portion of every man's time will be taken up in mending his clothes or shoes, and sometimes in oiling' and cleansing horse harness ; the rest they ought to be encoure^ed lo pass in read- ing, or otheiwiEe instructing thems^ves. One may r?3d aloud 4 to the rest ; one may instruct the others on any subject ; a master may be got in for an hour or two every evening, who would teach them all. A master suitable for this purpose will ofien be found among the married servants, or among the village mechanics. 1 o serious studies may be joined recreati ve ones, such as the flute, violin, storv telling, singing, speech- making, dramatic attempts, &c. The hailitf or farmer should occasionally come and examine each lad, and bestow some mark of approbation on the most deserving. ' 4. Live Stock. (6216.) store farmi (7191.), whether of sheep or cattle, require con- siderable attention during the winter and spring months to supply straw and hay, with such green food as can he spared, to stock on scan^ |utsturcs; and to shelter during storms, especially of snow. %ambt are dropped during ihis month by the Dorset sh^ep, and near London are generally kept in thehouse and fed. (7S24.) Q'hcse require regular atiention. Calves fatting at this season (6845.) should be kept very clean, and their supplies of milk liberal. Calves to be reared as stock should nevpr be rirowppd sooner than April. Piga {iZ'&Z.), povltfy (74.^».), and stock in general, should be kept in good heart at this sea^ion, otherwise in the bpiing months they will be fit for nothing, and half the summer will elapse before they recover the bad effects of winter starvation- Fiilt, when the ponds are covered with ice, require attention> to break holes to admit air. (757'i.) Beea if dormant do not require to be fed ; but if the weathet is so mild, or they are placed in so warm a situation as to occa- sion their flying about, they should be exaniined, to ascertaiil if feeding be requisite. (7602.) 5. Grass Lands. (.5''43.) Drtf toiU and uplands should alone be stocked with cattle at young horses at this season. (5839.) Sheep should not be allowed to graze either on wet marshy meadows or on young clovers. (5543.) Grass lands, under a system of irrigation, may now be kept covered. (4387-) Clayey soils and others not pro- perly drained should now have that operation edectually per- formed on the surface {i29i.) or ilnder it (4282.}, according to circumstances. water barrel at any rate, they ;may be killed by mixing powder of lime with the water, at the rate of one pint to ten gaUona. On lawns, and in small paddocks, or in the case otjirmea om«'e<, getting rid of worm casts is an object worth attending to ; and'this month, February>and October, are the best seasons fin; the operation. 6. Arable Lands. (4925.) Ploaeh wten the soil is not too wet. Lead out dung and form Held dunghills, also comport heaps, with peat or other matters. See that drains, ditches, and water-furrows run freely, and answer tlieir respective ends. K 1234 CALENDARIAL INDEX. Beaiu (5222.) arc in some dry sltuoUoiu planted In the last week of the month ; and also peas, nnd Bomctimes oats, are sown. On the whole, however, it is better to defer the beans and peas till the first and second weeks of February, and the oats till the two last weeks of that month. Spring niAoii of the common kind (6026.) >nay be sown where the soil u suitable. 7. Fences (2960.), Roads (3523.), and Drains. (4213.) Hawthortu may be planted in fence-lines, In any of the dif- ferent modes. (2972.) Ditche:<, walls, palinffs, and all other fences of the common kind may be formed ; but none where hollies or other ererfrreens are to be used. Repair by the dif- ferent modes. (S9S7.> Roads and drains may be formed at all times and seasons. 8. Orchards (4079.) and Hop-grounds. (5997.) Prone tra.i and free them of moss. Where thgginfl round each tree is practised, this is a Rood season. Stake and tie newly planted trees. Plant orchards. Trench ground for hop plantations. (6007.) ,_ ^_ ^ a JVood-lands and Plantations. (3906.) Prepare the toil fbr planting. Plant deciduous hard-wooded trees in mild weatlier. Plant and sow the larger tree seeds, whether in places where they are finally to remain, or in nu rsery -grounds. Pell hmlier and coppice not valuable on account of its bark. Stock up roots, stack them, and char them. Prune deciduous trees; fill up vacancies. Cut hawthorn hedges. ('^983.) Gather any tree seeds not before gathered. Drain wood-lands and cut paths or other openings required through them, the leaves being now ofi'the deciduous sorts. FEBRUARY. Weather at Average of the Ther- mometer. Greatest Variation frowthe Average. Average oft^ Barometer. ^B^S REMARKS. is usually subject to much rain or snow ; either Is ac- counted seasonable; the old proverb being, " February fiU dike wiUi either black or white." Round London, the sap in v^etables shows evident symptoms of motion about the middle of the month, and sometimes a week , earlier. The animal calendar, and inflorescence of native trees fortius month, will generally be found verj London - Edinburgh Dublin . 42 3 3fi 6 43 78 5 29 94 29 556 30 091 0-873 inch. 1-269 2-21 1. Calendar of Animated Nature round London. In tttefirti meek : bees {^p\s melUfica) come out of their hives, Qnats (CJitez) play abou^ insects (Ins^cta) swarm under sunny hedf^, and the earth-worm (Lumbrlcus tcrr^stris) lies out; hen-chafBnches (ii^ingflla) flock, and the song-thrush, or throstle (Tdxdus mtisicus), and conunon lark (.dlauda arv^osis) Second meek: the buntings (Emberlza dlba), and linnets (Prinsflla Linbta), appear in flocks; sheep { 0*vis Aeries) drop their lambs; geese (.4»nasj4'nser) begin to lay. Third tveek : rooks i C6rvus frugllegus) begin to pair, and re- sort to their nest-trees ; house-sparrows (fYingflla dom&tical chirp, and begin to build; the chaffiyach (Fnngflla coe^lebs) sings. F-mrih week: the partridge (T^trao P^rdix) begins to pair, the olackbird (Z^lirdus JU^ruta) whistles, and the wood-lark {Alaidi arv^nsis et arbdrea) sings ; the hen (Phasiknus G^Ilus) sits. 2. Calendar of Vegetable Nature round Lojidon. In tlte first neek: the snowdrop (Galdnthusnivklis), whin (lAex europEeSi), white deadnettle (Z>&mium fUbum), poly- anthus (Primula v^rls) flowers; and the elder (Sambticus nigra), and some roses and honeysuckles, begin to expand ibeir leaves. Second meek : common crowfoot (Aandnculus r&pens), dande- lion (L&]ntodon Taraxacum], and the female flowers of hazel (Cdrylus .dvell^na) appear. Tldrd neek : Kcrtfiuca agr^stis in flower ; many of thepoplar and willow tribe show their catkins ; and also the yew (Zaxus bacckta), alder Minus commfinis), the tulip (Tidipa), crown imperial (Fritillaria imperiklis), and various other bulbs, boldly emerging from the ground. Fourth week : the frlca cdmea, wood strawberry (TVagaria v^sca), some speedwells {Veronica), the groundsel, and some- times the stocks and wall-flower (Cheirinthus) in flower. Some sorts of gooseberries, apricots, and peaches, b^inning to open their buds. 3. Farm-yard. (2902.) See last month. In taking in stacks to thresh, destroy ver- min as much as posrfble. (6632.) Clear awaythe bottomingof straw, faggots, or other temporary matter, and leave the site perfectly neat and clean ; the poultry will pick up what (grains ma^ have dropped. Be vifplant in keeping stock of every de- scnption in order; wintering cattle by frequent supplies of fresh straw and turnips, or other toots ; horses by sound com, and good peas-straw, or clover-hay^dispensing as much as possible with wheat and oat straw. The evening food should, occasirnally at least, be of carrots or potatoes. Poultry now lay freely ; and if some indicate a desire to incu- bate, so much the better where an early brood is an object. Jlfen'^ lodge. There are still a good many hours for mental improvement. 4. Live Stock. (6216.) Sheep generally begin to lamb during this month, sa& re- quire unremitting attention from the shepherd. (7112.) At- tend to feeding lambs as before (7224.), and to milch cows (6863.) and fattening calves. (6843.) 5. Grass Lands. (5613.) See last month. Manures, where applied to grass lands, mav be laid on at this season ; and such old mossy lands as are to be broken up may now be pared with a view to burning next month. The watering of meadows in warm situations may be par- tially left off towards the middle of the month, to encourage the growth of the grass. (4385.) 6. Arable Lands. (4925.) Beans should be put in during this month. (5222.) Peas for podding, and fur a ripeiied in-op, may be sown at ditferent periods (6121.)> and tares for soiling or seed. (5257.) Oats sown from the middle of this month to the middle of March (5120.) unless on very old turf, where they may lie sown later. It is a common but erroneous opinion, that old grass lands intended to be broken up and sown with oats or beans, should be ploughed as early as possible, so as the frost may have some effect on the furrow before s^-time. But this, though most plausible, is a most dangerous doctrine, it being found &om experience, that lands so ploughed and sown are always more subject to have the plant of com destroyed by the grub, wire-worm, or other larvce. The onlv safe mode with such lands, is not to plough them till about the middle of March, and then to plough, sow, and roll immediately afterwards. It would ap- Sear that by tiiis practice the larva; of insects are buried so eep, that they have not time to reach the surface before the gram has garminated and grown out of the reach of their attacks, or probably they may be so deeply buried as to be obliged to remain another season under ground ; it being known to naturalists, that the eggs, larvse, and chrysatidie of many insects, like the seeds of many plants, will, when buried too deep, or otherwise placed in circumstances not favourable for their immediate hatching or germination, remain there, re- taining their principle of life, till they can make their way, or are by accident placed in circumstances fevonrable for their development. The safest plan, however, to break up old grass land is to pare and bum. (5865.) Spring wheat of the common kind may now be advantage- ously sown (5004.), and barley is also sown in some warm spots in the last week of the month. 7. Fences (4213.), Roads (3523.), Drains^ Ditches (2960.), Ponds. (Mf>7.) Hedges may be planted (2978.), grown ones praned (2981.), old ones plashed or cut down {2987.), and imperfect ones re- paired. Walls built (3056.), water fences and ponds form- ed. (4467.) . 8. Orchards (4079.) nnd Hop-grounds. (5997.) See last month. 9. Wood-lands and Plantations. (390a) As in last month. Where there ia a nursery store, nut and kernel tree seeds may now be sown. MARCH. London - Edinburgh Dublin - Average of the Ther- mometer. Greatest Variation from the Average. Average of the Barometer. 30 20 28 886 29 707 Quantity of Rain. 0-716 inch. 1-455 2-364 REMARKS. rhe b^innlng of March usually^ concludes flic irinter; and the end of the month is generally indicative of the succeeding spnng ; according to the proverb, " March Mmes in "like a lion, and goes out like a Iamb." The baxons called this month the leiielhcnifie month, in allu- don to the increasing of the days. This is a laborious Mid trying month, both for men and cattle enfiaged in field operations. "-o-b 1. Calendar of Animated Nature round London. 2n the Jirit meek : the ring-dove (Colfimba Paldmbus) coos ; the white wagtail (Jlfotacflla dlba) sings, and the yellow wag- tail iJtrotacflla flkva) appears. The earthworm (Z.umbrlcu8 ^en-^tris), and the snail IlSlix) and slug (£.1max) engender. Second tvcek: tiie jackdaw (Ci!rvusJ/on6duIa) begins to come to churches ; the tomtit Pkrus coeruletis) makes its STning note; brown wood-owla (5trix tnula) hoot; and the smaQ tortoise-shell butterfly (Papfllo urtlca; L.) appears. Thtrd neek: the marsh titmouse (Parus palflstris) becins hifc notes. Vaiiousflies (iffuacffi) appear. The fox (£anfa rdlnesl smells rank. The turkey-cock (Jtfeliagris GaUo-Pivo) stniti and gobbles. ' CALENDARIAL INDEX. 1235 pymrtk meek: the yellowhammer (EmberiEaCitrin^lIa] and green wood-pecker { Picns viridis) sing ; rooksi ravens ( (XrviU andhousepigeonsjColAmbic) build; the coldfinch (A'inRilla CarduiUs) sings. Field-crickets (Scaxabie^i) open their holes ; and the common flea (Piilex britans) appears^ 2, Calendar of Vegetable Nature round London. In ihe first woek : various species of the pinej larch, and fir tribe in roll flower ; the rosemary (Aosmaxlnus officinalis)} the willow (S&iix) and bay (i^ailrus ndbilis) in blossom ; various trees and shrubs beginning to open their buds. Seoand meek: the comraon honeysuckle (I^nic^m Pericl^me- num), and some roses in leaf; Cr&cusv6muB, and other sub- spedeSi and some ScIlUe in flower. Hlewort {Fic^^> and creeping crowfoot (AanOnculus ripens)* H^ktica, and elder (A'ambiicus nigra), sometimes in leaf. T/Urd meek ; Saxlfiraga oppodtif {ilia, Dr&ba v^na, Ddphne pdnticaj and coUlna ; and LonicSra nigra, in flower. FoutHi week : the peach, nectarine, apricot, Cdrchorus Ja- pdnicus, I^rus japdmca, crown imperial, Saxmragacrassif&ba, Bdxus sempervrrens] and other plantsj in warm situations, in flower, or just advancing to that state. 3. Fartruyard, (2902.) 'Wintering cattle should be liberally supplied with food from this time, tul they can be wholly turned to grass : as straw and hay gets drier at this season, more should be given, and the supply of turnips, or other roots, rather increased than dimi- nished. Where oil cake, brewers' grains, and similar articles can be obtained, they are valuable auxiliaries. Fatting cattle (685S!.) and milch cows (6863.) require continued attention to rood, cleanliness, and moderate exercise. Working horses must be kept in good condition ; if they iall ofl^ now, they will not recover themselves for several months. Potatoes may now be cut xnto sets preparatory for next month. 4v Lim Stock. (6S1&) Sheep now drop tJbeir lambs freely; and none pay better tlian such as are turnip fed at this time, and flnisned off in April, on forward pasture. As turnips begin to run to flower about this time, they are apt to prove more than usually laxa- tive, and therefore the sto^ supplied with them should have an extra supply of hay. 5. Grass Lands. {^^.) Meadows intended for mowing f5768.) should now be shut upj their surface having been firt^d from stones or other extra- neous matters, the liuTOws or water gutters made completely elftctive> and, if the weather will permit, the surface busn-har- rowed, and rolled. Meadows which have been flooded during winter will, in fevourable situations, show a considerable crop of grass by the b^jinning of this month. Turn off the water a week or ten days, tiU me surface ^^ets flim ; then feed with ewes and lambs, giving a little hay in the evening- Calves may also be turned on these meadows, but nothing heavier. The best mode is to hurdle off the grass in strips, in the manner of eating turnips or clover in the places of their growtli. Moles (7631.) and worms (77U4.) are best destroyed at this season. & Arable Lands. {!^5.) There are few hardy s^ds, whether of agriculture or garden- ing, that may not be committed to die soil during this month. Spring wheat of the conunon kind (5004.) mav still be sown ; but if possible, not later than the middle of the month ; oats (ai'20.f, ive (5069^), barley (5060.), canary com (5169.1, buck- wheat (6111.), beans (5222.% peas (5121.), tares (52d7.}j &c. Clover and rye grass (5521.) may now be sown among young wheats after naked fallows, or among spring corn in mnds in good heart and flne tilth. Field beet (5482.), carrots (5443.), parsneps (5471.), and Swedish turnips should be sown the last tortnignt of the month, provided the land is dry enough to be sufficiently cleaned, and Kulverised to tlie depth of at least a foot. It more fretiuently appens that this cannot be got done till the beginning ot April, and hence this class of seeds is seldom got in before the mid- dle of that month. The carrots should be fli'st sown, imd the Swedish turnip will bear to be the latest. l.ands intended for potatoes, carriages, turnips, transplanted Swedish turnip, and odier plants <^ me /irifssica kind should be brought forward by such ploughings, cross ploughings, and workings with the grub- ber, as their nature and state may require. It is one great ad- vantage of the common white turnip, that it admits of two months more time for preparing the soil than other root or BrJssica crops. Summer or wheat fallows require at least one furrow in course of the month. 7. Fences (29(i0.) Roads {3523.), and Drains. (4213.) Thorns and other hedge plants may be put in, but the earlier in the month the business is completed the better. This is an excellent season for making or repairing roads (3727.), drains, ponds, embEmkments, &c., the ground betnf; still moist, and Che diQS sufficiently long to admit of a man's labouring ten hours, or &oni six to six. In January', the ground is oflun too wet, or ttoxisi, or covered with snow, and the days too short for advan- tageous day labour. In July and August the ground is too dry and hard for spade work, and day labour high on account of the proximity of hay-time and harvest. a Orchards (4079.) and Hop Grounds. (59^.) Finish pruning fruit-trees (4111.), and also digging round their stems, if that is practised. (4119.) Where young orchards are grazed, see that the guards or fences to the single trees are in repair. Form plantations of hops (5997.), and open up nnd dress the hills of established plants, returning tlie mould to their roots. (6025.) 9. Wood-lands and Planiations. (3906.) plant from tlie sewl bed, or from narrow to broader intervals, and attend to other parts of the usual routine culture- Netv planiiriione may still be planted, endeavouring if possible to finish putting in deciduous trees with tlie month ; using the puddle in diy weather (3940.), and fixing by water. (5952.) Where large trees are introduced, the latter generally require to be staked. JSvergreens of the harder kinds, as the Scotch pine, spruce fir, &c. may be transplanted in the last week of the montli, but not safely before. They are often put in during any of the winter months, but the result shows the improiiriety of the practice. Fill up blanks (3D83.) in young plantations and hedges, and fell timber, cut over coppice woods, and thin out young woods as in last month. When plantations are to be raised from scLd where they are to remain tor timber (S926.), this is the month fbr most seed, but April is better for the pine and fir tribe. Sow the others in the second or third week of the month ; and if reonous trees are to be mixed, a sprinkling of their seeds can be sown over the others in April. APRIL. Weather at Average of the 'ther- mometer. Greatest Variation &om the Average. Average of tlie Barometer. Quantity of Rain. REMARKS. The westher of this month is distinguished by the ra- pidity of its changes. It is generally stormy, inter spersed with gleams of sunshine, hail, snow, some fros , and occasionally violent storms of wind. It is a mont i of the utmost activity to the cultivator of arable land, who during its course finishes the sowmg of spring corns and grasses, and begins that of roots and leaves. fxmdon . Edinburgh DttbUn - 49 9 46 3 51 125 3 29 77 29 S73 32 909 !-460 mch. 2-414 2-561 1. Calendar of Animated Nature round London. In the first meek: the 'riper (CiSluber b^rust and woodlouse (On&ctis .iJs^Uus) appear; the misseltoe thrush (Tdrdusviscf- vorus) p^ra ; frogs (Akuse) croak and spawn, and moths (Fha- Iffi am) app^. Second meek : the stone curiew (Chai^drius ards are generally now cleaned out for the field dung- 4.' Live Stock. (6216.) The end of this month is a good time for mares to foal (6629.), and they should have the hor^c accordingly. (6G31.) Attend at the proper periods, first to moderate working, and then to entire ease before foaling time. (6641.) Corns must still bewell fed with roots or steamed food, within doors, letting them taste the grass occasionally towards the end of the month. (6863.) Slieep and lambs generally require a good deal of artificial food during the first half of this month. When the turnips are expended, clover hay, grains of barley which have been malted, rape cake, or linseed cake, are the next lesources. (C094.) A bout the end of the month they may be turned on the pas- tures, and then it is that mutton generally drops in price ;— a hint to the farmer to sell all he can iu the early part of April. 4K 2 1236 CALENDARIAL INDEX. THicre there are' water-meatlnws, the sheep and lambs will have been fattenine on these during the whole of the month, ~ an immense advantage to a &rmer. PouUrv of most kinds have now hatched their broods, and Tequire lookinfr after, to see they do not injure one another, nor are attacked by stronger cnem^K. 5. Grass Lands, (5643.) 8ett that tlie fences are kept up, and the gates regularly shut uid fastened ; as cattle newly let out are very apt to wander, and more ready to break through fences than when the herbage is more abundant. Waier-nwutomt (4371.) are (generally shut up for hay about the end of the month, the ewes and Iambs being then turned on young artificial grasses, or common provincial pastures, in a sulficientlf for vard state. MoTviiie-meathrvs of the common kind (5768.), and clovers, and mixed grasses for hay, should be hand-picked, bu^h- harrowed, and tolled, early in the month, and then shut up tor the scythe. 6. Arabts Lands. (4925.) Finish sonnng all the spring corns (5080.), peas, tares, lu- cerne (S57'l.), saintfoin, and all other herbage, plants, and Krasses. (5(i43.) Summer tvlieat (5004,) may be sown dunng the whole of the month, also barley in late situations (6080.), peas for late pod- ding, and under peculiar circumstances, tares for cutting green in October and November. Manufaclorial plants, as woad, madder, flax, hemp, mustard, &c, ; oil ]»lants, as rape, poppy, and such plants as are grown for mediciniLl piirposes or pecaliar uses in domestic economy, as rhubarb, liquonce, buck or beech wheat, cress, &c. may all be sown ov plantetl from the middle of last to the middle of this month. The first week in April will, in the greater number of seasons, soils, and situations, suit the most of them. Carrot (5443.), field beet (5482.), parsnep (54170, and Swed- ish turnip (5409.), if not sown the last week of March, should be finished during the first ten days of April. A bed of Swedish tumlns Bhould be sown In the garden for transplanting In thi field bj the end of the month, or the first week In IWay. The la.st fortnight of the month is the best season forplantlng ijotatoc3(5316.); in the earliest situations this Is soon enough for a full crop ; in the latest, tlie middle of May wiU answer betier. For very early crops for the supply of summer markets, dry rich sheltered iields may be planted in March. In the moors of Scotland they often plant in June, and still have a crop J there the potato is alike obnojtious to late spring and early autumnal frost. * 7. Fences (2960.), Roads (3523.), and I>7ams. (42)3.) All these should have been put in order before, so as to leave the hedger of the farm (7714.), and the labourer of all work (7711.), time to assist in getting in planted crops, as potatoes, cabbages, &c. in the fields, cropping the garden, mowing, or otherwise dressing the orchard, shrubbery, lawn, or such orna- mental or enjoyment ground as the fanner indulges in round his house. 8. Orchards (4079.) and Hop^-grounds. (5997.) In some cases fruit-trees may be so over-run with Insecta towards the end of the month as to make it worth while to bum wet straw under them ; but this rarely happens before the middle of May, and even tlien faj*a) in flower. Fourth meek .- hips, haws, and nuts ripe. Leaves of plane- tree (PMtanus) tawny; of the hazel, yellow; of the oak, yellow- ish-green ; of the sycamore, dirty brown ; of the maple, pale yellow; of the ash, line lemon j of the elm, orange; of the hawthorn, tawny yellow; of thecherry.red; of the hornbeam, bright yellow J of the willow, toary. 3. Farm-yflrd. (2902.) The ricfc-j/ordis nowthe chief scene of operations, in getting earlier crops thatched (3185.) and later ones stacked. (3276.) In all operations in this department attend, as far as circum- stances will permit, to neatness. In the case of a proprietor or amateur, neatness, order, and high keeping are essential in every department. 4. Live Stock. (6216.) There is generally abundance of fat cattie and sheep in the market during this and next month. Lean stock, especially Clones and wedders, are now brought in, and wintered or fed oft on turnips. Wintering cattle (6855.) also about the end of lie month. Poultry and pigs are now fat, and honey may be taken fVom bee-hives. 5. Grass Lands. (5643.) ■*^ ^ ^HB"*** Newly sown grass lands should now ba sparmgly fed, in order to strengthen the plants for the winter. CALENDARIAL INDEX* 1239 fi. ArabU Lands, (4925.) This is the chief season for sowing wti. tor wheflt> whether on naked fallows or after clover, tares, rape* or early crops of peas md beans. Potatoes are generally not taken up till the end of the month, in which case the sowing after that crop is later. (501S.) Sow tares to stand the winter (5857.), and aasa seed, for permanent pasture ; or a hay crop next season wSll succeed on good soils, it sown before the middle of the month. (5533.) 7. Fences (2960.), Roads (3523.), and Brains. (42ia) noutine operations of mending, &c. as before. 8. Orchards (4079.) and Hop-grounds, (5997.) Gather^to for immediate sale, the keeping sorts not beine yet ripe. (4085.) Walnuts for pickling not later than the firS week. (4102.) Hm-pickivff atid drying, in the districts where this plant is mucn oidtivated, is the great bu^ness of the month. (6036.) 9. Wood4ands and Plantations. (3906.) Routine operations as in the two or three preceding mimths Plant evergreens during the tliree last weeks, and deciduous trees the last ten days. (3957.) OCTOBER. \yeather at Average of the Ther- mometer. Greatest Variation from the Average. Average of the Baxoineter. Quantity 6f Rain. REMARKS. The weather of this month is very uncertain. Before those rains, snows, or fVosts which constitute the practi- cal commencement of winter, there is generally two or three weeks of settled weather ; sometimes these weeks are in October, sometimes partly in November. These weeks aiford a last resource for bxhiging forward neg- i lected operations. London - Kdinburgh Dublin - 52 81 49 7 51 4 29 69 2*027 inch. 29 339 3-334 29 76 2'798 1. Calendar of Animated Nature round London. Xn the Jirst meek: the red-wing (Tiiidus tllacus) arrives. Snakes and vipers bury themselves. Secatid meek: hooded crows (Cijrvus Cdmix) and wood- pigeons(CoiaiiibaPaltimbus) arrive; ben-chaffinches (ftisgHIa cceMebs] congregate, and prepare for migration^ leaving their males in this country. Third week: the snipe (5cdlopax Gallin&go) appears in the meadows. Wild-geese (^Tnas ^Ivtetris) leave the fens, and go to the rye-Iands. Fourth week: the tortoise (Testiltdo grseVa] begins to bury liimself in theground; and rooks visit their nest-trees. Some larks (..Uadds) sing, and the woodcock (Scdlopax rustfcola) returns. Spiders* webs abound. 2. Calendar qf Vegetable Nature round London. In thejirst week: strawberry-tree (4'rbutus i7\jedo), holly (i\ex ^quifblium), China hollyhock (Jlc&A chin^nsis), and China aster (A'sler chin£nsis), in bloom. Second week: catkins ofsome species of S&lix formed j leaves of the asp almost all off; of the Spanish chestnut, yellow ; of ihe sugar-maple (A^cer sacchdrinum) scarlet ; of the common birch, yellow and gold; and of the weeping-birch, gold and bright-red coloured. Third week: Cl&natis calyclna in flower. Some horse-chest- nuts and acacias quite denuded of leaves. Fourth meek : various plants, e^ecially aimuals, continue in flower. Leaves of marsh-elder (Sambiicus BTmlus), of a nne pink ; of stag's-hom sumach, of a purpli^-red ; of the American oaks, of fine shades en yellow, oranee, red. and purple. 3. Farm-yard. (2902.) This is the season of rural plen^, aflfbrding an opportunity, both to men and animals, for laying in a large stock of healdi, to enable them to support the severity of the coming winter. Operatives should now buy in their winter stores of potatoes, fuel, &c. and ridge up their garden ground, not under crop, for the winter. Gtm crops bdng generally in the rick-yard by Michaelmas, and the root ana herbage crops not taken being at or near maturity, the first of October is the most suitable season for a farmer to take stock and ascertain his annual profit or loss. Michaelmas being also the most general term of entry and removal, especially in the case of arable farms, is another reason why agricultural accounts are conveniently made up to this period. (4883.) Examine your household accounts, and if your expenses have exceeded your income, or even come up to it, look over the particulars with your wife or housekeeper, and see on which you can retrench. This is an essential process for all who would proceed in life with any thing like peace of nnnd, or the permanent respect of their neighbours. (4921.) Kemember that very small indeed is the net income of a rent- paying agriculturist. Michaelmas is also the general term for hiring farm-servants 1^ the year ; but the seldomer agricultural operaUves are changed the better, unless in the case of senseless, indolent, or viciously incUned persons, who degenerate unless feeauentlv removed. ■' 4. Livestock. (62ia^ Qitffc and sheep not sufficiently "fetted on grass or herbaee, whether by pasturage or soiling, should now be put on other food, to complete them for the butcher. Oil-cakeT erams. tur- nips, carrots, or, in defeult of these, bruised com may be used The same observations may be applied to hogs, which are generally in good condition at this season. (7316.) ffog porridge. A mixture of oatmeal and water, or any other meal and water, left till it becomes sour, as practised by the millers in the northern counties, will feed hogs rapidly ; but milk and peas meal make the finest pork in the world. The teams which have been soiled dunng summer, may now' be put on hay, straw, and carrots, or other roots, by decrees. (6752.) i J a 5. Grass Lands. (5643.) Where these are manured, this is a good season fbr the ope- ration (5782.); choose dry weather. 6. Arable Lands. (4925.) Potatoes (5291.), carrots (5443.), field beet (5482.), parsnepa tnay still tie sown in the milder districts. ):.mbrace every op- portunity to give the first furrow to &tlows (4944.), whether fbr green crops or otherwise. In general aU lands that are to have two or more furrows before they are sown or plantedj should be ploughed as soon as possible after harvest ; out not so lands that are to be sown on one furrow, which are better ploughed in January and February. ' It is a great mistake to suppose that plougbine land in autumn destroys the eggs ox suppose that plougnme land in autumn destroys the eggs ox larvse of insects (7695.), or the seeds of weeds; on the con- trary, it may often, by giving them a deeper covering, preserve them better from tiie wmters frost, or what is much more de- structive, from being devoured by birds. There are few sub- jects less generally understood Oian the economy c^ nature in regard to theeggsof insects and worms. (Turn to 7644. and 7704.) See that water furrows and dr^ns run freely, and that fences and gates are in repair. 7. Fences (2960.), Roads (3523.), and Draim, (4213.) Hedges may now be advantageously planted (297S.), grown ones pruned (2983.), old ones plashed (2989.), and imperii ones repaired. (2993.) The Northumberland practice as to hedges (7809.) well deserves the study of the more soutitiern agriculturalist. Roads and drains may be made or repaired at this season, and in spring, with better etfect than during the heat and drought of summer. Koad materials now bind better, and land-springs show themselves more distinctly. 8. Orchards (4079.) and Hop-groimds. (5997.) The winter fruits may now be gathered, and dther spread in an airy loft or upper floor, there to remain till used, or sweated in heaps, to extract a part of their moisture, and then buried in dry sand, or packed in close boxes or casks, to be kept in a cool and diy cellar. (1834. and Enaic. qf Gardening, 2d Edit. 2289.) ' Fruits trees of every kind may now be planted (4105.) and pruned. (4111.) Bop-picking is generally completed the first week of the month ; and as soon afterwards as convenient, the vine and 9. Wood-lands and Plantations. (3906.) Hedges and planiaiiofu of evergreen trees may be made during the first week of the month ; and no period of the year u better for transplanting all kinds of hardy shrubs. Timber and coppice may be felled, and in general every ope- ration preparattny to planting, as wel' as the operation itself, may go forward. NOVEMBER. Watber at Average of UieTfier- mometer. Greatest Varialim from the Average. Averaee of the Barometer. teiS! REMARKS. This is the mtadjf month of the Saxons ; It is generally also cold and moist, and one of the most disagreeable for the labouring agriculturists ; but he may console him- self with the shortness of the day, and hail the approach of evening, when he may lav aside his wet dresa and fbrti|^ his mind by converse with books, or enjoy the comforts of his fire-side, and the solace of his wife and children; reading to or otherwise instructing them, or mending his boots ox shoes. Txindon - Edinburgh Dublin - 44 44 41 1 43 4 89 68 ■ !9 638 29 74 i:?f4'"*- 0-394 4 K 4 1240 CALENDARIAI. INDEX. 1. Cafendar qf Jntmated Nature round London, in OuJir*t meek: the buck (C^rsrus Caur6olus) utanu. Stcond meek: the golden plover ( Cliarkdriua pluviklls) ap- peata. "^ ' ' Third meek: snaiU (Llraai) and slugs (Hilix) bury them- Fimrlh meek: greenfinches (*'ringilla Montlfrinrilla) flock. The winter moih (Gedinelra bruiniiria Sam.) and the com- mon flat-body moth (Gedmctra applima Sam.) appear in gardens about the end of the month. 2. Calendar q/" Vegetable Nature round London. In thefirtt meek: a few plants in floweri b; accident, chieflj annuals, accordinf; to the season. Second meek: the liiugus /iTelv^lla mltra appears. Laurus- tinus in flower. Third meek : Chimon^thus frfa^ans in flower. Amrtfi meek : some primroses show flowCTs at this season ; and some plants, unnaturalljr in flower, still continue if the weather Is temperate. S. Farm-yard. (2902.) Wintering cattle arenow introduced to tlie straw •yards (2902.) or hammels (^831.), and others to stalls for feeding or fatting, live stock in ffcneral ou};ht to be kept in good condition at this season, otherwise thuy arc Tbreslilng goes on at intervi S773.) 4 Live stock. (621&] 6ee Farm-yardi ipt to fall off towards spring. Is to supply straw. (3198' and 5. Grass Lands. (5643.) Manun; In dry weather (5782.) ; turn the water on meadows adapted for irrigation (4387-) ; destroy ant-hills (577fi.) j drain by Buri^e gutter:>, or other means, wjiere- that operation is requisite; clear out water ftirrows for the same purpose; admit cattle and horses only on the driest pastures ; see that sheep have shelter^ and especially Dorset ewes likely to lamb next 6. ArabU Lands. (4925.) See that water furrows and drains run unobstructed ; plough and cart out manure, as weather and other circumstancci peirnit. 7. Fences (2960.), Roads (3523.), and Drains. (4213.) As in last month ; and see that they are in efTectual repair, and fairly used. 8. Orchards (4079^ and Hop-grounds. (5997.) Cotnplete the operations of last month, where Interrupted^ deferred, or neglected* 9 Wood-lands and Plantations. (3906.) As in last month, excepting when the weather is unfavoar> able. Felling all kinds of timber and coppice not adapted for barldng for the tanner, may now go on freely. (4044.) Willows for baskets may be cut over (4042.), and baskets, hampers, crates, and hurdles, made by the woodman and hedger* DECEMBER. VVeather at mometer. Greatest Variation firom the Average. Average of the Barometer. Quantity ^Raia. REMARKS. Wittier month, Sax. Cold but dry. The agricultural oper- ations are chiefly of the laborious kind ; but the days are short and the nights long. In the last week the young operator should examine himself as to his profrasional and intellectual progress during the bve-past year, and form plans for flirther imprmlng himself for the year to come. linowledge is a lever by which a man may raise hunself as high as he desires. London - Edinburgh Dublin - 41 4 S8 9 36 34 3 29 64 39 66 29 723 M24 inch. 2-598 2-916 1. Calendar of Ammated Nature round London. The mole (Ti|paeuropGe^) throws up hillocks. The De- cember moth (Eriogdster popuU Sam.) appears about the befpnning, and the yellow-line quaker (iVdctua flaviUnea Sam.) about the end of the month. 2. Calendar of Vegetable Nature round London. Some of the last month's plants continue in flower, according to the weather. 3,4. Farm- Yard (0,90^.), and Live Stock. (621R.) Threshing, and otherwise preparing com and straw for the market, and the use of the working, fattening, wintering, and store stock are the m^n operatioiis. Next, the repular supply of live stock with food, and cleaning and Ultering tliem. Fat- ting stock should be particularly attended to, especially house lamb (7227.) and calves. (6855.) The supply of turnips for cattle and sheep is liable to be in- terrupted by severe frosts, if the precaution of housing a quan- tity (5420,), or setting them (olai.), is not taken in time. Where oil cake, rape cake, or dust (6094.), brewe. s or tUstillers' grains (6112.) are used, supplier must be secured ; and where nogs or cattle are fed on meal and water mixed and soured, a 4fter-^a8s, the second crop of grass from lands which have been previously mowed the same year, p. 905. - AfterTnath, the second mowing of perennial mea- dow lands in the same season, p. 515. Agriculture is used in its most extensive sense in the third line of the title-page, and generally in the historical part of the work (Fart 1.), as in- cluding territorial economy and husbandry. In most parts (^ this work, for example, in the words of the title-page, " animal and vegetable groductions of agriculture," as synonymous with usbandry. In several places as synonymous with aration; that is, the culture of arable lands, as opposed to pasturage, or what may be called agri- culture proper. In every case the reader will be able to gather, from the scope of the sentence or paragraph containing this term, in which of these three senses it is meant to be understood. Aigrettes, tufts of feathers, p. 1088. Aits, small islands, or islets, in streams, Albumous parts, soU woody parts, p 661. Alburnum, the soft bappy wood just under the in- ner bark, p. 6i6. See Lindley's Outlines of the Principtes of Botany, p. 17. Alien waters, a brook or stream passing from one area through another, which has been embanked from a river or the sea, p. 715. ~ Allodially, independently of any superior, p. 552. Alluvial soil, soil deposited by streams, p. 747. Aloetic puree, a purge composed of the socotorine aloes, p. 10S5. Alterative, alterative medicines are those which induce a change in the blood and juices for the better, without any manifest operation or evacu- ation, p. 977. Alveolary sockets, sockets like the cells in a honey, comb, p. 972. Ambling, explained, s. 6666. p. 1002. AmerciaTnent, a pecuniary punishment arbitrarily imposed, p. 769. Ammoniacal gases, s. 6701. Amorphous stones, wiihout regular shape, s. 3005. p. 483. Artbury, an excrescence in some plants of the natu- ral order Cruciferae, and chiefly in the turnip, produced by the puncture and depositing of the eggs of an insect, s. 5437. p- 861. Anmii, a chemical product obtained from plants, 5.1468. Anomalous, irregular, p 6S2. A&rta, the great artery of the heart, p. 967. Adrta aacindens, the ascending great artery of the heart, p. 967. ASrtadescindens, the descending great artery of the heart, p. 967. , , Appui, a reciprocal action between the mouth of tne horse and the hand of the rider ; the bit and rein forming the line of communication. Thus a horse with a sensitive mouth has a good appui, and the same may be s^d of the rider if his hand be good, s. 6fiH3. p. 1002. Aqueous humour, the watery humour of the eye; the first or outermost, and thinnest of. its three humours^ p. 970. Aration, ploughing or tillage, s. 3562. p. 573. Arenario/us grasses, %ras%es suitable for sandy soils. Averruncator, a pruning instrument, consisting of two blades fixed on the end of a rod, acting like sclssoi^ by means of a line fixed to one of them, and pulled by the operator, s. 3155. p. 512. AwTts, the beards or long bristles which project from the chaffs ; they are plentiful on spring wheat, and on barley, p. 812. Axillaries, explainedj s. 6344. p. 967. Axote, the radical principle or the atmospheric air, p. 814. B. Backing a horse, explained, s. 6657. p. 1000. Back~raking, an operation in farriery, by which hardened faeces are withdrawn from the rectum, s. 6543. p 990. Back-rents, rents paid subsequently to reaping, p. 768. ■Bagging, explained, s. 3173. p. 575. Bails, a substitute for fixed standings or stall divisions, s. 6799. p. 1006. - Band-win ridges, ridges formed of such a width as to be reaped by what in Scotland is called a band of shearers or reapers^ s. 3250. p. 526. Barbs, explained, s. 6382. p. 972. Bastard-cocks, small preparatory haycocks, s. 5797. p. 904. 'BattertTig, as applied to fences, leaning inward, », 4594. p. 754. Baulk, in Scotland, ground left unturned between the furrow-slices in ploughing, p. 711.; in England the same thing, and also strips of ground usually in grass between ploughed ridges, as in common field lands. Bavins, brush-faggots, s. 3636. p. 584. Bear, an iron instrument used in tlie Isle of Ely to eradicate weeds in water-courses, s. 5686. p. 892. Bents, the dead stems of grass in pasture grounds which have borne seeds. Bigg, a variety of winter barley, s. 5085. p. 823. Bnlet, a term variously employed, A wooden billet is often used in docking a horse, and often forms a separation between carriage horses, s. 673a p 1009. Bindirig and stooking, binding sheaves of corn, and placing them in shocks or stooks, s. 3175. p. 515.' Btnot, a variety of double mould-boarded plough, s. 2620. p. 396. * Blanch holding, a mode of legal tenure in Scotland, s. 3401. p. 552. Blast, a disease in the stomach of sheep and oxen from wind ; also a term for the mildew in wheat, pl065. Blinding, filling up interstices between stones on roads with grave), &c. s. 3654. p. 589. Blood spavin in horses, 961. Blowing lands, lands whose surface-soil is so light as to be liable, when dry, to be blown away by the wind, p. 870, Blowing sand, p. 749. See Blowing lands. Boles of trees, the trunks of trees, p. 656. Boll, a measure for corn in Scotland ; in wheat and beans, equivalent to four Winchester bushels ; in oats, barley, and potatoes, to six bushels, p. 842. Bone spavin, explained, s. 65U7. p- 986. Boulder stones, htrge round btones, p. 481. 1242 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. ■ Bout of the plough, the going and returning with the plough along a land or ridge under ploughing, s. 3266. p. 529. Box drains, explained^ s. 3607. p- 581. Boyrif a vat or tub, s. 706t. p. 1045. Brairds^ from braird, to spring up, s. 5397. p. 857. BrakCt a large harrow, s. 2664. p. 405. In machine. ry, a constraining wheel divided into joints,which stops when needed another wheel that revolves within it Bramble bonds, bands made of the long shoots of the bramble or blackberry, s. 3191. p. 518. Brait/t explained, s. 7258. p. 1065. Break-share, explained, s. 7259, 7260. p. 1065. Breasting over a hedge, cutting it down, p. 4S9. Breechin, that part of the horse's harness attached to the saddle, and hooked on the shafts, which enables him to push back the cart or other machine to which he is harnessed. Breeding in the line, or in the same line, explained, p. 301. Breeding in and in, explained, p. 301. Breeding, cross, e.Kplained, p. 301. Brochen Ugger, a quarter-cleft rod, as thick as the finger, and four teet in length, used in thatching, p. 518. Brose, a Scotch dish made by pouring boiling wa- ter on oatmeal, and sometimes on the meal of fieas, and immediately mixing them by stirring; eaving the meal in small knots or lumps about the size of marbles. It is afterwards eaten with milk or butter, s. 5217. p. 837. Burgage-liolding, explained, s. 3404. p. 552. .Suf^j, short angular ridges, short irregularly shaped lands or ridges in the corners of fields, s. 3253. p. 527. Byre, cow-shed, s. 6777. p. 1015. C. Cadence, as applied to horsemanship, an equal measure or proportion observed by a horse in all his motions when he is thoroughly managed, and works justly at a gallop, terra a terra, so that his motions or times have an equal regard to each other, s. 6672. p. 1003. See Crabb's Technological Dictionary. Caissons, temporary chests in which foundations in deep water are built, s. 4357. p. 718. Calcareous soil, soil abounding with lime, p. 775. Callipers, or calibers, explained, s. 4075. p. 66^ Calorifh-e, from calor, heat, and/ero, to bear, ex- plained, s. 7464. p. 1087. Camping potatoes, explained, s. 5345. p. 851. Canon of the horse, explained, s. 6232. p. 959. Cantle, the protuberant part of the saddle behind, s. 6675. p. 1003. Capillaries, the hair-like extremities of the arte- ries and veins, s. 6352. p. 968. Cap of straw, explained, s. 3195. p. 518. Caprioles, leaps made in one and the same place without advancing forward, s. 6672. p. 1003. See Crabb's Tech. Diet Capulet, explained, s, 6512. p. 997. Carotid arteries, two principal arteries which carry the blood to the head, s. 6398, p. 972. Carotids, 9(tl. See Carotid arteries. Cm'pus, explained, s. 6317. p. 965. Carriage in irrigation, explained, s. 4408. p. 726. Carse, explained, s. 4554. p. 747. Caruncida lackrymulis, explained, s. 6370. p. 970, Caseous, of the nature of cheese, s.6979. p. 1036. Castrate, to incapacitate male animals from engen- dering offspring, s. 7306, p. 1069. See Spay, Catch-drain, explained, s. 4419. p. 727. Catch-work meadows, explained, s. 4428. p. 727. - CavdJAon, a sort of nose band, either of iron, leather, or wood, fastened round the nose of a horse to forward the suppling and breaking of the horse, s. 6657. p. 1001. See Crabb's Tech. Diet. Cellular membrane, an important membrane in animals in which the fat is lodged, p. 785. Cereal grasses, the kinds producing corn, p 723. Cerebral hyatids, explained, s. 7267, 7268. p. lu66. Cervical ligament, an aponeurosis or strong band- age of packwax, which runs along the neck and upholds the bead, p. 972. Chambri&re, a kind of long whip used in riding houses, 8. 6662. p. 1001. Char wood, to, to partially bum it to enable it to resist wet, s. 3039. p. 492, Charlock, the 51n^pl6 arvensis, a wild species of the mustard family, p. 880. Chloride qf calcium, quicklime, 8. 4988. p. 810. Chyle, a milky fluid secreted from the aliments in the lacteal vessels. Chyme, that poultice-like mass to which the food is reduced in the stomach of every animal, s.6404, p. 975. Cicatrise, to heal over with a scar, p, 513. Cilia, eyelashes, p. fflO. Claveau, explained, s. 7248. p. 1065. Clinches, cramps or holdfasts ; to clinch, to turn the points of nails which have been driven, as in the shoeing of horses, b. 6710. p. 1007. Cloughf explained, s, 4455. p. 732. Cob, a kind of wicker basket, made so as to be car. ried on the arm ; hence a seed-cob, or seed-lip, is a basket for sowing from, p. 378. Cockle oast, a kind ot kiln for drying hops upon, 8. 6043. p, 927. Cqff", a Cornish term for offal pilchards, p. 1172. Cqffin bone, a bone in the foot of the horse, s. 6417. p. 976. Coherent soil, a soil whose parts stick together, p. 772. Collar-blade or haims, short segments of wood or metal, embracing the neck of the, horse, to which the traces are attached, s. 3235. p, 524. Collop, explained, a, 7871. p. 1200. Commutation of tithes, the substituting a fixed money payment, or a portion of land, instead of a tenth of the produce. Concha cartilages, the gristles of the ear, s, 6764^ p. 1013. Condition of a horse, the state of health and strength, p. 977. Consecutive, following, p. 525, Ckmyhold, explained, s. S395. p. 552. Corda vocales, or chfirdae voc&les, tendons called into action by braying in the ass, s. 6765. p. 1013. Cdmea, the first or outer coat of the eye, s.6371. p. 970. Carnetti, a mode of riding, s. 6672. p. 1003, Corollary, a consequent truth gained from some preceding truth or demonstration, s. 4961. p. 804. Coronal roots, explained, s. 4983. p. 808. CoroTiary, explained s. 6417. p. 976. Cotyledon, the first or seed leaf or seed lobe of a plant ' Couples, chains, collars, or mechanical contrivances, by which dogs, &a are coupled together. Cau/rses, explained, s. 3189. p. 518. Crest, upper part of a hedge-bank, p 483. Croppers, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Cross-breeding, explained, s. 2023. p. 301. Crown and furrow-ploughing, explained, s, 3356, p. 527. Crown scab, a disease in the horse, p, 1007. Crystalline humour, explained, s, 6374. p. 970. Culmi, stems of grasses, p. 1167. Culmtferous crops, crops of plants whose stems yield straw, as wheat, barley, &c., p. 768, Curb, explained, S.6S13. p. 987. Curl, explained, s. 5371. p. 854. Curvilinear, formed of curved lines. Cut over, to cut off thett^ crop, s. 4043. p. 658. Cutting in horses, explained, s. 6529. p. 988, Cut-water of a bridge, the projecting part of the pier of a bridge, which is opposed to the current, and divides it, s, 3612. p, 582. D. Dandriff; scurf, s, 6738. p. 1006. Dashing, or dashed. See Lipped and harled. Dead hedges^ hedges made with the prunings of trees, or with the tops of old hedges which have been cut down. Dead timber, any timber not growing, p. 502. Deciduous, shedding the leaves in autumn. Decorticated, deprived of the bark, p, 655. Defecation, explained, s. 459i. p. 867. Dendrometer, an implement invented to ascertain the quantity of timber in standing trees, p. 663. Deportation, carrying away, removal, p. 519. ^ew-retting, spreading hemp or flax on grass to expose it to the action of the dews, which expe- dite the separation of the fibre from the feculent matter, s. 5904. p. 916. Dewstone, the name of a speqies of limestone in Nottinghamshire, s. 36.'J9. p. 587, Diagram, an explanatory sketch, p. 757. Diarrhcea, explained, & 6473. p. 983. Diastole, explained, s. 6351. p. 968, Disging his toes, in horses,, explained, s. 6289. p. 960. Dike, explained p. 496. In Cambridgeshire a ditch is called a dike. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 1243 Dicscious plant, a plant bearing its male blosaoms on one plant and its female on another, s, 3181 p. 517. Disbarked timber, timber deprived of its bark, s. 405a p. 660. Dished f applied to a wheel, explained, s. 37S2. p. 605. Dishes, in farming, hollow places in tlie fields, in which the water lies, p, 80S. Diuretics^ food or drink causing a copious dis- charge of urine, s. 6410. p. 975. Docking and nicking, cutting off part of a horde's tail, and cutting a notch or nick on the under side of what remains, for the alleged purpose of making him carry it well: now almost obsolete, s.6669. p. 1002. DoTnical, shaped like a dome or an arch, s. 4507. p. 740. Dorsal vertebi'iE, joints of the back boue, s. 6764.' ^ p. 1013. Dovhle broacheSf broaches or splits are two-feet lengths of split hazel branch es,employed in thatch- ing, p. 578. Dottle wind~rows,double ranges of new-made hay, s.5797. p. 904. pouKl together f to join so 'closely as to form a smooth surface, s. ^10. p. 600. Dovm shares, breast ploughs to pare off the turf on downs, s. 3215. p. 521. Dragoon, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Drain sluice, explained, s. 4409. p. 7S6L Draw cu;, expl^ned, s.3151, 31.'j2. p. 519. DroscheySf the name of a four-wheeled carriage in Russia, s. 6741. p. 1010. Ditf stone wails, walls built T^thout mortar; a common practice in stony countries, s. 3065. p. 497. Duod&num, the first of the intestines, and con- nected with the stomach, s. 6405. p. 975. Duct) a passage through which any thing is con- ducted. Dynamometer, or draught machine, expl^ned, fi. 2563-S565. p. 385; E. EtKTth, as applied to the surface of the globe, one or more of the earths, as lime, clay, sand, &a, in a friable or divided state, and either alone or mixed ; but without the addition of much organic matter. Emphffsetnatous swellings, swellings filled with a windy humour, s. 6946. p. 1033. ETiterUis, explained, s. 6466. p. 982. Ergot of rye, spur of rye ; a disease in the kernels of that grain, p. 822. Erhca, the larva state of insects, p. 1112. Estuary, an arm of the sea, the mouth of a lake or river in which the tide ebbs and flows, s. 3425. p. 555. Etiolated, drawn out into a weak state, p. SOS. Eustachian tube, explained, s. 6385. p, 972. Evolve, to unfold, disentangle, develope, or separate. Eye in plants, a bud. ^es in cheese, explained, s. 7067. p. 1046. Fagrt, or shagreen, ass*s skin, s. 6757. p. 1013L ' False ribs, explained, s. 6312. p. 964; Farcy, explained, s. 6495. p. 985. Farmer (fTom fer7nier,Ft.), farming agriculturist, farming cultivator, professional farmer, commer- cial farmer, rent-paying farmer, &c. ; a proprietor cultivating his own estate is notcorrectly speaking a farmer ; to be such he must pay a rent A pro- prietor who cultivates his own soil may be a gen- tleman or yeoman agriculturist or husbandmai;, A propridtaire cultivatew, but not a farmer. Farmery, the homestall or farm-yard, p. 677. Farwing, renting land and cultivating it, or em- ploying it for the purposes of husbandry. Feather ooardmg, sometimes called weather board- ing, boarding, in which the edge of one board overlaps a small portion of the board next it. Feculence of cider, the lees or dregs, p. 673. FeefarmJtold, explained, s. 3394. p. 551. Feeding pastures^ pastures used for feeding stock, p.9(S. Feii-ing, explwned, s. 3251. p. 527. Felon, a disease in cattle, explained, s. 6942, p. 1032. Femur, the thigh-bone, p. 965. Ferjiigineous waters, water impregnated with iron, p. 7^ Feu-holding, explained, s. 3402. p. 552. Feu a house, to hold a house on a feu right, s. 3861. p. 624u Fibula, explained, s, 6327. p. 965. Fileuse, explained, s. 7599. p. 1105. F^ched, explained, s. 6779. p. 1015. Fingers and toes, explained, p. 861. Fini&ins, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. ■Finos, the second best wool off Merino sheep, S.7140L p. 1052. Firlot of tares, a measure used in Scotland, in wheat and beans, equivalent to the English bushel, 8. .0268. p. 842. Flakes, hurdles or portable pales for fencing- s. 3046. p. 493. Fleakine, explained, s. 3190. p. 5ia Fiecked cattle, explained, s. 6780. p. 1015. Flight. See Glume. Floaders, explained, s. 4449. p. 731. Flow bog, or flow moss, a peat bog, the surface of which is liable to rise and fall with every increase or diminution of water, whether from rains or internal springs, s. 3628. p. 585. Flowing meadows, explained, s. 4427. p. 727. Fluke, a disease in sheep, p. 1049. Flvke worms, animals of the genus Fasclola, s, 7271. p. 1066. Fcetus, a young animal in the womb, p. 976. Fogging pasture lands, explained, s. 5837. p. 90S. Foliage crops, plants, cultivated for their leaves to be used g^een, and which will not make into hay, as the cabbage tribe. Foot rot, explained, s. 72G6. p. 1066. Forage plants. See Herbage plants. Fore-rents, rents paid previously to the first crop being reapeii, p. 767. Fors and scudda, explained, s. 7137. p. 1052. Fm-sing, explained, s. 7137. p. 1052. Founder of the feet of horses, explained, s. 6517. p. 987. Free martin, explained, s. 6824. p. 1021. Free/iold, explained, s. 3393. p. 551. Fret, colic, gripes, or guUion. Friable soils, crumbling soils, p. 802. Frondoae branched trees, full of branches, which are flat and spread horizontally, like the fronds of ferns, as in the spruce fir, s. 3987. p. 648. Frontal worms, explained, s. 7270. p. 1066. Frustum, a piece cut oflf from a regular figure, s. 3732. p. 605. Furnished, explained, s. 6247. p. 955. Fusiform root, shaped like a spindle, as the carrot, parsnip, &c. p. 865. .Gaites, single sheaves tied in a particular manner, p.5ia Gaiting, explained, s. 3176. p. 516. Gangs, courses or slips in thatching, p. 518. Gastric juice, the juice of the stomach of any animal, p, y74j. Gawfur7'ows, explained, s. 4956. p. 803. Gelding ant-hills, explained, s. 5778. p. 902, Gean, wild cherry, s.3994. p. 650. Gibbous, protuberant, bearing excrescences, s. 6775. p. 1014. Gid, explained, p. 1066. Glair, tne mucous evacuation in the scouring of horses, s. 6950. Glanders, explained, p, 985. Glenoid, the hollow or socket in one bone at a joint which receives the knob, boss, or head of the ap^ proximate bone, p. 965. Glumes, the husks or chaflT of corn. . Oat flights are the glumes of the oat, p. 888. Gluten, a tenacious, ductile, and elastic substance, forming a constituent part in wheat flour and other vegetable bodies, p. 771. Go-downs, explained, s. 6736. p. 1010. Goggles, explained, s. 7267. p. 1066. Grass-cocks, hay-cocks, p. 904. Grasses, all the natural order of Cramfnes, of Lin- nfflus and Jussieu. Cereal grasses, those grown for bread corn. Pasture grasses, those grown chiefly for pasturage. Fceneous or fceniferous grasses, those grown chiefly for hay. Grassing flax, bleaching it on the ground, p. 915. Grease, a disease in horses, explained, s. 6514; 6516. p. 987. Great rot, explained, s. 7261. p. 1065. Green acres, land.capable of tillage, p. 1206. Grouting, filling up, s.3711. p. 600. G^tta Serena, explained,, b. 6441. p. 980. Gutter, a furrow-channelor drain, s. 4418. p. 726. Gypsum, a genus of calcareous earths, consisting of carbonate of lime, and united with sulphunc acid. The principal species is the Gypsum ^labas- trum, plaster of Paris, or alabaster. See Crabo's Tech. Diet, 1244 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. H. JJa-ha^ a sunk fence, p. 474. Hacking and picking. See Picking. Hainaw mowing, explained, b. 317S. p. 515. Hammelf a small shed, with a yard for feeding one, or at most two animals, p. 469. Sands of tobacco, leaves tied up by their footstaUcB, so that the leapes spread out tike the hand, s. 3945. p. 641. HangSt slopes, s. 3945. p. 641. Harled, p. 497. See Lipped. Bash, explained, s. 2716, p. 419. Hatches^ flood-gates, p. 726. Hatted kitt. explained, B.7105.p 1048. Hattocks, shocks, s. 3173. p. 515. • Haulm, the base of the stalks or stems of all crops, after the seeds are reaped or gathered. The haulm of peas is in some places called pea ryse. Head and heel of gates, explained, p. 500. Heading down trees, lopping or cutting offthe heads of trees, p. 651. Heading sheavesj the hood sheaf or sheaves of shocks of com, p. 515. Headmainj explained, s. 4411, p. 736. Heckles, iron combs^ p. ^3. Heckling fiaxt combing, p. 916. Helmets, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Hepatic ejections, affections of the liver, p. 1037. Herbage plants, forage plants, such as clover arid other plants cultivated chiefly for the herb, to be used either green or made into hay. Hide-bound, a disease in horses and cattle when the skin cleaves to the sides, s. 64S5. p. 977. Hink, explained s. 5171- p. 832. Hinnt/, explained, s. 6768. p. 1013. Hirsel, a Scotch term of the same meaning as the English term " herd," s. 6793. p. 1017. Hoars, thick mists, p. 772. Holmes, small islands, but larger than aits. , Hood-sheaf, a sheaf placed on the summit of other sheaves for a covering, p. 516. Hook bones, bones in the hind quarter of cattle, ». 6799. p. 1018. Horny frog of the horse, the prominence in the hollow of a horse's foot, p. 976. Horsemen, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Horses, pieces of wood used in barking trees, p. 659. Hot fur, explained, s. 5906. p. 824. Hot yellows, explained, s. 7256. p. 1065. Hove, explained, s. 7254. p. 1065. Huckaback, a kind of cloth, s. S93a p.917. Humerus, the arm bone, p. 965. Hummelling machine, explained, p. 440. Hunger rot, exi>lained, s. 726t. p. 1066. Hungry soU, barren soil needing much manure, p. 773. Husbandman, one who farms generally ; that is, who both produces com and cattle, and attends to the dairy, the poultry, the woodlands, and the or- chard. A farmer may confine himself to grazing, or to breeding or haymaking, or milking or raising green crops for the market, &c.,but in none of these cases can he with propriety be called a hus- bandman. This term husbandman, therefore, is not exactly synonymous with farmer. Husbandry, the culture of arable grass and wood- lands, the management of live stock, the dairy, poultry, &c., and, in general, what constitutes the business of the head of a family living by agri- cultural industry in the country. Hybrid, bastard or spurious, p. 1013, Hydatid, the TV^nia gltibulus, an insect occurring in the skull of the sheep, p. 1049. Hydropic rot, explained, s. 7261. p, 1065. ^grometer, an instrument for ascertaining the de- gree of moisture in the atmosphere, p. 773. I. Imhgo, the perfect state of insects, p. 1112. Impinge, to strike against, s. 4361. p. 719. In and in system of breeding, p. 301. Incision of objects on roads, the marks, traces, tracks, or ruts made, b. 3571. p. 575. Increments, proportional rates of increase, s. 3552. p:57% Indigent, peculiai to, springing out of the nature of, p. 1012. Induration, hardening, p. 717. Infield, an obsolete Scottish term for enclosed lands near the farmstead, as opposed to such as arc at a distance from it, and umnclosed, s. 802. p. 130. Ings. See Sittings. Iris, the coloured circle in the eyes of animals, & 6371. p^ 970. Isometrical perspective, explained, p. 472. Isosceles triangle, a triangle which has only two of its sides equal, p. 503. Itinerating libraries, libraries, the books of which are carried ^om one place of deposit to another, and thence issued, p. 756. Jacobines, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Jumper, a tool used by masons for boring holes in land stones to be reft by gunpowder, p. 743. Jumping pole, a long stiff pole, by which persons in the fens are enabled to jump across ditches or -drains twenty feet wide, by planting the pole towards the middle of the drain, and springing from bank to bank : a small piece of board, called a quant, is fastened to the bottom of the pole to prevent its sinking into the mud. See Quant. K. Kelp, the ashes of any description of Fttci or other seaweed, f>. 1205. Knees for ship-building, crooked pieces of timber, having two branches or arms, and generally used to connect the beams of a ship with her sides, 8. 3034. p. 491. Knuckering, explained, s. 6387- p. 972. Kyloes, the name given to the cattle of the He- brides, 8. 679& p. 1018. Lachrymal gland, the gland which secretes or sup. plies the lachrym^ or tears, p. 970. Lacteals, the absorbents of the mesentery, which originate in the small intestines, and convey the chyle ftom thence tn the thoracic duct, p; 968. See Ch-abb's Tech. Diet Lactometer, explained, s. 7008. p. 1037. Lampas, a swelling of the wrinkles or ribs in the roof of the horse's mouth ; analogous to the gum- boils in man, p. 980, Land, a tei^m employed in Cambridgeshire and other coitnties, to designate what more generally is termed a ridge ; that is, one of those compart- ments which lie between gutter and gutter in arable fields. The ridge, in Cambridgeshire, is the highest part or central lineof the lands, just as the ridge of a house is the highest part of its roof. In Scotland, a ridge includes the whole of the surface between gutter and gutter. liand ap. pears the fitter term. Land, ground, earthy surface in opposition to wa- ter or rocks. The term ground is generaUy ap- plied to a comparatively limited extent of surface, as garden grounds, hop grounds, &c. in opposition to arable lands, wood lands, &c. Land-fast stones, stones fixed or imbedded in the soil, p. 483. Land-reeve, explained, s, 4638. p, 760. Znri'fpjthegruDs, maggots, or caterpillars of insects, 803. Laryngeal sonorous sacs, hollows in the windpipe whicn modulate the voice of animals, s, 6764. p. 1013. Larynx, the windpipe or trachea, p. 972. Lateral shoots, snoots emitted on the sides of branches ; laterally j quite distinct from latter shoots, with which they are occasionally con- founded, p. 478. Laying in hedge-planting, laying down the sets or plants horizontally on the bed prepared for them, B. 3944. p. 640. Laying an old hedge, explained, s. 3026. p. 490. Leaping ill, explained, s. 7253. p. 1065. Leasehold, property held on lease, p. 552. Legget, explained, s. 3195. p. 518. Leguminous crops, crops of the various kinds of pulse, as peas, beans, tares, saintfoin, lucem, clover, &c., p. 800. Levelling, explained, p. 535. Leverage, the act of using levers, or the power ac- quired by the use of them, p. 575. Light-lyered, the dew-lap of a light colour, s, 6798. p. 1018. Ligneous plants, woody plants, as trees or shmbs, p. 476. Lipped and harled, a wall built of stones without mortar, but which has the joints afterwards filled with mortar, and the whole wall plastered over with what is called rough-cast, or harling in Scot- . land. The mixture used for harling is lime, sand, and small stones about the size of peas. Dashing in England is the forcible casting of jmall stones GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 1245 like the above, only washed quite clean, into the soft recent |>laster of exterior walls, in order to resist the action of rain. Loavif any soil in which clay and prganic matter exist in considerable proportions, and so as to ren- : der it neither very adhesive or hard, nor soft and I00S& Lock spit, explained, s. S8S3. p. 620. Lor^e, a long leather thong, used in the process of longing or lunging horses, p. 1001. Lymph, a clear, colourless, ratlier viscid humour, separated from^ the blood, and specifically heavier than water, s. 6350. p. 967. J^/mphatics, lymphatic vessels, are the absorbent , v^sels that convey the lymph into the thoracic duct, and form, with the lacteals, what is called the absorbent system. The use of these vessels is to draw in by a capillary attraction the fluids contained in the circumjacent cavities, p. 96S. See Crab. Tech. Diet Lytnphatic absorbents, 968. See Lymphatics, and Lacteals, M. 'MfKm't^ixm, the act of steeping or soaking in water, p. 869. ilfo/iuracid, an acid obtained from apples, by satu- rating the juice with alkali, and pouring in the acetous solution of lead, until it occasions no more precipitata See (^abh's Tech. Diet MalliTiders, a disease in horses, s. 6710. p. 1007. Manege riding, explained, s. 6572. p. 1003. i -w Martmgal, a thong of leather, fastened at one end to the girths under the belly, and at the other to ' the noseband of thebridle, to prevent a horse from rearing, p. lOOL Maturation, the process of ripening, p. 816. Maxillary glands, the glands belonging to the jaw bones, p. 972. Meal of milk, ttie quantity yielded at one time of ^' milking : thus, the morning meal, the evening raeai. s. 7103. p. 1048. MedvUa, marrow, p. 967. In plants it signifies the pith. ^ Meeis or meres, cattle ponds In Derbyshire, p. 735. Memel timber, fir timber from the port of Memel in Prussia, in the Baltic, p. 504. Mere, a lake, pool, or pond. -^ Mesentery, a membrane in the cavity of the abdo- men attached to th-- vertebree of the loins, and to which the intestines adhere, p. 975. '-^Meslin, a union of flocks, s. 736. p. 118. Meslin, meslijig, mescelin, mtrslin, or mescledine, corn that is taixed, as wheat, rye, &c., to'make bread. This terra occurs in old acts of parliament for the regulation of rivers, as that of the Camj mesceUn being in former days a frequent lading in that neighbourhood. Mesta, explained, s. 735. p. 118. Metacarpus, the shank, p. 965. Metal bed of a road, explained, s. 3630. p. 585. Metalltfe7-ous ores, ores which contain metals, p. 629. Metals of a road, the material of which a road is formed, as broken quarry stone, boulder stones, ai>d other kinds, p. 61%. Metaycj- system, the system of farming lands in many parts of the Continent, in which the produce is equally divided between landlord and tenant, p. 184. Midtlen, dunghill, p. 807. " The midden is the mi- ther o' the meal kist.'* •^Milsey, a provincial term for a sieve, in which milk is strained, s. 7064. p. 1045. Mortices, holes, cells, or receptacles made in posts, - SiC. to receive the tenons of rails, &c., p. 493. Mould, organic matter in a finely divided and de- '^ composed state, with a little earth mixed, as ve- getable mould, leaf mould, peat mould, &c. Moia-at, explained, s. 7137. p 1052. MoWf a compartment in a barn, into which com in the straw is stacked or packed. __ Mow~burn, to heat by fermentation in the mow, p. 825. Murrain, a wasting, contagious, and most fatal disorder among cattle, s. 6943. 7250. N. Naked disease, explained, s. 7264. p. 1066. Naturalising animals and vegetables, introducing them to a new climate, in such a manner that they shall in future perpetuate themselves in that cli- mate without the aid of man. See Acclimatising, Naulctdar or nut bone of the horse, explained, 8. 6417. p. 976. Nicking. See Docking. Nictitating membrane, explained, s. 6370. p. 970. Nuns, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Nurses for young plants, plants of an inferior and rapidly growing kind, planted round those which are choicer and of slower growth, both to shelter them and expedite their growth, p. 653L O. Obstetrics, considerations appertaining to the foaling* calving, yeaning, &c., of animals, & 6969. p 1035. Odometer, from odos, a way, and metrco, to mea- sure, an instrument by which the quantity of space passed over on foot, or in a conveyance, may be ascertained, s. 2506. p. 376. (Es-bone in horses, a disease in the feet of the horse, p. 960. Rippling of flax or hemp, the operation of sepa- rating the boles or seed pods, by striking them against a board, or piece of iron, p. 91S. Ristle-plough, explained, p. 1197. River-meadows, explained, s, 5769. p. 901. Roan tree, the mountain ash. Roguish plants, spurious varieties, s. 5220. p. 838. Roqflet, explained, s. 3195. p. 519. Root crops, esculent plants cultivated for their tubers, bulbs, or other enlarged parts produced under or immediately on the ground, and chiefly connected with the root, as the potato, turnip carrot, &c. Roots, the fibres and other ramifications of a plant under ground, and by which it imbibes nourish, ment. Tubers, bulbs, and other fleshy protuber. ances under ground, are employed by nature for the purposes of propagation or continuation, and therefore ought never to be confounded with common roots, which serve to nourish these tubers, bulbs, &c., in common with other parts of the plant Rot, explained, s. 7245. p. 1064. Rouen, the aftermath, the lattermath, or second '^^°^S^ J'^y ™* °^ *^6 sarae ground in one year, s, 3169. p. 515. Rough pile in cattle, coarse hair or wool, p 784. Roup, explained, s. 7526. p. 1095, Rowels, explained, s. 6538. Ruhb^s, a disease in sheep, explained, s. 7265, p. 1066. Rubble stones, loose stones, brick-bats, and the like. which are put together to conduct water : so called because they are rubbed together. Rumbling drains, drains formed of a stratum of rubble stones, p. 581. Runner, explained, s. 4140. p. 675. Runts, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Rural economy, rural affkirs, geoponics, agro- nomics, terras considered as synonymous with husbandry. Rust, a disease to which the cereal and other grasses are subject, and which occasions their herbage to be of a rusty colour, s. 5741. p 899 ^Rut, to cut a Ime on the soil with a spade, p 482 ■ a so the copulation of deer in the rutting season : also the track of a cart-wheel. Rutting See Rut. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 1247 Saccharosalinet partaking the properties both of sugar and salt, p. 1039. Saddle-grt^ting. ratplained by figures, p. 1143. SaUriy explain^, s. 5S6a p. 853L Saliva, the spittle of animals. -Salt-cat, a mixture given to pigeons to promote their digestion, p. 1096. Saltings or ingSf salt-water marshes, p. 747. Sandcracks, explained, s. G5S5. p. 983. Sauer kraut, explained, s. 5507. p. 868. Scab, explained, s- 7265. p. 1066. Scalene triangle, a triangle with three unequal sides* s. 4343. Scaling, all quartered timber under five inches ^PV^l^T?lZ^T^Z'^^S:ri!'^^ir»r.^.^f.ir.. «!niiarp% 4009 n fiW Tn in-ifinnTv a term ex • p^^a*. the Outer board sawed from the trunk Of a tree, square, s. 4002. p. 6ja In masonry, a term ex- ^^^^^^ explained, s. 3785. p. 613. In Suffolk the root stocks, when left in the soil, of such trees as are sawed offlevel with the surface. pressive of the size of stones. Scarcement, a rebate or set-back in the building of walls, or in raising banks of earth, p. 481. Scarification^ cutting through the bark and soft wood of a thick branch with an edge tool, pre- viously to sawing through the hard wood, s, 3164. p. 5ia Scapula, the shoulder blade, p. 964. Scarifier, a machine to excoriate and disturb the surface of soil, p. 528. Sclerotic coat, a coat of hard consistence, p. 970. Scoop voheely a large wheel with numerous scoops fastened inJts periphery, s. 4277. p. 706. Scoria of founderies, the refuse or dross of the me- tals, s. 3643. p. 588. • Screening, the act of sifting earth or seeds through a large oblong sieve or riddle, called a screen, p. 509. Scudda. See Fors and Scudda, Saggier, a kind of horse-hoe, p. 5S8. Scutching flax, breaking the woody part of it pre- paratory to separating it from the fibrous parts, p. 915. "'SPo-ooae, the alluvial deposit, the mud or slime left by the sea where its waters have subsided, p. 746. Seed-lobes, the cotyledons, or very first leaves dis- played on a seedling plant Seilenders, in horses, explained, s. 6293. p. 961. Seminal roots, the first roots, those emitted from the seed itself, p. 808. Sensible frog of the horse, explained, s. 6420. p. 976. Sensible IdmineB, explained, s. 64^21. p. 976. Septic, causing putridity, producing putrescence, s. 6844. p. 1023. Serum, whey, or the remainder of milk after its better parts have been taken away ; also, the yel- low and greenish fluid which separates from the blood when cold and at rest, s. 69SU. p. 1036. Sesamoids, little bones found at the articulation of the toes (in man) ; so called from their supposed resemblance to the seeds of the plant called sesa- mum, s. 6319. p, 965. Setons, explained, s. 6537. p. 990. Set-sod, explained, S.S014. p. 486, Sets andeffes of potatoes, slices of the tubers of the potato, each slice being furnished with at least one eye or bud, p. 848. Shab, explained, s. 7965. p. 1066. Shagreen, or fagri, the prepared skin of the ass, s. 6757. p. 1012. Shakes in the boles of trees, fissures, clefts, or rents, p. 656. Shakers, a variety of pigeon, p. 109.5. Sliaking quags, shaking bogs ; wet spongy soil, p. Shocks, stooks or hattocks , assemblages of sheaves, never of more than ten sheaves in those placed where the tithe is paid in kind, as this arrange- ment facilitates the taking of the tithe ; in Scot- land, from six to twelve, independently of the two or four hood or roof sheaves, p. 515. Shoughed, earthed in, p. 640. Siddtm peas, such as boil Areelv, s. 7791. p. 1140. Siliceous, of the nature of sand or flint, p. 5S^. Siloes, repositories, explained, s. 4988. p. 810. Single wind-rows, a single range of new-made hay, before it is packed into cocks, p. 903. Skirting or peat turning^ explained, s. 3210. p. 520. Skreen plantations, plantations made for the purpose of skreening or sheltering, p. 753. Shalcy soil, explained, s. 4750. p. 774, Shearer, a rea^r, s. 32.50. p. 526. Shearing, reaping, p. 515. Sheath, \a.n6. gixaxA of embankments, 8.4362.4366. p. 719, 720. Shearing rivers, the process of mowing the plants which abound in rivers; the instrument with which this is effected is formed of a line of scythe- blades, rivetted together by their extremities, and which line of scythe-blades is worked or moved along over the surface of the mud by levers at- tached to the line, operated upon by men in boats, s. 3171. p. 515. Shift of crops, an alternation or variation in the succession of crops, p. 814. Shifting beach, a beach of gravel liable to be shifted or moved by the action of the sea, or the current' of rivers, s. 4332. p. 714. Shingles, pieces of thin board used as tiles, a com- mon practice in timber countries on the Continent and in America, s. 3051. p. 495. Slip-coat cheese, explained, s;7085. p, 1047. Slit planting, explained, s. 3953. p. 642. Slob farrow, explained, s. 3213. p. 521. Sludger, explained, s. 2518. p. 378. Sttfiffle, a bridle with a single rein, and without a curb, s. 6734. p. 1009. Snag pruning, pruning or cutting off branches so as to leave snags, s. 4027. p. 655. Snags, stumpy bases of branches left in pruning, s. 3993. p. 650. Sob, a convulsive spasm of the air passages to re- lieve congestion, s. 6723. p. 1008. Soil, earth, either of one or of several sorts, mixed with decomposed organic matters. Soiling, feeding horses or cattle in houses or sheds with clover or other herbage in agreen state, p. 874. Sough, a box-drain, s. 4254. p. 700. Soiaens, explained, s. 5146. p. 828. Spai/, to incapacitate a female animal for pro. ducing young, s. 7306. p. 1069. See Castrate. Sphacelated,yiitheted,h}astcd, mortified, gangvened, s. 6945. p. 1032. Spinous processes, projections resembling spines or prickles, s. 6764^ p. lOia Spired, grown, shot out into spires, s. 5108. p. 825. Spitful ^ earth, a spadeful of earth, p. 507. Splint, in horses, a preternatural excrescence of bone, or a hard tumour, s.6293. p. 961. Spots, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Spra^ drain, a drain formed by burying the spray of wood in the earth, which keeps open achannel, s. 4284. p. 708. - Spray of a tree, the twigs of the branches of a tree, p.649- SpHngfeed, herbage produced in the spring, p. 90.5. fSqueakers, pigeons under six months of age, p. 10^6. Si^Ic/rfrag■ rf«ge, explained, s. 3289. p. 533. In Cam- bridge, the object of the stage is effected by a stage hole left in one side of the upper part of the rick Stack guard, explained, s. 3288. p. 532. Staddles, explained, s. 5796. p. 903. Stake and rice, a fence composed of stakes driven into the ground and interwoven with branches retaining their spray, or with rods without their spray; the latter is frequently called a wattled fence, p. 487. Staggers, a disease of the horse, explained, p. 978. Straw mow, a stack or rick of straw formed in a barn, s. 5(14£. p. 818. Steining a well, lining it with stone or brick, s. 4479. p. 735. Si^e of the horse, explained, s. 6275. p. 959. Stire, a sort of cyder apple, s. 4082. p. 665. Stock, the animals of agriculture called live stock ; also, the implements and other lifeless articles of property on a farm, called dead stock. Stoc/cing a pasture, putting in as many head of cattle as the pasture will maintain, s. 5285. p. 906. Stolones, the creeping rooting shoots of some grasses, and other plants, by which they increase, p. 904. Stoloniferous grasses, grasses producing stolones, p. 887. Stone-brash, a sub-soil composed of shattered rock or stone, s. 4519. p. 742. Stooks, shocks or hattocks, p. 817. Stools of a coppice, the stumpy root-stocks of trees previously cut down, p. 662. Stover of rape, the pods and points troken off in threshing, p. 932. Strull, a bar so placed as to resist weight, p. 498. Stubs, stocky stumpy portions of the stems of trees and shrubs, p. 1009. Slud, a post, a stake, an upright, in a buildmg, p. 600.; a collection of breeding horses and mares. 1248 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. Stumminff, explained, 8. 4132. p. 674^ Sturdy, exptaiaed, 8.72ff7. p. 1066. Subcarbonate of soda^ a salt in which soda predo- minates, p. 837. Sublingual^ under the tongue, s. 6388. p. 973. Sitccedaneumt a substitute, p. 846. *^ Stoathf the bands or ridges produced by mowing with the scythe, p. 903. ■*• Swathbatk, the line between two swaths where the Btubble is cut least closely, presenting a little ridge of stubble, p. 514. ■v Swaysy long bramble rods used in thatching with reeds, p. 518. Sweating c^hay, a slight fermentatifiji, p. 904. ^ Swing plough, any plough without wheels, p. 390. Switching billy an instrument used in pruning hedges, p. 485. Switching hedges, cutting off the one year's growth which protrudes from the sides of hedges, 6,4005. p. 652. SynchroTious, at one time, at the same time, con- temporary, p. 1002. Synopsis, the seeing all at once, or at one view ; a comprehensive volume, p. 881. Synbvia, joint oil, p. 965. 967. Systole, explained, s. 6351. p. 968. T. Tag-belt, a disease in sheep, explained, s. 7260, p. 1065w Tail drain, explained, s. 4414. p. T16, Tapitum, explained, s. 6373. p. 970. Tai-sm, explained, s. 6328. p. 966. Teathing, explained, s. 5824. p. 906. Tecernos, explained, s. 7141. p. 1052. Teddiitg hayy scattering, spreading, turning, and, in short, making hay, p. 903. Tevjon, a projection in a rail, &c., made to fit a mortice. Tenan joint, a joint formed by a tenon and mortice, p. 598. Tenure, a holding or occupying, p. 179. Territorial economy, whatever relates to the valu- ation, purchase, sale, exchange, arrangement, im- provement by roads, canals, drainage, &&, of territorial surface, including interposing waters, as rivers, lakes, and also mines and minerals. Territorial improvements are mostly effected by the proprietors of lands or their agents and stewards, and not to any great extent by renters of land, or farmers. Tetanus, a spasmodic affection, accompanied by rigidity, one species of which is known by the popular name of a locked jaw, s. 6370. p. 970. j s. 6432. p. 978 ; s. 6965. p. 1035. Tethering, restraining grazing animals by a rope or chain, fastened to the animal at one end, and to the earth at the other, s. 5560. p. 876. The line of draught, the direction in which an ani- mal is pulling or drawing, s. 2593. p. 390. Theodolite, an instrument used in surveying, and chiefly in taking angles, p. 544. — Thilly the beam or draught tree of a cart or waggon. Thilter or Thill horse, the horse that is put under the thill, or into the shatls or draughts, p. 1139. Thoracic duct, the trunk of the absorbent vessels, so called from its being placed in the thorax or chest, p. 968. Thorough-pin, explained, s. 6293 p. 961. Threave, twenty-four sheaves of straw or corn, s. 3168. p. 517. Thrush paste, explained, s. 6554. p. 988. Tibia, the leg bone, p. 965. Ticks, a variety of bean, called the tick bean, d, 5225, 5226. p. 838. Tie, a bar so placed as to resist a drawing or twisting power, p. 498. Till, coarse obdurate land, p. 746. — TiUer, to send forth numerous stems from the root j applied only to culmifcrous plants, s. 4984. p. 808. TiUeri-ng. See Tiller, 8.5130. p. 826. ^ Tilth, the degree or depth of soil turned by the plough or spade, that available soil on the earth's surface, into which the roots of crops strike, p. 803. Tippling, as applied to hay-making, explained, s. 5549. p. 875. — Tithe, the tenth of the produce of the soil, paid to the clergy of EnglandL " TUhing-man, a person employed by the clergyman in a village to set out and collect his tithes. Torrqfied earth, earth subjected to the action of fire, p. 522. Trdchea, the windpipe, p. 972. Tracking Jfax, breaking the woody part in the fitenuj of flax, s. 5912. p. 915. Tramp, an instrument used in making hedg«, p 481. Tramroad, explained, s. 3795. p. 615. Translucent, transparent, diaphanous, allowing light to shine through, p. 811. TVemblings, explained, s, 7253. p. 1065. Trench, explained^ s. 4412. p. 726. To trench, to turn over and mix soil to the depth of two, three, or more spades, or spits. Trench drain, explained, s. 4413, p. 736. Trindle, to allow to trickle or run down in small streams, p. 641. Trochar, an instrument resembling a pipe, used for making incisions, when water or air is received out of the incision through the trochar, p. 1034. Ti^uncheons, large sets, stakes, or poles, of willow, poplar, &c. planted to form trees speedily, p. 749. Trumpeters, a variety of pigeon, p, 1095. Tubers, knobs, fleshy bodies at the roots of plants, as in potato, yam, pignut, &c.,p. 511. Titmblers, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Turbits, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Turners, a variety of pigeon, p. 1095. Turnsick, explained, s. 7267. p. 1066. Tussocks of grass, clumps, tumps, tufls, or mi- nute hillocks of growing grass, p. 518. Twibil and kink, explained, s. 5171. p. 833, U. Urinhrium, a receptacle for urine, 8. 6998. p. 1038. V. Velum pal&tt, explained, s. 6382. p. 972., Vena cava, explained, s. 6348. p. 967. Vena cava ascindens, explained, s. 6348. p. 967. Vina cdva descindens, explained, s. 6348. p. 967, Vena p6rteE, explmned, s. 6349. p. 967. Vinquish. See Pining. Viscid, thick, glutinous, gummy, p. 1036. Vivacious, living, sprouting, very lively, very free of growth, p. 803. Vives, explained, s. 6388. p. 972. W. Wads, explained, s. 5208, p. 836, Walls dashed with lime. See Harled. Walls en pis^,vfa.\\s built of mud rammed in be- tween a frame of boards, p. 457. Warbles, explained, s. 6489. p. 984. Ward-holding, explained, s. 3402. p. 552. Warping, explained, B. 4452. p. 732. Watering qf hemp, the maceration, steeping, or immersion of the stems of the hemp plant, in water, s. 677. p. 107. 917- Water-retted, watered, s. 5929. p. 917. Water tables across a road, sunk pannels, which conduct the surface water into drains, p. 583, Water-tabling, explained, s. 3014. p. 486. Watery head, explained, s. 7267. p, 106& Wattle, to weave, to interlace, or jdat branches or rods. Wattled fen^e. See Stake and Rice. Wattled hurdles, hurdles wattled with rods, WfiryjDnjw, explained, s. 4416. p. 726. Wear, a dam made with stakes and osier twigs in- terwoven, as a fence against water, p. 722. Well-bred, explained, s. 2064. p. 305. Whethcring, explained, s. 6971. p. 1035. Whin, furze, gorz, gorse, or goss, p. 510. Whins/one, explained, s. 3654. p. 589. Whipping out grain, striking the ears agamst a stone or the edge of a board, till the corn is se- parated from the straw, p. 519. Whippijig in plants, to bruise, abrade, or injure, by rubbing or striking against another, as the competing branches of neighbouring trees, 8. 4014. p. 653. Whirlbone qf the horse, the articulation of the thigh bone with the pelvis, 959. Whitten, the small-leaved lime, p. 1141. Wilding, trees sprung up from seeds naturally dis- tributed, i, e. by winds, birds, running waters, &c., p. 675 Winlestraws, the withered flower-stalks of grasses standing in the fields; in English, bents, 8.505a p. 830. Womals or puckertdge, explained, s. 6968. p. 1035. Woodward, a land-reeve or ground officer, s, 4638. p. 760. Y. Yellows, explained, s. 6480. p. 984, Yerking, one of the motions taught to horses, s. 6(J73. p. 1003. GENERAL INDEX. •*• The Numbers r^er to the Parttgraphs, not to the Pages, except in the case (if the List of Authors, where they r^er to the page and the year in which the Author published : in szcch cases the word page and tetters A.D. arepr^ed. AbSATE, Antonio, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1808. Abeille, F., his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1791. Aberdeenshire, statistics of, 7852. Abortion in plants, 168S. Abyssinia, climate, surface, and soil of, 1067 ; agri- cultural products of, 1068; live stock of, 1069; agriculture of, 1070. Acclimating of plants, 1764; the more tender ani- mals, 7390l Account books, farmers', 4886 Accounts, keeping and auditing, 4708; keeping, 4883 ; necessity of a regular system of, 3381. Acid, fluoric, in animals, 1924 ; muriatic, in animals, 1925 ; pyroligneous, distillery of, at Milburn in Dunbartonshire, 7843. Acids, 1493; oxalic, 1424; acetic, 14^5; citric, 1426; raallc, 1427; gallic, 1428; tartaric, 1429; benzoic, 1430; prussic, 1431; vegetable, consti- tuents of, 1432 ; animal, 1953. Adam, James, his work on agricultui-e, page 1210. A. D. 1789. Adam, of Blair Adam, 7847. Adams, George, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1810. Adanson, Madame Aglae, her work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1822. Adansbnzfz digitata, 1109. Africa, general description of, 1066. After-grass on meadows, 5810. Agriculeural Institution of Moegelin, 576. Agricultural Society, Australian, 1043. Agricultural Societies of Hanover and Celle, 593. Agriculture among the Romans, decline of, 178. Agriculture, as influenced by climate, 1248; by tem- perature and light, 1259; by elevation, 1260; by soil, 1263; by moisture, 1264; by the state of so- ciety, 1270; by civilisation, 1271; by politinal circumstances, 1272; by religion, 1273; by the character of a people, 1274. Agriculture, bibliography of, 7896. Agriculture during the seventeenth century, 234. Agriculture, earliest Spanish works on, 713. Agriculture, history of, in the ages of antiquity, 5 ; in Egypt, 8 ; among the Jews, 17 ; of the Greeks, 24; of the Persians and Carthaginians, &c. C6; among the Romans, 42 ; during the middle ages in Italy, 180; in France, 185; in Germany, 192; in Britain, 195; in ultra-European countries, 47. Agriculture, improvement of, by refiningthe taste of the purchasers of its products, and increasing the knowledge of agricultural patrons, 7926 ; by the better education of those engaged in it, 7930. Agriculture in England during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, 210; in ihefifteenth century, 211; in the sixteenth century, 21fi; early in the sixteenth century, 221 ; during the reign of Eliza- beth, 222L Agriculture in ultra-European countries during the middle ages, 257, 258. Agriculture niay be practised without any know- ledge of its theory, 1286 ; object of the art of, 1287 ; study of the science of, 1289. Agriculture of Britain, classification of the, 1280; improved by the Norman oonquest, 204. Agricultureof irrigation, geographical extension of the, 1254; of manures and irrigation, 1255; of draining and manures, 1256; ofocience, 1276: of habit, 1277; barijarian, 1278; of savages, 1279; of water-fed lands, 1266; of sun-burnt lands, 1267; of mountains, 1268; common, 1269. Agriculture, origin of and importance ; practice of, iu early times ; recent discoveries in , arrange- 4 ment of the subject in this work, pages 1 to 3; the operations, 3111 ; the physical circumstances afl[fecting, 1258 ; traditional history of, 1, 2 ; works on, during the commonwealth, 250. Agriculturists, commercial, the different kinds of, 7724 i itinerant, 7725 : professional education of, 7942. Aigoin, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.D. 1805. Ainslie, John, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1806. Air, fresh, proper for domestic animals, 2076; noxious in wells, 4480. Aiton, William, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1805. Alamannf, his work on agriculture, page 1221, A.D. 1764. Alam^ini, Luigi, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1546. Albania, agriculture of, 758. Albertaxxit Jacopo Antonio, his wdtk on agricul* ture, page 1222. A. D. 1811. Albrecht, J. F. E., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1775. Albumen, 1344. 1406; in animals, 1939; use of, 1940. Alderson, John, M. D., his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1802. .^'Igae, utility of the, 1333. Algiers, description of the territory of, 1095. Alkalies, vegetable, 1500; utility of, 1501. Alletx, Pons Augustin, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1760. Almond tree, the, at the Cape of Good Hope, 1122. Aloe, the, in Spain, 723 ; of the Cape of Good Hope. 1123. Amazonia, agriculture of, 1244^ Ambergris, 1949. Ameithon, Hubert Pascal, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A.D. 1779. America, agricultural operations of, 1170 ; field iibours in, 1171. America, North, temperature of the eastern parts of, 2352. AmiotjheP., his work on agriculture, 1216. A.D. 1770. Ammonia in animals, 1929. Ammoniac, 1474. Amoretti, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1785. Amoreux, his works on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1787. Amos, William, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Amphibia, 7589. Analysation of plants, mechanical and chemical processes for the, 1392, 1393. Analysis, vegetable, products of, 1394; compound products of, 1395. Anderson, James, LL. D., his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1775. Anderson, William, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1816. Angler, the, injurious to young salmon, 3892. Anglo-Saxons, origin of the, 200. Angus, statistics of, 78.")0. Animals affected by climate, 1249. Animals, androgynous, 1984; gemmiparous, 1985; hybridous, 1986 ; dead, as a manure, 2245 ; distri.. bution of, on the face of the globe, 1999; \o-'.iu distribution of, 2005: domestic, the rearing of^ 2066 Animals, external covering of, 1844; importance of, in the arts, 2013. 2019 ; as articles of food, 2015 ; in medicine, 2018 i influence of soil and climate L 1250 GENERAL INDEX. on the general properties of, 2024 ; killed by acci- dent not unwholesome, 20197; more numerous than plants, 1998 : necessity of a jKirtial know- ledge of, 1837; of Britain, 1838; noxious to agri- culture, 7623; reared by the Romans, 156; the classification of, 1842 ; the elementary substances composing, J917; the mode of describing, 1840; viviparous, reproduction of, 1974 ; vertebrated, dis- tribution of, a)02 ; marine, distribution of, 2003. Anim^, from what obtained, 1468. Annuaire de la Society Royale et Centrale d'Agri- culture. Anon, page 1219. A.D. 1826. Annuaire du Jardinier et de 1' Agronome, pour 182G. Anon, page 1219. A.D. 1826. Annuals, 1569. , Anomalies in plants, 1589; in the parts of plants, 1320. Aiisti-uther, Sir John, Bart, his work on agricul- ture, page 1211. A.D. 1796. Ant ami mole hills, removal of, on pastures, 5821. Antelope, the, 7378; the common, 7380; the cha- mois, 7381 ; the Scythian, 7382; the white-footed, 7383. Ant-hills, 5775; to remove, 5776; Norfolk mode of cutting and burning, 5777 ; gelding, 5778. Antillf Hon. Edward, Esq., his works on agricul- ture, page 1223.^ A. D. 1789. nton, A.O. AntoTii Sage l^a :. Glo., his work on agriculture, page 1220. Antrim, statistics of, 7895. Aphides, the, or plant lice, 7682; of beans, 5256. Apiary, the, 2845. 76u3. Apples, baking, most suitable for orchards, 4088: cider, the most approved sorts of, 4086; table of, ' 4089; dessert, fit for orchards, 4030; orchard, Honalds's select list of, 4098 ; Pearson's select list of 4099. Apple-miil, th«, 4145. Appraiser, agricultural, 7749. Apprentices, agricultural, 4879. 7712. ApraxiTtj M., his work on agriculture, 7907. Aquatics, influence of altitude on the habits of, 1737. Aquino. Charles d', his work on agriculture, page 1»21. A.D. 1736. Arabia, extent of, 883; general surface of, 884; agricultural products of, 885 ^ plants and trees of, 886 ; live stuck of, 887 ; agricultural implements and operations of, 889. Architecture of Thibet, 1019. Ardrossan, the harbour at, 7841. ArduiniOi Luigi, his works on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1809. Argyleshire, statistics of, 7858. Armagh, statistics of, 7893. Armature of plants, 1318. Arrangement of plants, the artificial and natural, 1302 and 1303. Arrow-root, the, of the West Indies, 1219. Artichoke, Jerusalem, 5512. jTrum esculi^ntum, 1217. Ash tree, large, in Bonhill churchyard in Dunbar- tonshire, 7843. Ashes for lixiviation, 682. Ashes of plants, 1498; analysis of, 1499. Asia Minor, climate of, 861. Asia, the islands of, 1020. Asparagus, treatment of, in the Netherlands, 493. Aspect in regard to farming lands, 4771. Assafoetida, 1482. Ass, the, 675ri; excellencies and defects of, 6757; the different breeds or races of^ 6759; breeding, 67fi0; breaking the, 6762; to know the age o/, 6763 ; anatomy and physiology of the, 6764; dis- eases of, 1665 ; shoeing of the, 6766. Asses, the, of Egypt, \ Ayrshire, statistics of, 7841. Azote, in the atmosphere, 2341. ■ B. Bachapins, description of the, 1138. Bacon-grub, the, 7692. Badger, the, 7630. Bagging corn, 3174. Bagot, his works on agriculture, page 1218, A. D, 1806. Bailey. John, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1211. A.D. 1797. Bailiff and gardener, 7718. Bailiff; choice of a, 4867. Bakewellf Robert, Escl, his work on agriculture, fiage 1212. A. D. 1808; improvements by, in the ive stock of Britain, 787. Balsam of Peru, 1488 ; of Tolu, 1487. Balsams, 1483. Bamboo, the, uses of, 908. Banister^ John, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1799. Bank formed with piles, brushwood, and stones, 4350. Bar Loch, drainage of, 4276. Bm'baro, Marco, his work on Agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 178.5. Barbe-Marbois, his works on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1798. Barbery William, his works on agriculture, page ■ 1212. A. D. 1805. Bardf C. P., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1826. Barelle, Giuseppe, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1807. Barilla, cultivation of, 6194. Bark of trees, drying, ^51 ; chopping, 4052. Bark, spent, tanner's, as a manure, 2242. Barking trees, 4050. Barley, flrosted, 4998. Barley, 5080 ; species and varieties of, 50S1 ; soil for, 5093; manure for, 5097; climate for, 5098; sowing, 5099 ; culture of, in a growing state, 5104 ; harvesting of, 5107 ; stacking, 5109 ; threshing and dressing, 5110; produce of, 5111; uses o^ 5112 ; diseases of, 5119 : insects injurious to, 7663. Barometer, use of the, 2345. 2408; the words en- graved on the, 2416. Barron, William, F.R.S,R, his work on agricul- ture, page 1209. A. D. 1774. Barrow-drill, the turnip, 2578. Barrows for hay and straw 2540. Barthez de Marmorieres, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A.D. 1763. jSor^/ty, Nehemiah, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1802. Barton^ Benjamin Smith, M. D., his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1812. Bariranii John, M. D., his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1744. Bartram, Moses, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A.D. 1789. Base of a road, preparation of the, 3622. Baskets, 2525. Bassif Agostino, his works on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1811. Bastard saffron, 5987; soil for, 5990; use of, 5991. Bath and West of England society, the, 7yi4k Bauers, German, farming of the, 605, Bavaria, former state of agriculture in, 614 ; agri- cultural improvement of, 615; surface or, 616 1 crops cultivated in, 6J7; forests of, 618. Ba^ldon, J. S., his work on agriculture, page 1213L A. D. 1825. GENERAL INDEX. 1251 Beaks of birds, 1862. Beans, Carob, 1104f. * Bean driUs, 2683 : Weir's expanding, 2684. Beans, 5222 ; drilling of, 5223 , varieties of, 5224 ; choice of, 5226} the best soils for, 52S7; cUmate for, 5232: sowing, 5SJ3S; dibbling, 5237; after culture of, 5240 ; reaping, 5244 ; stacking, 5247 ; threshing, 5248; produce of, 52^ j application of, 5251 ; diseases of, 5255. Beans, insects injurious to, 766& Beasts of labour, 2014. Beatson's contrivance for preventing ruts in roads, 3746. Beatson, Major-General Alexander, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1820; new theory of roads, S695. BcauniCj Antoine, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1770, Bed of a river, &c., 442a Beddoest Thomas, M.D., his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1808. Bedford House of Industry, 77Si Bedfordshire, statistics of, 7784. Bee, the common, 7602; feeding, 7608; swarming, 7610; suffocating, 7614; produce and profit, 7615., Bees in Perthshire, 7849; in the 16th century, 2'lS ; of Galloway, 7840; rearing of, in Hungary, 631 ; in Poland, 655. Belair, A. P. Julienue de, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1794. Belgj'ove, William, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A.D. 1755. Bell^ Benjamin, r.R.S.E,his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1802 Bell's reaping machine, 2737. Bend, a, 4417. Bends for ship-timber, mode of pruning, for produc- ing, 4000. BenetH, Santo, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1810. Benin, description of, 1106. Benzoin, 1484^ Berkshire, statistics of, 779(X Berry of plants, 1355. Berryt the Rev. Henry, his opinion on the choice of livestock for breeding and feeding, 4851 ; his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. B. 1830. BertkeloU his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1782. Bei'trand, Elie, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1764. BeTtrand, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1794 ; his work on agriculture, page 1221. A.D.1780. Bertrand, Jean, his work on agriculture, page 1215 A. D. 1764. Bertj-ochns, Dionysius, his work on agriculture, pag;e 1221. A. D. 1496. Berwickshire, statistics of, 7835. Besoms used in farming, 2468. Betel leaf of Sumatra, 1024. Bexon^ Gabriel Leopold Charles Ame, his works on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1773. Bibliography, agricultural, of North America, 7908. Bibliography of British agriculture, 7898 ; of French agriculture, 79U0 ; of German agriculture, 7901 ; of Italian agriculture, 7902. Bidet, M., his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1778. KiUington's opinion on pruning, 3990. Binot, the, 2620. Birch wine, 7799. Birds, foreign aquatic, 7567 ; gallinaceous, (see cock and hen), 7439; injurious to agriculture, 7639; of luxury which are or may be cultivated by farmers, 7531 ; sln^ng, 7563 ; breeding and rear- ing, 7565. Birkbeckt Morris, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 18i5, Birman empire, climate of the, 934 ; seasons of the, 935 ; soil of the, 936 ; cattle of the, 93? ; plants and trees, 938^ animals of the, 939. BirolL Giovanni, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1807. Bitter principle, the, in vegetables, 1421. Bixa OreUdna, J 230 Biz/iaiib, bis work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1786. Black, James, his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1777. Blac&well, Alexander, M, D., his work on agricul- ture, page 1208. A. D. 1741. ]^laikiey ]''rancis, his works on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1819. 4 Blair Brummond, the moss of, 2183; the water wheel at, 2187. Blanks in plantations, filling up, 3983. Blavet, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A.B.1755. Bleaching flax, 5904. Blight, the, 1687 ; from cold and ftosty winds, 1688 ; from sultry and pestilential vapour, 1689 ; from want of nourishment, 1690; originating in i^^ngi, 1691. BlUh^ Walter, his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. B, 1649. Blood, as a manure, 2252, Bloom, 1470. Blubber, as a manure, 2247. Blues, vegetable, the finest of, for dyeing, 1415. Bli/the*a Improver improved, 251. Board of Agriculture, the, 7915. Bogs, drainage of, 4234; improvement of, 4547; meadows, 5787 ; making the nay of, 5804; of Ire- land, examination of the, 820. Boilers, 2806. Boiling machines, 2806. Bolting-machine, a hand, 2552. Bonqfous^ M. Mathieu, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. B. 1827. Bone-ashes as a manure, 2303. Bone.breaking machine, 2554% Bones of animals, 1881 ; increase in size of the, 1884 ; reproduction of the, 1886; articulation of the, 1888 ; as a manure, 2243. Bone manure, 4979. Bonneniain, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.B. 1816. Book farmers, p. 1177. Book-keeping, farm. Trotter's method of, 4885. Books on agriculture, Spanish and Portuguese, 7904; Flemish and Butch, 7905; Swedish and Ba- nish, 7906 : Polish and Russian, 7907 : American, 7908. Bootan, cUmate of, 1014 j surface of, 1015. Boots worn in irrigation, 4403. Borcke, H. A. Grafen, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A.B. 1779. Bardlev, J. B., his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. B. 1801. Borer, use of the, in well-digging, 4482. Boring instruments. Good's improved, 2507. Boring the earth for spring water, 4485: operation of, 4486. Boring trees, 1674. Borneo, agriculture of, 1028. Borrioti M. A., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A.B. 1817. Borro, Alessandro del, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. B. 1718. Bosc, K. Ad. H. von., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. B. 1792. Base, Th., his works on agriculture, page 1218. A. B. 1823. B6strichus pinip^rdus, 537. Boswell, George, his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. B. 1780. Boucher d'Argis, Antonine Gaspard, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. B. 1749. Bourbon, Isle of, 1143. Bouthier, his work on agriculture, page 1216, A. B. 1780. Boyce^s first attempt at a reaping machine, 2732. Boys, John, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. B. 1796. Bradley, Richard, F.R.S., his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. B. 1721. Brain, the, 1913; functions of the, 1915. Brake, the common, 2700 ; Wilkie's parallel adjust. ing, 2656. Branches of a plant, 1309 : of trees, anomalies in the, 1601. Brazil,, description of, 1232 ; vegetable productions of, 1233 i live stock of, 1238. Bread-corn, the, of temperate climates, 17S4w Breast -plough, used in irrigation, 4394. Breed, when improved, 2040. Breed of animals, improvement of a, 2023. Breeding, choice of live stock for ttie purpose of, 4835. Eridekirk, plan of the village of, 3850. Bridges, 3110; on roads, 3611. Bridge, portable, for passing sheep over marsh ditches, 7781. Bridgewater, Buke of, the father of canals in Eng- land, 3804. Britain, agriculture o^ benefited by the revolution, 763 ; progress in the agriculture ot, from the revo. L 2 1252 GENERAL INDEX. lution to the middle of the eighteenth century, 773 ; improvement in the agriculture of, since the American war, 774; severe shock sustained by the agriculture of, 775 ; improvements in the agriculture of, during the eighteenth century, 799 i agriculture of, during the middle ages, 195 ; classi- fication of the agriculture of, l!^8U ; introduction of agriculture into, 176 ; the chief mineral sub- stances of, 3854; the climate of, 2+37 j deterior- ation of the, 2439 Broadcast sowing, 3149. Brudigan, Thomas, Esq., his work on agriculture, patie 1214. A. D. 18.m Brom*?lm Pinguin, 1221. Broom, the common, 5633. IJioom flax, 5994. Broom rape of the Flemish fanners, 470. Brousnnnet^ Pierre Marie Auguste, his works on agriculture, page I21tt. A.D. 1787, Brown, Lieutenant, his system of paving roads, 3722. Brcmiiy Robert, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1211. A.D. 1799. Browri's vegetable for dyeing, 1418. Brugnone, Gio., his works on agriculture, page 1221. A.D 1781. Buchanan, George, his work on agriculture, page 1213 A.D. 1825. Biic/i'oz, Pierre Joseph, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A.D. 1760. Buckets, Chinese, for raising water, 995. Buckinghamshire, statistics of, 7783. Buck-wheat, 5188, 6111 ; species of, in cultivation, 6112; culture of, 61 13; 80wing,B114j harvesting, 6115; produce of, 6116; use of, 6117; as a seed crop, 6122. Buds of plants, 1360 ; anomalies in the, 1603 j rege- neration of, when injured, 1680. Buffalo, the, 6973; breeding, rearing, and general management of, 6976; of Egypt, 1085. Buildings, agricultural, materials, and construction of, by Waistell, 2943 ; to delineate, 3364^ ' Buildings, good, policy of erecting for tfie labouring classes, 78.')2. Bulbs of plants, 1313. 1361. Bull, see horned cattle, 6773. BuUiard, his work on agriculture page 1216. A. D. 1778. Bunias, the oriental, 5641, Burges's improvement in the construction of axles, 2751. Burnet, the, 5619 Burning clay, 3223; an improved method of, 3225; by lime without fuel, 3227; use of pyrites in, 3228. Burning out grain, 3203. Burning lands, 3209. 4536. Burroughs, Edward, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1820. Busfw's borer for quicksand, 2518. Busclilre and its territory, 864. Bustard, the, 7522; species of, 7523. Buteshire, statistics of, 7859. Butter of cacao, 1448 ; of cocoa, 1449; of nutmeg, 14.')0. Butter tree, the, 1110. Cabbage, 5497 ; culture of, 5498 ; varieties of, 5499 : soil for, 5502 ; planting, 5503; after-culture of, 5505 ; application of, 5506 ; saving the seed of, 5509 ; diseases of, 5510. Cabbages and other esculent vegetables, insects in- jurious to, 7679. Cabbage tree, 1056. Cadei de Vaux, Antoine Alexis, his works on agri- culture, page 1216- A. D. 1782. Caithness, statistics of; 7855. Caie's, M. V. M., M. D. his work on agriculture, 7905. Calf, see homed cattle, 6773. Call-pens, 2835 ; in Gloucestershire, 2''S6. Callipers, Broad's, for measuring standing timber, 4075. Calthorpe, Charles, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1635. Calvel, Etienne, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1809. Cambodia, agriculture of, 953. Cambridgeshire, statistics of, 7786. Camel and dromedary in Egypt, 1088. Camel of Persia, 872. Camel, the, 7385; in Hindostan, 917. Camelopwrd, the, 7388. Camphire, preparation of, 979. Camphor, 1489. . Campo Morto, account of the farm of, in the Ma- remmas, 303. Canada, climate and sUrface of, 1192 ; soil of, 1193; products of, 1194. Canal bill, the principal heads of a, 3813. Canals, 3798; Dr. Smith's opinion of, 3799; general arguments in favour of, 3800 ; the great advantages of, 3801 ; first made in Egypt, 3802 ; rise of, in Britain, 3804. Canal, the first step towards forming a, 3806 ; es. timating the expense of, 3811 ; powers granted by government in the forming of a, 3812 ; execu- tion of a, 3817. Canary grass, 5169; culture of, 5170; reaping of, 5171; common produce of, 5172; use of the seed of, 5173. Canary Islands, the, 1146. Canciana, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1776. Cantuni, Carlo Antonio, his work on Agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1778. Caoutchouc, 1490. Cape Breton, Island of, 1196. Cape of Good Hope, climate of the, 1114; surface of the, 1115; soils of the, 1116 ; landed property in the, 1117; farms of the, 1118; agricultural products of the, 1119; live stock of the, 1125; agricultural implements and operations of the, 1132 ; tribes in the interior of the, 1134. Capital required by the farmer, 4820. Capsule, valves of the, in plants, 1350. Caraway, 6068 ; culture and management of, 60C9 ; produce of, 6070 ; uses of, 607 1 ; substitutes for, 6073. Carbon, as a vegetable aliment, 1536 ; emitted by the skin of animals, 1878; in animals, 1918 Carcass of cattle and sheep, the chief object, 2031. Carlow, statistics of, 7871. Caronelti, Fietro, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1791 Carradori, Gioachino, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1803. Carrera, Antonio, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1780. Carrots, 5443 ; varieties of, 5444; soil for, 5445; climate for, 5448; manure for, 5449; sowing, 5452 ; after culture of, 5458 ; taking up 5461 ; storing, 5463 ; produce of, 6464 ; uses oi; 5465 ; saving the seed of, 5469 ; diseases of, 5470. Carrying, 3115. Carp, 7573; raising, 7574. Ca7-penier's work-room on a large fann, 2869. Carse lands of Stirlingshire, 7814. Carter, Landon, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1789. Carthage, agriculture of, 38. Cdj-thamus tinctbrius, 1083. Cartilage of the bones of animals, 1887. Cart, market, of Poland, 652 ; improved Russian, 683. Cart, the, of Hindostan, 920 ; the Scotch one-horse coup, 2752; the Scotch corn, 2753; the Scoti-h two-horse, 2754; the com, 2756; the improved quarry, 2761; the three- wheeled, 2762: ofThes- saly, 757. Carts, 2744; improved two-horse, 2755, Cart-sheds, 286£C Carts, three-wheeled, used in irrigation, 4400. Citrver, Jonathan, Esq., his work (wi agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1779. Castelli, Benedict, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1628. Castelletj Constans, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1778. Casualties of life, security against, 7967. Cat, the, 7424 ; the genet, 7427. Catch drain, a, 4419. Catch- work watering, an example of, 4441. Catechu, extract of, 1409. Cattaneo, Giacomo, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1767. Cattle- hammels, 2831. Cattle, in Elizabeth's reign, 224; of Scotland in 1598, 228 ; the Hebridean breed of, 7859. Cattle-sheds, 2830. CatUe-stock account, form of a, 4S99. Cattle-weighing machine, 2567. Caudex of plants, 1364 ; structure of the, 1365, 136& Causeways, 3696. GENERAL INDEX. J 253 Cavan, statistics of, 7887. Cayenne, or French Guiana, agriculture ot, 1340. Celebesian Islands, agriculture of the, 1031. Cets, Jacques Martin, his works on agriculture, page 1217. A.D. 1795. Cementation, the mode of adhesion by, in animals, 1897. Ceylon, climate of, 927; soil of, 928; cultivation in the interior of, 929 ; agricultural implements of, 930 ; a farm- yard in, 931. Chaberty Philippe, his works on agriculture, page ISlfiu A. D. 1785. ChabonilUy Dupetitmontj M., his work on agricul- ture, page 12 19. A. D. 1825, Chiiflr-cutter, 2560. Chambrav. Louis, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 065. Chamomile, culture of, 6181. Chauges in the animal economy, 2055. Channel for a river, to cut a new, 4373. Chatwallon, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1769. Chaptal, Comte, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1823. Charcoal, 1433 ; properties of, 1494;. Chariot, the, of tne Flemish farmer, 514i. Charm drawn by the Singalese on their threshing- floor, 930. Charring wood, 4066. Chatelam, le Chevalier, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 18Ift Cheese, Parmesan, 270. Cheese-making, in Cheshire, 7814; Chelsey farm, '^'90. Cherry, as an orchard fruit, 4101. Cheshire, statistics of, 7814. Chestnut, Spanish, 4102: Chiccory, 5514; culture of, 5515. 6162; value of, as a cofi^e plant, 6164 ; as a salad plant, 6165. Chick pea, the, 5286. Chilblains in plants, 1703. Chile, agriculture of, 1229; plants of, 1230. China, its canals, S803 j state of agriculture in, 960 ; Dr. Abel's opinion respecting cultivation in, 961 ; Livingstone's observations on agriculture in, 961 ; climate of, 963; surface of, 964; soil of, 965; landed property in, 966 ; agricultural products of, 967 ; tea districts of, 96S ; culture of the tea plant in, 969; the white cabbage of, 9S8; edible and useful vegetables, 989 ; live stock of, 99U ; wild animals of, 992 ; birds of, 993 ; fisheries, imple- ments, and operations of agriculture in, 995, ^6; manures of^ ^99; terrace cultivation in, 1009; forests of, 1011 ; natural agricultural tete of, 1012. Chocolate plant, the, 1231. Christy J. L., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1780. Cider, when best for bottling, 4133. Cider, manufacture of, 4122; produce of, by the acre, 4137. Cider casks, the best, 4149, Cider cloths, 4147. Cider-making in Gloucestershire, 7791 ; machinery and utensils necessary for, 4138. Cider-mill, Devonshire, figured and described, 4140 ; of the south of France, 4143 ; for a private family, 4144. Cider-press of Herefordshire, 4145. Cider- presses made from the small-leaved lime, 7791. Cider-vat, 4148. Cisterns for urine, used in Flemish farmery, 441. Cistus ladaniferus, 731. Civilisation, as influencing agriculture, 1271 ; in- fluence of, in increasing the number of plants in a country, 1770. Clackmannanshire, statistics of, 7846. Clare, statistics of, 7880. Claridge, John, his work on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1744. Clar&t John, F. S. A., his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Clai-ke, Cuthbert, hjs work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1777. Clarke'^ opinion on draining roads, 3615. Claws of animals, 1864. Clay, burnt, action of, on the soil, 3220 ; application of, as a manure, 3229 ; drying and bMrning, for manure, 3219. Cleaning cattle, 3233. Cleaning roots, &c., 3137. Cleanliness, essential to the health of animals, 2080. Cleghomy James, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 121.5. A. D, 1822 4 L Clergy, the fforman, fond of agriculture, 205. Climate, as influencmg agriculture, 1248; in respect to farming lands, 4718; of the British Isles, 2437 ; deterioration of the, 2439. Clipping plants, 3155. Cliquot. lilervache, his work on agricitlture, page ms. A. D. 1789. ^^-^ Clvsen, Baron de, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D, 1825. Cloud-berry, use of the, 701. Clouds, 5356; simple modifications of, 2357 ; inter- mediate modifications of, 2358 ; compound modi- fications of, 2359. Clover, insects injurious to, 7675. Clover, introduction of, 235. Clover, 5521 ; the red, 5522 ; the white, 5524 ; the yellow, 5525 ; the flesh-coloured, 5527 ; soil for, 5530 ; climate for, 5531 ; sowing, 5533 ; after cul- ture of, 5540 ; taking the crop of, 5541 ; soiling, 5542 : nutritive products of, 55Q5 ; saving the seed of,5£>66; thresh mg, 5569; produce in seed, 5572 ; diseases of, 5573. Clover-hay, mode of making, 5545 ; produce of, 5563 ; value of, 5564. Clydesdale, see Lanarkshire, 7842. Coal, 3855; indications of, 3856 ; discovery of, 3857. Coal fields of Britain, 3858. Cochin-China, agriculture of, 954. Cochineal, the Mexican, 1189- Cochrane^ Archibald, Earl of Dundonald, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1795. Cockand hen, the Bankiva, 7439 ; the jungle, 7439; the common dunghill, 7441 ; the game, 7442; the Dorking, 7443 ; the Poland, 7444; the every day, 7445; the bantam, 7446; the Chittagong, or Ma- lay, 7447 ; the shack-bag, or Duke of Leeds's, 7448 ; the improved Spanish, 7449 ; breeding, 7450 ; health, 7451; moulting, 7458; hatching, 7460; hatching by artificial heat, 7463 ; incubation of chickens by hot water, 74li4 ; products, 7467 ; eggs, 7468 ; feathers or down, 7470 ; feeding and fatten- ing the carcass, 7473; feeding- houses, 7474; fat- tening younger chickens, 7*77 ; choice of full-sized fowls for feeding, 7478 ; cramming, 7480 ; the Oakingham method of feeding, 7482 ; castration, 7484; pinioning, 7485; diseases of, 7524. Cockbi^m, John, notice of, 792. Cockchafer, the, 7676. Cock-roach, the, 7690. Cocoa-nut tree, description of the, 901. Cod-fishery, 3877. Coffee-tree, the, 1215; cultivating the, 1216L Cointeraiix. Francois, his works on agriculture, page 1217. A.D. 1792. Coke oven and lime-kiln, Heathorn's, 628. Cold, influence of, on the vital principle of plants, 1664; most hurtful in hollow places, 2319; greatly excluded by a slight covering, 2321. Coldingen, near Hanover, farm of, 599. Colerus, J., his worlts on agriculture, page 1219, A. D. 1591. CollynSfW.y Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1214 A.D. 1826. Colmata, the Italian process of flooding lands, 2203, Colombia, description of, 1241. Colouring matter, the, in vegetables, 1414. Camber^ Thomas, LL D., his works on agriculture. page 1209. A. D. 1770. Comfort, necessary for domestic animals, 2081. Comfrey, the rough, 5516. Commercial and Agricultural Magazine, Anon, page 1211. A. D. 1799—1815. Commonable lands, 3476 ; general principles of ap- propriating, 3490. Communications to the Board of Agriculture, Anon. page 1211. A, D. 1797—1819. Compatretti, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1798. Complete farmer, &c. &c. Anon, page 1208. A. D. 1766. Composts and other manures, 4976. Conduct and economy of an agriculturist's life, Congo, 1X08 ; useful plants of, 1110 ; live stock of, 1112. ' f » > Consolidating of landed property, 3471. Consolidation of soils, 2172. Constantia wine, the, 1121. Consumption in plants, 1714. Continents, temperature of, 2353. Contortion in plants, 1712. Conveniences of farm-houses and detached offices^ as arranged by Waistell, 2923. 3 1254 GENERAL INDEX. Convexity, degree of; proper for roads, 3675. Copaiva, balsam of, 1462. Copal, 1467. CopiticaUf AbW, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1780. Copse- woods, improvement of, 4026; products of, Corals and corallines, as a manure, 2253. Coriander, 6065 j culture and management of, 6066 ; produce and use of, 6067 ; substitutes for, 6073. Corium of animals, 1847. Cork, 1491. Cork Institution, the, 7922. Cork, statistics of, 7877. Cork tree, the, in Spain, 747. Corn, early exportation of, 240. Corn, whether it ought to be sown broadcast or in drills, 4989 : preservation of, after being threshed, 4D89. Corn-barn, 2847 ; the English, 2848. Corn-bin, the, 2530. Corn-bruising machine, 2558. Corn crops cultivated in Britain, 4982. Corn drill, Cooke's three-row, 2681. Corn farmers, 7738. Corn, frosted, 4996. - Corn-laws, the, 765. Corn-measures, 2533. Corn-rake, the, 2451 ; of East Lothian, 2452. Corn-sacks, 2534. Corn-screen, the, 2524t Corn-stacks of the square sort, proper sizes of, 3277. Corn-stands, 2908. Cornwall, statistics of, 7825. Costa, Ch., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1802. Cottage, a double, for two married ploughmen, 1180 ; a double, of only one floor, 4178; on a smaller scale, 4179; a good mechanic's, 4182; a labourer's, with cow-house and piggery, 4181. Cottage cow, the best modes of keeping a, 584G. Cottage farmers, 7726. Cottage fit for a tradesman, mechanic, orbailiif,4177. Cottages, establishment of, 3845. Cottages for labourers, 2876—2900; in Dumfries- shire, 7839; in the Hebrides, 7859; inStaffbrdshire, 7796 ; in West Lothian, 7845 ; of Kincardineshire, 7851; of Moldavia and Wallachia, 760; orna- mental, 2897—2900 ; picturesque, 4183. Cotte, L., his works on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1790. Cotton plant, culture of, in Jamaica, 1213 : in Sicily, 318. Cotton trees in China, 9S3. Cottons of Sumatra, 1026. Cotyledon of plants, 1347. Court farmer, 77-3. Covenants of leases, 4688. Coventry^ Andrew, M.D., his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1808. Coventry, Dr., 7847. Cow, see horned cattle, 6773. Cow cabbage, the, 5500. Cowhouse, Harley's, 2832. Cows, breeding of, on the farm at Moegelin, 587. Cowshed, Cornish, 7825. Cradle-scythe, 2480. CraTner, John Andrew, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1766. Craw, the, 7616. Crawfish, the, 3904. Crayfish, or more properly crawfish, 761& Crescent used in irrigation, 4396. Crescentius, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A.D. 1471. Cress, garden, 6159 ; soil for, 6160; use of, 6161. - Cribs for cattle used in Derbyshire, 7799. Cromarty, statistics of, 7854. Crops, importance of a judicious rotation of, 4912. 4927 ; rotation of, 2217 ; rationale of, 2218 : Gri- senthwaite's theory of, 2220 ; the principles of, 2221 ; influence of, in destroying insects, 2223. Cross-breed, when advantageous, 2062. Cross-cutting macliine. Brown's, 2715. Cross moss-cutting machine, used at Mount A nnan, in Dumfriesshire, 7839. Crossing, the good effects of, 2053; the bad effects of, 2054. 2056. Crossing, vegetable, 1632 ; anomalous effect of, 1635. Crossings of roads should be at right angles, 3558. Croton, a specieu of, in Brazil, used as tea, 1237 Crud, Le JSaron E. V B.,his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1820. Cruicfcshank'e opinion on pruning, 3989. Crust of our earth, the, 2101. Crusts of animals, 1872. Cryptogimia, favourite habitations of, 1734. Cuba, agriculture of, 1198. Cultey, Messrs. Matthew and George, pupils of Bakewell, 789. Culley, George, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A.D. 1786. Cultivator, Bartlett's, 2710; Wilkie's parallel ad- justing, 2556; Finlayson's seU-cleaning, 2657; Weir's improved, 2658 ; the Scotch, 2659 ; Parkin. son's 2660; Hayward's, 2662 ; Beatson's, 2663. Culture, effect of, on woody plants, 3970 ; on the lig- neous plants in common use in planting and gar- dening, 3971 ; in the north and in the south of Europe, characteristics of, 1251 ; the general effect of, on plants, 1766 ; influence of, on fruits, 1768; influence of, on plants of ornament, 1769. Culture of plants, the greatest refinement in, 1771. Cumberland, statistics of, 7810, Cumming's opinion respecting the form of wheels proper for roads, 3734. Curassow, the crested, 7496. Curcillio palm&rum, the, of Surinam, eaten as a luxury, 1243. Currant, as an orchard fruit, 4104^ Curtis, William, his work on agriculture, page 1210 ; A. D. 1789. Curu/en, John Christian, M. P , his works on agri- culture, page 1212. A. D. 1809. Cuscuta europaeX 1759. Cuticle of animals, 1845. Cutting over old hedges, 2988. 3021. Cutting plants, 3151. Cutting trees, the best mode of, 4046. D. Dairy, the, and its management, 6976 ; operations of, 6977. Milk, 6978; butter, 6979; cheese, 6980; whey, 6981 ; constituent parts of milk, cow's milk, 6983 ; ass's milk, 6984 ; ewe's milk, 6985; goat's milk, 6986; mare's milk, 6987; camel's milk, 6988; sow's milk, 6989 ; use of these milks, 6990 ; lac- tometers, 6991. The dairy-house for general purposes, 6992; properties requisite in a good milk-house, 6993 ; a butter dairy, 6994 ; cheese dmry, 6695 ; dairy for private use, 6996 ; dairies for dairy farmers, 6997 : utensils of the dairy, 7007. Milking, 7014; management of milk, 7017. Making and curing of butter, 7019; the making up, 7025; the salting or curing, 7027. Cheese-making, 7039 ; rennet, and its uses, 7041 ; colouring matter, 7047 ; setting the curd, 7050; management in the press, 7054; management in the cheese-room. 7056. ' Catalogue of the diffferent sorts of cheeses, and other preparations made from milk, 1045 ; British cheeses, 7059 ; foreign cheeses, 7090 ; preparations of miBc. 7097. * Dairy farmers, 7733, Dairy at Woburn, 7784. Dairies of Ireland, 841. Daisy-rake, the, 2454. Dalrymple, William, Esq. his work on agriculture. page 1211. A. D. 1800. Dandolo, Vincenzo, his works on agriculture, paKe 1222, A. D. 1812. ' ^^ Dartmoor, dep6t for prisoners of war at, 7824 Varwin, Erasmus, M.D. F.R.S., his work on am- culture, page 1211. A.D. 1800. Date tree, the, in India, 907 : of Persia, 868. Daubenton, Jean Louis Mane, his work on agricul- ture, page 1217. A.D. 1802. Davei/^ John, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 3214. A.D. 1830. Da»/ej,. Walter, A. M., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A.D. 1810. ' JDavis, Thomas, Esq., his work on agriculture, pace 1210. A.D. 1794. '^^ Davy, Sir Humphry, hw work on agriculture, page 1213. A.D. 1813; his opinion as totheapplication ol farm-yard mauure, 2231); result of his dis GENERAL INDEX. 1255 Lussion on the eflfbcts of saline substances on ve. getation, 231] ; his table of the nutritive products of, 5000. Z>awy, Sir H., table of the nutritive products of the principal herbage plants, 5520. ; table of the nutri- tive products of grasses, 5668. Dawsottf an improver of Scottish agriculture, 796 j his opinion of lime as a manure, ^75. Day lily, the, 5517. Day's work of a farm labourer, 4904^ Dealings, commercial, of the agriculturist, 3384. Dearth Dr., his work on agriculture, pace 1223. A. D 1790 - De Ckabrol de Volute^ Comte, his work on agricul- ture, page 1219. A. D. 1S25. Decortication of trees, 1682. Deer, the, 7369. Deer husbandry, 7373. Deer in Wimpole Park, 7786. Delabergerie, J. B. R., his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.D. 1815, Delpierrey L^ocade, his work on agriculture page 1219. A.D. 1826— 182a ' Dendrometer, Rogers's, for measuring standing tim- ber, 4076; Gorrie's, 4075 ; Monteith's, 4075. Denmark, commencement of agricultural improve- ment in, 562; farm-houses of, 563; the farmer's family iti, 564. Deposits, alluvial, 2105. Depradtj D., his works on agriculture- page 1218. A. D. 1803. Ver Schtveizer, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1760. Derbyshire, statistics of, 7799. Detieulea his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1766. Desboi'st Francis Alexander Aubert de laChesnaie, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1751. Deslandes, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1820. Desplaces, Laurent Benoist, his works on agricul- ture, pa^e 1215. A. D. 1762. HespommierSt his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1762. Desth-e his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1800. Development of vegetables, process of the, 1565. Devonshire, plan of a new village sea-port in, 3852; statistics of, 7824. Dew, 2S6i; phenomena of, 2365; cause of, 2366. JO^euXf and others, their work on agriculture, page 1216. A.D. 1782. Dibber, the common, 2471. Dibblers, frame of, used in Sweden, 703. Dibbling machine, Coggin's, 2473. 2577 ; the horse, 2686; the bean or potato, 2574. Dibbling wheat, 5034. Xiickson, Adam, his works on agriculture, page 1208. A.D. 1762. DickaoTit R. W., M. D., his works on agriculture, page 1212. A.D. 1804; and page 1211. A. D. 1799 —1815. Dicotyledbnes, distribution of, 1780. Digging, 3123. Digging up crops, 3182. Dzrom, Gen., commenced the village of Bridekirk, 3850. Dirt-eating, among the "West Indians, 1224. Diseases of animals, 1991. Diseases of plants, 1685. Distribution, general, of plants, 1722 ; physical, 1724 ; effects of temperature on the, 1725, Distribution, local, of animals, 20O5; effect of tem- perature on, 2006; effect of situation on, 2009; effect of the rapacity of carnivorous animals on, 2010 ; effect of man on, 2011. Distribution of animals on the face of the globe, 1999. Ditch, the simple, 2967 ; the double, 2960. Ditch fences, 2965, Ditch and hedge, the double, 2971. Division of landSj 3307. I>ix, William Spier, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D, 1797. Dodson, Col. 'William, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A,D^ 1665. Dog, the, 7391; the shepherd's, 7393; English sheep, 7394: Scotch sheep, 7395: the mastiff or guard, 7396; the bull dog, 7397 ; the terrier, 7398 ; the pointer, setter, and spaniel, '?Si)9 ; breeding and rearing, 7402 ; diseases, 7403. Dombasle, C. J. A,, Mathieu de, bis works on agri- culture, page 1218. A. D. 1824—1830. 4 Boimldson. James, his works on agriculture, naee 1207. 1210. A. D. 1697 and 1794. DonegaL statistics of, 7891. Dort'tt. Luigi, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1798. Dormouse, the fat, 7368. Dorsetshire, statistics of, 7819. Dossie. Robert, Esq., liis work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1768. Double-dibber, 2472. Dovette-Richardot, Nicolas, his work on agricul- ture, page 1218. A. D. 1825. Douglas^ Robert, D. D,, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1798. Dvurchez, Charles, his works on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1803. Down, statistics of, 7894. Downs, 4563 ; sandy, on the sea-shore, improvement of, 4564, Iioxat*6 machine for assisting human power, S580. Voyle, Martin, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1829. Draftsman, agricultural, 7756. Drag for two-wheeled caiTiages, Kneebone's, 2760. Drag-cart, Lord Somerville's, 2757. Dragging out dung or earth, 3129. Dragon's blood, 1463. Drain of conveyance, the, 4283 ; of collection, 4284 ; the boxed and lubble, 4285 ; the brick, 4286 ; the gravel or cinder, 4288 ; the wood, 4289 ; the spray, 4290^ the straw, 4291 ; the turfl 4292; the wedge or triangular sod, 4293 ; the hoflow ftirrow, 4294 ; the earth, 4295 ; the pipe of turf, 4295 ; the mole, 4299; the wheel, 4300. Drainage of the estate of Spottiswoode, in Berwick- shire, 4255; of roads, 3602; Paterson's, 3604; of wet or boggy grounds, 4234: of mixed soils, 4250. Draining, the implements for, 4307. Draining mines, quarries, pits, ponds, and lakes, 4273-4277. Draining-spades, 4311. Draining, 4213 ; theory of, 4214. Draining retentive soils, 4267. Draining-scoop, the, 4308. Draining- shovel, the, 4309. Draining sod-knife, 4310. Drains, formation of, 4278 ; the different sorts of, 4282 ; the best season for making, 4303 ; the du- ration of, 4304 ; the expense of, 4305 : the enemies- of, 4306. Drain sluice, a, 4409. Dralety his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D, 1801. Draught machine, 2563 ; More's, 2564 ; Braby's, 2565. Drawing, 3116. Drift-sands of the outer Hebrides, improvement of, 4565. Drill and horse hoe, Cooke's improved, 2679. Drill barrow, the common hand, 2575. Drill machines, the best, 2695. Drill rake, the, 2455. Drill roller, the, 2691 ; the Norfolk, 2713. Drills, turnip, 2687. Drill-watering machine, 2692; estimate of its ope- rations, 2693 ; its construction, 2694. Drills for stirring the soil between the rows, 7792. Drill, the Norfolk, 2680; the block-plough, 2685. Drilling, 3266. Drilling wheat, 5032. Dj-ive7'f Abraham and William, their work on agri>^ culture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Driving carts and waggons, 3272. Drcitwich salt works, 7792. Dromedary of Arabia, 887, Dropsy in plants, 1697; in succulent plants, 1698. Drupe of plants, 13.54. Drying the bark of trees, 4051, Dublin, statistics of, 7864. Dublin Society, establishment of the, 813. Dublin Society, the, 7920. DuboiSf IJ3uis, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.D. 1824. Dubois^ J. B., his work on agriculture, page 1217. A.D. 1790. Dubrufifautt M., his work on agriculture, page 3218. A.D. 1825. Duck, the, 7^8; varieties and species of, 7499; breeding, 7504 ; incubation of, 7505 ; fattening of, 7507 i decoys for wild, 7508. Ducks of Buckinghamshire, 7783. DvcouddiCt his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1800. L 4 1256 GENERAL INDEX. Dugdal^f 'Williani, his work on aRriculturc, page 1207. A. D. 1G62. DumfVicsshire, statistics of, 7839. Dumont, Courset, his work on aericulture, page 1216. A. D. 178*. Dunbartonshire, statistics of, 7843. Dung, farm-yard, management of, 49.W. Dung of birds, as a manure, 2257 ; of sea-birds, as a manure, 22.')8 ; of domestic tbwls, as a manure, 2261 ; of cattle, as a manure, 2263 j of sheep and deer, as a manure, 2264. ; of horses, as a manure, 2265 ; treatment of, 2266 ; of the street and road, as a- manure, 2267 ; to preserve, 2278. Dung-drag, the, 245G. Dung-yard and pit, the, 2903. Dunrobin, mansion and park of, in Sutherland,7856. Dupontt his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1764. Duration of plants, anomalies in the, 1621. Durham, statistics of, 7S08. Dutton, Hely, Esq. his works on agriculture, page page 1212. A. D. 1808. Duvergi, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1763. Dwelling-house of the farmer, 2870. Dice's method of blasting granite rock, 4526. Earth, the, surface of, 2109. Earth's surface, nature of the, affecting plants, 1740. Earth-hack, the, 2457. Earths contained in plants, 1502. 1531 j proportions of the, 1532. Earths, how produced, 2100 1 variously composed, 2110. East Lothian, statistics of, 7834. East Meath, statistics of, 7874. Eckhart, J. Gli von, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A.D 1754. Edge railways, on the middle or sides of public roads, 3797. Edgeworth's opinion on keeping a road in repair, ^59 i on the breadth and strength of roads, 3597 ; road fences, 3617 ; on laying out roads, 3550; with respect to the preservation of roads, 3729. Edgeworth, Rictiard Lovell, Esq., F. R. S. and M. R. 1. A., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1810. Education, improvement of agriculture by means of, 7931 J of the poor, remarks on, 7824; profession- al, of agriculturists, 7942. Eel, 7585. Eels, fresh water, habits of, 7850. Eggs of birds, impregnation of the, 1975. Egypt, climate of, 1071; surface of, 1072; fertility of, 1073 ; limits of cultivated, 1074 ; landed pro- perty in, 1075 ; the cultivators of, 1U7IS ; agricul- tural products of, 1077; fruit trees of, 1083 ; live stock of, 1084 ; agricultural implements of, 1089 ; operations of agriculture in, 1090 ; soil of, 14. Elder tree, use of the, 4103. Electricity, the nature of, 2328 ; a profitable appli- cation of, 2329. Elemi, 1458. Elephant, the, in Hindostan, 916. Elevation, as influencing agriculture, 1260; effects of, on the habitation of plants, 1732 ; anomalies of, 1736; influence of, on plants in various ways, 1735 : influence of, on aquatics, 1737. Elevation of lands relatively to farming, 4764. Elevations and depressions on paper, to protract, 3348. Elk, the, 7375. Elliot^ his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1764. ElUs, William, his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1732. Elsnei-j J. G., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1829. Elstobb, W., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1793. Embanking origin of, 4320 ; theory of, 4323. Embankment, the earthen mound, 4340 ; the mound with puddle wall, 4346 ; the earthen wall, 4339 ; the oldest, in England, 4321. Embankments, first made, 239; for fixing drifling- sands, shells, or mud, 43.53; in Cambridgeshire, 7786; in Lincolnshire, 7801; of Egypt, 12; of cast iron, 4357 ; of roads, 3611. Embryo of the seed of plants, 1346. Enclosures, size of, 5832. Engel, Lud. Hen. Hs. von, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 180a Engineers, agricultural, 7754. England, state of agriculture in, from the rcstor. ation to the middle of the 18th century, 776; in the beginning of the l«th century, 777. Epidendrum flos &eris, the, 1761. Epidermis of plants, structure of, 1369. Epsom water, 7778. Equisetd.ceee, 1329. Ergot of rye, 5079- Eschenbach, Ch. Ghld., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1802. Esc/iert von Berg, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1808. E.sBai sur les Associations Agricoles. Anon, page 1219. A. D. 1826 Essex, sUtistics of, 77«1. Estates have good and bad characters, 4668; im. mense, in Hungary and Austria, 620 ; landed, the laying out of, 3467 ; consolidation of, 3471 ; management of, 4624. Eti'enne, Charles, and J. Li^bault, their works on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 15^. Etiolation in plants, 1706. Euphorbium, 1477. Europe, present state of agriculture in, 259. Evergreens, season for planting, according to Mr. M'Nab, page 1240. Excitability of plants, 1657. Exercise, moderate, necessary for domestic animals, 2078. Exotics, curious hot-house, of Britain, application of, 1820 i native habitation of, 1821. Expenses, personal, of farmers, 4921. Experience, the foundation of all knowledge, 1825. Experiments, the Woburn, on the culture of grasses, 5717. Experiments, use of, in agriculture, 165. Extract, vegetable, as the food of plants, 1528 ; Saussure's experiment respecting, 1529. Extractive, in animals, 1942. Extracts, vegetable, 1408 ; utility of, 141. Fabbronit Adamo, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1802. Ftt6ri?,hisworkon agriculture, page 1217. A,D. 1800. Faggoting, 3206. Fairbairrit John, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1823. Falkland Islands, 1246, Fall, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1829. Fallow deer, the, 7372, Fallowing lands, 4944; operation of, 4950 ; expense of, 49.07 ; of soils, 2174 ; objections to, 2177 ; ori- gin of, 217. Fallows, the working of, 4944. Famm-Ot Vincenzo, his work on agriculture, page '1221. A.D. 1658. Fanners, when first made in Roxburghshire, 7836. Farey^ John, sen., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1811. i^arey's opinion of the width of roads, 3596; on the size of wheels for roads. 3730 ; on the best forms of axles for roads, 3788. Farishy John, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1810. Farm, an arable, commodious arrangement for, 29>55; the subdivisions of, 2962 ; a grazing in a mountainous country, Waistell's plan for, 2948 ; for a small arable and grazing, 2949. Farm, extent of land suitable for a, 4781 : stocking a, 4826. Farm under mixed husbandry, Marshal's arrange- ment of, 2951. Farm, subsoil relatively to the choice of a, 4760. Farm bailiff, 7717. Farm buildings, the arrangement of a set of, 2919; in the colder latitudes of Europe and America, 2920 : Waistell's form for, 2921 ; at Bromfield in Cheshire, 7814. Farm house and outbuildings of the largest dimen- sions, by Waistell, 2959. Farm house and offices, Beatson's arrangement of a small, 2952. Farm houses, Danish, 565. Farm houses, examples of, 2871 — 2874; in the Hebrides, 7859 ; on the Marquess of Stafford's estates in Shropshire, 7795. GENERAL INDEX. 1257 "Farm labour, arrangement of, 4910 : rules for the, 4P13. Farm labourers, 7711. Farm lands, arrangement of, 4186; example of laying out, flrom a newly inclosed common, 4S04 } improvements of, -K*)?! ; sheltering, 4584 ; the moral and intellectual means of improving, 4f^04. Farm road, 3594. Farm stables in Scotland, 2821. Farms, the proper size of, 4151 ; enlargement or diminution of, 4152. Farms, cottage, 7766 ; of working mechanics, 7767 j of village tradesmen and shopkeepers, 77^ j oc- cupied with a view to profit by town and city tradesmen, 7769; occupied by city tradesmen for recreative enjoyments, 7770; attached to the villas and country-houses of wealthy citizens, 7771; demesne, 7772; of professional farmers, 7773; Hebridean, 7859. Farmstead, the particular requisites of a, 2930. Farm-yard dung, management of, 4959. Farmer, personal character and expectations of a professional, 4812; capital required by the, 4820. Farmer, the jobbing, 7724. Farmer's account books, 4S86. Farmer's apprentices, 4879. Farmers, modes of improving, 4606. Fanner's Magazine, Anon, page 1211. A.D. 1800 — 1825. Farmer's Register, &c. Anon, page 1214. A. D.1827. Farmers' Society of Dalkeith, 7833. Farmeries, Alpine, of Norway, 1260. Farmery, a commodious and very complete, 2956 ; with a threshing machine driven by steam, 2957; a convenient Berwickshire, 2954; a Flemish, 439; corn and stall feeding, anomalous design for a, 4173; examples of different desciiptions of, 41.58 ; example of an economical, of 50 or 60 acres, 4166; example of an improved Berwickshire, 4167; example of a Northumberland, of from 400 to 500 acres, 4161 ; for an arable farm near London of 350 acres, example of a, 4170; for a hay farm, an anomalous design for a, 4172; for a meadow farm of 250 acres near London, 4174 ; for a turnip soil, example of one of from 600 to 900 acres, 4168 ; improving the plan of a, 4572; old, improving, 4573 ; requisites for a, 4156 ; the first thing to be observed in erecting a, 2812, Farming lands, climate in respect to, 4718; soil in respect to, 4743 ; ' elevation relatively to, 4764 ; character of surface in regard to, 4769 ; asj^ect in regard to, 4771 ; situation of, in regard to markets, 4773. Farming landlords, 7746. Fanning, Scotch, in Oxfordshire, 7789. Farming Society of Ireland, the, 7921. Farriery, as applied to cattle, 2083. Fasting, the power of, in some animals, 1995. Fat, 1950. Feam farmery, 4162. Feathers of animals, 1858 ; as a manure, 2250. Feeding cattle, 3234. Feeding, choice of live stock for the purpose of, 4835 ; for extraordinary purposes, 2084 ; for pro- moting the produce of milk or eggs, 2090 ; to fit animals for hard labour or long journeys, 2091. Feeding tub, the, 2527. Fee-simple value of lands, 3409. Feet of animals, efibcts of the leverage of, on roads, 3573. FellerAerg, Emmanuel, his works on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1808. Felling timber, proper time and season for, 4056 ; operation of, 4062. Felling trees, 1679. Fen plants, 1746. Fence, the chain horizontal, 3044 ; the rope, 3045; the moveable wooden, 3046 ; the willow or wat- tled, 3049; the upright and horizontal shingle, 3051; the warped paling, 3052; the light open paling, 3053 ; the primitive paling, 3054 ; the iron for parks, 3055; the wall, 30.^6: the Devonshire, 3029 ; the furze, 3038 ; the sunk, or ha-ha, 2969 ; the paling, 3039. Fences, along the sides of roads, 3617 ; emplacement or disposition of, on a farm, 2961 ; in Ireland, 840. Fens of Cambridgeshire, dr^nage of, 7786. Fenugreek, the, 5638. Fermanagh, statistics of, 7888. Fermentation of cider, 4128 ; of manures, 2271 ; checking the, 2273, Ferns, extirpation of, 4534. Fci-rariOt G. A., his work on agriculture, page 1222, A. D. 1818. Ferret, the, 742a Fcmssac, Baron de, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A.D. 1825. Fessenden. Thonias G., his work on agriculture, page 12^3. A. D. 1822. Fete, agricultural, of the Chinese, 1012. Fibre, woody, 1492 ; as a manure, 2240. Fibrin, in animals, 1941. Fibrine, 1407. Field-beet, 5482; best variety of, 5483; soil for, 5484; produce of, 5486; application of, 5488; saving the seed of, 5495 ; diseases of, 5496. Field-gate, Dutch, S3; Menteath's, 3095; Hunter of Thurston's, 3096. Field ponds, the situation of, 4475. Fields, floating, of the Mexicans, 1179. Fields, the form and size of, 4187. Fife Farming Society, the, 7848, Fifeshire, statistics of, 7848. Fig, the Indian, in Spain, 724. Figs of the Morea, 7.^3. Filbert, as an orchard fruit, 4104. i^ilices, 1329. Filtering apparatus for salt water, 4509. Filtering, operation of, 460^. Findiater, Rev. Charles, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1802. Finland, state of agriculture in, 689. Fintaysom. John, his works on agriculture, page 1213. A.D. 1822. Finlai/son's rid-plough, 4540. Fmorchi, Anton. Maria, his works on agriculture, page 1222. A. D, 1816. Fiorin hay, 5807. Fir, the Norway, great value of, 700. Fischer, C. F. J., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1785. Fischer^ H. L., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1797. Fish, as a manure, 2946. Fish, cultivation of, in Britain, 7569; kinds of, adapted for ponds, 7572 ; castration of, 7588. Fisheries in Sutherland, 7866 ; marine, 3875 ; river, lake, and inland, 38&i ; of China, 994. Fishing and hunting as the only means of subsist- ence, geographical extension of, 1257. Fish-ponds, 7570 ; sea water, 7571 ; in Berkshire, 7790. Filzfierberi's book of surveying and improvements, 220. FitsJierbertj Sir Anthony, his works on agriculture, page 1206. A. D. 1523. Flail, the, 2474; threshing by the, 31iJ8. Flax, culture of, in Egypt, 1080 ; in the Nether- lands, 479; in Russia, 677 ; varieties of, 5881 ; soils for, 5882; preparation of the soil for, 5886; sowing, 5887 ; atter culture of, 5892 ; taking the crop, aSd'i ; dressing, 5912 ; produce of, 5916 ; use of, 5919 ; diseases of, 5921. Fleming, his work on agriculture, page 1214, A. D. 1826. Flemyngf Malcolm, M. D., his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1754. Floating upwards, 4443. Floodgate, 4344. Flooding, 2207 ; an example of the benefit of, 4442. Flora, British, purchasable, 1808 ; application of the, 1813; the purchasable of, 1829, 1822; the artificial, 1804; native countries of the, 1805; dates of the introduction of, 1806; obvious cha- racter of, 1807; genera of, 1802; uses or appli- cation of the, 1803. Flour-mill, a hand, 2551. Flour-mill, the potato, 25G9. Flower of a plant, 1322; anomalies in the, 1611; short lived, 1719. Flowering, premature, 1684, Flowers, the most showy herbaceous, of the tem- perate zone, 1792. Flower-stalk of a plant, 1323. Flower-stalk of plants,1357. Fluyd, Edward, his works on agriculture, page 1S07. A. D. 1694. Fluids, animal, 1956. Flux of juices in plants, 1699. Flying, the action of, 1907. Fogging pasture lands, 5837. Fontalard, Jean Francois de, his works on agricuL ture, page 1217. A.D. 1794. Food, the best way of supplying it to animals, 2071. 1258 GENERAL INDEX. Food of plants, 1521 ; aa supplied by manures and culture, 1533. Footpaths, 3537. Forbes^ Francis, his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 177a Fordyce, George, M. D., F. R, S., liis work on agri- curture,_page 1208. A. D. 1765. Forester, 7719. Forests of China, ion. Forests of the Morea, 755. Forfarshire, see Angus, 7850. Forking, 3128. Forking up crops, 3182. Forks, the various kinds of, 2448; used in irri- gation. 4402. Form of cattle, to obtain the most improved, 2050. Forms, the best, for cattle, 2043L Forster^ John, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1664. Forsi/th, Robert, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1804. Foulah country, description of the, 1104. Fowls, gallinaceous, their kinds, breeding, rearing, and management, 7438; anserine or aquatic, 7497. Fowls, fattening of, for the London market, 2086. Fox, the, 7625 ; to shoot, 7626. Fractures in trees, 1676 ; treatment of, 4029. Frame for drying corn on in Russia, 683. France, agriculture of, during the middle ages, 185; first agricultural survey of, 380 ; favourable cir- cumstances of, 381 ; present state of agriculture in, 382 ; retrospective view of the agriculture of, 383, 384; agriculture of, in 1819, 585; surface of, 386 ; soil of, 387 ; climate of, 388 ; the central cli- mate of, 389; the vine and maize climate of, 390; the olive climate of, 391 ; the lands of, 393 ; value of landed property in, 391; the farming of lands in, 395; corn farming in, 396; meadows of, 397; sheep of, 398 ; beasts of labour in, 399 ; dairies of, 400; goats of Thibet in, 401 ; poultry in, 402; swine of, 403 ; fish ponds of, 404 ; implements and operations of the farms of, 405; the large farms of, 406 ; plants grown in, 407 ; forest culture of, 408 ; leaves as food for cattle in, 409; farm-houses and offices in the warm districts of, 411 ; the old plough of the warm districts of, 411 ; one handled plough of the south of, 411 ; rotation of crops in the south of, 412 ; live stock of the south of, 413; chick pea of the Provencals, 413; vine in the south of, 414; white mulberry in the south of, 415; the olive in the south of, 417 ; the fig in the south of, 418 : the almond in the south of, 419 ; the caper in the south of, 430; the orange in the south of, 421; the winter melon in the south of, 422. Francbs, AIne, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1822. Francois^ N'icholas, bis works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1763. Franqiie, Dr., his work on agriculture^ page 1220. A. D. 1825. Fraser, Robert, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1793. Friction, effects of, on roads, 3572. Friesland, swing plough of, 604. Frog, the esculent, 7590 ; the tree, 7591. Fromage de Feugriy C. Michel F., his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1802. Frond of a plant, 1311. Frost, origin of, 2373. Fruit of plants, 1326; anomalies in the, 1616; ma- turation and decay of, 1720. Fruiting, premature, 1684. Fruits, of the northern hemisphere, 1787 ; of the E. Indies, 1788; of China, 1789; of Africa, 1790; of S. America, 1791- Fruit trees, insects injurious to, 7680. Fry'^ means of preserving roads, 3739. .Ft^'s opinion or narrow roads, 3601. Fuller's thistle. See Teasel Fiingi, 1335; uses of the, 1366. Funnel formed in circular stacks, 3284. Furrow-roller, the, 2712. Furrow-slice, breadth and depth of the, 3241 ; degree to which it turns over, 32^; the most generally useful breadth of, 324& Furze-bruiser, 2553. Furze fence, the, 3038, G. Gagon.Diifourt Marie Armande Jeanne, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1807. Gagliardo, G. B., his work on agriculture, page 1222. Gaitingofcom, 3176. Galby J., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D 1826. Galbanum, 1473. Gallicia, state of agriculture in, 648. Gallinaceous fowls, their kinds, breeding, rearing, and management, 7438. Gallixioti. Filippo, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1815. Gallo, Agostino, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1564. Galloway, statistics of, 7840. Galway, statistics of, 7883. Gamboge, 1480. Gangrene in plants, 1704. Gaps of plants, 1389. Garden farmers, 7728. Gardens appended to the labourers* cottages, 2918. Gardens of mechanics in Lancashire, 7812. Gas, azotic, in animals, 1921 ; carbonic acid, in the atmosphere, 2337 ; carbonic acid, its effects upon germination, 1524. Gases, as the food of plants, 1523. Gate, the, 3075 ; construction of, 3D76 ; the hanging of, 3081 ; the improved swing, of the northern counties, 3093; Parker's improved swing, 3094; the tressel bar, 3101; the slip bar, 3102; the chained slip bar, 3103 ; the double or folding, 3105 ; Clark's window sash, 3106; Parker's compens- ation hinge for, 3082. Gate posts, 3086. Gates, fastenings of, 3088 ; iron, 3085 ; iron, used in Monmouthshire, 7793 ; of fields, the proper situa- tion for, 4202. Gathering, 3136; orchard fruit, 4120. Gautieriy Giuseppe, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. \m. Gavellus, Nicholas, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1758. Gelatine, in animals, 1937 ; use of, 1938. Gems of plants, 1359. Generation, equivocal, 1640. Gentlemen farmers, 7744. Georgia, 1246. Germany, agriculture of, in the time of the Ro- mans, 175; agriculture of, during the middle ages, 192; present state of agriculture in, 647; soil, surface, and climate of, 548 ; landed property in, 549 ; farmers of, 550 ; consequence of the regulations of landed property in, 551 ; agricul- tural produce of, 553 ; culture of the mulberry and rearing of the silkworm in, 554; the common cultivation of, 555; the best pastures and mea- dows in, 556; operations and implements of agri- culture in, 557 ; the live stock of, 558; forests in, 559 J general state of common agriculture in, 560. Germmation, 1512; the first condition necessary to, 1513 ; the second condition, 1514 ; a third condi- tion, 1515; a fourth condition, 1516; a fifth con- dition, 1517 ; period necessary to complete, 1518 ; physical phenomena of, 1519; chemical pheno- mena of, 1520; effect of carbonic acid gas in, 1524; effects of oxygen, nitrogen gas, and hydro- > gen gas on, 1525—1527. Ghost moth, the, 7674. GiacirUo, Carlo, his work on agriculture, page 1222, A. p. 1811. and 1825. Gialdiy Giuseppe, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 181& Gibbs'a select list of orchard fruits, 4097. Gitbertt Francois Hilaire, his works on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1797. Gilbert, H. F., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1826. Girdling trees, 1675. Gladstone's attempt at a reaping machine, 2734 ; his machine for reaping beans, 2740. Glands of plants, 1314. Glossology, 1292. Gloucestershire, statistics of, 779L Gluten, 1405. Glycferia flaitans, 5187. Goat, the, 7331 ; the Angora, 7332 ; the Syrian. 7333; the chamois, 7334; the "Welsh, 7335; pro- duce of the, 7336; hair of the, 7337: suet of the, 7338 ; choice of, for keeping, 7339 ; the Cashmere shawl, 7340; the Hindustan, 914^ Goats on the Cheviot Hills, 7809. Godspeede the Plough. Anon, Page 1207. A. D Gold fish, 7581. GENERAL INDEX. 12$9 GongylusTJf plants, 1363. Good's improved boring instruments, 2507. Goose, th& 7Sn J flesh of, 7512; wirieties and species o^ 7513; breeding, 7515: rearing, 7516; feathers, 7517. Gooseberry, as an orchard fruit, 4104. GoWtard, J, Ch., his work on agriculture, page 12:;0. A. D. 180a Grt^ffen^ F. G. his work on agriculture, page 12ii0. A. D. 1825. Grafting trees, 1678. Gram, principal, of Ireland, 8S7. Grain drill-machine, Morton's improved, S682. Granary, agricultural, construction of, 28.'J8 j a de- tached, 2859 ; commercial corn, 2860 i to preserve corn for many years, 2861. Granary in barns with threshing machines, 2857. Grasping, the action of, in animals, 1895. Grass lands, breaking up, 5846 : advantages of, 5857 ; disadvantages of, 5861 ^ that ought not to be broken up, 5850. Grass, the cock'sfoot, 5661 ; the woolly soft, 5664 ; the fescue, species of, S670j the meadow foxtail, 5673 ; the cafs tail, or Timothy, 5681 ; the float- ing fescue, 5683 j the water meadow, 5685 ; the liorin, 5687 ; the sweet-scented vernal, 5698 ; the downy oat, 5699 ; the annual meadow, 5700 ; the fine bent, 5701 ; the narrow-lcaved meadow, 5702 ; the hard fescue, 5707 ; the yellow oat, 5709; the forage, 5643 ; the hay, 5652. 5680 j the pasturage, 5693; late pasture, 5705; waste of, on being made into hay, 5803. Grass, cutting second crops of, 3169. Grass crops, cutting, for being converted into hay, 3168. Grass-harrow, 5820. Grasses affording the best culms for straw-plait, 5764. Grasses, cereal, culture of, 4982. Grasses, indigenous, of Ireland, 839. Grasses, mixture of, in pastures, 5717 ; nutritive products of, 5722; pasture, for inferior soils, 5706 ; for inferior soils and upland situations, 5710 J Sir H. Davy's table of the nutritive pro- ducts of, 5668. Grassing flax, 5909. Gravel for making roads, 3642. Gravity, centre of, in the plough, 2636. Gray, Andrpw, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1808. Graziers, 7734. Grecian agriculture, products of, 34. Greeks, agriculture of the, 25 ; beasts of labour of the, 32. Greenland, rural economy of, 566. Greenwau, Dr. James, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1828. Grilses, 7850. , Grinding, effect of, on roads, 3577. Grinding fruit for cider, 4125. Gi-i'senthwaitej Williamj his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1820. Grist mills, 3842. Groshede, Bishop of Lincoln, his work on agricul- ture, page 1206. A. D. 1500. Grounds, wet or boggy, drainage of, 4234. Grouse, the red, 7559; the black, 7560; the wood, 7561. Grub, the, 7685. Grubber, Kirkwood's improved, 4955, Guaiac, 1464. Gudgeon, 7577. Guide-posts, improved, 3724. Guillaume. Ch., his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. im. Gm'ltotf Julien Jean Jacques, bis work on agricuL ture, page 1215. A. D. 1761. Guineanen, 7493. Guinea pig, the, 7366. Gum, excessive exudations of, to remedy, 4036; exudations of, in plants, 1701 ; uses otj 1397. Giira-resins, 1472. Gunpowder, rending rocks or stones by, 4524. Gutter, a, 4418. Gypsum, as a manure, 2296; the nature of, 2297; operation of, 2298. H. Habit of plants anomalies of the, 1618. Habits, old, adherence to, by the illiterate, 7857 Hacks used in irrigation, 4^K)2. Ha-ha, the, or sunk fence, 2969. Hail, 2375. Hainault mowing, the, 3172. Hair as a manure, 2250. Hairs difibr in form, 1855, grow by the roots, 1856; of animals, 1851: colour of, 1854; durability ol. 1857. Hamburgh, state of the proprietors of free lands near, 6U3. Hamelf Du Monceaut Henry Lewis du, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1750. Hammers, 2490. Hammocks of the Brazilians, 1239. Hampshire, statistics of, 7815. Handbarrows used in irrigation, 4399. Hand-drill, the broad-cast, 2576. Hand-drilling machines, 2573. Hand-hoe, the, 2458 ; for turnips, 5406. Hand-hoeing, 3130. Hand-machines, agricultural, 2537. Hand-machines, the essential, 2583. Hand-raking, 3132. Hanover, agriculture of, 592 ; agricultural societies of, 593 ; landed property in, 594 ; land of religious corporations in, 595; occupiers of land in, .596; free landed property of, 597; the large farmers of, 598 ; farming of the cultivators of free lands in, 6C^; farming of the bauers of, 605; way to improve the agriculture of, 606. Happiness, the constituents of, '(960. Hardiness of constitution, advantage of, in live stock, 2025. Hare, the, 7364; hare warren near Banstead Downs, 7365. iTar/e^'s cow-house at Glasgow, 2832. Harloj. William, his work on agriculture, page 12lC A. D. 1829. ^ Harnessing cattle, 3235. Harrison, Gustavus, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1775. Harrow, the, 2696; the Berwickshire, 2697; the angular-sided hinged, 2698; the grass seed rhom. boidal, 2699 ; the levelling, 2701 ; Morton's re- volving brake, 2702, 2703; the brush, 2705; the only essential, 2706. Harrowing, 3261. Harrows, circular, 7787 ; Finlayson's self-cleaning, 2657. Hartigf Fr. Grafen von, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1786. Harit'z, Georges Louis, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1790. Hart/ib's Legacy, 252. Haritibf Samuel, his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1651. Harvest waggon of Cornwall, the, 7825. Hash, the Sithney, 2716. Hastfer, F. W.,.his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1756. ^ Hatches 4410. Hawks and hunting birds, 7568. Hay, mode of drying. In the Hebrides, 7859 ; salt- ing of, 5808. Hay-barn, the, 2856. Hay-binding machine, 2561. Hay farmers, 7737. Hay-knife, the, S484. Haymaking, general rules for, 5799 ; in Middlesex, 5792. Hay-rake, the, 2450. Hay.stack, proper size for the, 3278 ; the building of, 3286 ; of Middlesex, 3287. 5801. Hay-stands, 2910. Hay swoop, the, 2729. Hay-tedding machine, the, 2728. 5800. Hay.tea, to make, 5809. Hayward. Joseph, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A.D. 1825. Haxei, M. de, his works on agriculture, page 1220. A.D. 1825,1826,1828. Head of a meadow, 4423. Head driver of slaves in Jamaica, 1202. Head main, 4411. Heading down on resinous trees, 3999. Headrick, James, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A.D. 1807. Heads of loose stones for confining rivers, 4379. Heads for the confinement of water in artificial lakes, 4378. Health of domestic animals, how to preserve, 2082. Heat, a certain quantity of, necessary for anuonals, 2075 ; influence of, on the vital principle oi* plants, 1659; the nature of, 2314 j radiated by the 1260 GENERAL INDEX. sun to the eartli, SSIS : reflected back by dense clouds, 2316 i arrested by fogs, 2317. Heath lands, improvement of, 4535. Hebrides, statistics of the, 7859. Hedge, after management of the, 2982—2986. 3020. Hedge and bank, the, 3027. Hedge, breasted over, after management of, 3023. Hedge and dead hedge, the, 30;J1. Hedge and ditch, the single, 2996; Stephens's mode of forming and planting, 2997; with belt, of planting, 3036 j with row of trees, 3034. Hedge fences, 2ff72. Hedge in the face of a bank, 3028; in the middle or in the face of a wall, 3033. Hedge and wall fence, 3032. Hedfre-bills, 2469. Hedger, 7714. Hedge-row timber, neglected, to improve, 4027 } ob- jections to, 4'-'00. Hedges, Stephens's opinion on planting trees in, 303.1 Hedges, cutting, with a knife, 7843. Hedges, filling up gaps in, 2993 ; forming in curved lines, 3007; gates and gateposts in, 3019. Hedges, dead, 2973 ; how made, 2974^ Hedges, live, 2975; old management of, 2987; to mend the defects of, 2994; cutting over, 2988. 3021; the plashing of, 3025; the laying of, 3026; operation of cleaning, 3012 ; pruning, 31.13 ; pro- tecting fence for, 3015 ; protecting by a paling, 3016; protecting by stake and rise, 3017; pro- tecting by a turf wall and single rail, 3018; the proper choice of plants for, 2976} age at which they ought to be used, 2978 ; sizeof, 2979; assort- ing of, 2980 ; dressing and pruning of, before they are put into the earth, 2981 ; with posts and rails, 3030 ; preparation of the soil for, 2977 ; season of planting, 3008; implements for forming and ma- naging, 2998 and 3010. Hedge-shears, 2486. Hedging and ditching, 3205. Hegemony Philibert, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1583. Hemp, 5982; soils for, 5923 ; sowing, 5925; taking the crop of, 6926 ; produce of, 5931 ; uses of, 5932 ; culture of, in Russia, 677 ; use ot, in Egypt, 1081. Hen, see Cock and hen, 7439. Uendersonj Robert, his work on agriculture, page 1212L A. D. 1811. Hep&ticae, 1331. Herbs, oleraceous, of temperate climates, 1786. Herding. 3232. Herefordshire, statistics of, 7794. Heresbachius, Conradus, his work on agriculture, page, 1219. A. D. 1578. Hermbst'ddt, Sgm. F., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1803. Heron, fche, destructive to voung salmon, 3890. Herring fishery, 3876. Hertfordshire, statistics of, 7782. Hesiod, his writings, 26. HessoTit Jacques, his work on agriculture, page A. D. 1214. A. D. 1569. Highland Society of Scotland, the, 7918. Hiesinst Jesse, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 18'J8. Hills, improvement of, 4514. Hills and moimtains, to measure the elevations and shapes of, 3350. Hiltenbrandy Ant. his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1784. Hinds in East Lothian, 7834 ; plan of maintain- ing, in the best cultivated districts in Scotland, 4870. Hindustan, climate and seasons of, 890; surface of,, 891 ; soil of, 892 ; landed property in, 893 j agri- cultural products of, 894 ; fruits of, 909; natural pastures of, 910 ; live stock of, 911 ; implements and operations of agriculture in, 919 ; artlticial watering in, 921 ; culture in the hilly districts of, 924 ; harvests in, 925. Hinny, the, 6768. Hittf Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1208. 1760. Hives, best material and form for, 7605 ; size of, 7606 ; Polish, 7607 ; protecting from the cold, 7609; taking the honey from, 7611. Hoe and castor wheel, the, 2675. Hoe, the Dutch, 2460 ; the thrust, 2461 ; the Spa- nish, 2462. ; the pronged, 513. Hoe-fork, 2463. Hoe scythe, the, 2676. Hoeing between rows of crops, 3131. Hoes, improvements in, 2459. Hqffinan, A., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1809. Hqf^ann, Gli. Bd. Freyherr von, his work on agri. culture, page 1219. A. D. 1781. Hogs of Buckinghamshire, 7783. Hog sties, 2837. Holdich'& classification of weeds, 6205. No/ditch, JBenjamin, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1825. Holland, climate of, 425; landed property of, 426; agriculture of, 427 ; field implements, buildings, and operations of, ^ ; simple fieldgate of, 428. Holland, Henry, Esq., M. D., his work on agricul- ture, page 1212, A. D. 1807. HoUowness in trees, to remedyj, 4032. Holt, John, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1795. Home, Francis, M. D., his work on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1757. Home, Henry, his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1776. Homer, Henry, his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1766. Honey, Polish, its three classes, G55. Honey-bee, see Bee, 7602. Honey-dew in plants, 1695. Hood, Thomas Sutton, Esq., his work on agricul- ture, page 1212. A. D. 18U5. Hoofs of animals, 1863. Hop, the, 5997 ; varieties of the, 6000 ; soils for the, 6002 ; planting of the, 6008 ; after culture of the, 6016 ; dressing the plants of, 6021 ; taking the crop of the, 6036; produce of the crop of the, 605C ; use of the, 6U64 ; diseases of the, 6056 : substitute for the, 6072. Hop, the insects injurious to the, 7671. Hop farmers, 7731. Hop flea, the, 7672. Hop louse, the, 7673. Hop-poles, setting, 6026. Hops, culture of, in the reign of Henry VIH., 217; culture of, in the Netherlands, 484 ; drying, 6041 j bagging, 6044 j duty on, 6064, Horn as a manure, 2249. Homhy, Thomas, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1815. Horned cattle, 6773^ the ox or bull, 6774; varieties of, 6775 ; wild varieties, 6775 ; bonassus and bison, 6775 ; varieties of the European cow, 6776; uris, or cows of Lithuania, 6776 ; diversity of milk in cows, 6777; varieties of the cultivated ox, 6778; long-homed or Lancashire breed, 6779; short horn or Dutch breed, 6780; Holdemess, Tees- water, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland breeds, '6780 ; middle-horned breeds — Devons, Sussexes, and Herefords, 6782 ; Devonshire cattle, 6783; Sussex and Herefordshire cattle, 6785; polled or hornless cattle, 6786; Galloway cattle, 6786; Suffolk duns, 6788; Ayrshire cattle, 6789; origin of, 6790; size, 6791 ; shape, 6792; qualities of an Ayrshire cow, 6794 ; Highland cattle, 6795 ; Argyleshire cattle, 6796; Fifeshire cattle, 6798; Aberdeenshire cattle, 6800; Aldemey cattle, 6802 ; Irish cattle, 6803 ; wild cattle, 6804: habits of, 6805; calving, 6806; castration of the calf, 6807 ; killing the calf, 6808 ; criteria of a well made bull, 6809; criteria of excellence in neat cattle m general, 6810 ; criteria of an ox well adapted to labour, 6811; criteria of a beautifUl cow, 6812: Culley's marks of a good cow, 6813; criteria of excellence as derived from colour, 6814; criteria of age, 6815; terms applied to dif- ferent ages, 6816; natural duration of life with the bull and cow, 6817 ; breeding, 6818 : rearing, 6827; fattening calves by suckling, 6843 j fatten, ing cattle, 6852 ; Booth's establishment for faU tenmg cattle at Brentford, 6H61 ; management of cows kept for the dairy, 6863; Harley's dairy establishment at Glasgow, 6882; the London dairies of most eminence, 6896; defects of the London dairy establishments, 6907; working of' oxen, 6908; harness for labouring cattle, 6911; shoeing of oxen, 6913 ; anatomy and physiology of the bull and cow, 6921 ; diseases, 6938. Horns of animals, 1859; the markings of the, I860: colour of the, 186L Horns, and similar parts, composition and use of. 1867, 1868. Horse, the, 6216; varieties of, 6218 j the Arabian, 6219; European varieties of, 6220; the Spanish, 6221; the French, 6222; the Flemish, 6223; the GENERAL INDEX. 1261 Dutch, 6224 ; the German, 6225 ; the Poliali, 6226; the Russian, 6227; the Swedish, 6223; British varieties of saddle, 6229 ; the racer, 62S0 ; the hunter, 6232; the improved hackney, 6233 j the old English road, 6234; the Irish road or hunter, 6236 ; the British varieties of saddle, of more in- ferior description, 6237 ; British varieties of war or cavalry, 623H ; varieties of draught, 6939 ; the black, 6240 ; the Cleveland bays, 6241 ; the Suf- folk punch, 6242: the Clydesdale, 6243; the Welsh, 6244 ; the Galloway, 6245 ; smaller horses of the Highlands and isles of Scotland, 6246. Horse, organology or exterior anatomy of the, 6247 ; organs of the head, 6249; the ears, 625U; the forehead, 6251; the eyes, 6252; the face, 6255; the muzzle, 6257 ; the lips, 62a8 ; the teeth, 6260; organs of the neck, 6261 ; organs of the trunk or carcass, 6265; the shoulders, 62(i6: the withers, 626S ; the breast or counter, 6269 ; the back, 6270 ; the loins, 6271 ; the croup, 6272 ; the flank, 6273 ; the belly, 6274; the whirlbone, 6275; the stifle, 6276; the fore extremities or legs, 6277 ; the arm, 6278 ; the knee, 6280 ; the cannon or shank, 6282 ; the pastern and fetlock, 6284; the feet, 6286; the hinder extremities, 6291; colour, 6294; co- lour as a criterion of mental and personal qua- lities, 6298. Horse, bony anatomy or osseous structure of, 6299 ; bones of the head, 6300 ; bones of the face, 6301 ; teeth, 63U2; the trunk, 6306; the limbs, 6313; general functions of the bony skeleton, 6329. Horse, anatomy and physiology of tlie soft parts of, 6333; appendages to bone, 6334; muscles, 6340; tendons, ^41 ; blood-vessels, 6343 ; absorbents, 6352; nerves, 6353^ glands, 6356; integuments, 6357 ; the brain, 6366; ears, 6367 ; the eye and its appendages, 6370 ; nose and sense of smelling, 6379; the mouth, 6381 ; the tongue, 6383; sense of tasting, 6384 ; the voice, 6387 ; the neck, 6389 ; the chest, 6391 ; the heart, 6394 ; circulation of the blood, 6395 ; lungs, 6396 ; respiration, 6397 ; the abdomen, 6398 ; the fcetal colt, 6412 ; the foot, 6416. Horse, diseases of, 6422; general remarks on the healthy condition and diseased state of, 6423 ; in- flammatory diseases of, 6426 ; diseases of the head, 6438 ; diseases of the neck, 6449 ; diseases of the chest, 6452 ; diseases of the slan, 6487 ; diseases of the extremities, 6497 ; diseases of the feet, 6517. Horse, veterinary operations on, 6530; treatment of wounds, 6531 ; giving balls, 6532 ; giving drinks, 6533 ; fomentations and poultices, 6534 ; setons, 6537; rowels, 6538; blistering, 6539; firing, 6542 ; clystering, 6543 ; physicking, 6544 ; castration, nicking, docking, &c., 6546 ; bleeding, 6547. Horse. Veterinary pharmacopcsia, 6548. Horse. Shoeing, 6594; improved shoe for general use, 6595 i injurious eflfects of bad shoeing, 6596; improved shoe on the present plan, 6598 ; to pre- pare the foot for the application of the shoe, 6599 ; shoes for the hind fee^ 6600; the bar shoe, 6601 ; the hunting shoe, 6602; the racing shoe, 6603; grass shoes, 6604 ; frost shoes, 6605 ; high calkins, 6606; shoeing of diseased feet, 6607; horse pat- tens, 6608. Horse, criteria of the qualities of, for various pur- poses, 6609; of action, 6611; of hardihood, 66i2; of spirit, 6613; of a race-horse, 6614; of a hunter, 6615; of a hackney, 6616; of a cavalry horse, 6617; of road horses for quick draught, 6618; of H dray-horse, 6619 ; of a waggon horse, 6620 j of a horse peculiarly adapted to the labours of agri- culture, 6621 ; of a horse's age, 6625. Horse, breeding of, 6629 ; choosing the parents, 6631 ; properties required in a breeding mare, 6632; age proper for breeding, 6634; season for the generative process, 6636; to bring a mare in season, {i639 ; treatment of a pregnant mare, 6640. Horse, rearing of, 6644 ; treatment of the mare till she has weaned her foal, 6645 ; treatment of weaned foals, 6647 ; time for' gelding colts, 6650. Horse, training of, 6653 ; directive language used to, 6654 ; of saddle horses, 6656 ; backing, 6657 ; teaching the different movements of walking, trotting, galloping, and ambling, 6658; of coach horses, 6668 ; of cart and plough horses, 6670. Horse. Horsemanship, 6671 ; manege riding, 6672 ; the art of proper riding, 6673 ; use of the curb bridle, 6674 ; best form of saddle, 6675 ; to mount with ease and safety, 6676 ; a graceful and proper scat, 6677 i to sit a vicious horse, 6678 ; to manage an unruly horse, 6679; advantage of spurs, 6680; what should be done previously to mounting, 6681 ; dismounting, 6682 ; the jockey mode of riding, 6683. Horse, feeding of, 6684; food of British horses, 6685 : hay, 6686 ; grain, 6687 ; pulse, 6683 ; roots, 6fi89 ; mixtures, 6690 ; cooked food, 6691 ; quantity of food, 6692; a horse in full work, 6694; watering. 6695. Horse, stabling and grooming, 6697; the stable, 6698 ; form of the rack and manger, 6702; stalls, 6703; litter, 6705; clothing, 6707; grooming or dressing, 6708 ; the curry-comb, 6709 ; care of the legs and feet, 6710; care of the furniture and trappings, 6711 ; exercising, 6712. Horse, management and working of, 67H; ma- naging and working race-horses, 6715 ; treatment of a race-horse in low flesh, 6716; treatment of, in good flesh and spirits, 6717 ; choice of a rider, 6718 ; whipping the horse, 6719 ; running on level smooth groui^d, 6720; riding up hill, 6721 ; after management, 6723 ; treatment when the race is over, 6724 ; managing and working of the hunter, 6725 ; physicking of hunters, 672B ; working and managing of hackneys or riding horses, 6723; working and managing horses in curricles, 6741 ; working and managing cart and waggon horses, 6743, Horse of Arabia, 886. 2057 ; of India, 2058. Horses, breed of, in the time of Elizabeth, 227; breeding of, in the time of Henry VIII., 218 ; of the Cape of Good Hope, 1130 ; draught, of Clydes- dale, 7842; description of, required by the farmer, 4833; of Egypt, 1086; of Galloway, 7840 ; of the Hebrides, 7859; the Hungarian, 634; the La- narkshire, 7842; of Leicestershire, 7798; of Perth- shire, 7849 ; labour of, in a day, 3238 ; large, for farmers, Davis's objections to, 4834 ; laws foi turning, to grass in Scotland during the leth cen- tury, 229. Horse-hoe and drill-plough, Wilkie's, 2668. Horse-hoe and harrow, Amos's expanding, 2674. Horse-hoe for turnips, 5404, Horse-hoeing, 3264. Horse-hoes, 2665 ; the only essential, 2677; Weir's expanding, 2669; Blaikie's inverted, 2670; the Scotch, 2671; the Northumberland, 2672; and drill-harrow, Wilkie's, 2666; Finlayson'a seltl cleaning, 2667. Horse-rake, the common or Norfolk, 2724. Horse-raking, 3271. Horse roads, 3536. Hartus BritSnnicus, the, of 1829, 1822, Hot water, incubation of chickens by, 7464. Hottentots, huts of the unimproved, 1135 : cattle of the, 1136. HaughtOTit John, F. R. S., his work on agriculture, page 1207. A D. 1681. Hours of consecutive labour to which animals are subjected, 3237. House-cricket, 7691. Housekeeping, hints respecting, 4922. Housing crops, 32^0. Hubsrj Francis, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1796. Hvber, M., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A.D, 1825. Hvber, P., his works on agriculture, page 1220. A.D, 1801. Hummeling barley, cheap method of, 2799. Hummeling machine, Mitchell's, 2797. Hummeling mashes, hand, 2800. Hunger, the cause of, and means of allaying, 1964. Htmt, Charles Henry, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1810. Himter, Alexander, M. D., F. R. S.,L,, and E., his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1770. Hunting and fishing as the only means of subsist- ence, geographical extension of, 1257. Huntingdonshire, statistics of, 7785. Hurdles, 5C46 ; ornamental wooden, 3047 ; iron, 3048. Hurdling ofi" clover crops, 5561. Huzm-d, Jean Baptiste, his works on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1794. Hybrids, 1631. Hydrogen in animals, 1919. Hygrometer, use of the, 2419 ; Professor Leslie's 2425 ; the steeLyard, 2422 j the hair, 24S4. -Ice, 2378. Iceland, rural economy of, 566b V262 GENERAL INDEX. II Fattore di Campagna. Anon, page 1222. A.D.1826. Implements, agricultural, choice of, 4852; the fun- damental, 2584; invention of, 10 j for forming and managing hedges, 2998 3010 ; of husbandry among the Anglo-Saxons, 203 ; after the Norman conquest, 206 ; of irrigation, 4392 ; pronged til- lage, 2fi50; the only essential, 2664; tiUage, of agriculture, 2585. Impregnation, in birds, 1975 ; in fishes and reptiles, 1976 ; in insects, 1977. Impregnation of the seed, 1625 ; changes consequent upon, 1636. Improvements, execution of, 4600 ; general cautions respecting the, 4616. Incisions in trees, 1673. Independence the grand object of labour, 7957. Indigo the finest of vegetables blue for dyeing, 1415. Indigo plant, the, in Hindustan, 896. Indigo of the West Indies, 1214. Inflorescence of plants, 1325. Insects, injurious to agriculture, 7643; physiology of, 7t)44: arrangement or classification of, 7650; Mandibul^ta.7652; Trich6ptera,7fi52i Hymen6p- tera, 7652 ; Colefiptera, 7652 : OrthOptera, 765^ ; Neur4i to Seas, 7665 ; to beans, 766^ ; to turnips, 7667 ; to ops, 7671; to clover, 7675 ; to pastures, 7676; to cabbages and other esculent vegetables, 7679 ; to fruit trees, 7680 ; to plantations, 7681. Insects injurious to food, clothing, &c., 7689; the cock-roach, 7690 ; the house-cricket, 7691 ; the bacon-grub, 7692. Insects, operations for subduing, 7695; preventive operations, 7696; palliative operations, 7697; by enticement, 7698 ; the turnip net, 7699 ; the lime- duster, 7700 ; amongst grain, 7701 ; hand-picking, 7702 ; catching the perfect insect, 7703. Insects injurious to trees, to destroy, 4037. Instinct of plants, 1669. Instruments, essential, of labour^ 2495 ; the only essential scientific, 2521 ; scientific, 2496 ; used, in agriculture, the, 2476. Integuments of the seed of plants, 1341. Interest the grand mover of animals, 2069. Introsusception of nourishment by plants, 1538. Inverkeithing Club, the, 7848. Inverness-shire, statistics of, 7857. Iodine iii sponge, 19^6. Ipecacuana plant, the true, 1234. Ireland, state of agriculture in, 807 ; during the ISth, 14th, and 15th centuries, 808; in the reign of James I., 809; after the rebellion of 1641, 812; in the beginning of the present century, 815 ; cli- mate of, 816 ; territorial surface of, 817 ; soil of, 818 ; the bogs of, 819 ; landed property in, 821 ; circumstances in favour of, 822; leases in, 823; farming in, 824 ; rent of land in, 825 ; the nine agricultural districts of, 826 ; agricultural imple- ments and operations of, 836 ; principal grain of, 837 ; the potatoes of, 838 ; indigenous grasses of, 839; dairies of, 841 ; cause of the depressed state of agriculture in* 842 ; condition of the labourers of, 844 ; conttadiqtory circumstances of, 845 ; sys- tem of under-letting lands in, 8*7 ; the tithes in, 848 ; fertility of, 856 ; progress of agriculture in, 857 i general view ofj 7862. Iron in animals, 1933. Irrigating a meadow firom both sides of a river, 4138 ; an irregular surface from one side of a river, 4439. Irrigation, 4381 ; antiquity of, 4382 ; theory of, 4385 ; implements made use of in, 4392 : of arable lands, 4460; artificial, 4429 ; in Cambridgeshire, 7786. Irrigation, necessity of, 2203; surface, 2204; sub- terraneous, 2206; rationale of, 2212; by sea- wa- ter, 4-445 ; expense of, 4446 ; objections to, 4447 ; the principal impediments to, 4448; the form- ation and arrangement of surfaces for, 4449 ; Parkinson's opinion on, 7802; subterraneous, 4461 ; in Britain, 4462 ; terms made use of in, 4404 ; a very complete example of, 4440 ; in Wilt- shire, 7817. IrritabiUty of plants, 1667. Island, a floating one, 1180. Italy, agriculture of, during the middle ages, 180; climate of, 164 ; surface of, 165 ; soil of, 166 ; na- tive productions of, 167 ; present state of agricul- ture in, 260 ; writers on, 251. Jackall, the, of Hindustan, 918. Jacob's opinion of the farm at Moegelin, 582 ; of the agriculture of Saxony, 613. Jamaica, description of, 1199; landed property in, 1200; agricultural operations of, 1210 i agriculto- ral productions of, 1211; the clovers of, 1223; vermin of, 1224. Japan, climate and surface o^ 956 ; soil of, 957 ; agriculture in, 958 ; live stock of, 959. Java, agriculture of, 940 ; landed property in, 941 ; crops raised by the farmer for home consumption in, 942; crops raised by the colonists of, 942; live stock of, 914 ; implements and instruments of, 945 ; the poison tree of, 946 ; roads of, .947. Jennings, James, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1830. Jersey, statistics of, 7827. Jews, agriculture of the, 18. Johnson, Cuthbert William, F. L. and H. S., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1820. Johnstone, John, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. £>. 1797. Joints, the true, of the bones of animals, 1890. Jones's kiln-drying apparatus, 2532. Journal d 'Agriculture, &c., des Pays-Bas, &c. Anon. page 1218. A. D. 1816—1830. Journal de la Soci^t^ d'Agronomie pratique, &a Anon, page 1219. A. D. 1829. Journeyman agriculturist, 7713. Juan Fernandes, the island of, 1246. Juice, the proper, of plants, 1496. Juice, proper, descent of the, in plants, 1561. Juices, flux of, in plants, 1699. Juices, vegetable, circulation of, 1579. Junctions, motionless, of the bones of animals. K. Kaimes, Lord, his description of the tenantry of Scotland, 791. Keeping orchard fl-uit, 4121. Keith, George Skeene, D.D., his work on agricul- ture, page 1212. A.D. 1811. Kelp in the Hebrides, 7859 ; manufacture of, 6188. Kennedy, Lewis, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1828. Kent, Nathaniel, his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1775 Kent, statistics of, 7780. Kentish or Herefordshire wheel, S63I. Kerr, Robert, F. R. and A. SS., his work on agri- culture, page 1212. A. D. 1809. Kerry, statistics of, 7881. Kidneybean, the, 5287. Kildare, statistics of, 7868. Kilkenny, statistics of, 7867. Killing animals, effect of the mode of, on their flesh, 2092; the Jewish modes of, 2096 ; prepar- ation befbre, 2098. Kiln-drying oats and other corns in the straw 5142. Kincardineshire, statistics of, 7851. King's county, statistics of the, 7869. Kinross-shire, statistics of, 7847. Kircudbrightshire, statistics ol, 7840. Kirkpatrick, H., his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. 13. 1796. Kirwan, Richard, LL. D., &c., his work on agri- culture, page 1211. A. D. 1796. Kitchen-garden, 2916. Kleine Schriften zur stadt und Landwirthsehaft, &c. &c. Anon, page 1219. A. D. 1791. . ^ . J. U, Esq. F. L. and A. SS., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1804. Knight, George, his system of paving roads, 3720. Knight'B opinion respecting cider-making, 4129. Knollwall farmery, 4164. Knowledge, utility of, 7935. Kops, M., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A, D 1828. Kraniz, Guillaume, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A.D. 1797. Krunitz, J. G., his work on agriculture, page 1219. Kylanderie, the, 511. GENERAL INDEX. 1263 Labdanum, 1460. Labour, farm arrangement of, 4910 : rules for the, 49ia Labour, the rate of, 4905. Labourers of Ireland, condition of, 844; Labourers on a Jamiiica sugar estate, 1203. Labourers, proposals for the well-being of, 7964. Labourers required on a farm, 4877. Lac, 1469. Lacoste, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. B. 1801. Ladder, the common, 2538. Ladies* mantle, the common and alpine, 5642. Ladnar, of Kroy, in Yorkshire, his work on agri- culture, page I20a A. D. 1764^ Ladrone Isles, the, 1057. Lafmlle, Clement, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1762. Ijf{ffenaSf Barthelemy de, his work on agriculture, page 12K A. D. 1604. LajoTis, M. de, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1821. Lakes, method of draining, 4275. Lama, 7386. Lambert, Joseph, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1214. A.D. 1829. Lambing, earljs how to promote, 2089. Lamotgnon, Malesherbes, Chretien Guillaume, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1791- LatnpadiuSf Augusto Gugllelmo, his work on agri- culture, page 1222. A.D. 1811. Lanarkshire, statistics of, 7842, Lancashire, statistics of, 7812. Land, extent of, suitable for a farm, 4781. Land,^provement of, by water, 4880. Land, modes of dividing, 3307 ; new-warped, the best mode of cultivating, 4459; the practice of inclosing, origin of, 211 ; price of, among the Romans, 169 ; rent of, 4790 j in Scotland, 4795 ; in England, 4797 j in a state of culture, improve- ment of, 4568. Land-agent, 77.^3. Landed property in Egypt, 13. liand-guard of loose stones, 4366. Land-measurer, the, 7747. l^nd-reeve, 4638. Land-steward, 4629. 7720 ; his place of business, 4643. Land-stewardship, general principles of business re- latively to, 4659. Land-surveyor, 4642, 7750. l,and-valuer, 7752._ Lands, changing the condition of, as to solar in- fluence, 2214; sheltering, 2215; shading, 2215; commonable, 3476 ; general principles of appro- priating and dividing, 3490. Lands, waste, improvement of, 4512. Landescht, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1817. Lanes, 3532. Langton, Mr., his process of seasoning timber, 4063. Laos, description of the kingdom of, 952. Laplanders' cottages, 694. Lark, the, 7562. JLasteyriCf Charles Fhilibert de, his works on agri- culture, page 1217. A. D. 1799. Lastrt't Proposto, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. ]5. 1793. Latch for ornamental gates, 3090 ; the reversed, for gates, 3091- hathrop, E. L,, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1829. Laurence, Edward, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1717 Lavender, culture of, 6179. Lawrence^ John, M.A., his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 172& Lawrence, John, his works on agriculture, page 1211. A.D. 179& Laws, Anglo-Saxon, respecting cattle, 196. Laws of pasturage among the ancient Welsh, 197- Latcsan, John, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1797. Xisyers, annual, of perennials, 1573 ; concentric lig- neous, of plants, structure of, 1373 — 1376 ; diverg- ent ligneous, of plants, 1376; cortical, of plants, structure of, 1372. Laying out of landed estates, 3467. liead mines in Dumftiesshire, 7839, Leaf, fall of the, 1718. Leaf of a plant, 1310. Leaf-collecting machine, Snowden's, 2730. Leaf-stalk of plants. 1358. Leases in Ireland, 823. Leases of farms, 4677 ; rents and covenants of, 4688. Leaping, the action of, in animals, 1905. Lealhamt Isaac, his work on agriculture, page 1210. A.D. 1791 Leaves of plants, anomalies in the, 1605. Leaves, reproduction of, when injured, 1681. Le Breze^ his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1769. Lebrocq, Philip, M. A., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1793. Leech, the, 3905 ; the medicinal, 7620 ; food of, 7621 ; use of, 7622. L«lgarret J. D., Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1828. Leghorn manufacture of wheat straw, 5052. Leghorn plait, to imitate, with the cul]r.s of grass, 5766. LegriSt his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.D. 1825. Legumes, the cultivated, 5189. Leicestershire, statistics of, 7758. 'Leipsic, land near, 612. Leitrim, statistics of, 7885. Lentil, the, 5281 ; soil for, 5283 ; produce of, 5284 ; use of, SySS. L^iTWis, M. K B. de, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A.D. 1826. Lerojtge, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1774. Lesbros-de-la- VersanCt Louis, his work on agricul- ture, page 1215. A. D. 176& L'Etang de la-Salle, Simon Philibert de, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A.D. 1762. Letellier, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1602. Letters and papers on agriculture, planting, &c. Anon, page 1209. A. D. 1777— 181& Letting farms, 4671. Lettuce, the common Cos, 5513. Leuchs^ Char., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1825. Level, the, 2497; Parker's, 2498; thrf common, 2499 ; the water, 2500 ; the American or triangu- lar, 2501 ; the square, 2502 ; used in irrigation, 4393. Levelling, 3300. Levelling harrow, 2721. Levelling machine, the Flemish, 2720. Levelling staff; the, 2504. Lever, the, 2442. Ley, Charles, his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1787. Library of Useful Knowledge, Farmer's Series, Anon, page 1214. A. D. 1830. Licence of rivers, 4359. Lich^nes, utility of the, 1334. Lichtervelde, J. F. de, his work on agriculture, page 7905. Life of animals, term of the, 1990; circumstances regulating the, 1991. Lifting, 3114. Ligaments of the bones, 1891. Liger, Louis, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1703. Liglii, as influencing agriculture, 1259; influence of, on the vital principle of vegetables, 1658—1762 ; regulation of, for plants, 1829; the nature of, 2325 IJghtning, cause of, 2396; efTects of, on trees, to remedy, 4033. Lilleshall estate of Lord Stafford, 7795. LimOj as a manure, 2284 ; effect or, on wheat crops, 2289 ; general principles for applying, 2290 ; pro- motes fermentation, 2291 ; phosphate of, as a manure, 2302. Lime n animals, 1930. Lime, burning, in heaps, 3862. 3870. Lime, and its management as a manure, 4970. Lime in plants, 1503. Lime, use of, in China, 1004. Lime-duster, the, 7700. Lime-kiln, Booker's, 3863; the Menteath or Clqse- burn, 3864; Heathorn's, 3868 , a Yorkshire, 3869. Limerick, statistics of, 7879. Limestone, as a manure, 2292; magnesian, as a manure, 2294; test of magnesia in, 2295; machine for pounding, 2808. 3871. Lincolnshire, 7801. Line and plummet hygrometer, 2423. V264: GENERAL INDEX. Line and reel, the, S493L Line and reel used in irrigation, 4391. Lines, to layout, on lands, 3316. Linlithgowshire. See West Lothian, 78*5. Linseed-cake, as a manure, S236. Liquorice, the, 6174; soil for, 6175. LislCy Edward, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 17S7. LinCej-y Martin, M.D. his work on agriculture, page 1S207. A. D. 1683. Literature of English agriculture from the revo- lution, 801. Little^ John, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. l>. 1815. Live stock, choice of, for the purposes of breeding or feeding, 4835. Live stock of Moldavia and Wallachia, 760. Live stock required lor labour, 4828. Live stock of British agriculture, improvement of the, 786. Liver, to promote the growth of, in geese, 2087. Li'ui/, Cav. his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1800. Loango, 1107. Lochleven, 7846. Lodges, agricultural, 7910. Lombardy, climate of, 262 ; soil of, 263 ; lands and landed property, 265, 266 ; irrigation of, 267 ; im- plements and operations of agriculture in, 268; cattle of, 269; dairies of, 270 ; sheep of, 271 ; ro- tations of crops in, 272 ; herbage crops in, 273 ; trees grown by the farmer in, 274. Londonderry, husbandry of, 811 ; statistics of, 7892. Longford, statistics of, 7874. Loochoo Islands, description of the, 1032. Losana. Matteo, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1811. Loudon^s Encyclopadiedes Lands wirtsch Sit Anon. page 1220. A. D. 1826. Loudun*s Hdrtus Brit&nnicus, plants enumerated in, 1795. Loudon, John Claudius, F.L., G., Z., and H.a, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A.D. 1811. Loath, statistics of, 7875. Low, David, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1823. Low's machine for raising large stones, 2810. Luccock, John, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1805. Lucern, 5574 ; varieties, 5576 ; soil for, 5579 ; climate for, 5581 ; sowing, 5582; transplanting of, 5685 ; after culture of, 5586 ; top-dressings for, 5588 ; taking the crop of, 5589 ; application of, 5590 ; produce of, 5591 ; nutritive product of, 5592; saving the seed of, 5593 ; diseases of, 5594. Lliders, Ph. E., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1769. -^ Lullin, Ch. J. M., his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. U. 1806. Lambert's mole-plough machinery, 2644. Lupine, the white, 5288. Lure, the, of the Swedish shepherd, 688. Lycnpodinese, 1329. Lycop&dium complan&.tum as a dye, 698. M'Adam^s opinion respecting the breadth of wheels for roads, 3735 j system of repairing roads, 3763 ; theory and practice of road-making, 3581. Machine, Chinese, for pounding seeds, 995. Machine for reaping beans, Gladstone's, 2740 ; for reaping the heads of clover, 2741 ; for mowing clover nay, 2742. Machine for chopping cabbage, Newton's, 5508. Machinery, Lumbert's mole-plough, 2644. Machines for laying land level, 2719. Mam-one, Colonel, his system cf paving roads, 3721. Mackerel fishery, 3879. Mackintosh, Borland, his work on agriculture, page 1207 A. D. 1729. Macphail, James, his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1795. MctcwiUiam, Robert, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1818. Madagascar, island of, 1141. Madder, 5949; soils for, 5950; planting, 5953; after-culture of, 5955; taking the crop of, 5956; drying the roots of, 5937 ; produce from the root, 5968 • use of, 5960 : collecting the seed of, 5961 ; dis- eases of, 5962 ; culture of, in the Netherlands, 486. Madeira cider, recipe for making, 4135. Madeira, island of, 1147 ; lands of, 1148 ; live stock of, 1151; fruits of, 1152. Magnesia, as a manure, 2304 ; in animals, 1931 ; in limestone, test of, 2295 ; in plants, I5U5. Maidenhair tree, the, in China, 981. Main, 3., his works un agriculture, page 121 i. A. D. 1826—1831. Main, upper side of a, 4424. Maize, 5149; aa a bread corn, 5150; varieties of, 5151 ; soil and clunate for, 5152 ; culture of, 5153 ; sowing, 5155; mode of planting in America, 5156; transplanting, 5157 ; atlter-culture of, 5158 ; top^ ping the plants of, 5159 ; harvesting, 5160 ; shell, ing or threshing, 5161 ; produce of, 5162 ; appli. cation of, 5163: diseases and enemies of, 5168; the Mexican process of sowing, 1183; of the West Indies, 1222. Maize-sheller, the, 2549. Malacca, agriculture of, 948, Malcolm, James, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1805. Malcolm, William, James, and Jacob, their works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Malenotti, Ignazio, his work on agriculture, page 1222. A, D. 1815. Mallet, Robert Xavier, his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1780. Malt-dust, as a manure, 2235. Mamm&lia, noxious, 7624. Man, Isle of, statistics of, 7813. Management of landed property^ 4624. Manager of an estate, and his assistants, 4627 ^ duties of, 4658. Manganese, in animals, 1934. Manillas, the, or Philippine Islands, description of, 1030. Manna, the, of Calabria, 3^. Manufactories, establishment of, 3843. Manufactory, evils of a populous, according to Marshal, S844. Manures, 2224 ; animal and vegetable, 2227 ; or. ganic, 2226 ; treatment of organic, 2231 ; applica- tion of, to pastures, 5822; of the Chinese, 1000— 1008 ; collection of, in China, 999 ; curious source of, in Clackmannanshire, 7846; liquid, 2269; farm- yard, application of, in Scotland, 2276 ; in a recent state, 2275; organic, the management of, 2270; earthy and saline, 2279; fossil, 2283; sea- son when it is applied, 4968. Manuring, origin of, 1826. Manurings, frequent, of the Flemish farmer, 49t Maps, delineation of, 3358 ; writing on, S35Q. Marchand, Jean Henri, his work on agriculture, page I'ilS. A.D. 1768. Maremmes, the, in Italy, extent of the district of, 298; climate of, 299; surface of, 300; estates o^ 301 ; agricultural implements and operations dk 302. Marine plants, 1745. Mariott's improved maize separator, 2550. Marjoram, culture of, 6180. Markets, situation or farm lands in regard to, 4773. Markham, Gervase, his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. D, 1613. Marking with the line, 3125. Marl as a manure, 2288. Marquesas Isles, the, 1058. MarshaPs opinion on repairing roads, 3758. Marshall, William, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1778. Marshes, fresh water, 4558 ; salt water, 4560; on the Thames, 4561 ; improvement of, 4557. Mascall Leonard, his works on agriculture, page 12'j6. a. D. 1581. Massachussetts Agricultural Repository and Jour- nal. Anon, page 1223. A. D. 1825. Mastich, 1456. Mastiff, the, 7396. Materials for making roads, the best, 3635 : prepar- ation of, 3645. Materials of roads, depth of, 3664; order and mode of laying out the, 3684; Mather, John, his work on agriculture, page 1213, A. D. 1820. Matter, organised, of two kinds, 1836. Mattock, the, 2443. Maturity, early, advantage of, in live stock, 2027. Maunsell, William, LL.D., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Maupm, his works on agriculture, page 1216, A. IX 1779. Mauritius, description of the, 1142, Maw seed, the, 6099, GENERAL INDEX. 1265 Maxims, agricultural, of the Roman?, 1£7 ; of order and neatness, 3373. Maxwell, Robert, his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1743. Mayett Etienne, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1790. Mayo, statistics of, 7884. Mead, process of brewing, in Poland, 660. Meadow lands, 5768. Meadows, Arthur, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1828. Meadows, flowing, 4487 i catch-work, 4428. Meadows, upland, 5772 ; culture of, 5774 ; manuring, 5781. Meager, Leonard, his work on agriculture, pagel207. A. D. 1637. Mearns. See Kincardineshire, 7851. Measuring chain, the, 2505. Measuring of land, 3295; solid bodies, 3296 ; by the eye, 3297. Measuring rod, the, 2505. Meers, artificial of Derbyshire, 4474 Meikle's threshing niachineii, 2786—2791. 7782. Melons in Persia, 875. Membrana of plants, 1342. Memoires d' Agriculture, &c. Anon, page 1219. A. D. 1828. Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of the State of New York, Anon, page 1223. A. D, 1821— 1«26. Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture. Anon, page 122a A. D. 1785—1826. M^neser wine, ^8. Merino sheep, introduction of, 790. Merinos of the Cape of Good Hope, 1128. Mcsta, the, in Spain, 736. Metzger, J., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A.I). 1826. Mexico, climate of, 1175: surface of, 1176; soil of, 1177; agriculture of, I178j breeding of animals in, 1188 ; fruits of, 1190. Middle-men, the, in Ireland, 84& Middlesex, statistics of, 7771. Middleton, John, Esq., his works on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1798. Midlothian, statistics of, 7833. Migration of animals, 20OT. Mildew of plants, the, 1694. Mildew in wheat, 5065. Milestones, improved, 3723. Milk or cow farmers, 7732. Milking tasting of turnips, to improve, 7804. Mill, olive, in Spain, 727. Millet, 5174 ; the common, 5175 ; in China, 987 ; the German, 5176; the Italian, 5178 ; the Polish, 5179; the great or Indian, 5180; soil for, 5182; harvesting, 5183. IVIills, establishment of, 3837. MillSy John, F.R.S., his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1759. Mimbsa nilotica, 1105. Mine-farmers, 7741. Mines, cautious respecting, 3873 ; methods of drain- ing, 4273 ; prejudice against, as a species of pro^ perty,385a Minnow, the, 7582. Mints, the culture of, 6182, Misletoe, the, 175& Mixture of fruits in cider-making, 4124^ Mocaranga, description of, 1140. Models of mountainous estates, 3360. Moegelin, agricultural institution of, 576 j Jacob*s opinion of, 582. Moisture, influence of, on lands, 1264; regulation of, for plants, 1828 ; natural to vegetables, 1738. Moldavia, agriculture of, 759. Mole,, the, 7631. Moieon. 3. G. V. de, his. work on agriculture, naee 1219. A. D, 1829. Mole-traps, 2581. Moluccas, or Spice Islattdtf, description of the, 1033. . Mommon's invention for guiding (be operation of boring, 4498. Monaghan, statistics of, 7889. Monk, John, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A, D. 1794. ■ Monmouthshire, statistics of, 7793. Monocotyledbneic, distribution, 1779. Monleath, Roheitf his work on . agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1820. Monteith's directions for making trees crooked, 4001. Months, the hottest and coldest, 2436, Moon, influence of, on the weather, 2402. Moore, Sir Jonas, Knight, F.R.S., his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 168^ Moors, agriculture among the, 114. Moors, improvement of, 4538. Morasses, improvement of, 4541. Moiavia, favourable state of, for agriculture, 626. Morayshire, statistics of, 7853. Mordant, John, his work on agriculture, pacre 1208 A, D. 1761. Morea, agricultural circumstances of the, 752; plough of the, 752 j figs of the, 753 ; oxen of the, 755 : forests of the, 756. Morel de VindLhis works on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1807. Moretti, Dr. G., his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1825. Morice, Francis, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1824. Morletf, Christopher, his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1797. Morocco, description of the empire of, 1098; mode of enriching the land of, 1099; the live stock of, 1100. Morogties Baron de, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A.D. 1822. Mmtetnayt-Soisse, his work on agriculture, page 121S. A. D, 182^ Mortimer, John, his work on agriculture, page 1207 A. D. 1707. Moss of Kincardine, the, 2183 : manner of floating ofT, 2184. Mosses on pastures, to prevent the growth of, 5 20. Motions, muscular, of animals, 1898. Moubray, Bonnington, Esq., his work on agricul- ture, page 1213. A. D. 1815. Mouldebaert, the, 508. Mound, the earthen, 4340 ; with puddle-wall em- bankment, the, 4346. Mound faced with stones, 4349. Mounds with reversed slopes, 4348 ; protected by a wicker hedge, 4351. Mount Annan, in Dumfriesshire, improvement of. 7839. Mountains, improvement of, 4513. Mouse, the long-tailed field, and the short-tailed field, 7637 ; in the forest of Dean, 7638. Mowing, 3166 ; the Hainault, 3172. Mowing and feed alternately, 5813. Mucus in animals, 1944. Mud walls, for cottages, 2894, Mulberry tree in China, 983; in Hindustan, 897; the white, in Spain, 730. Mules of Persia, 872. MunrOy Col. Innes, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1822. Musci, 1330. Muscles, tlie, of animals, 1892 ; functions of, 1894. Museum Rusticura et Commerciale, &c. Anon. page 120S. A. D. 1763. Mustard, the white and black, 6103 ; soil for, 6105. reaping of, 6106 ; use of, 6107 ; substitutes for, 6110. Myrrh, 1481, Myrtle, waJt of, 145& N. NmIs of anim^, 1865. Nairnshire, statistics of, 7853, 7854. Naismith, John, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1790. Names of plants, rules in forming the, 1297. Nan, Bh. Seb., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1791. Napier,' Hon. 'William John, F.R.S., his work oh agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1822. Narcotic principle, the, in vegetables, 1422. Neapolitan territory, the farming on the, 312; me- tayers of, 313; trees of, 314; maize of, 315^; plants and fruit of, 318—324 ; oysters of, 325, Neat cattle, see horned cattle, 6773. Neatness, ^2. Nelumbiun\i the, of China, 985. Nervous 'system in animals, the, 1912 ; functions of the, 1915. Netherlands, present state of agriculture in the, 429 s idea ofhusbandry in, 431 ; political secret of husbandry in, 432; present state of agriculture in, 433; climate of, 434; surface of, 435; con. . fusion of the Dutch and Flemish, 436; landed property of, 437 ; farmeries of the, 438 ; a farmery of the, 439 i arable lands of, 442 ; fallows in, 443 ; soil and culture of, 444 ; the polders or embanked M 1266 GENERAL INDEX. lands of, 447 ; culture of the polder of Snaerekirke in, 418 ; reclaiming lands in, 449 ; mills for raising water in, 451 ; cultivation of some particular crops in, 460; wheat in, 461; rye in, 462; buck- wheat, 463 ; rape, 464 ; cultivation of the poppy, 467 ; the red clover, 470 ; the turnip, 471 j the potato in, 472; the carrot in, 474; the white beet in, 476 j manufacturing beet-root sugar in, 478 i culture of flax in, 479 ; culture of spurry in, 482; culture of the hop in, 484; culture of madder in, 486 ; culture of woad in, 491 ; culinary ve- getables of, 492 ; treatment of asparagus in, 493 ; manures in use in, 495; agricultural implements of, 505 ; plough of, 506 : agricultural operations in, 515; trenching in, 516; live stock in, 517; the horse of, 518; dairies of, 523 ; woodlands of, 626 ; artificial plantations in, 527 ; the pine woods of, 529; preservation of trees in, 532 j royal forests of, 533; management of the coppices in, 536 ; sorts of trees cultivated in, 537 ; domestic circumstances of the farmers of, 538 ; farm ser- vants of, 5iQ } day labourers of, 541 ; beggars of, 542; clothing of the peasantry of, 543; farm- houses of, 544; labourer's cottage of, 545; cha- racter of the farmers of, 546. Neuve-Eglise^ Louis Joseph Bellepifere de, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 176L New Britain, agriculture of, 1052. New Brunswick, agriculture of, 1195. New Caledonia, agriculture of, 1052. New Guinea, agriculture of, 1053. New Hebrides, the, agriculture of, 1052. New Holland, as a country for emigrants, 1036 ; general account of, 1037 ; mineral productions of, 1038 ; soil of, 1039 ; the productions of nature in, 1040 ; state of cultivation in, 1041. New Ireland, agriculture of, 1052. New South Wales, as a country for agricultural emigrants, 1042. New York Farmer and Horticultural Repository. Anon, page 1228. A. D. 1828. New Zealand, agriculture of, 1054. Newstead farmery, 4165. Nicole's mode of distilling palatable water at sea, 4510. Night soil, as a manure, 2259. *Iitre, as a manure, 2307. fforfolk, statistics of, 778S. Normandy, climate of, 392. North America, climate ot^ 1153; surface of, 1154; agriculture ot^ 1155. Northamptonshire, statistics of, 7803. Northumberland, statistics of, 78{h}. Northumberland ploughman the happiest of la- bourers, 7962. Norway, climate of, 687 ; cottages in, 693 ; domestic customs of the farmers in, 707- Norwegians, Alpine, habits of the, 1260. Nottinghamshire, statistics of, 7800. Nourishment, abundant, necessary to produce a perfect-formed animal, £051. Nourse, Timothy, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1700. Nova Scotia, 1195. Nubia, 1091. Nucleus of the seed of plants, 1343. Nutmeg tree, description of the, 1033.. NutsheU of plants, 1353. O. Oak trees, valuing of, 4074. Oat, the, in China, 980 ; varieties of, 5121 ; soli for, 5134; climate for, 5135; sowing, 5139; after-cul- ture of, 5140 ; harvesting, 5141 ; kiln-drying, 514-2 ; produce of, 5144 ; use of, 5146 ; diseases of, 5147. Oatmeal, remarks on, as a principal food, 7850. Cats, frosted, 4997. Oats, insects injurious to, 7664. Object staff, the, 2503. Objects, organised or unorganised, 1^0. Obstacles in hedge-making, to avert, 3005. Odometer, the, 2506. Ogle's machine for reaping and sheaving com, 2739. Oil, olive, 1436 ; of almonds, 1437 ; rape^seed, 1438 ; of behen, 1439; linseed, 1441; nut. 1442; poppy, 1443 ; hfempseed, 1444. Oil plants, 6(^^-6098 ; cultivated in France, 6101, Oil of vitriol, as an hygrometer, 2421. Oil-cake bruiser, 1554. Oils, animal, 1947 ; the properties of, 1952. Oils, vegetable, fixed, 1434 ; fat, 1435 ; drying, 1440; volatile, 1445. Oiibanum, 1478. Olive, the, in Spain, 7?7. Olive tree of the Morea, 752. Onorati\ Nicola Columella, his worlca on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1816. Operations of husbandry after the Norman conquest, 207. Operators on farms, gradation of, 3368. Opobalsamum, 1461. Opoponax, 1476. Orchard, the, 2917. Orchard farmers, 7730. Orchard fruits, Gibbs's select list of, 4097. Orchards, choosing trees for, 4105. Orchards in Clydesdale, 7842. Orchards, formation of, 4079 ; aspect, soil, and situ. ation for, 4081 ; sorts of trees for, 4085 ; manner of planting, 4106; after-management of, 4110; gathering and keeping the tYuit of, 4120. Orchis, the culture of, 6184. Order and neatness, necessity of, 3370 ; maxims of, 3373. Organs, decomposite, of plants, development of, 1580. Orkney Islands, statistics of the, 7S60. Orobinche, the, 1760. Osier grounds, produce of, 4042. Otaheite Island, 1061; soil of the, 1062; produce of the, 1063; live stock of the, 1064^ Otter, the, an enemy to fish, 3891. Ovary, fecundation pf the, 1627. Oven, a baking or roasting, 2807. Overseer of slaves in Jamaica, ISOl : his house, i2a5. Ox, see homed cattle, 6773. Ox, the common, of Hindustan, 912 ; of Thibet, 832 ; ofthe Morea, 755. Oxfordshire, statistics of, 7789. Oxides, metallic, in vegetable ashes, 1507. Oxygen, in animals, 1920- Oxygen, in the atmosphere, 3341 ; use of, to rege. tables and animals, 2342. Oyster fishery, 3884. Oysters of the kingdom of Naples, 325. Pail, the, 2528. Paillet, his work on agriculture, page 1217. A. D. 1791. Palm, the areca, of Sumatra, 1025; the fan, in Spain, 725. Palm trees in Hindustan, 901. Palmyra, the, of Hindustan, 906. Palkf Sir Lawrence, a new village seaport in Devon, shire formed by, 3852. Paling fences, 3039. Paling, the simple nailed, 3040 : the jointed horU zontal, 3041 ; the upright lath, 3U4S; the horU zontal, of young firs, &c., 3043. Palteau, Guillaume Louis Formanoir de, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1768. Pane of ground, 4415. Fane, upper, in a meadow, 4425. Paraguay, description of, 123l. Paring and burnmg lands, 32CO Paring lands, 4536. Park, extent of, on an estate, 3517. Park-gate, the improved, 3097 ; Parker's sympa- thetic, 3107. Parks, number of, in the time of Elizabeth, 225 Parkinson, Richard, his works on agriculture, para 1211. A. D. 1799. Parlof, M., his work on agriculture, 7907. ParTnentier, Antoine Augustin, his works on agri- culture, page 1216. A. D. 1781. Parr^yCaieb Hillier M.D. F.R.S., his works on agri- culture, page 121L A. D. 1800. Parsley, 5634. Parsnep, 5471 ; best variety of, 5472 ; soil, prepar- ation, and manure, 5473 : sowing, 5474 ; after.Cul- ture, and taking up, 5477 ; produce of, 5478 ; use of, 5480; saving the seed of, S4S1. Partridge, the, 7556. Pastures, the best natural, of England, plants com- posing, 5703; feeding, 5816; culture and manage- ment of, 58171 hilly, 5839 J iriiproving, without taking a ciop of com, 5844; insects injurious to, 7676 ; mountainous, 5842 ; improvement of, 584.'i ; permanent, 5815; permanent, lands best adapted tor, 5851 ; old, to regenerate, 5843 ; upland, manage- ment ot; 5340 ; weeding of, 5818 ; stocking, .5825. d^NERAL INDEX. 1267^ Patagonia, agriculture of, 1S45. Paterson'8 opinion of broad wheels, 3733 ; of M* Adam's road Perspective, isometrical, 3365. Peru, agriculture of, 1228. Peters, Matthew, his works on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1770. Petsai, the, a species of white cabbage, of China. 988. Peyrouse, Baron Picot de la, his work on agricul- ture, page 1218. A. D. 1819. Pheasant, the common, 7548; varieties of, 7550; breeding 7S51; feeding, 7554. PhiO^, Robert, his work on agriculture, page Fhcenicia, ^riculture of, 37. Phosphate of lime, m a manure, 2302. Phosphorus in anmials, 1922. Phytography, 1925. Piacenza, Giovanni, his *ork on agriculture, pape 1221. A. D. 1805. ' ^^ I^cardy, climate of, 392. Pick, the, 2443. Picking, 3122: Pickling wheat for sowing, 5D2& Pictet, Charles, bis worn on agriculture, pace 1217, A. D. 1802. ' ^^ Piers, caution requisite in the use of, 4364; con- struction of, 4365. Pigeon, the, 7532 ; flesh of, 7533 ; varieties of, 7535 ; breeding, 7637 ; terms applied to, 7538; food o^ 7539 ; cleanliness of, 7641 ; diseases of, 7546 ; laws respecting, 7547. Pigeon's dung, as a manure, 2260 ; use of the, in Persia, 875. Pigeon-houses, 7542 ; the interior of, 7543 ; breeding holes in, 7544^ Pigeonry, the, SS44. Fig-house, Harley's, S859. 4 M 2 Pigs of the Cape of Good Hope, 1131. Pike, 7580. ^^. Pilchard fishery, S882. ^^ , Pine plantations, management of, 4017. f^i . Pinteuxy hiS work on agriculture, page 1219.' A. D. 1825: Pipe-draining, Pearson's method of, 4297. Pitch, 1455- Pith of plants, structure of the, 1371. Pithing cattle, 2092; Du Gard's observations on, 2093. Pits, method of draining, 4274. Put, William, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Fitting system of planting, 3945. 3951. Plaiting straw, 505& Flan of life, necessity of forming a, 7954b Flans of estates, to make, 3351. Plantain, the, culture of, in the West Indies, i2ia Plantations, as skreens on farms, 4585 ; filling up blanks in, 3983; pruning and heading down trees in, 3987; the formation of, 3922 ; enclosing, 3923: preparation of the soil for, 3924 ; whether should be sown or planted, 3926; disposing the plants in, 3928 j mixture of trees in, 3958 ; insects injurious to, 7681 ; near roads, 3621 ; neglected, improvement of, 4022; for shelter, 4585 ; of spruce and silver firs, management of, 4018; thinning out, 4009 ; the proper season for, 4020. Planting, 3142 ; as applied to seeds and tubers, 3143 ; as applied to plants alreadjr originated, 3144. planting trees, a general principle of guidance in, 3910; the fittest situations for, 3911 ; near build- ings, 3913; sort of product desired from, 3^21; orchard trees, 4106 ; seasons for, 3937 ; with the diamond dibber, 3948 ; with the planting mattock, 3949; with the forest planter or ground adze, 3950. Plants, action of the atmosphere on, 2344 ; of Brazil, with fibres adapted for economic pu^oses, 1236 ; of Britain, distribution of, 1795 ; social and anti- social habits of, 1772 ; colouring, 5995 ; composite organs of, 13G8. 1568 ; elementary organs of, 1378. 1566; conservative appendages of, 1312; conservative organs of, 1306; constituent ele- ments of, 1510; cotyledonous and acetyl edonous, of Britain, 1797, 1798 ; distribution of, 1799, 1800; geographical distribution of, 1801 ; cultivated for oil in Hindustan, 900; cultivated for their roots or leaves, 5S89; nutritive products of, 5290; cultivated for their use in flie brewery, 5996; substitutes for, 6072; definition of, 1670; diseases of, 1685 ; distribution of, with respect to, their systematic classifications, 1776; food of, 1521 ; general distribution of, 1722 ; green succu- lent, as a manure, 2233; herbage, 5518 ; Sir H. Davy's table of the nutritive products of the principal, 5520 ; imperfect, 1328 ; to increase the number and improve the nutritive qualities of, 1825; injuries and disorders incident to, 1671; introsusception of nourishment by, 1538; mari- time, 1748; fluviatic, 1749; champaign, 1750 j dumose, 1751; ruderate, 1752; sylvatic, 1753; alpine, 1754 ; parasitical, 1755 ; domesticated, 1765 ; mode of describing, 1299 ; the most uni- versal, 1782 ; the native countries of, 1774 ; natu- ral decline of, 1716; decay of the temporary or- gans in, 1717; decay of tlie permanent organs of, 1721 ; physical virtues of, changed by cultivation, 1620; preparation of, for planting, 3145 ; insertion of, in the prepared soil, 3146 ; reproductive organs of, 1321 ; appendages of the, 1327 ; the total num- ber of species of, 1794 ; the true nourishment of, 2147; the two methods of arranging, 1302 ; useful and edible, of China, 989; virtues of, where resi- dent, 1497 ; of visible sexes, 1777 ; of invisible sexes, 1778 ; which distinguish the various kinds of soils, 2122. Plashing an old hedge, 3025. Plat, Hugh, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1601. Plattes, Gabriel, his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1639. Plough, Arabian. 885 ; the common, of Castile, 744 ; the Chinese, 995; draining, 2626; wheel, 2627 ; of Ezerum, 874; forms of the difibrent parts of, 2591 ; at Moegdin, 688 j of the Morea, 752 : of Osterobothnia, 703 ; the Walloon, 507 ; Weather- ley's movable stilt, 2612; the ribbing, 2612; Duck- et's skim coulter, 2613 ; the double share, 2615 ; the mining or trenching, 2616 ; Somerville's double furrow, 2617 ; the Argyleshire, 2618; the ]268 GENERAL INDEX. double mould-boarded, 2619 ; the binot, 2620 ; the marking, 26m ; Clynier's, 2622 ; Stothard's, 2623 ; Morton's trenching, 2624; Gladstone's water-fur- rowing, 2625; the improved Scotch, with one or two wheels, !/fi29 ; the Bevereton, 2630 ; the Nor- folk wheel, 2632; Wllkie's single-horse wheel, 2634; Wilkie's improved friction- wheel, 2637; theparing wheel, 26'%; Clarke's draining, 2639; Morton's draining, 2641 ; the gutter, 2642 ; the mole, 2643 ; the Duke of Bridgewater's draining, 2646; the pressing, 2648; Wilkie's wheel, with a shifting muzzle, 7843; wheel and swing, 2587; construction of, 2588; materials of, 2597; turn- wrest swing, 2609 ; the Scotch swing, 2598 ; the Scotch, 260U; Small's, S60I; the Northumber- land and Berwickshire, 2602 ; Wilkie's swing, 2603 ; Finlayson's iron, 2604 ; the heath, or self- cleaning, 2605 ; Finlayson's Kentish skeleton self-cleaning, 2606; Finlayson's line, 2607; the Somerville swing, 2608 ; Gray's turn-wrest swing, 2610. Ploughboy, Anon, page 1223. A. D. J826. Ploughing, 3239 ; shallow, 3247 ; steep lands, 3254; relative to time, 3257 ; relative to season, 3258. Ploughing in wheat, 5031. Ploughman, choice of, 4S68; plan of maintaining in the best cultivated districts of Scotland, 4870; slowness of, in some districts, 4881. Ploughman, a good one described, 3^ Ploughman, head, 7716. Plucknet's attempt at a reaping-machine, 2733. Plum, the, well deserving of cultivation, 4100. Plums, baking, thebest sorts of, for an orchard, 4095. Plums, culture of, in Austria, 629. Plums, dessert, for an orchard, 4096. Plumule of plants, 1348. Poaching salmon, 3901. Pocket-rule, the, 2505, Pointer, the, 7399. Poison tree of Java, 946. Poland, present agriculture of, 641 ; landed estates in, 642 ; houses of the noble postmasters in, 642 ; climate of, 644; surface of, 645; soil of, 646; the southern part of, 647; the landed estates of the vice-regal portion of, 649; the cultivators, 650; arable culture of, 6M ; implements and operations of agriculture in, 652; the live stock of, 653; the , forests of, 654 ; management of bees in, 655 ; im- provements in the agriculture of, since 1814, 662. Pole-cat, the, 7598. Police, professional, relative to agriculture, 7909. PoUgnaCf Comte Charles de, his work on agricul- ture, page 1218. A. D. 1822. Political circumstances, as influencing agriculture, ' 1272. Pollard-trees, 4055L Polonceau, M., his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1824. Pond, a, 4421. Ponds for collecting rain water, mode of construct- ing, 4467; the C^oucestershire, 4473; method of draining, 4275. Pontey*B methods of planting, 3952; opinion on pruning, S989. Pontier, P. H., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 182a FooUfishing, 3903. I*oppy, the, in Hindustan, 898 ; the small or field, . as an oil plant, 6099. Pores of plants, 1388. Potpoise, the, an enemy to fish, 3893, Porta, J. B., his work on agriculture, i>age 1219. A. 0. 1592. Portraying of rural objects, 3347. Portugal, agricultural circumstances of, 749. Pot tree, the, of Brazil. 1235. Potash in animals, 1927. Potato, the, 5921 ; as human food, 5295 ; value of, as a fallow crop, 5298 ; varieties of the, 5300 ; soil for, 5307 ; climate for, 5310 ; season for plant- ing, 5311; preparing the sets of, 5312; modes of planting, 5316 ; after-culture of, 5327 ; taking of the crop of, 5338 ; storing and preserving, 5343 ; produce of, 5348 ; application of, 5349 ; the ex- traordinary applications of, 5361 ; application of, as food for live stock, 5365 ; machine for washing, 5367; the boiling of, 5368; frosted, 5369 ; diseases of. 5370. Potato cleaner, the, 2547. Potato dibber, 2470. Potato scoop, Edinburgh, 2494^ Potatoes, introduction of, 238 ; of Ireland, 838 ; in Spain, 726. Potato-Bot -coop, the, 2403. Potn to- weighing machine, 2560. Poultry. See Cock and Hen, 7439. Poultry farmers, 7727. Poultry-house, interior arrangement of the, 2842: Poultry houses, 2840. 7431; fUrniture or fixtures of, 7434 ; utensils of, 743? ; at Winnington, Lord Penrhyn's. 7814. Poultry-yard, 2tf 14. Power requisite to estimate, 3320. Pr^azideau-ChemiUy, Eugene, his work on agricul. ture, page 1217. A. D. 1794. Prifontaine, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1763. Pressing plough, the, 2714^ Prevost, Benedict, his work on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1807. PrSvdt de Rivolta. his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1826. Prize essays, and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland. Anon, page 1211. A. D. 1799—1830. Professor of agricultural science, the, 7758. Professorships of agriculture, 806; public, 7924. Profit of the Roman farmers, 168. Profits to which a farmer is entitled, 4799. Propagation by seeds, 1641; by gems, 1646; by leaves, 1649; by runners, 16K); by slips, 1651 ; by layers. 1652 ; by suckers, 1653 ; by grafting and budding, 1654, Propagation of the species of plants, causes limiting, 1655. Propago of plants, 1362. Property, landed, in England, the different kinds and tenures of, 3388 ; in Scotland, 3400 ; in Ire. land, 3406 ; valuation of, 3408 ; purchase or trans- fer of, 3455 ; consolidation of, 3471. Propriety, 3371. Pruning, 3158 ; objects of, 3159 ; for promoting the growth and bulk of a tree. 3160 ; for lessening the bulk of a tree, 3161 ; for modifying the form of the tree, 3162; for adjustingthe stem and branches to the roots, 3163 ; for renewal of the head, 3164 ; for curing diseases, 3165; coppice woods, 4003; deciduous trees, 3997 ; efi'nct of, on timber trees, 3972 ; frondose or resinous trees, 3988 ; hedges, 4005; hedge-row trees, 4006; orchard trees, 4111 ; trees, 1677; the manner of, 3993; plantations, 3989 ; the general seasons of, WQ^ ; implements necessary for, 3996. Prussia, improvements in the agriculture of, 567. 575 ; surface and soil of, 568 ; soil of the maritime provinces of, 569 ; landed estates in, 570 ; general course of cultivation in, 571 ; live stock of, 572 ; implements of husbandry of, 573 ; produce of the . soil of, 574 ; culture of the vine in, 590 ; good efibcted by the present king of, 591. Pubescence of plants, 1319. Puddling canals, 3824: Puddling, 3827: history of, 382a Pulling crops, 3181. Pulp of plants, structure of the, 1370. Pulverisation of soils, 2163. Pumps for raising water, 4500. Purchase of landed property, 3455. Pushing, 3117. Putin. Charles, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. 1), 1663. ' Puvis, M. A., his work on agriculture, page 1219, A. D. 1826. *^ Pyrites, use of, in burning clay, 3228, euail, the, 7558 ; Persian mode of hunting, 873. uarries, method of dr^Aing, ^4 ; working of, 3861. Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, Anon, page 1214. A. D. 1828—1831. Queen's county, statistics of, 7870. Quercus iSCiber, in Spain, 747. Quinquina, extract of, 1411. K, Rabbit, the, 7341 ; -warrens of the, 7343; varieties of, for stocking warrens, 7346 ; breeding and rear- ing of, 7351. 7356; the Angora, 7354: feeding. 7357; flesh of, 7359; diseases, 736a Rabbitry, the, 2843. Rabbit's dung, as a manure, 2262. GENERAL INDEX. 1269 _ , Rev. T., his work on agriculture, page l^ia A. D. 1819. Rags, woollen, as a manure, 2S50. Rafl-roads, 3543. Railways, S785 ; advantage of, 3791 ; forming and constructing, 3792 ; of stone, Matthews's, 3703. Rain, 2367 ; phenomena- of, 2368 j cause of, 2369 j monthly and annual quantities of, 2372. Rain-gauge, use of the, 2426. Rain water, collecting, from roads in ponds, 4465. Rake, the, 2449; the horse or stubble, 2725; the couch-grass, 2726 ; Weir's improved hay or corn, 2727. ' Raking machines, 2723. Ramenta of plants, 1317. Randall^ J., his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1764. Rape, 6U7S ; soils for, 6079 ; sowing, 6083 ; trans- planting, 6085 ; after-culture of, ^)87 ; harvest- ing, 6089 ; produce of, 6091 ; uses of, 6092. Rape^ake, as a manure, i^4^ Raspberry as an orchard fruit, 4104. Ra^ the dom^tic or Norway, 7632, Rattery, Paul of Starston*s, 7634. Rat-traps, 2581. Jiaucht F. A., his work on agriculture, page 1217* A. D. 1802. Be, Filippo, his works on agriculture, page 1221. A. D, 1808. S^aumur, R^ne, Antoine Ferchault, sieur de, his work on agriculture, page 1215. A. I). 1749. Reaping, 3173. 3178: by the acre, 3180; wheat, 5043. Reaping-hook, the, 2481 j the smooth, S482 ; Hut- ton's improved, 2483. Reaping machines, 2731. & 2737. Reaping machines, 2731. Rearing domestic animals, 2066. Receptacle of plants, 1324. Recollection of surfaces and of country of great in- terest to the agriculturist, 3298. Bedo^, Cosimo, h\s work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 181& Reds, vegetable, for dyeing, 1416. Reed, method of thatching with, 3190. JReidert T., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A.D. 1825. Rein-deer, the, 7361. Religion, as influencing agriculture, 1273. Senm'e, George, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1794. Rent of grazing farms, 4796; of land among the Anglo-Saxons, 202 ; in Scotland, 4795 ; in Eng- land, 4797. Rents of landed estates, receiving of, 4702. Rents of leases, 4688. Repairs in drains, 42661 Reproduction in animals, 1972. Resin, Botany Bay, 1467 ; green, 146a Resins, vegetable 1453 ; use oi; 1471. Rhubarb, 6176; culture of, 6177; Chinese mode of curing, 6178. Ribbe, M., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1826. ' *^'* Ribbing, 3255. Ribbing wheat, 5033. Ribworm, plaintain, the, 5^5. Micci Jacopo, his works on agriculture, page 1222. Rice, 5185; cultivation of, in Egypt, 1078. Richards, John, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A* \j. 1730. Richardson*^ machine for raising large stones, 4523, Richter, K. F., his works on agriculture, naae 1220 A. D. 1804. ' ^ ** ^fcinus commtLnis, 862. 978. Ricking of com, 3176. Rick-stand, ■Wmstell*a circular, 2909. Ridder, the, an addition to the plough, 7848. Ridges, 32^ ; on dry, porous, turnip soils, 3250 ; mode of forming straight, and of uniform breadth, 3251 i the direction and length of, 3253 ; in Buck- inghamshire, 7783. Ridging, 3127. Rid-plough, Finlayson's, 4540. Riem, his work on agriculture, page 1216, A-D. 1770. Riem, J., his works on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1792. Bmamd de Plsle. his work on agriculture, pace 1216. A. D. 1769. * St'gbi/, Edward, M. D., F. L. S., his woiks on agri- culture, page 1213. A. D. 1820. Rein-deer moss, 696. Rippling, 3204. Rippling flax, 5899. River farmers, 7742. River-meadows, 57^. River plants, 1745. , Rivers, altering the course of, 4'J71 ; a ccmapion cause of injury to the banks of, 4362 ; tl\e natural licence of, 4359: operations for improving, 43')0 ; raising to a higher level, 4377; sometimes inju- rious to lands, 2202. RUckerty G. Ch. Alb., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 18U0. Roads, the best materials for making, 3635. Roads, breadth of, 3595; ought to be wide and strong, 3597 ; narrow, 3601; drainage of, 3602. Road-bridges, 3611. Koads, concave, 3670 ; convex, S671 ; semi-convex, 3674; advantage of good, 3523; M* Adam's plan of making, 3527 ; paving oi^ 3697 ; junction of, 3620 ; Idying out over a hill, 3559 ; direction oi, through an extensive estate, 3562 ; machine for scraping, 3749; machine for sweeping, 3751 ; Bid- die's machine for repairing, 3757 ; arrangement of, on farms, 4210 ; national, 3530 ; parochial, 3531 ; of estates, 3533; of farms, 3594; paved, 35S8; planked, 3542 ; the laying out of, 3545 ; the line of direction in, 3547 ; on an inclined plane, 7812 ; preparation of the base of, 3622 ; preservation o^ 3727 ; repair of, 3744 ; the proper degree of con- vexity for, 3676 ; proper width of, 35&a ; strength of, 3567; durability ot; 3569; smoothness of, 3.570 ; wear or decay of, 3571 ; washing, 3754 ; Faterson's system of repairing, 3760 ; M' Adam's system of repairing, 3763. Road embankments, 3611. Road fences, 3617. Road-harrow, Harriott's, 3745. Road-making, M'Adam's theory and practice of, S58I. Robert8on,Gef, 7883. Roseneath, in Dunbartonshire, 7S43. Rosin, 1454. Riisstgf Karl 61o., his works on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1781. Ross-shire, statistics of, 7854. Rotation of crops, necessity of a judicious, 4912. 4927. Rotations suited to different soils, examples of, 4933. Rotting in trees, to prevent, 4030. Roughlv, Thomas, his work on agriculture, page 1223. A. D. 1823. Roxburghshire, statistics of, 7836. lioxier, Fran<;oi3, his works on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1770. Rubbing-post for pigsties, 2838. Rules for the arrangement of farm labour, 4913. Rush, the esparto, in Spain, 722. Russia, portion of, fit foraration, 661; climates of, 665 ; surface of, 6ri9 ; soil of, 670 ; landed pro- perty in, 671; the farmeries of, 672; agricultural products of, 673 ; farming crops of the more southern regions of, 67i; the culture of herbage plants in, 675 ; plants grown for commercial uses in, 676 ; fruits generally grown in, 678 ; live stock of the farmer in, 679 ; forests of, 680 ; implements and operations of husbandry in, 683 ; field oper- ations of, 684 ; bnprovement of agriculture in, 685. Rutlandshire, statistics of, 780S. Kye, 5069 ; varieties of, 5070 ; soil for, 5071 ; climate for, 5072; when sown, 5073; after-culture, har- vesting, and threshing of, 5074 ; use of, 5075 ; as a green crop, 5076 ; spur, or ergot of, 5079 ; insects injurious to, 7652. iJye, (Jeorge, his work on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1730. Rye, insects injurious to, 7662, Rye-grass, the biennial, 5654; the perennial, 5655; the new varieties of, 5656. Sack-barrow, the, 2541. Saddle-grafting, a peculiar mode of, practised in Worcestershire, 7792, SafiVon, the, or autumn crocus, 6169, uses of, 6173. SaflFron, extract of, 1412. Sagapenum, 1479. . Saintfoin, 5595 ; varieties of, 5596 ; soil for, 5597 ; sowing, 5599 ; after-cultuve and management of, 5603 ; taking and using the crop of, 5606 ; dura- tion of, 5609; produce of, 5610; nutritive pro- ducts of 5611 ; saving the seed of, 5612; thresh- ing out the seeds of, 5614; produce in seed of, 5616 ; diseases of, 5617. Salep plant, culture of the, 6184^ Salesman, agricultural, 7748. Saline solutions, as a manure, 2308. Satisfmri/f W., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1822. Salmon's attempt at a reaping-machine, S735. Salmon, 7584 ; enemies of the young, 3889 ; fishery of, 3885; in rivers, 7850; spawning of, 7850; va- rious modes of taking, 3895; weirs for. Marshal's opinion of, 3900. Salmon trout, 7850. Salop, 1401. Salt, as a manure, 2306 ; good for most animals, 2074; production of, S872. Salts, as part of the food of plants, 1530. Salviiu. Gio., his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1777. Sandarach, 1457. Sandwich Isles, the, 1059. Bang's opinion on pruning, 3989. Sap, 1495; ascent of the 1539—1544 ; causes of the, 1545—1550 ; elaboration of the, 1551 ; perspir- ation of, 1555; of plants, 1475. Sarceu-de-Sutih-es, his works on agriculture, page 1215. A. D. 1765. Sartorelli, G. B., his work on agriculture, page 1222. A. D. 1826. Sauerkraut, 5507- Saitssure*& experiment respecting vegetable extract as the food of plants, 1529. Savory, culture of, 6180. Savoy, agriculture of, 354 ; land in, 355 ; lands of the monasteries in, 356; peasantry of, 357 ; four modes of occupying land in, 359 j land near towns, 560; farming land in, 361; occupying land in^ by grangers and by tacheurs, 362, 363 : leases granted to the farmers and grangers in, 364 ; pas- turage in, 365; public dairies in, 366; sheep in, 367; vineyards in, 368; walnut trees in, 369: walnut harvest in, 370; tobacco in, 373; artificial grasses in, 374 ; grass lands and water meadows of, 375; agricultural improvements in, 376; salt- works of Montiers in, 377. Saw. the, 2490. Sawing, 3150. Saxony, state of agriculture in, 607 ; culture of the vine and silkworm in, 60S; the wool of, 609; ge- neral rotation of crops in, 610; cows of, 611; Jacob's opinion of the agriculture of, 613. Scales of animals, 1869. Scammony, 1475, Scarcement in hedgemaking, arguments for and against a, 3009. Scarifier, Henry's improved, 2673. Scarifier or hash, the Sithney, 2716. Scheffi}ld, L., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1809. Schonlentery M., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1810. Schuster^ J., and M. Haberle, their work on agricul- ture, page 1220. A. D. 1825. Schtuertz, N„ his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1825. Scirpus tubertNsus, the, of China, 986. Scorer, the, 2+91. Scotland, agriculture of, after the Norman Con- quest, 208; during the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, 213 ; in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 215 ; agriculture of, in the sixteenth century, 2'^6. 241 ; in the seventeenth century, 242 ; agriculture in, during the Revolu- tion, 770 ; first improvement in the roads of, 771 ; benefit to the agriculture of, 772 : general remarks on, 7832. Scraper, the, 2464. Scraping, 3133. Scraping roads, 3748. Scythe, the Hainault, 509. 3479; the great Bra. bant, 510; the cradle, 2480; for reaping grain crops, 3179; used in irrigation, 4401. Seal, the, 3893. Seas, inconsiderable, temperature of, 2351. Season for cutting- trees whose barks are not made use of, 4044 ; for sawing, cutting, or clipping living trees, 2156. Season, a wet, 2435. Seasoning of timber, 4063 ; by steeping, 4064. Sea-trout, 7850. Sea wall embankment, 4352. Sea-water, as a means of irrigation, 4445. Sea-weed, use of, 6187, Sea-weeds, as a manure, 2237. Sea-wrack grass, 6195. Secretions, unctuous, of the skin, 1875 ; viscouB, 1876. Seed, dispersion of, 1642. Seed-basket, 2526. Seed-corn, choice of, 4855. Seed farmers, 7729. Seed harrow for wet weather^ Gray*s, 2704. Seed sown, returns of, mentioned by the ancients, 167. Seeds of trees, use of, 4041. Selkirkshire, statistics of, 7837. SinaCt M., and the Baron de Ferrussac, their work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1826. Senna, extract of, 1410. Sensation of plants, 1668. Serpent's motion, the, 1903. 1906. Serradilla, the, 5639. SerreSf Olivier de, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1600. Servants, choice of. for the farmer, 4866 j the mode of hiring at public statutes, 4869 ; management of, 4900. Servants, female, required in a farmery, 4878. Servieres, 3- de,his work on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1786. .Sesamum orientlde, 978. 6097. Setters, 7400. Settlers in the United States, practice of, 1165. Sexes of plants, 1622. Shade and shelter for certain plants, necessity of 1827. GENERAL INDEX. 1274. Shafts, double, advantage of, on roads, 3743. Shakes in trees, to remedy, 4031. Shapes which indicate a propensity to fatten soonest, 2031. Sheath, the, or land-guard of loose stones, 4^66. Sheaves of corn, an improved method of setting up, 3177 ; methods of drying, 704. Sheaving of corn, S175 Sheds, portable, for pasture lands, 58S8. Sheep, the, 7112; the common, in a wild state, 7113; value of, to the British farmer, 7114. Sheep, varieties of, 7 US; the long-wooUed British, 7117 ; the short-wooUed, 7U8 : the hornless breeds, 7119; sheep best suited to arable land, 7120; the long-woolled large breeds, 7121 j the shorter- wooUed varieties, 7126 j sheep that range over the mountainous districts of Britain, 713S , the Spanish or Merino breed, 7138. Sheep, criteria of properties in, of an excellent ram, 71*'^; of a sound healthy sheep, 7143; of age, 7144} names of the different ages and conditions of sheep, 7145. Sheep, breeiUng, 7146 ; season of putting the rams to the ewes, 7153 ; period of gestation, 71.'i4; keep of sheep after lambing, 7159 ; castrating lambs, 7160 3 weaning of lambs, 7161. Sheep, rearing and management of, 7163 ; on rich grass and arable lands, 7166; treatment of the Iambs, 7168 ; selection of the lamb stock, 7170 j selection of^ the grown stock, 7172; shearing, 7173 ; washing, 7177 ; marking, 7185 ; shortening the tails, 7186; rearing and management on hilly and mountainous districts,7190 ; store farm- ing, 7192. Sheep, folding, 7208. Sheep, fattening, 7219; fattening lambs, 7224, Sheep, the Merino breed, 7240 ; introduction of, 7231 ; Dr. Parry's experiments with, 7232 j shear- ing of, 7235 ; produce of the wool of, 7236; Lord Somerville's experiments with, 7237. Sheep, anatomy and physiology of, 7239; skeleton of, 7241 ; the visceral and soft parts, 7242 : wool of, 7243. "^ \ ' ^ Sheep, diseases of, 7244 ; of lambs, 7273. Sheep, the Berkshire polled, 7790 ; of Berwick- shire, 7835 ; in Buckinghamshire, 7783 ; of the Cape of Good Hope, 1127; of the farm of Coldin- gen, near Hanover, 600 ; of Dorsetshire, manage- ment of, 7819 ; of the Hebrides, 7859 ; of Hin- dustan, 913 ; the Hungarian, 632 ; improvement of, on the farm at Moegelin, 585 ; in Leicester- shire, 7798; of Perthshire, 7849; of Spain, 735; management of, 737—742 ; when first fed on the ground with turnips, iJ37. * Sheep-sh earing in Spain, 741. Shell-fish fishery, 3883. Shell sand, as a manure, 2288. Shell slug, the, 7706. Shells of animals, 1870. Sheltering farm-lands, 4584^ Sheltering and shading lands, 2215, ^16. Shepherd, the, 4876. Shetiand Isles, statistics of the, 7861, Shii-r^, John, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1814. Shocking of corn, 3175. Shoeing of horses in Flanders, 520. Shoots, annual, 1569. Shorelands, improvement o^ 45ff7. Shovel, the, 2446. Shovelling, 3124. Shropshire, statistics of, 7795. Siam, the kingdom of, 949 ; agriculture of the, 950 ; soil of the, 951. Sickle, for reaping grain crops, 3179. Siekler, F. Ch. L., his work on agriculture, paee 1220. A. D. 1805. jSida ^iliasfblia, use of, in China, 982, Siebe's rotatory pump, 4501. Sierra Leone, description of, 1105. Sieuve, works on agriculture, p. 1216. A. D. 1769. Sieves, 2523. Sifting earth or gravel, 3135. Silicia in animals, 1932 ; in plants, 1504. Silk, culture of, in Hungary, 629. Silkworm, the, 7595; breeding of, 7596; in the south of France, 41a Simonde. J. C. L., his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D, 1801. Simpson, Finder, his works on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1814, 1815. Sinclair^ George, F.L.S., F.H.S,, &c, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. im Sinelmt\ Right Hon. Sir John, Bart, LL U, &c his works on agriculture, page 1210, A. D. 1790 Si'iiefi/t Andrfe Louie Esprit, his work on agricul- ture, page 1218. A. D. 1803. Situation for a landed proprietor's mansion, the most desirable, 3506. Siteibo farmery, 4163. Skin and loathor, refuse of the manufactures of, as a manure, 2251. Skin, secretions of the, 1874. Skins of animals, use of the, 2017> Skirting lands, 3210. Skreen plantations, 4585. Sleep, the positions assumed by animals during, Sk-eping. rooms for single men, 2868. SliKO, statistics of, 7886. Slit method of planting, 3947. S1it-pianting,an expeditious mode of, 3953. Slugs, 7705. Sluice, a, 4'106. SmaUy James, his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 17K4. S7nitht John, his wdrk on agriculture, page J2U7. A. D. 1670. Smitkf Rev. John, D. D., his work on agriculture, page 1211. A.D. 179a Smith. William, his works on agriculture, page 1212, A. D. 1806. Smith'% attempt at a reaping machine, 2736; his opinion on irrigation, 4387. Smithy, on a large farm, 2869. Smoking tobacco, antiquity of, 6124 Smut, the, in corn, 1693. 5064. Smut machine, the, 2796. Snail, the edible, 76ia Snails, 7707. Snow, 5376 ; of great use to the vegetable kingdom, 2377 ; heat produced from, 2324. Societies, agricultural, 7911; lately formed in Bri. tain, 800. Society of Arts, the, 7913. Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agricul- ture, in Scotland, institution of the, 793. Society, state of, as influencing agriculture, 1270. Soda in animals, 1928. Soderinij Giovanvettorio, his work on agriculture, page 1221. A. D. 1622. Sod among trees, culture of, 3980. Soil, as influencing agriculture, 1263. Soils, exhaustion of, 1534; fertility of, restored, 1535; how distinguished f^om masses of earth, 2114; classification of, 2117; naming the generjv of, 2118; naming the species of, 2119; table of,- 2120 ; to discover the value of, 2121 ; indicated by the plants growing on them, 2122 ; the qualities of, discovered by chemical analysis, 2133; the qualities of, discovered mechanically and eiupiri- cally, 2137 ; the absorbent powers of, 2145 ; po- oular distinctions of, 2157 ; chemical agency of, 2160; improvement of, 2162; pulverisation of, SI6S ; consolidation of, 2172 ; aeration or fallow- ing of, 2174; alteration of the constituent parts ■ o^ 2180 ; the capacity of, for retaining water, to ' ascertain, 2144 ; incineration of, 2191; burning of, 2192; water with respect to, 2199. Soils, mixed or secondary, 1743 ; aquatic, for plants, 1744 ; earthy, of plants, 1747; vegetable, of plants, 1755. ' Soils, the most proper, for irrigation, 4386 ; Smith's opinion respecting, 4^387 ; peaty, 2112 ; spurious peaty, 21 13 ; power of vegetables to exhaust, 2219 ; in respect to farming lands, 4743 ; retentive, mode of droning, 4267 ; use of the, to vegetables, 2145. 2148; the constituent parts of, which give tenacity, 2149; power of, to absorb water by capillary attraction, 2152; power of, to absorb water from air, 2153. Solar rays, influence of, on vegetation, 2326. Solids, animal, 1957 ; the soft, 1961 ; the hard, 1962. Solomon Isles, the, 1052, Somersetshire, statistics of, 7820. Somerville, Right Hon. John, Lord, his works on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1799. " Somerville^ Robert, his work on agriculture, page 1212. A.D. 1805. Soot, as a manure, 2268. Soaper's waste, as a manure, 2310. South America, climate, surface, and soil of, 1226. Sowing, 3148. Sowing of pine seed in Flanders, 529. Spade of the bushman, 1139; the Flemish, 2445; used in irrigation, 4395 ; the trenching, 512. 4 M 4 1272 GENERAL INDEX. Spadoniy PaolOj his works on agriculture^ page 1333. A. D. 1810. Spain, agriculture of, in the middle of the 18th cen- tury, 714 ; during the 19th century, 115 ; climate of, 716 ; surface of, 717 ; soil of, 718 ; landed pro- perty of, 719; bad feature in the old government of, 720; agricultural products of, 721 ; rotations of common crops in, 733; live stocic of the agri- culturist in, 734; sheep of, 73.'); implements of agriculture in, 744 ; operations of agriculture in, 745; forests in, 747 ; improvement of agriculture in, 748; cause ofthedechne of agriculture in, 712. Spaniels, 7401. Speedy Adam, his works on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1659. Speculators of Midlothian, 7833. Spermaceti, 1948. Splitting the roots of trees, 31. Sponges, as a manure, 2253. Sponge, a good hygrometer, 2420. Spottiswoode, the estate of, an example of successflil drainage, 4355. Spray of trees, uses of the, 40^. Springs, artificial, 4503. Springs on lands, injury done by, 2201. Spring'latch for gates, 3089. Spring, temperature of, influence of, on plants, 1727. Spur of rye, 5079. Spurry, £^2 ; culture of, in the Netherlands, 482. Spurs of animals, 1866. Stable, the, 2816. Stacey^ Rev. Henry Peter, LT*B., F.L.S., his work on agriculture, page 1211. A. X). 1800. Stack-borer, the, 2488. Stack-cover, the, 2912. Stack-funnel, the, 2911. Stack-guard, the, 3288. Stack-yard, the, 2906 ; Mitchell's, 2907. Stacking, 327a Stacking stage, 3289. Stacking wood for fuel, &c., 3207, 3208. Staffordshire, statistics of, 7796. Stag, the, 7370. Staircases to cottages, economical mode of forming, 2895. Stake and rice, protecting hedges by, 3017. Standing, in animals, 18^. / Stanley, Robert A., Esq , his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1824. Starch, 1400 ; plants producing, 1402 ; uses of, 140^ Steam-engines, employment ot; in draining, 4277. Steaming house, the, 2863. Steaming machine, on a simple and economical plan, 2805. Steaming and washing machine, economical, 2804. Ste^man, Captain, his residence in Surinam, 1243. Steele, Andrew, his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1826, Steelyard, Ruthven's farmer's, 2570. Steeping flax, 5905. StetTidel, A. H. von, his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1800. Steining wells, 4479. Stem of herbaceous plants, structure of the, 1377- Stem of plants, anomalies in the, 1597. Stephens, George, his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1829. Stephens's mode of forming and planting the single hedge and ditch, 2997. Steuart, Sir Henry, his system of removing large trees, 3955 ; his conclusions respecting the influ- ence of culture on timber trees, 3973. Stevens and Lidbazilt, their work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1616. Stevenson's opinion on the direction of roads, 3547 ; opinion on the drainage of roadSj 3607; base of roads, 3627. S/ewfiTWow, W., Esq., M. A., his work on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1809. Steward, under, 7721 ; demesne, 7722. St. Helena, 1144. Stickleback fishery, 3881. Stile of falling bars, 3109. Stiles, 3108. StiUinefteet, Benjamin, his works on agriculture, pagel20y. A. D. 1759. Stimulants, artificial, to the vital principle of plants, 1666. Stipulse of plants, 1316. Stirlingshire, statistics of, 7814. Stock farmers, 7735. Stocking a farm, 4826. - Stocking pastures, 5825.. I Stone, Thomas, his works on agriculture, page 121(X A. D. 1785. Stone tracks in roads, advantages of, 3540. Stones, breaking, 3121. Stone-breaking machine impelled by steam, 2556. Stones, Edgeworth's mode of breaking, for roads, 3656. Stone-hewing machine, 2809. Stones on lands, to get rid of, 4518. Stones, large. Low's machine for raising, 2810. Stones, machine for breaking, for roads, 3659. Stones, proper size of, for roads, 36Q2. StoTKdrag for carriages going downhill, Rapson's, 2759. Storax, 1485. Store farmers. 7736. Streams, artificial, 4464. Strobile of plants, scales of the, 1356. Stubble, as a thatch for ricks, 3187. Stubble or dew rake, 2453. Stubble-rake, the, 2725. Stumming cider-casks, 4132. Stumpf. G., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1794. Straw of barley, use of, 5118. Straw of corn, uses of the, 4990. Straw of rye, manufacture of, into plaits, 5077. Straw of wheat, uses of, 5051. Strati, dry, as a manure, 2238. Straw-house, the, 2864. Straw-rope making, 3184. Straw-rope twister, 2469. Straw-yard, the, 2913. Strickland, G., Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1214. A. D. 1829. Structures, agricultural, of the Mexicans, 1185. Styrax, I486. • Subsoil, relatively to the choice of a farm, 4760. Succession, natural, of trees, 3918. Sue/cow, G. Adg., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1775. Suction, mqfle of adhesion by, in some animals, 1896. SuSbcation of plants, 1707. Suffblk punch, the, 6242. SuSblk, statistics of, 7787. Sugar, 1398 ; utility of, 1399; culture of, among the Moors, 711 ; in animals, 1946 ; from the beet root, manufacture of, in the Netherlands, 476. Sugar-cane, culture of, in Jamaica, 1212 ; in Ma. laga, 729 ; management of, in Egypt, i082; the, in Hindustan, 895. Sugar plantation, buildings required for a, 1204; live stocic of a, 1209. Sulphate of iron, as a manure, 2300. Sulphate of potassa, as a manure, 2307. Sulphur in animals, 1923. Sumatra, description of, 1021- livestockof, 1027- Summer .fallowmg in Scotland, when first practised, 794. Summer, temperature of : influence of, on plants, 1728. Sunflower, the, as an oil plant, 6100. Sutherland, statistics of, 7856. Surface, character of, in regard to farming lands, 4769. Surface, general, of land estates, to portray, 3351. Surfaces, grassy, formation of, ff714. , Surface-gutters made by cart wheels, 4301. Surfaces, primitive, aflfecting plants, 1741. Surgeon, veterinary, 7755. Surinam, climate, surface, and soil of, 1242 ; pro- ducts of, 1243. Surrey, statistics of, 7778, Sussex, statistics of, 7779. Swan, the mute or tame, 7518; other species, 7519 ; rearing, 7520; feathers and down, 7521. Svjayne, G., A. M., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1790. Sweat of animals, 1877. Sweden, state of agriculture in, 686 j climate of, 687; surface of, 688; soil of the valleys of, 690; landed property of, 691; cottages of, 692; the fence in general use, 691 ; agricultural products of, 695; live stock of the farmer in, '702; imple- ments and operations of agriculture in, 703 ; fo- rests of, 705; the chase in, 706; improvement of the agriculture of, 708. Sweeping, 3134. Sweeping roads, S750. Sweepings of houses, as a manure, 2267 Swimming, the action of, 1908. SiuiT^oit/me, K.^ his work on agriculture, page 1213L GENERAL INDEX. 127,3 Swine, abhorrence of, In the western counties of Sjcotland, 784S. Swine, 7274j common hog, 7274 ; wild boar, 7Z76. Swine, varieties of the common hog — the European, 7'-'83i the Chinese, 7284; the Berltshire breed, 7-'8fi; the Hampshire breed, 7287; the Shropshire breed, 7288 ; the Gloucestershire breed, 7289 ; the Herefordshire breed, 7290 ; the Rudgwick breed, Wl ; the large spotted Woburn, 7292; the Wilt, shire breed, 7293; the Yorkshire breed, 7294; the Northamptonshire breed, 7295 ; the Leicester, shire breed, 7296 ; the Lincolnshire breed, 7297 ; the Norfolk breed, 7298 ; the Suffolk breed, 7299 ; the swing-tailed breed, 7302 ; the Highland breed, 7304; the old Irish breed, 7305. Swine, breeding and rearing of, 7306. Swine, fattening of, 7316; curing or pickling of pork ; 7322 ; curing of bacon, 7324. Swine, diseases of. 7329. Swine of Perthshire, 7849; of Hindustan, 915; of Hungary, 635 ; wild, of Paraguay, 1231. Switzerland, agriculture in, 326; landed property in, 329 ; valleys of the Alps of, 330 ; iboulemem of, 331; Mont Grenier, in, 333; avalanches of, 334; glaciers of, 335 j cottages of, 336; villages of, 337 ; the vine in, 338 ; fruit trees of, 339; woods k)rtliumberland, 7809; in Surrey, 7778. Turnip slicer, S571. Turnip tray, the, 2529. Tuscany, Sismondi's picture of the agriculture of, 276 ; climate of, 277 ; soil of, 278 ; irrigation, 279; plains of, enclosed, 280 ; arable lands of the plains of, 281 ; rotation of crops in the plain of, 282; cattle in the plains of, 283 ; farm-nouses of the plain of, 284 j farmers of the plains of, 285 ; cul- ture of the hiUs and declivities of, 286: soil of the hills of, 287 i culture of the olive in, 289 ; culture of the vine on the hills of, 290; the potato in, 291; the hill farmers of, 292; culture of the mountains of, 593 ; management of sheep in the mountains of, 294 ; forests on the mountains of, 295 ; the moimtain farmers of, 296. Tkesser^ Thomas, his works on agriculture, page 1206. A. D. 1557. Twamiev, J., his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1784 Tweeddale. See Peeblesshire, 7838. Twisting crook, 2469. Tyrone, statistics of, 7890. U. Underletting of lands in Ireland, a great evil, 847, Under steward, 4639. United States, climate of the, 1156; seasons of the, 1157; surface of the, 1158; soil of the, 1159; landed property of the, 1160; mode of dividing and selling lands in the, 1161 ; price of land in the, 1162; agriculture of the, 1163; political circum- stances of the, 1167 ; agricultural products of the, 1168; live stock of the, 1169; civil circumstances of the, unfavourable to emigration, 1172 ; want of servants in the, 1173 ; as a country for a British emigrant, 1174. Urea, in animals, 1945. Urinlrium, the, 2905. Urine, as a manure, 2254 Utensils, the essential agricultural, 2536, Utensils, the principal agricultural, 2522. Utricles of plants, 1379. Valerian, the common, culture of, 6183. Vallde, Alexandre, his work on agriculture, page 1221, A. D. 1803. Valuation of landed property, 3408. Valuation of timber, 4069. Valuation of work done, to estimate, 3324 ; of labour and materials, 3325; of materials alone, 3326; oi live stock, 3327; of buildings, 3328; orchards, hop grounds, &c., 3329; of young plantations, 3330; of saleable trees, 3331 ; of fields for rent, 3332; of a farm for rent, 3333; of leases, 3335 ; oi flreehold landed property, 3340 ; of estates, 3342; of mines and minerals, ZS^ Vancouver^ Charles, his works on agriculture, page 1212. A. D. 1807. Van Dieman's Land, general description of, 1044 ; surface of, 1045 ; soil of, 1046 ; animals and ve. getables of, 1047 ; the agricultural faculties of, 1048; great advantages of, 1049; the system of farming in, 1050; as a country for emigrants, 103& 1051, Vapour, 2355. Farenne, de Fenille, P. C, his works on agriculture, page 1216. A. D. 1789. Varieties of vegetables, to form new, 1832. yarlOy C, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 1772. * VaughaUt Rowland, his work on agriculture, -page 1207. A. D. 1610. b . r-b Vegetable culture, the whole art of, 1835. Vegetables, as distinguished ftom animals, 1291 ; the colouring matter in, 1414 ; physical distribution of, 1724 ; increase in the magnitude of, how to be obtained, 1830 ; to increase the number and mag- nitude of particular parts of, 1831 : to form new varieties of, 1832 j to propagate and preserve from degeneracy, 1833; preservation of, for futun use, 1834. Vegetable kingdom, divisions of the, 1298. Vegetable soils, 1755, GENERAL INDEX. 1275 Vegetation, influence of the aspect of, on man, 1775$ terntorial limits to, 17S3. Vermin iiuurious to trees, to destroy, 4037. ye7muyden.SiT C, his work on agriculture, page 1907. A.D, 1642. Village, establishment of a, S34f8 ; forming the plan ~ of a, 5819. Villeneuve^ Baron Picot de la, his work on agricul- ture, page 1218. A. D. 1819. Vine, culture of, in the 16th century, 230 ; exud- ation of sap in the, 1700 ; field culture of, when first introduced to Britain, 209 j at the Cape of Good Hope, 1120 ; culture ofl in Hungary, 6i27 ; in Madeira, 1149 ; in Spain, 728. Vinett Elie, his work on agricultiure, page 1214. A. D. 1697. Vineyards of the Jews, 21. Virtues of plants, changed by cultivation, 1620. Vitality of vegetables, 1656. Vit^llus of plants, 1345. Vitriol, as a manure, 2300i Voght, Baron von, his work on agriculture, peg? 1220. A. D. 1824. w: Waggons, 2763.; of the Cape of Good Hope, 1132 ; of Germany, 557 ; the Gloucestershire, ^€t ; the Berkshire, 2768; the Korfolk cart and, 2769; Rood's patent, 2770 ; Gordon's one-horse, 2771. Wagner, J. Ph., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A D. 1828. Wain, the, of Cornwall, 7S2S. Waistell, Charles, Esq., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1826. WaisteWs arrangement of farm buildings, 2921 ; materials and construction of, 2943. JVaisteWs cottages for labourers, 2881. Walker^ W., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1813. Walker'E opinion of the width of roads, 3596 ; side drains for roads, 3608 ; road fences 3618. Walking, the action of, in animals, 1900. Wall, the earthen, embankment, 4339. Wallachia, agriculture of, 759. Wallflower, the, S636. Walls, 3056 : of dry stone, 3057 ; of round or land- stones, 3058; of quarried stones, 3059; the Gallo. way, 3060 ; of stone and lime, 3061 ; of stone and clay, 3063 ; of dry stone, lipped with lime, 3064 ; of dry stone, lipped and narled, 30^; of dry stone, pinned and harled, 3066 ; of drystone, 30t>7 ; of brick, 3068; frame, 3069; of turf, 3070; of stone and turf, 3071 ; of mud, 3072; of rammed earth, 3073 ; of stamped earth, 3074 ; of brick, built cottages, economical mode of constructing, 2893 ; heat produced by, 2323. Walnut trees, where serviceable, 4102. Warping lands, 2207. 4450 ; theory of, 4451 ; efibct of, 4463; method of executing, 4454; season for, 4456 : expense of, 4457- Warwickshire, statistics of, 7797. Washing machine, economical, 2804. Washington, Gen. George, his works on agriculture, page 1211. A. D. 1800. Waste lands, improvement of, 4512. Wastes, woody, improvement of, 4528. Water, artificial means of procuring, 4463 ; as the food of plants, 1522 ; cisterns for, the best, 4511 ; for common purposes, to obtain, 4504 ; composition of, 2330 ; necessary to vegetation, 2331 ; exists in the atmosphere, ^34; the decomposition of, by plants, 15^ ; effect of, on roads, 3579 ; influence of the qualities of, on plants, 1739 ; mode of cool- ing during harvest, &c. in Spain, 746 ; proper for domestic animals, 2077 ; proximity of, necessary for a good situation, 3512 ; raising from deep wells, 4499; an ingenious mode of, 4502; stagnant, in- jurious to all useful plants, 2200 ; on land, 4430. Waterford, sUtistics of, 7876. Watering barrel, 3753. Watering lands, advantages of, 4389 ; by machinery, 4444. Watering, the mode of, natural to vegetables, 1738. Watering plants, 3147. Watering roads, 3752. Water meadow, expenses of making a, 4432; con- struction of, 4437. Water-mills, the most eligible kinds of, 3841. Water-tabling of hedges, 3014. Water-wheel, the Spanish, 744; the Persian, 2205. Wax of myrUe, 1452. Wax, vegetable, 1446 ; properties of, 1447. Wax-tree, the, 977. Waypane, 44ia Wealds, improvement of, 4528. Wear, a, 4W5. Weasel, the, 7629. Weather, study of tiie, 2399; natural data for the study of the, 2401 ; influence of the moon on the, 2402; artiacial data for the study of the, 2407; study of, fi:om precedent, 2433. Web, mucous, of animals, 1846; muscular, 1848; cellular, 1849. Webert F. Bd., his work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1803. Wedges, 24^0. Weeding, 3140. Weeding-pincerfi, 24^. Weeding-tools, 2465. Wee^s, mowing of, 3170. Weeds, relative, 6198 i absolate, 6199 ; destruction of, ^00 : Holdich's classification of, 6205. Weidenkelter, his work on agriculture, page 1S20. Ap P, 1825, Weighing-cage, 2566. Weigh ipg-macnine for sacks^ 2568. Weight of objects, to ascertain, 3319. Weld, 5978 ; soil for, 5979 ; taking the crop, 598] : produce. of> 5983: use of, 5984; saving seed of, 5985 ; disease of, 5986, Well-digging, 4478. Well-digging combined with boring, example of, 4483. Wells, 4477; operation of making, in Persia, 876 ; Artesian, 7778. West Lothian, statistics of, 7845. Western^ C. C. Esq., M. P., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1824. VVestmeath, statistics of, 7873. Westmoreland, statistics of, 7811. Weston. Sii Richard, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A. D. 1645. WetnesB.jpf land, origin of the, ^25. Wexfora,^tatistic6 of, 7866. Wheat fly; the, 5066. Wheat, frosted, 4999 ; history and uses of, 5001. 5050; soil best adapted for, 5014;.raanures best calculated for, 5031 ; climate required for, 5024 ; sowing, 5025; after-culture of, 5035 ; harvesting, 5041 ; produce of, 5047 ; diseases of, 5063 ; cuU tivation o^ in Egypt, 1079; insects injurious to, 7661 ; in Madeira, 1150 ; uses of the straw of, 5051 3 summer, culture of, 5067; produce of, 5068. WheeiDarrow, the, 2539; the Kormandy, 25^; used in irrigation, 4398. Wheeling, 3118. Wheels of carts, 2746 ; Jones's improved iron, 2750 ; efiTects of the leverage of, on roads, 3574; of the plough, fin placing, ^5 ; the size of, most proper for roads, 3730. Wheel-tracks of stone, Stevenson's, 3702, Whin, the, 5629 ; culture of, 5630. Whim, the, in Peeblesshire, improvement of, 7838. Whipping out grain, 3202. Wicket-gate, the, 3104. Wicklow, statistics of, 7865. Wiegandt J., his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1762. Wight, Andrew, his work on agriculture, page 1209. A. D. 177& Wigtonshire, statistics of, 7840. Wiidmoor estate of Lord Stafford, 7795. Williams^ T. W., his work on agriculture, page 1213. A. D. 1819. WiUiamson, Capt. Thomas, his work on agriculture. page 1212. A. D. 1810. Vviltshire, statistics of, 7816. Wind, 2380; prevailing near Glasgow, 2381; pre- vailing in Ireland, 2383; causes of, 2384; effect of, on roads, 3580. Winnowing machine, the, 2545. Winslrvpi M., his work on agriculture, 7906. Winter, George, his work on agriculture, page 1210. A. D, 1787. Wireworm, the, 7684. Withers, William, junior^ Esq., his work on agri- culture, page 12ia A. D. 1826. Wittmann and Denglaez, their work on agriculture, page 1220. A. D. 1826. Woad, 5963; variety of, 5964; soil for, 5965; sow- ing, 5968; after-culture of, 5970; gathering the crops of, 6971 ; produce of, 5973 ; use of, 5975 : saving seed of, 5976 ; diseases of, 5977 ; culture oi^ in Flanders, 490. Woburn grasses, experiments on the, ffJSX. 1276 GENERAL INDEX. Wood-ashes, as a manure, 2243. 2305. Wood-farmers, 7739. Woodlands, 3908. Woodman, 7715. Woods of the Mexicans, 1187. Woody fibre, the, I492L Wool of animals, 1852, 1853. Wool, exportation of, from Britain, 764. Wool of Saxony, 609. Wool-shears, 2485. Worcestershire, statistics of, 7792. Work, quantity of which ought to be performed in a given time, to estimate, 3331. Workmen, advantage of orderly conduct in, 3369. Worlidee^ John, his work on agriculture, page 1207. A; D. 1669. Worlidge^s Systfema Agricultfirffi, 254^ Worm-like animals injurious to agriculture, 7704 ; of the slug kind, 7705: the shell slug, 7706; snails, 7707. Wormwood, culture of, 618a Wright, Sir James. Bart, his work on agriculture, pge 1211. A. D. 1796. Wright, Rev. Thomas, his works on agriculture, page 1210. A. D. 1789. Wurtembergischer Correspondenz des Landwirth- schaft Vereins, Anon, page 12S0. A. D. 1825. Yams used Instead of bread, 7850. Yarrow, the, 5642. Yellowf^ vegetable, for dyeing, 1117. Yeoman, conditiofi of one about the reign of Eliza. beth, S2a Yeomen farmers, 7745. Yoking of draught animals, 3236. Yorkshire, statistics of, 7804. Young, Arthur, F.II.S., his works on agriculture, page 1208. A. D. 1767. Yotmgf David, his work on agriculture, page 1210, A. D. 1786. Yvastf A. Victor, his works on agriculture, page 1218. A. D. 1819. Zehmens, Cp. H. Adf. von, his work on agricuU ture, page 1220. A. D. 1796. Zeigerus, Antoine, his work on agriculture, page 1219. A. D. 1735. Zizdinia aquatica, 5186. Zoology, the technical terms in, 183a SUPPLEMENT LOUDON'S ENCYCLOPtEDIA OF AGRICULTURE: BRING rNG DOWN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AKT OP FIELD CUI/TUBE FBOM 1841 TO 1843 INCLUSIVE. By J. C. LOUDON, F.L.G.Z. & H.S. &c. ai'thok of the encvcloradia of gardening, and condoctoa of the gardenek's magazine. INTRODUCTION. Thk improvements in agricultural science and practice, which have been either dis- covered, or brought more conspicuously into notice, since the publication of the last edition of this Eneyelapaidia in 18S1, may be thus briefly enumerated. 1. The functions of the leaves of plants are begmning to be more generally understood ; and hence, also, the importance of allowing sufficient space for their exposure to the sun and air, by wider sowing or planting, by judicious thinning, and hy pruning. Hence, also, when plants are to be destroyed, this may be effectually done by cutting off their incipient leaves as fast as they appear. In this way ferns and other perennial weeds in pastures may be more easily destroyed than by any other mode ; and the same may be said of weeds growing up from the bottoms of ponds. As a proof that the use of leaves was not undejstood by practical men, and even by the officers of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, so lately as 1836, we may refer to the Transactions of that body ; in which we find the Society giving a pre- mium for an essay on the destruction of ferns in pastures, to a candidate who recom- mends as the best mode the irrigation of these pastures. The irrigation of pastures on which ferns abound may be considered impracticable in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. 2. Growth and maturation in plants are two separate processes, and when either is the main object of culture, thie other should be prevented or checked ; thus when seeds or fruits are maturing, the elongation of shoots and the production of leaves should be checked, by pinching them off as fast as they appear. Hence the use of topping beans, tobacco, woad, and even potatoes ; not to mention vines, gooseberries, raspberries, peaches, and other garden ^uit shrubs and trees. 3. By preventing the formation of seeds or fruits, more strength is thrown into the plant generally ; and if it is a plant which produces bulbs, tubers, or underground stems, as substitutes for seeds, these will be increased in si^e. Hence the use of picking o& the blossoms of potatoes* 4. Plants imbibe nourishment from the soil, chiefly from the points of the fibres at the extremities of their roots. Hence the practice of banking up hedges, beans, potatoes, and other plants in drills, and of watering, stirring the soil, and laying manure close to the stems of trees and plants, is erroneous in principle and often injurious in effect ; by cutting off the fibrils, or, in the case of potatoes, the underground shoots on which the potatoes are formed. In some cases, however, cutting off the extremities of the roots is useful by increasing the number of fibrils, and consequently of the spongioles or mouths by which nourishment is imbibed. Hence the Berwickshire practice of tabling hedges so much recommended, and so generally followed by Scotch bailiffs, foresters, and hedgers, is for the most part a waste of labour ; unless, indeed, the object be to stunt the growth of the hedge, and prevent its roots from robbing the soil of the adjoining fields. The practice of earthing up turnips was once in vogue, but it is now ascertained to be a certain mode of instantly checking the swelling of the turnip, by the pressure of the soil which is thrown up to it by the plough. 5. The properties of the fruit of any plant, for example, the gluten of Legumindsse or wheat, or the starch of potatoes, or the sugar of the beet-root, are more or less diffilsed over the entire plant : and hence sugar may be made out of the leaves of the beet, as well as the roots, and starch out of the stems of the potato, as weU as out of its tubers; it being understood that the leaves or stems are in a nearly mature state. 6. The progress of the ripening of seeds and fruits in'general goes on in a geometrical ratio, and hence the great nicety required to determine the moment when seeds or fruits should be gathered, which period- varies according to the purpose to which the seeds or fruits are to be applied. The last change which takes place in the ripening of wheat is an increase of bran or husk, and a relative diminution of farinaceous matter or flour ; and hence the immense difference in the produce in flour, between that of the grain of a field of wheat cut down at the proper time, and a field of wheat allowed to be over ripe. Too much importance can hardly be attached to this subject. 7. Running water is found to contain oxygen, potash, carboiuc acid gas, and ammo- nia, all which serving as manures for plants, it follows that irrigation, even in cold climates, is beneficial to grass lands, altogether independently of supplying water as an element of growth, which in cold climates is seldom wanted in that capacity. 1280 INTRODUCTION. 8. More importance is nowbeingattached to the ascertaining ofthe mineral constituents of plants, such as alkalies and alkaline earths, phosphorusi sulphuric acid, silica, &c., than was the case before the appearance of Liebig's Organic Chemistry. 9. The permanent fertility of a soil is found to depend more on the inorganic sub- stances which it contains, (for example, on the proportion of alkalies and alkaline earths which it holds in combination with the silicic, phosphoric, sulphuric, and other acids,) than on its organic constituents, such as humus or decaying vegetable matter : for all organic matter in soU, whether that soil be naturally good or bad, is sooner or later exhausted by the growth of plants ; and if the supply is not kept up, the soil reverts to its original state, except in so far as it may have been improved mechanically by draining, levelling, shelter, &c. 10. Plants absorb their carbon chiefly in the form of carbonic acid, and not, as was supposed till lately, solely in the form of a solution of humus. 11. Plants derive their carbonic acid principally from the atmosphere in the form of carbonic acid gas ; and the chief use of humus or mould in the soil, is to combine with the oxygen of the atmosphere, and thus to supply an atmosphere of carbonic acid to the roots. Hence the inutility, and often dead loss, of burying putrescent manure to such a depth as to exclude it from the air, and the more immediate return made by manure spread on the surface of the ground among the leaves of plants, as in manuring meadow lands, and top-dressing spring crops of corn, or artificial grasses. 12. The process by which carbonic acid is generated by oxygen from humus, de- pends on the soil being permeable to air and moistiire ; and hence one of the principal uses of draining and pulverisation. 13. Alkalies are the most important inorganic constituents of soils, and when a soil has been exhausted of them by cropping, no manure that does not contain alkalies will restore their fertility for agricultural plants. 14. The poorest soils are almost invariably those which contain least alkalies and al- kaline earths. 15. Animal manures contain a much greater proportion ofthe inorganic constituents of plants, than vegetable manures ; and the most powerful of animal manures are those of carnivorous or omnivorous animals ; for example, of the human species. 16. The most valuable part of manure is ammonia, from which plants derive their nitrogen, which, though formed only in small quantities in plants, is yet essential to the ripening of their seeds ; and hence the great value of urine. 17. Next to ammonia, the most valuable manure is potash, which in the form of sili- cate is the principal constituent in the straw of wheat. 18. In consequence of knowing the ingredients which constitute a good soil, all lands the slope of the surface of which is not so great as mechanically to prevent their being readily cultivated, may, by the addition of the ingredients wanting, and by proper culture, be raised to the highest point of production that the climate in which they are situated will admit of. 19. To know what can be effected in the worst soils in any given climate, it is ne- cessary to have a conception of what can be done on the best soils in such a climate: Twelve boUs (48 Winchester bushels) per statute acre is not an uncommon crop in the best soils and situations in the Lothians ; and less than 10 bolls (40 bushels) per acre is not considered a full crop. The average produce of wheat in England and Wales, however, is only .2^ bolls, or 26 bushels, per acre I It is believed by most scientific agriculturists that every soU and situation in . Britain, capable of growing wheat at all, is capable of growing from 8 to 10 bolls or sacks (32 to 40 bushels) per acre, if properly cultivated. 20. Next to animal manures, the most important ingredient that can be added to soils is the ash of plants, because it contains all their saline constituents. 21. Saline manures not only supply food, but, acting as stimulants, enable plants to derive more food from the soil and the atmosphere than they otherwise would do. (^Chatterly in PhU. Mag. 1843.) 22. Plants containing the smallest quantity of alkaline salts flourish in the greatest variety of soils, and the contrary. 23. The oflice of food is two-fold : to supply the body with nutriment or flesh, and to supply heat and fet. * 24. Only those substances can supply flesh which contain nitrogen; and starch, sugar, gum, and other substances which contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, without nitrogen, only supply heat and fat. Hence neither pigs nor human beings who live chiefly on potatoes can derive flesh from that kind of food, without the addition of milk, or some other animal matter, or of corn, pulse, or meal of some kind which contains gluten. Hence the Irishman's cow is as essential to his existence as his potato ground. 25. Hence a knowledge of the chemical constituents of plants is useful, not only in INTRODUCTION. 1281 oscertaimng the manures proper for being applied to ihein, but also for knowing theii application to the feeding or fattening of animals. Hence, also, no system of agriculture or horticulture can be considered complete which does not give an analysis of the chemical constituents, not only of the plants of cultivation, but of the weeds of the locality. In a word, the chemical constituents of every individual plant are just as essential to be known as its physiology and systematic character ; and indeed a great deal more so. A century hence, or in less time, it will be wondered by scientific cultivators how the present generation could go on without this knowledge. 2S. Warmth, to a certain extent, is equivalent to food ; and hence the great benefit derived fi-om sheltering cattle during winter. 27. Exercise is for the most part a waste of food, and hence the advantage of stall- feeding cattle, and confining pigs and poultry in a limited space ; it does not follow fi'om this, however, that confinement should be carried so far as to render the flesh of the animals unwholesome. 28.- In the case of milch cows, rich pastures, or other food abounding in carbon, produce the greatest proportion of butter ; while poor pastures, by requiring the cow to take more exercise, increase the proportion of the caseous part of the milk. " - 29. The various new manures which have been introduced are either of organic or inorganic origin. The action of inorganic manures, such as nitrate of' soda, common salt, &c., is not uniform, and in some cases is not perceptible; but the action of organic manures, such as guano, poudrette, rape or oil-cake, and vegetable alkalies, such as potash, is certain, and always beneficial if not applied in too great doses. 30. All clays contain potash, and also all soils produced from rocks' containing felspar, zeolite, albite, and mica ; and hence one cause of the value of basaltic and granitic soils. 31. The application of burnt lime to clay, independently of other effects which it may produce, liberates potash. 32. The action of burnt clay (which generally contains oxide of iron) to soils, inde- pendently of its mechanical properties, is as an absorbent of ammonia from the atmo- sphere. 33. The addition of clay to sandy soils containing calcareous matter, increases the quantity of potash which they contain ; but if the sand contains no calcareous matter, it merely improves their mechanical texture. 34. The ammonia of liquid or other manures may be fixed by gypsum or sulphuric acid ; or, in default of these it, may be prevented from evaporating by mixing with soil or diluting with water. In general the most convenient and economic mode for the British agriculturist is to mix it with farm-yard manure, or, what is better in our opinion, plenty of surface soil. 35. The chief practical advantages which have as yet resulted from the recent dis- coveries in chemistry, as applied to agriculture, are, the employment of saline manures, and the recognition of their importance, the mixing of azotised (nitrogenised) with unazotised (unnitrogenised) food in feeding and fattening cattle, and the procuring greater warmth for the domestic animals of the farm. 36. The most useful practices which have obtained extended diffusion within the last ten years are, the frequent drain system, long practised in Essex and Suffolk, but recently brought conspicuously into notice by Mr. Smith of Deanston, the use of draining- tiles instead of stones, the use of the subsoil plough, and of the cultivator as a sub- stitute for the plough in various cases, the greater eagerness to procure improved implements, machines, and buildings generally, the mixture of soils, the greater value set on urine and liquid manure gener^y, the use of single-horse carts, the selection of improved varieties both of animals and plants, and the employment of land agents con- versant with agriculture, instead of lawyers or others who have little or no agricultural knowledge. The details which have led to the above summary wUl be found in Liebig's Organic Chemistry, and Animal Chemistry ; Johnston's Agricultural Chemistry ; Trimmer's ' Practical Chemistry for Farmers and Landowners ; Solly's Mural Chemistry; Dr. Play- fMr's Lectures on rearing and feeding Cattle, published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. iv. ; Donaldson's Manures, Agricultural Grasses, and General Management of Landed Property, &c. The greater part of this Supplement consists of extracts from these works ; and from the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, the British Farmer's Magazine, the Gardener's Chronicle, and the Gardener's Magazine. J. C. L. Bayswater, August, 1843. 4 N CONTENTS. Page Persia - . - 1290 India . - - 1290 Australia . . - 1291 Egypt - . - 1293 Morocco - - - 1294 Cape of Good Hope - - 1294 America - - 1294 PART I. AGEICULTTJEE CONSIDEEED AS TO ITS ORIGIN, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE, ETC, Page Italy .... 1283 France - - 1283 Holland - - 1285 Russia and Poland - -1288 Sweden - - - - 1289 Britain - - - - 1289 Asiatic Turkey - - - 1290 PART n. AGRICnLTITRE CONSIDERED AS A SCIENCE AND AN ART - 1295 BOOK n. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WITH EEFEEBNCE TO AGEICULTUBB - 1299 BOOK in. THE MINERAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHEEB WITH EBFBEENCE TO AGEICULTCEB. Chap. I. — Earths and Soils - - - . 1304 Chap. II. — Manures - - ., - 1305 BOOK rv. MECHANICAL AGENTS EMPLOYED IN AGEICULTDEE. Chap. I. — Implements of Manual Labour used in Agriculture - - 1311 Chap. II. — Implements and Machines drawn by Beasts of Labour - 1315 Chap. III. — Edifices used in Agriculture - - . 1327 BOOK V. THE OPEEATIONS OP AGEICULTUEB - - 1337 PART ni. AGRICtnLTTJEB AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. BOOK n. GENERAL AEEANGEMENT OP LANDED ESTATES - 1338 BOOK ni. IMPEOVING THE CULTUEABLE LANDS OP AN ESTATE - 1343 PART rv. STATISTICS OP BRITISH AGRICULTUEE. BOOK I. PRESENT STATE OP AGEICULTUEB IN THB BRITISH ISLES - 1366 Chap. IV. — Bibliography of British Agriculture, from 1832 to August 1S43 . 1372 SUPPLEMENT ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. PAET L AGRICtJLTTJEE CONSmEEED AS TO ITS OKIGHN, PROGRESS, AKD PRESENT STATE, ETC. (p. 4.) Italy. 7981. — 274. AnoU, not fit for the table, but useful for burning and other purposes, has been obtained by expression from the fruit (keys) of the NegHndo /raxinifdlia. The experiment is of some importance with reference to Britain, as it shows that in all probability an oil may be obtained from the keys of the common sycamore, j^^'cer FseOdo-Pl&tanus ; and also from the common maple, ^'cer campestre. See the details respecting the oil obtained from the negundo in Gard. Mag., 1842, p. 40. 7982. — 288. The olive, we are informed by Manetti, is propagatecfby cuttings, by seedlings, and by griifting. By cuttings is the most valuable mode when the soil is good, as the plants come soonest into a bearing state. Where the soil is poor, and especially if it be rocky, seedlings are to be preferred, be- cause they send down their tap-roots into the crevices of rocks, and thus derive nourishment and support, where plants raised from cuttings would not live. In Tuscany, the olive is very generally raised from seed, and in many situations it is grafted. In Lombardy, on the Larian Hills, trees raised from cuttings are always used, and this is the reason Manetti alleges why these trees have their trunks perpendicular to the sides of the hill, instead of perpendicular to the horizon. Some interesting discussion on this very singular appearance will be found in Ga/fd. Mag., vol. viii. p. €8. to 70. 7983. — 299. The cause oj malaria, in this and other pestilential districts of Italy, has generally been supposed to be the decomposition of vegetable matter on a moist surface. This, however, is to confound the malaria with the marsh fever. The former is now thought to proceed from a very different cause, and to be analogous to what in England is called the hay fever. It is found that, while the corn or hay crop is in a growing state in the pestilential districts, they are as healthy as any part of Italy ; but that the moment the crop is cut dowU, or withers on the ground, the malaria commences, and continues through the autumn and winter, till vegetation becomes vigorous in the following spring. The neigh- bourhood of Rome, where malaria is so prevalent, " is very hilly, dry, and entirely without vegetation. For days together, one sees nothing but desolate dried-up cornfields without trees, bushes, or wood of any description. In early times, Rome was surrounded by extensive sacred woods, which were not suf- fered to be destrojfed. At that period malaria was unknown, though intermitting fevers were well known in the Pontine marshes." {Jameson's Journ., vol. xvii. p. 167.) In several districts in England, the country people are liable to attacks of fever immediately after the removal of the hay crop, some in- dividuals much more BO than others. This may be considered as a species of malaria of a comparatively mild description. See on the agriculture of Italy generally, an extract from the agronomical part of the Alii delta Terza Ritmione degli Scienziati Italiani, Florence, 1842, 4to., in the Gardener's Chronicle for 1842. " No kind of potatoes has hitherto succeeded in Tuscany, owing to the great drought and heat, which destroy the herbage in the month of August. In mountainous situations they succeed better ; but they are for the most part grown only in gardens, where they can be constantly watered. The sweet potato. Convolvulus Batdtas, succeeds much better, as it naturally can stand a greater degree of heat, while its copious herbage covers the ground, retains moisture, and affords a superior fodder for cattle." (G. C, 1842, p. 679.) France. "7984 380. The backwardness qf agriculture in fVance *Ms mainly attributable to the very partial spread of education in the rural districts, there being out of 40,000 communes, according to M. Dupin, 15,000 destitute of teachers; and out of 25,000,000 inhabitants who have reached a teachable age, 10,000,000 only are able to read. Now as the small independent proprietors of land amount to 4,000,000* and their families to 12,000,000 or 14,000,000 more, it is obvious that this state of ignorance must, under such circumstances, be attended with far more prejudicial effects upon production than if it existed in England, where the labourers are under the orders of about 32,000 large proprietors, and the success of cultivation consequently does not so mainly depend upon the general diffusion of knowledge. It i^ grati- fying to find, however, that the large proprietors in France are universally desirous for the instruction of the rest, and that societies, rural schools, and model farms have been established under very favour- able auspices." iFor. Quart. Rev. 1829.) A national system of public instruction was established in 1832, and the various details will be foundinthe JwWrfm dela SociHipou^V Instruction E'Umentaire, for that year. An account of the present state of French agriculture, and of the state establishments in that country, such as sheep farms, model farms, veterinary schools, haras or studs, will be found in the Journal of the Agricultural Society of Engltmd, vol. i. for 1839, p. 262. ; and the statistics of French agri- culture is given in the same work, vol. i. p. 411. 798.5. — 381. Present state cf French agriculture. In UAgronome, a monthly agricultural journal Sublished in France, at the low price of five francs a year, it is stated in the first number, published in. anuary, 1833, that in France " the colonies afford no longer the means of making a fortune ; the con- vents do not provide a remedy for the want of foresight of parents ; the system of peace, which is every day procuring more advocates among the most highly civilised of the people, no longer offers a brilliuit 4 N 2 1284 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. sufilement. prospect in the profession of arms ; commerce and manufacture Bult only particular characters ; the sciences and the professions only minds privileged by nature ; while agriculture alone offers unlimited scope for employment and for improvement." After enlarging on this subject, the writer goes on to state, that the business of a farmer must no longer be (hat of men «'ho are not fit for any thing else j but it must be adopted by men of education, and pursued assiduously and systematically. It appears, from this and other French publications, that extraordinary exertions are making in France for the ter- ritorial improvement of that country. Among other points to which the attention of the cultivator is directed, is the necessity of feeding his men well, np less than his horses. As a proof of the advantafres of doing 60, it is stated that when Messrs. Manby and Wilson, from England, established their iron worlis at Charenton, the French workmen were not able to support labour for the same number of hours as the English did, till they adopted, like them, the practice of eating butcher's meat. Exactly the same thing has been proved respecting the Irish labourers, as compared with the English, and British soldiers, as compared with those of other nations. . ,. .. ^ ^ 7986. AgrictUtural Societies in France. This, and some or the following paragraphs are taken irom a very interesting article, understood to be by Professor Macculloch, which appeared in the Foreign Quarterly Review, just after the historical part of our 2d edition of this Encyclopedia was printed. " The Agricultural Society of the Seine and Oise,- which comprises many extensive landed proprietors, bestows, annually, medals and prizes on the small cultivators who turn their hereditary estates to the most profit, and upon the hired labourers and servants employed in large farms, who perform their work with the greatest intelligence and fidelitv. A model-farm has been lately established at Roville, in the Valley of the Meurthe, about six leagues from Nancy, by M. de Dombasle, a skilful practical agricul- turist. It comprises clay, sand, and gravelly soil ; and the proper modes of culture are applied to each. By the improvements in ploughs and instruments of husbandry, live horses and nine oxen now accomplish at Roville more work than thirty-five beasts of burthen used to do on the same ground, With the aid of the Scotch threshing-machine, M. de Dombasle beats out, with three horses, three hectolitres and a half (upwards of an imperial quarter) of wheat, and other grain in proportion. Potatoes are cultivated with attention, and a distillery has been established for extracting their spirit. M. de Dombasle has proved what will,, we think, excite some surprise, that land of a middling quality, planted with potatoes for fat- tening beasts, will be more productive than the richest meadow. No stronger encomium can be made on the skill of M. de Dombasle, than the fact that he has more than doubled the produce of the land: the average annual return of Roville being 59 francs per hectare (of 2J acres), while that of the rest of the department of the Meurthe is but 28^ francs per hectare. At Moncey, in the department of the Moselle, the model-farm of M. Bouchotte is famous for its breed of horses," {For, Quart. Rev.) 7987.' " The Agricultural Society ofStrasburg in 1828 commenced an experimental plantation of fruit and forest trees in Alsace ; a want observable not merely in that department, but throughout the whole country, except, perhaps, Normandy and parts of Britany. In Fran eh e- Com te, and the department of Doubs, the government has taken the breeding of cattle under its peculiar care, and established annual exhibitions and prizes. In these parts, as also in Montbeliard, the useless practice of feeding off the land is beginning to be discontinued, it being ascertained that a hectare of inclosed ground produces one third more if not subjected to this ceremony. The arrondlssement of Montbeliard has abandohed the system of fallows in use in the rest of the department, and cultivates with success both flax and the turnip. In Franche-Comt§ the very beggars are becoming industrious; they go about collecting manure till they have accumulated a certain quantity, when they take it to a proprietor, who allows them in return to plant on his soil, and receive the crop of a proportionate number of potatoes. In Picardy, the increase of the sheep-flocks, and the improved system of manuring, have added to the fertility of the soil. At Nouvison, in the department of the Aisne, the farms have been ornamented by hedges and plantations, in imitation of the adjoining country of Hainault. It is here that the making of sabots, and wooden utensils called bois-jolis, is chiefly carried on ; the supply sent to Paris annually Is valued at 17,000^. At Orlgny, in the neighbourhood of Vervins, the children of the husbandmen are employed in fan- making, baskets, &c. of willow, to the value of 40,0002. per annum. In Champagne, the example of M. Richardot, a small proprietor, has given an impulse to planting, and to a systematic irrigation of the land." {Ibid.) 7988. — 390 & 414. " The culture qf the vine is a department of their husbandry of which the French have, perhaps, a right to boast more than any other people. The same grape, when tried in countries under the same latitude as the south of France, has never been brought to an equal degree of perfection. 'ilae plantations of vines have been and are subject to severe discouragements, but have, nevertheless, increased very considerably over their extent in 1789. In thatyeartheir surface was estimated at 1,200,000 hectares of land ; in 1808, it amounted to 1,600,000 ; and in 1824, it covered 1,728,000 hectares. In 1828, the vines occupied about 2,000,000 cultivators, and their annual produce was computed at 40,000,000 hectolitres ; the value of which, at fiaeen francs per hectolitre, is 600,000,000 francs, or about 24,000,000^ sterling English money." {Ibid.) 7989. — 391. The olive climate. Strabo (lib. iv.) says, that the line of the Cevennes, in Gallia Narbo- nensis, was the northern limit, beyond which the cold prevented the growth of the olive. The limit is still in the same position. {Jmneson's Jour., April, 1834, p. 233.) 7990. — 398 & 399. The breed qf cattle and sheep in France, " with the exception of parts of French Flanders, Normandy, and Alsace, is yet very degenerate. But their improvement, like that of mankind, depends upon their rearing ; and, if the example of the Roville and other studs be followed, there seems no reason to doubt that the French horses may one day equal those of England or Spain. The company lately formed for recovering the 4,000,000 hectares of marsh land now uncultivated, and converting them into pasture, will greatly further the amelioration of the cattle, as well as the augmentation of their numbers. 2,500,000 horses, 7,000,000 horned cattle, and 42,000,000 sheep and goats, are certainly not a large stock for a country covering 53,500,000 hectares of land. The most experienced of the agricul- turists have shown that tne fleeces may be brought to almost any desired degree of perfection. When the merinos of Spain first appeared in France, the partisans of the coarse mattress-wool were continually alleging that Spanish sheep would never thrive in the French climate; their success has, however, been complete. The celebrated M. Ternaux (deceased in 1832) imported wools of what are called the electoral race, and placed the goats of Thibet in his park of St. Ouen, near Paris. The rugged declivities of the Jura have been adorned with the magnificent naz breed of MM. Girod and Perrault, and their rains are now attesting in New Holland the march of science in the management of flocks in France." (For. Quar. Rev.) ^ 7991 . — 403. " The French pigs, although they have excited many facetious observations from travellers, and have not unfrequently been compared to greyhounds, may be fattened, we are assured, at a small expense ; and the method of doing this is now beginning to be better understood. The Chinese and English breeds are also getting into use for crossing. The fact that 4,000,000 pigs are killed yearly in France, shows of how great importance they are to the small agriculturist " {Ibid) 7992. —407. The most extensive of the branches of French agriculture, as connected with the mnnufac- lures, are the culture of beet-root for sugar ; of oleaginous plants, particularly at Lille and Dijon -and of the mulberry for silk-worms, in Languedoc and the southern provinces. It has been the habit in England to consider the former of these as merely a fanciful amusement of national vanity ■ but it appears by the amount of its consumption (between 7,000,000 and 8,000,000 lbs. a year), that at all events it is become an article of some practical magnitude." (Ibid.) The process of obtaining sugar from the beet-root has been given in all its details, with a view to adopting the practice in Britain, in the Brit Farm. Mag., vols, x, & xi. for 1836 & I&37. r » r , u lue jsrtt. SUPPLEMENT. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. iQSS Holland. 7993. — 426. The greatest part qf the land in Holland^ It ia obeerved by Mr. Alton, of Hamilton, being under the level of tlie sea, and of the great rivers and canals which intersect that country, and, conse- quently, being unfit for arable culture, is generally kept in meadow. " Part of the grass produced is cut for hay, to supply the stock in winter and spring; and the rest of it Is eaten off by a few sheep and horses, but chiefly by cows. Some of the cows are fattened for the shambles, but most of them are kejjt as dairy stock. In those parts where the surface of the ground is above the level of the water, it is cropped with wheat, rye, rape, beans, oats, flax, hemp, and |)otaloes : and even where the soil is a little lower than the level of the sea and rivers, part of it is dug up in some places, and cropped with potatoes, hemp, &c. But the greatest part of North and South Holland is so often overflowed with water, as to render it improper to raise winter wheat crops to a great extent." {Quart. Jour. qfAgr., vol. iv. p. 328.) — The soil " bemg generally rich, the herbage is luxuriant ; but, owing to the moist condition of the land, which is frequently inundated in winter, the herbage it produces is rather coarse, and many moist plants arise from the richer natural grasses." (Ibid.) 7994. There are few large estates fn Holland, and " but few large farms. The land being remarkably level, it is generally divided and subdivided by ditches, or narrow canals, that receive the surface water, and serve the purposes of a fence.** (Ibid.) 7995. — 428. The farm-houses in Holland " are of dimensions suited to the extent of the land in the farm, and they are more or less elegant or comfortable, as the wealth or taste of the occupant may dic- tate i but they very much resemble each other. They are generally of only one story in height, but placed on so broad a base, as to afford accommodation not only for the boor, or farmer, and his family, but also their live stock, dairy, cheese-house, threshing-floor, the whole crop, and fodder for cattle. In short, the whole farmstead is frequently comprehended under one roof. Besides a kitchen, in which the family sit and eat, as well as cook their food, and from which they can see their cattle during winter and spring, these houses contain at least one elegant and well- furnished room, with a bed-room or two, into which they seldom enter, except on days of festivity. Their kitchens are much more tastefully fitted up than those of the farm-houses in Scotland. They have a stove of an elegant figure, which is kept wonderfully clean. The wall near to the fire-place is covered with plates of flowered earthenware ; and the mantel- piece is richly, though rather heavily, fitted up. There are some concealed beds and closets in this part of the building ; while a pump-well, and a horse-gin for washing and churning the butter, are both at hand, near the centre of the building. The floor of the kitchen generally consists of marble ; the rest of the building is of brick. The gincourse is laid with sand, and is covered with boards when the horse is not in yoke. The whole building is roofed with tiles, and the roof rises in a somewhat pyramidal form. The walls are generally built of brick, but sometimes of mud or boards ; but the roof is supportf d on frames of wood, round which the walls form only a covering. There is no urine tank as in Belgium. Indeed, little attention seems to be paid to manure in Holland, probably on account of the soil being naturally rich." (Ibid.) 7996. The cow byre is " paved with hard bricks, or clinkers, as they are termt-d, set on edge ; and the stakes to which the cows are bound are made to be removed in summer, when the cattle are turned out to pasture. A passage before the cow's head is convenient for giving them their meat, and a trough of clean water is placed before the cows, from which j:hey can drink at pleasure. The water is let o£f once a day by means of a plug, and a new supply from the well pumped into the trough. A passage behind the cows, serves to remove the dung." (Ibid., p. 330.) 7997- Dutch cows. " The Vriealand and Grdningen cows are the largest and most esteemed races in Holland. They are short-necked, broad and deep-chested, deep bodied, and broad-backed, with well- made limbs, fine small horns, and stand well upon their feet The greatest number of these cows are either black or white, or dark brown and white." (Highland Soc. Trams., vol. x. p. 169.) 799S. The general practice in Holland is, " that the cow should calve in her second year. The bull is employed when it is two years old, and is fatted and sold to the butcher when four or five years old, and the cow at seven or eight. Some cows are, however, kept for milking till the tenth year." (Ibid.) 7999. The most improved method of treating the calf in Holland. " It is immediately after its birth taken from the cow, put in a separate place, and laid on dry straw. A little salt is given, and the tongue and mouth are rubbed with it. It is also rubbed clean with straw. After the lapse of six or eight hours, the first beasting of the mother cow, diluted with one third water, is given to the calf to drink, and this treatment is coniinued for some days, the liquid being given thrice a day. Thereafter, during two or three weeks, they give the calf the milk as it comes from the cow, diluted with one fourth water, in which now and then a small handful of salt is put ; then buttermilk is gradually ^iven, and it is supplied with hay; at the age of ten weeks it is brought out into the meadow, where it is also supplied with skimmed milk, buttermilk, or whey. In this way each farmer raises the proper number of heifer calves to fill up vacancies ; but calves fattened for sale have milk from the cow three times a day. For some da^s after calving the cow is milked thrice a day, after which they return to the usual practice of milking twice a day." (Ibid.) 8000. Treatment of milch cows in Holland. " The cows are turned out to grass generally by the end of March, or the beginning of April, They are, when first sent out, furnished with a very thick cloth of tow, covering the back and aides, from the shoulders to the tail, to prevent diseases from cold. They remain out, uight and day, about thirty weeks. In the winter months the general food is hay, and most farmers give their cows nothing else : distillery grains are sometimes given, when they can be obtained. At the great establishment of Baron Van Palink, near Leyden, boiled beans, with rape cake, spread over the hay, were given at night, and ground linseed cake in the morning, which, it was stated, enabled the cow to give more and better milk than hay alone. Raw potatoes and dry linseed cake are also sometimes given, and most farmers give the buttermilk, either diluted with water or not, to the cows, as well as to the calves and pigs. Mangold-wurtzel is also given, but turnips never." (Ibid.) 8001. The byres or cow-houses in Holland " are generally lofty, airy, paved with large square bricks [Aiton says " clinkers," see \ 7996.3, and kept perfectly clean. The roof is generally about ten feet high. There are no racks or mangers. The cows stand in two rows, generally facing the centre, and sometimes the sides of the byre, along which is a brit'k pavement slightly elevated in the middle. On the edges next the cows, and^ on a level with them, ia a trough, perfectly clean, into which the meat or drink is put, and the hay laid down. Each cow has about five feet of space, and is tied to a railing of three small posts in front, which separate them from one another. There is a little straw used ,for bedding : on the Elace where the cows stand, there is a hollow part at the fore feet, into wliich are now and then put dry orse dung and straw ; at the hind feet, generally nothing is laid but a little dry sand. From the narrow.. ness of the space divided into stalls, the back always projects so far as to cause the dung droppings to fall into a gutter about eighteen inches deep, and eighteen inches wide, which is regularly and carefully swe) t and cleaned, so that there is very little trouble in clearing away and collecting the manure. The cows are always kept quite clean ; and, to prevent the tail occasioning filth, the lower end is always tied up by a string attached to the ceiling." (Ibid.) 8002. Process qf milking in Holland. _" The cows are always milked by the men, and the butter and cheese made by the women. One man is considered necessary for every ten cows. At Ter Leide, the well-managed dairy establishment of Baron Van Falink, there are ninety milch cows, nine men, and a Boerinn (or female farmer), the maker of the butter and cheese, who has a female assistant. At Klinken- burgh, near Sasenheim, there are forty cows ; the farmer and three grown sons do all the milking, and his wife and one fem^e sem.nt make all the butter and cheese. At Schoote, near Haarlem, there are 4 N 3 128S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. tWADty cows ; the father and son milk, and the wife and a female servant make the butter and cheese." ^Highland Soc. Trans., vol a.) ^ , ^ ^ 8003. Butter. " There are three distinct kinds of butter manufactured m Holland ; the outter made from the cream, when the cow is at grass in the summer, called grass butter ; the butter from the whey of the new milk cheese, called whey butter ; and the butter made in winter, when the cows are in the cow-houses, called hay butler." (Joid.) ,,.,,, 8004. Grass butter. " The cows being carefully milked to the last drop, the copper pitchers lined with brass, or pitchers entirely of brass, which contain the milk, are put into an oblong water-tight pit, which they call a roelbak, built of brick or stone, about six feet in length, three feet in breadth, and two feet in depth, into which cold water had been previously pumped ; there being generally a pump at one end of the pit. In this pit or cooler, the pitchers stand two hours, this milk being frequently stirred. The cool- ing process is of great advantage in causing the cream to separate rapidly and abundantly from the milk. After this, the milk, being run through horse-hair sieves or drainers, is put into the flat milk-dishee, which are of earthenware, copper, or wood, as will be afterwards described ; it remains in a cool dairy or cellar for twenty-four hours. It is then skimmed, and the cream is collected in a tub or barrel. Wlien soured, if there is a sufficient quantity from the number of cows, they churn every twenty-four hours, the churn being half filled with the soured cream. A little boiled warm water is added in winter, to give the whole the proper degree of heat ; and in very warm weather the cream is first cooled in the roelbak or cooler. In many small farm-houses, or when the cows give little milk, the milk is not skimmed ; but the whole, when soured, is put into the churn. Thebutter, immediately after being taken out, is put into a shallow tub called a vloot, and carefully washed with pure cold water. It is then worked with a slight sprinkling of small salt, whether for immediate use, or for the barrel ; there being none made entirely without salt, as in Scotland. When the cows have been only eight or ten days out, the diflerence between grass and hay butter is 6lio;htly perceptible ; but the grass butter, after the cows have been three weeks at grass, is delicious. This new butter is highly esteemed in Holland: it is made in fanciful shapes of lambs, pyramids, Ac, or stuck with the flowers of the polyanthus, &c., and sells very high. If intended for barreling, the butter is worked up twice or thrice a day with soft fine salt, for three days, in a flat tub, there being about two pounds of this salt allowed for fourteen pounds of butter ; the butter is then hard packed in thin layers into the casks, which casks are previously carefully seasoned and cleaned. These casks are always of oak, well smoothed inside ; and, before being used, the^ are allowed to stand three or four days, filled with sour whey, and are then carefully washed out and dried. Each cow, after being some time at grass, yields iUjout one Dutch lb. (17^ oz.) of butter per day." (^Ibid.) 6005. Hay butter " undergoes the same process as grass butter ; being, of course, the butter made in winter, when the cows stand in the cow-house. But, although inferior lu flavour and colour, it has none of the disagreeable taste which the turnip imparts to the winter butter of Britain." {Ibid.) 8006. Whey butter " is made from the whey of the new milk cheeses. The whey, being collected from the curd and the pressed cheese, is allowed to stand three days or a week, according to the quantity ; the cream is either skimmed off and ch'urned, or the whey itself is put into the churn, and the butter is formed in about an hour. In winter the butter obtained by this process is about one lb. per cow per week ; and in summer about one lb. and a half per cow per week." {Ibid.) 8007. Cheese. There are four kinds of staple cheese made in Holland : the round or bullet cheeses, called Edam (from their having been first principally made in that neighbourhood) ; Stolkshe (so called from the village of Stolkwyk), which are called in Britain, Gouda, and are flat, and broader and larger than the Edam, both kinds being made of unskimmed milk ; Leidsche or Leyden (being so called from this kind of cheese being principally made near Leyden), which is made of milk once skimmed ; and Graawshe, which is made m Vriesland, of milk twice skimmed. Both the latter kinds are called Kanter cheese in Britain, and are larger and flatter than the two first named." {Ibid.) 8008. Edam cheese. " The process of manufacture of the Edam cheese is as follows : — The rennet is put into the milk as soon as it is taken from the cow ; when coagulated, the hand, or a wooden bowl, is passed gently two or three times through the curd, which is then flowed to stand a few minutes ; the bowl or finger is again passed through it, and it is permitted to stand some minutes longer. The whey is taken off with the bowl, and the curd is put into a wooden form of the proper size and shape of the cheese to be made. This form is cut out of the solid wood by a turner, and has one hole in the bottom. If the cheese is of the small size (about 4 lbs.) it remains in this form about fourteen days. It is turned daily, the upper part, during this time, being kept sprinkled with about two ounces of purified salt of the large crystals. It is then removed into a second box. or form of the same size, with four holes in the bottom, and put under a press of about SO lbs. weight, where it remains from two to three hours, if of the small size ; and four to six hours, if of the large size. It is then taken out, put on a dry airy shelf in the cheese apartment, and daily turned for about four weeks, when Edam cheeses are generally fit to be taken to market. Alkmaar, in North Holland, is the great market for Edam cheese. It is not uncommon to see 800 farmers at this market, and 470,000 cheeses for sale on one day." {Ibid.) 8009. Gouda cheese. " This kind of cheese is also made from the milk, immediately on its being taken from the cow. After gradually taking off" the principal part of the whey, a little warm water is put upi>n the curd, which is left standing for a quarter of an hour. By increasing the heat and quantity of the water, the cheese is made harder and more durable. All the whey and water is then taken off, and the curd is gradually packed hard into a form, cut out by the turner, flatter and broader than the form for the Edam cheese. A wooden cover is placed over it, and the press, with a weight of about eight lbs., put upon it. It is here frequently turned, and remains under the press about twenty-four hours alto- gether. The cheese is then carried to a cool cellar, and put into a tub containingpickle, the liquid cover- ing the lower half of it. The water for the pickle is. boiled, and about three or lour handfuls of salt are melted in about thirty imperial pints of water. The cheese is not put in until the water is quite cold. After remaining twenty-four hours, or, at most, two days, in the pickle tub, where it is turned every six hours, the cheese, being first rubbed over with salt, is placed upon a board slightly hollowed, having a small channel in the centre to conduct the whey, which runs off into a tub placed at the one end. This board is called the zouttank, and several cheeses are generally placed upon it at a time. About'two or three ounces of the large crystallised salt is then placed upon the upper side of the cheese which is frequently turned : the side uppermost being always sprinkled with salt. It remains on the zouttank about eight or ten days, according to the warmth of the weather ; it is then washed with hot water rubbed dry, and laid upon planks, and turned daily, until perfectly dry and hard. The cheese-house is senerally shut during the day, but must be open m the evening, and early in the morning. Each cow at grass in Holland is calculated to give about three or four lbs. of new milk cheese per day " {Ibid ) 8010. Ranter cheese. " The skimmed milk is poured out of the stone, copper, or wooden milk-dishes. Into a tub or tubs, in which it remains to settle half a day. About the fourth part is gently poured over into a copper boiler ; which boiler, by the most careful farmers, is oiled with sweet oil, to preventburnine the miUt, or ^"ng it a singed taste. This is heated till the hand can hardly bear the heat" and then taken out and mixed witli the other three fourths, the whole being stirred about ; the rennet is then put in and when coagulated, the whey is taken out with a wooden bowl, the curd is hard worked and pressed with the hands, Mid then put into a cloth, the four comers being folded on the top, and the whev Dressed out. The curd is next put into abroad tub, caXled. a. porteltobbe, and hard worked, and trodden upon bv the bare feet ; for although there has lately been a plan introduced to obviate this disagreeable practice this is generally the mode used in making common or kanter cheese. The next process is to mix amoniJ the curd a shut handful of soft fine salt to every thirty lbs. of cheese. The curd is then put into a stron" rircular form (of staves, and hooped, about three inches thick, with holes bored in the bottom) with the SUPPLEMENT. HISTOtt^K OJb AGKICULTURE. 1287 cloth round it. It Btands In this form twenty-four hours, the cloth being taken off and wrung dry three or four tiroes a day during these twenty-four houra ; this form is placed upon a hand-barrow, or open standard, over a tub, which receives the whey ; a cross plank is laid over .the lid of the cheese form , and it is frequently pressed by the weight of the body. The cheese Is then taken out and put into a cheese- well, or form, equally strong, having a cover called a volgirt, and put under a heavy press, the weight being about 360 lbs., where it remains twenty-four hours more. After this process, or when taken out of the press, the cheese is washed, and in some places it is smoothened by rubbing it frequently with sour skimmed beastings preserved for the purpose ; it is then rubbed with a reddish-coloured substance, called kaasverfoT /caassmeer, which the apothecaries sell in Holland, for the purpose of giving it a smooth out- side; and good colour. The cheese is then put into a cool cheese house or cellar, and frequently turned, until brought to market. It is into this kind of common or kanter cheese that various spices are put, altliough few of the spiced cheeses come to this country. This operation takes place when the curd is put into the first form : the curd is put in in layers ; the first layer has no spices in it, but upon it is sprinkled some cummin seed, and then follow regular layers, with cloves intermingled, until the upper layer is placed which has no spices in it." {Highland Soc. Trans., vol. x.) SOU. Graawshe kaas, or inferior kanter cheese. " This inferior kanter cheese is made of milk twice skimmed, in Vriesland and Groningen ; and is prepared in a similar way to Leidsche, or the best com- mon or kanter cheese to which it is much inferior. The Dutch farmers reckon that thirty cows at grass will give from 100 lbs. to 200 lbs. of fine butter, and about 300 lbs. of kanter or common cheese, per week.*' (Ibid.) 8012. Dairies, or milk-houses. " There is great variety in the arrangements of the milk and cheese- houses ; but the most frequent form is this : — Between the dwelling apartments and the cow-house, and of the breadth of the house, is a square apartment for churning and other similar operations ; at one corner is the cooler, built of brick, as already described, and generally having a pump at one end, for the )>urpose of introducing the cold water to cool the milk. This apartment is airy, roomy, and paved with square bricks. Descending a few steps from it, is the milk-house, or rather cellar ; it is alwnys three or four steps below the level of the house, paved with brick, and having an arched ceiling, almost always of brick or stone, and two or four windows, according to size. The milk dishes, or pans, which are daily first hand-scrubbed and washed with boiling hot water, and then with cold, are ranged along the floor, (not on shelves), in such a way as each pan may be reached by the dairy-maid. The windows are opened or shut according to the state of the weather, to which particular attention is paid." (Ibid.) 8013. The ckeese-hofises are also generally cellars, and adjoining the milk-houses ; but in summer the byres are used for the Leidsche or kanter cheese ; the floor being kept quite clean. All tiie windows and doors being open, abundant air is afforded. In winter the windows ot the cheese-houses- are gene- rally kept shut } and, if any intense frost exists, they put in one of the wooden boxes, containing a pan with burning turf. The cheeses are placed in rows on the wooden shelves." (Ibid.) 8014. **■ The sweet and delicious flavour of the Hutch butter is said to be principally owing to the excel-' lence of the Dutch salt. The butter, though salted, is always well flavoured, and hardly tastes of that acrid quality which the muriate or sulphate of magnesia frequently imparts to butter in this country. This acridity will be found very obvious, when comparing the Dutch salted butter to the best salted butter of Britain. It appears that in the manufacture of salt more time is allowed for evaporation and crystallisation, and that the crystals are nearly an inch square In Britain the process ofevapor- ation is hurried on by artificial heat, so that the crystallisation Is never perfect. This is owing to our excise laws, which it is to be hoped will be removed, or regulated in such a manner as to admit of ap- plying the modem improvements in chemistry in this manufacture." (Ibid., vol. x. p. 184.) 8015. The great cleaidiness every vhere observable in the farmeHes of Holland is, "another cause of the general excellence of the dairy produce. This seems to be the result of a well-regulated division of labour. The men attend to milking and feeding the cows, and the women to making the butter and cheese. As to cleanliness, every dwelling-house is a model and a pattern ; the inhabitants seem to vie with each other on this point. The cow-house is pure and clean, not a particle of filth being to be seen in it ; the cows are as clean as if they were in a dining-room ; the milk and cheese-houses, and, in short, every part of the house, are free from dust and dirt of any kind ; the manure is placed at a convenient distance ftom the cow-house, behind the house, and every particle is carefully collected together. The whole apartments, even the byre and hay-house, are generally under one roof; and the cleanly system, and the admirable arrangements, give that comfort and pleasure which are too often wanting in Scot- land." {Ibid.) 8016. As an exan^ie of a Dutch dairy farmery, we copy the plan fig. 1139. In this figure " a is the kitchen or living-room of the family, during the greater part of the year; 6, a temporary apartment in which the family take their meals during the warmest weather in summer; c, the cow-house, in which the cows are seen from both apartments ; d, a large room used for various purposes ; e, bed-room;/, shed ; g, dairy ; h, dairy scullery ; i, cooler ; A, a place for drying cheese ; and i, hay and straw room in the centre of the building." The farmeries in Holland are generally, of one story, and thatched with reeds, one immense, lolty roof cover- ing the whole. The highest part of this roof is in the centre, over the hay and straw room. (Ibid.) Mr. Aiton of Hamilton, who also visited Holland with a view of studying its dairy husbandry, gives a similar account of the Dutch farm-houses. See § 7993. 8017. — 546. An account of Flemish husbandry is given by A . Thompson, Esq., in which the collection and preservation of manure is represented as the chief excellence of Belgian farm- ing. The tanks for liquid manure are built of brick, 4 or C to- gether, about 7 ft. deep, and each division from 7 ft. to in ft. long, and 6 ft. or 7 ft. wide. Liquid manures are chiefly bestowed on young brairds. " The whole spring they are constantly watering their braird with liquid manure, driving carts with barrels across their fields in every direction, and showering it upon their young crops." Field pasturing is unknown in Bra- bant, and the dung is kept in covered pits. (6. J. A., vol. vii. p. 174.) See also the Rev. W. L. Rham, on the agriculture of the Netherlands in the Journal qf the Agricultural Society , vol. iv. p. 43. 8018. — 567. The Agriculture of Prussia. The system of national education established in this kingdom in 1819 has been already mentioned, and the reader will find the details, which have reference to the manner in which agriculture is taught in the school gardens or fields, in Cousin's work already (§ 79. 81.) referred to. 8019.— 573* " The farmers about Bonn," says Williams, '• have neither a good plough, nor a gopd cart, and their hay-fork is like Neptune's trident." (JViUiams Travels, &c.) 8020 624. Screens or narrow bams are used in many parts of Camiola for hanging buck-whe-iC 4 N 4 11S9 t c e n e / ' TT ( 1 * 1 a =^ d e 1288 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT, upon. The ficreen la composed of two upright posts, twenty-feet in height. Thrpugb holes in tha upright posts, horizontal poles are placed, reaching from one upright to the other. On these poles, the buclc-wheat and other kinds of fodder are placed. A narrrow roof of boards covers the whole, passing from one upright to the other. The sheaves of buck-wheat are also sometimes fixed on an upright post. {CadelVs Travels, p. 24.) . „ . , ^ «. . . , „ 8021.— 625. Gourds are cultivated in considerable quantities in Camiola and Styria: cut in alices, they are given to the hogs and cows. {CadeWs Travels^ vol. i. p. 25.) In Hungary sugar has been lately made from them. 8022. The rural economy qf Schleswfg, Holstein, and Lauenburgh, has been given at length In the Journ. A. £., vol. i. p. 37., and of the agriculture of Denmark and Sweden by James F. W. John- ston, F. R. S. in the same work, vol. iv. p. 196. et seq. Russia and Poland. 8023.— 662. Roads in Poland. By far the best specimen of that kind of road usually called macadam- ised, for want of a more, explicative term, is to be found between Warsaw and Kalisz, a'distance of thirty- three and a half Polish,' or one hundred and fifty-six English miles. Throughout this distance it is uniformly hard, level, and as smooth as a billiard table, quite straight, planted with a double row of trees on each side, and with very tolerable inns at each post station. It is doubtful whether a better road is to be found in England ; certainly not on the Continent, except, perhaps, between Milan and Cremona, or even as far as Vicenza. The Warsaw road is perfectly new, and owes its existence to the grand duke Constantine, whose efforts to improve the internal communication of the country in every direction were incessant. One feature of the Polish road in question deserves notice, because it tends to give it the appearance of a carriage-road in a gentleman's park' kept in the highest order ; namely, the manner in which the sides are dressed all along with green turf, whicn looks like mossy banks, cut smooth, and per- fectly level. This method of flanking a macadamised road that has been cut through hills, or prominent undulations in the ground, ofTers, besides its neat appearance, a great advantage ; for it prevents, in a great measure, the carrying away of the loose earth and denuding of the roots of trees during heavy rains, both which inconveniences, very injurious to the road itself, take place when the sides are not covered with turf. {Granville's Russia, p. 580.) 8024. British Far?ners in Poland. Since the peace of 1814, some Scottish farmers have settled in. different parts of Poland, and chiefly in the neighbourhood of Warsaw. The soil and the climate are found much more favourable, both for agriculture and gardening, than might naturally be imagined. Though . the winte/s are more severe than they are at Edinburgh, yet the summers are much warmer, and corn and fruits ripen much sooner and better. The cucumber grows freely, and bears abundantly in the open air during the summer months. The estate or farm of Wilga, on the river of that name, a view of which is given in ^.1 140., consists of 1,800 acres, and was purchased by a near relative of the author in 1140 1832. The buildings consist of a dwelling- house (a), with a detached kitchen (Jb), a brewery (c), a dis- tillery (d), a machine for raising water to supply both (c), a corn-mill (/), sheds for feeding cattle (g), an ice-house (Jiy, in which ice is kept above ground by means of thick double walls and doors ; and large barns, a threshing-machine, coach-house, stabling and all other offices, including a carpenter's shop and house, blacksmith's shop and house, bailiflTs house, &c. Besides these there is a small colony of cottages for the common labourers. Behind the house there are a large garden and orchard, with summer-honse green-house, &c., the estate having been the propeity and residence of a Polish nobleman, considered a man of taste. The situation of this property is about thirty miles from Warsaw, in a flat country and there is good communication between it and that city, both by land and water. The soil is light in most places, but in others it is loamy. About half the surface is covered with wood, chiefly birch, poplar and Scotch pine, which is felled at stated intervals, and is floated down the Wilga and the Vistula to Warsaw, where it is sold as fuel. The culture pursued on the arable land is the convertible system of ] . turnips ■ 2. corn, chiefly barley and wheat ; 3. clover ; and 4 oats. The turnips and clover are consumed in the feeding-houses by milch cows, or cattle for the butcher. The com is either ground-into flour or malted and brewed into beer, or distilled into spirit ; for both of which there is an ample market at Warsaw, Butter and cheese are made, for which there is also a great demand. Pigs are fattened, but the Polish towns being chiefly occupied by Jews, and trade of every kind being chiefly in their hands, it is found that pigs cannot be driven to market, and sold there alive as in Britain ; but the carcasses are salted, or cured as bacon, and -sold in that state, to Christian consumers. The fattened cattle are sold by private sUppLKMENt. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. ■• isjsg contract to Jewish dealers, who dispose of them, either to their brethren in Warsaw, Cracow, and other towns ia Poland, where they are killed in the manner peculiar to the Jews ; or to Christian butchers either in Poland, Prussia, or Russia. Numbers are sent to Dantzic and other sea-port towns. An un- limited supply of manure may be obtained from Warsaw at present, though It cannot be expected that this will long continue to be the case ; but bones are abundant, not only in Warsaw, but all over the country, and the supply of this manure will, probably, for many years, exceed the demand. A crushing. mill has been, or is about to be, added to the corn or flour •mill on the estate. It is also in contemplation to establish a steam-boat between Wilga and Warsaw, which will add greatly to the rapidity of convey- ance between the two places. The flour might then be converted into bread, and the cattle, for Chris- tian consumption, slaughtered on the farm ; for it is chiefly by manufacturing farm produce, that it can be at all disposed of to advantage in such a country as Poland. The great drawback to farming in Poland, is the want of moral principle in the labourers, who require continual watching both to keep them at work, and from stealing and drinking ; but as this has arisen from the harsh treatment to winch, as slaves, they have been subject from their masters through many generations (see § 650.;, it may be diminished by kindness to the adults, and the education of the children. 8025.— 672. Food qf the peastmtry in Russia. Rye bread is the chief support of the peasants in the north of Russia; but, in order to save the rye flour, and to make it last the longer, the inhabitants, wlien compelled by necessity, mix with it fine ground oatmeal, the meal of buck-wheat, and the husks of the field mustard seed (^mkpis arvensis). Brandy is, in general, distilled in Russia from rye meal, with a more or less additional quantity of barley, oatmeal, and barley malt ; but very seldom from whoat, or buck-wheat. The Russians also distil brandy from potatoes, juniper berries, and S6rbus aucupkria, at all times with an addition of meal and malt. They distil, in Astrachan, a sort of French brandy from damaged wines, prunes, kernels of cherry-stones, and wild almonds (^Imfgdalus niina). Some of the distillers make use of the skin and stalks of pressed grapes, raisins, and the waste in sugar refineries, with which they make good brandy. To the worst and common sorts of brandy belongs the dram of Kamtschatka, of ZferacUum ^'Iphond^lium, and another used by the Kalmucks, made from sour distilled mare's milk, which is spirituous, but rather of a disagreeable flavour. {Com. Board. Agr., vol. i.) 8026. Agriculiure in Livonia. The country, before reaching Volima, offers a tolerable specimen of the present state of agriculture in this part of Livouia. Forests, both old and new, in considerable numbers, are met with here and there, succeeded by corn-fields ; barren heaths ; farm-houses, consisting of one or two wooden buildings, and a yard, in tolerably good condition ; small horses, and diminutive horned cattle ; no inclosures, except a kind of palisade, marking the divisions of property or protecting tha farm-houses from intrusion ; and extensive buildings serving as granaries to hold the crops. These are the most prominent agricultural features of the country. The Livonians have the reputation of being good farmers. {Granville's Russia^ p. 397.) 6027.— 673. Agricvltural products qf Russia. The hop is indigenous in the district of Petersburg ; a few are also cultivated in gardens, and the crop gathered the end of September. Hemp is sown about the middle of May, and pulled in the beginning of September. Flax is sown in the beginning of June, and pulled in the middle of August, Both these plants are grown only in small quantities for private use. Red clover is sown along with barley and oats, and cat the following year, about the end of June, and the second in September; the plants are frequently destroyed by the early frosts. The farinaceous plants grown in the district of Petersburg are the following : — Some winter wheat upon good soil, sown in the latter end of August and the beginning of September, is reaped about the middle' of August. Spring wheat is sown on newly cleared lands in the beginning of May, and reaped about the middle of August. Rye is sown, more extensively than any other grain, on most descriptions of soils, and in the latter end of July and the whole month of August ; it is reaped the latter end of July and the beginning and middle of August. Spring rye ie sown upon high and sandy ground in the beginning of May, and reaped the latter end of August. Barley is sown in the beginning and middle of May, and reaped about the middle of August. Oats are sown the latter end of April and beginning of May, and reaped from the middle of August to the beginning of September. Buck-wheat is sown upon high sandy lands in the month of May, and reaped in the beginning and middle of September. No oleaginous plants ar« cultivated, except the sesamum and the white mustard in a few gardens. The following are the leguminous plants of the same district: — White and gray peas are sown in the beginning of May, gathered green the latter end of July, and ripe the latter end of August. Beans are sown in the beginuing of May, and reaped in the middle of August: French beans are sown in gardens, -but they seldom do much good. {Com. Board Agr,, vol. i.) Sweden. 8028. — 688. General appearance qfihe country in Sweden. A bishop of Bergen is said to have given the name of Northern Italy to some districts of Norway and Sweden. The pine forests' are very beau- tiful, especially when the pale green of the young shoots contrasts with the older foliage. From the- appearance of some of these trees on lofty cliffs, it is easy to perceive how in alpine countries the descent of the roots of the pine and the mountain ash, through fissures, contribute to the splitting of the rocks. The Swedish milestones are raised on plinths to keep them above the snow. The roads, winding through extensive pine forests, are picturesque in the extreme. (Brooke's Travels in Sweden.) 8029. — 693. The cottages qf the peasants in Norway have double fronts. This additional protection renders them warm and secure against the blasts of winter. The manner of building these cottages is the same as in Sweden : and on the roof of each, a luxuriant crop of grass was generally growing^ though some were loaded with a' thick coating of pebbles, and above them were two or three large fragments of rock, to secure the whole from being blown away by the winter storms. (Brooke^s Travels, p. 105.) 8030. — 704. Stakes for drying newly-cut corn are also used in Sweden. They are generally made of young pine trees, eight feet long, about one inch and a half in diameter at the top, and four inches at the bottom. Both ends are pointed, and the thick end is let into the soil by the aid of an iron crowbar. The first sheaf is put on the stake with the root ends of the corn downwards, and the other sheaves, to the number of fifteen or sixteen, are placed in an inclining position. {Qitart. Joum. Agr,^ vol. iii. p. 638., and Professor Johnston in Joum. A. S. E., vol. Iv. p. 196.) Britain. 8031 — 800. TTie progress of agriculture in Britain, more especially in England, since the second edition of this Encyclopaedia was published in 1831, has been singularly rapid; though it must be acknowledged that it has hitherto been more in the direction of discussion than of aciual improved prac- tices ; the introduction of the latter require time. The first great stimulus to agricultural discussion in England appears to have been given by the Report to the Agricultural Committee by Mr. Shaw Lefevre, which was printed in 1836. In this Report the frequent drain system, introduced in Scotland by Mr. Smith, of Deanston (§ 8299.)> i^ mentioned as capable of reclaiming every acre of cold vn^.t land in the country, and raising it in a short time to a par witn the very best soils. According to Mr. Lefevre's idea, if this system were applied, whether with or without a corn law, the produce of Britain would become so abundant, that there would be no danger of prices rising for lialf a century to come. Mr. Lefevre counsels the British agriculturist to accede to a total repeal of the corn laws, and to stand on the field of free competition with all the world ; trusting to his improved skill and Imprpved mudes, to bis capital, and to the aptitude of the soils of his country for improvement, tu enable him to do so. 1290 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. In two years after the publication of this report, the Royal Agricultural Society of England was formed ; partly from the increasing interest taken in agriculture by the landed proprietors, but principally froai' their having observed and remarked on the great good eflfected by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. The idea of the Agricultural Society of England was first suggested by Lord Spencer at the dinner after the show of the Smithfield Club in the beginning of 1838, and a meetmg was held for that Eurpose on the 9th of May following, when the foundation of the Society was laid. Its progress since as been so extraordinary, that it now reckons upwards of 7,000 members, including all the great landed Eroprietors of England. The society holds annual meetings in different parts of England, as the High- ind Society does in Scotland ; and its journal, which is published quarterly, contains a ^reat number of Taluable communications from scientific men and eminent landed proprietors. The desire for scientific knowledge, mainly brought about by the British Association for the advancement of Science, has called forth several eminent chemists who have directed their attention to agriculture ; and in this the British Association have taken a prominent part. It is to this Association that we owe the volumes of Liebig on Vegetable and Animal Chemistry, which have thrown so much new light on the subjects of which they treat. The establishment of a Professorship of Agriculture in Oxford, and one also in the Univer- sity of Durham, have seconded the efforts of the Agricultural Society ; and much good continues to be effected by the model farms on the estate of Lord Ducie, in Gloucestershire, and by the lectures of Pro- fessor Henslow, and his exertions in various ways among the farmers of Suffolk. In a direct and practical view, perhaps the greatest service to agriculture, next to the frequent drain system, has been tiie introduction of new substances as manures, or the more frequent use of such as were previously little luiown. Among these maybe mentioned bones, guano, gas liquor, aod a variety of saline sub- stances, all of which, under particular circumstances, have been found to add materially to the produce of the soil. The Agricultural Society of England, like the sister society in Scotland, have wisely abstained from experimenting themselves, but have offered ample prizes for experiments made by others, and Professor Henslow has drawn up a scheme (detailed in his Letters to the Farmers of Sialic, 1843, 8vo.) by which the same experiment may be repeated in any number of places all over the country. Excellent works on the Chemistry of Agriculture have been published by Professor Johnston, of Durham, Mr. Solly, the Professor of Chemi8tr3r to the Horticultural Society; and important essays or treatises on some departments of tlie subject with reference to Agriculture, by Professor Daubeny, Dr. Madden, Dr. Lyon Flayfair, Mr. Trimmer, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Lymbum, and others ; and the stimulus given by these works and the societies mentioned, has given such an impetus to improvement, that there can be no doubt of its rapid progress for a long period to come. 8032. In Scotland, though the agriculture is far in advance of that of England, yet advantage has been taken of the new manures ; and the point in which the country was most deficient, the breeding of domestic animals, has received general attention, and the consequence has been great Improvement in this department. 8033. Ireland has established its Royal Agricultural Society, which continues the exertions begun in 1831. No one has contributed more to the improvement of the agriculture of small farms in Ireland than Mr. Blacker, of Armagh, whose ess^s on the subject ought to be in the hands of every proprietor in Ireland. (See Catalogue, and also Q. J. A., vol. v. p. 386.) 8034. — 801. In the literature qf Aericultzere, &s it may be supposed, considerable progress has been- made since 1831. The JiforAr Lane Express is the most popular fanner's newspaper in England ; but we have also the New Farmer's Journal. There is no paper of the kind in Scotland ; but in Ireland there is the Farmer's Gazette, and Journal of Practical Horticulture, a very excellent weekly paper. In England we have the Farjner^s Magazine^ the papers in which generally appear first in the Mark Lane Expi'ess j the British Farmer'' s MasaziTie, and the Jou/mal of the Agricultural Society of England. The only agricultural periodical in Scotland is the Quarterly Journal ^ Agriculture, -wYiicn coqIidmbs to maintain its high reputation. For the other works published since 1831, we must refer to the Catalogue in continuation of that given in the Bibliography of British Agriculture, p. 1206. As this Catalogue is arranged in the order in which the works were published, a glance over it will form a very good chronological history of agriculture from 1831 to the present time. Asiatic Turkey, 8035. — 861. On the agriculture of Asia Minor some interesting notices will be found in the Journal qf the Geographical Society/, vol. x. It appears that on the banks of the Lake Van, the drill husbandry has been practised from time immemorial, with rude, but yet ingenious implements. Persia. 8036. — 864. The general appearance of the country in Persia is characterised by its chains of rocky mountains, its long arid rivertess valleys, and its still more extensive salt or sandy deserts. The nortliern provinces form an extensive table land, which rises from a lower plain, and is interspersed with nume- rous clusters of hill, chains of rocky mountains, and barren deserts. The lower ground, under the name of Dushtistan, or the level country, exhibits a succession of sandy wastes, where the eye is occasionally relieved by a dark plantation of date trees, and a few patches of corn, in such places as are blessed with a freshwater rivulet or a copious well. On the banks of the Tigris this tract becomes more fertile. Where- ever water abounds, vegetation is most luxuriant; but the country generally suffer* from excessive drought. The mountains present masses of grey rock, and the only trees that are found in abundance are the tall poplar and stately chlmar (Pl&tanus orient&lis), and the fruit trees which surround every hovel. These hovels are clean and comfortable; and wages are high, while food is cheap. {Eraser's Persia^ Edin. Cab. Lib., vol. xv.) India. 8037 — 893. To give some idea of tfte present state of agriculture in India, Mr. W. Carey, one of the missionaries, states, in the Transactions qf the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, vol, ii. part 1., 1832, that, in many parts of the country, the same crop is invariably raised on the same groimd year after year ; hay is never cut till the grass has died or withered on the ground ; scientific rotation of crops is a subject to which Indian cultivators are strangers ; and the manure produced by animals is generally consumed for fuel. No attempt to improve stock appears ever to have been made in India : though there is every reason to believe that all the animals used in the husbandry of Europe are capable of as high a degree of improvement in India as they are in more temperate regions. The quantity of waste lands in India is said to be so large as almost to exceed belief. Extensive tracts on the banks of numerous rivers are annually overflowed, so that they produce little except long and coarse grass, seldom turned to any useful account. During the rainy season, these tracts are the haunts of wild buffaloes, which in the night come up from them and devour the crops of rice on the high lands. In the cold season, wild hogs, tigers, and other noxious animals, unite with the buffaloes in occupying these exten- sive tracts of alluvial soil ; which, though now so pernicious, might, by embanking and draining, be- come the richest lands m the country, and contribute greatly to the improvement of the climate. Similar observations might be made respecting immense tracts now wholly covered with wood, and producing nothing whatever to civilise man, but, on the contrary, proving a nuisance to the surrounding districts by affording a shelter to noxious ammals. The oppression of landowners, and petty officers, on the cultivator 1b bo great, that m some parts of the country no farmer can reasonably promise himself secu- stippLEMKNT. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. I29i: Htrfor a single night. "Thils," concludes Mr. Carey, "one of the finest countries tn the world, com-: prising almost every variety of climate and situation, diversified by hilla and valleys, intersected in every part by streams (most of which are navigable six months in the year, and some of them through the whole year afibrd every facility for carrying manure to the land, and every part of the produce to mar- ket), is, as far as respects its agricultural interests, in a state the most abject and degraded." (p. 10.) Tliis is a most forbidding picture ; but it is incident to all countries in^ a particular stage of their progress in civilisation. Time was when the low districts of England were ravaged by the wolves and bears from the mountain forests, and when the crops on the alluvial vales of her rivers were annually swept away, or at least greatly injured, by floods. As to oppression by superiors, and thieving from others, there will always be abundance of such evils, till manlund are brought to something like equalisation in point of knowledge, and consequently power ; till, in short,, the mass of society become fit for self-govern- ment. {Trans. Agr. Soc. qf India.) The potato has at length been effectually introduced into India, and as good potatoes are to be had in Calcutta as in London.. Baron Hiigel Introduced them into Cash- mere and Little Tibet. (G. C. 1842. p. 607.) A copious account o£ the agriculture of Hindostan, will be found in the Q. J A., vols. viii. ix. x. xi.)' Australia. 8038 1037. The whole territory of New South Wales, Br. Lang, writing in 1834, informs us, 'Ms divided, like that of Great Britam, into counties and parishes ; but these divisions are scarcely ever referred to in the common intercourse of colonial life.. Except in government deeds or legal docu- mentSv -the grand natural divisions of the country are the only ones recognised by the colonists." These divisions are the districts of the HawkesbUry, of Hunter's River,.Df Bathurst,.of Illawarra, and of Argyle. The district of the Hawkesbury, which is let out in small farms of from 30 to 100 acres each, has been long considered the granary of the colony, fVom the extreme fertility of its soil, though the system of agriculture practisi^d in it is as slovenly as can be well imagined. The surface of the ground is " for the most part merely scratched ; and nothing like a proper rotation of crops is ever dreamt of. Wheat, year alter year, for twenty years together, and sometimes wheat and maize in succession ofT the same ground, during the same year, is the Sangrado system of husbandry tliat prevails on the Hawkesbury." The district of the Hunter's River is let out in farms of from 500 to 2O0O acres each. ''Dairies are frequent throughout this extensive district; and large quantities of butter and cheese, of superior quality, are forwarded regularly by the steam-boats to Sidney." The vast plains of the Bathurst are chiefly tenanted by black cattle. and sheep, and the farms are generally 2000 acres each. This may be considered the wool district. The cultivated land of the Argyle district is almost all in pasture, but there are interspersed extensive tracts of the most barren country imaginable. The district of the Illawarra consists of a narrow ^trip of arable land of the first quality, let out to " small settlers, who cultivate grain, potatoes, pumpkins, &c. for the Sydney market, their produce being con- veyed to the capital by water m small coasting vessels." This is also the timber district, great numbers of the red and white cedar trees growing here, and that wood being generally used for cabinet and joinery work all over the colony. Besides these, there are several large tracts of pastoral and alluvial land,wbich cannot beproperly classed in any of the above-named districts; and a very great extent of country remains unexplored. The rich alluvial land on the banks of rivers Is called interval land. It is very productive, but is diflicult to clear. Norfolk Island has a soil of the richest vegetable mould, even to the tops of the highest hills, and appears well adapted for the culture of coffee, if not sugar. It is now (1834) occupied as a penal settlement for the colony of New South Wales. (I>r. Lang!s Historical and Statistical Account qf New South Wales, vol. i.) 8039. General aspect of the cowntry. The principal town, Sydney, is beautifully situated on Sydney Cove, one of. the romantic inlets of Port Jackson, about seven miles from the entrance of that har- bour, the headlands at the mouth of which constitute one of the grandest and most interesting fea- tures in the natural scenery of the country. Many of the most interesting localities on the shores of Fort Jackson, between Sydney and the headlands, are in the hands of private proprietors. On Woolloo- moolloo Hill iJig. 1141.), which is an elevated projection of the land, about a mile from Sydney, most of the officers of the colony have houses. The second town of the colony is at present Paramatta ; but Maitland will, probably, soon supersede it, as the latter place is situated at the head of Hunter's River, in the centre of the most extensive agricultural and grazing district in the colony. Between Sydney and Maitland there are two steam-boats, and a company has lately been formed, called " The Hunter River Steam Navigation Company," With the exception of the large open plains in the in- terior of the country, the territory of New South Wales is, in its natural state, one vast forest. On the banks of the rivers, and especially on the alluvial land within the reach of their inundations, this forest becomes what the colonists call a thick brush or jungle. Immense trees of the genus Eucalyptus, such as the stringy bark, the Blue gum, E. piperita, and the Iron bark, E. resinffera, tower upwards in every direction, to the height of 150 or 200 feet ; while the cedar, and other trees of inferior eleva- tion, with innumerable wild vines and other parasitical plants, fill up the interstices. In the sterile region, the trees are stunted in their growth, and of a most forbidding aspect ; their trunks and naked branches bein^ frequently blackened by the action of fire, as in the Eucalyptus. The soil of these regions is a white sand, and nothing can exceed the loneliness and desolation of the scene. {Ibid. ) 8040. The settled portion of New South Wales, in 1833, Sturt tells us, extended from the 36th to the 32d parallel of latitude., The population of the colony is said to consist of 45,000 free settlers, and 25,000 convicts. Its imports, in tne year ending January, IS33, amounted to 602,032^, of which 144,793/. was the value of commodities imported from foreign states, the rest being the produce of Great Bri- tain, and her colonies. The exports amounted to 384,3442,, of which 81,969/. consisted of British and foreign merchandise re-exported, and the remainder was the produce of the colony, the New Zealand fisheries, and the South Sea Islands. The chief articles of export, which were shipped to the mother country, were:— New Zealand flax, 806 tons, value 15,393/. ^ sperm and black oil, 3186 tons, value 142.921/. ; and wool, 1,S1.%159 lbs., value 73,559/. In 1831. no less than 150 vessels entered the harbour of Port Jackson from foreign ports, the amount of their tonnage being 31,259 tons. (Sturt's Kxpe^ ditioninto the Interior qf Australia.) 8041.— 1038. The mineral productions. Marble of a good quality, and which t^akes a beautiful polish, has been obtained in Argyle. In one part of its course, Hunter^s Riv«r flows for a considerable distance over rocks of jasper; and beautiful agates, opal, and chalcedony, besides innumerable petrifactions, are found on its banks. {Hist, and Statist. Account, ^c.) 8042 — 1040. Natural productions of New Holland. A peculiar character is given to the woods of the extratropical parts of New Holland, and to the woods of Van Diemen's Land, by the species of trees of the order Vtotedceee. These are numerous, and the leaves of the generality of them have a vertical position, and a similar aspect on both surfaces. These surfaces, a close inspection teaches, are distributed, by a reticulation of the fine veins of the leaf, into numerous small compartments or areolations, within each of which, on one face of the leaf, and very generally on both faces, is lodged a minute gland. (See Brown's Supp. prim. Flor. New Holl.) 8043. The vegetable productions qf New Holland. Some of the most common trees in the neighbour- hood of Sydney are several of the different kinds of Eucalyptus ; what is there generally called the ^ ..._i.i-/Tj,i„T,„.--i.,* — 1^^^:-^ ..u ,_.„__,._../ . .- . . „ , \ (Casuarlua , . There are - . ... ! dogwood at Port Jackson, and the wood of which is very diflicult to bum, and the tea tree CMelaleiica linarisfblia). The name of tea tree is given 1292 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. STIPPI.KMEKT. almost indtscrimfnately to aeveral kinds or Melaleuca and Leptosp6nnuni, because It Is supposed that the first colonists made tea from the leaves of some of the species of these genera. The terms blue, red, or white gum trees, as applied to different species of the genus Eucal^tus, refer to the colour of the bark. The wood of trees of this genus is very durable ; as a proof of which, Dr. Lang informs us that a stump of a species of Eucalyptus (blue gum tree) remained quite sound for thirty- five years in the ground, after having been cut down. When it was neces- sary to remove It, It took a fortnight to burn out the root. The cirrum- stancc of this trunk remaining quite sound for such a greM length of time is very remarkable ; and re- minds us of what Dutrochet states respecting the stump and roots of the silver fir (Gnrd. Mag,, vol. x. p. 408.) ; viz., that they will continue to live, and even grow, during a great number of years after the tree has been felled. {Lang's Hist, and Statist. Account.) 8044 1041. Agriculture in Aus- tralia appears to be making consi- derable advances, from the more frpquent influx than formerly of emi- grants with capital. Some Scotch farmers have settled in the Interior of New Holland ; a good many have located themselves in Van Diemen's Land, and there are some even on the Swan Kiver. In 1830, the Caeh- mere goat was imported info the colnny by Mr. Riley, and about the same time a German gardener, that Mr. Riley took with him from Eng- land, established vineyards in dif- ferent parts of the country, which, from accounts received in 1834, have already produced wine. (See Gard. Mag., vol. X. p. 159.) 8045. The principal agrieitlfvral prodiicfi of New South fVal^s are w heat and maize. The cost of clear- ing heavily timbered alluvial land is about 5/. an acre, but sometimes a single crop of maize clears the ex- pense. The return of wheat varies from 15 to 40 bushels an acre, and in the Argyle district it has reached 45 bushels ; but the system of husban- dry is, generally yieaking, wretched in the extreme. The staple article of Australian produce is worl, of whirh Dr. Lang s^ys, 1,515,156 lbs., and Sturt, 2,g00,Of!0 lbs., were exported in 1833. It is generally supposed tiiat John Macartbur, Esq. was the first to introduce fine-wooUed sheep into the territory ; and, though tlie ho- nour is also claimed by another in- dividual, there is no doubt that Mr. Macartbur had the merit of having demonstrated their adaptation to the climate, and the capability of the co- 1 ny to produce wool to almost any extent. This has been effected in comparatively a very short space of time. About 1792, Mr. Macartbur commenced sheep farming, and in a year o^ two, he had an opportunity of crossing his coarse-fleeced sheep with merino blood. So prolific was the mixed breed, that in ten years, a flo'k, originally consisting of not more than seventy Ben.al sheep, had increased to 4000. In ls03, Mr. Mac- artbur went to England, carrying samples of his wool, which was so much approved of by a committee of manufacturers, that govf-rnment were iiiducfd to encourage him in his attpmpts to produce fine wo 1 in the colony, by directing that he should receive a grant of land for that purpose, in the low pastures, which is now named, the district of Carcbden. In 1306, Mr. Macarlhur returned to New South W^es with two ewes and three rams, purchased by him from the merino flock of George III.; his flock was removed to the low pafitures, and since that period, the wool of New South \. SUPPLEMENT. HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE. 1293 Wales has been rapidly increasing; in value in the home market. " (Dr. Lang^s Hist, and Statist. Ac- county and Start's Exped. into the Interior qf Australia.) 8046. Fruits and other vegetable products cultivated in the colony qf New South Wales. Vine^ which are the most important of the fruit-bearing plants to a young settlement, have only been cultivated a few years to any extent. " There are now, however, many acres of vineyard throughout the country ; " and wine and brandy have been manufactured from grapes grown by Mr, Macarthur's sons at Cambden. The wine is very similar to the light wines of France and Germany. Tobacco has been grown to great extent, particularly on the rich alluvial lands, and is ouly inferior in point of manufacture. Olives, hops, inrligo, and opium, are beginning to be cultivated: the castor-oil tree (Aictnus commilnis) grows luxu- riantly, and oranges and all the genus Citrus, and figs and peaches, bear abundantly. 7'he hedges to the fields are generally formed of quince or lemon trees, l^ere are several orange orchards, producing annually from 12,000 to 20,000 dozen each. The fruit of the loquat (Eriobfitrya jap6iiica)is sold in great quantities in the Sydney market. Cotton, coffee, tea, and sugar have been tried, and found tu answer, though their cultivation has not yet been attempted on a larger scale. {Hist, and Statist. Account, vol. 1. p. 375.) 8047 — 1042. As a country for emigrants. During Sir Thomas Brisbane's administration, any respectable person, who pledged himself to government to maintain and employ ten or twenty convict servants, could obtain 100 acres for each such servant. This occasioned a great demand for convict labourers ; aud, instead of government being obliged to establish penal settlements in order tu employ them, there was, during the government of General Darling, *' applications for no fewer tliun 2000 convicts lying unsatisfied at the office of the principal superintendent of convicts." There is nu doubt that New South Wales is an excellent country for the agriculturist ; but it is subject to sume drawbacks. A season of drought, which continued three years, be^an in 1827, and it appeared from the statements of old natives, that the country was subject to periodical visitations of that nature. It is also subject to inunda- tions, particularlv from the Hawkesbury River. From the imperfect state of husbandry thruug^hout the country and the fertility of the soil, much may, however, be done by an experienced agriculturist. For eight months in the year, frohi March to November, the climate is delightrul ; but during the Australian summer, the heat is considerable. The most unpleasant part of the year is during the prevalence of the hoc winds. " These winds occur on an average four times every summer, and continue from twenty- four to thirty-six hours at a time ; " the atmosphere feeling like a current of heated air from a furnace, and the thermometer generally standing at from 90*^ to lOO*-*, and sometimes even reaching li2° of Fah- renheit. The extreme dryness of the air, however, prevents this degree of heat from being so intolerable as it would be in a moist climate like England. The hot wind is generally succeeded by a viulent gUiit from the southward, and very often by a shower of hail. (Vol. ii. p. 186.) Very few persons live tu attain old age ; but they generally enjoy excellent health and spirits while they du live. In shurt, observes Dr. Lang, " the lamp uf life in the salubrious climate of New South Wales is like a tapei •immersed in a vessel filled with oxygen gas ; it burns more brightly than in the common air, but it is sooner extinguished." To persons possessing property to the amount of from 20001. to 5000/., *' New South Wales presents a most eligible prospect for effecting a comfortable settlement.- They may put out part of their capital at interest for ten per cent, on excellent security, and 1000/. will not only pur- chase 1000 acres of land at 5s. an acre (the selling price in 1833), but will be amply sufficient to stock it." {Lang's Hist, and Statist. Account, vol. it p. 200.) 8048 — ] 044. Van Dieinen's Land. This colony may be considered as the most prosperous in Australia, and the suitableness of its climate for Englishmen is every year more and more confirmed. '* The colony," Mrs. Frinsep observes {Journal of a Voyage from Calcutta to Van Diemeii's Land), " contains every source of wealth and health, in short, every thing but money. Interest on mortgages, with the very best securities, is 15 or 20 per cent. Bank shares pay 16 per cent. There is no immediate prospect of any check to that rise in the value of land which is now observable. Money well invested iu land here, aud allowed to accumulate, will be tenfold its original value in fifteen years. 200/. would purchase a noble property here. 1000/. will buy a fine, healthy, and beautiful estate of 1200 acres, 200 of them already m cultivation, and the whole becoming more valuable every 3'ear. Com and potatoes are exported to Sydney ; and wool to England. Wool averages Qd. per pound. The whole colony is on the advance, and its resources remain to be developed. Fresh lands are granted in square miles, in the proportion of the square mile, or 640 acres, for every 500/. sterling of capital ; which is the largest graut that Js made tu any settler without purchase, as the smallest is 320 acres. The total territory in acres is 15,000,000, of which about one half is rocky, or thickly wooded ; the rest arable and pasture ; the proportion of arable being as one to six of pasture. The total number of acres granted to individuals, up to December, 1829, is 1.323,5'J3 ; consequently there are 13,676,447 unlocated acres." 8049. The wool qf Van Diemen's Land is of peculiar sortness, and, from the greater attention now paid to cleaning and packing, the price is rising. Wheat is of a very superior quality, weighing generally about sixty, and sometimes as much as sixty-five pounds per bushel. Oats are beginning to be raised ; barley has not yet succeeded ; peas, and other species of pulse, are plentiful. Skins are also valuable; seal-skins the most so, being worth about 255. each in Kngland. Kangaroo skins are essentially useful in the colony for hats, and also for shoes, which are remarkably durable : when well packed, and of a good size, these skins fetch nearly Qd. a. pound in London. Shoemakers make lOO per cent, on the raw material. {Cape of Good Hope Lit. Grass., vol. iii. p. 187. ; see Backhouse's Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies, 1843, 1 vol. 8vo., with maps and etchings.) 8050.— 1054. New Zealand, from its climate, which resembles that of the south of England ; from its soil, which is in most places good ; and from the inhabitants, which may be described as at least half civilised ; appears to be one of the most desirable countries in the world to which a native of Britain can emigrate. (See Dieffenbach's New Zealand^ 1843, 2 vols. 8vo. ; Gard. Chron., 1840, p. 99. ; Gard. Mag., 1843, pp. 126 and 325. ; and Butler's Emigrant's Handbook q/" Facts concerning Canada, New Zealand Australia, Cape qf Good Hope, S[C.t 1843, 1 vol. 12mo.) Egypt. 8051. — 1077. Egypt, under the governTnent (if the present pasha. Is undergoing extensive political im- provements, among which agriculture, Mr. St. John observes, is not altogether forgotten. The culture of cotton has been commenced on a large scale by government ; and an extensive tract of country round Cairo, which was long rendered useless by prodigious mounds of rubbish, many of them exceeding seventy feet in height, has been cleared, the mounds havhig been levelled, and planted with olive trees* which bore fruit the second year. The teak tree has been introduced from India, and is found to thrive near Cairo as well as in its native country. The mango, the pine-apple, and other tropical fruits, have been tried; and there is an English garden of naturalisation, under the direction of Mr. Trail, an English bo anist. On the whole, there can be no doubt, that, if the present comparatively liberal policy of the Egyptian government be continued for another generation, the face of the country, and the condition of its inhabitants, will be entirely changed. Nature has supplied an excellent soil, and abundance of water, under a climate sufficiently hot to mature the fruits of tropical countries, and yet not so much so as to prevent the grains of temperate regions from being profitably cultivated. {Et^ypt and Mohammed Alf, p. 443.) In Dr. Bowring's Report on Egypt, presented to parliament in 1840, that country is shown to be making ^gantic strides in civilisation, through the efforts of the present viceroy, Mahomet All. Agriculture is improving, though not very rapidly. The principal agricultural produce of the country u clover, corn, beans, barley, peas, and various other seeds. Watering is an essential element of cultu<-* 1294 ENCYCLOPiEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. suiilement. and by means of it the goll, which in many places Is excellent of itself, is made to produce enormous crops. The various details of Egyptian agriculture, as extracted from Dr, Bowring s Report, will be found in the GardeTter^s Magazine for 1840, p. 645. to 655. Morocco. 8052.— 1098, Agriculture in Morocco. The farmers plough and bow at the same time. The ploughing is performed by one man, who, while he guides the plough, which has a single handle, with bis right hand, holds the reins, which are made of the palmetto twisted, and a long, thin, pointed stick to goad the oxen, in his left. When he sows, he leaves the plough, scattering the grain very sparingly with his right hand, and harrows it in by passing the plough again over the surface, the furrows being straight, narrow, and very shallow, without any ridge. The ploughshare has merely a simple tip of iron, which is taken off when the husbandman ceases to work, to prevent its being stolen. {Brooke's Travels in Spain and Moroccoy vol.i. p. 303.) Some account of the progress of agriculture in Algiers will be found in the G. C, 1842, p. 67. Cape of Good Hope. 8053 —1 133. Albany. At the close of 1824, when this new settlement was hastening to dissolution, the commissioners of enquiry removed certain political evils, and the country at once commenced a march of success, which John Centlivre Chase believes " the most unparalleled in the history of colonisation." In August, 1833, the Caffre trade, chiefly in ivory, amounted to about 34,000/. annually ; and the exports increased from 32,273/., their amount in 1829, to 51,290/., their amount in 1832. Hides, boms, SKins, tallow, butter, salted provisions, and ivory, formed the principal items. Cultivation is extended. Oats, barley, and oat-hay are the chief commodities ; wheat has also been raised, and Indian corn, fruit, and vegetables grow most luxuriantly. Cattle, sheep, and horses are abundant, and every necessary of life is extremely cheap. There are about 26,000 sheep, the wool of which sells at upwards of \s. per pound. Graham's Town has increased from 22 houses to 600 ; and eight villages, eleven places of worship, and fifteen schools have been built. Hat, blanket, and tile manufactories, numerous limekilns, three water and six wind mills, two tanneries, and two breweries, have been established. There is an infant school, a savings bank, a public readingroom, and a commercial hall. A newspaper was com- menced in January, 1832, and it is prospering. The population, in 1833, was 9913 ; and, as a proof that the country is favourable to human life, only 24 out of 248 persons, who landed in 1820, had died in 1830. " Such," says Mr. Chase, " is the result of thirteen years' settlement, nearly five of which were those of failure and distress. From what has been related, it may be seen, whether success has attended the efforts of the immigrants or not, their only difficulty, in as far as my own knowledge goes, is that of a want of additional labourers to gather in the harvest of growing prosperity ; and, as a proof of this want, I refer to the many and frequent appeals to the home government, successively made since 1825, for a new emigration." ( The Cape qf Good Hope Lit. Gaz.^ vol. iii. p. 182.) America. 8054. — 1153. Climate qf North America. Over the whole extent of North America, it is universally admitted that the clearing of the country has modified the climate ; that this modification becomes every day more manifest ; that the winters are now less severe, and the summers less hot j and, in other words, that the extremes of temperature observed in January and July annually approach each other. {Jones's Jour. Ap. 1834.) 8055. — 1159. The soil of the United States is adapted to almost every species of culture. Wheat grows every where ; and tobacco, hemp, and flax between the Potamac and Roanoke and Mexican Gulf. All the grains flourish in the valley of the Mississippi ; but it is particularly in the delta of that river (which, like that of the Nile, is the work of the waters) that the sugar-cane and indigo succeed best. Almost every where, the earth abounds in pasturage, but is not adapted to the growth of fruit trees, or only produces fruit tart and without flavour. The most productive kinds of culture are those of colonial articles and vegetables ; a species of cultivation for which the Americans are indebted to the French of St. Domingo, who have taken refuge among them. ' They are also indebted to them for some seed and kernel fruits. The territories of the United States, with regard to agriculture, may be divided into two parts, perfectly distinct from each other. The lands bordering on the Atlantic are generally bad or middling ; but those on the other side of the Alleghanies, In the basins of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, are not exceeded by the best lands in Europe ; and have, besides, the advantage of being nearly all virgin, and easily cultivated. Vegetation is hardy, but prompt, which is occasioned by the humidity of the soil. {Beaujowr^s Sketch of the United States, p. 81.) From the increase in the number of agricultural periodicals in the United States, the progress of the art would appear to be as rapid as it is in any part of Europe. Sugar has been extracted from the maize, to such an extent as to become an article of commerce ; and Mr. Colman, who has been deputed by the state of Massachusets to make an agricultural tour in Europe, has stated as his opinion to the Royal Agricultural Society, that the process of extracting sugar from the maize might be carried out in England with as much success as in America. {Morn. Chron., June 22d, 1843.) 8056. — 1192. Climate qf the Canadas. John Young asserts, " that, 2000 years since, the climate of Europe was precisely similar to that of British America at the present day ; in support of which he quotes many authors of antiquity. He attributes the change, first, to the extirpation of the forests and the draining of the morasses ; secondly, to the increase of population, and consequent evolution of animal heat, and the warmth communicated to the atmosphere by the fires within the houses ; thirdly, to the iextension of tillage, the process of putrefaction alone generating considerable heat." {Brit. Farm. Mag., vol. vi. p. 196.) 8057 — 1195. Emigration to British America. Mr. Ferguson, who visited Canada in 1831, says, •' that Upper Canada certainly is blessed with all the solid appearance of human happiness, independence, and comfort." The notes of this gentleman are given at length in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture^ vol. iii., and well deserve to be consulted by all emigrants. In a work on Emigration to British America by John M'Gregor, Esq., published in 1831, the British possessions in North America are stated to be the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island ; the province of Nova Scotia New Brunswick, and the Canadas ; the region of Labrador, and the territory west of Hudson's Bay! Newfoundland bears a striking resemblance to the Western Highlands of Scotland, and is chiefly adapted for the rearing of cattle and sheep. Prince Edward Island possesses an excellent climate and soil, and is, taken altogether, a most desirable spot for emigrants. " The society in the island is good and the inhabitants consist of Europeans from all nations, but particularly from Scotland. Cape Breton is a small island, peopled by between twenty-five and thirty thousand souls, chiefly from the Western High- lands of Scotland. The climate, though humid, is salubrious; the general aspect of the country romantic-and mountainous, and covered with forests ; and the valleys contain extensive tracts of excel- lent soil Nova Scotia is an extensive country, fitted to receive " thousands, perhaps millions of emigrants." The winters are severe, but the air at that season is generally dry. This peninsulaabounds with extensive &elds of coal, with ironstone, with gypsum, and, it is believed, with rock salt. New Brunswick has a climate particularly suited to the constitution of Britons. The country is covered with immense forests of evergreen and deciduous trees, and it is everywhere intersected by rivers fit for navi- SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1295 gaticm. Goal, iron, gypsum, and sandstone abound. The Canadas Include an extensive territory, with a climate which is on the whole salubrious. The thermometer, in summer, rises as high as 80° in the shade, and in winter sinks below zero. The winter in Lower Canada is two months shorter than tliat of Upper Canada. The eeology of Canada Is little known ; the principal rocks appear to be trap and limestone. There are sous of every description, but the largest tracts are either alluvial, or of a lighter character, approaching to sand. Labrador, and the territory west of Hudson's Bay, Mr. M'Gregor does not consider as suitable to emigrants. We can only refer the reader, who is desirous of emigrating, to Mr. McGregor's book ; or to a very copious abstract of it which will be found in the Quarterly Journal qf Agriculture^ vol. iii. p. 860. to 924. 8058 — 1 197. The culture qf wheat in the West India Islands may be mentioned as a comparatively new agricultural feature. The kinds which succeed best are the summer varieties, which have been cuU tivated to advantage in Jamaica, Barbadoes, and several other islands. Great exertions have been made with a view to introduce the best varieties into these islands from Europe, and to make known the success which has attended their culture by Br. Hamilton of Plymouth. (See Gard, ATa^. and Gard, Chron.) PART n, AGRICULTURB CONSIDEKED AS A SCIENCE AND AS AN ART. (p. 208.) 8059 — 1285. The present state (ff agricultto'al science has been treated of In a -prize Essay by I>r. Madden, published in the Highland Society^ Transactions in March 1842, from which, as taking the latest'and most comprehensive view of the subject, we submit the following abridgment : — To the question, " What has science done for agriculture ? " Dr. Madden answers that scientific ag- riculture has been investigated by an extremely limited number of individuals, and this chieRy since the commencement of the present century ; that a great drawback to the advance of agricultural science is to be found in the want of confidence In it of practical men, and that among practical men there in a great want of scientific knowledge. " If by the question, * What has science hitherto done for agriculture ? ' we are to understand which of the new improvements owe their origin to scientific investigation, we feel obliged to confess that as yet we know of none extensively In operation. But if, on the contrary, we are to understand it in the wider sense, as requiring an account of what science has effected towards establishing agriculture upon a sure basis, so that the farmer may be enabled to apply his practical knowledge in whatever situation he may be placed, and will be at once capable of determimng what changes in his arrangements, Sec. will be necessary if called upon to change his farm, so that his operations will no longer be so much the sport of chance that each farmer can be cuusidered as knowing only the treatment fitted for his own farm, we can confidently assert that much, very much has been accomplished; and although there is no point upon which we have as yet by any means perfected our knowledge, still there is scarcely any upon which science has not already thrown sufficient light to enable those, who are at all capable of appreciating her services, to derive great benefit and direction in cases of difficulty." To prove this, he tases a general view of what science has effected under the heads of, 1. Soil ; 2. Effects of Vegetation upon soil ; 3. The Art of Culture, and 4. The Economy of Husbandry. 8060. 1. Soil. Science has already proved, in the most satisfactory manner, the following circum- stances regarding soil : — SOfJI . In order that it may be fertile, it must contain all the minei'ol matters found in the ashes of the plants destined to he cultivated u^on it^ in such a condition as to be available by the plants^ and in suffi~ cient quantity to enable the supply to be kept wp by some economical mode qf cultivation. " The necessity of this condition depends upon the well-established fact, that plants cannot make for themselves any of the elementary substances which they contain, but are only capable of changing the form in which these are combined with one another. Thus, the organic portion of plants, or that which is destructible by fire, is composed of four elementary substances ; namely, carbon, or charcoal, and three gases, named oxygen, hydrogen, and azote. Now plants cannot produce any of these four substances under any circumstances wliatever ; but if they are supplied with them, in almost any state of combination, they can, by their vital processes convert them into starch, gum, woody fibre, or whatever else they may require. The same is the case with the constituents of their ashes, They must be supplied with the requisite elements in some state of combination, and then they will be able to produce for themselves the particular compound which they require." Dr. Madden admits that a considerable increase of knowledge is required among farmers before this part of agricultural science can be brought to perfection ; though he believes that much of the future progress of agriculture depends upon increased knowledge in this department of agricultural chemistry. 8062. — 2. Soil must consist of a due admixture of impalpable matter and larger sized particles, so thai it mai/ be porous and easily perineahle by air andmoisture, while, at the same time, there is a siJsfficient sup- ply vf matter in a state capable of undergoing chemical changes. " All the useful organic matter of soil is in a combination with the impalpable earths which it contains ; though the larger particles are necessary Tor the admission of air and water. Till these larger particles are reduced to powder, they exert no direct influence whatever upon the vegetation of the soil ot which they form a part.'* «063. — 3. Soil must contain a st^fficient supply of organic matter mijigled with it tn a state capable of decomposition by the action of air and water. " In general, the quantity of vegetable and animal matter in a soil is a direct index of its fertility." 8064.— 4. Soil, to be Jit for profitable cultivation, must be free from any mineral substance which is desiruciive of fertility. " This is a case in which no farmer will doubt the utility of chemical knowledge; thus, if the injurious matter be an acid or a soluble salt of iron, it may be neutralised by lime ; or if it should "be some compound of magnesia, it may be rendered innoxious by exposure to the atmosphere." 8065.— 5. Soil must be capable of being reduced to a si^cientlyfine tilth, without an uaidue amount of labour, in order thai its culture may be profitable. 8066.— 6. Soil for a good farm nmst either be naturally capable qf letting off" any superabundance qf water, or it must be capable of being made to do so artificially by draining. *' The advantages of draining a soil naturally moist can hardly be over rated. It not only admits air to the roots of plants, but admits, ihe temperature of the atmosphere, so that a drained soil will always be found to produce an earlier vegetation than~the salme soil undrained." 8067. — 1. Soil, to be useful to the cultivator, must possess a structure which will allow the decomposition qf organic matter mingledwith it to proceed at a regular rate, being neither so fast as to waste themanm-e, nor so slow as to keep it too long fresh. " Hence gravels, coarse sands, or strong clays, are to be improved by the addition of soils of an opposite texture, by the use of suitable manures, and by appropriate me- chanical treatment ; ,such as exposing strong clays to the frosts of winter, or the iptense heat of summer, compressing loose gravels or sands, &c." 8068 8. The situation of soil must be such as to admit qf all the operation qf husbandry being per* 1296 ENCYCLOPEDIA JF AGRICULTURE. supplement. formed in a proper manner, leithout occupying tjo much time ; and the climate must permit qf the plants arriving at perfection. 8069 9. In order that soil may be advantageously suf^ected to continued cropping, the farmer 7nust keep up its essential qualities 6y ploughing, harrowing, and any other operations necessary to pulverize it. 8070 10. Soil intendedfor continued cultivation jnust have its supply of organic matter, and part also of its jnineral ingredients, renewed by returning to it, from time to titne, in the shape of manure, what has been removed frotA it in the form nf crops. 8071 11. The condition, as welt as the composition, qf the manure, must be attended to, because soil ynust have its activity preserved by adding to it, at certain periods, substances in a stale of fermentation. *' Numerous facts tend to prove that the success of many crops depends upon the existence of fermenting matter in the soil, and that however rich it may be in other respects, tliese crops can only be advantageously cultivated after a fresh addition of manure ; this is particularly the case with the turnip. Without dung the richest soil will bear but an Indifferent crop ; while with manure, very poor soil, if it be not too wet, will at all times give a good return. Science has not as yet been able to account for this satisfactorily, although many of her votaries are willing to acknowledge its truth, and it is obvious that an acquaintance with the fact must be of the greatest value in assisting the farmer in his arrangements, for he will of course apply dung when he intends to raise a crop requiring the existence of fermenting matter, and thus insure its success, while he does no injur^r to the following crops, whose growth is, to a certain extent, less de- pendent on the condition of the soil." 8072 la. To correct any natural faults which the soil Ttiay possess, it must be subjected to various pro- cesses which have been proved by experiejici to cure the faults in question. " The chief of these are draining, liming, and burning." 8073. Draining. The importance of draining, and .^specially of furrow draining, is now very gene- rally understood, and the practice is so widely extended that it is in some danger of causing the advantage of deep draining to be overlooked. " A soil which is naturally capable of easily getting quit of surface- water, may be rendered quite marshy by the existence of a spring. Now, to furrow-drain a field of this .kind would, in many cases, be absurd, for in alt probablity the spring would be missed, and after all the expense of laying the drains, the soil would remain almost as wet as at the first. The proper treatment, in such a case, is to search for the rise of the spring in the highest part of the field, and having found it, one good drain will frequently have the effect of drying the whole field. Again, when the wetness arises from both causes conjointly, viz., spring and surface-water, it is obvious, that however free an exit be given to the spring, the soil cannot be made dry without having recourse to furrow-draining to a greater or less extent, according to the stiffness or porosity of the soil and subsoil." 8074. Liming. " Lime has three distinct great effects, in addition to several minor ones : 1 st, it greatly hastens the decomposition of the organic matter in the soil, and in doing so renders it much more valuable to the crops. 2d. Ic alters the texture of the soil to a certain extent, proportioned to the quantity applied. 3d. It adds, of course, calcareous matter to the soil. From these considerations, it follows that lime is applicable to all cases where there is an accumulation of undecomposed vegetable matter, as in poor old pasture, heath, peat, moss, moorland, and the like." Lime is not required in soils which are poor for want of organic matter, nor in such as abound in chalk. Lime does not add directly to the fertility of the soil, but only increases it, by calling into activity organic matter. Lime exhausts the soil by bringing the organic matter which it contains into action ; and hence many lands will yield for a year or two after liming heavier crops than they did before, but afterwards their productive powers fall as much below the natural standard, as they had been artificially raised above it by liming. 8075. Burning. " The immediate effects of this process are fourfold. 1st, It destroys a large quantity of organic matter. 2d, It alters entirely the texture of the portiim to which the heat is directly applied. 3d, It reduces to a caustic state the alkalies and alkaline earths contained in the burnt portion. And 4th, By means of these alkalies it acts upon the remaining organic matter of the soil exactly as lime does. To arrive at a just conclusion as to the true economical merits of this process, we must bear all these four facts in mind: 1st, As it destroys a large quantity of organic matter, it of course exhausts the suil tp the extent of the quantity destroyed ; this is, therefore, in one respect, a disadvantage. 2d, As it com- pletely alters the texture of the portion burnt, viz., by giving to the clay the feeling and texture of sand, we must consider how far this would be advantageous to the soil. 3d, and 4th, As it produces alkali which acts upon the remaining organic matter of the soil, and thus further detracts from its supply of organic matter, it becomes of importance to decide whether the soil will bear the deterioration without a real loss of value." 8076 — 11. The Effects of Vegetation upon Soil. Science explains, more or less satisfactorily, the causes of the following facts. 8077 — I . Uncultivated soilj however rich, becomes gradually less and less fertile until it has attained the condition either of moor or m.arsh. 8078 — 2. Uncultivated soil retains its luxuriance for the greatest length of time, when covered with forest trees and other large vegetables. ■ 8079 3. Landnotdisturbedby the ploughproduces successive crops qf di^rent kinds, or,in other words, a sort of natural rotation is, to a certain extent, maintained. 8080 4. On cultivated land, when any ^ecies qf plant disappears, its place is supplied by one cf less value as an article of food, and thus the richest pasture comes in time to produce only the coarsest and tnost worthless species qf grass. 8081 5. Although the natural prodzice qf uncultivated soil thus uniformly decreases in value, the soil itself becomes progressively richer ; so that when brought zatder the plough, it will yield much larger re- turns than could be expected from its spontaneous produce. 8082. — 6. Soil continually ploughed, yields its nourishment in much greater abundance, and with greater ease to plants growing upon its surface. . 8083 — 7. The facility with which the productive powers of well cultivated land are diminished depends on its organised matter being more easily converted into compounds soluble in air and water. ■ 8084 — 8. The decrease of fertility in carelessly cultivated soil depends, in addition to the above ctrcum- stance, upon a diminution in the proportion of its impalpable matter. . 5085.-^. Cultivated land, when properly taken care of becomes gradually richer and richer, notwith- standing the increased quantity of produce annually removed from it. 8086 — 10. If the same plant be cultivated for several years successively upon the saTnespot, the soil much more rapidly decreases infertility than when a variety is kept up. 8087 — 11. SoTne qfthe most valunble mineral constituents of soil decrease in greater rapidity in propor- tion to the greater care bestowed upon its cultivation, altogether independent of the portions removedbu the traps. " The more you pulverise a soil, the more alkali will be annually removed by the rain-water." : 8088 — III. The-Abt OP Culture, or the means necessary for keeping up the fertility of the soil, re- quires — 8089— 1. Manure added in proportion to the weight of tfiecrmys removed, 8090. 2.' AjudicioTis rotation of crops. 8091 . 3. Fallowing, at least in some soils. 8092 4. Restiiig, by laying down in pasture. 8093.— 1. Manure must be added in proportion to the weight qf crop removed. " It is believed that careful examination will prove that there exists between the crop and the active organic matter in the soil, a proportion so constant and definite, that to keep up the fertility of the soil, we must keep up this suppLEMFNT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1297 proportion ; and if wo do this by manure, of course it follows that there Is a certain fixed proportion be- tween the manure and the crop. Calculation will show us that although at first sight the gross weight of the crops of a rotation is considerably above that of the manure applied, still, in reality, the amount of the various elementary matters is much nearer an equality, in fact, are generally most abundant in the manure. Let us, for example, suppose the following case : — an imperial acre of turnip soil receives 25 tons of fiirm-yard dung, and yields, 1st, aO tons of turnips ; 2d, 42 bushels (of 53 lbs. each) of barley, with 2000 lbs. of straw ; 3cl. 200 stone of hay ; 4t)), 48 bushels (of 43 lbs. each) of oats, with S500 lbs. of straw. Now, the gross weight of these crops would be 80,342 lbs. whereas the manure would weigh only 5G,000 lbs. ; and consequently, the soil has yielded 24,342 lbs. more in four years than it received in the form of ma- nure, or at the rate of 6085^ lbs. more annually. If, however, we compare separately the relative quan- titles of carbon, azote, and saline matter contained in the crops and manure, we shall obtain the following results : lbs. lbs. Carbon In the crops - - 8,183-04 - In the manure - - 12,734'4 Azote in the crops - 248-Gl - In the manure - 280* Saline matter in the crops -1,191-24 - - In the manure - - 6,104* 19,118-4 So that, in fact, there is a considerable excess in the manure, of all the elementary ingredients of the crops, if we except the elements of water, viz ., oxygen and hydrogen. We trust that this caculation will be sufficient to satisfy all, that there exists a certain proportion between the weight of the elements of the crop and that of the constituents of the manure," 8094. A rotation qf crops is required, not merely because it tends greatly to lessen the expense of culti- vation, but because the more axote a plant contains, the less freqttenUy can it be cultivated upon the same spot in uninterrapted sw:cession* " The precise chemical principles upon which a rotation depends are somewhat obscure." 8('95. A na/ced summer fallow only becomes necessary when soil cannot be elected and brought to a sufficiently Jin£ tilth between harvest and the following seed time', without interfering with other operations. 8096. — IV. The Economy of Husbandry, or the particulars regarding e:tch mdividual crop, which are necessary to be known in order to its successful cultivation. The following general facts in vegetable physiolo^ry will assist us in understanding this part of the subject. 8097.— I . All plants in a highly artificial state require a larger supply of nourishment dui-ing the first period of their growth than is supplied by the seed alone ; and hence the necessity qf a rich soil, or of a supply qfputrcsci nt manure. 8098.— 2. Plants which have 7norc than one method of propagating themselves should be limited to the method which is most suitable. The potato should not be allowed to produce seed, because it is most con- veniently prnpagaled by the tuber. 80D9. — 3. Plants lay up a store qfTiourishmentfor the next year^ either in the wood or roots, as in trees and perennials^ or in the seeds as in annuals. 8100 4. The starch of plants is always contained in cells, formed of a substance containing azote i and " consequently there exists a fixed proportion between the quantity of azote composing the cells and the amount of starch contained in them ; hence it follows, that to increase the quantity of starch in a plant, yiiu must increase its supply of azote, although starch itself contains no trace of this element." 8101 ."i. In all parts of a plant there is an exact proportion between the various elements entering into Us composition, so that an addition to one of them is necessarily followed by a relative addition to them all. "■ If, for example, a plant possesses one part containing 2 grs. of azote, combined with 18 grs. of other elements, and another portion containing 2 grs. of azote combined with 48 grs. of other elements ; if we, by any means, prevent the development of the more highly nzotised portion, viz., the 2 to 18, we shall produce a proportional increase in the other ; so that, by preventing the formation of 20 grs. of the highly azotised portion, we obtain 50 grs. of that which contains proportionally less azote." " These facts will assist us in the following explanations regarding individual crops." 8102. The turnip. *' The fusiform, or globular part of the root of the turnip, contains the supply of nourishment required for the development of the flower and seed in the following year. The turnip has a i.irge system of leaves ; contains much water ; is not highly azotised ; the seed possesses a very small supply of nourishment ; the whole success of the crop depends, within certain bounds, upon the rapid development of the large absorbent leafy surface. Hence the culture of the turnip must be conducted as follows : — the soil must he sandy ; first, because it is a law that jilants make preparations for retaining in their own texture most water when the soil around them is capable of retaining least ; second, because its development must be rapid, and hence the decomposition of manure must be rapid likewise. There must be a good supply of very active manure, so that the seed may be provided with abundance of food in the first period of its growth, and thus have its leaves developed as rapidly as possible (within certain limits of course). As the plant is not highly azotised, it can draw the greater portion of its hou- rishmeot from the air, provided the absorbent surface of the leaves be sufficiently large ; hence it is more necessary to attend to the quality than the qusmtity of the manure for this crop. A small quantity in a very active state, will prove much more valuable here than a large quantity which is too fresh. As the size of the bulb is regulated by the size of the surface of its leaves, this crop must not be too crowded, but plenty of room should be left to permit of the full development of the leaves." 8103. The potato. " The potato differs essentially from the turnip, in that the portion used is a per- fectly developed part, that is to say, a part which is perfect in itself; for instance, the bulb of the turnip is merely a deposit of nourishment for the use of the plant during the ensuing spring, and if Vemoved from the soil, cannot be made to produce a new individual; whereas the tuber of the potato is as much a perfect individual as any seed, for it contains within itself all that is requisite for the propagation of the species. On this account, therefore, the potato may be considered as perfectly developed when the tuber is ripe ; whereas the turnip has merely adv;inced a certain way towards perfection, which cannot be said Ui occur until the seed is formed. Now, the importance of this distinction will- be seen, when we re* member that all pLints deteriorate the soil most during the latter periods of their growth, and»hence it follows that, ceeteris paribus, the potato is a more exhausting crop than the turnip. The potato, likfe the turnip, has a large system of leaves, and contains much water. It is more azotised than the turnip, but the portion containing the greatest quantity of azote is not developed until during the later periods of the growth of the plant. It possesses two ways of propagating its species, viz., by seeds and tubertf, and whatever prevents the development of the one, increases proportionally that of the other ; this prol- portion being regulated by the quantity of ^zote. The success of the potato depends greatly upon a due balance between the quantity of nutriment afforded respectively by the soil and the air; because the tuber consists of a large deposition of starch in cells, composed of an azotised matter. Now, as the soil provides the material for the cells, and the carbonic acid of the starch is derived chiefly from the air, it follows, that if one or other of these supplies be in excess, a due proportion will not exist betweeU the two in- gredients of the tuber. Thus, if the soil be very rich in azotised matter, so many cells are produced that the leaves cannot eliminate starch sufficient to fill them : on which account, the-potato is of that peculiar consistence termed * waxy.' If, again, the soil is deficient in azote, onlva few cells areformed, and these are completely filled with starch, and the potato consequently becomes ' mealy-* With regard to the order of development of these parts, the culls are first produced, and become filled with starch subse- quently, and as this is formed by the leaves, any thing which injures them, such as frost, &c., checks the 4 O 1298 encyclop;edia of agriculture. SUriT.EMENT. production of starch, and the potato remains cither waxy, or, what is worse, soft and watery. Now, u review of these facts would lead to the following suggestions regarding the culture of this plant: — 8104. I St. " There must be an abundant supply of manure, because, not only must tlie leaves be qii'cKly developed, but the soil must be in a condition to yield azote abundantly, even during the latter period of the growth of the plant ; hence, small quantities of active manure will not succeed nearly so well with this plant as with the turnip." , . ^ . . . - 8105. 2d, '* The manure need not be so well prepared, as the greatest supply of azote is not required until some time after the plant has risen above ground ; but it must not be too fresh, for fearof retarding the development of the leaves, nor too hot, for fear of acting injuriously on the seed or tuber. 8106. 3d, " Wc must not give this crop too much rich manure, for lear of making a greater demand upon the atmosphere than it is capable of answering." . ,,, , . ,^u i >» 8107. 4th, " The plants should be placed far apart, so as to permit of the free increase of the leaves 8108. 6th, " As the potato has a spreading root, and the tubers are nearly all developed upon the under surface of the fibres which run most horizontally, it is very injudicious to earth up the plants, as this of necessity renders the roots more perpendicular. Experiment has proved that this practice occasions considerable loss." „ ,,,, , ^ ^ a,^ . ^i 8109. 6th, " To obtain the largest number of tubers, the flowers should be plucked off to prevent the formation of seed, while every thing should be done to protect the leaves from injury." 8110. 7th, *' The soil for the potato should be loose, although this plant will grow m a much greater variety of soil than the turnip. This also depends upon the tubers being a completely developed portion. destined for the production of a separate individual ; whereas, the bulb of the turnip is for the purpose of supplying the plant during the most important period of its growth ; viz., during the development of the seed, with abundance of moisture and nourishment, when growing in a soil which cannot naturally rctiiin these : and therefore, if we attempt to grow the turnip upon stiflf soil, it either does not flourish at all, or else the bulb is very imperfectly developed, for in this case the soil can supply all that is re- quired, without the assistance of this artificial reservoir." 8111. Wheat, oats, and barlei/. " All of the cerealia agree in so many respects, that it will be advan- tageous to consider them together." 8112. 1st, "As they are cultivated for. their seed, they are perfectly developed before harvest, and, therefore, exhaust the soil to a much greater extent than green crops." 8113. 2d, " As their system of leaves is very much less than that of the plants before considered, they are much more dependent upon the soil even for those elements which larger leaved plants obtain from the air." 81 1 4. 3d, *' As the seed is, in all instances, the most highly azotised portion, and as it is the last part developed, it follows, that these plants require more a general richness of the soil than a supply of newly added manure. On this account, it is with propriety, therefore, that they are seldom made to follow close after the application of manure, but are either preceded by a green crop, or are sown after summer fallow." *' These crops differ among themselves chiefly as regards soil and climate ; wheat requiring clay, barley a lighter soil, and oats succeeding pretty equally on all good soils, of whatever texture they may be. The same is the case concerning climate, and the richness of the soil ; — wheat requires the best climate and the richest soil, then barley, and then oats. It is not easy to explain this satisfactorily, for although we can produce many circumstances which appear to explain the differences in question, more careful examination will prove that they can merely be considered in the light of probabilities, and by no means as certainly ascertained facts. For example, if we examine the ashes of these three plants, we find that their quantities amount proportionally to three, two, and one, wheat containing the most, and oats the least ; and if we examine still further, we shall find that clayey soil is more capable of yielding the in- gredients of these ashes than land of a lighter texture. This renders It probable that one of the causes of wheat requiring clay, depends upon the necessity of a larger supply of these earthy particles ; but accurate calculation also proves, that many plants which grow best on sand remove from it a greater quantity of these very substances than would he required to supply the heaviest crops of wheat. It cannot, therefore, be considered as proved, that the cause of wheat preferring clayey soil, depends upon the greater quantity of earthy matter required for its perfect development, juthough we may venture to advance as a probability, that it depends upon an increased facility of obtaining this supply. Again, these three crops require a considerable supply of azote during the latter periods of their growth, the proportion being, wheat 2*13, barley 1*76, oats 1*96; so that here again, since we know that decomposition proceeds more slowly in clay, and the azote of the manure is hence not so quickly given off, we might argue that clay would be better fitted for wheat. Chemical analysis, however, proves in this case also, that some crops peculiarly suited to sandy soils contain a much larger absolute quantity of azote, although it must be admitted that the relative proportion is much less. Our conclusion here, also, must therefore be, that the cause of wheat thriving best upon clay, depends probably upon its receiving azote in agreater degree of concentration." ^ 8115. Beans, peas, and other leguminous plants. " Very little can be said regarding these in the present state of our knowledge, as but little particular attention has hitherto been paid to them by the scientific inquirer ; and there are so many peculiarities exhibited by them, that it would be very imprudent to risk an opinion upon so meagre a collection of facts. Beyond all doubt these are the most hazardous crops we cultivate, as they are so very much influenced by the weather. Clover, for example, is a plant the success of which we can scarcely in any instance predict, as, no matter what the state of the soil may be, a few days of unfavourable weather may destroy at once all prospect of success. We may, however, notice one fact in this place, although we shall not attempt its explanation, viz., that the nitrates of potass and soda, two very favourite manures, appear to exert an almost magic influence over clover in rendering it much more certain and luxuriant." These observations complete Dr. Madden's review of the facts in agriculture, which are already ex- plained by science : he regards them as showing that considerable advances have of late been made, and he hopes soon to see the farmer and the philosopher pressing forward hand in hand in the field of agri- cultural improvement. He subjoins the following tables :-^ I. Table showing the relative nutritive Powers of various Articles qf Food, deduced from the Quantitu of Azote which they contain. Arrarigedfrom M. BoussingauWs Tables. Various kinds of Fodder. Hay, from red clover in flower Vetch hay - . - Lucern hay Common hay - Green clover Amount per cent of Solid Matter. 83-4 89- 83-4 88-8 Amount per cent of Azote. 1-76 1-41 1*35 1*04 •50 Value compared with Hay as 100. 60* 74 75 100 * That is to say, that 60 lbs. of red clover hay contain as much nourishment as 100 lbs. of commr%T, hay, and as 612 lbs. of turnips. ^ "' common SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1299 Potatoes 7-7 ■37 281 • 1 Green luceni , - - •30 •30 Carrot - - 12-4 347 Wheat straw .... 80-7 •20 •20 Barley straw - 89- Oat straw .... 79- •19 547 Rye straw - - - . 87-8 •IT 6H Turnips .... 8-2 •17 612 Beans ..... 92-5 5-11 20t Vetches .... 86-4 4'37 24 Kidneybeans .... 95- 4-08 25 Lentils .... DI- 4-00 26- 1 Yellow peas .... Wheat Sour .... SS'S 3^40 31 87-7 2-27 46 Wheat grain .... 89-5 2'IS 49 Kye - . ... 89- 2-04 51 Oats 87-6 1-96 54 Barley flour .... 87- 1-90 55 Barley grain .... 86-8 1'76 59 t LegumitKms plants alone will not prove so nutritious as the cerealia, because they do not contain a sufficiency of phosphates which are required for the production of bone ; tliej are therefore most useful when conjoined to some of the following grains. II. Table showirig the Composition qfthe Ashes oftmr most frequently cultivated Crops* From Saussure and other AtUhorities. Name. AshssinlOOO Parts, ConstitueatsoflOOpaxtsof theAsbel. j Soluble Salts. Phosphates. Earthy Car- bonates. SUica. Melalllo Oxides. w-eat [s : : Oat grain Barley grain Vetches . Turnips . . - Potatoes . - - 13- 43^ 31- 18^ 33^ 5^8 6-9 47-16 22-5 1 29- 69-28 44-5 6^2 24^ 32-5 27-92 1 •5 61-5 60^ 35-5 •25 !• •25 •25 0-5 III. Table showing the Quantity of Alkali associated with the various Minerals entering into the Con~ stitution qf Soil. From Liebig. Name of Mineral. Per Cent of Alkali. Name of AlkaU. Felspar 17^75 Potass. Alblte .... 11-43 Soda. Mica .... 3 to 5 Soda. Zeolite - - - -13 to 16 Soda and Potass. Basalt . . 5-75 to 10 ■ Soda and Potass. Clayslate .... 2-75 to 3-31 Potass. Clinkstone ... 14^ Potass. Loam . . . - 1-5 to4- Potass. Analysis has proved the existence of more or less potass in all clays, as also in marls. From this table it would appear that b^ far the best soil would be that originating from the disintegration of felspar ; and wc thinii that observation will often prove this to be the-case. BOOK II. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WITH REFEREKCE TO AGRICULTURE, (p. 281.) 8116.— 1836. Animals^ according to Liebig, are subject to the action of two powers which are con- stantly at work: vitality, which is the cause of life ; and chemical affinity, which is the cause of death. The object of vitality is to sustain and increase the mass of the bodkin which it resides ; the object of the chemical forces is to destroy and waste that body. Vitality resides iu every part of the fortress which it has to defend ; the chemical forces are encamped in the atmosphere which everywhere sur- rounds it. In fact, the chemical power is the gas oxygen, one of the principal constituents of common air ; and its affinity for the elements of organic matter is so great, that it constantly endeavours to destroy it. The whole life of an animal consists in a conflict of these rival powers ; in the endeavour of vitality to sustain and increase ; in that of chemical affinity to waste and destroy. In health, vitality possesses the ascendancy, and modifies the destructive efforts of the chemical powers. Disease, on the other hand, is a temporal^ conquest of the chemical over the vital forces ; while death is the victory of the former* and annihilation of the latter." {Joum. E. A. S. E., vol. iv. p. 221.) 8117. — 1963. The food (if all animals, and particularly of those employed in agriculture, Liebig has shown to consist of two elementary substances: gluten or albumen, composed of carbon, hydrogen, ni- trogen, and oxygen, which constitute the nutriment of the body ; and starch, sugar, gum, and other substances containing carbon, hjrdrogen, and oxygen, but from which the element nitrogen is absent. It is only the substances containing nitrogen, or which in other words are azotised, which produce flesh, while the other elements are for the production of heat by the combustion of carbon in consetiuence of its union with oxygen. The heat generated in this combustion in the body of an animal, is exactly .equivalent to that produced by burning the same amount of carbon in a fire or a candle. As the he^ 1300 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. surn-EMENT. of an animal body is the same In all regions, it follows that more carbonaceous food Is required to keqj up the animal heat in a cold region than in a warm one, and hence the great importance of protecting animals from a greater degree of cold than is natural to them in every stage of their growth, and foi obvious reasons it is equally important to protect them from extreme heat. This subject has been beautifully illustrated by Liebig, who says, " were we to go naked like certain savage tribes, or if in hunting and fishing we were exposed to the same degree of cold as the Samoyedes, we should be able with ease to consume 10 lbs. of flesh, and perhaps a dozen of tallow candles into the bargain, as warmly clad travellers have related with astonishment of these people. We should then also be able to take the same quantity of brandy or train oil without bad efltects, because the carbon and hydrogen of these substances would only suffice to keep up the equilibrium between the temperature of the external air and that of our bodies." (Chetmstrt/ as applied to Pkyswlog!/,8i.c.) The only use of clothes, says Dr. Playfair, is to economise food by retaining heat. ■ {Lecture on the Applications of Physiology to the Rearing and Feeding of Cattle, m Journ. R. A. £.,vol. iv. p. 221.) The animal body is a furnace which must be kept up to a certain heat in all climates. This furnace must, therefore, be supplied with more or less fuel according to the temperature of the external air. If, then, in winter we wish to retain the vital functions of our cattle in a proper degree of activity, we must keep up the heat of their bodies. This we may do in two ways. We may either add more fuel (food) to the furnace, or we may protect their bodies from the cold. Warmth is an equivalent for food, and as a proof, Dr. Playfair cites the fol- lowing experiment, which was made by the Earl of Ducie at Whitiield farm. One hundred sheep were folded bv tens in pens, each of which was 22 ft. in length by 10 ft. in breadth, and possessed a covered shed attached to it of 12 ft. in length by 10 It. in breadth. They were kept in these from the 10th of October to the 10th of March. Each sheep consumed on an average 20 lbs. of Swedes daily. Another hundred were folded in pens of a similar size, but without sheds attached. They were kept during tiie same time, and their daily consumption of Swedes amounted to 25 lbs. each. Here the circumstances were precisely similar with respect to exercise, the only difference being that the first hundred sheen had sheds into which they might retire, and thus be partially protected from the cold. This partial protection was equivalent to a certain amount of food, and consequently we find that the sheep enjoying this protection consumed one-fifth less food than those sheep which were left entirely exposed to the cold. In the last case the consumption of the additional food arose wholly from the necessity of adding more fuel (food) to the furnace of the body, in order to keep up its normal temperature. This was proved from the circumstance, that those sheep which enjoyed the protection had increased 3 lbs. each more than those left unprotected, although the latter had consumed one-fifth more food. {Journ, A. S. E. J843, p. 222.) ' The honey stored up by bees is for the purpose of serving as fuel to keep up the heat of their bodies during the winter. Now it has been found that when two hives of bees are placed in one hive during winter, they actually consume less honey than each hive would have done separately. 8117 rt. The assimilative power of the graminivora is enormous, and the quantity of food which they consume is proportional. In summer, when the temperature of the air approaches more nearly to that of the body, the heat generated by the combustion of tliis food is more than is suflScient to retain the normal temperature of the system: Hence it is that we find oxen so much inconvenienced by hot weather, and that we observe thern standing in streams of running water, or exposing themselves, with evident satis- faction to a shower of rain. The cold water serves to carry off the redundant heat, and, consequently, matter, from the body ; for heat is produced by the combustion of matter. This practice, therefore, although agreeable to the cattle, can scarcely be a profitable one for the grazier : and hence, as before hinted at, the advantage of a shed in summer to exclude the heat, as in winter to retain it. " The air in summer being so much expanded by heat, much less air is taken into the system in an equal number of respirations than in winter ; consequently less oxygen is consumed. But oxygen is the principal acting chemical force ; it is, therefore, the cause of waste. The case of cattle now feeding is the very reverse of what it is in winter. In cold weather, the vital force (cause of supply) is reduced in energy, whilst that of the chemical force is augmented ; but in summer the vital functions are elevated and the chemical powers depressed. Vitality, having now a diminished force in antagonism to its action, exerts all its powers in increasing the mass of the organs in which it resides.; it Iherefore converts into blood all azotised partsof the food taken by the animal, except those which supply the small amount of waste. All the excess of blood is cpnyerted into flesh (t. e. muscular tissue and cellular tissue). The animal now becomes fleshy and plump. The other constituents .of the food, such as starch, sugar, and gum, are converted into fat, and deposited as adipose tissue. The cause of the deposition of fat is this : that sufficient oxygen does not enter the system to consume the food, or to convert it Into carbonic acid and water; it is, therefore, only partially consumed, or in other words, converted into fat (Liebig). Fat is not a part of the organism ; it is a chemical compound arising from an unnatural state. The fattening of cattle is similar to the growing of corn plants, or to .agriculture generally. The object of agriculture is to produce an abnormal increase of some particular constituent of a plant, such as of gluten in the wheat. This we do by chemical means, by manure. The fattening of cattle is similar^ Ouf object is to produce an unnatural increase of some particular parts of the body; and to do this we must put the cattle in an unnatural state. {Juum. R, A.s/E.,\q\Av. p. 224.) 81 18. Exercise The most favourable conditions to the development of tallow, are, food destitute of nitrogen, warmth, want of exercise, and in some cases darkness. Motion diminishes the tendency of an animal to fatten, " by increasing the number of its respirations, and therefore by giving to the system an increased supply of oxygen gas, which consumes the tallow. Hence our practice of stall-feeding cattle. Liebig asserts, * that every motion, every manifestation of force, is the result of a transformation of the structure or of its substance ; that every conception, every mental affection, is followed by changes in the chemical nature of the secreted fluids ; that every thought, every sensation, is accompanied by a change in the composition of the substance of the brain. There is a constant conflict in the body between the two antagonist powers, vitality and chemical affinity. In the state of health, vitality retains the ascend- ancy, and subdues the chemical powers ; but this subjection is the result of much effbrt on the part of -vitality, for the strength of the rival forces is nearly equal. The moment, therefore, that vitality leaves undefended a single point in the fortress of the body, that moment the chemical forces begin the work of demolition on the unprotected part. Thus, if vitality be called upon by the superior power, volition, to execute some purpose of Us will, — to move the arm for example, — the vitality residing in the mus- cles of the arm obeys this command, and occasions the desired movement. Before the production of motion, all Its powers were exerted in preventing the encroachment of the chemical forces {i. e. of the S^^^iS.'l S^''S;^H?n^^^" 'J Vl^^P^l^y^^ in effecting a vital movement, such as that of the arm, it is "°^«^grJL?ir= ^ ^^h^^H'^' K^ ^^-n ^^}^''^ °^ '^' antagonist power. This, therefore, immediately acts upon the muscles which obey the will, destroys part of their substance and occasions its seDarfltion from -the tissues. Poultry-feeders confine their poultry when it is ncceSrV?o fatten them cruel practice of nailing the feet of geese to^the gr^ound during ?atten?n| is ow ^ to thTaS^y'of ava! "'T/Jnf//nf?hPp'Sl^«^^'^^^^^^^ °-^ a particle of the food by the motion of the 2n ma) The greatest part of the food consumed by an animal thus deprived of the means of motion goes to the pro- duction of fat. When pigs are put up to be fattened, they are removed from the yard, in which exercise IS permitted, and placed in a narrow sty, with little room to move. A small amount of the food beinff now expended in the production of motion, the pig rapidly increases in size. Sheep fed in sheds con- sume from one-fifth to one-half less food, and increase one-third more in weight, than those fed in the open field. The cause of these results is two-fold : — first, the sheep in the sheds are subjected to les« motion, and therefore exhaust less food in its production, than those in the field ; and, secondly, the sh/Tpn are kept warm in the iheds, and therefore expend less food for the support of animal heat than those SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1301 exposed to a cold atmosphere in the open fields. It is well known that the more bodily labour to which a man is subjected the more food must he receive to supply the Mssues wasted in that labour. In the late distress in Lancashire, the poor sufferers, who often were unable to obtain sustenance for themselves and ramilies, discovered, through the force of necessity, both the theories which we have endeavoured to expound, viz. that warmth is an equivalent for food, and that motion is always accompanied by a change of matter. We are informed by the daily press that whole families remained in bed for days to- gether, covered with as many clothes as their small stock could furnish. In this state the animal heat was artificially retained, and little matter being expended in motion, a small amount of food was suffi- cient to support the vital principle." {Journ. R. A. S E.^ vol. iv. p. 227.) 81 19. The importance qf knowing how much water each kind qffood contains^ has been forcibly pointed out by Dr. Flayfair, who has furnished tiie following table : Water. Organic Matter. Ashes. lbs. W>. »I. 100 lbs. of Peas • contain 16 ^ it Beans _ 14 .... Lentils - 16 81 3 .... Oats 18 79 3 Oatmeal - - _ 9 89 2 — Barley meal Hay — 15j 1? ^ 2 Wheat straw > ^^ 18 79 3 Turnips - „ 89 10 Swedish turnips ... 85 14 Mangold-wurzel - _- 89 . 10 . White carrot 87 12 „ Potatoes - . —. 72 27 Bed-beet - . _ 89 ID Linseed-cake ... 17 76i n — Bran — 14 81 Thus, in givinga pig 100 lbs. of potatoes, we actually give it only 28 lbs., because 72 per cent, of this food consists of water- 8120. The comparative values of diffident kinds qffoodt as far as the production of flesh or muscular fibre is concerned, is not less important ; because, as we have before seen, those kinds of food which dO' not contain nitrogen are only productive of fat or heat. The following table is given by Br. riayfair : 100 lbs. of Flesh Blood — Beans — Peas _. Lentils - Potatoes - _- Oats Barley meal _ Hay — Turnips - _— Carrot -^ Red-beet - Albumen, Unazotised Matter. lbs. lbs. , 25 1 20 31 51* fill 29 83 48 2 2.5 11 68 14 8 if 1 9 2 10 li 8J In a. cold day animals ought to be furnished with food containing a considerable amount of unazotised ingredients, in order to protect them from the effects of the cold. Potatoes are of great use in keeping up the heat of the body, and in forming tallow ; but are in the highest degree unprofitable for forming flesh. " It will be seen by the table, that 1550 lbs. of potatoes would be required to form the same quan- tity of flesh that 100 lbs. of beans would do ; whilst little more than 200 lbs. would suflice to form the same quantity of tallow ; hence the great advantage of mixing food, «o as to supply in smaller bulk those constituents, of which one kind of food is deficient. Sheep fed on oil-cake increase in weight faster than on any other kind of food, but they feel quite soft, and when fat handle like a bag of oil. This is because they receive food which contains very little albumen to form flesh, so that tallow is the only product. But if with the oil-cake they receive oats or barley, they are firm to the touch, and possess plenty of good flesh, and the fat lies equally distributed amongst the muscular fibre. The reason here also is obvious ; for both oats and barley contain much albumen (or, chemically, gluten). In an experiment made by Mr. Morton at LordDucie's farm, twenty-eight pigs, put up in pens of seven each, and fed on an average on 154 lbs. of potatoes and 4 lbs. of barley-meal each, gained 15 or 16 lbs. weekly. In this quantity, the pigs actually consumed nearly equal quantities of the two kinds of food, or exactly 30 lbs. of dry potatoes, and 23 Ibs^ of dry barley-meal weekly. The increase in weight being 16 lbs. for each pig, 37 lbs. of the food were lost in supporting respiration, and the necessary muscular movements, even without taking into calculation the water contained in the flesh of the animal, which amounts to 75 per cent. If these animals had been deprived of muscular movement, by being placed in narrow warm cribs, it is reasonable to suppose that less food would have been lost, because less would have been consumed in the production of force, and in sustaining the animal heat. The barley-meal contains the constituents for furnishing firm flesh, as well as for producing tallow, or supporting respiration. The economy of using potatoes, consisted in their supporting the respiration of the animals at less expense than barley. The 108 lbs. of potatoes used in the week for tiiis purpose, and for the production of tallow, contain 26 lbs. of unazotised matter. In order to replace this, 33 lbs. of barley-meal would be requisite. It does not invalidate the conclusion, that 33 lbs. of barley-meal would produce a greater return than 108 lbs. of potatoes, because the former contains much more albumen and less water than the latter." {Joum. B. A. S. £., vol. iv, 8121*. The equivalent values of different kinds of food, if they could be correctly ascertained, would be of great value to the farmer, and the following table, translated from the French by Mr. Rham, may be considered asnear an approximation as can be obtained in the present state of our knowledge. On this table Dr. Flayfair observes that an animal in a hot day will require much less food than in a cold day ; that equivalence of food may be correct as far as the same animal is concerned, but may be of little value as regards other animals, because the size of the lungs of an animal occasions a great difference in th^ amount of food consumed. 4 3 lA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPILEMENI. lbs. lbs. - 100 Boiled potatoes - . - 175 White Sllesian beet - . - 220 - 102 MaDgold-wurzel • - MO Is TurnipB - - .')04 - 90 Carrots - - 27fi - 88 Colza - - - . - •1X1 98 Swedish turnips - . 308 - 98 Ditto with the leaves on - -3.10 . 89 Grain, rye . 54 . 91 wheat . - m - 98 barley - . 54 - 146 oats . 69 - 410 vetches . 60 .457 peas - beans - - - 45 - 275 - 45 - 425 buckwheat . - G4 - 325 Indian corn - - . - .w - 541 French beans, dried . - 32 - GOO chestnuts - . 47 - 300 acorns . G8 - 374 horsechestnuts . . 61 . 442 sunflower seed - 62 - 195 linseed cake - . . - 09 - 153 wheat bran - . . - 105 - 195 rye bran _ - 109 - 140 Wheat, peas, and oat chaiT - - 107 - 195 Rye and barley chaif . - 179 - 170 Dried lime-tree leaves . - 73 - 400 oak leaves . . - 83 - 250 Canada poplar leaves . 67 - 201 (Journ. R. A. S. £., vol. iii. p 80.) 1302 Of good hay .... is equal in nourishment /o. Of Lattermath nay . _ _ Clover hay, made when the blossom . completely developed Clover hay, before the blossom expands Clover, second crop - - - Lucern hay - - - - Sainfoin hay - - - - Tare hay - - Spergula arvensls, dried Clover hay, after the seed Green clover Vetches or tares, green Green Indian corn Green spergula _ _ - Stems and leaves of Jerusalem artichoke Cow-cabbage leaves - - - Beet-root leaves Potato halm - Shelter wheat straw Rye straw Oat straw Peas halm - . - - Vetch halm Bean halm - - ^ Buckwheat straw - - . Dried stalks of Jerusalem artichokes Dried stalks of Indian corn - Millet straw - Raw potatoes 8122. The form in which food is given to cattle i^ far from being a matter of indifference. If the food be in a state in which it is either difficult to attain, or difficult to masticate when obtained, much of it will be lost in the production of force necessary to adapt it for the organs of digestion. The cutting of hay and straw to chaff is unwittingly done with a view to prevent any unnecessary expenditure of force. Less mastication is requisite, and consequently less of the tissues of the body are expended in grinding down the food. The use of saliva, according to Liebig, is to form a receptacle for air or oxygen, by' which means it is mixed with the food and carried to the stomach. The use of mastication, then, is not onlf to comminute the food, but also to mix it with air or saliva. We find that a larger size of chaff is given to those animals which chew the cud, than to those that do not. One great object of rumination is, to obtain a repeated supply of oxygen to the food. Hence, in our ordinary practice, we cut the hay- chaff one inch in length for oxen, half an inch for sheep, and only quarter of an inch for horses. The two first being ruminating animals, require it longer than the horse, which is not one. When we con- sider that fresh grass is much more easily masticated than hay, the economy of force exhibited in cutting the latter is well judged. Straw, except when new, is not a very nutritious food, for we find a great part of it unchanged in the faeces of the animal fed upon it. Its principal use is to give a bulk to the food taken. Even in the case of turnips, a food of considerable bulk, straw is necessary, because they contain nearly 90 per cent, of water, which becomes soon separated. Thus it is that cattle fed upon turnips voluntarily take 2 or 3 lbs. of straw daily, or as much as will serve to give the necessary bulk to the food. Rumination is requisite in order to keep an ox in health. A little straw or hay is accordingly necessary to enable it to chew the cud. We know a case in which barley-meal and boiled potatoes were given to cows without hay or straw. Constipation resulted, and the cattle nearly perished from the ignorance of the feeder. From these considerations, we are induced to consider that a greater return will be made by food partly, but not too much, reduced. The turnip-slicer is known to save food, and this arises from the fact, that the sheep expend less force in eating sliced, than whole turnips, and to their being enabled to lie down more constantly. On similar grounds are we to ascribe the advantage of steaming food, or reducing it to the state which the first three stomachs would otherwise have to do at a great expenditure of force, and consequently, of food to produce it." {Journ. R.A.S.E.^ vol. iv. p. 235.) 8123. The use of salt in food. " Respiration is carried on by means of the combustion of those con- stituents of the food which are destitute of nitrogen. But before this combustion is effected, they are transformed by the liver into the fluid called bile. Bile is a compound of the alkali soda, with a resinous or highly fcarbonaceous substance derived from the food. The bile, after being formed, is absorbed by certain vessels of the intestines, and there meeting with oxygen, is consumed and converted into carbonic actd and water, which are expired by the lungs. The combustion does not take place in the lungs them- selves, as is generally supposed, but in the intestines. Now, as bile is the medium through which respir- ation is supported, it is necessary that it should be properly and regularly formed. This can only he done by supplying the animal with a constant amount of soda : this we do in common salt. The soda of the salt aids in the formation of the bile, whilst its muriatic acid assists the digestion of the food. A proper formation of the secretions is necessary to the health of an animal, and a supply of salt is highly favourable to their production. But whilst it is admitted that a limited supplv of salt is very useful to the health of the animal, a large supply is highly prejudicial, and prevents the formation of fat. An ex- periment was tried upon a goose, which was crammed with maize, and allowed to eat salt. The salt SS.!.« ^'Sl^- ^""^^ ^'^^ ^fu '^"" that necessary to produce a purgative action, and yet the goose did not latten. This arose from the excess of food being formed into bile, and not into fat. As much bile was S w^'^lSr^J^KlJf'^n '?if.«^ye«" inspired whilst the remainder passed out with the excrement, win raf etnTuSL'er!'" V«?.^^^^ w'1 ^^7^^' '" '"' '"""^ ''''^ " ""'^^ '''' '' '"'^ d^J^s\nVvoulTJ^^?fr{^'^f^i^^^^^ \^/' important to bear In mind that the process of nutrition diUers in a young animal from that of an adult, and that no substitute has vet been found for the milk of ?rLTo ma'STs^manerauS 'K^'^* ^"? «°-"^ ^^ ^*«'«^«°'^ kfn^ ha?e bT^^d^ to m Ik hi oraer to maKe a smallei quantity serve. The great point in the rearing of stock is to take rare that the ;otat''oTth?Wod\"oTfo''od'X"^^^^^^^^ "^I'Tr ■ " ^""""O" '° AeVe°consMerat'onrwi I'eas'n? IZixture with othir food wm,H h„ h^ w **'"^'' '""^^ growing animal. Thus potatoes, without ai ?.™'irS!! ""...Sl.f'L?"?' "f'il? *"= '"S'^'y ™propor, because they do not contain sufficien; albumen to f improper, because thev do not contain sufficient albumen to economy than another food containing ^uchaibuS/hut a ;SsaT^^^^^^^ respiration. It is a mistake into which many breeders fall, to deprive the young animal of Serdsebv conflning It entirely in the stall. Such a procedure is perfectly correct with i fattening calf but no wiS one which IS rearms The muscular apparatus of a young animal requires a certain degree of exerrisi without which It cannot increaBe. Unless the vitality residing in the various organs be clllcd into actYon' SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1303 it becomes enfeebled ; and as vitality is tbe cause of increase in tlie body, any diminution of its power is highly prejudicial to growth. The amount of exercise must of course vary with the age of the animal.'* iJourn. R.A. S. E., vol. iv. p. 242.) 8125. That warmth is equivalent to food in feeding animals^ has been already shown. Mr. Morton found that sheep will consume more turnips in the cold wet days of winter, than when the weather is dry and warm, and in frosty weather than in mild dry weather ; the difference being equal to one fourth o the whole of their food. Pigs fatten faster in summer with the same food, than they do in winter. The protection of a shed has saved one fourth of the whole food ; and Mr. Chilvers has shown (Jbwn. 2t.A.S.E.,YolA.^. 4.07.) that where motion was at the same time prevented, the saving amounted to as much as one half. The protection from cold, and the deprivation of exercise, are the great advantages of stall feeding. " The true state of health of an adult animal is, that the supply of food to the body should be equal to, but should not exceed, the waste of matter expended in the production of motion. This state is exhibited in a healthy adult man, who is found to weigh the same at the end of the year as he did at the beginning. This is not the state desired in a fattening animal. We wish a diseased condition, or the state in which the increase of the body is far greater than the waste. We can best throw an animal into this condition by removing or diminishing the causes of waste. (Journ. R. A, S. E.^ vol. iv. p. 243.) 8126. Should catt^ he fed in stalls^ or in miall yards with sheds attached f Certainly the former would appear at first sight to be most preferable, because less motion is permitted. But it is also possible that, the health of the animal being impaired by this treatment, the energy of the vital principle may be so far subdued as to prevent a rapid increase of the body ; while, the health being better in the latter case, and tmly a small amount of exercise permitted, the increased energy of the vital powers may more than com - pensHte for the loss experienced by the motion of the animal. The flesh of the cattle in the yards must also be firmer and more fitted for the butcher ; while the cattle tied to stakes will, in all probability* be possessed of more tallow." {Jotirn. R.A.S.E.^ vol. iv. p. 245.) 8127. The feeding of cattle for dairy purposes^ has occupied Liebig and Dr. Playfair, but it would re- quire more space than we can afford to explain their views, and we must, therefore, refer to the original sources. The same remark will apply to Dr. Flayfair's remarks on -the diseases of cattle, and on the recognised signs of fattening, and of early maturity. The theory of fattening adopted by Liebig and Dr. Playfair is, or appears to be, in total opposition to all opinions at present entertamed. According to them, " the peculiar aptitude of any animal, or of a breed, to fatten, must arise from a peculiar smallness and fineness of texture of the lungs. Although Liebig has not announced in his work the opinion, that smallness of lungs is an indication of a tendency to became fat, still he conceives that it is so. On con- sulting some eminent physiologists in our own country, I find that they also entertain the same view, Gline asserts quite the contrary, and agriculturists have generally acceded to his opinion. He says, '■ an animal with large lungs is capable of converting a given quantity^ of food into more nourishment, and therefore has a greater aptitude to fatten.' Mr. Youatt holds a similar doctrine ; and both he and Mr. Cline uphold their opinion by reference to the capacity of the chest. * On the roundness and capacity of the chest,' says Mr. Youatt, 'depend the size and the power of the important organs which it contains the heart and the Inngs ; and in proportion to their size is the power of converting food into nourishment. iJourn. R.A. S. E., vol. iv. p. 257.) Those who would wish to pursue this subject will have recourse to the original, the interest of which would be in a great measure destroyed by abridgment, and it is too long to ^uote. We can, however, recommend these two lectures, as next to the volumes of Liebig, the most interesting and instructive discourses with reference to agriculture which have appeared in our time. 8128. The nutriment awarded to animals by seeds, a«d roo?* depends on the rupture of the ultimate globules which constitute their meal or flour. These globules vary in different roots, tubers, and seeds; those of potato starch are usually from the fifteeh-ten-thousandth to the four-thousandth part of an inch ; thofie of wheat rarely exceed the two-thousandth part of an inch, and so on. From experiments made on these globules, by M. Kaspail, the author of Chimie Organique, and M. Biot, of the French Academy of Sciences, celebrated for his researches in the polarization of light, the following conclusions have been drawn. 1. " That the globules constituting meal, flour, and starch, whether contained ia grain or roots, are incapable of affording any nourishment as animal food till they are broken. 2. '* That no mechanical method of breaking or grinding is more than partially efficient." 3. '* That the most efficient methods of breaking the globules is by heat, by fermentation, or by the chemical agency of acids or alkalies. 4. " That the dextrine, which is the kernel, as it were, of each globule, is alone soluble, and therefore alone nutritive. 5. " That the shells of the globules, when reduced to fragments by mechanism or heat, are insoluble, and therefore not nutritive. 6. '* That, though the fragments of these shells are not nutritive, they are indispensable to digestion^ 'either from their distending the stomach and bowels, or from some other cause not understood ; it having been proved by experiment that concentrated nourishment, snch as cane-sugar, essence of beef, or osmazome, cannot long sustain life without some mixture of coarser and less nutritive food. 7. " That the economical preparation of all food containing globules of feciila consists in perfectly breaking the shells, and rendering the dextrine contained in them soluble and digestible, while the frag- ments of the shells are at the same time rendered more bulky, so as the more readily to fill the stomach." (ft. J.^., vol.vii.456.) 8129. Compm'ative advantages qf feeding live stock on reiw, or on prepared food. In 1833, the High- land Society of Scotland offered handsome premiums for reports on this subject. Five of their Reiiorts are published in the Highland Society's Transactions, vol. x., by which it appears that no benefit what- ever is gained bv the practice in the case of cattle, but, on the contrary, a loss equal to the amount of fuel and the cost of labour. Swine, on the other hand, afford a greater profit when fed on prepared food than on raw food. In three months pigs on steamed food increased 173 lbs., being 67 lbs. more than double ; while those on raw food increased only 115 lbs., being 7 lbs. more than doulble their first weight. Hence there can be no doubt that steamed food is more profitable for feeding pigs than raw food ; more espe- cially raw potatoes, which when given alone are found insufficient for bringing a pig to a fat state ( Trans H. S.J vol. X. p. 280.) 8130—2068. Progress of education in rearing and training brute animals. The effect of gentleness In teaching the human species had not long been observed, before (generalising on ihe subject) it was applied in the case of brute animals in a state of domestication ; and it has been found that the domestic animals used in agriculture, and for military and commercial purposes, may be trained to do their work much more effectually, and with far less labour, by gentleness than by force. This has been lately beau- tifully exemplified in the education of cavalry horses. The principal object in the treatment of young horses is to render them docile ; and the same- gentle means are now used for that purpose which are found to answer best in the treatment of children. They are rendered quiet and tractable by frequent patting, handling, and rubbing them, and by takingup their feet. They are led about the barrack yard to accustom them to the sight of mounted horses, and to the glitter of arms ; and, in the course of four or five months afterwards, they are transferred to the riding-school to be trained. The good old plan, like that preferred by our ancestors for teaching boys Latin and Greek, was to wliip all fear and shyness out of them ; but kindness and common sense have at last gained the ascendancy, to the great delight of the organs of sensation in bulhboys and horses. {G. M. 1838, p. 343.) 4 O 4 1304 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplemfnp. 8131. Training calves and horses.— In Kllis's Horse Training, reviewed in tho Athenaeum for April 2. 1842, it is shown that breathing into the nostrils of calves, horses, and various wild anim;ils, ri'iideig them i^uite tame. The experiment has been tried in Kngland with success ; and Mr. KIlis is nf opinido, tliat this is tlie secret of the celebrated Irish horse charmers, who pretended to whisper to tlie animal ;iiid play with his head, and thus, probably, breathed into his nostrils. The experiments made by Mr, ]-:ili9 are founded on the following passage in Mr. Catlin's work. On the Manners and Customs oj the liorih American Indians : — "I have often, in concurrence with a well-known custom of the country, lield my hand over the eyes of the calf and breathed a few strong breaths into its nostrils ; after which I have, with my hunting companions, rode several miles into our encampment, with the little prisoner busily follownig the heels of my horse, the whole way, as closely and affection ately as its instinct would attach it to the company of its dam. This is one of the most extraordinary things that I have met with in tho habits of this wild country ; and although I had often heard of it, and felt unable exactly to believe it, I am now willing to bear testimony to the fact, from the numerous instances which I have witnessed since I came into the country. During the time that I resided at this post, in the spring of the year, on my way up the river, I assisted (in numerous hunts of the buffalo with the Fur Company's men ) in bringing in, in the above manner, several of these little prisoners, which sometimes follow for five or six milt-s close to our horses' heels, and even into the Fur Company's fort, and into the stables where our horsts were led. In this way, before I left for the head waters of the Missouri, I think we had collected about a dozen. In the same way the wild horses are tamed. When the Indian has got him well secun-d with the lasso, and a pair of hobbles on his feet, he gradually advances, until he is able to place his hand on the animal's nose and over hiseyes, and, at length, to breathein its nostrils, when it soon becomes docile and conquered : so that he has little more to do than to remove the hobble from his feet, and lead or riile it into camp." In confirmation of what has just been stated, we quote the following:^" The taming of horses," says the Newbourn Advocate (a North Carolinanewspaper), by breathing in their nostrils, seems to be gaining friends. Mr. David Clayton, of Tyrrel county, naving seen an article in our paper stating that horses had been rendered gentle by breathing into their nostrils, determined to try it on a young mule belonging to him, who would suffer no person to handle him. Mr. Clayton fastened him in a stable, and, after considerable trouble, succeeded in breathing several times in his nostrils. Before ho left the stable the mule became gentle, and would stand still and suffer himself to be rubbed, and uonld nose and smell around him. He followed Mr. Clayton out of the stable, around the yard, and wanted to go into the house. We advise our friends who have colts to break to try the experiment ; if it does no good, it can certainly do no harm." (_G. M. 1842, pp. 328. and 574.) The subject of training horses in this way is said to be mentioned by Meric Casaubon, in his Treatise on Enthusiasm., published in 165.5 ; who refers to one Sullivan, a blacksmith at Cork, who practised the art. The same statement will be found in Stewart Rose's translation of Pa^'thenopex de B/ais, and in a note in Sorrow's Sibte in Spain. We have introduced it in this Supplement in the hope that it may induce such experiments to be made as may set the matter at rest. BOOK IIL THE MINERAL KINGDOM AND THE ATMOSPHERE WITH REFERENCE TO AGRICULTURE. Chap. L — Earths and Soils, (p. 312.) 8132. — 2100. Humus or movld exists in all soils, and indeed is necessary to constitute soils as distin- guished from earths, which consist solely of inorganic matter. It was formerly thought that humus w;is soluble in water, and in that state was taken up by the roots of plants ; but Liebig has shown that it is insoluble in water ; that if it were, it would soon be washed out of the soil by rains and melting snow ; and that it only supplies food through the action of the oxygen of the atmosphere, with which it forms carbonic acid gas. " The complete, or it may be said, the absolute insolubility in cold water of vegetable matter in progress of decay, (humus.) appears on closer consideration to be a most wise arrangement of nature. For if humus possessed even a smaller degree of solubility than that ascribed to the substance called humjc acid, it must be dissolved by rain water. Thus, the yearly irrigation of meadows, which lasts for several weeks, would remove a great part of it from the ground, and a heavy and continued rain would impoverish a soil. But it is soluble only when combined with oxygen ; it can be taken up by water, therefore, only as carbonic acid. When kept in a dry place, humus may be preserved for centu- ries ; but when moistened with water, it converts the surrounding oxygen into carbonic acid. As soon as the action of the air ceases, that is, as soon as it is deprived of oxygen, the humus suffers no further change. Its decay proceeds only when plants grow in the soil containing it; for they absorb by tlicir roots the carbonic acid as it is formed. The soil receives again from living plants the carbonaceous matter it thus loses, so that the proportion of humus in it does not decrease." {Liebig's Chemistry oJ Agriculture, &c., 2d ed. p. 114.) 8133 — 2212. Irrigation. Sir Humphry Davy was unable to satisfy himself as to the cause of the be- nefits derived from irrigation, ascribing it chiefly to the protection of the grass from early spring frosts ; but if we admit, with Liebig, that inorganic salts are necessary to the well-being of plants, and promote an increased development of them, the explanation of the effects of irrigation with clear water becomes easy. The clearest spring water holds in solution carbonate, sulphate, and chloride of lime, with silicate and other salts of potash and soda. " Reeds and equisetaceae thrive in ditches and streamlets, bet-ause a large portion of silicate of potassa enters into their composition, and, by the frequent change ofthe water, dissolved silica is largely supplied. The meadow grasses likewise require silicate of potassa, and they are furnished with it by the water which flows over them while under irrigation. The carbon also, and the carbonaceous excrements of plants contained in the soil, require abundance of oxygen to pro- mote their decay and conversion into carbonic acid. Now the water of rivers and streams holds oxygen in solution, and if, during the process of irrigation, the water be frequently renewed, no matter how thin the sheet of it with which the meadow be covered, it will communicate large supplies of oxygen, and promote the decomposition of the organic matters contained in the soU. Stagnant water, on the contrary, retards their conversion into carbonic acid by preventing the access of air, and hence arises the sterihty of bogs and marshes. In order to convert them into luxuriant meadows, it is only necessary to remove the stagnant water by draining, and, where practicable, to irrigate them by means of water rapidly renewed. {.trimmer s Chemistry for Farmers and Landowners p 199 ) 8134.— 2217. .Ko/n/jow of crops. The theory of the rotation of crops adopted by Liebig is thus ably given in an abndged torm by Mr. rrimmer. Formerly the soil was supposed to contain a variety Of substances, some only of which could be assimilated by one family of plants, others by another : and that each plant absorbed those substances which were suited to it, and rejected the rest. " Subsequent ob- servations caused the following modification of this theory ; viz., that plants absorb indiscriminatelv wliatever is presented to their roots in a state of solution, retaining that which is suited to assimilation by them, and exjjelling as excrement that which is unsuited. Some experiments were made by Macaire Priuceps, in which plants were made to vegetate in a weak solution of acetate of lead, and were sprinkled SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1305 with nitrate of strontian. In each case they absorbed the substance thus presented to them, for it was detected by analysis in their structure, but they expelled it again. These experiments offered strong confirmation of the above views, and aflbrded a satisfactory explanation of the fact, tliat a plant lilte wheat, wiiich contains much potash, will not flourish after another crop likewise requiring potash, and that it thrives after clover, beans, peas, or other leguminous plants, which scarcely contain any alkalies ; but they did not explain how land becomes fertilised by fallowing, nor how leguminous plants cause an increase of carbonaceous matter in the soil. Other experiments, however, made by him have esta- blished the fact, that most if not all plants expel whatever their organs are unable to convert into woody fibre, starch, gluten, &c., and that these substances are of two kinds, inorganic matters derived from the soil, which are incapable of assimilation, and organic compounds formed in the plants by the vital pro- cess. He found, for instance, that when legummous plants were grown in water, it acquired a brown colour ; that other plants of the same kind would not grow in this water, but that the plants of com throve in it and removed some of the colouring matter. He ascertained, too, that of the organic matters thus expelled, some were of an acrid resinous nature, some mild, like gums ; the former of wliich ho regarded as poisonous, the latter as nutritious to succeeding crops. These organic matters, thus ex- pelled by the roots, and deposited in the soil, restore to it the carbon, wliich in the early stages of their growth the plants had extracted from it in the shape of carbonic acid. Before they can be converted into nutriment for other plants, they must undergo decomposition : their putrefaction must be converted into decay by the access of air, which tillage produces, and thus they become capable of peiforming the functions of humus, by affording a supply of carbonic acid. In calcareous soils, the process of decay is accelerated by the presence of lime, while argillaceous soils are those in which the longest time is re- quired for its completion. The excrements of a given crop must be thoroughly decomposed before the land will produce another of the same species ; and on those soils on which the longest intervals are re- quired between crops of the same kind, it is found that the time cannot be shortened by the most power- ful manures. Now calcareous soils are those on which peas, clover, &c. will bear to be repeated at the shortest intervals, and argillaceous soils are those on which the longest periods are required between them. But though these excrements, undecomposed, either wholly or in part, are injurious to plants of the same species as those which expelled them, they are not so, nay, are even capable of affording nu- triment, to those of other species ; and therefore the introduction into cultivation of every new plant which can supply the place of another, such as clover or turnips, which will not bear frequent repetition, confers a great benefit on the farmer, by furnishing him with the means of varying and extending his rotation." {Trimtner*s Chemistry foi' Farmers, ^c, p. 196.) Chap. II. — Manures. 8135 2224. The use qf all manures is to increase the natural fertility of the soil, or to restore that which has l>een diminished by vegetation. The idea of a universal pabulum for all plants is nearly ex- ploded; and ail the attempts to discover it are, by many considered to be on a par with the finding of the philosopher's stone or the universal medicine. The improvements in chemistry have discovered various and different substances in every different family of plants ; not only such as are peculiar to or- ganised matter, and are the result of the decomposition of vegetable and animal substances, butothers likewise, which belong to the mineral kingdom. These can be exhibited unaltered in the residue of chemical decomposition, whether in the dry way, by means of heat, or in the humid way, b^ means of the action of other substances, which destroy the cohesion of the parts, or change their alnnitics. Thus the earths, silica, lime, magnesia, alumina, and several of the metals, especially iron, are found in the ashes of plants which have been burned ; and from the regular proportions of these in plants of the same kind, whatever be the nature of the soil in which they are raised, we must conclude that they are in some measure essential to their formation. However involved in darkness and doubt the growth and nourishment of plants is in the present state of science, there are certain principles which may be con- sidered to be fully established by experiment : of these one is, that whatever enters the body of a plant, whether by the roots or the pores, which are distributed along its surface, especially in the leaves, when they are developed, must be so minntely divided, tliat its particles are invisible, not only to our naked eyes, but even assisted by the high magnifying powers of the microscope ; that is, they must be fluid, whether in a liquid or aeriform state. It is useless, therefore, to present to the pores, or mouths, if we may so call them, of plants, substances which cannot enter into them, however well adapted they maybe to serve as nourishment or increase. Mineral substances must, therefore, be dissolved in suitable menatrua be- fore the plants can imbibe them. Organic substances naturally decompose in the state of gas, and these gases may contain various matters in solution. It is more than probable that water and atmospheric air are the chief menstrua in which the food of plants is dissolved ; as we well know that, without the pre- sence of both,' plants soon become diseased, and die. (G. C. 1843, p. 67.) 8136. The modern theory ofmanureSt as founded by Sprengel and lately established by Liebig, is thus ably and concisely stated by Mr. Pusey. " Plants consist in the main of several vegetable substances, which are, however, all composed of four kinds of air variously combined ; these gases are named oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. Dr. Liebig supposes that the two first are derived by the plant frorh water ; the third, which is charcoal, from the air ; and the fourth, nitrogen, which constitutes the most nutritious part of our food, from ammonia ; which substance he has found not merely in the dung of animals, but in the water of rain, — a new and remarkable fact. But there exists also in crops a consider- able quantity of earthy matter ; in every ton of oat-straw, for instance, nearly one cwt. of flint ; whence, if a. hayrick be burnt, lumps of a substance like glass are often found in the ashes. These mineral substances vary in different plants as to quantity, but eight are generally to be found in their ashes, four of the eight being acids, namely, that of flint, which is silica ; of bonesj phosphorus ; of brimstone, sulphuric acid ; of cgmmon salt, muriatic acid : and also four alkalies, potash, soda, lime, and magnesia. A very small quantity of alumine, or the earth of clay, is also usually detected in the ashes of plants. These, Dr. Liebig says, cannot of course be formed in the plant, but must be derived from the soil : and accordingly there they are generally to be found when the soil is examined by chemists, but in limited quantity, so that the soil may become exhausted mi one or more of them. But further, all these eight mineral subtances are to be found in farm-yard dung, besides ammonia, the source of nitrogen ; hence the excellence of dung for ail crops indifferently. Some crops, however, require more of one ingredient than of another : hence the good effect of bones upon tuniips, which contain a great deal of phosphorus ; and of gypsum or peat-ashes, which contain sulphate of lime, upon clover ; of Epsom salts also. Dr. Liebig states, which contains magnesia, upon potatoes. Some soils, again, may contain so much of one of these eight minerals, that it may be useless to add any more. Thus gypsum is found to be useful in one part of a field and not in another, and bones are useless in Mecklenburg, where the fields are dressed with a marl full of phosphorus ; or, on the other hand, a tract of country may be deficient altogether in some one of the eight ingredients which is necessary for all crops, as in lime : in such a district lime will be a standing manure. This new theory of agriculture, though but a theory at present, certainly pro- mises important results. In order to test it first, and, if it hold good, to apply it afterwards, two courses of inquiry are requisite : 1, as Dr. Liebig informed Mr. Pusey, "a moreminute examination of the ashes of plants in whichr these mineral substances are found, and further a more accurate analysis of our 1306 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. various soils, In which last particular English science is sadly defective : for, Dr. Liebig observes, Davy has made several analyses of various ftrtile soils, and since his time numerous other analyses have been published, but they are all so superficial, and in most cases so inaccurate, that we possess no means of ascertaining the composition or nature of English arable land. This reproach on our science ought certainly to be removed ; and it is easy to see how varied a field of inquirj' Is opened by the new theory." (Joum. n. A. S. E., vo\. Hi. p. 214.) . . 8137. On the practical application of manures, Mr.Pusey has given the following summary as the result of recent experience. On this most difficult subject in agriculture, manures, " it may be said that we have learnt a great deal in the last four years, but know nothing; for we have learnt many of the chemical principles on which manures act, but we do not yet know how to apply those principles to the daily work of the farm. It is now established, that the most important ingredient of farm-yard dung is ammonia *, the same substance as common smelling salts ; known to escape very readily in the air ; and there is a growing opinion that a great deal of it does so escape from our farm-yards; which is doubtless the case ; though I am not sure whether the alarm on the subject be not somewhat exagger- ated. For ammonia arises chiefly from the urine of the cattle, but it does not form itself until alter some days ; and by that time, in a well-littered yard, it has sunk from the surface, and has been trampled down fast, so that it can less easily evaporate. Whilst it is forming itself, too, the straw begins to decay ; and it is the opinion of Sprengel that an acid, called the humicacid, formed from the decaying litter, has the property of combining with the ammonia, and removing its volatile property. This must be doubtful, of course, and various means of fixing the ammonia have been proposed. Sulphuric acid is one, either iu the shape of gypsum, which has been found not to answer, or in that of green vitriol, or as a pure acid ; but these are at present only suggestions. We have been also strongly urged to imitate a foreign practice of using liquid manure, spread from a water-cart ; but this I believe to be a very doubtful inno- vation ; for if the urine be collected separately, it is the opinion of Sprengel that a still greater escape of ammonia takes place, unless some substance, which is not j^et ascertained, be added to fix it, or unless it be largely diluted with water, which occasions great labour in its application. This last objection lies aho against the other form of liquid manure, the runnings from the yard collected in a tank ; for after heavy rains they sometimes do not contain above two per cent, of salts, and are then not worth the labour of carriage. It appears that this foreign practice has arisen from two causes : one, the want of litter, and where the same cause exists, as on some of our dairjr-farms, the method might be well in- troduced ; the other motive is, the desire in Flanders of applymg a liquid top-dressing in May to the corn growing on sandy land, or else to a second crop, such as carrots sown amongst beans ; but this last case does not arise in England. Some loss, however, must arise by the runnings from every farm-yard ; for whether the ammonia be fixed or escape in the air, there is no doubt it is still soluble and runs away in the water." But "if the yard be well littered, and the dunghills be covered with earth, I doubt whether, excepting on grass farms, where the tank may be necessary from the want of straw, the present management of dung can be greatly improved, though in many districts the quality certainly may be." 8138. Artificial manures or hand-tillages. Besides farm-yard dung, we have an infinite variety of artificial manures or hand-tillages ; indeed, it may be said that there is no refuse of any trade, provided it be animal or vegetable, except tanner's bark, which is not or might not be used for this purpose. It would be useless to enumerate all, as they are well known, and the supply of many is very limited. The two principle articles are bones and rape-dust, the former suited for light land, and used chiefly for turnips. It is remarkable how very local is the use of both these manures ; that of bones, indeed, is spreading, but rape-dust is not so much known in the south ; and certainly where artificial manures are new, there is some unwillingness to lay out money upon them, though dung perhaps is bought at bs. the- cart-load, and carted with great labour at a long distance. When bones were first used, it was thought that unboiled bones must be better than those from which the animal oil had been extracted; but the reverse appears now to be true — not that animal oil is useless, but that it sheathes probably the bone, and cliecks its action upon the plant. There remains, however, in the bone another animal compound, gelatine,,or the matter of jelly ; but Sprengel states he has repeatedly found that bones act as strongly after they have been burnt, when the jelly of course is removed; and this is well worth re- marking, because the body of the bone consists of phosphate of lime, evidently another powerful prin- ciple, which is found also abundantly in urine, and consequently in dung. But though the character of bones is established upon light land for turnips, even this manure fails on some soils of that quality, wliich shows that we cannot be too cautious in prescribing even the most approved remedies for the lirst time upon land. S138 a. Rape-dust appears to be established chiefly among the farmers of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. As it is one of the few hand-tillages which can be applied to clay, and as some of our south-country clays are much in want of assistance, 1 may mention that, according to an excellent prize essay of the Wetherby Agricultural Society, by Mr. John Hannam, the best mode of using it is drilling with autumn-sown wheat at the rate of 4 or 5 cwt. to the acre, the price being about 7«. per cwt. 8139. Rags. Mr. Hannam states, " 20,000 tons of rags are said to be used annually by the farmers of Kent, Sussex, Oxford, and Berkshire. The price is about bl, per ton. They answer extremely well for hops and wheat. They are usually cut by a chopper into shreds, and applied by the hand at the rate of half a ton per acre." Six or seven cwt. is considered a fair dressing for wheat upon light land ; on heavy land rags are not used at all. 8140. Nitrate of soda, from which so much was once expected, has given various and contrary results. " There are the most undoubted proofs from numerous quarters of an enormous increase in the produce after its use ; there are as undoubted instances of its utter failure : nor have we any clue to the mystery. A full statement of all the recorded experiments on nitrate of soda is contained in Professor Johnston's Chemistry and Geology applied to Agriculture, the most complete account of agricultural chemistry that we possess. On the same land where it gave Mr. Pusey 8 bushels of wheat one year, it gave barely 3 in the following ; and having tried it largely at that time on four different farms, nowhere with success, he has given it up. Still there is evidently a principle of fertility in it, which will some day be fOund out, and some farmers continue to use it ; but in several cases it has produced mildew in wheat and barley by forcing the crop beyond the strength of the land. By the side of the nitrate Mr. Pusey tried on several fields the sulphate ot ammonia, extracted from gas-water, for the first time. It acted precisely as the nitrate of soda, darkening the colour of the plant, and lengthening the straw and the ear even more than the nitrate, but it certainly did not pay. Again we have the principle, and we must learn to combine it. 8141. Guano. " I can speak with more confidence of the last new manure, guano, having used it on a small scale last year, and to the extent of 5 tons in the present season. There are two circumstances in its favour before-hand: one, that it is in fact dung, though of very ancient origin, still birds' dung, which IS known to be the most powerful of all manures ; the other, that it has experience in its favour though a distant experience certainly, at the other side of the globe, in Peru — still an experience of 3C0 years. It appears to be best calculated for root-crops. On a light loam, where it has been used here this year ft.r turnips at 3 cwt. to the acre, costing 45;;., it has nearly equalled 20 loads of very cood dung, and has beati-n 20 bushels of bones costing 65«., as well as several other artificial manures bevond any comparison. It has failed as a top-dressing on corn and on clover. On the whole, guano seems an excellent manure for root-crops, if rightly applied, and, as it is now sold at 12s. the cwt., a very chpiin one ; but I should be sorry to hear of it being tried largely on a diflferent soil than light loam without 8142. Quicklime is so largely used on the west side of England that it bears there the name of SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1307 manure. Whether it could be adopted elsewhere, with the same advantages, Is a verv Interesting ques- tion, as is the mode of its operation. '* Sir H. Davy's theory, that it dissolves veget martyrs, but we are not aware tliat it was ever before realised. A set of revolving blades in this hoe work across the rows of turnips, leaving the plants at regular disr tances. {Johjison'a Agr. Imp. for 1843, p. 57.) 8191, — 2690. Cross/ciWs broadcast manure sower (^.1156.), which is drawn by one horse, will contain 8 bushels of manure In a state of powder. It is 6 feet wide, and can be regulated so as to deposit the manure at any given rate per acre. By placing the drill box in a vertical position the quantity of manure sown is increased, and tlie con- trary by placing it in a horizontal position. Price 12/. 12*. * 8192. Cottam*s improved serrated chain harrow Q^. 1157.) consists of a number of serrated iron discs interwoven and linked together with iron rods, the whole forming a surface of thirty superficial feet, interspersed with nearly four hundred points or discs. It is said that no clod can escape the iniluence of this harrow, and that it will be found particularly serviceable in harrowing after seed has been sown. (See Johnson'$ Agr> Imp. for 1843, p. 17.) 8193. — 2709. CrosskiJVs Ood-crttsher roller Cfe.1158.) is intended to effect the same objects as the spiky roller. It consists of a number of segments hxed on an iron axle six feet six inches long. Ploughed land once rolled by this machine is said to be reduced to a finer state than by two or three rollings and harrowings with the ordinary machines. It is drawn by three horses, and cleans itself, even when land 1158 Is m the very roughest state. A number of these m have been manufactured by the inventor at heverley, and used by the farmers of the surrounding country. The price of a machine, including two Iron road wheels to attach to it when not m use, is from 17/. to 19/. delivered in Hull Mr Crosskil"- stppJ^EMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 131D informs us (June 22. 1843 ) that the demand for this machine is from IfiO to 200 annually. For the first two or three years after he invented it, he did not make above 2 or 3 annually. 8194,-2711. CrosskiWs liquid manure cart {Jig. 1159.) holds about 200 gallons. The body a, is made of cast iron ; there is a brass valve lever,/, by which the liquid can be let out by the iron spout c, upon _ the spreading board d, and a patent iron 1159 J^i^ pump b, which cannot easily choke or get out of order, with a flexible leather pipe c, 7 feet long, with a 3 feet copper pipe at the end for drawing up the liquid (torn the manure tank. Altogether this seems an excellent machine. The price delivered in Hull is 252. Dean's liquid manure cart figured in Johnson's Agr. Imp., p. 32., ap- pears also to be a very excellent machine *, t:ost, complete, 3S/. 8195 2711. A cheap a-nd usf^ul water- cart is thus described by Mr. Donaldson in the Farmer^ s Magazine, vol. viii. p. 81. : _ A barrel, holding 100 to 200 gallons, is placed on a pair of wheels and shafts in the usual way. A pump, three inches in diameter, is placed close by the side of the barrel ; and to the under end of the pump is made fast a leather pipe of indefihite length, with a rose copper end, and in the pipe small copper or tin rings are placed, two inches distant, to prevent the ex- ternal air from pressing together the sides of the pipe, and thus excluding the water. The cart being placed on the bank of a river, brook, or pond, and the pipe thrown into the water with the rose end immersed, a man will pump ISO gallons in ten minutes, without the trouble of having a road into the bottom of the river, and with the great advantage of the horse standing dry, and' not plunged into three feet of cold water on a winter day, in the usual way of filling by ladle and standish. A stop-cock is fixed betiind for discharging the water; When the cart is travelling, the leather pipe lies over the barrel, fastened by two iron catches. The barrel being filled, and driven to the place required, the leather pipe is immersed in the barrel by a hole in the top, sufficient to admit the rose end. A small iron rod screws down by the side of the piston rod, upoil the upper valve, and shuts in fast. A risirig main, with a check valve, is opened between the two buckets in the pump, upon which is screwed fast a leather pipe with a copper tube on the end. One man directing this pipe, and hnother pumping, con- verts the cart into a sort of fire engine, that may be very useful in cases of emergency, throwing the water forty feet horizontally, and over any house of two stories, any haystack or corn-rick; it is also Very useful for garden walls and fruit trees. By Increasing the size of the barrel, and by applying more power, a very sufficient engine may be made, and answering other purposes at the same time. 8196 2731. Mann's reaping machine v/ns invented in 1820, but neglected till 1826, when it was im- proved ; and in 1832 it w.as exhibited at an agricultural meeting at KelSo. It differs from Bell's reaping -machine in being drawn instead of being pushed, and in depositing the corn in a continuous swathe' nearly at right angles with the line of direction, and bn the side opposite to the standing com. Both these are advantages which we hope will not be lost ^ight of by the mechanist who may at some future time make such a reaping machine as shall come into general use. An engraving, with descriptive details, of Mann's reaping machine will be found in the Quart. Jaur.Agr.^YolAv. p. 250. 8197. — 2752. CrosskiWs improved Scotch cart is made entirely of iron, ana is peculiarly adapted for hot climates ; with narrow iron wheels, having the tire 2J in. wide, by | In. deep, the cost is only 12/. The cart made of wood, in the usual manner, costs 102. lOs. 8198.— 2756. An improved com and hap cart is exhibited in Jig. 1160., and is in general use in the , , f,^ neighbourhood of Alloa. The advantages '■^^^ are, " great simplicity of structure, and, what constitutes its chief excellence, the load takt^s its full ^readth at the very commencement, bywhich the centre of gravity of the load is brought lower than in either the common corn-cart, or the dung-cart with top-framfe, whereby a greater degree of stability and safety against the risk of upsetting is ac- quired, and a greater facility of loading. Another advantage may be pointed out, in the case with which, it is converted. into a carf for the conveyance of timber, by simply iinboltirig the frame from the shafts, and in its place laying two single cross bars, one before, and another behind the wheels." {^Trans. H. S.-, vt>\. xi. p. 396.) 8199. ^2773. The construction qf threshing machines is everywhere very imperfect, even in Scotland, «here they were first invented, and where machines of the largest power, impelled by water or steam, are erected at great expense. The editor of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture has the following judi- cious observations on this subject :-:-'* Were threshing machines constructed on correct and unerring principles, like the machinery of a timepiece or of a steam-engine, or even of a flour-mill, the advan- tage to the farmer would not only appear in the shape of cleaner threshed straw, and of economy df time and labour, but the millwright himself would derive great advantage in the certain possession of materials. which would enable him to erect threshing machines that would suit the particular localities in which they were to be placed. There is no way of arriving at this perfection, but by the institution of experi- ments to ascertain what may be the simplest construction of the threshing machine, and the best mode of applying the least quantity of moving power to execute the desired work satisfactorily. These desiderata would produce the advantage of threshing the corn at the least cost. Threshing machines are of so durable a nature that they are not often renewed ; but for that very reason they should be constructed in the best manner at first. A set of patterns could be made from the results of these experiments, and lent out to those makers in the country who could grant security that they would only erect machines which Were conformable to these patterns. In the course of time the country would be stored with efficient and easily moved threshing machines. The ill-judged desire of the farmer to have a machine that will not cost mncl\,money often leads the millwright to adopt expedients in its construction which he is conscloufi are not suited to work well together. This is one reason, among many others, to prqve the propriety of landlords erecting threshing machines at their own expense, upon their farm-steadings, and of giving the tenants the use of the mills, as well as the steadings, and of obliging them to keep the machines ia repair, as in the case of the buildings." (Quart. Jota: Agr., vol. Hi. p. 986.) 8200. The threshing machine at Wynnstay, the seat of Sir Watkin WiUiams Wynn, Bart., is considered one of the most complete in Britain. It was erected by the late Mr. John Gladstone, of Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, about the year 1812. This machine separates the corn from the straw, and delivers both straw and corn into their proper places, \<'ithout the assistance of manual labour, with the exception of feeding. The site of the mill is on a declivity, and the barn has three floors or stories ; the upper- most of which o^ens Into the stack-yard, making it very convenient for carrying in the sheaves : th6 second one contains the fir^st winnowing machine ; with a chaff'^hduse, partitioned off under the stair, and 4P 4 1320 ENCYCLOP-EDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT. descending to the floor below, with a door Into the Btraw-house, and one Into the cattle-yard. When the com Is only to be passed through the erst winnowing machine, the corn elevators and second machine are thrown out of geer, and the corn delivered on the second floor, where the bruising machine is fixed. The nnder floor contains the second winnowing machine with the lower end of the corn elevators. If necessary, the clean corn may be delivered on this floor, instead of into the elevator trough : the ends of both machines are inserted in the chaff-chamber. The com Is put between two grooved rollers, when the grain is beaten out of the ear by four beaters fixed on the threshing cylinder, and thrown into the ralie or first shaker, when it falls through tiie sparred bottom Into the winnDwing machine hopper, while the straw is raked for- ward and thrown upon the travelling shaker, where it is thoroughly Bhaked, and conveyed into the straw-house. Thecorapasses through the first winnowing ma- chine, when it is cleared of its chaff, short strav s, &c.: the latter is thrown Into a set of elevators which carries them up to the feeding-table, to be threshed over agaiu with the unthreshed corn. TbiB is a very useful appendage to a threshing-mill ; it takes all the refuse from the fanners.which generally accumulates about a barn floor (or is carried up by hand), whereas the elevators carry all away, and thereby leave a clean barn. The corn passes through another pair of fanners, and from thence into the corn elevator trough, and is carried from thence into the granary and thrown into the weighing ma- chine, which is con- nected with an index in the bam on the par- tition walls facing the man at the feeding- table, which shows the quantity threshed very nearly. . The machine occupies part of three floors. The water wheel is in a house beside tlie bam, and in a room above the wheel is a Scotch barley-mill, and beyond it is a very com- plete saw-mill, both driven from the same wheel, which can be de- tached when the thresh- ing part is at work, and the threshing part, when the saw or barley-mills are wanted. In the middle Aocu: is an oat bruiser driven from the upright shaft ; it can be put out of geer if wanted. 8201. Description. In Ji^s. 1161, 1162, 1163., a is the water-wheel, eighteen feet in diameter by four feet wide ; 6, a pit wheel, eight feet in diameter, which works into a pinion, c, of fifteen iuches in diameter, fixed on the upright shaft ; d, a bevel wheel, five feet in diam«ter, wnich turns the drum pinion, e, of nine inches in diameter ; /, the drum, or threshing cylinder, three feet four inches in diameter outside of the beaters, and four feet and a half long, with four beaters turning upwards with avelocity of 300 revolutions per minute ; a, a bevel wheel, twenty-one inches in diameter, turning a pinion of five inches and a quarter diameter, on the axle of which is another pinion five inches in diameter, working in the face wheel, t, with two rows of teeth, one of thirty and the other twenty-four teeth ; this pinion slides along its axle into either set of teeth ; for instance, into the one of the smallest number if the straw is long, and into the other ir it is short, loose, and irregular. The rollers are about three inches and a half in diameter ; the wheels g and J are each twenty-one inches in diameter, working into the pinions k ft, five inches and a quarter in diameter, which gives motion to the rake or first shaker at the rate of forty-five turns per minute : it is four feet in diameter to the extremity of the teeth ; 1 1, two wheels, each twenty-one inches in diameter, with pinions, m m, five inches and a quarter each, which drive the travelling shaker that receives the straw from the rake, and conveys it into the straw-house. This shaker is composed of two endless pitch chains, worked by two stud wheels ten inches in diameter, with eight studs on each, on the same shaft as the wheels m and n, revolving at forty-five times per minute. These chains are kept stretched by two smooth wheels at the further end in the straw-house : between the chains are fixed round wooden rods about two inches apart, m is a wheel with large teeth on its circumference, which, • as it turns round, depresses the point of the lever o, and raise? the end p. The lever is fixed on an axle which passes through to the other side of the shaker, with a short lever fixed on it to correspond with the lever p ; on these levers, p p, rests a small shaft, on which is fixed on each end, under the chains, a email dmm four inches in diameter, which supports the shaker in the middle, as the wheel, n, moves round. The point of the lever, o, strikes from tooth to tooth, and thereby keeps the small shaft, at p p, In motion up and down, which shakes tlie loose corn out of the straw, which is drawn back by the under returning rod into the winnowing machine hopper ; a is the first winnowing machine ; r, the second winnowing machine ; botii driven by a small water-wheel, six feet in diameter, and four feet wide : the water from the large wheels supplies this one. The motion of the machine requires to be uniform, which cannot be the case if connected with the threshing part. It answers better to have a separate wheel for SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1S2J the machines. The clean corn passes inCo.the elevators s ;■ from thence It Is carried up Into the granary, and delivered Into the weighing machine, £, by small elevators made of sheet iron, with wooden backs and bottoms fixed to a pitch chain, revolving round a studded wheel ten inches in diameter, and with .eight studs at the upper end, and a small wooden roller at the bottom, at eleven turns per minute. Tiie com is delivered into the weighing-machine box, 1, and accumulates until there Is the weight of a measure, when the box turns on its axle, and the corn is emptied intb the spent which conv<*y8 it into whatever binn it may be wanted in. At the same time the part 2 turns iip, and is filled as the other, and, when full, descends as the other, and so on, while the threshing is going forward : 3 is a weight which slides up and down a rod fixed at right angles from the bottom of the weighing machine: if the corn is heavy, slide this up until it will balance a bushel of corn similar to what is to he threshed ; if light, slide it downwards. From the axle of this box, a small rod proceeds to two small wheels behind the index, «, which turns two fingers that revolve round the face of this index ; it is figured from 1 to 10. For every movement the weighing bucket makes, the longest finger moves over the space of one, and for every ten, the other finger moves one. At the end of the threshing, this finger will denote pretty accurately the quantity threshed : for instance, were the long finger at 5, and the short one at 9, there would be ninety-five bushels of corn in the binn \ x x x are pinions five inches and a quarter in diameter, each working in wheels (y y y) twenty-one inches in diameter each, which give motion to the corn elevators, and likewise to the tail elevators by a pitch chain revolving round the stud-wheel w w, giving motion to the shaft of the elevators at eleven times per minute. The buckets are mado of thin boards fixed on two pitch chains turned by two stud wheels ten inches i32J3 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AOnitVhtVKE. supplement; in diameter at the upper end, and a wooden roller at the lower. (J. Gladstone, Leadrtoorhs, Cheater, Orf.29. 1831.) . <. , , 8202. Mr, J. Gladstone^ civil engineer, Chester^ to whom we arc indebted for the foregoing plans and description, with reference to the improved form of the threshing machine, says, " I have always under- stood that it was to my father we are indebted for It in its improved state. In 1788. Mr. Andrew Meikle produced the Ur^t machine of the kind, for which he took out a pa- tent. (See Repository of i(r/«,vol.x.No.a8.)ThfB was simply a threshing 1^ cylinder with the beaters j turning downwards, ' throwing straw and corn into a moving screen, which separated them in a very imperfect manner; so much so, that I have heard the machines were given up, or going into disuse, simply on account of the beatei's striking downwards ; if the ears escaped the beaters im- mediately on passing through the rollers, they were bent under them, and laid close to the in- terior of the cylinder case, and thereby evaded the stroke of the beater. In 1793, my father made his first machine, sihiilar to that of Mr. Meikle, with this difference, that the threshing cylinder turned upwards, and as the corn came through the roller, it lay upon the cylinder, and, being exposed to the stroke of each beater, none escaped being threshed." (See The ■-Stewartry of Kirkcud- bright Agricultural Re- port of 1810.) 8203, The laic Mr, Gladstone, qf Castle Dou- glas^ added the shaker to the threshing machine in 1794« and what he called a fetterer, for breaking off the awns of barley, soon afterwards. In 1798, he made a threshing machine, to be driven by windmill sails. In 1799, he invented the draught chains used in threshing machines, to equalise the pressure of the draught on the horse's shoulder. In 180.5, he added a travelling shaker to the threshing machine, and soon after, a contrivance for conveying the corn from the fanners into the granary, and weighing it at the same time. By another piece of machinery the com may be accurately measured. " On reviewing the whole," the writer, in the Repm't of the Stewartry of Kirk- cudbright Agricultural Society for \%\0, ol^serves, "it is impossible not to perceive how vastly superior the machines of Mr. Gladstone are to those first contrived by Mr. Meikle, and what distinguished services he has thus rendered to the interests of agriculture. The machine is now competent to the threshing not only of one, but of every, species of grain. It is adapted of itself to separate the straw from the com, and convey it perfectly shaken into the straw-house ; to clean the corn effectuailv ; to weigh and measure it accurately ; and to lodge it securely in the granary. If driven by water, the adoption of the chain bucket outer wheel saves an inner one, formerly deemed indispensably necessary, and simplifies the machinery; if by horses, the person feeding it can manage without a driver from within, and assign to each horse an equal share of the draught, or such a proportion of it as may be sup- posed adequate to his strength. Much diminution in the expense, as well as much improvement in the mode,^ of farm management has thus taken place. What was the work of several months, can be per- formed more perfectly, and with more ease, in as many weeks ; and the labour of the winter season can now be devoted to more valuable purposes, to the collecting and formation of manures, and the better preparation of the land for the reception of the seed." 8204. One of the most complete threshing machines in England has been erected at the Duke of Gloucester's farmery at Bagshot Park ; for the following description and drawings of which we are indebted to Mr. Anderson, an experienced agricultural engineer. This machine threshes the comj hummels barley, wmnows, sifts, and cleans corn, grinds it into Bour, cuts the straw into chaff, and grinds bones for manure ; and any one of these operations can be performed without the other. The different parts of this apparatus are chiefly taken from machines already in existence, but some also are original. It may be mentioned as a singular and melancholy sign of the times, that the parties who have the chief merit are afraid of giving their names to the public. The agriculturists of a future and, we trust, no distant day will hardly believe it possible that the destruction of threshing machines should have been popular in England in 1830. It is worthy of notice as an argument in favour of the diffusion of knowledge among the labounng classes, that, so far from threshing machines being destroyed in Scotland, they are so much in repute among the labourers of that country, that a farmer who is without sijppLEMKNT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGUlCiULTURE. 1323 - one is obliged to pay higher wages to his servants. This fact is well authenticated by a correspondent ia the Examiner newspaper of February 13, 1831. (See the examination of Joseph Forster in No. 1. of The Working Man^s Conwanion^ and also in Mech. Mag.t vol. xiv. p. 323.) The mechanical part of tne machinery was executed and erected chiefly by Mr. George Miller, now residing near Bagshot. Fig. 1164. is partly a section, and partly a side view ; J^. 1165. is partly a cross 1164 section, and partly an end view ; and fig. 1166. is partly a vertical section, and partly a vertical profile. The same letters are applied to the same parts in all the figures. 8205. Description of the machinery, (figs. 1164. 1165. 1166.) a is an overshot water wheel 15 feet dia- meter, which makes from six to eight revolutions per ininute, according to the supply of water; on the .irms of the water wheel is fixed a bevel wheel, 6, of 128 cogs (seven feet four inches diameter), working into the pinion c, of 26 cogs (twenty inches diameter), on the upright shaft d ; these wheels are below the ground floor, and entirely hid from the view. On the shaft d are two driving wheels, g and/: ^ is a spur wheel of 119 cogs (six feet two inches dia- meter), driving the pinion e, of 22 cogs (fourteen inches diameter) on the shaft A, which leads to the floor above, and turns the upper millstone ; /is a mitre wheel of 40 cogs (two feet diameter), working into two wheels, t and &, of the same dimensions. On the same shaft as the mitre wheel, i, is a spur wheel, I, of 200 cogs (six feet eight inches dia- meter), working into the threshing machine drum pinion, m, of 20 cogs (eleven inches diameter) ; the spur wheel, /, also drives a wheel, «, of 39 cogs (twenty-two inches diameter), on the same axis of which is a small wheel, o, of 26 cogs (ten inches diameter), working into the wheel o, of 121 cogs (three feet four inches diameter), on the axis of the first rake or shaker: the wheel p gives motion to the inter- m«'diate wheel q, of 72 cogs (two feet diameter), which works into the second shaker wheel of the same dimensions as the first shaker wheel n. On the spindle on which the wheel n is mounted is a small shifting pinion, r, of 17 cogs (seven inches diameter), working into the faced wheel *, ou which are two rows of cogs, one of 20 and the other of 30 gogfl each. . On the same.Jixis as the faced wheel « is a bevel wheel, t, of 20 cogs (eight inches diameter); 1324 ENCYCLOPJEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. working Into the wheels u, and v of 40 cogs (sixteen Inches diameter), on the lower feeding roller spindly ! these two wheels are not fixed on the spindle, but revolve freely on turned parts of the shaft, ?«« give motion to it by means of the clutch and handle, w. When the machine is at work the clutch xs in the wheel e, giving to the feeding rollers the required motion ; should it be necessary to stop the ^Hers, the handle w is moved from the feeding board, and the clutch disengaged from the wheel w. Should the handle be moved farther Itom the feeding board, the clutch is thrown into the wheel w, and the rollers turn the reverse way. 8206. The totnnowtng machine under the shakers is driven by a sheave on the drum axis, and a rope leading to a sheave on the fanner spindle ; to dress the grain thoroughly, it is conveyed from this machine, and passes through two winnowing machines, one placed above the other : this is effected by means of a canvass cloth, on which are strips of wood half an inch in thickness ; the cloth revolves on two rollers, and is set in motion by a rope leading from a sheave on the shaft i to a sheave on the upper roller spiudle. As it Is absolutely necessary to have a steady and uniform motion to produce the best possible sample from a winnowing machine, and as the velocity of the threshing machine is subject to vary, from irregular feeding and other causes, the winnowing or dressing machines are set in motion by a small water-wheel, X five feet diameter, on the axis of which is a bevel wheel, twenty inches in diameterj working into a Pinion on an inclined shaft, y. On the upper end of the shaft y is a bevel wheel working into a pinion, on the axis of which is another bevel wheel giving motion to the shaft z, which turns the fanners by means of small mitre wheels. 8207. The bone-mill and chOfff^-cutting machine are driven by the mitre wheels /and k. On the shaft 2 is a shifting pinion, 3, of sixteen co^s (ten inches diameter), working into the wheel 4, of 49 cogs (two feet four Inches diameter), on the axis -of which is a pinion, 5, of IG cogs (ten inches diameter), driving tlie wheel 6 of 49 cogs (two feet four inches diameter), in the axis of one of the lower crushers : the auppiEMKKT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1325 ■upper pair of crushers are driven by the wheel 6, working Into s wheel, 7, In the uppcir crush oi* spindle. 7 he crushing rollers are set to or from each other as the nature of the work may require. 'When th£i bones are large, the upper pair of crushers only are used in passing the bones the nrst time through, an inclined board being placed to prevent them from falling into the lower set ; this board is removed at the second time of grinding, and the bones pass through the two sets and fall into the revolving circular screen 16 : any bones that will not pass through the mesh of the screen are again put into the mill. The screen is set in motion by the wheel 6, working into a.pinioa not shown in the drawing, and by a shaft and universal joint connecting with the utis of the screen. On the shaft 2 is a bevel wheel, 8, of 46 cogs (twenty-one inches diameter), driving the pinion 9, of J6 cogs (nine inches diameter), on an inclined shall leading to the floor above ; on the upper end of this shaft 18 a bevel wheel, 10, of 52 cogs (twenty inches diameter), driving a pinion, 11, ol 17 cogs (nine inches, diameter), on the spindle of the chaff-cutting machine. When the threshmg machine only is at work, the mitre wheel k is thrown out of geer by the liftmg screw 12 ; the pinion on the flour mill spindle is raised above the spur wheel g by the screw 13. When the threshing machine is not at work, the mitre wheel i is thrown out of geer by the lifting screw 14. t396 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplementv^ The p!nfon 3 is kept in its place on the shaft 2 by a key ; when the bone-mill is not at work, the pinloa' Is slided along the shaft clear of the wheel 4. There are three cogs dovetailed into the pinion ; when the chafT-^cutting machine fs not at work, these cogs are remored, and the vacant part turned towards the bevel wheel 8 ; the person attending the chafr-machine can also stop it by the clutch and handle 15. To stop the water-wheel, the ring and lever 18 is raised by means of a chain leading over a pully at the upper part of the building ; this raises the sluice board 17, and allows the water to escape clear of the wheel. The water which drives the small wheel x is also conveyed by a dash-board under it on to- the large water-wheel ; as this water falls above the centre of the large wheel, the loss of power sustained is not great. The velocity of the particular parts is found by dividing the product of the number of cogs in the driving wheels of the product by the number of cogs in the driven wheels, and the quotient will be the number of revolutions made by the last moved part, for one of the first moving part. The drum will, therefore, make 49*2 revolutions for one of the water wheel ; which, multiplied by 7, the medium revo- lutions of the water-wheel per minute, will give 344-4 revolutions of the drum per minute ; as the dia- meter of the drum is three feet, the circumference will be 9'42 feet, which, multiplied by 344-4, will give 3244 feet, the velocity of the beaters or switchers on the drum per minute. By following the same rule. The shakers will be found to make The feeding rollers, quick motion slow motion The upper stone of the flour mill The chaff-cutting machine The bone mill 5-42'| 10*7 revolutions 7*1 I for one of 26'6 f the water- 36-4 wheel. ■52j The operative part of erecting the machine was done by a Mr. George Millar, now residing near Bagshot. 8208. A flour millfor a parish workhouse, upon a new and improved principle (Jfe«. 1167. and 1168.), has lately been erected at the Islington parish workhouse, by Weir, Oxford Street ; and as it is admir- ably calculated for the purposes in view, and may be adopted in many similar cases, we have deemed it well worth a place in this Supplement. It consists of two pairs of stones ; one pair of which can be r* ??M ^^^''^J!,'' ^^ ly"^ J"^?-' ^'- ^°^^ together by twelve men. The moving power is a crank (fig. 1168.), on the spindle of which is a large iiy wheel ; and beyond which is a pinion, working into a spur wheel on an upright shaft : this last wheel works into the pinions on the spindles that set the stones va motion. Either of the pmions is of course easily thrown out of gear by a lever There is a hopper (a, a) to each pair of stones, and one governor (6), which, by means of steel yard bars (c, c) reaching to each pair of stones, regulates their motion. Each pair of stones grinds a bushel and a half ofwheat an hour, and the work is performed in as perfect a manner as by any water mill whatever. I^ere is a boltmg machine worked by a crank and fly wheel, and set in motion by four men. Tiie expense of a flour mill of the above description depends chiefly upon the size of thJ' burrstones; these, when lar^^^^ The improvements in this machine are the in- vention of Mr. Malpas, the foreman at Weir's establishment, a very intelligent mechanic, and the author of various improvements on the implements and machinery manufactured there, which do him the highest credit. ' SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OE AGRICULTURE. 1337. hi 1168 ri = • 1169 8209. A portable hand corn mill with FreneJtburr stones, capable, of being worked by. one man, is shown in^. 1169. The cost of this machine is 10/., bat there are various others adapted for beings worked by two men, or by horse or engine power, at various .prices, from. 101. to 30/. When made entirely of iron, tney are comparatively of little use. The manufacturer of these machines is chiefly Bean of Birmingham. (Johnson's Jgr. Imp. for 1843, p. 29.) 8210. Brtc/c and tile making machines have recently been invented by va~ rious persons. One by the Marquis of Tweeddsde is in most general use, and he has recently invented a hand drain-tile making machine, which was honoured with a premium in 1843. Messrs. Bansome have also brought for- ward a new machine for making tiles and bricks, which received a silver medal at the meeting of the English Ag7'icultural Society at Derby in 1 843. , 8211 — 2797. A barley htemmelling machine^ of a simple,, but very ^cient construction, is described in Trans. H. 5., vol. x. p. 334. *' The macnine con-. sists of a deal box ifig. 1170.) in the form of a truncated square pyramid, 30 inches on the side at the base, 20 inches at the smaller end, and 48 inches in' length. In the interior of the box, the two lower angles are filled up with wood, so as to form the half of an interior conical surface ; while the two upper angles are left void, except that their surface is thickly studded witli iron spikes, driven into the wood of the box. An iron, axle, or shaft, a, A, as seen in the longitudinal section {Ji^. 1170.), passes through it, in the line of the axis of the conical surface, and is supported on bearings at each end, formed in the bars crossing the ends of the box. The shaft is armed with two rows of blunt iron^ beaters, seven in each row, all lying in one plane ; the beaters on the one side of the shaft being placed. alternate with those of the other. 1170 \ Whea the hummeller is in the work-- ing position^ the opening d, in tlie, smaller end, is brought under the corn spout of the threshing-mill fanners,, supported on the foote, to bring the.- axis to the horizontal line. The ver- tical lines bounding the space/, repre- sent a transverse section in outline,, of the fanners, the prolongation A, c,' of the shaft passing through it, and! attached to the principal shaft by a coupling box at b. The journal at c, is supported on a bearing formed either on tlie fanners or a separate framework., The pulley g. giving motion to the beaters, is driven by a strap from the fan-shaft, or from such, other motion as may be found convenient, giving the beaters a velocity of about 400 revolutions per minute. '* The grain received from the spout of the fanners is violently agitated in its progress' among the revolv-j ing beaters, and, the lower side of the case having a considerable inclination, the grain is advanced during the process towards the lower orifice, through which it is ultimately discharged ; that opening is made capable of regulation by- means of the slider A, which serves, at the same time, to retain the grain within the box until it is divested of the awn, and prevents also its being scattered about by the agitation of the beaters. The humeller having no permanent fixture, it can be removed with great facility when a change of grain comes to be threshed. " Hummelling machines, on this principle, are certified to have been constructed in different situations, and to have given decided satisfaction.** ( TVofz; . H. S., vol. x. p. 336.) 8212 — 2802. Application ttf steam to purposes qf husbandry, showing the saving in horse corn that, might be made by employing locomotive engines instead of horses. iQuart. Jour, Agr., YOl.y^ p. 84, and p. 479. ; voLvi. p. 411.; andvol.vii. p. 225.) Chaf. Ill, -^ Edifices used in Agricidture. (p, 442.) 8213. — 2811. Edifices in use in agriculture. In the EncychptBdia of Cottage, Farm, and ViUa Archie iectwct we have gone into this subject in greater detail thoa could with propriety have been done in a 1328 ENCYCLOP-flEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. work embracing so extended a view of agriculture as the present volume. In that work, including the Supplement to it published in 1842, we have not only given a great variety of the very best plans for farmeries, or farm-houses, which liave been executed in Britain within tliese few years ; but we have given detailed plans, sections, and specifications of all the compoaeat buildings of a farm-yard, and of their ttings up, fixtures, and furniture. 8214— 2816. Stables in Sweden have the floors laid with perforated planks, so that no wet will lodge on them, and no litter is allowed. The same thing was practised in Hariey's dairy. The Swedes attribute the soundness of their horses* feet to their stable floors. (Brit. F. K., N. S., vol. iv. p. 405.) 8215. — 2819. Doorsj which are likely to meet with obstructions on opening inwards, or themselves be- coming obstructions to things passing outwards, should be mounted on crooks and bands, so as to open and throw back against the wall, or ^at is better, into a recess in it protected by a lintel. The door may be held in its place in the recess by a bolt. (Book oftlie Faitn, vol. i. p. ] 18.) 82IG.-^2847. Bam floors^ to be proof against the ascent of rats from beneath, should be formed of wood, or covered over with asphalte, which is found to be proof against every kind of vermin, and also to bear the action of the flail. " I'he sleepers upon which the floor is laid, should rest upon stone and lime building, raised two feet from the ground, close to the bam wall ; and the mortar and stones must l>e packed close to the upper edge of the sleepers, up to the deals of the floor. According to the width of the barn, the sleepers should rest also upon one or two supports of stones, so hewn as to permit no footing to any vermin ; and which will support the middle of the floor. By this contrivance, the space from the floor to the grouud is made too deep to permit an^ small animal standing on its hind legs and gnawing the floor, while dogs or cats can easily pass under it." {Q.uart. Jour. Agr., vol. iii. p. 995.) 8217. 2856. Hay bams are little used in Scotland, notwithstanding the moisture of the climate com- pared with that of England. In making meadow or natural hay, they have lately been found of great advantage in Scotland ; where meadow nay of the same degree of dryness that would rot if put f nto a rick, will keep perfectly if put in a hay shed. This arises probably from an increased evaporating sur- face, and the hajr being put in loosely. Were landlords sufficiently alive to the value of tne hay barn, one would be built on every steading in districts where meadow hay is made. (Trans. H, S., vol. xiv. p. 697.) 8218. — 2876. Labourer^ cottages. Having entered on this subject at length in our Encffcloptedia qf Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture^ and there given numerous plans, accompanied by descriptions, specincations, estimates, and critical remarks, we shall not here repeat any thing which has appeared in that work. Nevertheless, as the improvement of the dwellings of country labourers is what we have most at heart, next to the education of their offspring, we cannot let pass this opportunity, without contribut- ing something farther to the subject ; we shall, therefore, give one article, entitled the beau idial of an English labourer's cottage, by a most benevolent and enlightened clergyman, who adopts the signature of Selim ; and another on building cottages with mud walls, by a professional man, Mr. Wilds of Hert- ford. This gentleman, having been in North America, is deeply mipressed with the importance of this kind of knowledge to emigrants, who, at present, too frequently build their houses of wood, and conse- quently, sooner or later, suffer from accidents by fire, or, what is almost as bad, live in continual fear of doing so. To these we shall add the design of a stone-walled agricultural labourer's cottage, recently built, along with a number of others of the same kind, on the estate of William Laurence, Esq., in Gloucestershire. 8219. The beau idial tif an English labourer's cottage. The leading feature in the exterior of a labourer's cottage should be a picturesque simplicity, which is a sort of medium between superfluous decoration and unmeaning plainness. Tnis appears to be the only character of which a cottage is suscep- tible ; for, as plainness is uninteresting, so it offends our sense of propriety to see a building of this descrip- tion bedecked with costly fantastic ornaments, which are evidently u'nsuited to Vne simple unrefined' habits of humble life. But a picturesque simplicity is seldom the pervading character of modern orna- mental cottages. They are often decorated with turrets and battlements in the castellated style of Gothic, or in the monastic style, with elaborate painted windows, crosses, and pinnacles ; nay, instances have occured where the two styles have been united in the ornaments of a cottage dwelling. It cannot be" denied, that a picturesque effect is produced by this mode of embellishment ; all I contend for is, that such ornaments are altogether unsuited to a dwelling of the lowest order.' Should it be objected^ that, if we r^ect this mode of decoration, we must have recourse to ruin and decay to produce a picturesque effect ; I answer, that as much of this effect as we may require may be produced, I think, by irregu- larity of form and outline ; and irregularity is, in fact, the only effect aimed at by the use of Gothic ornaments. But as my object would be only a picturesque simplicity, I should discard useless and incon- venient irregularity. In so small a building as a cottage, a slight irregularity would be sufficient to give it a picturesque character, and the simplest embellishments would give it an ornamental effect ; and this, 1 conceive, is all we require to produce what I understand by picturesque simplicity. Though I am an advocate for simplicity, however, in cottage architecture, I would in some measure sacrifice even simplicity to ttie picturesque ; because the beauty of a neighbourhood frequently depends upon the style of the labourers' dwellings. These are the prevailing buildings in all rural scenery. They are occa- sionally so placed and associated with surrounding objects, that they present the most striking features in the landscape ; and the effect of particular scenes is not unfrequently produced by the forms and situ- ations of the cottages. Hence, a picturesque exterior is one of the chief requisites in an ornamental cottage ; but it should be a simple pleasing style of picturesque, which does not interfere with internal comfort and convenience ; produced by slight irregularity of form, and by unobtrusive and appropriate ornaments. I am not at all disposed to sacrifice internal comfort to outward effect. I think a pic turesque exterior may always be united with a comfortable interior; and I now proceed to give the description of a cottage in which I shall endeavour to exemplify the union above alluded to. 8220. Site of the cottage. As the comfort of the inmates and the general effect of a building depend materially on its site, the situation of a cottage is the first thing connected with it that requires consider- ation._ A general rule for the situation of a cottage is, that it should be properly supplied with water ; be dry, airy, and sheltered ; and admit of a sufficient allotment of garden ground adjoining the house. And I am an advocate for rather a scattered village, because, among other advantages, it affords an opportu- nity of erecting the cottages in proper situations. A damp situation is the principal thing to be avoided. It is a nuisance in all cases ; but especially to a labouring man, who cannot afford to spend any thing in draining, or much in fuel ; whose health is his only source of wealth, and to whom it is necessarj', both for health and comfort, that he should have a dry home to come to, after long exposure and severe ex- ertion ra the open air. Besides being dry, the site of a cottage should be airy and sheltered. Every dwelling should have a proper circulation of air around it, or it cannot be dry ; and a cottage should be sheltered, that it may be warmed with less expense of fuel : the shelter should be so placed, however, as not to interfere with a full exposure to the sun. We will, therefore, suppose our cottage placed on a gentle emmence m the neighbourhood of other dwellings ; and sheltered, in part, by higher ground at a distance, by a wood, or by groups of trees, and in part by its own orchard and outbuildings ; some of these so placed as to appear above the roof, but leaving it fully open to the south. The sitiution would be more desirable if a stream of water happened to run near, or if it adjoined a common, or a public road ; and it would thus possess the advantages of dryness, shelter, and cheerfulness, besides others which are of consequence to the general effect of the building to be erected upon it. 8221. Style of the cottage. Having fixed upon the site of the cottage, the next thing to he considered fs, in what style is the building to be erected; for even a cottage, I think, should present some aoDear- ance of architectural style. I have already contended that the Gothic is inappropriate to a dwelling o£ SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1329 this description, and a building In the Grecian or Roman style, upon so smalt a scale as a cottage, must be plain and formal, and deficient in picturesque effect, unless it be an elegant and costly edifice. There remains, therefore, only what is called the old English style, which is, I think, the proper style of archi- tecture for an ornamental cottage. It admits of great irregularity and variety of form ; and is suited to houses of all dimensions. Us ornaments may be adapted to the smallest dwellings ; the irregularity it allows in the exterior, may he made conducive to internal conveuience ; and it has this peculiar advan- tage, that we have many beautiful models of old English cottages in all parts of the kingdom. It has, also, this additional recommendation, that it is not an expensive style, and may be executed in almost any kind of material. A cottage in this manner may be built of stone, brick, flint and chalk, or even of wood and plaster ; and the building may be so formed, and the materials so disposed, as to give a pic- turesque and decorated effect, without the use of any expensive ornaments. The desired effect will be given by the tall chimneys ; by the high pointed gables, with, perhaps, small- pinnacles at the angles ; by the mullioned windows and the labels over them ; by a projecting porch of one or two stories ; and by the stringcourses round the building. In this style much of the ornamental work might he of wood. For instance, the whole of the upper story might be formed of a wooden framework, filled in with brick or plaster. This wooden fi-amework would project beyond the wall which supported it, and produce a pleas- ing effect of light and shade, and a variety of ornament might be given by the form of the frame itself, which shows on the outside, and by the arrangement of the bricks, or by the patterns impressed upon the plaster, with which the interstices of the frame are filled up. In these half timber houses might be introduced a kind of wooden oriel window, which is one of the most striking ornaments in many old cottages. The gables over such a building might have handsome barge boards with carved pinnacles at the points. These pinnacles, if small and in good proportion, would be in keeping with a mode of building which admits of a great variety of embellishment, and is well suited to a district where stone and other substantial materials are scarce and expensive. As it possesses these recommendations, we will adopt the old English style for our present purpose, and suppose the cottage erected on a dr^, airy site, well protected from tne prevailing winds, and surrounded by its garden, orchard, and out-bmldings. It would, of course, present one regular front. This we will suppose divided into two equal parts by a porch of two stories in the centre ; in the ground story of the porch might be an arched entrance ; in that ^ above, a neat mullioned window of two lights, with its proper label ; and over this a low gable terminating in a simple ornament. On each side of the jporch might be a mullioned window of three lights, placed immediately under the stringcourse, which divides the house into two storips ; the low wall above these windows would be plain, as the windows of the rooms in the chamber floor would be mrfst conveniently placed in the gables at the ends of the house. In the centre of the roof, behind the porch, would be the stack of chimneys, which should be tall, and rather the handsomest member of the building. It is the most conspicuous part of it, and the general effect of the whole would depend materially upon the form of the stack of cliimneys. This front would afford an example of what I understand by picturesque simplicity. There would be a certain symmetry and unity about it ; it would present no superfluous ornaments, nor any unmeaning irregularity. But still it might be made a highly ornamental cottage, and might contain many internal conveniences which are not always found in buildings of more pretension ; and it would possess enough of the picturesque character to make it harmonise with the surrounding scenery. 8222. Interior accommodaiion. Such, then, would be the exterior of the cottage : what are the accommodations it should contain within ? A comfortable labourer's dwelling should, in my opinion, consist of an entrance porch, kitchen, washhouse, pantry, and small cellar, a parlour or spare sitting- room, and at least three bedchambers. These apartments are all necessary for the comfortable accom- modation of a family, even in humble life : and, as we are attempting to describe the beau idial of a. cottage, we must suppose it to contain all these conveniences, which we proceed to describe in their order. A porch, besides being an important ornamental appendage to a cottage, is necessary for the comfort of the inhabitants, to which it contributes by sheltering the entrance from wind and rain, and thus assisting to warm the interior. A cottage porch should be of small dimensions, the floor on a level with the rooms within, and raised a stej) or two above the surrounding surface. It should be paved and ceiled ; and if it had a seat on each side, it would form a kind of summer-house, where the females would often sit at work in fine weather. Over the seats might be shelves, on which small tools might be put away, and seeds, onions, &c. placed to dry. There should, of course, be a scraper at the steps, and a mat within the entrance. 8223. Kitchen. From the porch you should pass through a small lobby to the kitchen, or common sitting-room^ of the family, which should be a sufficiently spacious, light, and airy apartment. The object of the lobby is, that there may be two doors between the living-room and the outer air, which will assist in keeping the room warm with a less expense of fuel. There are some defects, usually found in the interior of- old cottages, which ought to be avoided when new ones are erected. I allude to the lowness of the rooms and doorways, damp floors, and smoky chimneys. If we were to judge of the people by the houses they inhabited, we might suppose the former generations of our " bold peasantry, their country's pride," to have been absolutely a race of dwarfs. For, if you would avoid a broken head, you must actually creep through the doorways of ordinary cottages ; and, after escaping the perils of the doorway, a man of good stature can seldom stand upright in the house without being in danger of knocking his head against the bare rafters of the floor above, or against the bacon-rack, the scythe-blade, the reaping- hooks, and twenty other things commonly suspended from the ceiling. Now these low rooms and door- ways must be a continual source of annoyance to the inhabitants ; and, therefore, I would lay it down as a general rule, that no cottage kitchen should be lower than eight feet, and eveir cottage doorway above six feet. Another common defect in cottages, is the dampness of the ground-floor. In the case of old cottages, the ground-floor is usually much below the level of the surrounding surface, and you generally descend into the house -, and, even in modern cottages, the floors of the lower apartments are seldom sufficiently elevated. The consequence is, that, in many situations, the cottages are damp and uncomfort- able for five or six months in the year ; indeed, I know several cottages in which springs of water regu- larly break through the kitchen floors during the winter season. To avoid this inconvenience, I would propose, as another general rule, that the ground-floor of every dwelling of this description should be eighteen inches or more above the surface, and that the earth on the outside should be the same distance Delow the level of the floor. Under every brick or stone floor there should be a substratum of broken stone or flints, varying in thickness according to the nature of the soil and situation. On a damp site, it may be necessary to have this substratum two or three feet deep, with drains and air passages through it ; and the earth should have a good slope from the walls on every side, so that the water from the roof may escape rapidly, and not sink into the foundation. Another prevailing misery in cottages is, a smoky chimmey. This is a proverbial nuisance to every one ; but it is especially so to a cottager, because, over and above the dirt and discomfort occasioned by the smoke, half the fuel is wasted in a fireplace which has not a proper draught. This nuisance in cottages generally arises from the large size and straightness of the flue, and from the lowness of the chimney on the outside, or from the currents of air occasioned by the bad positions of the doors and windows, which seldom fit close. From whatever cause it arises, a smoky chimney is a prevailing misery in labourers' dwellings, which a judicious builder may generally contnve to avoid j and I refer the reader to some sensible observations upon this subject in the Ency- clopedia of Cottage^ Farm, and Villa Architecture. After this digression, let us return to the cottage kitchen. As this is the common sitting-room of the family, in which most of the household operations are to be performed, it should be a light warm apartment, of a good size. We will suppose it sixteen or seventeen feet square, and eight feet high, having a window m the east and one in the west side. It would 4 Q 1330 ENCYCLOPJEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplemekt. thus have the benefit of the morninff and midday sun ; an Important advantage to a cottager. In whose domestic expenditure coals and candles are consiclerable articles. Stone is, I believe, the best material for the floor, as being most durable and easily kept clean, and in these respects ereatly to be preterrt-d to brick. Boards, besides that they are liable to occasion accidents by fire, could scarcely be kept clean in a cottage living-room, and would soon be worn out by the iron-bound shoes of tlie inhabitants. Of course the walls and ceiling should be neatly plastered and whitewashed, and there should be a proper skirting-board round the room, and attached inside shutters to the windows. The fireplace should be bo situated as to be well lighted by one of the windows ; and it might be a close or open fireplace, according as wood or coal happened to be the common fuel of the district. I observe that the old-fashioned open fireplaces are generally preferred by cottagers, on account of the snug warm seats they afford in the chimney comer, as it is called, and which is too often the only warm place in the house, lam aware that these fireplaces do not economise fuel, or afford the best means of warming tlie room ; but they present some advantages to the cottager ; that is, they are capital places for drying bacon and wet clothing. Either wood may be burnt in them on the hearth, or coal in a moveable grate ; and, as the fire is on or near the ground, it certainly diffuses a considerable heat around it. The mouth of the brick oven also generally opens in the back, or side, of the chimney, so that all the ashes and litter, together with the heat pro- duced, are confined to one place ; and, should this place be near the centre of the building, the mass of warm masonry must have the effect of raising the general temperature of all the apartments. In the coal countries these open fire-places are not usually met with ; but, where wood is the principal fuel of the peasantry (as it is in the district from which I write), I would indulge their prejudice in favour of an open chimney, and will suppose one in the cottage kitchen, with the mouth of the oven on one side of the back, and on the other a small copper set m an arch, having a flue through the arch by which the steam might escape up the chimney. It would be tedious to describe minutely the various articles of useful and ornamental furniture found in the kitchen of a thriving cottager ; indeed, to those unac- quainted with rural life it would be difficult to convejf an idea of the multifarious collection often dis- played in a room of this kind. A tidy labourer's wife is sometimes as fond of knick-knacks, and as proud of displaying her various stores, as the richest lady in the land. The peasantry have, in fact, many of the prevailing tastes of their superiors in wealth and refinement, and love to ornament their houses with plants and flowers, prints, and plaster casts, and ornamental china. The kitchen is frequently as much crowded with useful and ornamental furniture as a modem drawing-room. The mantel-shelf displays a range of flower- vases, images, and painted busts of the favourite heroes of past and present times, mixed with some of the bright cooking utensils. The walls are sometimes thickly hung with coarse engravings, ballads, and prmted papers, moral, religious, and political, and with various other things ; among which are conspicuous the labourer's club rules, and his staff, or somepeculiar implement denoting his occupation, such as the polished head of the shepherd's crook, the market-day carter's whip, or the spare flail of the thresher. The window is seldom without its collection of exotics, thriving sur- prisingly, some of them in spoutless teapots and other discarded vessels ; and on the window seat, or on a shelf near, a little heap of books ; the bible, in a neat cover, reverently placed apart from the rest. Even the ceiling is usually furnished with that desirable ornament, a well-stored bacon-rack, shoes, tools, bags of seeds, and a host of other things. But the pride of the cottage housewife is her dresser and shelves. Here she displays her little store of glass and earthenware of the better kinds, with her best plated spoons, her bright pewter plates, and clean wood trenchers, frequently arranged with con- siderable taste and effect. Some of the conspicuous articles will not, perhaps, bear a close examination ; and are, in fact, useless ; though "wisely kept for show : " but she contrives to hide defects, and the shelves often exhibit specimens of old glass and china, which a collector of such rarities might covet. There are, indeed, few more picturesque interiors than that of the well-kept kitchen of a thriving labourer who happens to have a tidy wife ; and 1 have often been much pleased at the air of decent comfort, and at the decorated effect produced by the miscellaneous collection seen in a room of this description. 8224. Furniture of the kitchen. Among the more prominent articles of furniture in a thriving labourer's kitchen, the clock, I think, takes precedence of the rest in the owner's estimation, and its well-polished case is generally a conspicuous object. Next to this we may rank the best dining-table, often one of those interesting old oak tables with rounded leaves, and as many curiously-turned legs as a spider. The best tea-table, turned up, with its pillar and claw, in a corner ; and the dough trough with its clean white cover, would next attract attention. To these we may add the great arm-chair, with a patchwork cushion in the bottom, for the man, as he is emphatically called here, in which he sits In the evening in a sort of rustic dignity, surrounded by his wife and children, forming, in many cases, a happy, interesting group : the wife and elder girls at work, perhaps, while one of the boys is standing by the father, reading, or repeating what he has leamt at school during the day. I hope there are many such evening groups still to be found in our cottages, in spite of politics and the beer shops. This reminds me of another Eiece of furniture which I should wish to see in every cottage ; I mean, a shelf of useful and instructive ooks. You seldom enter a cottage without finding some books ; indeed, as far as my observation extends, I should say that a taste for reading is becoming more general among the labouring classes ; and it ought to be encouraged, as a source of instruction and enjoyment, which has a tendency to improve the morals and better the condition of the peasantry. What a wide field of knowledge and enjoyment is cut off from the labourer who is unable to read, or who has no taste for reading ! Half the leisure time of such a person must be spent in drowsy indolence, or in the debasing scenes of the ale-house, to wnich he is almost driven in self-defence, to relieve the tedium of idleness and the oppressive vacancy of his mind : the want of this resource and comfort is severely felt by the uneducated labourer in times of sickness and old age, when a long active life is necessarily exchanged for a state of total inactivity. There are few of the rising generation entirely without education. The stores of knowledge will therefore soon be opened to all the labouring classes, and they should be encouraged to use them to their own advantage, by having their attention directed to useful and improving books. " A little learning," if not properly directed, *' is a dangerous thing." 8225. Back-kitchen ajtd washhotise. Besides the kitchen, or common living-room of the family, every complete cottage should have a small washhouse, in which the brewing and washing, the dirtv and all work of the family, may be done. Here 1 would have shelves for the saucepans, and other unsightly articles, used in cooking ; also a set copper ; and a proper sink, communicating, by a drain, with the dung pit or a cess-pool. Most cottages are without a washhouse ; but a small place of this sort is absolutely necessary to every dwelhng ; as, without it, the living-room can never be tidy or comfortable, and, I may add, wholesome. For want of a washhouse, the cottager is compelled to hang up his dead pig, and even ^ A^Ji^' IV^^ livmg-room ; and as there is no other place in which to do thi dirty work, and put away S?nw^i* nSti^r^'' Ki'""'*' n® "t^V"" "5i:y *^™^^y' *^« '■°°'^ *» generally in a litter, and ha^ an un- wholesome, disagreeable smell, which must be prejudicial to the health of the inhabitants. But what I would chiefly insist upon m the washhouse is a proper sink to receive the slops and dirty water. Very few cottages have any convenience of this kind ; and consequently all the slops are thrown out at the door ; and you can scarcely approach a cottage, in many cases, for the abominations that surround it. Besides this theentrance is commonly surrounded by a sort of impure air, which is extremely offensive and must be injurious to the inmates. No cottage, therefore, should be without a sink, coramunicatinB with a dram, which may carry the dirty water to a suliicient distance irom the house. Even a nrettv cottage will have a squalid, miserable appearance, when the door is surrounded by tilth ; and I havp {pon vH- lages, with the houses built on each side of a narrow road, which were absolutely dibeustinc in .on- sequence of the nuisance referred to. ' e"ai.iuB m uuu suppLEMKOT. SCIENCE AND ART OP AGRICULTURE. 1331 8226. A smtUt larder or pantry, having a witidow in the outei* wall, should communicate with the kitchen or wash-house. This is a necessary convenience not often found in labourers* dwellings, in which the provisions are generally kept in nasty close cupboards, or on shelves in the living-room, where they are liable to get spoilt, and are exposed to dust, smoke, and all sorts of impurities. For want of a better place, even the beer or cider barrel is kept in the warm kitchen, and in such a situation the liquor, of course, soon becomes sour and unfit to drink. No cottage, therefore, should be without a cool airr larder ; and a small place of this kind might be easily contrived in every dwelling, with little or no addition to the cost of building. As I am describing the beau id^al of a cottage, the owner of which might keep a cow, I will, in the present case, auppose the larder of a sufficient size to contain both the milk and provisions. We can scarcely expect a distinct place for each in a labourer's cottage, and it would he unnecessary. There might be separate shelves for the milk and provisions, &c. ; hanging shelves for the small cheeses, which a managing woman would of course make during the summer season, even ftom her single cow. 8227. Cellar. If the floor of the larder were sunk the depth of a yard below the surface, the beer might also he kept in it ; but a cottage would not be quite complete without a small cellar, to contain the beer, and the potatoes and other roots. A cottager with land would grow a large supply of potatoes and other roots, for his cow and pigs ; and it would save a great deal of time, and prevent waste, to have Che roots always at hand in the cellar, instead of burying them out of doors in pits, which, when once opened, are not secure against frost and wet. I would also recommend a cellar in every new cottage ; because I look forward to the time when every labouring man will be able to brew his beer at home. A hard-working labourer requires a certain quantity of wholesome beer ; and if he has not this at home, he is sure to g{) to the alehouse, where he gets Into the worst company, spends in intemperance what is required for the maintenance of his family, and in many cases becomes a confirmed drunkard. It would be a work of charity, therefore, to encourage brewing among the labourers ; and, as a means of promoting it in country villages, I would suggest a plan of having a small set of brewing utensils, for the use of the cottagers, in the care of a fit person, who would lend them, iu the parish, under proper regulations. The cost of the tubs, &c., would be inconsiderable, and might be easily raised by subscription among the wealthy in- habitants, or even among the cottagers themselves. A penny or two paid for the use of the tubs would be sufficient to keep them in repair. The want of tubs is one of the chief obstacles in the way of cot- tagers brewing, which this plan would remove. And I am persuaded it would succeed, as I fiifd that even a whitewashing brush, kept to lend out, has been a great promoter of cleanliness. 8228. The pariour. Should this pa^er ever fall into the hands of a labouring man, he would probably smile when he came to this part of it, in which I am to speak of the parlour. Many persons will consider a parlour an unnecessary luxury in a labourer's dwelling : it would be seldom used perhaps as a sitting- room, but as a spare room it would be a great convenience in the case of a large family, and should not be omitted in an attempt to describe a complete cottage. Most thriving labourers are in the habit of re- ceiving their distant friends and relations, at certain seasons, such as the village feast, at " the tides," at christenings, &c. The parlour would be useful on such occasions, both as a sitting-room and additional bedroom, as it would be also iu case of sickness, or death. If for no other reason, I should be an advocate for a spare room of this kind in every cottage, as a receptacle for the dead. As cottages are at present, there is seldom an}[ possibility of separating the dead from the living, when one of the inmates dies : when such a calamity occurs, the conise must be placed either in the sitting-room or bedroom; and I have known instances of a large family sleeping for several nights together in the same room with a corpse, even when death has been occasioned by an infectious fever. £0 my feelings there is something un- speakably terrible in this dreadful mixture of the living with the dead ; and if the idea be so appalling, what must the realty be to those who suffer it I A small parlour, therefore, containing an occasional bed, would prevent the necessity for this most disgusting consequence of death in a labourer's family ; as, with the possibili^ of making up an extra bed for some of the inmates, one of the bedrooms might generally be appropriated for the reception of the body, between the death and th e funeral. 1 would have the parlour a plain comfortable room, ceiled and plastered, with a stone or boarded iloor. It should, of course, have a small fireplace, and attached inside window- shutters. Besides the chairs and table, the furniture should comprise a closet bed complete, as the room would probably be more used as a bedroom than as a sitting-room. A comer cupboard to receive the best china and glass, a few groceries, &c.; would also be useful ; and a chest of drawers for the linen of the family would not be out of place. I should whitewash the walls, because it could be done by the cottagers themselves when requisite, and colour-washing is, of all things in this way, the most difficult to do well to the uninitiated. The cottager's wife would decorate the walls and the room generally with' some of her best knick-knacks, books, flowers, &c. 8229. Staircase. As we proceed to the upper story, we must say something of the staircase. This, in old cottages, is generally the most awkward thing possible, and placed in the most awkward situation ; a narrow, twisting, dark, and, to a stranger, a dangerous ascent, compared with which a common ladder would be luxurious, and usually leading into a bedroom which is a passage room to another, when there happens to be two. Our cottage must have a proper light staircase, ending above in a small landing, to which all the bedroom doors should open. 8230. Bedrooms. Every cottage fur a family should have at least three bedrooms, so that the parents, and the children of each sex, might sleep in separate a|)artment8. The rooms need not be large, but they should be light, airy, comfortable, each having a window that will open. 1'hey ought to be ceiled, plastered, and whitewashed ; with boarded or plaster floors ; and, if possible, a fireplace in each, in case of sickness, or merely for ventilation. I am rather an advocate fur the plaster floors used in the north of England for cottage bedrooms, as they are a security against accidents by fire ; and, when properly made, are more comfortable, and have a more cleanly appearance, than the rough ill-joined boards commonly found in cottage chambers. I have seen these floors nearly as hard as stone, and, when washed over with pipeclay, the^ have a very neat effect. It is unnecessary to describe the furniture, which, of course, should comprise the requisites for comfortable repose and cleanliness in a humble way. You seldom find bed-curtains in a cottager's chambers ; I have heard them express a dislike to bed-furniture ; and, in a tolerably warm room, it is, I think, a luxury we might all dispense with, as being rather prejudicial to health than otherwise. Cottagers generally use stump bedsteads, with head-hoards, and I have observed in cottages ancient specimens of oak bedsteads, with curiously carved head-hoards and legs. Old carved oak clothes -chests are also frequently met with, which would be valued by the antiquary. There are few things connected with labourers' dwellings, which so much need reform as the bedrooms. In this neigh- bourhood half the cottages have only one chamber, and this sometimes a low miserable apartment in the roof, open to the thatch ; with the walls unplastered, and without a window that will open ; in fact, a place little better than a hay-loft. And here the whole family sleep ; old and young, married and single, without even a curtain. to separate the sexes. Can we wonder at the gross immorality which is so lamentably common among the young peasantry, when the sense of delicacy is destroyed even from infancy ? I would therefore press this subject on the attention of all benevolent owners of cottages, and especially on our great landed proprietors, who are generally well disposed to contribute to the improve- ment of the peasantry. The first step towards the improvement of their morals must be to increase the number of bedrooms in cottages. Let me, then, urge this upon those whom it concerns, in the words of " Nature's sternest painter, yet the best," the poet Crabbe : — " These thoughtless people part, Nor let the ear be first to taint the heart." 4 Q 2 1332 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. 8231. General remarks on the interior. Having described the interior of the cottage, let me pause and enquire, whether there Is any thing in the description which can be justlyconsidered superfluous, and not absotutely necessary for the comfortable accommodation of a labourer with a large family, lam not aware of any thing to which a reasonable objection can be offered unless it be the parlour. The idea of a cot- tage parlour may lead some to exclaim, " The man must be a fool I Who is to do the work, if labourers are to be fine follcs, and sit in parlours ? " My friend, are you not offended at a name ? Let us change the high-sounding title of this room of all works, and perhaps you will no*: object to it. Call it the spare room, for instance ; a place to be used for all sorts of purposes ; for such it would be, in fact. Unless when the wife was confined, or any of the family happened to be recovering from illness, I will answer that it would not be used as a parlour above six times m the year. It would frequently be let as a lodging to an occasional labourer in the parish. In rainy weather, it would be degraded into a drying-room, and be filled with wet linen ; and the floor would often be found half-covered with onions and seeds laid there to dry. Do not the various uses to which such a room may be applied make it a desirable addition to a cottage, even though it may be called a parlour? If such an apartment would have a tendency to give the peasantry fine notions. I should be the last to recommend it. For I hate fine people of all sorts, and fine poor people above all others, because they have not even an excuse for finery. But though I would not give them notions unsnited to their station, I should be glad to see their habitations improved, and I know, from painful observation, that our cottages stand in need of improvement. They are, in fact, be- hind the times ; and while the houses of every other class of society have been gradually increasing in comfort and convenience, the dwellings of the labourers are little better than they were a hundred years ago. Many improvements and conveniences in cottages have been suggested by others, which I forbear to notice ; for this reason, that while such conveniences are unattainable by persons of small independent property, it is in vain to expect that they will be provided for cottagers. My object has, therefore, been to describe the accommodation required in what would be called a comfortable labourer's dwelling, and to suggest practicable improvements which are likely to be effected ; and I hope that there is nothing In the foregoing description which can be considered Impracticable. 8232. External amjenda/jes to a labourer's cottage. I am next to speak of the external appendages to a complete labourer s dwelling, including the yard and out-bnildings, the garden, orchard, and allotment of land. To account for some of the out-buildings which will be mentioned in the following description, I must remind the reader that, as I am speaking of a cottage of the first class, I must, of course, suppose the cottager to keep a cow ; and that, besides a quarter or half an acre of land, for spade husbandry, (the quantity should be proportioned to the spare time of the labourer, and the quantity of manure he can collect,) he would also be the occupier of about three acres of pasture. I am of opinion that it would have a beneficial effect upon the general conduct of the agricultural labourers, if there were a certain number of cottages, with land attached to them, in every parish, to act as a sort of stimulus to industry and frugali*'v. Formerly the small farms presented this stimulus. The industrious, saviugcot- tager had then a cliai'ce of rising a step above his original station in society: and a natural desire to imprjve his condition would act as a constant inducement to carefulness and activity. But now he has no such inducement. In most parts of Kngland, parishes which were once divided into ten or twelve farms, of various extent, are now thrown into two or three large ones ; the waste lands are enclosed or appropriated ; and even the bare-worn common is, in many cases, denied to the hard-working frugal labourer, who happens to have saved enough money to set up a cow. How can we wonder, then, at the careless improvident habits of the peasantry, when they have scarcely an inducement to be otherwise ? But, under all their disadvantages, there are still a few labourers who save money ; and is it not rather hard that they should be deprived of the opportunity of employing it profitably in the only business with which they are acquainted, that is, agriculture ? Let us suppose a working man to be possessed of 50/. Almost the only way in which he could invest it safely, would be in a savings bank, where it would pro- duce him an interest of about 2Z. a year. Now this is all very well ; the prmcipal sum is secure, and a certain 21. a year is a desirable addition to a labourer's income. But it would take nearly his whole life to save up 50/. ; and half that sum would produce a much greater income, and much improve his con- dition, if employed in some sort of business. In short, though the savings banks have been a great benefit to the working classes, the small income produced by a sum of money niaced there does not afford a sufficient stimulus to frugality. The interest upon their savings can add little to the comforts of the depositors ; and, as to having a sum of money against the time of sickness or misfortune, they know that the parish must then sujiport them ; and though they might be induced to save, if by saving, they could materially improve their condition, we must not expect them to save for the relief of the parish. But let us suppose a man to have saved only 25/., and to have an opportunity of taking a cottage, with land enough attached to it to support a cow. He would probably invest his little capital in a cow, a couple of pigs, some poultry, perhaps, and a hive or two of bees; and, if he bad tolerably good luck, and were a good manager, he would soon be placed in circumstances of comparative affluence, and wouid be infinitely better off with his 2r>/., thus invested, than the other would be with his 50/. in the savings bank. The great improvement in his condition would also be apparent to all around him, and would act as a general spur upon the carefulness and industry of his neighbours. Money in the savings bank would not produce this consequence, because its effects are less apparent ; in short, its effects are unim- portant when compared with the comforts derived to a labourer's family from keeping a cow. But, besides being prizes to excite the diligence and reward the good conduct of the labourers, a few cottages^ with land attached, would be a general convenience to the villagers, as a means of supplying them with milk -, a luxury which, in my neighbourhood, is seldom tasted by the poor. Though living in the country, they are worse off than townspeople in this respect, as they cannot get it for money, unless on some particular occasion. The cause of this inconvenience is the large farms, and the want of cottager's cows. A rich fanner is, of course, above selling milk, and there is no one else to sell it, unless there happens to be a small farmer in the parish, or the rich farmer lets his cows to the farmer or dairyman. It would not answer to sell milk m small quantities, and, as we have no cottage cowkeepers, the peasantry are deprived of a nutritious article of food, which it is almost impossible to do without. Wherever there are no cottagers' cows, the peasantry in general must be ill supplied with that important necessary, milk. I offer these reasons for the opinion I have ventured to advance, that in every village a few cottages with land to keep cows would be desirable on many accounts. I do not say that every cottager should have a cow. Perhaps it would be better if all had them who can manage them ; and it would be found, upon trial, that the number of these would not be large. A cow would be thrown away upon dirty, indolent cottagers, and there are many respectable ones so situated, that it would be more an inconvenience than an advantage to them to keep a cow. But I think there should be a few cottages with land m every parish, that the steady and industrious, and those who have an opportunity, may at least have a chance of improving their condition. 8233. The f/ard. After this long digression, let us proceed to speak of the jard, a very necessary con- venience to a labourer who keeps a cow. The washhouse should have a door opening into the yard. which ought to contain the pump, dung-pits, and all the out-buildings. The pump I would place as near the washhouse door as convenient ; the dung-pit in the corner of the yard farthest from the house ; and to this pit the surface of the yard should have a gentle fall. It should, of course, be properly drained. 8234. The fuel-house. The first out-office to be mentioned is the fuel-bouse, a place in which the coals and dry wood may be kept, if necessary, under lock. The tools and hogwash tubs, and many other things may also be placed m this building, which is a necessary appendage to every cottage, ft would be most conveniently placed joining the back part of the house, so that it might be approached under cover from the washhouse door. SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1333 8235. The cow-house and pigsty ehould be near the dung-pit, that the drains fVom bota may be laid into it at little expense, and to save the cottager's time in cleaning out the cow-atall, &c. The cowhouse need only contain one roomy stall and a calf-pen, with a small loft over both for the hay brought in for use. The pigsty to a cottage where a cow is kept should be divided into two, that the store-pig, which a good manager would never be without, might be separated from the fatting pig. 8236. ^ a poulti-y-hause should be required, I would place it either over or adjoining to the cowhouse, for the sake of warmth. But 1 am not sure that it would answer to a co'ttager to keep much poultry, unless in situations where there is a ready s^e for eggs and chickens, and where poultry can be kept without being anuisance to the owner and his neighbours. Inawidely scattered village this may some- times be the case, but where the houses are near together, the cottager's fowls are a continual source of dispute and annoyance. They are ill-fed at home, and cannot stray anywhere in search of food without tresp^sing upon a neighbour's ground, where, in the absence of the family at work, they may devour or destroy half the produce of the garden. Where the houses are scattered, and a cottager has land of his own, or is near a common, on which they could have a run without trespassing upon others, perhaps it would answer his purpose to keep a few fowls ; that is, if he can keep them out of his garden, but not otherwise. If water is near, ducks would be most profitable to a labourer, and more easily managed than hens. 8237. Pt-ivff. I do not recollect any other out-building actually necessary for the cottager's convenience, unless it be the privy, which might be either in the yard or in the garden, and if desired, I see no obj(>ction to one in each place. But itls useless to talk ofa separate convenience of this kind for males and females, till every labourer's dwelling has one. I believe that nearly half our cottages are without any place of the kind ; at least it is so in my neighbourhood. For instance, out of sixteen dwellings near me, six only have the convenience alluded to, and three of the six conveniences have been erected within these two years. Th6 want of such places must be a terrible nuisance to the cottagers ; and I particularly recommend the subject to the attention of cottage owners. 8238. Gejieral observalioTis on exteriors. As the fence of the yard and the outbuildings would add something to the cost of the cottage, 1 choose here to meet objections that 1 suppose, and recommend only the least expensive out-buildings, such as the cottagers, with trifling assistance, would very frequently « erect themselves. The cowhouse would be the chief expense, and that would be little better than a common shed, walled up with any thing on three sides, and open to the south. But I would have a strong fence and gate to the yard, to be fastened well at night, that all the stock may be secure, as it would probably cost the owner at least a day's work, when his cow or pig happened to get astray. 1 do not mention anyplace for pigeons in the yard, because acottager could not keep them without constantly trespassing on his neighbours. There is an increasing prejudice against pigeons, which are cerialnly very troublesome to the farmer at certain times in the year. Dovecots are now much less frequently seen in farmyards than they were formerly, at least in the corn- growing districts : and if the farmers can no longer keep pigeons, of course the labourers must not. Where the cottage stands near a common, or among open green lanes, it would answer the cottager's purpose to breed a few geese, which are a pro- fitable kind of stock, because, after a certain age, they almost take care of themselves. They would require to be secured at night ; and. If the cottager keeps geese, he must add a house for them to his out-buildings in the yard. 8239. The garden, if well managed, is commonly the most striking feature about a labourer's dwelling, and there are many reasons why it should adjoin the house. In the present case we will suppose the cottage to be surrounded on two sides by the garden, and I would approach the front of tne house through a narrow part of thfe garden which divides the house from the road; and this part of it I would devote chiefly to flowers and shrubs. I would train some ornamental climbing plants against the walls of the house, and a vine or pear trees, if there were proper situations for them, where the fruit would ripen, and be out of the reach of the children. I observe, however, that, excepting vines, fruit trees seldom thrive much against the walls of cottages ; there are few labourers who know any thing of the art of pruning, and, being improperly pruned, the trees bear little, aqd seem not worth the time and trouble they require- Vines, however, do remarkably well against the cottage walls in this neighbour- hood, and bear profusely in many situations, apparently with very little care or pruning. I am not qualified to lay down rules for the management of a cottager's garden, but 1 would venture to suggest, that it should not be too large ; a small garden, well cultivated, being more profitable than a large one half cultivated. In fact. If he bave an allotment of potato ground elsewhere, the cottager has no use for a large garden, as he grows and uses none but the commonest vegetables, which take up little room. He does not ever cultivate much small fruit. Strawberries and raspberries are very seldom seen in a cottage garden ; and currants and gooseberries are not often abundant ; so that a large garden is not requisite. I used to wonder formerly why the cottagers did not cultivate the small fruits in greater abundance, as they require so little trouble, and are so extremely uselul. The reason for this neglect, given me by several labourers, is, that the children devour the fruit before k comes to perfection ; in fact, they begin upon it as soon as It is formed, and very little is left to ripen. As cottage children are, ofcourse, left a great deal to themselves, I believe it would, be useless to attempt growing fruit where there is a large family, or in a closely built village. Where a cottager, therefore, cannot grow fruit, he ought, I think, to keep bees as a substitute for the profit of fruit. Indeed no cottage garden should be without bees, placed in some warm retired corner, at a short distance from the house, for they are not agreeable neighbours. Bees are, I believe, the most profitable of all stock for a cottager, as the whole of their produce is valuable, and, except at swarming times, they are no trouble. 8'J40. Orchard. Besides tbe garden, it is desirable that every cottage with land should have a small 0''cliard attached to it, especially in the cider countries ; and, In extensive' allotments of land, there are generally rough places, w liich, being of little value for any other purpose, might be converted into small orchards. Where there is no waste place of this description, I would plant the orchard immediately be- hind the garden, and contiguous to the house, that it may be easily overlooked by the owner ; I would also rear a good hedge round it to keep out intruders, for young cottagers are as fond of sour apples as they are of sour gooseberries ; and though they can scarcely clear an orchard of apples as they would a garden of small fruit, they will do a great deal of mischief, if not guarded against. As It Is scarcely possible to have too much fruity and a peasant's orchard is not likely to be large, I would plant some fruit trees in the hedges of the garden and fields. Damsons and cider apples, and other common fruit trees, would do very well in the hedgerows, and would be very ornamental. I think acottage orchard should produce apples, pears, and plutbbs of various kindsj but chiefly apples. Fruit will sell every where ; and it is desirable that a cottager should have as many ways as possible of making a little money. The landlord ought to furnish the cottage grounds with fruit trees, and a gentleman of landed property would do this at a very trifling expense, by having a small cottage nursery, in which his gardener might graft and rear fruit trees of good kinds, to transplant, when fit, into the cottagers* gardens and orchards. Many labourers are fond of grafting j and, If the ground were planted with friiit trees at first by the landlord, the tenants would generally keep it stocked. 1 wonder our landowners do not see the advantages of plant- ing their cottage grounds with fruit trees ; by which they would increase the value of them, and place irfthe hands of the tenant the means of paying the rent. They would also give their cottagers an addi- tional comfort, and greatly increase the beauty of our villages, by surrounding the houses with fruit trees, which are the most interesting of all trees. What can be more beautiful than a handsome apple tree covered with rosy blossoms in the spring, or loaded with golden fruit In autumn ? It Is picturesque even In winter, when its rugged mass^ stem and Irregular branches are exposed to view. Indeed, a village with many small orchards about It Is generally a pretty village. 4 Q 3 1334 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. 8241 . Potato-ground. The next thing to be spoken of Is the allotment for potatoea, &c., without which DO cottage would, in these days, be thought comphte. But, of course, this allotment would be much smaller in the case of a cottager keeping a cow, than in that of a labourer with only a garden to attend to. The cowkceper would have many little odd jobs to tlo connected with his cow and land, which would leave him not leisure enough to cultivate an extensive potato- ground besides his garden. Nothing pays a labourer so well as working for a master ; consequently, a garden cannot answer to a cottager if he IS obliged to lose time, as they express it, in order to cultivate it. A cowkeeper's ground for potatoes, &c. should therefore be smaller than that of another labourer, because the man will not have much leisure, and the wife will have less, as she will have the produce of the cow to manage, in addition to the ordinary cares of the family. But if the cowkeeper have not constant employment with a master, the case would be altered, and he would require as large an allotmentas other labourers. He would proba- bly cultivate his ground on u ditferent plan from that followed by ordinary cottagers. He would not have spacefor aplot of corn, and it would answer his purpose better to grow cabbages, Swedish turnips, man. gold wurzel, or something that would be useful for the cow, on that part of his ground not occupied by the potato crop ; indeed, a man who has a cow and pigs should consider their wants in his gardening almost as much as he does those of his family, and his pigs should nearly live on vegetables during the summer. 8242. Greiss land. We conclude with a few observations upon the grass land which the cottager is to occupy for the use of his cow. This should be about three acres, divided into two enclosures. I believe three acres of fair grass land are generally considered the quantity required to summer and winter a cow ; but, if a less quantity would be sufficient, of course the cottager would not desire more, as it would cause an unnecessary addition to his rent. He had better have rather too much land than too little, as the profit of a cow depends in a great measure on its being well fed. He would probably mow his fields for hay alternately, as he would not be able to manure very freely. He must, however, manure a portion of his grass land every year, or it would go back ; and, if he were a good manager, he would be able to do this ; for it is surprising what a heai; of compost a managing person will collect who keeps a cow, and two or three pigs, and gathers every thing that can be converted into manure from the garden, the yard, tlie drains, and the roads about the premises. If he had not too large a potato-ground, a cottager, situated as I have described, would not be a good manager if he could not contrive to dress over an acre of his grass with compost every year ; and this would be sufficient to keep it in heart if it were mowed every alternate year. There is one thing connected with allotments of land to labourers, which I would press on the attention of cottage owners, that whatever land islet to a labourer should be adjacent to his house. It should be remembered that the cottager's land is to be cultivated during the leisure time he has after having done an honest day's work for his master. His land, therefore, should be near his abode, that he may make use of all his time, half of which would be wasted in walking backwards and forwards if his land happened to be at a distance. If, also, his land were at home, he would sjiend many a half hour spudding thistles, or spreading dung in the field, or doing many little odd jobs, which would be left undone if the field were some way oflF. Moreover, it works a man too hard to have to walk a quarter of d mile, or more, to his extra labour, after, perhaps, walking a much greater distance from the place where he works for a master. He would do half^as much more work, and do it with more pleasure to himself, if he could do It at home, where he could immediate^ retire into the house when he felt fatigued. In short, if a cottager is to do any good with land, it should be within an easy distance of his home. Imagine the extra labour occasioned to the cottager when he has to wheel out the manure, and bring home the pro- duce of his land, distant, perhaps, a quarter of a mile from his house. Where the cottages belong chiefly to one proprietor, who Is the principal landowner in the parish, it may generally be contrived that the allotment of land may adjoin the cottage, or be at least a convenient distance from it. A cottager can generally afford to pay as good a rent for land as an ordinary farmer ; and, if he can afford to pay for it, he may reasonably expect to have it conveniently situated. 8243. General observations.. I believe 1 have noticed most of the conveniences, internal and external, which in these times would be thought requisite to form a complete labourer's cottage. I am aware that the description given goes very far beyond the ordinary run of cottages, as they are at present. My aim has been to make it so ; but I hope I have suggested nothing but what is absolutely necessary for the decent comfort ofa family. My aim has also been to speak of practical improvements ; and to show how the domestic accommodations of the peasantry may be increased at a fnoderate expense. There are many desirable improvements and luxuries suggested by writers on cottage architecture, which I have forborne to mention, for this reason ; because costly improvements are not likely to be applied to cottages ; and it is useless to recommend luxuries for labourers' dwellings, which are not found in the houses of wealthy farmers and tradesmen, and even in those of the smaller gentry. Our peasantry, however, have no dasire or taste fur luxurious habitations. They wish for comfortable cottages ; that is, dry, warm, and, above all, sufficiently roomy dwellings, in which their families may he conveniently accommodated, without violating the common decencies of life. If they had houses of this description, they would have every reason to be satisfied, and would be so, without uimecessary luxuries. And 1 hope the time is fast advancing when the improvement which has taken place in the iiabitations of all classes above them will be extended to labourers' cottages. 8244. — 2884. Asphalte, as the upper layerof the floors of cottages, effectually prevents the rising of damp ; as it also does when introduced m a thm layer in a wall, a little above the surface. (G. M. 1840, p. 564.) It has, as we have already mentioned (8216.), been found to form excellent barn floors. 8245. Design for a ihree-plottgh farmery, by Mr. Mackenzie of Perth. Fig. 1171. is a ground plan ; fig. U72,,an isometrical view ; and j?^. 1173., a vertical profile. This three-plough farmery is understood to be built upon level ground ; with the straw-yard cut out hollow in the centre of a basin figure ; that being the best form for retaining the moisture among the manure. In fixing the position of the different ranges of the buildings, the highest are put down to front the north and east, as best suiting the purposes to which those parts of the farmery are to be applied j and at the same time adding to the comfort of the cattle in the sheds and straw-yards, by sheltering them in the directions which are generally the coldest. 8246. The byres (c, rf), which are low buildings on the west, and the pigsties (i;), which are on the south, do ncjt shade the straw-yard and cattle-sheds, but admit the rays of the sun to all parts of tlicm. The farm-house is supposed to be situated on the south-west of the farmery, with the kitchen court adjacent to the cow-byre, calf-yard, &c. ; thus keeping the offices which are managed by the house servants m one division, and those under the management of the farm servants in the other division of the establishment. 8247. The threshing machine-i-y (I), being placed in a corner of the square, discharges the threshed corn into the clean corn-room (m), in the direction of the granary, which occupies the upper story of that side of the square ; and the straw is thrown from it iuto the straw-house, which is in the direction of the straw-chambers, oyer the feeding-byre, stables, &c., on the other side of the square. The clean corn-room thus communicates with the granary, which extends from this point over tlie cart-shed. In this way the clean corn-room and granary occupy a side of the square apart from the offices allotted for the cattle, and the other apartnients connected with ihem ; and, as the corn-room can be locked up the moment the operation of threshing is finished, no opportunity is left for the grain being pilfered or in- jured. The granary in this situation has not only the advantage of the ventilators in thi s^de walls, but It has also the benefit of the free air from the open cart-shed under it, which acts upon the grain throueh the joints of the floor. The cart-shed under the granary, besides being beneficial to it for air is con- venient, particularly where a farm is situated at a considerable disunce from a markeutown ■ or in thV winter season, when the carts require to be loaded on the evening preceding the market-dav'- ac iV ran be done before yoking (putting the horses in), and without moving the carts from under thar cover by SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1335 means of the trap-door in the centre passage of the granary : which passage must at all times be kept ^^^ clear from grain. In the straw- 1171 y^:^^^""**^^ house, a trap- door is placed over the straw-rack ; and, when the lower part of the house is packed full, this trap-door can be shut, and the straw carried along the upper floor to tlie straw -chambers over the stable and feeding-byre. These apart- ments will contain the straw of two ricks, which will enable the farmer to keep different kinds of straw under cover, and in separate divisions. A door is placed opposite the passage which extends along the centre of the straw-yard for taking out straw for the cattle- sheds, cow-byres,. &c., if at any time required ; but in general these are supplied from the low straw-house. The thresh- ing-machine is one of six horse- Kower, and is impelled by orses ; but where water can be had, it is a great improvement, as the men may be employed threshing, while the horses are resting : this is advantageous in a still greater degree at cer- tain times, when the field ope- rations exhaust all the horse power. 8248. The circular byre (g). which will contain ten head oi cattle, is by far the most com- modious and convenient ar- rangement ; and, for a farm double this extent, the same form may be introduced, with equal advantage, by carrying the stalls wholly round the circle where the sheds are. The figure of the stalls, being a. Boiling-house. b. Potato-house. c, Cow-ltjre. d. Calf-byre, e. Saddle-horse stable,anddoublestallen- closed for a marc and foal. '', Common farm stable, with hay and straw-chamber above. g, Feeding-bjTSj with stiaw-cbambers above- h, Rackfl for liay or sU^w. i, Tumip-fiheds : straw-chambers over. k. Straw-house with upper floor. /, Thresh in g-machineiiF. . tn, Clean corn-room, unthreshed com above, n. Horse-shed fox threshing-machines. q. Privy. r. Straw-yards, *, Cart-sheds, with grnnary above, carried over tbe carriage entrance to the farm- ery, and communicating with the clean corn-room. ^ ^ t, Boothy for men servants, with beds broad behind, gives more space r"ouSry"C«. ^ ^ ^"^ "^^ ' * for the cattle when lying down; », Poultry-house. - and, as a greater quantity ot V, Pirareries. "' ' ' ' " w. Water-house. x, Tank for liquid n I/, Turnip-boxes. , . , >. j i. , 2^ Gratings over the drains leading to the niud a more aoundant supply^ liquidmanuretanlr,topreTentUiestraw of fresh air, and has also the Sis**'^ '"^ ^"^ choking up the advantage of one large venti- lator in the centre of the circle serving the whole. The ten head of cattle are put up in double stalls in pairs ; they are bound up, one on each side of the partition, which is made high enough to prevent the horned cattle from touching one another ; at the same time keeping the heads of each ])air at such a distance apart, as to prevent them from injuring each other, or eating each other's turnips. The bends, or cow-ties, are fixed to upright iron rods about three quarters of an inch in diameter, which are screwed together through the partition. The lower part of tbe windows in the back wall of the byre are filled with lufi'er-boarding, which can be litter is requisite, more manure, of course, will be made : at the same time it admits from be- opened to any degree for admitting air, or shut altogether at pleasure. The feeding-ports, or openings wnich surround the feeding-chambers, have small doors hung with pulleys, lines, and weights, similar to those of a common window, which, by moving upwards, do not interfere with, or occupy, any part of the chamber. The wall at the heads of the cattle surrounding the feeding-chamber is built to the full height of the joists ; which keeps the turnip barrow out of the view of the cattle, and does not disturb the one 4 Q 4 1336 ENCYCLOP-^.DIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT. dirtBion of them, while the man Is In the act or feeding the other. This Is important, aa the quieter cattle are kept the better^ quietness being, no doubt, essential to quick fattening. 8249. A commodious straw-chamber is obtained over the byre, in a connected range with the straw or hay chamber over the stable : the roof, which is of consi- derable width, ficrving the double purpose of covering the feeding byre, and of con- taining a very large quantity of straw immediately over it. Racks are placed over the se- veral stalls, which are filled from the straw-chamber above. By this arrangement, the cattle have it in thi-ir power to eat straw and tur- nips alternately, if inclined. The access to the straw- chambers over the byre and stables is by a stair, which is common to both ; and u|joii the plate (first landing-place) of this stair is placed a door, which divides the stable from the feedine-byre ; the upper flight of the stair is under- stood to be a hanging one, having a useful space under it for holding the bjre imple- ments. By the whole arrange- ment much labour in feeding and attending the cattle will be saved. 8250, The stabling (e, f) consists of ten stalls, three of which are separated f^om the general farm stable, but are so situated as to admit of the racks being supplied from the general straw or hay cham- ber over the common farm a. Platform forming the upper part of the 1 c. Ventilators to the byres. *??lt« ♦I^^'^fY^f "ioJt I!' thJ roofofthefeediTiK-shecf. rf. Inclined plane between turnip boxes. to have two setB Of racks; the b, Ventihitors to llie stables. I e. Racks for hay or com. upper are for hay or straw, and the under one for grass. Although the under racks appear the most natural for the horses to eat from, it is found that they do iiot eat the straw or hay so clean out of them, as they do out of the upper racks ; but these under racks are the most convenient for the grass, as it should always be put in from the stall below, without pass- ing through the hay-chamber ; being, in its damp state, very hurtful to the wood floor above. Part of the three-stall stable is set apart for a mare and loaL 8251. The Im-nfp-sked iOt adjoining the feeding-byre, is also conveniently situated for supplying the cattle in the straw-yard ; and, as it is not required for turnips in summer, it may be used for and serve the double purpose of a turnip-house and a grass-house. 8252. Ventilators. The cow -byres have ventilators placed over each line of heads; these cross the ridge, and are formed of lead of a triangular figure ; the sill piece being overlapped by the sides far enough to prevent the rain from getting in. (See c in Jig. 1173.) 8233. The caif'-house axid vfard, and the cow-byres (c, eJ), which fall under the class of offices more immediately connected with the farm-house, have doors facing the kitchen-court, which makes the access to them convenient and clean. The opposite doors are used for driving out the cattle, and for wheeling tlie manure into the straw-yard. The causewayed court, in front of the byres, besides being convenient for carting in the turnips, affords space for the cows to move about in, or to stand in for a short time ; and, its the cattle always dung when they are driven out, by allowing them to remain for a few minutes in this passage or court, the manure, that might otherwise be wasted on the roads, is preserved, and thrown into the straw-yard. 8254. The several drains leading from the byreS; stables, and straw-yard, have such declivities as are sufficient to discharge the liquid manure into the tank, which is constructed on one side of the straw- yard in a central situation for the byres, stables, &c. It is thirty feet long, three feet broad, and seven feet deep ; and, if the nature of the soil be porous, it should be plastered with Roman cement, to prevent the thin liquid manure from escaping. Being of this long and narrow figure, the tank can easily be covered with flagstones, which are much cheaper than arching, and take up less space. The drains should have holes fitted with cast-iron plugs, placed about fifteen feet apart ; so that at these openings a jointed rod flt'teen feet long could be put into the drain, with a hoe, or a piece of plate iron the shape of the drain, fixed to the one end of it. By these means the drains may be cleaned without breaking up any part of the causeway ; but, if rhe drains are properly constructed, they will not require cleaning for several years. They should have a fall, towards the tank, of at least four inches to the ten feet, and be nine inches wide, six, inches deep at the sides, and nine inches in the centre. By having this kind of triangular bottom, the smallest quantity makes a current, and forces everything along with it. The drains through the straw-yard should have openings with grates (z z) Over them, situated in the lowest part of the straw. yard, to draw off the surplus water after heavy falls of rain or snow. When these drains are not required, the grates may be easily covered over with dung ; and if, at any time, the manure is found too dry, movable spouts may be attached to the pump which is placed in the tank, by which means the liquid manure can be regularly spread over the whole straw-yard. A waste drain extends from the Unk to an open ditch near the buildmgs: by which means, the liquid manure in the tank, if neglected, is carried ofiF when It rises to that level, and is thus prevented from injuring the drains. 82.55. The cattle sheds (p), from their situation, f;ice the south, which is of great advantage to the cattle, though often overlooked in laymg out farm buildings, and they are divided in the centre by a passage adjoining the turnip-shed, and opposite the straw-house. This passage rises like an inclined plane four feet from a to B : the sides or paparets may be of wood, two inches thick (which forms a back to the turnip boxes), and be four feet in height, forming a fence to both yards. All the manure from the feed- ing-byre and stable is wheeled mto the straw-yards by this passage ; which, from its central situation, ad- mits of the stable dung being equally distributed chrnugh both yards, and this by the rising pass.ige can be done without opening a door, which prevents tne one class of cattle from intermingling with the other. or getting out. Straw-racks (A h U h) arc placed in the sheds ; but. by also having them in the centre SUPPLEMENT. SCIENCE AND ART OF AGRICULTURE. 1337 £ «. d. - 373 - 470 - 145 (1 a ^993 of the yard, and connected with this passage, thev can he conveniently filled, and the cattle are induced to divide, which mixes the dung more generally through the yavds. 8256. The piggeries {,^\ixisai their situation, may be conveniently supplied ^om the kitchen or boiltng- house, and are in both yards. Pigs are very beneRclal to the manure, from their turning it over, and mixing it ; they also eat up any particles of corn among the horses' dung that may not have been digested. One small enclosure is provided with a trough for feeding young pigs, and they are thus protected from the cattle while eating ; but they have no house or sty, that they may be induced to go out among the cattle, and to lie down about the sheds. By this arrangement, they have healthy exercise, and are enabled at the .same time to provide a part of their food, and to be beneficial to the manure in both yards. Another sty is provided for putting up a pair to feed. 8257. The gates to the straw-yard may either be of the common form, or be hung, like sash windows, with stout ropes, pulleys, and weights. This last is perhaps the best plan as it secures them from the risk of damage when the dung is being carted out of the yard ; and also enables them to be raised as the straw in the yard rises. 8258. The cistern-house (w) is of such a height thiit pipes may be taken H-om it to the dwelling-house boiling-house, calf-ward, &c. It may be either supplied from a spring, if one is to be found in the neigh- bourhood ; or a well may be dug, and a pump placed within the cistern-house. A water-trough is placed in the division wall between the straw-yards ; and a ball-cock is fixed in the centre of the said trough, and shut in by boarding, overlapped by the upper part of the wall, which thus protects it from injury by the cattle. By this self-acting supply, the cattle at all times have the command of water, and none of it is wasted : if supplied from a spring, no attention is necessary, as the supply may be regulated by having a ball-cock in the cistern. Two troughs are placed on the outside, for the horses and the milch cows, and are also supplied with ball-cocks. The roof water, in the inside of the court, is carried round witli eave- spouts, and with rainwater pipes at the south extremities, leading it into drains. It is a material object to carry ofifthe roof-water, without allowing its admixture with the manure in the courts. 8259. Esd'wmte. — Masonwork, excavations, and paving - Carpenter's, glazier's, and smith's work Slater's and plumber's work - - . Plaster work - - - ■ - The above estimate is made out upon the supposition that stone may be got for the working, at a dis- tance not exceeding one mile from the building ; and that the land carriage of the timber (which is all foreign) and of the lime should not exceed from five to ten miles, and that of the slates from ten to fifteen miles. 8260. — 2976. Whin or Jurxe fences strongly recommended as occupying less ground, and being ulti- mately cheaper than thorn fences. " Quick in growth, hardy, easy of culture in all dry, lightish soils, of unknown longevity, prospering under the knife, affording as an evergreen a pleasing object to the eye, the best shelter for stock, adapted for food, and not suflFering, but rather benefiting from being cropped." Impressed with this con- viction, W. Bell, Esq., of Hunthill, Roxburgshire, i)lanted this fence, exten- sively, and after a great number of years he is entirely satisfied with them. (Trans. H. S., vol. xi. p. 471.) 8261. Wire and netting fences , An excellent substitute for hurdles or cords is manufactured of wire at Whittington, Stoke Ferry, under the direction of Mr. Taylor, in the form of netting, and sold at very low prices. Messrs. Cottam and Hallen, of London, also manufacture a cheap netting for sheep folding from cocoa nut fibre. Mr. Taylor's wire netting is particularly valuable for rendering garden and poultry-yard hedges impenetrable by rabbits, foxes, &c. 8262. — 3075. Field sates. The most advantageous forms, and the lightest and cheapest materials, are pointed out by Mr. Buist, who recommends the ties or stays to be made of iron, and the struts or stiffening pieces of wood. He recommends wire gates of a very light construction, which xost from \l. 8«. to \l. \bs. These are figured and described in the Gard. Mag. vol, for 1840, p. 193. ; and in Trans. H. S., vol.xiv. p. 603.) 8263 3104. A fall-down gate-stop (fig.U7i.) has lately been invented, which deserves adoption wherever double gates are fastened in the middle by a bolt attached to the lower bar, and entering a hole in a stone or other body fixed in the road. This gate stopper is formed of cast iron, and is sunk in the ground till its upper surface is level with the road, its lower end being placed on a stone to prevent its sinking too deep. The gate-stop has an ear (a), which is raised up when the gate is shut, so as to form a stopper and a hole for the bolt ; and it is put down (fi) when the gate is open, GO as not to present an obstruction to the feet of horses. Sold by Messrs . Cottam and Hallen. BOOK V. THE OPERATIONS OF AGRICULTURE, (p. 506.) 8264.-3239. The use of ploughing is for the purpose of loosening the texture of the soil so as to admit the free circulation of air and moisture, in order to promote the decomposition or disintegration of the stony parts of the soil, and facilitate the extension of the roots of plants in it. '• However well you may manure your land, however thoroughly you may drain it, you will never obtain the crops it is capable of yielding, unless you pulverise it ; nay, so important did Jethro TuU think this, that he felt firmly persuaded that if you pulverised your soil well, you need not manure at all. Always bear in mind that the impalpable powder is the active part of soil, and that no other portion has any direct influence upon vegetation ; and you will then, at all times, be sufficiently impressed with the necessity of thorough plowing, harrowing, Sic. ; indeed, you may rest assured that, except upon some few very light sands, you cannot pulverise the soil too much : economy alone must fix the limit of this useful operation. Several chemical processes of considerable consequence as respects the fertility of soil, occur after it has been ploughed, which either take place very slowly, or not at all, while it lies unstirred ; and, moreover, some of these take place to the greatest advantage during winter. This is especially the case with the disintegration of mineral masses, nothing tending so powerfully to reduce even the hardest stones to powder as sudden changes of temperature, combined with the presence of much moisture. During rain or thaw after snow all the clods of earth and tha 1338 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT, pores of the more loosely aggregated fitonea become filled with water, which, of course, freezes, ll the temperature is sufficiently reduced ; and from its expansion during solidfflcatlon, a peculiar pro- perty possessed in a marked degree by water, the particles of earth or stone, as the case may be, are pushed so far asunder, that when the thaw returns, it crumbles into fragments, which are again and again acted on until reduced to the state of soil. This crumbling by frost Is of the greatest im- portance in the case of stiff clays, for two reasons : — 1st, because they are thus rendered much more easy to work ; and 2d, which is of far greater consequence, they are enabled to give up their alkalies more readily to water ; and clayey minerals are fortunately the quickest to disintegrate, or rather to decompose, by the action of the weather ; and hence every means that facilitates that process is valu- able, because, as we have already seen, those most valuable higredients of soil, potass and soda, are of no use to plants, unless they are soluble in water, and they do not obtain this property until the mineral with which they have been associated becomes completely decomposed," {Dr. Madden in Stephens's Book of the Farm^ vol. i. p. 641.) 8265 — 8240. Disadvantages of irregular ploitghing. As there is a certain stage in the progress of the Krain, at which, when cut, it produces more flour than any other, that is, when it is full but not ripe, it follows that a field of corn which, in consequence of bad ploughing, does not come regularly into flower, must be attended with decided loss to tlie farmer. Those seeds which have been buried too deep will be the last to flower, and consequently the last to ripen ; bo that, if he waits till the whole crop appears ready for the sickle, all the early seeds will be too ripe, by the time that the late ones are sufficiently dry to cut ; so that by this error in ploughing there is a direct loss, by the production of less flour from the early seeds^ while the farmer is waiting lor the late ones to ripen. ( Trans. H. S., vol. xiv. p. 629.) PAET in. AGRICTTLTURE AS PKACTISED IN BRITAIN", BOOK IL GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF LANDED ESTATES, (p. 558.) 8266 — 3751. A Tnachine for cleansing public roadSt described ill Q.J. A., vol.iv. p. 875. Another in Trans. H. S. vol. x. p. 349. 8267 — 3759. Keeping parish roads in repair on the mile system. This system consists in putting " a certain portion or district of road under the sole care of one man, from which he is never removed so long as he conducts himself properly, and that the materials, instead of being carted and laid on the road, at the time of repairing, should be contracted for so as to be brought and laid on the sides of the road and trimmed up in one uniform way ready to be measured up some months before they are wanted for use." (Journ. A. E., vol. ii. p. 354.) 8268 3947. Slit planting. Mr. Gorrielays in all resinous plants, particularly larches, at an angle of 20° with the horizon, their tops pointing to the south-west, and finds this an effectual preventative to wind waving. (Q. J. ^., vol.xiii. p. 211.) 8269 3950. The perforator {fig. Wlb.) is used as a substitute for the spade, in planting young tap- rooted trees in rough ground. It was invented by Mr. Munro, of the Bristol Nursery, and, in that neighbourhood, in 1828, cost about eight shillings. In using it, one man employs the instrument, while another man, or boy, holds a bundle of plants. The man first inserts the instrument in the soil, holding It up for the reception of the plant ; round which, when introduced, he inserts the iron three times, in order to loosen the soil about the roots ; he then treads down the turf, and the plant becomes as firmly set in the ground as if it had been long planted. Two men may set from five hundred to six hundred plants >" a day with this mstrument. {Gard. Mag., vol. iii. p. 215.) 8270 — 3987. Pruning forest trees. A digest of five essays on this subject, by Grigor, Gorrie, Cree, -S"' j'^u"*^ ^° anonymous author, is given in Tram. II. 5., vol. xii. p. 141—179., which may be con- waered the most satisfactory article on the subject of pruning that has hitherto been published. All the definite *" recommending a system corresponding with that of Mr. Cree's, but in some respects less ^^S.?„Z^f^; ??.!fiy .'^ffj'"" & ■f'.H'* ""'?'"'' of f™"- different kinds, will be found described in the feet and a half m height. The second coinpartment comprehends a traversing frame or carriasre U c) about five feet in length, and two feet in height; the vertical bar (d) being prolonged unStfd aiid haying its top and bottom ends formed into pivots, on which the carriage, earning all the wSS ma- chinery, IS made toswmg. The saw (e), of twenty-four inches diametef, is fixed on the lower enf S a vertical spindle, and immediately above it a bevelled pinion (/), which is driven by Uie wheel (»1 • the winch handle, by which the power is applied, is fitted upon the same sphidle. The saw pinion and fho : saw pinion and the SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1339 wheel (g) are in the proportion of one to five, so that, when the handle is turned with the ordinary yelo ■ city of forty reyolutions a minute, the saw will make 200 revolutions in the same time. In order to keep the edge of the saw in contact with the saw-draft, a vertical spitidle{A),carryingthepulley (;), of onefoot in diameter, is placed at the outward extremity of the carriage ; the pulley (z) is put in moClon- by the band (J) passing over a smaller pulley on the winch axle. On the spindle [k) there is also fitted a small drnm (A), capable of being disengaged at pleasure from the motion of the spindle by means of a clutch. The cord (I), which passes round the pulley (m), in the ground frame, has one end attached to the carriage ; while the other end, being attached to the drum, Is coiled upon it when revolving alon^ with the spindle, thereby carrying forward the saw with a slow and uniform motion. When the operation is completed, the small drum is disengaged, and the cord is allowed to uncoil, while the carriage is moved backward to prepare for the next cut. For the support and guidance of the carriage, an iron segment (n) is fixed upon the lower part, which slides through eyes in the ground frame ; and -the machine is kept steady while at work, by two iron dogs (grappling irons), the hooks of which are driven into the roots of the tree. The certificates accompanying the model of this machine bear ample testimony to its successful application on the large scale; and show that it can be worked, and carried from tree to tree, by two men. The ma- chine here described is calculated for felling trees from eight to twelve inches in diameter. {Highland Soc. Trans., voIAk. p. 276.) 8273. Species and varieties qf the larch. That extensively cultivated by the Duke of Athol is the common white larch, Z^rix europae'^a Dec. ; but the following other species or varieties were tried: — 1. The Tyrol larch, with white flowers ; those of the common variety being pink flowers. 2. The Tyrol larch, with white flowers ; the cones also remarkable for their whiteness, and for being erect, not cemuous. The shoots of the Tyrol larch are generally stronger than those of the common larch ; but the foliage of both kinds is similar. 3. The weeping Tyrol larch, a variety of the common, with pen. dulous branches ; but distinct in botanic characters from the Xi^rix p&ndula, or black larch of North America. 4. The red larch of North America, or Xarix microcr^rpa. This species is remarkable for the great specific gravity of its wood, which is so ponderous that it will scarcely swim in water. Its cones are shorter or smaller than those of the common larch, its branches weaker, and its leaves narrower. 5. The Russian larch, raised from seed procured by the Duke from Archangel, about the year 1806. The bark is cinereous, not yellowish-brown ; the leaves come out so early that they are liable to be injured by spring frosts. The Z.Srix pSndula, or black larch of North America, and Lhrix daOrica of Dr. Fischer of Fetersburgh} are distinct species, no examples of which exist at Dunkeld or Blair. {HorU Trans. ,-vo\. iv.p. 416.) 8274. As an AppeTidix to the chapter on Planting, we shall here give some account of the larch plantation of Athol and Dunkeld, from the Traiisactions of the Highland Society, vol. xi. p. 165. to p. 219. It appears 'that the late Duke of Athol planted 1:^,573 acres, wnich contained 27,431,600 plants. Of these 8,604,542 plants were larch. All these were planted in the slit manner, as by far the best. It is stated in that paper that the larch will supply timber fit for ship-building, at a great height above the region of the oak ; and that, while a seventy-four-gun ship would require the oak timber of seventy-five acres, it would not require more than the timber of ten acres of larch ; the trees in both cases being sixty-eight years old. The larch in the neighbourhood of Dunkeld grows at the height of 1300 feet above the level of the sea : the spruce at 1200 ; the Scotch pine at 700 ; and deciduous trees not higher than 500. The larch, in comparison with the Scotch pine, is found to produce three and three quarter times more timber, and that timber of seven times more value. The larch, also, being a deciduous tree, instead of injuring the pasture under it, improves it. . It is remarkable that the woolly aphis, which affected the larch plantations in most parts of Scotland for a number of years about the beginning of the 5 resent century, never extended higher than about 600 feet above the level of the sea. The late Duke ohn the Second planted, in the last years of his life, 6500 Scotch acres of mountain ground solely with the larch, which, m the course of seventy-two years from the time of planting, will be a forest of timber fit for the building of the largest class of ships in his Majesty's navy. It will have been thinned out to about 400 trees per acre. Each tree will contain at the least fifty cubic feet, or one load of timber, which, at the low price of \s. per cubic foot, only one half of its present value, will give 1000/. per acre, or, in all, a sum or 6,500,000/. sterling. Besides this, there will have been a return of 7/. per acre from the thinnings, after deducting all expense of thinning, and the original outlay of planting. Further still, the land on which the larch is planted is not worth above 9d. to Is. per acre. After the thinnings of the first thirty years, the larch will make it worth at least 10*. an acre, by the improvement of the pasturage, upon which cattle can be kept summer and winter. {Highland Sac, Trans., vol. iii. p. 168.) 8275. Soil for the larch. It is an error to suppose that the larch will thrive in all soils and in all situ- ations. There are'many kinds of soils in which it will not thrive, and ought not to be planted. It has been found that, in soils which have been turned up by the plough, and which have borne white crops, the larch cankers. It cankers in wet situations also. In soils resting on a wet tilly subsoil, it decays at the heart, after arriving at forty years of age. In situations where water stands for a length of time about the roots, it becomes fogged, or covered with lichens. But in all rocky situations, and particularly those which are composed of mica slate, containing crystal of garnets, among the fisgures and fragmentA 1340 ENCYCLOPJEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supplement. of which they can push down their roots, larches thrive to admiration. The geognostic character of the country from Dunkeld to Blair is primitive. At Blair is gneiss ; at Dunkeld, clay slate i and the inter- mediate Bpace is occupied by mica slate : they lie conformably to one another. 8276. Situation. The advantages resulting from plantingmountain ground appear at first sight, In the greater number of trees that may be supported on tne acchvity of a mountain than on a surface equal to Its base. Trees derive nourishment from the soil immediately around the place in which they are fixed ; and, as the superficies of that soil must, of course, he greater on an acclivity than on the base, a greater number of trees will be there supported. Practically speaking, 100 trees, at six feet apart, can be planted on the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle, whereas the base would only permit eighty at the same distance. Another and a great advantage derived from planting mountain ground is, that, on an acclivity the trees expose a greater surface to the influence of the sun, and air, and rain, than they can do on a level surface. That trees derive much nourishment from the air, through the instrumentality of their leaves, there Is no doubt. The experiment of taking the bark from fifty standing larches, in May, 1814, at Dunkeld, did not prevent their vegetation, and even forming wood for two years after. The outside trees in a forest are always the strongest. On an acclivity, they all possess the advantages of outside trees; and at the same time, most of the shelter enjoyed by those in the interior." {Highland Soc. TraTis., vol. xi.p. 185.) 8277. Nurses were not used by the late Duke in his larch plantation. The gardener, in the Duke's absence, planted some acres with a mixture of Scotch pine and larch ; but so far were the former from nursing the latter, that at the end of seventeen years they had not attained a height exceeding three feet ; while the larches which they were intended to nurse were from fifteen to twenty feet high. 8278. The growth of the larch. Taking the average height of an average larch, of eight years from the seed, at eleven feet, it will be nearly accurate to allow sixteen inches as the annual growth, till the tree is fifty years old, and after that only ten inches per annum fOr twenty-two years longer ; as the length of the tree lessens in growth as the bulk of the wood increases. These data give a larch tree of seventy- two years of age a height of ninety-three feet four inches : a fair average, agreeing with actual experi- ment. The shoots of larches beyond thirty-five years of age are heavier, though they are not so long as those of younger trees. The larch, like the oak, puts forth two shoots every year, the one in spring, the other in autumn. The spring shoot has no lateral branches : the autumnal shoot pushes out like the spring one ; but, at the time this process is going on, the spring one is throwing out lateral branches which are firm and woody. 8279. In regard to the growth of the girth, a larch tree, on an average, will acquire an inch in girth per annum, till it be twenty-four years old ; and from that time, till it has acquired the venerable age of seventy-two years, it will grow one inch and a quarter in girth every year ; thus : — In 24 years, it will be 2 feet in girth, at I inch per annum. 48 years more, 5 feet in girth, at 1| inch per annum. In 72 years, it will be 7 feet. 8280. The larch begins to make wood at twenty-four years of age, At 50 years old it will contain 2G cubic feet of wood. 60 — 14 ditto more. 72 — 20 ditto more. Tn all, 60 ditto, or one load of 50 cubic feet, and 10 feet more. 8281. Thess results correspond exactly with the quantities which the Duke obtained at these respective ages. Larch appears to be on its greatest increase for timber from fifty-seven to seventy-two years old. A larch containing fifty cubic feet, or one load of timber, is quite fit tor naval purposes. At half that size it is suitable for every country purpose. 8282. Thinning larch plantations. The great object of the Duke, in planting the larch, seems to have been to raise timber for naval purposes ; and, finding that larches grow to a great size ac only twelve feet apart, he thinned accordingly. This distance gives 380 trees to the Scotch acre, or about one fifth of the 2000 originally planted. " Tne first thinning should consist of a light one of about one fifth of the whole, by removing only those trees that are of least value or worthless. After twenty-four years from the time of planting, the spines fall off the lower branches, which are, of course, no longer useful to the soil below. From twenty to thirty years old, then, the thinning is carried on so extensively, as to remove two thirds of that which was left standing by the first thinning. In thinning, it is necessary to observe that all the strongest and healthiest trees should be left, even if two or three of them should be closer together than twelve feet. These small clumps happening to light on a favourable situation, they will thrive well, as the air has access to each tree, around two thirds of its circumference. This thinning being delayed so long, the trees thinned out will be valuable for a variety of purposes. One of these purposes is the pro- fitable use which may be made of the bark. The last thinning should be given when the trees are from thirty to thirty-five years old, which will leave from 380 to 400 trees per acre,** 8283. Prvming the larch. Little or no pruning was used in the larch plantations at Dunkeld. The 380 trees left in the acre, it is observed, " will require a little pruning and trimming of the lower branches, in order to give head room to the cattle, which are to browse on the grass below. The whole prunings and thinnings will cost about 5/., and their produce will fetch about \2l., leaving a profit on them of about 71. an acre." {Highland Soc. Traits., vol. xi. p. 190.) 8284. Tkinplanting the larch is recommended by the late Duke of Athol, because it allows the lower branches to extend to a greater size ; and on these depend the thickness of the base of the trunk of the tree, and the strength of its roots. He therefore seldom planted more than 2000 plants per acre, more especially in elevated regions. 8285. The process of the thickening qfthe soil,andtheimprovementQf the pasture, by i^e/orcA, being very important in its results, it deserves to be particularly described. The lower and stronger branches meet together in six or seven years after planting, so as to form a complete matting over the ground. The air and light bemg excluded by them, all plants that are under them die. At the same time, the annual deposit of leaves from them, by means of decomposition, forms, in the course of time, a soil of con- siderable depth. At the age of twenty-four, the larches lose the spines on the lower branches altogether, and that IS the natural mark of their being ready to be removed by thinning, to a considerable extent. On the air being readmitted by the removal of the trees, the surface of the new-made soil, wherever it ^?^ x,^?" '°''^,^9' even among the rocks, becomes immediately covered with natural grasses, of which the Hdlcus mollis and H. lanatus seem to predominate. These grasses continue to grow, and to thicken into a sward, by the annual top-dressing which they receive from a continued deposition of leaves. The improvement of the natural surface of the ground for pasturage, by means of tU larch, appears to be a property peculiar to this tree. This pasturage is quite capable of improving the condition of cattle, either in winter or summer. "^ " ' 8286. mth regard to other trees feting a change of the ground, the following are the results of many experiments made by the Duke on the subject. In oak copses, the value of the pasture is only 5°. or 6* per acre for eigh years only m eveiy twenty-four years, when the copse is cut down again Under a Scotch fir plantaUon. the grass is not worth M more per acre than it was before It was planted Under ?fI'il"±^P["A^?/^^I°:^^i^'L'^l" ^L^^^ excellent sSelter to cattle. either from the heat of summer or the cold of winter. Under ash the value may be 2*. or 35. per acre more than it was in its natural state. But under larch, where the ground was not worth U, per acre the pasture is worth from 8*. to lOs. per acre, after the first thirty years, when aU the thinnings have SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1341 been completed, and the trees left for naval purposes, at the rate of about 400 to the acre, and twelve feet apart. Nay, so impressed was the Duke of the value of larch as an improver of natural pasturage, that he makes a statement to show that the pasture alone, independent of the ship-timber on it, would increase the value of land, by increasing its annual rental, so that it itself would repay the whole outlay of fencing and planting, at five per cent, compound interest, thus : — 3000 acres of land in its natural state, not worth above Is. per acre» at 25 years* purchase, £ s. d. will give -.- ------ 3,750 Plants and planting, at Gs. per acre ----- 900 2400}rood8 of fencing, at 5s. per acre - - - - - 600 Sundiy expenses, at 3d. per acre - - - - --37100 ^5,287 10 5287t 10s., at five per cent, compound interest, for twenty-nine years, the period at which the land is fit to be begun to be depastured, gives 21,150^ ; but 3000 acres, at an improved rent only of 6*. per acre per annum, at twenty-five years' purchase, yield 22,500/. (Highland Soc. Trans., vol. xi. p. 189.) 8287. The value of larch wood, exclusive of the value of the pasture under it, may be estimated in this manner :— Suppose the plantations are thinned out by thirty years to what they are to stand for ship- timber ; that is, to 400 trees per Scotch acre j — suppose, after that period, the whole were cut down at the following respective ages ; the value of the whole, per acre, at the different periods, would be as follows : — 400 trees at 30 years old, at 2} cubic feet each tree, = lOOO cubic feet, or 20 loads at £ li. 6d. per foot profit, = _ _ . - - 75 per acre, 400 trees at 43J years old, at 15 cubic feet each tree, = 6000 cubic feet, or 120 loads, at Is. 6d. per foot profit, = - - - - - 450 — 400 trees at 59 years old, at 40 cubic feet each tree, = 16,000 cubic feet, or 320 loads, at 2s. 6d. per foot profit, = - - - - - 2000 — 400 trees at 72 years old, at 60 cubic feet each tree, = 24,000 cubic feet, or 480 loads, at 2*. 6d. per foot profit, = - - - . _ 3000 — The average of these prices would be 1381^ 5s. per acre ; so that 1000/. per acre is not too high a calcu- lation of the value of the Duke's larch plantations. 8288. Onfeliing large trees of larch, care must be taken to use plenty of rope, and to take advantage of the direction of the wind : but a very windy day should be avoided. It was found, in digging the Scotch fir out by the roots fVom among the larch, that the ground was so much shaken about the roots of the larch, as to endanger their stability ; ever after, the fir was cut over by the ground. 8289. The seasoning of larch timber is accelerated by stripping off the bark before felling. In May, 181-5, the Duke experimented on fifty trees of larch at Dunkeld, that were growing in a situation, among other wood, that was nearly inaccessible for want of a road or path to it. In 1816 they were cut down and used for several purposes, and they appeared to be completely seasoned. They contained twenty- five cubic feet of wood each. Larch trees that had been only ten months cut down were built into a steam-boat in the river Thames, but tliey had not been seasoned enough,.as the planks above water, near the deck, shrunk a little. In this case, however, the scantlings were made the same as of oak, which were of too slight dimensions for larch. 8290. Uses of the larch. These are very various. Larches have been grown by the Duke as nurses to spruce firs. The thinnings of larch plantations, " which take place from twenty to thirty years of their age, supply useful materials for various purposes, Posts and rails for fencing may be made either out of the tops or the trunks of young trees. While fir-posts and rails last only about five years, and are worm-eaten after that period, the larch-posts stand for twenty years, and never get worm-eaten. But the trunks of young trees are preferable for this purpose to the tops, as they have less sap-wood. In 1807 the Duke fenced a nursery-ground with young larch trees cut up the middle, made into a railing seven feet high. In three years after, -the sawn side assumed a leaden grey colour, and in 1817 the whole railing was quite sound. Larch tops which had lain cut for four years, and were, of course, well worn, were found useful in filling drains where stones were at a distance, and they continued sound in them for many years. The larch was used for axles to different kinds uf mills from 1793 to 1802, and up to 1817 they continued quite sound, though constantly in water. 8^1 . " For buildfngs, too, the larch is found equally desirable. In 1779, the Duke built the shooting-box in Glentill, called Forest Lodge, the floors and joints of which were made of larch. The wood was under forty years old, and, as an experiment, some of the deals were cut up narrow, and others as broad as they could be wrought. In l8l7 the narrow boards continued quite close together. After the bridge was thrown over the Tay at Dunkeld, the Duke altered the course of the great northern road to Inverness, which caused him to build a new porter's lodge, stables, and offices to Dunkeld House, near the new line of road. The whole wood-work of these buildings was executed with larch. They were finished in 1812. In I8I3, part of Athol House was burnt down, and the repairs of wood, consisting of joists, floors, doors, and windows, were all made of larch. This wood was so red in colour that it looked like cedar. Sever;il houses were also repaired in the town of Dunkeld with larch. At Dunkeld 271, and at Slatr 170, larch trees had been used by 1817 for building purposes. 8292. " The fij-st attempt to uSethe larch for the purposes qf navigation-was in the construction of fishing- cobles on the Tay in 1777. In 1809, 8491 cubic feet of larch timber were sent to Woolwich dockyard. The greatest quantity which was employed was in the rep.dr of the Serapis store-ship, and the state of its soundness was favourably reported on in 1817. One beam of it was put into the large frigate Sibylle, in 1816, after it had lain six'years in the dockyard. The next trial of larch in shipbuilding was in the Sir Simon Clerk, merchant vessel, of 875 tons register, built by Messrs. Symes and Co. of Leith, in 1810. They got eleven trees, containing 1066 cubic feet, and they were formed into the first four or five planks, of three inches and a half in thickness, on the bottom of the vessel from the keel upwards. This vessel was soon afterwards taken by the Americans, and no account could therefore be got regarding the durability of the timber.'* 8293. The elasticity, durability, strength, and resilience of larch timber, relatively to oitk and Baltic fir, , has been determined by experiment. The details, in a tabular form, will be found in the article quoted ; and the following are the general results : — The Riga timber and American white pine are about one (it^h part less strong than the larch. The larch is superior to the oak in stifihess,in strength, and in resilience, or tiie power of resisting a body in motion ; and it is inferior to Merael or Riga timber in stiffness only. The larch tree, while growing, may be uprooted by wind, but it seldom breaks over by the stem, either by wind, or a weight of snow lodging on its upper branches. The durability of the timber, in every stage of its growth, is superior to every other, even to oak itself. When speaking of all the above properties as belonging to the larch, it is always to be understood to be grown in an alpine region, on dry soil. In low rich soils the wood is of a very inferior character. 8294. The large roots of larch treesjitfor ship timber may be used as knees ; and this was first done at Leich in 1811. These roots have been used for the same purpose on various occasions since that time. 8295. The larch has been tried fur masts ,• but, the vessels which were fitted up with them having left the Tay, it is uncertain how far larch timber will answer for that purpose. It was the Duke's practice " to plant spruce in all the wet parts of the ground, which he planted to the amount of abnut one tenth, expressly for the purpose of raising masts and spars, for which he conceived the spruce peculiarly well adapted." 1342 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. sufft,kmknt. 8296. The lareh as piles. Two hundred and twenty-three trees, forty-twoyearB old, were tonvertbd into piles, and driven into the river Thames in the front of the works ot the Woolwich dockyard in the year 1810. A report on their state was made in 1817, when they were found to be as fresh as when they were driven in. It is impossible to peruse this paper without being strongly impressed with the patriotic views entertained by John, the second Duke of Athol. Livingina period when the country was mvolved in a war with almost all other countries, he dreaded, in common with other patriots and statesmen, a scarcity of timbRr fit for naval purposes, and he contemplated the idea of planting so extensively as to provide against this scarcity for centuries to come. In all his plans and operations we see little or nothing of the merely selfish principle at work ; his great object was to provide a regular yearly supply of ship timber, the commencement of which supply could not take place till many years after he was dead. The following table shows the Duke's owq calculation of the supply which would be afforded by the woods of Athol, from 1832 to 1904. 12 years cutting from 1832 to 1844 will give 1,250 loads annually from 50 acres. 10 _ 1844 - 1854 — 8.000 — 300 8 — 1854 - 18fi2 _ 18,000 — 650 8 — 1862 - 1870 — 30,000 — 1050 16 — 1870 - 1S86 — 52,000 _ 2000 18 _ 1886 - 1904 — 120,000 — 3000 8297. Tke relative duration qf timber has been thus determined by M. Hartig, an eminent German professor of forestry. Small posts of iime tree, black American birch, alder, and trembling poplar, in- serted in the soil, decayed in three years ; the common willow, horse-chestnut, and the platanus, in four years; the purple beech, and the common birch in five years ; the elm. the hornbeam, the ash, and the Lombardy poplar, in seven years ; the acacia, the oak, the Scotch pine, the Weymouth pine, and the spruce fir, at the end of seven years were only decayed a little to the depth of a quarter of an inch ; the larch, the common juniper, the Virginian juniper, and the arbor vitse, were, at the end of the same Eeriod, untouched by decay. Thin boards of the same wooJs decayed in the following order : platanns, orse-chestnut, lime tree, poplar, birch, purple beech, hornbeam, alder, ash, the maple, the spruce fir, the Scotch pine, the elm, the Weymouth pine, the acacia, the oak, and the larch. (L^Agro7iome, torn. i. p. 3)5.) It thus appears that the larch, whether as posts with the bark on, or sawn up into boards, is by far the most durable of our timber trees. BOOK III. IMPROVIKG THE COLTURABLE LANDS OP AN ESTATE, (p. 690.) 8298 — 4213. Draining by steam power. The application or steam power to the draining of land which the ordinary means of draining are insufficient to accomplish, is among the most important improvements of the time. Land which, otherwise, either could not be cultivated, or with the uncertainty of reaping what was sown, is now cultivated with profit and certainty. Beyond the localities in which steam power draining is in operation, little is known of it. In the British Farmer's Magazine for 1 839, and also, in the Transactions of the Society of Arts of that year, will he found a detailed account of the steam power draining which has lately been effected in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. It will be found of the greatest interest to those possessing similar tracts of land. The water is lifted with wheels, and raised about 3^ feet higher than the surface, at which height it flows off to the rivers or main drains. 8299. — 4267- The frequent drain systevi. The great importance of thorough drainage, and deep ploughing, has lately been placed in a striking point of view, by James Smith, Bsq., of Deanston, in Stirling- shire, in an article contained in a Report of the Exhibition of Agricultural Productions, &c., published, in 1832, by Messrs. Drummond, seedsmen, of Stirling. Mr. Smith observes, " that the practical drainers of the old school cannot see how a field should be drained, unless by deep cross drains, to cut off the springs. The portion of land, however, wetted by water springing from below, bears but a very small proportion to that which is in a wet state from the retention of the water which falls upon the surface in the state of rain, and a vast extent of the arable land of Scotland and England, generally esteemed dry, is yet so far injured by the tardy and imperfect escape of the water, especially in winter, and during long periods of wet weather in summer, that the working of it is often difficult and precarious ; and its fertility is much below what would uniformly exist under a state of thorough dryness. A system of drainage, therefore, generally applicable, and effecting complete and uniform dryness, is of the utmost importance to the agri- cultural interests, and, through them, to all the other intere'sts of the country. By the system here recom- mended, this is attained, whilst the expense is moderate, and the permanency greater than on any other system yet known. The drains,^ as applied in the carse, have been named wedge drains, from their form, and being filled with wedg'es or keys to preserve the opening in their bottoms. Thvy are sometimes called/u7Touj drains, from their being placed under the water furrows of tlie ridges ; but these terms give no exposition of the principle upon which the effect of this mode of draining depends. The principle of the system is, tke providing frequent opportmiities for the water rising from below, or falling on the sur- face, to pass freely and completely off ; and, therefore, the most appropriate appellation for it is the jrequent-drain system." 8300. Main di-ains. In proceeding to apply this system of drainage to land, the first object is to obtain a sufficient fall, or level, as it is commonly termed, for a main drain to receive the water flowing from the various smaller or ordinary drains. This drain should be directed along the bottom of the chief hollow or valley of the grounds, where the whole or greater portion of the drains can be led into it. If any lesser hollows occur in the extent of surface, they must also have their proportional mains or leaders. The bottom of the mam should be at least three feet ; and, if possible, three feet and a half or four feet under the surtace where it passes along ; and it should have throughout as uniform a fall as the nature of the grountlwiu admit. It should be flagged at the bottom ; or, where flagstones are expensive, built as an inverted arch, toprevent the possibility of rain, &c. washing away the earth under the side building. The ?"°!^i??r "r'^''^^-r"AT'""* °\^^^ f^'* °i declivity, and the area of land from which the dFain has Llll^^^ liYv'*. .^ r=f„ J" "/* place less than 100 yards, a drain ten inches wide, and eighteen inches H^^^Pn r, Lf 1h SL^*'" ""ft^"^ f™'" 00 acres. It is of great importance to make the openings of such drams narrow and high ; as they will thus require smaller bottoms and covers, and be less liable to give way ; the current of water being also more confined, mud and sand will be less apt to settle in the bottom. Yilt « K nl.'.'SSSJKp S'''^^"'^^^^'*' ^^l ''°""^' 'Either With orwithuutmoPtar ; andfet s roni fiat covers be placed over the dram ; or, where such are not to be found, a rough simple arch, with thin stones and ™.«''J^^ m^y be b^^^^^^^ the haunches of the arch well up to the sides ofthe cut wi h ear li beaten in firmly. Where lesser hollows occur, crossing the fields, it is necessary to cut submains along their bottoms, about three feet or three and a hall" feet deep, and having openings of suitable dhnensionl form^-d by stone couples (two flat stones placed together at the top and apart at the bottom, like the two Mdes of a triangle), or with dram tiles ; or, where a very large flow of water has to be prov ded for wUh inverted tiles, and covering tiles placed above the bottom one, or with larger tiles made on purpose. ■DPPLKMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1343 8301. Subnutin drains. There should be a cross submain at the bottom of every field or stretch of drains, to receive the water from all the parallel drains ; and such submain drain shoufd always be cut six inch'es deeper than the drains running into it, that the water may have a free drop, which will prevent the lodgment of mud or sand at their junctions or mouths. Open cuts or ditches, either as mains or sub- mains, should never, except ft-om necessity, be adopted, being apt to get filled with mud ami grass, by which the water is thrown back into the drains, and often chokes them ; besides, the loss of land, annoy- ance in ploughing, constant expense of cleaning, and unsightly appearance of such drains, are serious objections. 8302. Parallel or frequent drains. Having thus provided a main drain, with submalns flowing into it, matters are prepared lor setting off and for executing parallel or frequent drains in the field. These drains can be executed at any season when the weather will permit ; but spring and summer are most suitable for the work. It is best to execute the drains when the field is in grass, as they can then be cut in all kinds of weather, and in a more cleanly manner. 8303. In setting out the drains, the first object for consideration is, the nature of the subsoil : if it con- sists of a stiff strong clay, or a dead sandy clay, then the distance from drain to drain should not exceed from ten to fifteen feet ; but if there is a lighter and more porous subsoil, a distance of from eighteen ta twenty-four feet will be close enough. When the ridges of the field have been formerly much raised, it suits very well to run a drain up every ftirrow, which saves some depth of cutting. At whatever distances the drains are placed, they should be run parallel to the ridges, which is commonly in the steepest de- scent. They should always be run quite parallel to each other, and at regular distances, and should be carried throughout the whole field without reference to the wet or dry appearance of portions of the field; as uniform and complete dryness is the object, and land, which may be considered dry in its natural state, will show wet when compared with properly drained land. A three feet drain should be carried along the ends of these drains at the top of the field, and at a distance of about nine feet from the fence, especially if it is a hedge fence. Such a drain is necessary for the growth of the hedge ; but if made nearer than nine feet, the roots are apt to get into the drain, and choke it up by degrees, It is of im_port- ance to be accurate in setting out the drains as described, as it secures uniformity of dryness, and in all future operations, or at any time, it is easy to ascertain the line of any drain. 8304v Excavation, The lines of drains having been marked off in the field, the drainer begins by cut- ting with a spade on a line; then removing the first layer to the depth of a spitful of about, thirteen or fourteen inches wide all along, another follows with a narrower and tapering spade, made for the purpose, taking out another layer ; aud, when picking becomes necessary, a third man follows with a pick ; and a fourth with a large scoop shovel to cut out the earth, and a smaller scoop shovel is used to clean out the bottom, which should be cut as narrow as will allow the last drainer a footing, generally about three or four inches. From two to two feet and a half from the surface are the best depths for such drains ; the latter always to be preferred. The bottom should be cut as straight and uniform as possible, so that the water may flow freely along at all places, anditis better to cut a little deeper when there is any sudden rise of the surface than to follow it ; and where sudden hollows occur, the cutting may, on the same principle, be less deep : attention to this also admits of after straightening or levelling of the surface, without injury to the drains. The workmen, in cutting, should throw the earth to the right and left from each alter- nate drain, as that allows the plough to go regularly and fully occupied boutings (a Scotch term for a rotation or traverse of the plough) in filling in the earth, whilst each alternate ridge or space is left for getting in the stones free from the earth thrown out. B305. Filling. The stones may either be laid down at intervals, by the sides of the drains, to be there broken ; or, being broken in masses at some convenient spot, can be brought by the carts, ready to be filled in. No part of any drain should, if possible, be filled in, till the whole line is cut out planted at the above distance, will best insure this. (G. C. 1841. p. 185.) 8380 5327. Earthing up potatoes, according to Mr. Peter Mackenzie, probably originated in wet un- drained soils, in order that the roots might be raised above stagnant water. The result of an experiment proved that a very slight degree of earthing up gave fully a third more of increase of tubers, of better auality than those which had been deeply earthed up ; while potatoes not earthed up at all gave a pro- uce e J'rifblium incarnatum is found of great value in filling up blanks in fields of common clover being sown immediately after carrying the com crop. uciue """" 8410. T»-^:/S/««»«/'jff««'£«^^^^^^ clover, thrives In England during summer, but is too tender for winter. (O-ard. L/tron. io4i. p. 598.) " S411._S650 a£clylis csspitbsa Forster), a native of the Falkland Islands, where it is perennial and grows six feet high, with fan-shaped leaves, like those of an Iris, is expected soon to be introduced at Kew, whence some of Ward's cases have been sent out for bringing it home. Every animal is said to feed upon it with avidity, andgetfat in a short time. Itmay be planted and cut like the Guinea grass of the West Indies, but unfor- tunately it will only thrive where its roots have access to salt water. There is another kind of Tussack grass in the Falkland Islands, the C^rex trifida, which grows only 1§ feet high, and, like other C^rices, is of no use as a forage grass. (G. C., 1843,p. 131. and 190. ; the Jour. A. E., vol. iv. p. 17. ; and Booker's Notes on the Botany of the Antarctic Vt^aee, Sfc, 1843, p. 52.) 8418. — 5655. Italian rye grass is found &r a-head of all other grasses in early spring, and therefore it is particularly adapted for coming in after the turnip season as early green food for cattle, k should be sown in autumn along with ZYifblium incarnStum, which keeps pace with it in early and vigorous vege. tation, even in Scotland. (Bi'it Farm. Mag., vol. i., 2d Series, p. 502.) 8419. — 5656. The Italian rye grass, Mr. Uawson found to be the same variety as Stickney's rye grass. It is considered superior to any other grass in producing winter herbage, and to be more hardy than the common rye grass. (Highland Soc. TVans., vol. x.p. 28.) 8420. — 5693. Tbanemordlis var.nervbsa, the Hudson's Bay meadow grass, has been brought into notice by Mr. Bishop. Its value arises from a property which it possesses, and which is common to no other grass cultivated in Scotland, viz., that of the flower stem, after being cropped, reproducing shoots from the stem as well as the root : in consequence of which it continues growing throughout the whole year, particularly in the latter part of summer and autumn. A specimen mown off cold damp land on the 14th of April, 1836, averaged from 18 inches to 20 inches in length (G. Af. 1837, p.283.) 8421. Brdfl>z£S pratensis L., B. erectus Sinclair, is strongly recommended by M. Vilmorin for poor soils liable to be burnt up with drought. Sheep, he says, are remarkably fond of it. (G. M. 1841, p. 467.) It is the only grass S422 5717. Number of kinds of grasses required in laying down permanent pasture. A judicious writer in the Quart, Jour, of Agr. is of opinion, that more of these grasses are brought into notice than their good properties will warrant. Independently of perennial rye grass and white clover, which must always occupy a large share of every permanent pasture, perhaps five or six of the others are all that are worth cultivation. It is true, many worthless grasses will grow up among our most carefully laid down pastures, and they no doubt assist in thickening the sward. But this is surely no ader^uate reason to sow them ; and if it be necessarv to sow a certain quantity of seed to cover the ground, that quantity should be composed of the best kinds. One reason for sowing a number of kinds is, that more plants will thrive closely together of different sorts than of the same sort. Allowing this to be the fact, there is still no necessity for incurring the trouble and expense of sowing worthless kinds, when a variety of them will grow naturally out of the soil to form a thick sward. Should the different kinds arrive suc- cessively at their greatest vigour, seeds of the best sorts can be selected on account of their coming to maturity at the different seasons when pasturage is required. It seems that 4J bushels will just furnish a& many fertile seeds, that is, seven to the square inch, as there are plants m that space in a natural pasture : but if even more are required to render the pasture better, more of the best kinds only should be sown to insure the requisite thickness of sward. (Quart Jour- Agr., vol. iv. p. 414.) 8423. Kinds and qualities of grass seeds for laying down land. The most valuable article which nas appeared on this subject since the publication of Sinclair's Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis, will be found in the Quarterly Jowrnal of Agriculture, vol. iv. p. 714—724. This article is by Mr. Lawson, an eminent seedsman in Edinburgh ; who for a number of years has directed his attention to the subject, with a degree of success which has been acknowledged by the first agriculturists in Scotland to be pre- eminently great. After giving a short description of thirty species or varieties of proper grasses, and eleven herbage plants, of which he has seeds for sale, he enumerates six other herbage plants, all Legumi- n&sas, the seeds of which are not yet articles of commerce, but which he says may be advantageously in- troduced into cultivation, as soon as their seeds can be obtained. These are, Z&tus mfijor, Hcia Crdcca, V. s^pium, and V. sylvStica, LSthyrus pratensis. and jf'rifblium m§diuni. 8424. Sowing the seeds of grasses and herbage plants by weight, instead of the general practice of sowing the grasses by measure, and the clovers by weight, is strongly recommended by Mr. Lawson. " For, idthough in grass seeds the greater weight of one variety is no criterion of its superiority over another variety of less weight, yet a greater weight in thesapie variety always denotes a superior quality. Thus. when seed is light, and consequently inferior, the greatest number of seeds is obtained by adhering to a given weight • and hence there is the chance of nearly an equal number of plants springing up as when the seeds are plump and heavy. But a given weight of measure of seeds does not indicate the relative number of plants that will spring up ; because there is both a difference in the relative bulk and specific 1354 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT. gravity of seeds, and there is also a diflferenee In the number of seeds that grow from a given quantity." (p. 719.) 8426. The weight tjfthe seeds of grasses, per Imperial bushel, is next given by Mr. Lawson ; and the dif- ferences between the seeds of different species In this respect is most remarkable. Of thirty species, the heaviest appears to be the common perennial rye grass, a bushel of which vpeighs from eighteen to thirty pounds ; and the next heaviest appears to be the crested dog's-tail grass, which weighs twenty-six pounds. The lightest seed is that of Avhna. [Trisdtum] fiavescens, a bushel of which weighs only five pounds, and the next lightest Is the meadow fox-tail grass, which weighs five pounds and a quarter. AntnoxSathuin odoritum and ^lopecClrus geniculatus weigh each six pounds ; ^ira flexubsa, six pounds and a quarter ; JPba. glauca, seven pounds and a half ; £'lymus arenfirius and Fest&ca duritiscula, each nine pounds and a half; and the remaining species weigh from ten to sixteen pounds. Rye weighs sixty-two pounds the bushel. 8426. Theweighisof clover and other herbage plants Bxemwch lees various. Burnet weighs twenty-four pounds and a half ; saintfoin weighs twenty-six pounds ; Ac\i\\\^a Jtfillefblium, twenty-eight poundg and a quarter ; ribwort, fifty-one pounds and a half ; Medicigo lupillina (the nonsuch of English farmers, and the yellow clover of the Scotch) weighs sixty-three pounds and three quarters ; and the different species of clover (Trifftlium), from sixty-two to sixty-five pounds. 8427. With reference to the culture qf grasses in Britain, Mr. Lawson observes that, wherever land pro- duces the cereal grains and other cultivated plants, the pasture and herbage grasses will grow with vigour. Plants of this kind, he observes, are improved by different kinds of soils, and more especially with rela. tion to their states of dryness or moisture. As a convenient arrangement for practical purposes, he classes all soils under light, medium, and heavy : and he has composed twelve different tables, each containing the quantity of grass seeds, per Scotch acre, for these three divisions of soil. Whoever, whether in Bri- tain or America, wishes to sow grasses on a large scale, will find it worth their while to correspond with Mr. Lawson, with reference to the subject of these tables, because every year he is adding to his expe- rience, and in all probability improving the selection. We shall, therefore, not copy them into our pages in detail, but merely give their titles, with a few remarks, chiefly with a view of showing how much greater the number of species is which Mr. Lawson recommends than what is commonly sown, and yet how much smaller is the quantity of seed per acre. 8428. Grass and herbage seeds for alternate husbandry. For one year's hay, twenty-two pounds of an- nual rye ^ass, ten pounds of red and two pounds of white clover. For one year's hay and one year's pasture, eight pounds of annual and eighteen pounds of perennial rye grass ; three pounds of PhlSum prat^nse, five pounds of red and five pounds of white clover, and two pounds of nonsuch. For one year's hay and two years' pasture, twenty-eight pounds of perennial rye grass, two pounds of Phldum pra- tense, two pounds of red, six pounds of white, two pounds of cow clover, and two pounds of nonsuch. These proportions are for soils suited for the turnip husbandry ; in heavy soils, team two to four pounds of Phlfeum pratense may be added for one year's grass. 8429. Grasses and herbage plants for permoTient pasture. Of proper grasses, seven species are era- ployed ; of proper clovers, three species, and also the nonsuch. The proportions are given for laying down without a crop and also with a crop ; and it is worthy of remark, that in the latter case the quan- tity required is not much above half what it is in the former. Without a crop, seventy-five pounds are required for a light soil, and eighty-two for a heavy soil ; while with a crop, forty-one pounds and a half in the one case, and forty-five lbs. in the other, only are required. 8430. Grasses, 8[C., for permanent pasture in ornamental parks. Of proper grasses, fourteen species are employed, besides the clovers mentioned in the preceding paragraph. It is added, that jjchillea Mille- folium may be added in dry soils ; saintfoin in dry calcareous soils ; wild endive in heavy soils ; and from one to two pounds of parsley per acre on lands where sheep are apt to get the rot. 8431. Grasses and herbage plants for lawns, bowling-greens, SfC, kept constantly under the scythe. Of proper grasses, fifteen species are employed, together with the common white clover. On each soil, Pacey's perenniaJ rye grass, more than oue fourth part of the proper grasses, and the quantity of white clover per acre, varies from six to twelve pounds. 8432. Grasses and herbage plants for grounds much shaded with trees. Twelve species of proper grasses and white clover. 8433. Grasses, SfCt for heathy artd moorp lands which have been pared andbumed^ or scarified for the purpose of producing herbage. The following cheap mixture is recommended : — Mixed hay seeds twenty- five pounds, and white clover, six pounds, with a crop ; and forty pounds of mixed hay seeds, forty-five pounds of rye, and nine pounds of white clover, without a crop. When land of this description is situ- ated SOO feet and upwards above the level of the sea, sheep's fescue and the two allied species, and Pb-A gladca, may be added, at the rate of two pounds each. 8434. Grasses for improved deep peaty ground intended to lieingrass. Perennial rye grass, ten pounds ; Phl6um pratfense, eight pounds ; Jgrdstis stolonifera, two pounds ; yilopecQrus prat^nsis, two pounds ; and Trifblium rSpens, eight pounds, are recommended, when they are to be sown with a crop ; when with- out a crop, the proportions are, eighteen, twelve, three, three, and twelve pounds. 8435. Grasses for land in preparation for irrigation. We shall take the liberty, in this case, of copying the table verbatim : — Light Soil. Medium Soil. Heavy Soil. "With a Without a With a Without a With a Without a Perennial rye grass -4gr68tis stolonifera Crop. Crop. Crop. Crop. Crop. Crop. Lit. 10 2 2 2 4 13 Lb,. 7 Lb,. 12 Lb,. 7 lb,. 12 ^lopecCirus pratensia 6 Festhca pratensis Festiica /oliScea 4 2 4 Pbatriviaiis 7 4 7 Pbagaitans 2 4 3 6 jPhlgum pratgnse 4 2 2 4 2 4 6 9 7 10 W 49 28 60 32 67 roSa!'^oS'r"po=^''^"^""''-^"--'^P-'i^"^^^^^^^^^^^^ 8437. Grasses forrabbiturarrens, orliektsaTtdvsntIv ^haeo ...-.^r^.. -i .. Anthoxanthum odoritum, one pound : ^cS/rridsculf „nf ?,„3 ^ P'^/f"''' '°'^teen pounds ; FestUca rttbra. one pound; Cynosilrus cristS, two oounds ° pSif.A, ^"'''''''- ri''\™° '""'I''' ^chiMa Jlfille»Knm,haIfa p/und , 2Ylfbl,u,„ rCn°,'srptnd':f Sli^SifufvV^p'JScra SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1355 two pounds i Medic&go lupillina, two pounds. If this mixture be sown without a crop, a bushel and a half of rye grass may be sown along with it. 8438. Foi- dr^^f^ sands, which are to be comolidated^ajid have a sward p^'odttced upon them by sowing. These are, £'lvmus arenSrius, ten pounds, which should be mixed with clay and straw ropes cut into pieces and dibl)led into the sand. After a sward has been produced, the mixture recommended for rab- bit-warrens, or light sandy soils, may be sown. 8439. For dry gravelly situations, which resist a sward fi-om all ordinary means. These soils may be sown with ^gr6stis vulgaris, two pounds ; Pha. Snnua, four pounds : ^riza mOdia, four pounds ; Alrsk flexubsa, one pound ; TVifblium minus vel prociSmbens. We repeat our strong recommendatioh of Mr. Lawsou, as an agricultural seedsman, to all persons residing near Edinburgh who have lands to lay down in grass. We are not less anxious to recommend Messrs. Drummond of Stirling ; Messrs. Dickson and Turnbull of Perth ; Messrs. Cormack and Son, and Mr. Gibbs. of Loudon ; and M. Vilmorin, of Paris, to all those similarly circumstanced in their respective localities. 8440. Mixtures of grasses for the alternate husbandry. From the result of an experiment made by Mr. ShirefF of Mungoswells ( Quart. Jour. Agr., vol. ii. p. 242.), it appears decidedly preferable to use a mix- ture of seeds, even where a single crop of hay, to be succeeded by a year's pasturage, is to be taken. The grasses sown were cock*s-foot, hard fescue, cat's-tail, rye grass, and red, white, and yellow clover. " The rye grass was conspicuous for growing early in spring as well as late in autumn, and remaining compara- tively unproductive in the summer months. The cock's foot, throughout the season, put forth new leaves with rapidity, after being cut with the scythe, and produced culms to the hay crop only ; the fescue planted thinly, and also grew rapidly after being cut ; the cat's-tail was later In producing flower-stalks, than the other grasses used in the experiment, and, after being cut, did not put forth new leaves so rapidly as the cock's-foot and fescue ; but, in every instance, it produced numerous culms, white blossomed, at the same time as the red clover ; and where a part of the field was four times mown, yielded a rich crop of culms to the last. The produce, as compared with that of clover and rye grass only, sown in the same field in the same season, was about a ninth part greater, and the extra expenses of the seed about a fifteenth part. Had the clover failed to grow along with the rye grass, as it frequently does, the difference in the produce would have been much greater. The great advantage of a numerous combination of grasses is that the failure of a crop is rendered next to impossible. It is also found that a mixture of grasses is less injurious to the succeeding corn crop than rye grass only. Thefamlly of grasses, Mr. S hi reff observes, forms a useful clasa of machinery in the manufacture of productions for the dairy, the shambles, and the manufacturer of clothing; but, m order to take advantage of the raw materials, air and moisture, so bountifully supplied by nature, the most efficient machinery, must be employed. The husbandman who clothes his fields only with rye grass and clover employs a limited machinery, the former being unpro- ductive in summer, the latter moderately so in spring; but when he, for this purpose, uses a variety of plants, difiTering in their habits of growth and periods of luxuriance, a numerous and powerful machinery IS Itept successively in full <^eration. 8441 . Pda nemordlis was found by Mr. Taunton to produce a thick sward in plantations where every other grass was killed. He says, " its rich nutritive quality, its beautiful and perpetual verdure, andf, above all, its quality of flourishing under a dense cover of trees, appear to me to render it peculiarly valuable for the particular purpose of rendering ornamental, and also of turning to a jprofit, the site of, grown-up plantations and thick groves, which are, usually, in a state of complete nakedness." ( Quart Jour, of Agr., vol. iii.p. 413.J 8442 — 5768. Jrrigating meadows with liquid manure from the common sewers of Edinbargh. This has been practised to a considerable extent in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and according to Mr. - Stephens (^Practical Irrigator and Drainer, p. 76.), it is one of the greatest improvements ever made in agriculture. The Inhabitants of Edinburgh, however, are of a^different opinion, and according to a^ pamphlet on this subject published in 1839, entitled Papers relatmg to the Noxioiis Effects of the Fetid Irrigation a/round the City of Edinburgh, it appears that no horse or other animal will eat a particle of the produce of these meadows, either while ^rowin^, or when first cut ; and the cows when first put to eat It have for some days an absolute loathing, and can harSly be got to feed upon it ; but when they dO,, it causes an immense flow of milk, which is kept up by this grass, and what is called dreg (brewers' wash) ; but whenever the supply of this grass becomes short, they are found to be incapable of digesting the usual fodder of cattle, and completely diseased, and get unfit for any purpose almost. (G. M. 1840, p. 270.) 8443 — 5820. 7*0 destroy moss in old turf. •' It is a singular fact, but not generally known to agricul- turists, that by merely lifting the turf of an old pasture field that is overrun with moss, and ploughing and loosening the subsoil, and then laying the same turf down again, the whole of the moss will disap- p.ear the first season, without applying either water or manure to the surface." {Stephens on Irrigation and Braining, p. ."59.) 8444. Renovating d^ective meadows. ThelateMr. Sinclair, of the New Cross Nursery, had perhaps more experience, as he certainly had more science and skill, in this department, than any other man. In his excellent work the Hortus Gramineus Woburncnsis, he recommends first ascertaining that the meadow is completely under-drained ; then stirring the surface, by harrowing it, in all directions ; the best harrow for which is unquestionably that of Finlayson. After this he gives a thorough top-dressing of rich finely divided compost ; he again harrows and cross harrows, and then sows from two to six pecks per acre of grass and clover seeds. For a meadow of low rich alluvial soil, he employs meadow fox.tai), meadow cat's- tail, meadow fescue, rough-stalk meadow grass, crested dog's-tail grass, sweet-scented vernal grass, and perennial red clover. In two years such a meadow will be thoroughly renovated, and will bear abundant crops of hay. 8445 — 5992. New fibre plants. Mr. Taylor of Holbrooke, near Ipswich, sowed five rods of ground with the seeds of Sida Ab&tilon, a malvaceous annual, and received from it at the rate of 15 cwt. of sale- able fibre per acre, which he had manufactured into excellent ropes. JIfalva crfspa, M. peruviana, and M. mauritiana also produce fibre which might be applied to the same purpose as that of 5ida AbiUilonj more especially J)/aiva crispa, a very common annual in British gardens. {G. M. 1840, p. 38.) 8446.— -6101 . Camellna sativa, an annual, a native of Siberia, has been long cultivated on the Continent as an oil plant, and has lately been tried in this country by Mr. W. Taylor, F. L. S., of Holbrooke, near Ipswich, with great success. In 1839, Mr. Taylor obtained upwards of 50 bushels of seed from an acre, which produced at the rate of 12 lbs. of oil per bushel, worth is. 6d. per gallon, and 44 lbs. of oil-cake. 8447. Madia sat)va, an annual, a native of^Chili, cultivated in gardens as a border flower, has also been grown on a considerable scale in 1839 by Mr. Taylor, who obtained 33 bushels of seed from an acre, which being crushed produced 250 lbs. of oil, and 410 lbs. of oil-cake. The oil alone was worth 92. iGard. Mag. 1840, p. 38.) 8448.— 61 11." Buckwheat is ground generally into grits by means of handmiils, or lever hammers, and is made either coarse or fine. The coarse sort is used for gruel, and the fine sort for cakes and biscuits. In some places they even make use of the first grinding with the bran, more or less, in addition to the finer flour, for baking household bread. It also serves to fatten hogs or poultry in a short time. The principal method to cleanse and separate the husk is, to pour boiling water on a given quantity of cleaned buckwheat, to stir the mass about with a stick, and draw the water off, then to pour cold water upon it, having first stirred it about well. In a quarter of an hour after, the buckwheat is taken out with the hands, and the water squeezed out. In the summer it is dried in the sunshine, and in winter in a warm room, and spread on the floor. As soon as it is quite dry, it is ground in a hand-mill or a stampmg- 1356 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT. machine Into grits, in which state It ie very clean and taaleful. The fiour obtained from the s'eve Is dainty and very fit for cakes," &c. (Gwn. Board Agr., vol. i.) 8449 G199. The extirpation qf ferns in pastures, where the plough cannot be used. The Hiebland Society having offered a premium for the best essay on this subject, two were produced and published. (Trans. //. S., vol. xx. p. 371.) In both, the writers, finding that ferns grew always In dry land, propose to irrigate it for a few years. A knowledge of the functions of the leaves of plants would have suggiested the cutting off of these in their incipient state, as soon as they made their appearance above the soil, and consequently before they had time to return any nutriment to the root ; which will not only kill ferns, but every other plant whatever. 8450.— 6218. The varieties qf the horse described by Professor Low, are : 1. The race horse ; 2. The hunter; 3. The Connemara, or Irish pony breed, of Spanish origin ; 4. Classes of British horses: viz. Zetland ponies ; Orkney ponies ; Highland ponies ; Welch,Dartmoor,Exmoor, and Hampshire horses; hack horses, and Galloways of the borders ; 6. The old English black horse ; 6. The Cleveland bay ; 7. The Suffolk punch ; 8. The Clydesdale breed. (Low^s Domestic Animals, vol. i.) 8451 6594. A machine for fixing horses while being *Aod, of a simple and effective description, has recently been invented by Mr. James Catcleugh, millwright in Haddington, a mechanic of very great ge- nius ; which will be found described and figured in the Quart. Jour. A^r., vol. iii. p. 510. 8452 6598. Rodway's concave horse-shoe is particularly applicable m the case of horses that have to pass over wood pavement ; and it is also said to contribute much to the comfort of the horse in every other description of road. (Srit.F. M., N. S., vol.vi. p. 426.) 8453 6684. The following plan qf feeding horses has been practised by Dr. Sully of Wiveliscombe, In Somersetshire, for upwards of twenty years. In Dr. Sully's stables there are no racks for holding hay ; for in his opinion a horse with a well-filled rack will consume and spoil upwards of thirty pounds of hay in twenty-four hours ; whereas, if the hay were cut down, and mixed with a due proportion of cut straw, and bruised or coarsely ground oats or other grain, ten pounds are suflicient. In the loft, above the horses, Dr. Sully has prepared proportionable quantities of the food with which his horses are daily supplied ; and a very simple method has been devised to convey it, when mixed, to the manger of eaco horse. A wooden pipe is made to pass from the loft into each of the mangers, and close by the mouth of the pipe, in the loft, is placed a tub, of size enough to contain what is sufficient food for a horse for twenty-four hours. To prevent the horse, in searching for ^rain, from tossing out of the manger the mixed food which is dropped into it, oak crossbars, twelve mches distant, are nailed over it ; between these bars ample space remains for the horse to feed. As there can be no dependence on the measured quantities of grain or other food given to the horse, from the variation at times in the respective weights of equal quantities. Dr. Sully recommends, and, indeed, regards it as necessary, that gram of all kinds, and also the cut hay and straw, should be carefully weighed. When all the ingredients are so prepared, the proportions for each horse are allotted. From the following table will be seen the different articles of food, and the quantities and weight of each, which the horses should receive : — 1. Farinaceous substances, consisting of bruised or ground beans, peas, wheat, barley, or oats _ _ - - - 2. Bran, fine or coarse __.--. 3. Boiled or steamed potatoes, maslied in a tub with a wooden bruiser -_----.- 4. Fresh grains (boiled barley) .... 5. Hay cut down into chaff . .... 6. Straw cut down into chaff . . - . - 7. Malt dust, or ground oil-caice - ... 1st Class. 2d Class. Sd Class. 4th Class. Lbs. 5 5 6 V 7 Lbs. 6 6 8 10 2 Lbs. 10 ■ 10 10 Lbs. 6 7 8 8 2 30 i 30 30 30 With two ounces of salt for each class. By this table it will be seen that each horse receives thirty pounds of food in the twenty-four hours, a quantity that will in all cases be found to be amply sufficient. The addition of two ounces of salt is necessary to assist the digestion of the food. Of the four classes into which Dr. Sully divides his ingredients for feeding, those two which contain the steamed or boiled potatoes are the most recommended. No food conduces more to the healthy working condition of horses than the steamed or boiled potatoes ; and we may observe, with relation to this, as well as to other kinds of food, that, when the horse comes in weary and hungry, ufcer a long day's work, it is necessary to fill his manger more copiously with the ingredients prepared for him. Dr. Sully and all the other persons who have devised improved methods of feeding agree in the practices of bruising or coarsely grinding the grain and beans, of cutting down the hay and straw, of givmg no hay in the rack, of allow- ing salt, and of weighing each article separately before mixture, instead of adopting the fallacious guide of measurement. {Quart. Jour. qfAgr., vol. ii. p. 727.) 8454. Road horses, in some parts of Scotland, and more especially in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh and Glasgow, are fed on equal parts of oat-straw and hay, cut by a machine in the lengths of from one eighth to one sixteenth of an inch. The cut straw and hay so produced are intimately mixed together, and, when musty, sometimes sprinkled with a little salt and water. The drink given to the horses is water in which oats or barley have been boiled, and the grain so boiled is found to equal double its quantity of raw grain in keeping horses in condition. 8455 — 6747. FeediTig horses. As the result of an experiment tried with boiled grain, raw grain un- bruised, and raw grain bruised or cut, it appears that by far the most profitable mode is to give the gram raw but previously bruised or cut. {Trans. U. S.) it. ^P^."T"^'*f '**'' " ^**^ important family of which the common ox may be regarded as typical, divides V^iA *!i XT ff groups,— the Bieontine, the Bubaline, and the Taurine. The bisons inhabit both the OiU and New Contments, and are distinguished by round, smooth horns, and a musky odour which ex- tjaies trom the skin. The buffaloes are characterised by angular horns, and a fainter odour of musk, and are natives of the warmer regions of Asia and Africa. The taurine group, comprehending the common ox and its cUfferent races, forms the most important division of bovidae." {low's Domestic k™^^* P^?.l*^''";f,^-''5'H.^''^"H'^''2"^'*^^*="^ed by Professor Low ar 1. The wild or white forest >^^A aLTc /^-^h ^?.*^,?"^'^'' ?^rn^"^^'.*"^ ^*^*ch is the West Highland. 3. The Zetland. 4. The T^t ^iSSr^h ripvn^ ^^"°^.^y- « 6- The Welch, the finest of which are the Pembrokes. 7. The Kerry. ^(Sl'S^'rS^^ri. l%fr ^°"^-*^-°«'- ''• ^^« ^eeswater short-Lrnedl^'cJr'b JrhL. J^^'Jxl^.^\ ^ ^ 9^ A^^^^L^^^'V^'?"^ ""^y ^^ j"^ged, are given in the Quart. Jour. Agr., vol. V. p. 159. ; vol. VL p. 266. 433. and 546., by Mr. James Dickson, cattle dealer, Edinbureh in a sunerior "few fLtu?S! ^^ "^^ *'^^"" '^^° *° P"^'- ^^ ^^° only spare room ?o extract 1. The short horns. The frame exhibits a straight level back from behind the horns to the top of the stTPPLEMENi. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1357 tail, full buttocAS, and a projecting blisket ;.in short, the form Is rectangular and perfect in its kind. . The colour is red, and the richest white, approaching to cream, or both colours are mixed. Limbs small and clean, like those of the race horse, uniting strength with firmness. Head small, lengthy, fiftpering, neatly set on a broad firm deep neck ; mildly beaming eyes, thin large veiny ears, and semi- circularly bent, white or brownish coloured short horns ; in a word, a symmetrical harmony, w^ich has never been surpassed in beauty and sweetness by any other variety of the domesticated ox. 2. The Shetland breed are uniformly black, light red, or black and white. " They are naturally the smallest breed of cattle in the kingdom, weighing generally from 16 stones to 20 stones the four quarters, and when extra fat, from 25 stones to 30 stones. The beef is of the very finest quality throughout, being as small in the grain as mutton ; the fat well intermixed, and the flavour most delicious. In fact, in point of quality, they are, without exception, the finest cattle that are bred in the kingdom. The cows are not great milkers, but the milk is very rich." 3. The Orkney and Caithness breeds. Orkney cattle are much larger than those of Shetland, and less Bymmetrically shaped. They are slow feeders, and incapable of early maturity. The Caithness cattle resemble those of the Orkneys. 4. The North Bighfand breed are bred In the counties of Sutherland and Koss. They are large, sym- metrical, and feed welt. 5. The Aberdeenshire breeds are middle sized, symmetrical, generally black, and capable of being fattened at four years old to fifty or sixty stone. 6. The Angus breed. Middle size, symmetrical, generally black, quiet, and rather slow feeding. 7. The Fife breeds have rather a ragged outline, and are in general symmetry inferior to many of the northern breeds. The features of the face are strongly marked, and the expression of the eye dull. They have not an aptitude to fatten at an early age, but at four or five years they feed to great substance ana heavy weight. 8. The West Highland or'Kyloe breed, is the oldest in Scotland. Form symmetrical, legs short, eyes full and sparkling, colour generally black ; the nearest Scotch breed in character and properties to the short horns. 9. The Ayrshire breed is celebrated as milkers, but the Tweed-side short horn cows are now being preferred, as on the whole the most profitable ; they are larger, give more milk, and take up less room, and give less trouble in proportion to the quantity of milk they give. 10. The Galloway breed is readily known by being withput horns. The head is rather large, and looks coarse ; the legs are short and strong j colour mostly black. The beef, when well and long fed, is of first-rate quality. 11. English breeds. The Heref&rd is preferred, because they show, when fat, symmetry and points the nearest in resemblance to those of the short horns. The cows are bad milkers, and the calf con- sumes all the milk. They pay the feeder better than the breeder. The loTig horns feed to great weights, but they are rather coarse m the bone. The Sussex cattle are large, red, deficient in symmetry, and when fat, frequently bought by the shipping butchers, while the Herefords are purchased by the cutting up butchers. The Devons have a pure rich red colour, with white horns, fair symmetry, and conse- quently middling quality. When fat and cut up, they want that fine mixture of fat and lean so common in Scottish cattle and short horns. The Si0blk cattle are all dun coloured, and the cows are great milkers. Very few oxen of the duns are fed fat, the bull calves being fed for veal, and the cows kept for making butter. The Welsh cattle have thick horns, thick coarse plain hides, and narrow backs, and altogether are a very Inferior breed. Graziers and feeders out of Wales never think of purchcising them when they can find Scottish West Highland cattle. 12. Irish breeds. There are three breeds of cattle in Ireland : the Kerry breed, of small size, which belongs to the mountainous part of the country ; a small but larger breed, to be found chiefly in the north of Ireland ; and a long horned breed, to be found in the low rich plains. The cows of the Kerry breed are, like those of the Ayrshire breed, great milkers. The breed of the plains are large and good feeders, and the grain o£ their flesh, being coarse, stands the salt, and is therefore well adapted for the supply of the navy. The heifers of the Kerry breed are in constant demand, fetch good prices, and make good poor men's cows. 13. The Isle qf Man breed is of a mixed character, combining various shapes and colours, so that, in short, there is properly no breed. 14. The Aldemey and Jersey breeds are too delicate for the climate of Scotland. 15. The French breeds are not unlike the Guernsey breed. They are ill made, give excellent milk, get fat on the rumps, but they are always thin on the ribs, and the beef is generally of a yellow tinge. iQttart. Jowr. Agr.^ vol. vi. p. 568.) 8459.-^6809. The points or parts by which cattle are judged have been laid down in a masterly manner also by Mr. Dickson ( Q. J. A., vol. v. p. 159.), and applied to the diSerent Scotch breeds in the subse- quent volume of the same journal. The first point is the purity of breed, which is ascertained by the colours of the skin being definite, and in particular by the bald skin on the nose and around the eyes being without spots. The second point is the form of carcass, which, taken longitudinally and hori- zontally, ought to be that of a solid parallelogram. A third point is a full, clear, and prominent eye. The next is the state of the Skin, which ought to feel mellow ; a feeling which can onl^ be understood by long practice. Sheep may be Judged of by merely the same rules. A refined tone in breeding can be attained in any breed by judicious care in crossing within that breed; and the true criterion of a finished breed is "like producing like." 8460. Measuring cattle. The weight of all solid bodies can be ascertained by external measurement ; but the shape of the bodies of cattle is so very irregular, and so much of the internal part is hollow, that none of the ordinary rules of calculation are applicable to them. Nevertheless, as it is obvious that the bodies of two oxen wliich are the same in size will be nearly the same in weight, tables have been formed as the result of repeated experiments, and these tables are now in general use, and found to be practically correct. " Ic is only by continued practice that any one is enabled to guess the weight of beasts with accuracy : those persons, therefore, who have only occasionally a few fat cattle to dispose of, meet the purchaser (who is in the constant habit of buying and proving his judgment by weighing the carcase when dead) upon very unequal terms ; but that great inequality will be much lessened by this aid of measurement. The measurer should be a suflficient judge of beasts to know whether they are marketably fat or not ; if not, the measurer will overrate them ; and also something of their proper formation, so as to be capable of forming a just opinion whether they are proportionably heavier or lighter in their fore- quarters than in their hind-quarters ; and thus making such necessary allowance in computing the weight from the sliding rule, or from the tables in the third edition of Hilly ard^s Practical Farming and Graxing. The method of measuring is to put a string or tape round the beast, just behind the shoulder- blade, and take its circumference in feet and inches ; that is called the girth : then with the tape or string measure from the fore part of the shoulder-blade bone, along the side of the back, over the hip to that bone under the tail which plumbs the line with the hind part of the buttock ; this is the length. Opposite these figures in the book or scale is the weight of the carcase in stones of 8 lbs. and of 14 lbs., when separated from the ofl"al. Thus :_ girth 6 ft. 6 in. by 5 ft. 8 in. length, gives 57 stones 2 lbs. of 14 lbs • 100 stones of 8 lbs. ; which is equal to 10 score per quarter : — 7 ft. 10 in. by 5 ft. 10 m. gives 85 stone 10 lbs. of 14 lbs. ; 150 stones of 8 lbs. ; equal to 15 score per quarter. The girtli is easily taken ; but the length requires great care to take it correctly. The beast should stand quite straight whilst measured, and the exact part of the shoulder-blade should be felt." (Jottrn. A. E.^ vol. iii. p. 338.) 8461.— »&2. Feeding horned cattle on raw, or on steamed or boiled, food. Though boiled corn is found 1358 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. suppi.ement. to be doubly nutrLtious to horses, yet, from a number of experiments made by practical TarmerB, with a view of obtaining the premium of thirty sovereigns offered by the Hlghlnnd Society of Scotland, it has been given as an opinion, that, in the case of the ruminating animals, no advantage whatever results from cooking their food. (See High. Soc. Trans., vol. x. p. 253.) 8462.-^6856. On the treatment qf cattle in winter. An excellent paper on this subject will be found in the Quarterly Journal qf Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 228 — 241. Some difference of opinion exists among agricultural writers as to whether young growing cattle ought to be fed, or pampered, as Dr. Coventry calls it, with rich food, or supplied with abundance of coarser food. The writer of the article referred to inclines to the former opinion, on the principle of its being the farmer's interest to treat his cuttle in such a way as shall enable him to bring them soonest to market. Coarse food, he says, ought not to be found on a well-cultivated farm. Straw and water, in an agricultural sense, are not food at all. Straw given to cattle, with a view of being consumed as their only food, is just so much straw wasted, and time lost, in the forwarding of their condition. A limited supply of turnips will keep cattle alive, and may prevent them from falling off in flesh, but it will never bring them to a state of fatness, though they were to eat in that manner for any length of time ; whereas a moderate quantity beyond this limited portion would constitute abundance. Scanty food renders cattle uneasy; whereas food in abundance renders them contented and able to endure every inclemency of weather. A farmer ought neither to rear nor pnrchafc more cattle than he has food sufficient to keep in affluence ; for though this might lessen the number, both on individual farms and in the country generally, yet the quantity of butchers' meat brought td market would be greater, and its quality better, than it now is. Hence, on the score of profit to the farmer, and ease and comfort to the rattle themscives, abundant nourishment ought to be given to the latter from the earliest period of their existence, until their growth is complete. Cattle may be fed in houses, and tied to stakes, or in what are provincially called " hammels,'* which are small open courts, with an open shed for shelter on the north side. Twenty calves, or ten yearlings, may be put into one of these hammels. A bammel with a shed seventeen ieet in width and fourteen feet in depth, with a court twenty-one feet by seventeen feet, will contain three large oxen, or four smaller-sized cattle. Every hammel must be supplied with pure water at the command of the cattle. Before the cattle are put into hammels or byres, the floors ought to be well littered, so as to form a sort of drain to carry off the urine to an underground tank, whence it may be pumped up for use. Cattle fed on turnips eat \ery little straw ; and therefore the first thing that should be given to therti in the morning is turnips, the troughs for holding them having been previously cleaned out. In the byre, the first thing to be done in the morning is to draw the dung from behind the cattle into the urine canal ; and while the cattle are eating tlieir turnips, the dung can be wheeled to the dunghill Fresh straw, for fodder, may be given about the time tliat the turnips are eaten up, a small quantity being placed before each beast in the byre, and in the racks under the sheds of the courts. Oat-straw is found to constitute the best fodder for cattle ; potato oat-straw is, perhaps, better than that of the common oat, as the former is always cut down before it is quite ripe. Hay is, no doubt, better than any kind of straw ; and those who have abundance of that desirable fodder may give it ungrudgingly to cattle, in the certainty of being soon repaid its value. Turnips should be given again about mid-day ; and about three o'clock in the afternoon the mangers should be cleared out, and straw or chaff given. In the byre, after this allowance is eaten up, the man- gers should be cleaned out before giving another foddering of straw, A trowel will be found a handy instrument for this purpose. At the hammels, the last foddering of straw can be given any time after the last allowance of turnips, which should be ample, as the cattle will come backward and forward to them even in the dark, and in moonlight they will feed as well as during the day. '1 he calves should be served with turnips immediately after the feeding-bet^ts ; and the year-olds can also get a few at this time, to complete tneir day's allowance. Between the allowances of turnips, litter should be sprinkled in tlie byres and hammels, to induce the cattle to lie down after repletion, to chew the cud, which they will invariably do. At eight o'clock at night, the byres should be looked at with a light, and the cattle sup- plied with the fodder necessary, and their beds made comfortable for the night, by drawing back any dung that may be on them, sprinkling some more litter, and shaking it well up with a fork. At the hammels, if it is moonlight, some more turnips should be thrown, even' at this time of night, into the mangers. During the day, the water-troughs should be all kept full of fresh water, and any filth that may have been blown into them by the wind should be removed. When the frost becomes so severe as to harden the turnips, they should no longer be brought from the field, but from the store formed of them in the beginning of winter, for the purpose of supplying the cattle with fresh turnips during the continu- ance of frosty weather ; nor should any more be taken even from the store than what can be consumed in a day. Frozen turnips may be thawed by being placed in a tub of cold water} but this is a very tedious and troublesome mode of obtaining fresh turnips in frosty weather, compared to the excellent practice of storing a considerable quantity in open weather. 8463. In the feeding qf cattle, it is of the utmost importance that the man who has the charge of them should be very attentive to his duty ; and, in particular, that he should be exact, even to a minute, in supplying them with turnips : cattle know perfectly well when the time arrives for a fresh supply, even though the mangers in the hammels may not be empty, which they should never altogether be When they are supplied with food at irregular times, they will either be always craving it, or become careless about it ; and their uneasiness, arising from frequent disappointments, will prevent them from feeding so pleasantly and speedily as when their food is placed before them at exact periods. "When the mail thus regulates his different works by time, he will find leisure moments during the day to perform many necessary acts ; which, though they may appear of little importance in themselves, nevertheless contribute greatly to thn appearance of neatness and comfort in the farm-yard and its inmates. Thus, he might spread the stable-litter along the edge of the turnip-troughs of the year-old cattle, to keep any turnips clean that may have been pulled over by the beasts ; for, when cattle are first put up to feed, the freshness and tenderness of the leaves induce them to eat these first, and in the anxiety of each to obtain another fresh bite, many turnips are necessarily turned over. The man can also shovel and scrape together any mud about the causeways, and the places on which the turnips iiave been laid down from tlfe field. He can frequently examine the skins of the cattle, and give immediate notice of any erup- tion ; for cattle, after being a month or six weeks on turnips, get very itchy in the skin, the violent rubbing of which often causes ulcerated spots to break out, but which can easily enough be cured at first, by an application of a decoction of toDacco, with a little spirit of tar. He should rub those parts of the body which they cannot easily get at to lick with an old currycomb, and scrape off anv dung that may adhere to the hair in the hinder and under parts of the body, with a large blunt knife: and this attention IS more necessary at the beginning of the season than afterwards, as the freshness of the stems, and the juiciness of the roots of the turnips, and the greediness which all cattle evince for them at first, often cause a looseness in their bowels. He should observe the first indication of lice in their skins m the early part of the spring, when these may be easily destroyed, by applying to the affected parts a solution ot mercurial ointment ; but, if neglected, they will cause much uneasiness to the cattle, making their hair peel off, and exposing to view an unsightly skin ; and he may handle them frequently on every part of their body, as they are very fond of being handled when they are rising in condition ; and it is also serviceable to familiarise them with man ; as cattle, when they have been accustomed to be handled, will stand better, and show themselves more satisfactorily to the buyer. There is something so winning in a gentle disposition in powerful animals, caused by good treatment, that a buyer will prefer them when they have to be driven a distance upon the road ; and the butchers in the neighbourhood will also prefer them, as they will walk peaceably to ihe sharables.withouttheriskof being raised to a frenzy All these constitute the minutiae of the busmess of leeding cattle on turnips in winter ; and triding as they SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1359 may appear, attention to them will be amply repaid, in the shape of prime beef and docile cattle. The whole may be easily accomplished by any man who regulates his movements by the watch ; and the msin having the charge of cattle in winter, who will do this whether he is seen by his master or not, is aa inestimable servant. 8464. The quantity (^ turnips which feeding cattle toill consume, as stated by most writers, Is about one ton eveir week, for an ox of from sixty to seventy stones, or about one acre of a fair crop of turnips in six months. Thirty-three double-horse cart-loads of turnips, each weighing from sixteen cwt. to eighteen cwt., are a good crop on light sharp lands. 8465. Time qf putting up to feed. If the second growth of grass has continued fresh till the latter part of autumn, cattle may be soon enough put up to feed by the Ist of November ; but if she grass fail sooner, which it will in most seasons do, the middle of October is late enough for putting them up to feed. White globe turnips are an excellent juicy food for cattle till the commencement of the new year, a^ier which should follow the yellow or green tops, for two months longer, and then the Swedish turnips will tinish the season. If the Swedish turnips have been stored up before the second growth of the stem has made its appearance in spring, they may be taken out quite fresh till the beginning of June. Since the cultivation of the potato has increased so rapidly, many people feed their cattle on it in spring either wholly or mixed with turnips. When cattle are fed on potatoes, attention ought to be paid to them after feeding, for fear of internal swelling. When observed at first, the swelling may be allayed by pouring down the throat a bottleful or less of common wh^e oil, which will check the fermentation, and operate as a purgative. Should any of the young cattle or the feeding beasts in the byre be choked with a piece of turnip, for those fed in hammels never or very seldom do so, the best expedient is to use the probang at once, rather than to permit the throat of the poor animal to be squeezed, and consequently inflamed, in attempting to push the piece of turnip up and dow;i. The probang may be used with great success, by causing the animal to be forcibly held by superior strength, with its neck and mouth stretched for- ward, and while one is pushing the instrument gently down, another is directing the end of it down the gullet on the outside of the neck. When the piece of turnip is pushed down into the stomach, let the instrument be gently drawn out; and if, during the operation, the animal forcibly twists its head about, the instrument should instantly be let go. feedmg cattle will eat very little straw ; but they ought to have abundance of litter at all times. 8466. Comparative merits qf feeding cattle in hammels and hyres. " Our decided predilection is in favour of hammels. In them the cattle are at perfect liberty to roam about, if disposed for exercise : they are exposed to all the sunshine there may be in a winter day ; and the very rain which falls on their backs titillates the skin, and causes them to lick and clean themselves ; they are comfortably warm in their sheds among an abundance of straw in the coarsest night, and cattle will never suffer from cold, when they have a comfortable shelter to which they can repair at will ; they can come and go to their food whenever they please, night and day, and, their meat being constantly m the open air, it will be ^ways fresh and sweet ; and their feet and hair, when they come to travel, are quite able to bear the hardness of the road and the coldness of the air. These are all advantages which no byre can confer. Nor are the hammels so expensive in their original erection as many represent them to be. We have seen a range of them consisting of five divisions, capable of feeding twenty large oxen, erected for 20^ ; but these had no regular roof. The roofing of all buildings is the most expensive part of them. The roof of those to which we refer, consisted of trees laid across as beams, about a foot asunder, the space between them being filled up with the branches of the spruce fir and Scotch pine. Such a place was a choice one for stacking pease or beans upon. To this purpose it was often appropriated ; or it was covered with straw, roped down, which was used as bedding for the cattle in the first part of the succeeding season; when fresh straw was put in its stead. In the hammels which faced the south, the cattle were well fed and comfortably lodged ; and no byre could have afforded so much accommodation at the same expense.'* (Quor. Joum. A&r.^ vol. ii. p. 241 .) 8467- —6978. Milk is preserved from becoming acid by the addition of any alkali ; because, when milk ferments, it developes an acid, which the alkalies neutralise. Hence alkalies prevent the curdling of milk'. Alkalies applied to curd will turn it into milk: they are not unwholesome, but in large quantities give the milk a disagreeable flavour. (^U Agricidteur-Manufacturier, Mai, 1831.) 8468. — 7008. A curd- breaker for skim-milk cheeses {Jigs-.l\%\. and 1182.) has bgen invented by Mr. Robert Barlas, of Gilmour Place, llgl " || i [[ Edinburgh. ' It consists of a hop- - ^ "" per of wood {fig. 1181 . o), seven- teen inches and a half by fourteen inches on the top, and ten inches in depth ; and a cylinder of hard wooa six inches and three quar- ters (6) in length, and three inches and a half in diameter. The cylinder is studded with square pegs made of *ard wood, each a quarter of an inch in the side, cut square at the ends, and projecting three eighths of an mch. There are eight teeth in the length, and fifteen in the cir- cumference, of the cylinder, 120 teeth in all. It revolves on a round iron axle twelves inches in length, and is moved by the crank handle (tf in^. 1 1 82.) j c c are two wedge-shaped pieces of hard wood, made to fill up, in some de- gree, the space between the side of the hopper and the cylinder. These pieces rest on a slip of wood nailed to the lower rim of the hopper, - to keep them in their place. The face of these is studded with nine teeth of hard wood, similar to those on the cylinder, at opposite sides. "The stand (e) ifig^ 1182.) can be made of any length, to suit the breadth of the tub into which the curd is .broken. The implement is used in this manner : — Place over it a tub, heap the hopper (o), with curd, and, on turning the winch (d) in either direc- tion, the curd will fall, broken quite small, into the tub. While one hand is moving the machine, the other can press the curd gently down into the hopper. As cleanliness is a matter of the greatest im- portance in cheese-making, the internal parts of this machine, being loosely put together, can be easily taken to pieces to clean. The cylinder axle rests on two hard wooden blocks (/; A?* ll*'^.), one on each side, which slip out of their groove. They are held in their working position by the thumb-catch ia6o ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPPLEMENT. e\ lunk flush with the bottom of the stand (e), one over each bipck. The wedge-shaped pieces (c c, ^. IlBl ) come out. To prevent the curd working out of the sides of the axle, the cylinder Is set a little at both ends into the sides of the hopper. The dotted lines in Jig, 1 182. will give an idea how the Internal part of the machine is constructed. Only one tooth is represented on the cylinder by the dotted lines, Co show the po- sition of the whole. (Quart. Jour. Agr.j vol. iv, p. 385.) 8469. BairePs cheese press {fig. 1183.) is one of the most con- venient in use. ** The form con- taining the curd Is put on the bot- tom plate. A, and the top plate, b, is made to descend and press on it. There are two ways of doing this : one quick and easy, until the resistance becomes great ; and the other slower, but more powerful, and used for the con- clusion of the operation. On the axis G of the wheel d there is a pinion of eight teeth (not seen in the engraving) which works in the rack a. On the axis b there is another pinion of eight teeth (concealed by the other parts) which acts in the wheel D, of twenty-four teeth. This axis, b, may be turned by the winch han- dle H, three turns of which will make the rack descend through a space corresponding to eight of its teeth. In this way the plate may be lowered to touch the cheese, and to commence the pressure ; but when the resist- ance becomes considerable, the second method of acting on the rack must be resorted to. On the axis E, besides the pinion before- mentioned, there is a fixed ratchet wheel, p : the lever i, forked at the end, which embraces F, is also placed on this axis, but turns freely round it. In the forked part of f there is a pall or click, G (better seen at g *), which, turning on the pin k, may be made to engage in the notches of the ratchet- wheel F. By means of this arrangement, when i is raised up, and g engaged in f, the axis e, and its pinion, will be turned round with great power on depressing the end i of the lever ; and by alternately raising and depressing i, any degree of pressure required may be given to the cheese ; after which, if it be wished to continue the pressure, and to follow the gradual shrinking of the cheese, the lever is to be raised above the horizontal position, and the weight w hung on, which will cause it to descend as the cheese yields. By inserting the pin p, this eifect may be dis- continued, and the farther descent of b prevented." {High- land Soc. TrfflTW., vol.x. p. .52.) 8470. The pneumatic cheese press {figs. 1184. and 1185.) is the invention of John Robison, Esq., Sec. R.S.E. When of full size, this press mar consist of a stand about three feet high, on the top of which may be fixed a tinned copper or zinc vessel, of any required capacity (say eig:hteen inches diameter, and eighteen inches deep), to contain the prepared curd. This vessel should have a loose bottom of ribbed work, co- vered with wire-cloth, from under which a small tube, nearlv twelve inches long, should communicate with a close vessel, capable of containing all the whey which may be drawn from the curd in the upper vessel. At one side of the stand there may be a small pump-barrel of about seven inches deep, from the bottom of which a suction pipe should terminate at its upper end in a valve opening upwards, and a piston, with a similar valve, should be placed in the pump-barrel, and be worked by a jointed lever^ as shown iu the model. The pro- cess is to be conducted as follows: — The curd being pre- pared, and salted in the usual way, a cloth is to be put over and into the upper vessel, and the curd put lightly into it, except round the edges, where it should be packed quite close to the sides of the vessel, so that no air may pass that way ; the pump handle is then to be briskly worked for a few mi- nutes, on which the pressure of the external air will force the whey to run down the tube into the whey-vessel ; when it ceases to run, a few strokes of the pump may be repeated. The cloth and its contents are then to be lifted bodily out of the curd-vessel, and to be put into a mould of close wirework, with a weight placed over it until it become firm enough to be handled. The mould should stand on a sparred shelf (a shelf made of laths like a bacon rack) to allow the air free access to it on all sides of the cheeses. In^. 1 184., a is a vessel contain- ^ , ^ . • *■ r '"^ V^^ *^"'"*^ ' *' * ^''ssel for containing the whey ; c, a tube commumcatmg from a to b;d, an air pump for exhausting the air in b ■ e tube rommumcatmg from d to b i /.a tub ^V^L^"'"? °*f t*'^ whey from b. Fig. 11857 is a false bottom for the vessel a ; g, wood frame ; h, w:re-cloth. {Highland Soc. Trans., vol. x. p. 200.) wm^hi lui 1185 suppi-EMEN-fi. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1186 1361 8471. Aitwood's newly invented churn (Jig. 1186.), "being made entirely of block tin, the necessarv degree of temperature can be given to the cream, by placing it in a nan of cold or hot water, which ensures the butter coming in ten or twelve minutes at all seasons of the year. The simplicity of its construction, and the facility wth which it may be cleaned, are no inconsiderable advantages over those now m common use. The great advantages will be found in the winter ■ but lu the heat of summer, the placing the churn in cold water will be the means of hardenmg the butter." (Johnson's Agr. Imp. for 1843, p. 8 ) 8472. —7010. A stonetome chum, of which Jt^. ! 187. is a perspective view, has lately been invented, or brought into notice, by Mr. Daniel Chambers of Carey Street, London. In form, and in the manner of using, it is in every respect the same as the patent box-churn, figured in page 1040. ; but the great advantage ofthe present invention is, that, being made of earthenware it .18 much easier kept clean and sweet than when made of wood. The size of that of which we have given a figure is the smallest that is made, and it will churn bo. small a quantitv as half a pound of butter at a time. As this churn, from being made of earthenware, is rather too heavy for being lifted up and emptied, there is a small hole on one side near the bottom (indicated in the figure), to let off the butter-milk ; which hole is easily stopped with a common cork. The lid has a rebate, as shown at a in the figure, for the purpose of pro- venting the milk from splashing over during the ope- radon of churning. We have much pleasure in no- ticing this invention, because it will not only greatly contribute to cleanliness, and to the sweetness of the butter produced, but also to lessening the labour of the dairy maid in scalding and scouring. (Gard* JtfofiT. 1839, p.l44.) 8473 — 7086. New Stilton cheeses may be made to acquire the flavour and appearance of old ones, by inoculating them with portions of the old, containing blue mould. The little scoop which is used in taking samples of cheese, affords a ready means of perform- ing the operation, by interchanging ten or a dozen of thp rolls which it extracts, and placing them so as to disseminate the germ of the blue mould all over the cheese. A new Stilton cheese treated in this way, and well covered up from the air for a few weeks, becomes thoroughly impregnated with the mould, and generally with a flavour hardly to be distin- guished from the old one. (.Highland Soc, Trans. vol. xi. p. 233.) ^ 8474.— 7093. Schabzi^uer cheese is flavoured with the bruised seed of JVfelil&tus schabziguer, or blue melilot, which smells exactly like a pigsty. (G. C. 1842, p. 381.) 8475.— 7115. The varieties tif the sheep described by Professur /.otP, are: — 1. The Zetland and Orkney breeds ; 2. The breed of the higher Welsh mountains ; 3. The soft-wooled sheep of Wales ; 4. The breed of the Wieklow mountains ; 5. The Kerry ; 6. The forest breeds of England ; 7. The black-faced heath breed ; 8, The Cheviot ; 9. The old Norfolk ; 10. The old Wiltshire ; 11. The Dorset ; 12. 'i'he Merino • 13. The Ryeland ; 14. The South Down ; 15. The old Lincoln ; 16. The Romney Marsh ; 17. The older long-wooled breeds of the inland districts ; 18. The Gotswold ; 19. The new Leicester. {Low^s Domestic Animals, vol. ii.) 8476 — 7184. Management of the Jleece in Australia. In order to assimilate the Australian wool as much as possible with the German, in preparing it for market, the fleeces should not be brpken, but- merely divested of the breech and stained locks, and so assorted or arranged that each package may con- tain fleeces of the same character as to colour, length of staple, fineness of hair, and general quality. 6477. IJthe washing has been performed at the same time and place, and with an equal degree of care, the colour is likely to be uniform, and it will then only be necessary to attend to the separation of the fleeces as to length, fineness, and general quality ; but if a large grower has flocks of different breeds, and fed on diff'erent soils, care should be taken that the fleeces be separated, first, as to colour, and then again, as to length, fineness, &c. ' 8478. Packing. The fleeces, being assorted as already suggested, should be spread one upon another, the neck of the second fleece being laid upon the tail of the first, and so on alternately to the extent of eight to ten fleeces, according to their size and weight. When so spread, the two sides should be folded towards the middle, then rolled together, beginning at each end, ana meeting in the centre ; and the roll or bundle, so formed, should be held together by a slight packthread. 8479. The bagging should be of a close, firm, and tough nature. The material hitherto most generally used has been sail canvass, which very ill resists bad weather on a long voyage, and, when received here, even in favourable condition, is so dry and crisp, that it will tear like paper. A thicker, twilled, more flexible, and tough material would be preferable. The size and form of the package may be in length about nine feet, and in width four feet, sewed up on the two long sides, and at one end} the other end being suspended with the open end upwards to receive the bundles made up as before directed, which are to be put in one at a time, one of the flat sides of the roll or bundle being put downwards, and so on in succession ; and the whole being well trodden down, until sufliciently filled for the mouth to be closed. This is the German mode of packing, but it is doubtful whether packages of the dimensions that have been hitherto sent from the two colonies may not be more convenient for so long a voyage. 8480. The operation of screwing €iio\x\A be discontinued where it has been practised ; as the pressure by the screw, and the remaining compressed during the voyage, occasions- the wool to be caked and matted together in a manner that is highly prejudicial to its appearance on arrival. The practice, also, of winding up each fleece separately, and twisting a portion into a band, is productive, in aminor degree, of the same prejudicial eff'ect ; and it is to avoid this that the making German bundles of eight or ten fleeces is suggested. {Hobart Town Courier, Jan. 8. 1834.) 8481. — 7219. Feeding sheep. It is well known, from the discoveries of the first chemists, that turnips are deficient in nitrogen, and that all animals require a portion of it for their healthy nourishment. Clover and meal contain, besides other nourishing substances, a sufficiency of nitrogen for the supjily of animal flesh, and their addition greatly increases the fattening qualities of turnips ; much of the juice of the turnips remains undigested, and is voided without any change, when they are the only food of the sheep, which more nitrogenous food would enable the stomach to decompose : at least such is the pre- vailing theory ; and it la very plausible. Experiments and accurate observations alone can substantiate it, or refute its truth. (Cf. C. 1843, p. 132.) 8482. Feeding she&p in a shed, though they consume nearly one fifth less food, made above one third greater progress, (j. W. Childer8,Esq., in Joum. A. E., vol.i. p. 169.) Subsequent experiments ex- hibit still greater advantages, particularly during the winter months. By giving the sheep cake, and a 4 S 1362 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. aCPPLEMEKT. little cruBlied barlev, they may gain from 33 lbs. to 40 lbs. a head In the course of ten weeks, ut that season. Much of the success depends on having a boarded floor, which prevents the sheep iVom taUng the foot rot. (Ibfd. p.4)0.) 8483. A rain~proitf feeding trough for sheep has been invented by a farmer of Fifeshire, Mr. Bell, near Cupar, and is described and figured by Mr. Buist. It is an adaptation of the common pheasant feeding box to the sheep trough with the addition of a Bimple application of the bird cage watering glass. (Seo Quart. Jour, tu ^g*'.y vol.xl. p. 115.) 8484.-r-7283. The varieties of the hog described fiy PrQ/eMorXow, are:— I. The wild hog; 2. Siamese or Chinese breed ; 3. The old English breed, and 4. The Berkshire breed. l^Low^s Do7nestic Animals, vol. ii.) 8485, — 7315. Preparation qf food for swine. Mr. Bolton, who has fattened swine to an enormous weight, has the folLowing observations on the subject in the British Fai-mer^s Magazine, vol. vii. We consider them worthy of quotation, with a view of impressing on the mind of the reader the importance of fer. menting food for this class of animals : — "I always feedmy pigs on sour food, which I have invariably found to feed them faster, and to make the flesh firmer and whiter, than food given in any other state. The following is my method of preparing it: — As soon as the |]Otatoes are steamed, I have them, while quite hot, beaten to a pulp, and mixed with bran, in the proportion of twenty-eight pounds of bran to a sack (240 pounds ) of potatoes, and this mixture is put Into a vat for ten or twelve days, till quite sour j this rood makes the pigs fat enough for porkers or small bacons. When I require them more than commonly fat, I begin with fifty pounds of barley flour, instead of the bran, to each sack of potatoes, gradually increasing the quantity of flour till it amounts to half the weight of the potatoes: when the quantity of flour is greater than the moisture of fhe potatoes will absorb, I add a sufficient quantity of water to make it into a thick paste : I never give it until it has fermented." 8486. — ^7315. Pigs in Hampshire are frequently washed and rubbed with a hard brush, which is found greatly to improve their condition, and is one of the principal causes of the bacon of that country fetching 2d. more per pound than that of any other. (G. C. 1842, p. 351.) i 8487. A description of Mallefs improved apparatus for cooking fodder for cattle by steam. The simplest form of apj^aratus for this purpose, usually met with, consists merelv of a common open boiler, over which a tub, with its bottom perforated, is placed, and tlie junction rendered steam-tight by what is called a water-valve or water-lute joint ; that Is to say, by the lower edge of the tubprojecting below its bottom, into an annular space round the upper edge of the boiler, filled with water. The tub Is filled with the vegetable matter to be cooked ; and the steam rising through the perforation of its bottom, from the water beneath (a fire having been lighted under the boiler), prepares it. This apparatus, excellent as it appears from its simplicity, has many disadvantages. The tub requires to be lifted on and off, by means or a crane, if of large size ; a separate boiler is required for each tub j there is no mode of regulating the supply of steam, but by damping the fire, or urging It ; and the boiler, to be supplied with the water spent in steam, needs the tub to be previously lifted ofi'. Added to all, the boiler must be circular, and, there- fore, of the worst possible form for economy of fuel. The next form is that In which several steaming vessels are supplied from one boiler, which maybe of any form. Each of these vessels consists of a tub, as before, with a perforated bottom, and close but moveable cover, which is placed on another shallow tub, with a close bottom, into which the steam from the boiler is conducted by a pipe from the boiler ; the j unction between the two tubs being made good, either by three or four thicknesses of felt, or by a gasket ; a cock regulates the admission of steam to each lower tub, and a crane is provided, which commands the whole range, and lifts them on or off. The arrangement answers tolerably well, but has some Incon. veniences. But a comparatively small surface of the potatoes or other fodder Is exposed to coction. The crane for lifting off the tubs, when each is capable of containing from four to six barrels of potatoes, requires to be a strong and rather costly piece of work ; and the consumption of time and labour in lifting on and off, filling and emptying those tubs while hot, is very great, whereby a considerable loss in fuel accrues. All these considerations may be of small importance where the quantity of fodder cooked is small, and therefore the cost of labour and fuel slight ; but where a large stock of cattle is to be fed with cooked-food, aud the apparatus is therefore nearly at constant work, every consideration of facility and economy becomes in the highest degree important. Accordingly, the following train of ap- paratus was desigried for a gentleman, who Is not onl^ an extensive rearer of cattle, but one of the most distinguished agricultural improvers in Ireland.* It is conceived that it embodies most, if not all, that can he wished for tiie purpose. Fig. 118S. is a longitudinal section of the boiler, which is cylincb-ical, and four times Its diameter in length. Witty's patent gas-furnace is applied to it ; a is the inclined plane ; J the fire-bars ;c, the dead plate ; e the ash-pit. The flame and'^'heated air passes under the Voiler through the bottom flue, /, thence through the tubular flue, g, right through the body of water in the * Robert La Zouche, Esq., of Harriston. SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE as PRACTISED JN BRITAIN, isca 1 190 boiler ; at the extremity of which it goes off, right and lofl, through two lateral flues, whicli join at A, and go Into the stack or chimney: t' is the feedhead, supplied either from any sufficiently elevated source, or by a pump j it is adjusted to supply the boiler at a pressure of 1^ lb. to the square inch : k is the safety valve,' loaded to the same pressure ; t)ie steam from it blows into the flue; /is the maii-lid; m, a whistle, for the purpose of giving notice when there Is a deficiency of water in the boil- er, should such ever take place ; boilers upon this construction being much more liable to injury in this respect than those which have no internal flues j n is the steam-pipe and stop-valve, which is connected with the steaming vessels. Fig.W^^. is a cross section of the boiler : the same letters refer to both figures. The top part of the boiler, above the masonry, is covered with a wooden jacket, one inch thick, and supported by segments of angle iron, at an interval of one inch and a quarter from its ex- ternal surface ; and for the same reason the walls of its setting are all built hollow. Fig. 1190. is a side elevation of the steam- ing vessel for cooking potatoes, carrots, parsneps, turnips, &c., or other such things; of which^^. 1191. is across section, through the centre of its length : the same letters refer to both, a is the external cylinder or outer case of the vessel, formed of oaken staves one inch and a half thick, hooped together, and having a close end, staved in at the end b. The other end is closed by a moveable lid (c) of wood, fastened by cotters driven through two links formed in projections from the adjacent hoop, and made steam-tight by a gasket, soaked in bees* wax and tallow ; it is capable of being very readuy put on or taken off. In the lower segment of the cylinder, an arched wood- en false bottom, d, is placed, stiffened by slight cross ribs of cast iron, and perforated full of holes five eighths of an inch in diameter j above, and supported by this, the mat- ters to be cooked are placed until they quite fill the cylin- der. The wnole thing is hung upon two gudgeons or jour- nals, e e, passing through the centre of gravity of the cylin- der, when loaded ; so that, by the arrangement about to be described, either end of it may be elevated or depressed. One of these journals is hol- low, and immediately connec- ted with the steam-pipe from the boiler by a stuffing-box, /; SO that the steam enters the bottom of the cylinder through this journal and the curved pipe g, the former having still free liberty of mo- tion. Both journals move in brasses, resting on strong dia- fonal framing, k h, bolted own to a mass of masonry. i I are two wrought-iron links, connected byjoints with the hoops of the cylinder at top, and with the extremities of^the equibrachial lever k\ the centre of which consists of a Y shaft, I, supported by two or three slight frames, mmm, and having the long vertical lever n keyed on it at one end. These frames are bolted to proper timbers in the floor of the loft above. Now it is obvious that, by means of the vertical lever n, either end of the cylinder may be elevated or depressed, and that the natural tendency of the whole system, when at rest, will be to remain horizontal. From the bottom or side of the cylinder at o proceeds a small tube, to take away the condensed steam ; so made, that it shall permit the water to pass, and yet be steam-tight ; and also that it shall remain vertical, whatever be the position of thecylinder. This is shown enlarged in ^g. 1195. The upper end of the tube works in a steam-tight joint, o, like the pin of a common cock j but made so that there is a free passage through in all positions of the tube: the screw tail of this joint is secured into the bottom of the cylinder by a brass nut and felt washer ; the joint being placed with its axis of motion at right angles to the axis of the cylinder. The lower end of the tube b (shown only in part) consists of an inverted siphon, the returning limb of which ia of such a length that the column of water retained in it is equal in pressure to the density of the steam in the cylinder. The greatest part of this tube hangs flreely in a square aperture, below the level of the floors in Jigs. 1189- and 1190., where it is connected with a small sewer to take away the water. It is evident that, when the cylinder is moved, the tube will rise and fall vertically in the hole or upright trunk in the floor. Now for the mode of working this steaming vessel. The steam being up in the boiler, and the lid c removed, the end c of the cylinder is elevated to an angle of about 40O,'when it comes just under a large wooden shoot or hopper from the loft above, close to which Is placed a slicing machine, for dividing mangold wurzel, turnips, °^.9'^^fV large roots requiring to be steamed ; from whence they drop direct through the hopper into the cyiinaer until it is full. Potatoes are either shot direct from a cart (if the situation permit of it)_ througn tne hopper, or from sacks from men's shoulders, into the cylinder. When it is full, the lid c is P^^^ on, ana cottered tight, the cylinder again placed horizontally, and the steam admitted. When *»© .^^,^^™^JIS is complete, a low capacious truck, or a large square basket on wheels, or any other co?y^"^^°^,„'^^;,P"th^^ is brought under the end c ; the lid is removed, and the end c is now depressed sufficiently to caubeuie vegetable matter to fall out ; the steam being previously shut off: the operation is then complete, x no false bottom is now to be withdrawn, and it, together with the inside of the vessel scraped ana wasnea, the former is only necessary when potatoes are cooked in it. The objects proposed m this arrangemcnc 1364 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. surrrEMENT. arp, porfect ensR in filling and emptyingr. without the necessity of handling eitlicr tlie heated vessei, or food 5 nearly a niaximuni capacity with a minimum cooling surface to the vessel ; perfect staunchness, durability, and readiness of examination and cleansing of the interior. If there be no other elevated supply of water to the steam kitchen, a Eump should be fixed in it» both to supply the oiler and to wash the vessels ; potatoes, especi- ally, leave a kind of slime upon the inside of steam tubs, which soon putrifies. It is said che cattle are sometimes choked by small potatoes, which are not sufficiently steamed ; this might be pre- vented by the addition of a pair of rollers, into the hopper of which the cylinder might discharge its contents ; and they would bruise all to a given size, and deliver into the truck before mentioned. Fig. 1192. is a side elevation of the cylindrical vessel for steaming hay, chaff, bran, oats, clover, &c. It is of a much larger size than the cylinder for steaming more solid matters ; and, therefore, is not made of wooden staves, but of iron plate riveted together like a steam boiler. Ft'g. 1104.18 a cross section of the same : the letters of reference apply to both figures alike. The cylinder is sup- ported on four vertical frames of cast iron, a a, properly connected by diagonal stays ; one end of it is riveted in, and through it the steam-pipe b enters. The other end is moveable, and closed by a circular lid or cover, also of boiler plate, se- cured by six cotter bolts, as shown in elevation, Jl0. 1193. ; itTls strengthened round Its edge by a ring of -twoinches and a half angle iron riveted on, and is externally slightly convex : c is the convex false bottom, formed of sheet iron one eighth of an inch thick, punched full of round holes three tenths of an inch diameter, and stif- fened by ribs of T Iron, riveted to its lower side : dd are two siphon tubes for emission of con- densed water, as before described : e is a man-lid for the purpose of filling in chaff, &c., or other such matters. The large end lid has got a coun- terbalance weight attached to the chain/. The whole of this cylinder, and all the steam-pipes, are lapped over with slight haybands, which are lapped over with thick felt or dreadnought; and this, lastly, is sewed tightly over with strong sail canvass painted. This mode of uniting, as a coating, several bad conductors having different con- ducting powers, is found to resist the passage of heat much more effectually than an equal thickness of even the worst conductor of the three. This fact, which I belipvp hno nnf Kaan ui^l,^^^^ .t ^ m at ooce suggest to the scientiflo reader some curious ^^ioJSt\k'!%2t^'!f^'^'%^°^^fi,:iii SUPPLEMENT. AGRICULTURE AS PRACTISED IN BRITAIN. 1365 ?f ^u?\t^^ "J™^*'^ V?"? .^¥**' indeed, caused the arrangement \vhich has been described to be adopted. It will thus be seen that this second cylinder is very similar In its general construction to that first de- scribed, except that it is not moveable ; which, from Its magni- tude, would be inconvenient, and it is unnecessary for either hay or chaff, &c. Now of the mode of working it. In the loft above immediately over the man-lid e, is placed a chaff-cutter, and also a bean and oat bruiser, which both discharge by separate liop- pers into the cylinder. The end lid having been put on and cot- tered up steam-tight, the vessel is thus filled with the desired material, which is spread uniformly with a fork through the man- lid. Steam is then turned on : and, when the operation is com- jfjlete, the end lid is loosed and thrown up by the aid of the coun- Jerbalance above the cylinder end, and the contents drawn out by brks. or by a large but light and slender instrument like the worm of the ramrod of a gun. Before being used the first time, the inside of this vessel is given a coat of drying oil and copal varnish mixed, which prevents subsequent oxidation. The ge- neral intent of the whole of the apparatus is to save labour and fuel, which it does effectually ; and that portion of it for cooking potatoes is now about being erected in the new gaol of Mayo, the largest in Ireland. In some few cases, where the extent of the apparatus would be very great, and labour dear, it might be advisable to connect a small steam-engine with it, working from the same boiler, to pump water, slice turnips and mangold wurzel, cut chaff, and 1193 1196 (§8489.) bruise oats and beans, &c. Where a high pressure steam-engine pre-exists on a farmery for other pur- poses, the waste steam from it may be made fully available for steam-cooking apparatus, which thus would cost nothing ; it requires, however, a particular adaptation, in order that the power of the engine may not be reduced, by dnving the steam through any considerable resistance. Occasionally, but rarely, fluids may require to be boiled by steam, as stirabout for pigs, or wash fbr calves : for these, another form and construction of vessel altogether is neces- sary. {R. Mailet.) 8488_7431 . Warmth is strongly recommended for pro- moting the health of poultry. Cold, it is found, either pro- duces inflammatioH of the lungs; or pulmonary consump- tion. Heat constantly prevents thi^, and alleviates the disease when it has taken place. {An- nates des Sciences Naiurelles, as quoted in Quart. Jour, qf ■(ifiT., vol.ii.p. 568.) Warmth, also, makes fowls lay. Every housewife knows that eggs are most abundant in warm wea- ther ; and all country house- wives know that the only way to' make hens lay in cold wea- ther, when eggs are dear, is to 4 S 3 1366 ENCYCLOP.'EDIA OF AGRICULTURE. suppiement. feed them well and keep them warm— tholatter being of very nearly a< much Importance a« the (brmpr. Some excellent ohBcrTations on the subject of rearing and feeding poultry will be found In our i-ncy. o/Co«. ^icA., U328- to 1329., and 5 1366. .... r . j »r i.„„ k. 8489_7654. TAe p*ciMon<-fe«fcr (.fe. 1196.). This Ingenious invention i« manufactorcd of Iron by Messrs. Cottam and Hallen, and seems the best utensil of the kind that we have seen. There is one of tin, lighter and cheaper (see Gard. Mag., vol. v. p. 689.), sold by Messrs. Bailey, 272. High Holbom, and by Weir in Oxford Street, but it is by no means so durable. ^ ^, . .t „ , vm, i„ ,i,. 8490—7631. The moU may be extirpated without the use of traps by digging up the mole hills in the course of the month of March, which is the breeding season. In order to give an idea where the mole s nest is to be found, reference may be bad to,fes. 1197. and 1198.; the llrst of which Is an underground I 197 \£^ plan, or horizontal section of a mole-hill, and the second a vertical section. In both these figures, a IS the mole's nest ; b, vertical tubes or runs, by which the mole ascends with the soil which it has excavated from the place forming the nest, in order to raise a hill over it to protect it from the rain ; cc show the surface of the ground ; cf, a tunnel above the surface of the ground, m the soiloftheartiiicial hill ; e e, the common run of the mole extended to an unascertained length on every side ; /, line indi- cating the base of the hillock. After removing the hill, and destroying the young moles, by waiting a little without making the least noisd, the parent will make her appearance and may be also destroyed. {L' Agronome, vol. i. p. 220.) 8491 ^7632. A mode qf catching rats by baiting the traps with ground pale malt scented with the oil of caraway seeds, and which is said to be very effective, will be found described, at great length, in the Quart. Jour. ofAgr., vol. ii. n. 319.— 331. 8492 ^7684. Wire worm. The refuse lime of gas works, probably an impure sulphuret of lime, or lime combined with sulphuretted hydrogen, a gas, the most deletet-ious of all others to animal life, has been found by Earl Talbot to check the ravages of the wire worm. iProceediTigs qf the Royal Agr. Soc. m June 1841.) PART IV. STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE, BOOK I. PRESENT STATE OF AGRICOLTnKE IN THE BRITISH ISLES, (p. 1121.) 8493. -7711. The evils qfthe bothy system qf maintaining single farm servants,are forcibly pointed out In the Trans. High. Soc, vol. xiv. p. 133., and, as a remedy, the lodging the single men with the married ones recommended. 8494. — 771 1. The employonent of women infield labour is very generalljr condemned by benevolent men, who allege that the association of numbers of persons, of both sexes, in the fields, demoralises them ; and ample evidence is produced to prove that they are in many places demoralised. On the other hand, it is denied that there is anything in the nature of the congregation of both sexes in the fields morally worse than their congregation on the basement floor of a nobleman's house, in a large workshop or fac- tory, in a drawing-room or ball-room, or in a public park or garden. '* If in the drawing room or at the ball, or anywhere else, where the rich classes congregate, there is more decorum and refinement of manners ; it is not because their inherent nature is different, or that the passions slumber; it is because they, the refined, have been taught, and made to feel the value of outward decorum. Whether in the servant's hall, or in the milliner's shop, or in the factory, or in the farm-field, we look for good be- haviour, we shall find it ; but we shall find it existing in a lesser or greater degree, according to cir- cumstances other than the mere associating of a number of persons together. Are there not factories in England where the workers are educated and trained in moral decorum, and brought together in social parties occasionally, that they may exercise refinement of manners, and cultivate the higher sentiments of our moral nature ? And are there not factories where the workers are neglected, and ignorant, and debased ? Are there not workshops in the metropolis where the associated hands have the most scrupulous care paid to their physical and moral comforts, the results of which they show in all their conduct, in the shop and out of it ? And is it not a notorious truth, that in the same metropolis the greater number of workshops, and those who are mistresses and masters and workers in them, are dis- tinguished for conduct quite the reverse ? And have we not an aristocracy with large establishments of domestic servants, some of which establishments might be a pattern to any school of moral instruction ; while others m licentiousness are a disgrace to civilisation and the age we live in ? Have we not an orderly, ay, a virtuous and well-mannered population of both sexes working in the farm-fields of North- umberland, Cumberland, Roxburghshire, Berwickshire, and the Lothians ? And have we not, according to the evidence in the Report qfthe Special Assistant Poor-law Commissioners on the Emploijment of Women and Children m Agriculture (presented to Parliament in June, 1843), a population in "Wilts and Dorset distinguished for their poverty and their vices ? No. no ; It is not because men and women, and girls and boys, associate in the fields promiscuously, that they are demoralised, that they become foul-tongued and ill-inannered. The association of the sexes in all conditions of life has a tendency to refine the manners and restrain licentiousness, if no other cause to the contrary be at work. The farm -labourers are no exccotion SUPPLEMENT. STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGUICULTUllE. 1367 1199 (§8495.) "We must go deeper for the causes of demoralisation than the mere assembling together of rnen and women in the fields. It is said by nearly all the witnesses that the women who work in the fields make neither good housewives nor good domestic servants. Now, to be neither a good housewife, nor a good household servant, is a grievous charge against outfield labour, were outfield labour charge- able with a result so much to'he regretted. But the cause of the Dorset and Wilts, and Somerset and Devon women who have worked in the fields being such thriftless housewives, as they are men^oned to be in the Reports mentioned, is quite a different cause from that assigned. It is just as different as possibly can be, for it is that the unstable nature of all agricultural engagements !« the south ol England begets a precariousness of employment, with small and uncertain wages ; which, by making good furniture and clothes, and family stores of provisions, unattainable, renders good housekeeping impossible." , 4 S 4 13S8 ENCYCLOP.EDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUl-l'LKMENT. 1 1 The remedy which the admirable writer quoted suggests is, " Not the curtailment of the employment of women in the field, but an extension of it ; a thorough revision of all the engagements between landlord and tenant ; the complete emancipation of the tenantry ft-om political subjection ; the abolition of the variable rates of wages, dependent on a man's being married or unmarried ; the establishment of agri- cultural schools for farmers ; of national schools for all children, with no religious intermeddling what- ever, save through the influence that may be exercised in the pulpit and in visitation to the houses of parents ; an enactment compelling cottages to be equally good with those lately buUt by the Duke of Wellington for his labourers at Strathfieldsaye, with gardens not less in size, to wit, each a quarter of an acre ; or as good as those cottages built for" their workpeople by the Messrs. Ashworth and some other Lancashire manufacturers, as described in the Sanitary Report of the Poor Law Commissioners, published in 1842, and Suppt, Encyc. Cott. Arch. p. 1154. To discourage the giving of beer to labourers as a part of their wages. To encourage the paying of workpeople by so much a day, or week, or month, or year, and not by piece-work. To give tenant farmers full power to break up all old grass lands, and crop each his own farm, as he sees most fit ; that is, if he proves himself to be trustworthy in regard of knowledge and capital. To give him security of tenure, that he may obtain capital. To take from him, at once and for ever, all delusion about protection from commercial competition, and let increased commerce give him an increased demand for his produce. To have all rents regulated by the prices of produce. To depart from the ruinous custom of an incoming tenant paying for'all the work which the outgoing tenant has done in improvements, real or supposed. To let each tenant, on the contrary, come in free, and commence with his capital to improve his farm himself, (riving him at least twenty years to reap the beneSts, so that when he goes out he may carry the profits of his improvements with hira, and not take their supposed value out of the pocket of his successor. To Itive better diet to the really helpless of the poor in the workhouses, and sufficient out.door relief to the Seei who may desire to remain in the home of their afiections. To send all able-bodied labourers whoare willing to work and cannot find employment, to the cultivation of the crown lands, or other estates that may be procured and used for the purpose of agricultural schools ; but never to send them to break stones or grind bones in a workhouse, as a punishment. To put an end to all poaching and poachers bv nuttin"- an end to all game and game-laws, and giving gamekeepers a more useful employment ° These are a tew of the remedies for the present condition of the farm labourers. They are h islily SUPPLEMENT. STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE. 13fi0 LJ- -J u _p« thrown together. Some of them are, of necessity, remote ; others > believe to be near nt hand ; all of them, I believe, must be adopted and carried out before the deplorable state of agricultural England alters from what it is. (One who has whistled at the Plough in Morn. Chron.^ June 24th, 1843.) . 8495. — ^7784. 1 1 . The application of steam to machinery for raising the water from fen and low lands. We have mentioned (§ 7786. )> that steam had been employed for this purpose in Cambridgeshire ; and we have since learned from the account of a trial in the newspapers (see rimtrx for July, 1834), that a gas engine has^lso been so employed in the Cambridge fens. We are now enabled, through the kindness of Mr. C. H. Cfapper, engine- maker. Union Foundery, Birminj^ham, to figure and describe a steam-engine and lifting machme of a very superior description, which th.it gentleman has erected on the estate of Drake, Esq., at Stainfield in Lincolnshire. " The great advantage," Mr. Capper observes, " of bringing fen and lowlands (formerly rendered useless by floods) into cultivation, by a small ontlayof capital, must be my apology for troubling you with so minute a description of the draining machine 1 have erected for that purpose ; and, as the same may be of use to a few, I shall feel obliged if you will give it a place in your work;, and at the same time add, that by the great improvements which the use of locomotive carriages has made in high-pressure engines, I am enabled to say that as effective an engine as the one described might now be completed for a much less amount ; or, if the landowners whose lands are subject to floods were to subscribe, a movable draining-machine might be made, at a very small ex- pense." ^'g. 1199. shows the elevation of a six-horse portable condensing steam-engine, working a second shaft, marked c, in ^s. 1200, 1201, and 1202, On this shaft, the large water-wheel dd is fixed. This wheel revolves in a brick or stone casing, similar to that formed for the wheel of a common water mill, but so accurately fitted as not to allow of any water passing by either of the sides of the paddles, or by the front ; because this wheel acts by its paddles lifting the water from the bottom of the wheel-race up against the breastwork, and then thrdwing it over the sluice e. This sluice is formed of movable boards, to admit of regulating the lift of water at pleasure, from 3 feet to 8 feet in height. The water, being raised and thrown over the sluice e, falls into the pond or receiver/, whence it is carried off at as high a level as it Vill run ; in this case, at ^out S feet higher than the surface of the lands to be drained, and about 6 feet higher than the bottom of the drains. At the lower end of the trough there is a sluice, g, for regulating the quantity of water introduced into the lifting wheel ; because, if this were too great, the power ot the steam engine might be insufficient to turn the wheel, or the machinery might be "\1 "*'en- ^ ne wheel,asit will be seen, consists of eight iron paddles, fixed to an octagon iron casing; each paddle acts by lifting up a portion of water from the boom of the wheel-race, and raising it to the top oi ine 1370 ENCYCLOPJEDXA OF AGRICULTURE. supflement. I'J02 Jfeet Bluice e. When the whole of the water, or nearly so, is lifted up, of course the boards composing the sluice e must be attended to, lest the water force its way back again upon the wheel. Fig. 1200. is a ground plan of the boiler, engine, and water-wheel ; in which a is the boiler ; "» *"^ engine ; c, the water-wheel shaft ; d, the paddles of the water-wheel ; e, the upper sluice, over which the water is thrown ; /, the pond or reservoir which receives the water ; and g, the lower sluice, piacea across the drain which conveys the water to the wheel-race. Fig. 1201. is a section through the steam-engine and the water-wheel ; in which a is the boiler ; b, the engine ; c, the shaft or axle of the water-wheel ; d, the paddles ; o, the tube for supplying water to the boiler ; p, the steam pipe ; g, the fly-wheel ; r, the spur-wheels ; and s s, the roof. Jfe. 1202. is a longitudinal section through the water-wheel, the trough, and the two sluices ; in which c is tiie axle of the water-wheel ; d, the paddles ; e, the ui>per sluice, over which the water is thrown ; /, the pond or reservoir to receive the water before it is carried off to the nearest river ; m, the trough or wheel-race ; and g, the sluice to regulate the admission of the water from the land to be drained. Fig. 1203. is a section through the boiler lengthwise ; in which a is the boiler ; A, the fire-place, and flue round the boiler ; t, the ash-pit ; k, the safety valve ; I, the tube for supplying water to the boiler ; m, manhole for cleaning out the boiler ; and n, the chimney. SUPPLEMENT. STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE. 1371 B496. Jetton ofihemachine. After these particulars, little description will be needed ; for it must be evident that, when the engine is set in motion, it will, by means of the wheel and pinion r, turn the. water-wheel d d about its centre e ; and that, when set in motion, each of the arms will lift a quantity of water from the trough, or wheel-race, »i,over the sluice e {see Jig. 1202.), at a higher level to the pond or reservoir,/, whence it may be taken away as circumstances may require. 8497. I%e expense of the portable steam-engine, exclusive of carriage, and putting up, was about 280A ; that of the lifting wheel, exclusive of the masonry, about 70/. ; and the total expense of the whole about 450/. 8498 — ^7943. The stttdy of chemistry by practical farmers is strongly recom- mended by most writers on scientific agriculture ; but this Dr. Madden con- siders an error. " 1 have noticed,'' he says, " with regret, that almost ail the popular works hitherto written upon agricultural science have fallen into the one common error of endeavouring to make a chemist of the practical farmer ; the authors all seem to think it necessary that, in order to the Improve- ment of agriculture, every fanner must study chemistry. In this respect, how- ever, 1 hold a totally different opinion. It appears to me that it would be a precisely analogous case, if writers on climate had said, that, in order to preserve health, it were absolutely necessary that every individual should study medicine. It is not an extended knowledge of chemistry that is re- quired, — it is only a confidence in the results obtained by chemists that is ab- solutely necessary. If the farmer becomes acquainted with the facts as they apply to his practice, and if he has such confidence in these facts that he is wilhng to act in accordance to them, there is not the least necessity that he should occupy his time and burden his mind with all the abstruse processes of reasoning and experimental proof by which the chemist has been enabled to trace out their connection with the complex phenomena which they serve to illustrate." {Trans, H. S., vol. xiv. p. 616.) 8499. Improvements, Professor Johnston of Durham, one of our first agri- 1203 Hcale L cultural chemists, says, '* Farmers are proverbially slow in adopting improvements : it is well that they are so ; for if they were to adopt every thing which is new, they would most likely suffer rnany disap- pointments." The same author observes, that " prudence and economy are the soul of agriculture ; and the balance of accounts at the end of the year is the criterion of the system pursued." ((?. C-, 1843, p. 115.) 8500- Experience and experiments. In Professor Henslow's lectures before the Royal Agricultural Society, the connection between agricultural science and practice is clearly pointed out. Experience is the only source of scientific knowledge, and this can only be obtained by a long series of observations 1372 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. SUPFLEMENT. and experiments, carried on, not by one person, but by many. Subsequently the Proressor drew up a scheme by which the same experiment may be repeateil in any number of places all over the country. See his Letters to the farmers of Suffolk {Gard. Mag. 1843, p. 313.). Professor Henslow's scheme for co-operation, and Professor Johnston's suggestions. (G. C. 1843, p. 136.) " All England," Professor Henslow observes, " might be converted into one great experimental farm, if our different agricultural societies would prepare accounts of the exact mode in which some hundred farmers might perform a set of easy comparative experiments at the same time, and send in the results of them. This is what is most needed for accelerating the present jog-trot progress of agriculture into something like a railroad pace of advancing." (G. C. 1843, p. 155.) *' Trust not implicitly to the suggestions of the most cele- brated chemists, nor adopt their notions into your practice, without previously making a set of com- parative experiments for yourselves, in order to test the value of their suggestions. Secure co-operation ; act together by hundreds and thousands in attending to directions and in registering results. Such decided improvements in the art of culture will then be struck out for you, that your important interests will he able to maintain that state of prosperity which is so essential to the general well-being of tlie country." (G. C. 1843, p. 171.) 8501 . Model farms, which for many years have been adopted in France, Germany, and even Russia, have lately begun to be formed In Britain. One is commenced on the estate of Lord Ducie in the vale of Gloucester ; one is in progress in Yorkshire, for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, besides some in Ireland. {Gard. Mag. 1840, p. 564.) S502. The ETtelish Agriculturat Society. The idea of this society was first suggested by Lord Spencer, at the dinner after the show of the Smitnfield club in the beginning of 1838, and a meeting was held for that purpose, on the dth of May following. {Q. J. A.^ vol. ix. p. 110.) 8503. The Royal Agricultural Improvement Society (^Ireland was established in February, 1831. An account of its progress will be found in the Brit. Farm. Mag,, n. s., vol. vii. p. 74. 8504. Schools Jm' the instiiiction qf farmers* sons in tlie physical sciences were recommended in 1834 by Mr. William Hawkins, of Hitchen, Hertfordshire. (Q. J. A., vol. v. p. 39.) 8505. A Farmers' lending Library^ proposed to be established in Liverpool. {B, F. M., n. s., vol. iv. p. 284.) 8506. Cottagers' Garden Societies, strongly recommended by Mr. Menteath, of Closeburn. (Q. J. A., vol. iv. p. 791.) 8507. The great obstacles to agrictiltwal improvement at present, are want of sufficient capital em- ployed in cultivation ; the absence of due security to any capital employed in cultivation ; the absence of due security to any capital that might be applied ; and the otherwise msecure and illiberal foundation on which agricultural polity rests; and the general aversion of landowners and wealthy individuals to make any outlay that would diminish their yearly revenue ; and from their considering capital to consist only in ready money that is available ; and from their being unable to connect it with improvements that would increase the yearly proGt. A monied man buys a portion of land, and expects a certain yearly return from it in an uncultivated state ; whereas if any part of the capital were expended in improving a smaller quantity of surface, a much greater annual revenue would be derived ; for, in many instances, the first crop of improvement has paid rent and all expenses, and left the future return for profit and increase of the annuity. (Donaldson's Treatise on Manures, S[c. p. 341.) Chap. IV.- ■ Bibliography of British Agrictdiare, from 1832 to August 1 843. (p. 1206.) 1829—32. Anon. Transactionfi of the Agricultural and Horticaltural Society of India. Vols. I. and II. Serampore and CalcuUa. {G.M. 1831, \t.\iO.; 1838, p. .519.) 1829. Dawson, Mr. Robert, late agent to the Australian Agricultural Company, New South Wales. Statement of his Services, &c., with a Narrative of the Treatment he received, &c. Lond. Pamph.Svo. (G.Jtf.l830, p. «6.) 1830. Denson, John, sen., market gardener near Cambridge. A Peasant's Voice to Landowners, on the best Means of heneiiting Agricultural Labourers, and of reducing Poor-rates. Cambridge. Pamph. 8vo. (CAT. 1831, p.80.> 1830. The Committee for ameliorating the Con- dition of the Poor at Saffron Walden. Report, &c. Saffron Walden. Pamph.Svo. (G. Jtf. 1831, p. 216.) 1830, The Doncaster Agricultural Association. Report of the Committee on Mangold Wurzel as a Fallow Crop. Pamph. 8vo. (G.Jff. 1830, p. 582.) Report on the ■Tiimip-fly. Lond. Pamph. Svo. \G. M. 1835, p. 100.) 1631. Anon. An Address to the Labouring Classes, on their Duties, &c. E in. Pamph. 8vo. (G.Jtf. 1832, p. 202.1 1831. Alton. Facts and Illustrations demonstrating the important Benefits derived by Labourers from possessing small Portions of Land. Monthly Numbers. JJond. 8vo. (G. M. 1832, p. 202.) 1H.S1. Baxter, —jabooksellerat Lewes in Sussex. Library of Agricultural and Horticultural I^owledire. &c I^wes. 8to. (G.JIf. 1831, p.2l3.) *.<=. «c. 1 831 . Cleghorn, James, Esq., an accountant in Edinburgh, late editor of the Parmer's Magazine. System of Aericullure from the Encyclopajdia Britannica. Edln. 4to. (G.Af. 1832, i>.220.) 1831. Lance, E. J., land and mineral surveyor, Lewisham. The Golden Farmer, being an attempt to unite the Facts painted out by Nature, in the Sciences ot Geology, Chemistry, and Botany, with practical Operations of Husbandmen, to enable them to grow more Corn, and increase the Employment ofihcLalJouri.-r. Lond. (Brit. Farm. Mag. vol.vi. p.83.) 1831, Lawrence, Charles, Esq., of Cirencester. Practical Directions on the Cultivation and general Mana^^e- ment of Cottage Gardens ; with Plans for laying ^em out for Five Years; also. Hints on keeping Pigs, on Services, &c. Pamph. 8vo. M. Cirencester. (G. M. 1831 , p. 216. A new edition in 1843. (G. C. 1843, p. 342. and p. 397.) Thebestof all the gardening books or pamphlets for ttie common labourer. 1831. Siessex Association for improving the Con.- d'tion (if the Labouring Classes. Quarterly Report. Lond. Pa"mph. 8vo. (G. Jtf. 1832, p. 200.) 1832. aorton, Richard^ land steward and sur- veyor. Tables for planting and valuing Underwood and Woodland ; alqo Lineal, Superficial, Cubical, Wages, Marketing, and Decimal Tables ; together with Tables for conveitinL' Land Measure from one Denomination into another, and Instruct lions for measuring Round Timber. Small Svo. SafiVon Walden. (G.Jtf. 1852, P.20S.) 1832. lliky, W. E, Remarks on the Importation, and Result of the Introduc- tion of the Cachemire and Angora Goats into France ; and the extraordinary Properties of the new Race, Cachemire-Angora ; with its Capability of also rendering the common Goat or Value to the Colonists of New South Wales and Van Diemen'a Land. Lond. Pamph. Svo. (G.Jtf. 1832, p. 452.) 1832. R^ffin, Edmund. An fissay on Calcareous Manures. Petersburg, Lower Vir- gmia. Svo. (G. Jf. 1836, p. 156.) 1833. Dminmond, W,, and Sons, nursery and seedsmen, Stirling. Report of their Exhibition of Agricultural ProdncUons, with Communications on Wedge and Tile Draining; Thorough Draining, and Deep Plougfiinc; Bones as a Manure; and the Improvement of Agricultural Plants, &c. Stirling. -Pamph. Svo. (G. M. 1832, p. 659., and 1833, p. 447.) 1833. PameU, Sir Heniy, Bart. A Treatise on R«ad8,&c. Lond. Svo. (G.V. 1834.p.319.} A second edition In 1838. 1833. Purvis, M. A. De I'AETlculture du Gitiais, de la Sologne, et du Barry; p IM ) ■'"" "**"■ ^^^' ^^°- (*^-JK' 1831, 183a-4. Dickson and Turnbull, nursery seeds- men, Perth. ' suppLEMENt. STATISTICS OF BRITISH AGRICUI/JTURE. 1373 Report of the Exhibition of Agricultural Froductlon)i> Im- plements, Sec, held on tbeLi Premises, witli oriiunol Essays. Sei. Fam^. Svo. Perth. (Q. M. 1834, p. 50i^ 1833-4. The Imperial and Royal Agricultural So- ciety qf Vienna, Verbandlungen de k. k. Landswirtliachafts Gesellsch&ft in Wien. Vienna. 8vo. Continued. (G.Af. 1836, p. 203., 1840, p. tm.) 1834. Anon. Appeal to our Rulers and Ruled in Behalf of a Consolidation of the Post 0£Bce Roads, and Mechanical Conveyance for the Service of the State. Xond. Famph. Svo. 1834. Anon. New Statistical Account of Scotland. Edin. No. 1 . Svo, 1834. Blacker, William, Esq., Armagh, land agent to the Earl of Gosford and Col. Close. rtize Essay on the Management of Landed Property in Ireland. Dublin. Pamph. Svo. An Essay on the Improvement to be made in the Cultivation of small Farms, by the Introduction of Green Crops, and House feeding the Stock tliereon. Dublin. Famph. 8vo. 'Ihe Claims of the Landed Interest to Legislative Protection considered. Armagh. Famph. Svo. 1836. 1834. Kemp,Henrv, An Address to the Landed Interest on the Decomposition of Salt for the Purposes of Manure. Lond. Pamph. Svo. The discovery ia not stated, the author informing us that be expects the quid pro quo, from the landed interest, or parliament. Lond. Famph. Svo. (G. JU. 1854, p.233.) 1834. Lawson, Peter and Son^ seedsmen, Edin- burgh. Report on thdr Agricultural Aiuseum. Edln. Famph. Svo. 1834. Low, David, Esq., F.R.S.E.. professor of agriculture in the university of Edinburgh. Elements of Practical Agriculture, comprehending the Cul- tivation of Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Animals, and Ihe Economy cnF the Farm. Edin. Svo. (G.jif. 1834, p. 447.) A second edition appeared in 1S3S. 1834. PercivaU, JVilliam, M.R.C.S., reterhiary surgeon in the 1st Life Guards. Hippopatholoey ; a Systematic Treatise on the Disorders and Lamenesses of the Horse, &c. vol. 1. pp. 331. Lond. Svo. 1834. Reitz, F. W., member of the Agricultural Society of the Cape of Good Hope, &c. Olnenations on the M^no Sheep with reference to the Gape of Good Hope, &c. Cape Town. Famph. Svo. (G.JU. 1S3S, p. 534.) *■ ' *-* 1834. Stephens, George, land drainer, Edinburgh. The Practical Irrigator and Drainer. Edln. Svo. (G. JIf. 1834, p. 2.53.) 1834. Sutton, John^ of Fisherton Anger, near Salisbury, Wilts. An ImiHirtant Discovery for the Destruction of the Turnip FIy,&c. Salisbury. Famph. 12mD. (G. Jlf. 1S34, p. 154.) ' 1834. Tessier, U. Annales de TAgriculture Franc^se, &C( Paris* Fublished periodically. (G.tf. 1834, p.449.) 1835. Ancm. Le Cultivateur, Journal Beige d'Ecpnomie Rurale, &c. Hrusseto. Svoi {G.Jif. 1836, p.26M 1835. Shirr^ Patrick^ farmer, MungoBwells, East Lothian. A Tour through North America, made with reference to Agricultural ^ml^tion. Edin. Svo. (G.JIf. 1S35, p.l97.) 1836. Anon. A Comparative View cf the Form and Character of the Enf^h Racer and Saddle Hone, during the last and present Centuries. Eighteen Plates. Ltmd. Svo. 1836. HiUyard, C, ^ff., president of the North- amptonshire Fanning and Grazing Society. A Summary of Practical Farming; with 01»ervations on the Breeding and Feeding of Sbeep and Canle ; on Rents and Tithes; and on the Present State of Agriculture. Lond. \BiU. Farm. Mag., vol. z. p. 83.) 1836. Lawson, Peter, and Son, seedsmen and nurserymen to the Highland and Agricultural So- cle^ of Scotland. Toe Agriculturist's Manual ; being a Description of the Agricultural Pl^ts cultivated in Europe, Sec. Euin. Svo. supplement to the Agriculturist's Manual. Edin. Famph. Svo. 2^43. (fi. Jtr. 1S36, p. 438.) 1836. Le Coutem; John, Esq., colonel, &c. On the Varieties, Fn^iertfes, and Classification of Wheat. Jersey. Pamph. Svq. (6.4f. 1837, p< 607.) 1836. Lqfevre, Charles Shaw, Esq., M.P.y chair- man of the select committee appointed to inquire into the state of agriculture. Remarks on the present State of Agriculture, in a Letter addressed to his Constituents. Lond. Pamph. Svo. 1836. LewiSy George^ tenant in BogUlie, near Kirkcaldy. Observations on the present SUte and fhture Prospects of Agricgiture. iUnstrativeof the Advantages of an Ei^enmental Farm. Cupar and Edin. Famph. Svo. 1837. A Dumbartonshire farmer. The Failure of the Potato Crop ascertained and demonstrated from Analogy ; with a Remedy and Test for the present Seed to.preventTaiInres. Glasgow. Famph. Svo. 1837. Aitken, William, Castle-Douglas. The Potato rescued from Disease and restored to pristme Vigour, 1^ a Plan of Keeping and Cultivation foundM on the nature Principles of the Vegetable Economy. Edin. Pamph. Svo. 1837. Anmt. The Gardener's Gazette, and Weekly Journal of Science, Literature, and General News, mote especially the Sciences of Horticulture, Botany, Natural Historyj and Agriculture. Lond. folio, continued weekly, price G(/. 1837. D'Aubentont M.^ garde generale des For6ts, &c. Culture des Oseralee, Sec. Lyons. Pamph. Svo. {G. JIf. 1839, p. 181.) 1837. Loxivy, N. V. A, De I'Economie des Engrais, ou de la M^thode de Pierre Jauf&et, &c. Paris. Pamph. Svo. (G.Jtf. 1S38, p. 181 J 1837. Stent, ^iTA'am^uursery and seedsman, Lin- colnshire. Practical Remarks on the Failure of the Potato Crop, &c. Gainsborough. Pamph. Svo. (G. Jlf. 1837, p. 319.) — ' 1837. Totonsend^ the Rev, William R., rector of Aghada, Cloyne. Directions on Practical Agriculture for the Working Farmers cf Ireland, &c. Cork. Famph. Svo. (G. Jlf. 1838, p. 340.) 1838. An experienced farmer. A new Tneatise on Agriculture and Grazing. Lond. Famph. Svo. (G.Jir.lSSS. p.S)4.) 1838. Dickson, Walter B., a name assumed by James Rennie, a well-known author. Foultry,their Breeding, Rearing, Diseases, &c. Lond. Svo. (G.Jtr. 1838, p.S96.) 1838. Handley, Henry, Esq., M.P. A Letter to Earl Spencer on the Formation of a- National Agricidtural Institution. Lond. Pamph. Svo. (CAT. 1838, p. 181.) 1838. Hughes, Thomas, Esq., civil engineer. The Practice of making and repairing Roads ; of construct* ing Footpaths, Fences, and Drains: also, a Method of com- paring Roads, with rcKrence to the Power of Draught required ; with Practical Observations, intended to simplify the Mode of estimating Earthwork in Cuttings and Embankments. Lond. Svo. (G.jff. 1842, p. 471.) 2838. Lance, E. J., author of the Golden Farmer, &c. The Hop Farmer ; or, a complete Account of Hop Culture, &c. Lond. Svo. . 296.) 1838. Menieith, James Stuart, Esq. Farmers versus Rooks. Ayr. Famph. Svo. 1838. Morton, John, Esq., land steward to Lord Ducie. On the Nature and Proper^ of Soils ; their Connection with the Geological Formation on which they rest ; the beat Means of permanently increasing th^ Productiveness ; and on the Rent and Profits of Agriculture. Lond. Small Svo. {G.M. 1836. p. 151.) 1838. Stewart, J., veterinary surgeon, and pro-r fessor of veterinary medicine in the Andersonian university, Glasgow. Stable Economy : a Treatise on the Management of Horses, in relation to Stabling, Grooming, Breeding, and Working. Edin. Svo. Advice to Purchasers of Horsesr Three Engravings, Edin. Svo. 1638. ToUard, ainS,C., seedsman and nurseryman, Trait^des V^^taux qui composent I'AgricuIture, &c. Trea- tise on the Plants which are cnilUvattjd In A|!Ticulture, Plant- ing, and Gardening ; containing the most striking Characters, the Points of Dilmence, and the Qualities and Uses of all Plants, more particularly those little known or deserving uf Culture ; followed by Considerations respecting Nuneries and Plantations, and a Monthly Journal of Work to be done in the Forest,theGardeD,andtheFarra. Paris. SmallSvo. {Q.JH. 1840, p.66.<;.) 1838. Waterton, Charles, Esq. Essays on Natural HiBtoty, with an Autobiography of the Author. Lond. Vimo. 1839. Davy, Sir Jlumphry^ Bart., LL.D., F.R.S., fifc. Elements of Agricultural Chemistry; in a Course of Lectures fbr the Board of Agriculture, delivered between I8U2 and 1812. 6th edit. Svo. Lond. (G. M. 1S40, p. 95.) . 1839, Main, James, AL.S., author of various works The Toung Farmer's Manual ! showing the Practice and Principles of Agriculture, as applicable to Turnip Land Farms in the^outh of England; with collateral Observations and Remarks on Agricultural Cattle, Plants, Implements, Stc. Lond. Svo. (G.Jif. 1S39, p.533.) 1839. Royal Asiatic Society qf Great Britain and Xrelat^ Proceedings of the Committee of Commerce and Agriculture. Ltmd. Svo. (G.M>1839, p.l77.r 1839. Sinclair, George, F.L.S.H.S., &c. Hortus Gramineus Wobumensis, Bcc, 4th edit, much re- duiwd in price. Lond. Svo^ (G. Jlf. 1839, p, 702.) ' 1839^ Sprozde, John. A Treatise on Agriculture, adapted to the Soil and Climate of Ireland, comprehending the Nature, Properties^ and Im- proveiiiQits of Soils ; the Structure, Functions, and Cultivation of Plants ; and the Husbandry of the domestic Animals of the Farm. Dublin. Svo. (G. AT. 1840, p.34., and 1842, p.378.) 18S9. The English Agricultural Society. ^ ^, ^ Journal, &c. Lond. Svo. Fublished in parts; <« wn«2» 3 vols, and Part I. of Vol. IV. have appeared. (G. JIT. 1839, p. 345. ; »40, p. 169.; 1841, p. 79. and 625.) 1840. ALammei-muir Farmer, the late Mr. John Fairbaim of Hallyburton. ^ A Lammermuir F^mer's Treatise on Sheep in High Dis- tricts. ■]^'Sl,YS'"'E.p«len» in Australia, &c. 3de"M-rSi?"F. A. Mackenzie, Bt.) HtaBf«lieXrf HjsUand T»».t. and OoKager.. In- vemea. 8v Lond. iBrit* F. M., n. s., vol. V. p. 205 J 1841. White, W. fll, M.B.S., secretary to the Meteorological Society. On the Theories of the Weather Prophets, and the Compa- rative Success of their Predictions. Pamph. Svo. Xitmd. (G. JIf. 1841, p. 370.) 1842. Anon. Advice to Farmers how to double their Crops by new Ferti- bsers. Pamph. Svo. Lond. 1842. Anon. A tourist from the north. Suggestions offered, and Data given, in proof that a sufH- cient Supply of Bread Corn for the Inhabitants of Great Briton, the Growth of their own Soil and Produce of their own Industry, may be obtained in the year 1843,^nd for an indefinite Praiod to come, Pamph. 8to. Lond. [Brit. P.M., U.S., vol. vi. p. 423.) 1842. Anon. The Veterinarian, Lond. [Brii. t: M., n. b., vol. \i. p. 131.) 1842. Arum.i with a preface by Henry Drum- mond, Esq. On the Condition ofthe Agricultural Classes of Great Britain and Ireland ; with Extracts from the Parliamentary Reports ■nd Evidence, ftom 1833 to 1840, and Bemarka by the French Editor published at Vienna. IS vols. Lond. {Brit.F.M., n. s., vol. vl. p. 132.) 1842. Chatwin, F.,a dealer in potatoes in London. Catalogue oTPotatocs. Pamp. Svo. Lond, 1842. Cunninehnm, James, surveyor, Greenlaw. Seven Lithographic Designs for the Improvement of Farm Cottages and Steadings. Edin. Svo. Denton, J. Bailey. General Drainage and Distribution of Water, &c. Lond. Pamph. Svo. {Brit. F. M., n.s., vol. vl, p. 247.) 1842. Donaldson, John, land steward; editor of the fifth edition of Bayldon on Rents and Tillages, and author of a number of agricultural essays, A Treatise on Manures, their Nature^ Preparation, and Application, with a Description and Use of the moat a|)nrovcd British Grasses; to which is added a Miscellaneous Arllcloon FarmingjWith an Estimate end Description of an Example Farm of Three Hundred Acres, illustrated with Cuts of Farm- buildings. Lond. Svo. (G.itf. 1842^ p.221.) 1842. Greg^ Robert Hyde. Scotch Famung in the Lotliians. A Letter addressed to the Editor of the Mancheater Guardian. Lond. Famph. Svo. (G.JIf. 1842, p.669.) 1842. Hubbard, J. G. Esq. Vindication of a Fixed Duty on Com. Lond. (Brit. F. W.. N. U., vol.vi. p,131.) 1842. Johnson, C. W. Esq., F.R.S., &c. The Cottage Farmer^ Assistant In the Cultivation of his Land, and Book of the Household. Lond. {Brit.F.M., n.t., vol. vi. p. 424.) Agricultural Chemistry for Young Farmers, Lond. [Brit. P.M., n.s., vol-vii, p. 138.) 1842. Johnson. Cuthbert W.^ F.R.S. The Farmer's Encyclopeedia, and Dictionary of Rural Affairs. Lond, Svo. (G.JIf. 1841, p. 625.) On increasing the Depth of Soils. " —" (G.C. 1842. p. §■) On increasing the Depth of Soifs. Lond. Pamph, Svo. 1842. Johnston^ James F. JV., M.A., F.R.SS, h. and E. Elements of Agricultural Cliemlstiy and Geology. Edin, Small Svo. (G. JIf, 1842, p. 372.) LecturesonAgricultui^Chemistryand Geology. Edin. Svo. Suggestions for Experiments in Practical Agriculture, Edin. Pamph. Svo. Nos. I. and II. 1842. What can be done for English Agriculture ? A Letter to the Marquis of Northampton. Edin. Pamph. Svo. (G.JIf. 1842, p. 636.) 1842. Liebig, Justus^ M.B., Ph. D., F.R.S,, M.R.I. A., professor of chemistry in the univer- sity of Giessen. Animal Cbemistry ; or. Organic Chemistry, in its Applica- tions to Physiology and Pathology. Edited from the Auihor^ Manuscript, bv William Gregory, M,D., F.R.S.E., &c. Lond. Svo. (G.Sr. l'S43,.p.81.) 1842. National Anti' Corn-law League. The Three Prize Essays on Agriculture and the Com Law. Manchester, Pamph. Svo, (G, M. 1845, p. 80.) 1842. Parnell, Richard, M.D., F.R.S.B. The Grasses of Scotland ; containing a scientiflc Description of each Species, Remarks on their Use in Agriculture. &c, Edin. Svo. (G.JIf, 1842, p. 642.) 1842. Potter; W. H., M.R.A.S., agricultural chemist. A Word or Two on Guano, and a new Manure Artificial Guano. Lond, Pamph. Svo. (G. C. 1842, p.368.) 1842. SeWy, Prtdeaux John, Esq., of Twizell. A History of British Forest Trees, indigenous and introduced, Lond. Svo, 1842. Squarey, Charles, chemist. A popular Treatise on Agricuttuxal Chemistry ; intended for the Use of the Practical Farmer. Lond. Svo, (G. M, 1842, p. 33.) 1842-43. Stephens, Henrys editor of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. The Book of the Farm. Edin. 2 vols, Svo, (G, JIf, 1842. pp. 125. 322. and 636.) 1842, Strachan, Jtmies, teacher, Donaldson's school, Stonehaven. A new Set of Tables.for computing the Weight Of Cattle by Measurement: the QuantitY of Ha^ in Ricks of different Farms ; the Value of Land, &c- ; the Measurement of Drains and Dunghills. Bdin. 12mo. cloth. 1842. Trimmer, Joshua. Practical Chemisti? for Farmers and Landowners. Lond. Svo. (G.C. 1842, p. 367.) 1842. West J., land-agent, &c., North Colling- ham, Newark, Notts. Remarks on the Management, or rather the Mismanage- mentofWoods, Plantations, and Hedge-row Timber. Newark. Svo. (G.Jff. 1842, p.470.) 1843. Anon. An Account of the Manure Guano, and authentic Ex- periments made with it, &c. Liverpoo]. Pamph. 8vo. 1843. Anon. TheF 's Calendar and Diary of Agriculture and Gar- Year 1843. ISmo. Lond, (G.JIf. ]845,p.81.) 1843. Butler, Samuel, Esq., author of the Hand- denmg, for the Year 1843. ISmo. Lond, (G.JIf. ]845,p.81.) 1843. Butler, Samuel, Esq., anthnr r,r fho ft/, book for Australian Emieranfs, The Emigrant's Hand-book of Pacts, concerning Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Cape of Good Hope, &c.; with the relative Advantages ea (G.Jf. 1843, p.313.} 1843. Jolfnson^ Cuthbert W.^ F.R.S., &c. On Guano as a Fertiliser. Lond. - Famph. 8to. JohiKon» Cuthbert W.^ F.R.S., &c., and Jo&ez Hare. The Annual Beg^ter of Agricultural ImplementSi illus- trated by numerous i; ood engravlnKS, with a Catalogue of the chief of those exhibited at the Derby Meeting, 1843. With 8 History of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. To be continued annually. Lond. Famph. ISmo, 1843. Johmwh^ Cuthbert, W., F.R.S., and W. ShatOy Esq. The Farmer^ Almanack fat 1843. Lond. 12mo. To be continued annually. (CAT. 1841, p. 6S8.) 1843. Laujsorh Peter and Son, seedsmen to the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Treatise on the cultivated Grasses and other Herbage and Forage Flants. with the Kinds and Quantities (^ Seeds for sowing down XAnd to alternate Husbandry, permanent Pas- ture, Lawns, &e. Edin. Famph. 8to. (G. Jff. 1843, p. 183.) 1843. Loudon, J. C, F.L.S.. H.S.. &o. The Gardener's Magazine, and Register of Rural and Do- mestic Improreraent. Lond. 8to. Commenced in 1825, and conllnued m.onthly, price ]«. Gd. 1843. Murray, Sir J., M.D. ' Trials and ESkctn of Chemical Fertilisers, with various Ex- periments in A^culture, &c. Dublin. Famph. Fart I. 8vo. 1843. Smith, Joseph A. Fi^uctive Farming; or, a Familiar Digest of the recent Dis- coveries itf Xiebig, Davy, &c. Edin. Famph. Small Svo. 1843. SoUy^ Edward, Jun., F.R.S., L.S., &c. experimental chemist to the Horticultural Society of London, lecturer on chemistry at the RDy;u Institution of Great Britain, &c. Rural Chemistry : an Elementary Introduction to the Study of the Science in its Relation to Agriculture. Lond. Small 8vo. (G.J)r. 1843, p.282.) 1843. TiUev, T. G., Ph.D. Agricultural ChemislTy rendered simple for Fractical Pur- pose. Lond. Svo. (G.C.1843.P.238.) 1843. Trimmer, J., F.G.S. , Science with Practice; or. Guano the Farmer's Friend. Lend. Famph. Svo. 1843. West, J„ land agent, &c An Agricultural Tract for the Thnes. Famph. Rvo. Col- Ungham, Notts. C'^. C. 1843, p. 288.) LONDON PRINTED TIT SPOTTISWOODB AND CO. NEW-STBEET SQUAEE 39 rATEUsoaiBS Eow, E.G. London: January 1870. GENEEAL LIST OF ¥OEKS PUBUSHBa) BY Messrs. LOI&MMS, &B,EEI, REABER, and DTEBr, Arts, Manxtpactukes, &c 12 ASTBONOMT, MeTEOEOLOGT, POPVLAJl Geoobape;, &c 7 BiooBAPHY and Meiioibs 3 Chemistet, Medicine, Sitegeet, and the AixiED Sciences 9 CoMMEECE, Natigation, and Meeoaj^- TH.E Affaies / 19 Cbiticism, Philology, &c 4 Fine Abts and Tt.t.ustbated Editions 1 1 HisTOET and Politics 1 Index 21— 2i MisCELLAJTEOUs and PopuLAE Mbia- PHTSICAI, WOEKS 6- Natubai Histoey and Populae Science S' PoETBY and The Drama IS Religious and Moeai Woeks 14. BcEAL Spoets, &c 19- Tbavels, Voyages, &e 16 WoEKS of Fiction 17 WoEKS OF Utilitt and Qeneeal Infoemation 20» History and Politics. Lord Macaulay's Works. Com- plete and uniform Library Edition. Edited by his Sister, Lady TKBVELYAif. 8 vols. 8vo. with Portrait, price £5 5s. cloth, or £8 8s. bound in tree-calf by Eirik-e. The History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada. By James Anthony Feoude, M. a. late Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. 12 vols. 8vo. price £8 18s. cloth. The History of England from the Accession of James II. By Lord Macaulay. LiBEAET Edition, 5 vols. 8vo. £4. Cabinet Edition, 8 vols, post 8vo. 483. People's Edition, 4 vols, crown 8vo. 16s. An Essay on the History of the English Government and Constitution, from the Eeign of Henry VII. to the Present Time. By John Eael Russell. Fourth Edition, revised. Crown 8vo. 6s. Speeches of Earl Russell, 1817- 1841. Also Despatches selected from Corre- spondence presented to Parliament 1859- 1865. With Introductions to the Speeches and Despatches, by Earl Russell. 2 vols. 8vo, \_Nearhj ready. Varieties of Vice-Begal Life. By Major-General Sir Wii.i-'.im Denisox,. K.C.B. 2 vols. 8vo. \_Neatly ready. On Parliamentary Grovernment in England : its Origin, Development, andf Practical Operation. By Alpheus Todd,. Librarian of the Legislative Assembly ef " Canada. 2 vols. 8vo. price £1 17s. The History of England diiring the Eeign of George the Third. By the Eight Hon. W. N. Massey. Cabinet. Edition. 4 vols, post 8vo. 24s. The Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George III. 1760— 18C0. By Sir Thojias Erskuse . Mat, K.C.B. Second Edit. 2 vols. 8vo. 33s. History of the Reform Bills of 1866 and 1867. By IIomeksiiam Cox,.. M.A. Barnister-at-Law. 8vo. 7s. Gd. Ancient Parliamentary Silections : &■ History shewing how Parliaments were Constituted, and Representatives of the People Elected in Ancient Times. By the same Author. 8vo. 8s. 6rf. Whig and Tory Administrations during- the Last Tliirteen Year.?. By .the svxasr Author. 8vo. 5s. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. Historical Studies. I. On Precursors of the French Revolution ; II. Studies from the History of the Seventeenth Century j III. Leisure Hours of a Tourist. By Hekman Mebivale, M.A. 8vo. 125. 6d. Kevolutions in English History. By Robert Vaugiiah, D.D. 3 vols. 8vo. price 30s. A History of Wales, derived from Authentic Sources. By Jane Williams, Tsgafell, Author of a Memoir of the Rev. Thomas Price, and Editor of his Literary Remains. 8vo. Us. Lectures on the History of Bng- lamd, from the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward II. By William Long- man. With Maps and Illustrations. Svo. 15s. The History of the Life and Times of Edward the Third. By William Longman. With 9 Maps, 8 Plates, and 16 Woodcuts. 2 vols. 8vo. 28s. History of Civilization in England and France, Spain and Scotland. By Henrt Thomas Buckle. New Edition of the entire work, with a complete Index. 3 vols, crown Svo. 24s. Beauties of Irish Life. By W. Steuaet Tkench Land Agent in Ireland to the Marques of Lansdowne, the Mar- quess of Bath, and Lord Digby. With Illustrations from Drawings by the Author's Son, J. Tovpnsend Trench. Fourth Edition, ■with 30 Plates. «vo. 21s. An Illustrated History of Ireland, from the Earliest P-eriod to the Year of Catholic Emancipation. By Mary F. Cusack. Second Edition, revised and en- larged. Svo. 18s. Gd. The History of India, from the Earliest Period to the close of Lord Dal- housie's Administration. By John Clark Marshman. 3 vols, crown Svo. .22s. 6d. Indian Polity : a View of the System of Administration in India. By Major George Chesnet, Fellow of the Univer- sity of Calcutta. Svo. with Map, 21s. Home Polities : being a Consideration of the Causes of the Growth of Trade in relation to Labour, Pauperism, and Emi- gration. By Daniel Grant. Svo. [A'eaHy readi/. Democracy in America. By Alexis Db Tocqueville. Translated by Henry Rkeyb. 2 vols. Svo. 21s. Waterloo Lectures : a Study of the Campaign of 1815. By Colonel Charles C. CiiESNEY, R.E. late Professor of MQitary Art and History in the Staff College. Second Edition. Svo. with map, 10s. 6rf. The Oxford Reformers— John Colet, Erasmus, and Thomas More ; being a His- tory of their Fellow-Work. By Frederic Seebohm. Second Edition. 8vo. 14s. History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin. By J. H. Merle D'Aubign^, D.D. Vols. I. and II. Svo. 28s. Vol. III. 12s. Vol. IV. price 16s. and Vol. V. price I65. England and J'rance in the 15th Century. The Contemporary JFreneh Tract intituled The Debate between the Heralds of lYance 'and £!ngland, •presvLmed to have been writtea by Charles, Duxe of Or- leans : translated for the "first time into English, with an Introduction, Notes, and an Inquiiy into the Authorship, by Hekky Pyne. Svo. 7s. 6d. The History of Prance, from Clovis and Charlemagne to the Accession of Napoleon III. By Eyre Evans Crowe. 5 vols. Svo. £4 13s. Chapters from French History; St. Louis, Joan of Arc, Henri IV. with Sketches of the Intermediate Periods. By J. H. GuKNEY, 'M.A. late Rector of St. Mary's, Maryleboae. -New Edition. Fcp. iSvo. ,6s. Sd. The History of Greece. By C. Thibl- WALL, D.D. Lord Bishop of St. David's. 8 vols. fcp. 28s. The Tale of the Great Persian War, from the Histories of Herodotus. By George W. Cox, M.A. late Schtdar of Trin. Coll. Oxon. Ecp. 3s. 6d. Greek History from Themistodes to AJeisander, in a Series of Lives from Plutarch. Revised and arranged by A. H. Clough. Fcp. with 44 Woodcuts, -es. Critical History of "the Lan- guage and Literature of Ancient Greece. By William Muke, of Caldwell. 6 vols. Svo. £3 9s. History of the Literatra-e of Ancient Greece. By Professor K.L. M Ullee. Translated by Lewis and Donaldson. 3 vols. Svo. 21s. Roman History. By Wilhelm Ienb. Translated and revised by the Author. Vols. I. and II. Svo. TUte First and Second Volumes of this work will be -pub- lished togetherearly iu,1870 j^nd the whole work will be .completed in Three or St most J£aui; V«laiiie3 NEW WOKES PUBLISHED bt LOWGMANS and CO. History of the City of Borne ft^m its Fouadlafeiajsi to the SSxteenth Century of the Christian Era. By Thomas H. Dyek, LL.D. 8¥>o. -wtft, 2 Maps, 15s; History of the Bomans under the Empire. By Very Eer. C; Mekivale, D.C.L. Dean of Ely. 8 vols, post 8vo. price 48s. The PaU of the Boman Ee- publie ; ai Short History of the Last C6n^ tury of the Commonwealth. By the same Authiw. 12me.7si.Gd. The Conversion of the Boman Empire ; the Boyle Lectures for the yestr 1864, delivered at the Chapel Royal, White- hall. By the same Author. SfecoDd Edition. 8to. 8s. 6d. The Conversion of the Korthem Nations ;. the Boyle Lectures far 1865k By the same Author. 8vo. Ss. Gd. History of the Norman Kings of Enghmd, from a New CoEation of the Contemporary Chronides. By TkOMAS CoBBir, Barrister^ of the Inner Temple. 8vo. 16s. History of European Morals flrom. Augiistu» to GhaKlieniaignft By W. E. H. Lbgky, MA^ 2. Tolsi. Sure, price 285. History of tke Bise boA Infiuence of the Spirit of Batiouatism in Europe. By the same Author. Cabinet Edition (thJe Fomrth). 2 vobi ctotto 8vo. price ISs. God in History ; or, fhs. Progress of Man's Faith in. the Moral Qtdec of the World. By the late Baron BuNSEN. Trans- lated from the German by Susanna Wink- WOETH ; with a Prefaee by thse Dean of Westminster. Vols. I. and IL 8vo. 39s. VoL^ III^ nearly, ready. Socrates and theSocratic Schools. Translated, from th® Gennaim of Dr. E- Zmir- LEK, with the Author'si approval, by the- Eev. Oswald J. Ebichei, B.C.L. and MA.. Crown 8to. 8s, Gd. The Stoics, Epicureans, and. Sceptics. Translated from the German of Dr. E. Zellbe, with the Author's approval, by Oswald J. Ebichel, B.C.L. and M.A. Crown Svo. ^JVecaly reoA/i. The History of Philosophy, team Thales to Comte. By George Hbnjby Lewes. Third Edition, rewritten ajid en- larged. 2 vols; 8vQ. 30s. The Mythology of the Aryan Nations. By Gboeob W. Cok, M.A* laiie Scholar of Trinity College^ Oxford, Join*'- Editor, with the late^ Professor Bnande^ of the Fourth Eddtion of ' The' Dictienary of Science, Literaitixre^ ajEtd Art,' Authsr' of ' Talea,of Aueient Giseee,! &c. [/n theipvess. The English Eeformation. By F. C. Massingbeed, M.A. Chancellor of Lincoln. 4th Edition, revised. Fop. 7s. Gd. Egypt's Place in Universal His- tory ; an Historicail Irrvestigation'. By Baeon Bdnsen, D.CX. Tramslaited; 1^- C. H. CoTTREiiL^ M,A. with Additiona by S. BiKCu, LL.D. 5 vols. Svo. £S 14s. Gd. Maunder's Historical Treasury j comprising a General Introductory Outline of Universal Historj-, and a Series ofjSega- rate Histories. Fcp. 10s. Gd, Critical and Historical Essagf^ contribmted to the EAMmgh Reviemjay the Eight. Hon. Lord Maoaitlay : — Cabikbt ED.ITION, 4 vols. 24si LiBBau»x> Edition, 3 vol& 8v@. SSs. People's Ebitioji, 2 vols. orown;8vo.8«. SiuDEKx's Editios, crown 8,voi 6si History of the Early Chtirch, from the First Preaching of the Gospel to the Council of Nieataj, a.d. 325. By the Author of ' Amy Herbert.' Fcp. 4s. Gd. Sketch of the History o£ the Church of England to the Esvolutiom of 1688. By the Eight Eev. T. y:,SKQBT, D.D. Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. SsvOTitb Edition. Crown 8vo. IDs.. Gd. Histary of the Christian Church, from the Ascension of Christ to the CbiJiv«r- sion of Comstautinei By E. BuETOsy'jD.D. late EegrH9 Prof, of Divinity in the Uln- versity of Oxford* Fcp. 3s. Gd. Biography and Memoirs. The Iiif& and Letters of T^jraday, By Dr. Bejsce Jonhs, Secretary, of the Eoyal Institution. 2 vols. 8vo. with Por- trait, 28». The Life of Oliver Cromwell, to the Death of Charles I. By, J. B. Andrews, Banister-at-Law. 8vo. 14s. A Life of the Third Earl of Shaftesbuiry, compiled from Unpabl&hBd Documents ; with a Eeview of the PhiUj- sophy of the Period. By the Bev. W.'Sf. Hatch, M.A. Fellow of New CoH^^.Ox- ford^ Svo. \_ln preparasHen, NICW WOKKS PUBLISHED BT LONGMAl^S axi> CO. Dictionary of General Biography; ooutaiuing Concise Memoirs and Notices of the most Eminent Persons of all Countries, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time. Edited by William L. E. Gates. 8vo. price 21s. Memoirs of Baron Bunsen, drawn chiefly from Family Papers by his Widow, Fkasces Baroness Bunsen. Second Edi- tion, abridged; with 2 Portraits and 4 Woodcuts. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21». The Letters of the late Bight Hon. Sir George Cornewall Lewis. Edited by his Brother, the Eev. Sir G. F. Lewis, Bart. 8vo. [^Kearly ready. Life of the Dxike of Wellington. By the Eev. G. E. Gleig, M.A. Popular Edition, carefully revised ; with copious Additions. Crown 8vo. with Portrait, 5s. Father Mathew ; a Biography. By John Francis Magcire, M.I". Popular Edition, with Portrait. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. History of my Religious Opinions . By J. H. Newman, D.D. Being the Sub- stance of Apologia pro VitI Sua. Post 8vo. price 6s. Letters and Life of Francis Bacon, including all his Occasional Works. Collected and edited, mth a Commentary, by J. Spedding, Trin. Coll. Cantab. Vols. I. & II. 8vo. 24s. Vols. III. & IV. 24s. JPelLx Mendelssohn's Letters from -Italy and Switzerland, and Letters from 1833 to 1847, translated by Lady Wallace. With Portrait. 2 vols, crown 8vo. 5s. each. Captain Cook's Life, Voyages, and Discoveries. 18mo. Woodcuts. 2s. %d. Memoirs of Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B. By John Clark Marsiiman. Cabinet Edition, with Portrait. Crown 8vo. price 5s. Essays in Ecclesiastical Biogra- phy. By the Eight Hon. Sir J. Stephen, LL.D. Cabinet Edition. Crown 8vo. Ts. Grf. The Earls of Granard : a Memoir of the Noble Family of Forbes. Written by Admiral the Hon. John Forbes, and Edited by George Arthur Hastings, present Earl of Griinard, K.P. 8vo. 10s. Vicissitudes of Families. By Sir J. Bernard Burke, C.B. Ulster King of Arms. New Edition, remodelled and en- larged. 2 vols, crown 8vo. 21s. Lives of the Tudor Princesses, including Lady Jane Grey and her Sisters. By Agne.s Strickland. Post Svo. with Portrait, &c. 12s. 6d. Lives of the Queens of England. By Agnes Strickland. Library Edition, newly revised ; with Portraits of every Queen, Autographs, and Vignettes. 8 vols, post Svo. 7s. 6d. each. Maunder's Biographical Trea- sury. Thirteenth Edition, reconstructed and partly re-written, with above 1,000 additional Memoirs, by W. L. E. Gates. Fcp. 10s. 6rf. Criticism, Philosophy, Polity, dfc. Ungland and Ireland. By John Stuart Milt.. Fifth Edition. 8vo. Is. The Subjection of "Women. By John Stuart Mill. New Edition. Post ■gvo. 5s. On Representative Government. By John Stuart Mill. Third Edition. Svo. 9s. crown 8vo. 2s. On Liberty. By the same Author. Fourth Edition. Post Svo. 7s. Gd. Crown Svo. Is. id. Principles of Political Economy. By the same. Sixth Edition. 2 vols. Svo. 30s. or in 1 vol. crown Svo. 5s. TTtiUtarianisni. By the same. 3d Edit. 8ro. 5s. Dissertations a,nd Discussions. By the same Author. Second Edition. 3 vols. Svo. 36s. Examination of Sir "W. Hamilton's Philosophy, and of the principal Philoso- phical Questions discussed in his AVritings. By the same. Third Edition. Svo. 16s. A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive. By John Stuakt Mill. Seventh Edition. 2 vols. Svo. 25s. Inaugural Address delivered to the University of St. Andrews. By Joun Stuart Mill. Svo. 5s. Crown Svo. Is. Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind. By James Mill. A New Edition, with Notes, Illustrative and Critical, by Alexander Bain, Andrew Fisdlater, and George Grote. Edited, with additional Notes, by John Stuabt Mill. 2 vols. Svo. price 28s. The Elements of Political Eco- nomj'. By Henry Dunning Macleod, M.A. Barrister-at-Law. Svo. 16s. A Dictionary of Political Economy, Biographical, Bibliographical, Historical, and Practical. By the same Author. Vot. I. roval Svo. 30s. NEW WORKS rL'BLisHED by LONGMANS and CO. Lord BacoB's Works, collected and edited by R. L. Ellis, M.A. J. Sped- DiNG, M.A. and D. D. Heath. Vols. I. to V. Philosophical Works, 6 vols. 8vo. £4 6s. Vols. VI. and VII. Literary and Profes- sio-nal Works, 2 vols. £1 16s. Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic. By W. Stebbiko, M.A. New Edition. 12mo. 3s. 6d. The Institutes of Justinian ; with English Introduction, Translation, and Notes. By T. C. Sandaes, M.A. Barrister- at-Law. New Edition. 8vo. 15s. The Ethics of Aristotle ; with Essays and Notes. By Sir A. Gkast, Bart. M.A. LL.D. Second Edition, revised and com- pleted. 2 vols. 8vo. price 285. The Ificomachean Stbics of Aris- totle. Newly translated into English. By R. Williams, B.A. Fellow and late Lec- turer of Merton College, and sometime Student of Christ Church, Oxford. 8vo.l2s. Bacon's Essays, with Annotations. By R. Whately, D.D. late Archbishop of Dublm. Sixth Edition. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Elements of IiOgiC. By E. Whately, D.D. late Archbishop of Dublin. New Edition. 8vo. 10s. 6rf. crown 8vo. 4s. 6d. Eileinents of Bhetoric. By the same Author. New Edition. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Crown 8vo. 4s. 6d. Singlista. SyxLonymes, ByE. Jane Whately. Edited by Archbishop Whately. 5th Edition. Fcp. 3s. An Outline of the 19'ecessary Laws of Thought : a Treatise on Pure and Applied Logic. By the Most Rev. W. Thomson, D.D. Archbishop of York. Nmth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 5s. 6d. The Election of Bepresentatives, Parliamentary and Municipal; a Treatise. ByTHOMAsHAEE,Barrister-at-Law. Third Edition, with Additions. Crown 8vo. 6s. Speeches of the Bight Hon. Iiord Macaulay, corrected by Himself. Library Edition, 8vo. 12s. People's Edition, crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. Lord Macaulay's Speeches on Parliamentary Reform in 1831 and 1832. 16mo. price One Shilling. Walker's Pronouncing Diction- ary of the English Language. Thoroughly revised Editions, by B. H. Smart. 8vo. 12s. 16mo. 6s. A Dictionary of the English Language. By R. G. Latham, M.A. M.D. F.R.S. Pounded on the Dictionary of Dr. S. Johnson, as edited by the Rev. H. J. Todd with numerous Emendations and Additions. 4 vols. 4to. price £7. Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, classified and arranged so as to facilitate the expression of Ideas, and assist in Literary Composition. By P. M. Rogbt, M.D. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 10s. Gd. The Debater ; a Series of Complete Debates, Outlinesof Debates, and Questions for Discussion. By F. Bowton. Fcp. 6s. Lectures on the Science of Lan- guage, deUvered at the Royal Institution. ByMAxMiiLLER,M.A. Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. 2 vols. Svo. FmST Series, Fifth Edition, 12s. Second Series, Second Edition, 18s. Chapters on Language. By P. W . Farkar, M.A. F.R.S. late Fellow ofTrin. Coll. Cambridge. Crown Svo. 8s. 6d. A Book about Words. By G. F. Graham. Fcp. Svo. 3s. 6d. Manual of English Literature, Historical and Critical : with a Chapter on English Metres. By Thom:a3 Arnold, M.A. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 7s. 6rf. Southey'S Doctor, complete in One Volume, edited by the Rev. J. W. Wakter, B.D. Square crown Svo. 12s. 6d. Historical and Critical Commen- tary on the Old Testament; with a New Translation. By M. M. Kalisch, Ph.D. Vol. I. Genesis, Svo. 18s. or adapted for the General Reader, 12s. Vol. II. Exodus, 15s. or adapted for the General Reader, 12s. Vol III. Leviticus, Part I. 15s. or adapted for the General Reader, 8s. A Hebrew aranunar, with. Zixerciaes. By the same. Part I. Outlines with Exer- cises, Svo. 12s. Gd. Key, 5s. Part II. Ex- ceptional Forms and Constructions, 12s. 6d. A Latin-English Dictionary. By J. T. White, D.D. of Corpus Christi Col- lege, and J. E. Riddle, M.A. of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Third Edition, revised. 2 vols. 4to. pp. 2,128, price 42s. "White's College Latin-English. Diction- ary (Intermediate Size), abridged from the Parent Work for the use of University Students. Medium Svo. pp. 1,048, price 18s. "White's Junior Student's Complete Latin-English and English-Latin Dictionary. Revised Edition. Square 12mo. pp. 1,058, price 12s. Seoaratelv /English-Latin, 5s. 6rf. separately Ilatin-Knglish, 7s. Gd. 6 NEW WORKS i-UTJLisHBD BT LONGMANS .vsd CO. An English-Greek Ijexicon, con- taining all the Greek Words used by Writers of good' autherity. By C. D. YoNGI^ B.A. New Edition. 4to. 2'1». Mr. Ybnge's Wew Iiexicon, En- glish and Greek, abridged from his larger work (as above). Square 12nro. 8s. Gd. A Greek-English Iiexicon. Com- piled by H. G. LiDDBLi, D.D. Dean of Christ Church, and E. Seott, D.D. Master ofBalUol. Fifth Edition. Crown 4to. 31s. 6d. A Iiexicon, Greek and English, abridged for Schools from Lidbell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, Twelfth Edition. Square 12mo. 7s. 6rf. A Practical Dictionary of the French and English Languages* By Pro- fessor Leon Contanseau, many years French Examiner for Military and Civil Appointments, &c. New EditioB, caiefolly revised. PostSvo. 10s. Qd. Contanseau's Pocket Dictionary, French and English, abridged from the Practieal Dictionary, by the Author. New Edition. 18m«, pried Zs, GtL A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. The Sanskrit words printed both in the original Devanagaai ajfid in Roman letters ; TOth References- to the Best Editions- of Sanskrit Authors, and with Etymologies and comparisons of Cognate Words chiefly in Gre^, Latin, Gothic, and AnglorSbisoB. Compileii by T. Benfey. Byo. 52s. 6d, New Practical Dictionary of the German Limguage; German-English^ and English-Gierman. By the Rev. W. L. Blacklet, M.A. and Dr. Carl Maktih Fkiedlambee. Post 8vo. 7s. 6rf. The Mastery of Languages; or, the Art of Speaking Foreign Tongues Idiomatically. By Thomas PBESDEUseAST, laite of the- Civil Servieeat Madras. Second Edition. 8vo. fo. Miscellaneous Works and Popular Metaphysics. The Essays and Contributions of A. K. H. B. Author of ' The Recreations of a CoTmtry Parson.' Uniform Editions--: — Becreationa of a Country Farson. First and Second Sekies, 3s. 6d; each. Tlie CoinnioiipIa<:e Fhilosoplier in Town and Country. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. Iieistire Ho-iirs in To-nn j Essay» Consola- tory,j9Esthetioal, Moral, Social,. and Domestic- Crown 8,v«>, 3s. &d. The Auttnnn Holidays of a Country Parson. Crown Svo. S». 6d. The Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson. First and Second Series, crown Svo. 3e. Sd, each. Critical Essays of a Country Farson, selected from Essays contributed to Eraser's Magazine. Crown Svo. 3s. 6(i Sunday Afternoons ait the Pairis-h Church of a Scottish University City. Crown. Svo, Ss. Sd. Lessons of Middle Age, with some Accoant of various Cities and Men. Crown 8voi 3a. Gd. Counsel and Comfort Spoken from a City Pulpit. Crown Svo. 3s. 6A Changed Aspects of tTndianged Truths ; Memorials of St. AndreweSaM^ys. Crown Svov 3si Sd. Short Studies on Great Subjects. By James Anthont Fboto»b, M.A. late FeUow of Exeter College, Ojsford. TJiiid Edition. Svo. 12s. Lord Macaulay's Miscellaneous Writings: — Library Edition, 2.vdlat8vo. PcwtiMt,. 21»i People's Ebition, 1 vol. crown Svo. 4* Sd. The Rev. Sydney Smith's Mis- cellaneous Worlis ; including his GMitrihu- tions to the Edinburgh Mevieuh 1 vol. crown Svo. 6s. The "Wit and ■Wisdom of the Ber. Sydney Smith : a Selection of the most memorable Passages in his Writings and Conversation. 16n!to. 3k Sd: The Silver Store. CoHeeted from Mediaeval Christian and Jewish. Mines; By the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, M.A. Ci-o-wn Svo. 33. Sd. Traces of History in the Names of Places ; -with a Voeabalary of the Roots out of which Names of Places in: England and Wales are formed. By Flavell Edmunds-. Crown 8vo. 7si Sd. Essays selected from Conlxibu- tions to the Edinburgh Review. By Henry RosEHS. Second KHtiait. Svdh.fep.'ils. Season and Faith, their Claims and ConfUots. By the same Author. New Edition, revised. Crown Svo. price 6s. Sd. NEW WORKS PDELISHBD BT LOiNG-MAMS aot> GO. Ths iEoli^se of Faith. ; ■or, sa 'Visit to a fieligious goeptic. By .Hbnbt Bgq^ks. Eleventh iEidition. Pop. Ss. I>e£ence of thio Eelliise of Fa±tli, by its Author, TMrd Edition. i¥ap. 3£. &d. Beleotions fraai the CoirsBpoixdence of S. E. H. Gr^jisen. By the aame jjUithor. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 7s. fid. Families of Speech, Four Lectures deUvered at the Hoyial Institution of Great Britain.^ with Tables and-a;Maip. By the Eev. E. W. Eabeak, M.A. E.E.-S. Post 8w). [Jfearh/ read!/. Chips from a German Workshop ; being Essays on the Science of Beligion, and on Mythol«»gy, Traditions, and Cnstoms. ByMAX MBiilebVm.A. Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. 'Second Edition, revised, with an Index. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. Word Gossip; a Series of Familiar Essays on Words and their Peculiarities. By the Eev. W. i. .Blacklet, M.A. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. Menes and Cheops identified in His- tory Tinder Diflferent Names ; vrith other Cosas. By> Gael Von EiKABT. 8vo.with "5 Dtostasations, price Ifls. 6rf. An Introduction to Menlial Phi- losophy, on the Inductive .Method. By J. D. MoRELL, M.A. LL.D. 8vo. 12s. Elements of Psyehology, containing the Analysis of the Intellectual Powers. By tie same Anthw. Post 6to. 7s. 6d. The Secret of Hegel: being the Hegelian System intOiagin, Prira^ieiiEomn, land Matter. By JaiMES Hutghison -Stir- lino. 2 vols. 8vo. 2Ss. The Senses and the Intellect. By Alexandiek BAiI^, LL J). Prof, of Logic in the Univ.iof Aberdeen. Third ^Edition. 8v:o. 15s. ^Elue Emotianis and .l&e Will, by the same Author. .SecondJlditien. .8vo. 15s. On the Btudy of Chasaeter, iodaiding an Estimate of Phrenology. By the same AuthdT. &V0. 9s. Mental and Moral Science : a ..Gompendaum .of Psychology and Ethics. By the same Author. .SsoBiiid Edition. CiDwn 8vo. 10s. i6d. 'Strong and Free; or, Tiist Steps towards Social Science. By the Author of ' My Life and What shall I do with it? ' »ro.lOs.'6d. The Philosophy of WeoeBsity; or, Natural Lawas .applicable to Mental, Moral, and Social Science. Sy Chakles Beat, Second Edition. 8vo. 9s. The Education of tlie J'eeiliiigs and Affeetions. By the same Author. Third Edition. 8to. 3s. Gd. On Force, its Mental and iMoral Corre- lates. By the same Author. 8vo. .5s. Mind and Manner, or Diversities of Life. By James Flamank. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times. By Anthony, Third Earl of Shaftesbuet. Published from the Edition of 1713, with Engravings designed by the Author; and Edited, vrtth Marginal Analysis, Notes, and Illustrations, by the Eev. W.'M. Hatch, M.A. Fellow of New College, Oxford. 3 vols. 8vo. Vol. I. price '148. A Treatise on Human 19'atnre; bramg an Attempt to Introduce the Expe- rimental Method -of Beasoning into Moral Subjects. By David Home. Edited, with a Preliminary Dissertation and Notes, by T. H. Geeen, Fellow, and T. H. Geose, late Scholar, of BaUiol College, Oxford. '^[_ln the press. Essays Moral, Political, and Li- terary. By David Hume. By the same Editors. llnikejmess. *j* 'The'above will form a new 'edition of David Hume's PMhsepMcal Works, com- plete in Four Volumes, to be had in Two separate Sections as anncmaced. Astronomy, Meteorology, Popular Geography, '^c. Outlines of Astronrany. By Sir J. F. W. HJEESCiHEL, Bart. M.A. New Edition, revised ; with Plates and Woodcuts. 8vo. 18s. Saturn and its System. By .Eick- AED A. Peoctoe, B.A. late Scholar of St. John's Coll. Camb. and King's Coll. London. 8vo. with 14 Plates, 14s. The Handbook of the Stars. By the same Author. Square tc^. 8vo. with 3 Maps, price 5s. Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes. By T. W. Webb, M.A. F.K.A.S. Second Edition, revised and enlarged, with Map 'Of the Moon and Woodcuts. Ifeno. price 7s. Sd, WavigStion and TTautical As- tronomy (Practical, Theoretical, Scientific) for the use of Students stad Practical Men. By J. Mbbeifi'Bld, J.EiA.S. and H. EvEKS. 8vo.l4s. NEW WORKS PuiiUsiiED BY LONGMANS and CO. A General Biotionary of Geo- g)-aphy, Descriptive, Pliysical, Statistical, and Historical ; forming a complete Gazetteer of the World. By A. Kkith Johnston, F.R.S.E. New Edition. 8vo. price 31s. 6d. M'CuUoch's Dictionary, Geogra- phical, Statistical, and Historical, of the various Countries, Places, and principal Natural Objects in the World. Revised Edition, with the Statistical Information throughout brought up to the latest retui-ns. By Frederick Martin. 4 vols. 8vo. with coloured Maps, £4 is. A Manual of Geography, Physical, Industrial, and Political. By W. Hughes, F.R.G.S. Prof, of Geog. in King's Coll. and in Queen's CoU.Lond. With 6 Maps. Fcp. 7s. Gd. The States of the River Plate: their Industries and Commerce, Sheep Farming, Sheep Breeding, Cattle JTeeding, and Meat Preserving ; the Employment of Capital, Land and Stock and their Values, Labour and its Remunei'ation. By Wilfrid Latham, Buenos Ayres. Second Edition. 8vo. 12«. Maunder's Treasury of Geogra- phy, Physical, Historical, Descriptive, and Political. Edited by W. Hughes, F.R.6.S. With 7 Maps and 16 Plates. Fcp. 10s. 6rf. Physical Geography for Schools and General Readers. By M. F. Mauey, LL.D. Fcp. with 2 Charts, 2s. 6rf. Natural History and Popular Science. Ganot's Elementary Treatise on Physics, Experimental and Applied, for the use of Colleges and Schools. Translated and Edited with the Author's sanction by E. Atkinson, Ph.D. F.C.S. New Edition, revised and enlarged ; with a Coloured Plate and 620 Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 15s. The Elements of Physics or Natural Philosophy. By Neil Arnott, M.D. F.R.S. Physician-Extraordinary to the Queen. Sixth Edition, re-written and completed. 2 Parts, 8vo. 21s. Dove's Law of Storms, considered in connexion with the ordinary Movements of the Atmosphere. Translated by R. H. SooTT, M.A. T.C.D. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Sound : a Course of Eight Lectures de- livered at the Roj'al Institution of Great Britain. By Professor John Tyndall, LL.D. F.R.S. Crown 8vo. with Portrait and Woodcuts, 9s. Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion. By Professor John Tyndall, LL.D. F.R.S. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. with Woodcuts, 10s. 6d. Iiight : its Influence on Life and Health. By Forbes Winslow, M.D. D.C.L. Oxon. (Hon.) Fcp. 8vo. 6s. A Treatise on Electricity, in Theory and Practice. By A. De La Rive, Prof, in the Academy of Geneva. Trans- lated by C. V. Walker, F.R.S. 3 vols. 8vo. with Woodcuts, £3 13s. The Correlation of Physical Forces. By W. R. Grove, Q.C. V.P.E.S. Fifth Edition, revised, and Augmented by a Discourse on Continuity. 8vo. 10s. Sd. The Discourse on Continuity, separately, price 2s. 6d. Manual of Geology. ByS. Haughtok, M.D. F.R.S. Fellow of Trin. Coll. and Prof, of Geol. in the Univ. of Dublin. Second Edition, with 66 Woodcuts. Fcp. 7s. 6rf. A Guide to Gteology. By J, Phillips, M.A. Prof, of Geol. in the Univ. of Oxford. Fifth Edition. Fcp. 4s. The Scenery of England and Wales, its Character and Origin ; being an Attempt to trace the Nature of the Geo- logical Causes, especially Denudation, by which the Physical Features of the Country have been Produced. By D. Mackintosh, F.G.S. Post 8vo. with 89 Woodcuts, 12s. The Student's Manual of Zoology and Comparative Physiology. By J. Bur- ney Yeo, M.B. Resident Medical Tutor and Lecturer on Animal Physiology in King's College, London. [^Nearly ready. Van Der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology. Translated from the Second Dutch Edition by the Rev. W. Clark, M.D. F.R.S. 2 vols. 8vo. with 24 Plates of Figures, 60s. Professor Owen's Lectures on the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Invertebrate Animals. Second Edition, witli 2.35 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. NEW WOKKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrate Animals. By EiCHARD OwEjr, F.E.S. D.C.L. With 1,472 Woodcuts. 3 vols. 8vo. £3 13s. 6d. The Primitive Inhabitants of Scandinavia. Containing a Description of the Implements, Dwellings, Tombs, and Mode of Living of the Savages in the North of Europe during the Stone Age. By Sven NiLSSON. With an Introduction by Sir John Lubbock, 16 Plates of Figures and 3 Woodcuts. 8vo. 18». Homes without Hands : a Descrip- tion of the Habitations of Animals, classed according to their Principle of Construction. By Kev. J. 6. Wood, M.A. F.L.S. With about 140 Vignettes on Wood (20 full size of page). New Edition. 8vo. 2is. Bible Animals ; being a Description of Every Living Creature mentioned in the Scriptures, from the Ape to the Coral. By the Bev. J. G. Wood, M.A. F.L.S. With about 100 Vignettes on Wood (20 full size of page). 8vo. 21s. The Harmonies of ITatnre and Unity of Creation. By Dr. G. Hartwig. 8vo. with numerous Illustrations, 18s. The Sea and its Iiiving 'Wonders. By the same Author. Third Edition, enlarged. 8vo. with many Illustrations, 21s. The Tropical World. By the same Author. With 8 Chromoxylographs and 172 Wood- cuts. 8vo. 21s. The Polar "World : a Popular Description of Man and Nature in the Arctic and Antarctic Eegions of the Globe. By the same Author. With 8 Chromoxylographs, 3 Maps, and 85 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21«. A Familiar History of Birds. By E. Stanley, D.D. late Lord Bishop of Norwich. Fcp. with Woodcuts, 3s. 6rf. Kirby and Spenee's Introduction to Entomology, or Elements of the Natural History of Insects. Crown 8vo. 5s. Maunder's Treasury of Natural History, or Popular Dictionary of Zoologj'. Eevised and corrected by T. S. Cobbold, M.D. Fcp. with 900 Woodcuts, 10s. 6d. The Elements of Botany for Families and Schools. Tenth Edition, re- vised by Thomas Moore, F.L.S. Fcp. with 154 Woodcuts, 2s. 6d. The Treasury of Botany, or Popular Dictionary of the Vegetable King- dom J with which is incorporated a Glos- sary of Botanical Terms. Edited by J. LiNDLET, F.E.S. and T. Moore, F.L.S. assisted by eminent Contributors. Pp. 1,274, with 274 Woodcuts and 20 Steel Plates. Two Parts, fop. 8vo. 20s. The British Flora ; comprising the Phsenogamous or Flowering Plants and the Ferns. By Sir W. J. Hooker, K.H. and G. A. Walker-Arkott, LL.D. 12mo. with 12 Plates, 14s. or coloured, 21s. The Hose Amateur's Guide. By Thomas Kivers. New Edition. Fcp. 4iv Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Plants ; comprising the Specific Character, Descrip- tion, Culture, History, &c. of all the Plants found in Great Britain. With upwards of 12,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 42s. Maunder's Scientific and Iiite- rary Treasury ; a Popular Encyclopaedia of Science, Literature, and Art. New Edition, thoroughly revised and in great part re- written, with above 1,000 new articles, by J. T. Johnson, Corr. M.Z.S. Fcp. lOs. 6d. A Dictionary of Science, Litera- ture, and Art. Fourth Edition, re-edited by the late W. T. Brande (the Author) and George W. Cox, M.A. 3 vols, medium 8vo. price 63s. cloth. The Quarterly Journal of Science. Edited by James Samuelson and Willjaji Crookes, F.E.S. Published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. 8vo. with Illustrations, price 5s. each Number. Chemistry, Medicine, Surgery, and the Allied Sciences. A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied Branches of other Sciences. By Henry Watts, F.C.S. assisted by eminent Scientific and Practical Chemists. 5 vols, medium 8vo. price £7 3s. Handbook of Chemical Analysis, adapted to the Unitary System of Notation. By F. T. CoHiNGTON, M.A. F.C.S. Post 8vo. 7s. 6(f. Conington's Tables of Qualitative Analysis, to accompany the above, 2s. Sd. Elements of Chemistry, Theore- tical and Practical. By William A. Miller, M.D. LL.D. Professor of Chemis- try, King's College, London. Fourth Edi- tion. 3 vols. 8vo. £3. Part I. Chemical Physics, 15s. Part II. Inorganic Chemistry, 21s- Part III. Organic Chemistry, 24s. A Manual of Chemistry, De- scriptive and Theoretical. By William Odlino, M.B. F.E.S. Part I. 8vo. Part II. nearly rendy. u 9s. 10 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. A CoTirse of Practical Chemistry, for the use of Medical Students. By W. Odlikg.M.B.F.R.S. New Edition, with 70 new Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. Outlines of Chemistry; or, Brief Notes of Chemical Facts. By the same Author. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. Iiectures on Animal Chemistry Delivered at the Eoyal College of Physicians in 1865. By the same Author. Crown 8vo. 4s. 6d. Lectures on the Chem.ical Changes of Carbon, deliyered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. By W. Odling, M.B. F.R.S. Reprinted from the Chemical News, with Notes, by W. Ckookes, F.R.S. Crown 8vo. is. M. Chemical Notes for the Iiecture Room. By Thomas Wood, F.C.S. 2 vols, crown 8vo. I. on Heat, &c. price Ss. 6d. II. on the Metals, price 5s. A Treatise on Medical Elec- tricity, Theoretical and Practical ; and its Use in the Treatment of Paralysis, Neu- ralgia, and other Diseases. By Julius Althaus, M.D. M.R.C.P. &c. ; Senior Phy- sician to the Infirmary for Epilepsy and Paralysis. Second Edition, revised and enlarged and for the most part re-written ; with Plate and 62 Woodcuts. Post 8vo. price 12s. 6rf. The Diagnosis, Pathology, and Treatment of Diseases of Women ; including the Diagnosis of Pregnancy. By Graily Hewitt, M.D. &c. President of the Obste- trical Society of London. Second Edition, enlarged; with 116 Woodcuts. 8vo. 24s. Lectures on the Diseases of In- fancy and Childhood. By Chakles West, M.D. &c. Fifth Edition. 8vo. 16s. On the Surgical Treatment of Children's Diseases. By T. Holmes, M.A. &o. late Surgeon to the Hospital for Sick Children. Second Edition, with 9 Plates and 112 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. A System of Surgery, Theoretical and Practical, in Treatises by Various Authors. Edited by T. Holmes, M.A. &c. Surgeon and Lectiirer on Surgery at St. George's Hospital, and Surgeon-in-Chief to the Metropolitan Police. Second Edition thoroughly revised, with numerous Illus- trations. 5 vols. 8vo. £6 5». Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Physic. By Sir Thomas Wat- SOK, Bart. M.D. Physician-Extraordinary to the Queen. New Edition in preparation. Lectures on Siu-gical Pathology, Bv J. Paokt,F.R.S. Surgeon-Extraordinary to the Queen. Edited by W. Turner, M.B. New Edition in preparation. Cooper's Dictionary of Practical Surgery and Encyclopaedia of Surgical Science. New Edition, brought down to the jMTesent time. By S. A. Lame, Surg«on to St. Mary's, and Consulting Surgeon to the Lock Hospitals; Lecturer on Surgery at St. Mary's Hospital ; assisted by VMioua Eminent Surgeons. Vol. II. 8vo. com- pleting the work. \_Early in 1870, On Chronic Bronchitis, especially as connected with Gout, Emphysema, and Diseases of the Heart. By E. Headlam Geeenhow, M.D. F.R.C.P. &c. 8vo. 7s. %d. The Climate of the South of France as Suited to Invalids ; with Notices of Mediterranean and other Winter Sta- tions. By C. T. Williams, M.A. M.D. Oxon. Assistant-Physician to the Hospital for Consumption at Brompton. Second Edition, with Frontispiece and Map. Or. 8vo. 6s. Pulmonary Consumption ; its Nature, Treatment, and Duration exem- plified by an Analysis of One Thousand Cases selected from upwards of Twenty Thousand. By C. J. B. Williams, M.D. F.R.S. Consulting Physician to the Hos- pital for Consumption at Brompton; and C. T. Willlams, M.A. M.D. Oxon. [iVear/y ready. A Treatise on the Continued Fevers of Great Britain. By C. Muechisoit. M.D. Physician and Lecturer on the Practice of Medicine, Middlesex Hospital. New Edition in preparation. Clinical Lectures on Diseaaea of the Liver, Jaundice, and Abdominal Dropsy. By the same Author. Post 8vo. with 25 Woodcuts, 10s. &d. Anatomy, Descriptive and Sur- gical. By Henry Gray, F.R.S. With about 410 Woodcuts from Disseotionsi. Fifth Edition, by T.Holmes, M.A. Cantab. With a New Introduction by the Editor. Koyal 8vo. 28s. Clinical Notes on Diseases of the Larynx, investigated and treated with the assistance of the Laryngoscope. By W. Maecet, M.D. F.R.S. Assistant-Phy- sician to the Hospital for Consamption and Diseases of the Cheat, Brompton. Crown 8vo. with 5 Lithographs, 6». NEW WORKS PUBMSHBD by LONGMAJfS and CO. U The House I Live in; or, Popular Illustrations of the Structm-e and Functions of theHumacBody. Edited byT. G.Giktiit. Now Edition, with 25 Woodcuts. l"6mo. price 2s. 6d. Outlines of Physiology, Human and Comparative. By John Makshall, F.RC^. Professor of Surgery in University College, London, and Surgeon to the Uni- versity College Hospital. 2 vols, crown 8yo. with 122 Woodcuts, 32s, Physiological Anatomy and Phy- siology of Man. By the late R. B. Todd, M.D. rJl.S. and W. Bowman, F.E.S. of King's College. With numerous Illustra- tions. Vol. II. 8vo. 25s. Voii. I. New Edition by Dr. Lionel S. Bbale, F.E.S. in course of pubKoation ; Pakt I. with 8 Plates, 7s. ed. A Dictionary of Practical Medi- cine. By J. Copland, M.D. F.R.S. Abridged from the larger work by the Author, assisted by J. C. Copland, M JR.C.S. Pp. 1,560, in 8vo. price 36s. The Theory of Ocular Defects and of Spectacles. Translated from the German of Dr. H. ScHnrFLEB by R. B. Cabteb, F.R.G.S. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. A Manual of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, abridged from Dr. Pereika's Elements by F. J. Farrb, M.D. assisted by E. Bbntley, M.E.C.S. and by R. Warington, F.R.S. 1 vol. 8vo. with 90 Woodcuts, 21s. Thomson's Conspectus of the British Pharmacopoeia. Twenty-fifth Edi- tion, corrected by E. Lloyd Birkett, M.D. ISmo. 6s, Manual of the Domestic Practice of Medicine. By W. fl. Kestbven, F.R.C.S.E. Third Edition, thoron^y revised, with Additions. Fcp. 5s. Essays on Physiological Subjects. By Gilbert W. Child, M.A. F.L.S. F.C.S. Second Edition. Crown 8yo. with Wood- cuts, 7s. 64 Gymnasts and Gymnastics. By John H. Howard, late Professor of Gym- nastics, Comm. Coll. Eipponden. Second Edition, with 135 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. The Fine Arts, and Illustrated Editions. In Fairyland ; Pictures from the Elf- Warld. By Eichard Doyle. With a Poem by W. Allingham. With Sixteen Plates, containing Thirty-six Designs printed in Colours. Folio, 31s. 6d. Life of John Gibson, B.A. Sculptor. Edited by Lady Eastlake. 8vo. 10s. 6d. Materials for a History of Oil Painting. By Sir Charles Locke East- LAKB, sometime President of the Royal Academy. Vol. II, Svo, 14*. Albert Durer, his Life and Works ; including Autobiographical Papers and Complete Catalogues. By William B. Scott. With Six Etchings by the Author and other Hlustrationa. 8vow 16s. Half-Hour Lectures on the His- tory and Practice of the Fine and Orna- mental Arts. By. W. B. Scott. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. with 50 Woodcut Illustrations, 8s. 6d. The Lord's Prayer Illustrated by F, E. Pickersgill, R.A. a»d Henky Alfcmbd, IXD. Dean of Canterburj-. Imp. 4to. 21s. The Chorale Book for England; a complete Hyran-Book in accordance with the Services and Festivals of the Church of England : the Hymns Translated by Miss C. Winkworth; the Tunes arranged, by Prof. W. S. Bennett and Otto GqW- schmidt. Fcp. 4to. 12s. 6d. Six Lectures on Harmony. De- livered at the Royal Instit'ution of Great Britain. ByG.A.MACFAKREN. 8vo.108.6rf. Lyra Germanica, the Christian Year. Translated by Catbbkink Winkworth; with 125 Illustrations on Wood drawn by J. Lkighton, F.S.A. Quarto, 21», Lyra Germonioa. the Christian Life. Translated by Catherine Winkworth; with about 200 Woodcut Illustrations by J. Leighton, F.S.A, and other Artists. Quarto, 21s. The 'New Testament, iUustrated with Wood Engravings after the Early Masters, chiefly of the, Italian School. Crown 4te. 63s. cloth, gilt top ; or £5 6s. moroooo. The Life of Man Symbolised by the Months of the Year in their Seasons aad Phases. Text selected by RicsuuiD Pigot. 25 lUustrations on Wood fjom Original Designs by John LraeBawN, F.S.A. Quarto, 42». 12 XEW WORKS PLBMSiiED BY LONGMANS axd CO. Cats' and Farlie's Moral Em- blems ; with Aphorisms, Adages, and Pro- verbs of all Nations : comprising 121 Illus- trations on Wood by J. Leiguton, F.S.A. with an appropriate Text by E. Piqot. Imperial 8to. 31s. M. Shakspeare's Midsummer If ight's Dream, illustrated with 24 Silhouettes or Shadow Pictures by P. Konewica, engraved on Wood by A. Vogel. Folio, 31s. 6d. Shakspeare's Sentiments and Similes Printed in Black and Gold, and illu- minated in the Missal style by Henry Noel Humphreys, In massive covers, containing the Medallion and Cypher of Shakspeare. Square post 8vo. 2l5. Goldsmith's Poetical Works, Il- lustrated with Wood Engravings, from Designs by Members of the Etc:hing Club. Imp. 16mo. 7s. 6rf. Saored and Legendary Art. By Mrs. Jameson. With numerous Etchings and Woodcut Illustrations. 6 vols, square crown 8vo. price £5 15». 6d. cloth, or £12 12s. bound in morocco by Eivifere. To be had also in cloth only, in Four Series, as follows : — Iiegends of the Saints and Martyrs. Fifth Edition, with 19 Etchings and 187 Woodcuts. 2 vols, square crown 8vo. 31s. 6rf. Iiegends of the Monastic Orders. Third Edition, with 11 Etchings and 88 Woodcuts. 1 vol. square crown 8vo. 21». Iiegends of the Madonna. Third Edition, with 27 Etchings and 1G5 Woodcuts. 1 vol. square crown 8vo. 21s. The History of Our Iiord, as exemplifiBd in Works of Art. Completed by Lady Eastlake. Eevised Edition, with 13 Etchings and 281 Woodcuts. 2 vols, square crown 8vo. 42s. The Useful Arts, Manufactures, iSfc. Drawing from Nature. By Grorce Baknard, Professor of Drawing at Rugby School. With 18 Lithographic Plates and 108 Wood Engravings. Imp. 8vo. 25s. or in Three Parts, royal 8vo. 7s. 6d. each. Gwilt's Encyclopaedia of Archi- tecture. Fifth Edition, with Alterations and considerable Additions, by Wtatt Papworth. Additionally illustrated with nearly 400 Wood Engravings by O. Jewitt, and upwards of 100 other new Woodcuts. 8vo. 52s. M. Italian Sculptors : being a History of Sculpture in Northern, Southern, and East- ern Italy. By 0. C. PERKras. With 30 Etchings and 13 Wood Engra-\'ings. Im- perial 8vo. 42s. Tuscan Sculptors, their Lives, Works, and Times. By the same Author. With 45 Etchings and 28 Woodcuts from Original Drawings and Photographs. 2 vols, imperial 8vo, 63s. Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and other Details. By Charles L. Eastlake, Architect. Second Edition, with about 90 Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. 18s. The Engineer's Handbook ; ex- plaining the principles which should guide the young Engineer in the Construction of Machinery. By C. S. Lowndes. Post8vo. 6s. Lathes and Turning, Simple, Me- chanical, and Ornamental. By W. Henry NoRTHCOTT. With about 240 Illustrations on Steel and Wood. 8vo. 18s. Principles of Mechanism, designed for the use of Students in the Universities, and for Engineering Students generally. By E. Willis, M.A. F.E.S. &o. Jacksonian Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in the University of Cambridge. A new and enlarged Edition. 8vo. \_Nearly ready. Handbook of Practical Tele- graphy, published with the sanction of the Chairman and Directors of the Electric and International Telegraph Company, and adopted by the Department of Telegraphs for India. By E. S. Culley. Third Edi- tion. 8vo. 12s. 6d. Hre's Dictionary of Arts, Manu- factures, and Mines. Sixth Edition, ehieflj- re-written and greatly enlarged by Egbert Hunt, F.E.S. assisted by numerous Con- tributors eminent in Science and the Arts, and familiar with Manufactures. With 2,000 Woodcuts. 3 vols, medium 8vo. £4 14s. 6rf. Treatise on Mills and Millwork. By Sir W. Faibbairn, F.E.S. With 18 Plates and 322 Woodcuts. 2 vols. 8\'0. 32s. ITsefuI Information for Sngineerg. By the same Author. First, Second, and Third Series, with many Plates and Woodcuts. 3 vols, crown 8vo. 10».6(i. each. The Application of Cast and "Wrought Iron to Building Purposes. By the same Author. New Edition, preparing for pub- lication. NEW WDEKS i-uBLidiiED i!V LONGMANS anl. CO. 13 Iron Ship Btdlding, its History and Progress, as comprised in a Series of Experimental Researches on the Laws of Strain ; the Strengths, Forms, and other conditions of the Material ; and an Inquiry into the Present and Prospective State of the Navy, including the Experimental llesults on the Resisting Powers of Armour Plates and Shot at High Velocities. By Sir W. Fairbairn, F.R.S. With 4 Plates and 130 Woodcuts, 8vo. 18s. Encyclopsedia of Civil Engineer- ing, Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By E. Cresy, C.E. With above 3,000 Woodcuts. 8vo. 42s. The Artisan Club's Treatise on the Steam Engine, in its various Applica- tions to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways, and Agriculture. By J. Bourne, C.E. New Edition ; with Portrait, 37 Plates, and 546 Woodcuts. 4to. 42s. A Treatise on the Screw Pro- peller, Screw Vessels, and Screw Engines, as adapted for purposes of Peace and War ; with notices of other Methods of Propulsion, Tables of the Dimensions and Performance of Screw Steamers, and Detailed Specifica- tions of Ships and Engines. By John Bourse, C.E. Thii-d Edition, with 54 Plates and 287 Woodcuts. Quarto, 63s. Catechism of the Steam Engine, in its various Applications to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways, and Agricul- ture. By John Bourne, C.E. New Edi- tion, with 89 Woodcuts. Fcp. 68. Eecent Improvements in the Steam-Engine in its various applications to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, Railways, and Agriculture. By John Bourse, C.E. being a Supplement to his ' Catechism of the Steam-Engine.' New Edition, in- cluding many New Example.^ among which are several of the most remarkable Engines exhibited in Paris in 1867 ; with 124 Woodcuts. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. Bourne's Examples of Modern steam. Air, and Gas Engines of the most Approved Types, as employed for Pumping, for Driving Machinery, f»r Locomotion, and for Agriculture, minutely and prac- tically described. Illustrated by Working Drawings, and embodjang a Critical Ac- count of all Projects of RecentImprovo:T)ent in Furnaces, Boilers, and Engines. In course of publication, to be completed in Twenty- four Parts, price 2s. Gd. each, forming One Volume, with about 50 Plates and 400 Woodcuts. Handbook of the Steam Engine. By John Bourne, C.E. forming a Ket to the Author's Catechism of the Steam Engine. With 67 Woodcuts. Fcp. 9s. A History of the Machine- Wronght Hosiery and Laco Manufactures. By William Felkin, F.L.S. F.S.S. With 3 Steel Plates, 10 Lithographic Plates of Machinery, and 10 Coloured Impressions of Patterns of Laco. Royal 8vo. 2is; Mitchell's Manual of Practical Assaying. Third Edition, for the most part re-written, with all the recent Discoveries incorporated. By W. Crookes, F.K.S. With 188 Woodcuts. 8vo. 28s. Beimann's Handbook of AniUne and its Derivatives; a Treatise on the Manufacture of Aniline and Aniline Colours. Revised and edited by William Crookes, F.E.S. 8vo. with 5 Woodcuts, 10s. Gd. Practical Treatise on Metallurgy^ adapted from the last German Edition of Professor Kerl's Metallurgy/ by W. Crookes, F.R.S. &c. and E. Rohbig, Ph.D. M.E. In Three Volumes, 8vo. with 625 Woodcuts. Vol. I. price 31». Gd. Vol. II. price 86s. Vol. III. price 31s. Gd. The Art bf Perfumery ; the History and Theory of Odours, and the Methods of Extracting the Aromas of Plants. By Dr. PiESSE, F.C.S. Third Edition, with 6S Woodcuts. Crown 8vo. 10s. Gd. Chemical, Natural, and Fbysical Magic, for Juveniles during the Holidays. By the same Author. Third Edition, enlarged with 38 Woodcuts. Fcp. 6s. Loudon's Encyclopsedia of Agri- culture: comprising the Laying-out, Im- provement, and Management of Landed Property, and the Cultivation and Economy of the Productions of Agriculture. With 1,100 Woodcuts. 8vo. 21s. Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Gardening : comprising the Theory and Practice of Horticulture, Floriculture, Arboriculture, and Landscape Gardening. With 1,000' Woodcnts. 8vo. 21s. Bayldon's Art of Valuing Rents and Tillages, and Claims of Tenants upon Quitting Farms, both at Michaelmas and Lady-Day. Eighth Edition, revised by J. c". Morton. 8vo. 10s. Gd. 14 XKW WORKS PUBLISHED by LONGMANS and CO. Beliffious and Moral Works. An Es3)osition of the 39 Articles, Historical and Doctrinal. By E. Harold Brownej D.D. Lord Bishop of Ely. Eighth Edition. 8vo. 16». Xixaiuiiiation-Q,uestions on ' Bishop Browne's Exposition of the Articles. By the Eev. J. Gokle, M.A. Fcp. 3s. 6d. Archbishop IicightoB's Sermons and Charges. With Additions and Correc- tions from MSS. and with Historical and other Illustrative Notes by Willlam West, Incumbent of S. Columba's, Nairn. 8vo. price 15s. Bishop Cotton's Instructions in the Principles and Practice of Christianity, intended chiefly as an Introduction to Con- firmation. Sixth Edition. 18mo. 2s. M. The Acts of the Apostles } with a Commentary, and Practical and Devotional Suggestions for Readers and Students of the English Bible. By the Eev. F. C. Cook, MjV. Canon of Exeter, &c. New Edition, 8vo. 12s. Qd. The Iiife and Epistles of St. Paul. By the Eev. W. J. Conybeaee, M.A. and the Very Eev. J. S. HowsoN, D.D. Dean of Chester :— LiBEAKT Edition, with all the Original Illustrations, Maps, Landscapes on Steel, Woodcuts, &c. 2 vols. 4to. 48s. Intekmediate Edition, with a Selection of Maps, Plates, and Woodcuts. 2 vols, square crown 8vo. 31s. 6rf. People's Edition, revised and con- densed, with 46 Illustrations and Maps. 2 vols, crown 8vo. 12s. The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul ; with Dissertations on the Ships and Navigation of the Ancients. By James Smith, F.E.S. Crown 8vo. Charts, 10s. 6rf. Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Eeligion derived from the Literal FuliUment of Prophecy. By Alexander Keith, D.D. 37th Edition, with numerous Plates, in square 8vo. 12s. Srf.; also the 39th Edition, in post 8vo. with 5 Plates, 6s. The History and Destiny of the "World and of the Church, according to Scripture. By the same Author. Square 8vo. with 40 Illustrations, 10s. Ewald's History of Israel to the Death of Moses. Translated from the Ger- man. Edited, with a Preface and an Ap- pendix, by Russell Martineau, M.A. Professor of Hebrew in Manchester New College, London. Second Edition, continued to the Commencement of the Monarchy. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. Five Years in a Protestant Sis- terhood and Ten Years in a Catholic Con- vent ; an Autobiography. Post 8vo. 7«. 6d. The Life of Margaret Mary Hallahan, better known in the reli- gious world by the name of Mother Mar- garet. By her Religious Childsen. With a Preface by the Bishop of Birming- ham. 8vo. with Portrait, 10s. The See of Eome in. the Middle Ages. By the Eev. Oswald J. Reichel, B.C.L. and M.A. Vice-Principal of Cuddes- don College. 8vo. [^Nearly ready. The Evidence for the Papacy as derived from the Holy Scriptures and from Primitive Antiquity ; with an Intro- ductorj' Epistle. By the Hon. Colin Lindsay. 8vo. [iVeaWy ready. A Critical and Grammatical Com- mentary on St. Paul's Epistles. By C. J. Ellicott, D.D. Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. 8vo. Qalatians, Fourth Edition, 8«. eA Epheslans, Fourth Bdition, 8». 9d. Pastoral Epistles, Fourth Edition, l«s. td. Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, Third Edition, 10s. 6d. Thessalonians, Third Edition. Is. 6d. Historical Iieotures on the Iiife of Our Lord Jesus Christ : being the Hulsean Lectures for 1859. By C. J. Ellicott, D.D. Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bastol. Fifth Edition. 8vo. 12s. The Destiny of the Creature ; and other Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge. By the same. Post 8vo. bs. An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament, Critical, Exegetical, and Theological. By the Rev. S. Davidson, DJ). LL.D. 2 vols. 8vo. 30s. TheGreek Testament; withlfotes, Grammatical and Exegetical. By the Rev. W. Webster, M.A. and the Rev. W. F. Wilkinson, M.A. 2 vols. 8vo. £2 4s. Vol. I. the Gospels and Acts, 20s. Vol. II. the Epistles and Apocalypse, 24s. NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. 15 Eev. T. H. Home's Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Twelfth Edition, as last revised throughout. With 4 Maps and 22 Woodcuts and Facsimiles. 4 vols. 8vo. 42s. Bev. T. H. Home's Compendious In- troduction to the Study of the Bible, being an Analysis of the larger work by the same Author. Re-edited by the Rev. John Atke, M.A. With Maps, &c. Post 8vo. 6s. The Treasury of Bible Know- ledge ; being a Diotionarj- of the Books, Persons, Places, Events, and other Matters of which mention is made in Holy Scrip- ture ; Intended to establish its Authority and illustrate its Contents. By Eev. J. Ayke, M.A. With Maps, 15 Plates, and numerous Woodcuts. Fcp. 10s. Bd. Every-day Scripture Difllculties explained and illustrated. By J. E. Pkes- COTT, M.A. Vol. I. Matthew and Mark ; Vol. II. Luke and John. 2 vols. 8vo. price 9s. each. The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined. By the Eight Eev. J. W. CoLENSO, D.D. Lord Bishop of Natal. Crown 8vo. price 6s. The Church and the World; Three Series of Essays on Questions of the Day, by various Writers. Edited by the Rev. Obsy Shipley, M.A. 3 vols. 8vo. 15». each. The Formation of Christendom. By T. W. Allies. Parts L and II. 8vo. price 12s. each. Christendom's Divisions; aPhilo- sopMoal Sketch of the Divisions of the Christian Family in East and West. By Edmund S. Ffoulkes, formerly Fellow and Tutor of Jeeus Coll. Oxford. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. Christendom's Divisions, Paet II. Greeks and Latins, being a History of their Dissensions and Overtures for Peace down to the Reformation. By the same Author. Post 8vo. 15s. The Hidden Wisdom of Christ and the Key of Knowledge ; or, History of the Apocrypha. By Eenest De Bunsen. 2 vols. 8vo. 28s. The Keys of St. Peter ; or, the House of Rechab, connected with the History of Symbolism and Idolatry. By the same Author. 8vo. 14s. The Power of the Soul over the Body. By Geo. Moobe, M.D. M.R.C.P.L. &c. Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo. 8s. 6rf. ThQ Types of Genesis briefly con- sidered as Eev««feig the Development of Human Nattire. By Andrew Jukes. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. The Second Death and the Bestitution of All Things, with some Preliminary Re- marks on the Nature and Inspiration of Holy Scripture. By the same Author. Second Edition. Crown 8yo. 3s. 6d. Essays and Reviews. By the Eev. W. Temple, D.D. the Rev. R. Williams, B.D. the Rev. B. Pow^ell, M.A. the Rev. H. B. Wilson, B.D. C. W. Goodwin, M.A. the Eev. M. Pattison,, B.D. and the Rev. B. JowETT, M.A. 12th Edition. Fcp. 5s. Religious Republics ; Six Essays on CongregationaUsm. By W. M. Fawcett, T.M. Herbert, M.A. E. G. Herbeht.LL.B. T. H. Pattison, P. H. Pye-Smith, M.D. B.A. and J. Anstie, B.A. 8vo. price 8s. Gd. Passing Thoughts on Religion. By the Author of 'Amy Herbert.' New Edition. Fcp. 5s. Self-examination before Confirmation. By the same Author. 32mo. Is. 6d. Eeadings for a Month Preparatory to Confirmation from Writers of the Early and English Church. By the same. Fcp. 4s. Beadings for Every Day in Lent, com- piled from the Writings of Bishop Jeremy Taylor. By the same. Fcp. 5s. Preparation for the Holy Communion; the Devotions chiefly from the works of Jeremy Taylor. By the same. 32mo. 3s. Thoughts for the Holy Week, for Young Persons. By the same Author. New Edition. Fop. 8vo. 2s. Principles of Education drawn from Nature and Revelation, and Applied to Female Education in the Upper Classes. By the same Author. 2 vols. fcp. 12s. Gd. Bishop Jeremy Taylor's Entire Works : with Life by Bishop Heber. Revised and corrected by the Rev. C. P. Eden. 10 vols. £5 5s. England and Christendom. By Archbishop Manning, D.D. Post 8vo. price 10s. Gd. The Wife's Manual ; or, Prayers, Thoughts, and Songs on Several Occasions of a Matron's Life. By the Rev. W. Cal- vert, M.A. Crown 8vo. 10s. Gd. Singers and Songs of the Church: being Biographical Sketches of the Hymn- Writers in aU the principal Collections; with Notes on their Psalms and Hymns. By JosiAH Miller, M.A. Second Edition, enlarged. Post 8vo. 10s. Gd. Jt; ^l:^v wouics iiui.iMi^u ji\ lom.mans am) co. ' Spiritual Songs ' for the Sundays and Holidays throughout the Year. By J. S. B. MoNSELT,, LL.D. Vicar of Egham and Rural Dean. Fourth Edition, Sixth Thousand. Fop. price 4s. Gd. The Beatitudes : Abasement before God ; Sorrow for Sin ; Meekness of Spirit ; Dosire for Holiness ; Gentleness ; Purity of Heart ; the Peace-makers ; Sufferings for Christ. By the same Author. Third Edition, re- Tiscd. Fcp. 3s. 6d. His Presence not his Memory, 185.1. By the same Author, in memory of his Sou. Sixth Edition. 16mo. Is. Iiyra Germanica ; Two Selections of Household Hymns, translated from the German by Miss Catherine Winkworth. First Series, the Christian Year, Hymns for the Sundays and Chief Festivals of the Church ; Second Series, the Christian Life. Fcp. 8vo. price 3s. 6rf. each Series. Lyra Eucharistica ; Hymns and Verses on the Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern : with other Poems. Edited by the Rev. Orby Shipley, M.A. Second Edition. Fcp. 5s. Shipley's Iiyra Messianica. Fcp. Ss. Shipley's Lyra Mystioa. Fcp. Bs. Endeavours after the Christian Life: Discourses. By James Martineav. Fourth and Cheaper Edition, carefully re- vised ; the Two Series complete in One Volume. Post 8vo. 7s. Gd. Invocation of Saints and Angels ; for the use of Members of the English Church . Edited by the Eev. Orby Shipley, M.A . 24mo. 3s. Gd. Introductory Lessons on the History of Religious Worship ; being a Sequel to the same Author's 'Lessons on Christian Evidences.' By R i c h A r i> Whately. D.D. New Edition. 18mo. 2s.6d Travels, Voyages, <^-c. England to Delhi; a Narrative of Indian Travel. By John Matheson, Glasgow. Imperial 8vo. with very nume- rous Illustrations. Letters from Australia. By John Maktiseau. Post 8vo. price 7s. Gd. Travels in the Central Caucasus and Bashan, including Visits to Ararat and Tabreez and Ascents of Kazbek and Elbruz. By Douglas W. Freshfielu. With 3 Maps, 2 Panoramas of Summits, 4 full-page Wood Engravings, and 16 Woodcuts. Square crown 8vo. 18s. Cadore or Titian's Country. By Josiah Gilbert, one of the Authors of the 'Dolomite Mountains.' With Map, Fac- simile, and 40 Illustrations. Imp.8vo.31s. Gd. The Dolomite Mountains. Excur- sions through Tyrol, Carinthia, Carniola, and Friuli. By J. Gilbert and G. C. CnuKCiiiLL, F.R.G.S. With numerous Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. 21s. Pilgrimages in the Pyrenees and Landes : Their Sanctuaries and Shrines. By Denys Shyne Lawi.or. Post 8vo. Pictures in Tyrol and Elsewhere. From a Family Sketch-Book. By the Author of 'A Voyage en Zigzag,' &c. Second Edition. 4to. with many Illustra- tions, 21s. How we Spent the Summer; or, a Voyage en Zigzag in Switzerland and Tyrol with some Members of the Alpisk Club. Third Edition, re-drawn. In oblong 4to. with about 800 Illustrations, 15s. Beaten Tracks ; or, Pen and Pencil Sketches in Italy. By the Authoress of 'A Voyage en Zigzag.' With 42 Plates, containing about 200 Sketches from Draw- ings made on the Spot. 8vo. 16s. The Alpine Club Map of the Chain of Mont Blanc, from an actual Survey in 1863—1864. By A. Adams - Reilly, F.R.G.S. M.A.C. In Chromolithography on extra stout di:awing paper 28in. x 17in. price 10s. or mounted on canvas in a folding case, 12s. Gd. Pioneering in the Pampas; or, the First Four Years of a Settler's Expe- rience in the La Plata Camps. By R. A. Seymour. Second Edition. Post 8vo. with Map, Os. The Paraguayan War: with Sketches of the History of Paraguay, and of the Manners and Customs of the People ; and Notes on the Military Engineering of the War. By George Thompson, C.E. With 8 Maps and Plans and a Portrait of Lopez. Past 8vo. 12s. 6c/. Notes on Burgundy. By Chaeles Richard Weld. Edited by his Widow; with Portrait and Memoir. Post 8vo. price 8s. Gd. NJEVV WORKS PUBLISHED ur LONGMANS and CO. 17 History of Discovery in our Australasian Colonies, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, from the Earliest Date to the Present Day. B7 William Howitt. With 3 Maps of the Becent Explorations from Official Sources. 2 vols. 8vo. 20». The Capital of the Tycoon ; a Narrative of a 3 Tears' Residence in Japan. By Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B. 2 vols. 8vo. with numerous Illustrations, 42s. Guide to the Pyrenees, for the use of Mountaineers. By Charles Packe. Second Edition, with Maps, &c. and Appen- dix. Crown 8vo. 7s. Gd. The Alpine Guide. By John Ball, M.R.I.A. late President of the Alpine Club. Post 8vo. with Maps and other Illustrations. Guide to the Sastem Alps, price 10s. Cd. Oiiide to the "Weatern Alps, including Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Zermatt, &c. price 6s. 6d. Ooide to the Central AJps, includmg all the Oberland District, price 7s. 6d. Introductiou on Alpine Travelling in general, and on the Geology of the Alps, price Is. Either of the Three Volumes or Parts of the Alpine Gutcfe may be had with this Ihtkoduction prefixed, price Is. extra. fionia Sotterranea; or, an Account of the Roman Catacombs, especially of the Cemetery of San Callisto. Compiled from the Works of Commendatore 6.B. De Rossi, by the Rev. J. S. Nobthcote, D.D. and the Rev. W. B. Brownlow. With Plans and numerous other Illustrations. 8vo. 31s. 6d. Memorials of London and Lon- don Life in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Cen- turies; being a Series of Extracts, Local, Social, and Political, from the Archives of the City of London, a.d. 1276-1419. Selected, translated, and edited by II. T. KiLEY, M.A. Royal 8vo. 21s. Commentaries on the History, Constitution, and Chartered Franchises of the City of London. By George Norton, formerly one of the Common Pleaders of the City of London. Third Edition. 8vo. 14&. Curiosities of London; exhibiting the most Bare and Remarkable Objects Interest in the Metropolis ; with rfearly Sixty Years' Personal Recollections. By John Times, I'.S.A. New Edition, cor- rected and enlarged. 8vo. Portrait, 21s. The Northern Heights of Lon- don J or. Historical Associations of Hamp- stead, Highgate, Muswell Hill, Hornsey, and Islington. By Williaji Howitt. With about 40 Woodcuts. Square crown 8vo. 21s. The Bural Life of England. By the same Author. With Woodcuts by Bewick and Williams. Medium, 8vo. 12s. 6rf. Visits to Bemarkable Places: Old Halls, Battle-Fields, and Scenes illus- trative of striking Passages in English History and Poetry. By the same Author. 2 vols, square crown 8vo. with Wood En- gravings, 25s. Narrative of the Euphrates Ex- pedition carried on by Order of the British Government during the yeai'S 1835, 183G, and 1837. By General F. R. Chesnev, F.R.S. With 2 Maps, 45 Plates, and IK Woodcuts. 8vo. 24s. The German Working Man ; teing an Account of the Daily Life, Amusements, and Unions for Culture and Material Pro- gress of the Artisans of North and South Germany and Switzerland. By James Samuelsos. Crown 8vo. with Frontis- piece, 3s. Gd. Works of Fiction. Vikram and the Vampire; or, Tales of Hindu Devilry. Adapted by Richard F. Burton, F.R.G.S. &c. With Illustrations by Ernest Griset. Crown _^ 8vo. 9s. Mataeldean, or Christianity Re- versed ; being the History of a Noble Family : a Social, Political, and Theological Novel. By Owen Gowek, of Gaybrook. 3 vols, post 8vo. 31s. Gd. Through the Night ; a Tale of the Times. To which is added ONWARD, or a SUMMER SKETCH. By Walter SwEETMAS, B.A. 2 vols, post 8vo. 21s. Stories and Tales by the Author of 'Amy Herbert,' uniform Edition, eaich Tale or Story a single volume : — Amy Herbert, 2s. Gd. Katharine Ashton, Gertrude, 2s. Gd. 3s. Gd. Earl's Daughter, Margaret Pekci- 2s. Gd. nal, 6s. Experience of Life, Laneton Pakson- 2s. Gd. AGE, 4s. Gd. Cleve Hall, 3s. Gd. Ursula, 4s. Gd. Ivors, 3s. Gd. A Glimpse of the "World. I'cp. 7«. 6d. Journal of a Home Life. Post 8vo. 9s. Zd. After Life ; a Sequel to the 'Journal of a Homo Lifo.' Post 8vo. 19s. 6rf. 18 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED by LONGMAKS and CO. The Warden ; a Novel. By Anthony TKOLLorE. Crown 8vo. Is. 6rf. Barohester Towers ; a Sequel to 'The Warden.' Crown 8vo. 2s. Uncle Peter's Fairy Tale for the XlXth Century. Edited by Elizabeth M. Sewell, Author of ' Amy Herbert,' &c. Fcp. 8vo. 7s. 6rf. Becker's Gallus ; or, Eoman Scenes of the Time of Augustus. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. Becker's Gheuricles : Illustrative of Private Life of the Ancient Greeks. Post 8vo. 7s. erf. Tales of Ancient Greece. By Gteorge W. Cox, M.A. late Scholar of Triu. CoU. Oxford. Being a collective Edition of the Author's Classical Series and Tales, com- plete in One Volume. Crown 8vo. 6s. Gd. A Manual of Mythology,? in the form of Question and Answer. By the Eev. Georgb W. Cox, M.A. late Scholar of Tiinity College, Oxford. Fop. 3b. Cabinet Edition of Novels and Talcs by J. G. Whyte Melville : — The Gladiators, Ss. DiGBY Grand, 5s. Kate Coventry, 5s. < General Bounce, 5s. HoLMBY House, Ss. Good for SfoTHiifG,fi», Queen's Maries, iBs. The Interpreteb,5». Doctor Harold's Tfote-Book. By Mrs. Gascoigne, Author of 'The Next Door Neighbour.' Fcp. 8vo. fis. Our Children's Story. By One of their Gossips. By the Author of ' Voyage en Zigzag,' ' Pictures in Tyrol,' Ac. Small ito. with Sixty Illustrations by the Author, price 10s. ^d. Poetry and The Drama, Thomas Moore's Poetical -Works, the only Editions containing the Author's last Copyright Additions : — Shamrock Edition, price 3s. Gd. Euby Edition, with Portrait, 6s. Cabinet Edition, 10 vols. fcp. 8vo. 35s. People's Edition, Portrait, &c. 10s. 6d. Library Edition, Portrait & Vignette, 1-ls. Moore's Italia Rookh, Tenniel's Edi- tion, with 68 Wood Engravings from Original Drawings and other Illustrations. Fcp. 4to. 21s. Moore's Irish Melodies, Maclise's Edition, with 161 Steel Plates from Original Drawings. Super-royal 8vo. 31s. 6d. Miniature Edition of Moore's Irish. Melodies, with Maclise's Illustrations (as above), reduced in Lithography. Imp. 16mo. 10s. 6d. Southey's Poetical Works, with the Author's last Corrections and copyright Additions. Library Edition. Medium 8vo. with Portrait and Vignette, 14s. Lays of Ancient Rome ; with Ivrt/ and the Armada. By the Eight Hon. Lord Macaulay. 16mo. 4s. M. Iiord Maoanlay's Lays of Ancient Eome. With 90 Illustrations on Wood, Original and from the Antique, from Drawings by G. Schare. Fcp. 4to. 21s. Miniature Edition of Lord Maoavilay's Laj's of Ancient Eome, with Scharfs Illustrations (as above) reduced in Litho- graphy. Imp. 16mo. 10s. M. Goldsmith's Poetical Works, Illus- trated with Wood Engravings from Designs by Members of tie Etching Club. Imp. 16mo. 7s. %d. Poems. By Jean Ingelow. Fifteenth Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 5s. Poems by Jean Ingelow. A New Edition, with nearly 100 Illustrations ^y Eminent Artists, engraved on Wood by the Brothers Dalziel. Fcp. 4to. 21s. Mopsa the Fairy. By Jean Ingelow. With Eight Illustrations engraved on Wood. Fcp. 8vo. 6s. A Story of Doom, and oth«r Poems. By Jean Ingelow. Third Edition. Fcp. 5s. Poetical Works of Letitia Bliza- beth Landon (L.E.L.) 2 vols. 16mo. 10s. Bowdler's Family Shakspeare; cheaper Genuine Edition, complete in 1 vol. large type, with 36 Woodcut Illustrations, price 14s. or in 6 pocket vols. 3s. &d. each. Arundines Cami. Collegitatijueedidit H. Dkury, M.A. Editio Sexta, euravit H. J. Hodgson, M.A. Crown 8vo. price 7s. 6rf. Horatii Opera, Pocket Edition, with carefuUy corrected Text, Marginal Refer- ences, and Introduction. Edited by the Rev. J. E. Yonge, M.A. Square 18mo. 4s. firf. Horatii Opera, Library Edition, with Copious English Notes, Marginal Eeferenoes and Various Readings. Edited by the Eev. J. E. YoxGE, M.A. 8vo. 21s. NJJW WORKS puBLisHisD BY LOHQMASS asd CO. 19 The ^neidofVir^ T^anskted into English Verse. By John Conington, M.A. Corpus Profiassoirof Lfltin in the University of Oj£&rd. Crown 8vo. S». The Iliad of Homer in English Hexameter "Verse. By J. Henet Daet, M.A. of Exeter College, Oxford. Square crown 8vo. 21s. The Ilifl/d of Homer Translated into Blank Veise. By IchA3BOD Chablbs Wkight, M.A. 2 vols, crown 8vo. 21«, Dante's Divine Comedy, translated in English Terza Eima by John Dayman, M. A. With thie Italian Text. Svo. 2U. Hunting Songs and Miscellane- ous Verses. By E. E. Egerton Warbdk- TON. Second Edition. Fop. Svo. 5s. Rural Sports, ^c. Encyelopeedia of Burel Sports ; a Oomplete Account, Historical, Practieal, and Descriptive, of Hunting, Shooting, Pishing, Eaeing, &o. By D. P. Blaine. With above 600 Woodcuts (20 from Desi^'ns by John Leech). Svo. 42s. Col.. Hawker's Instructions to Young Sportsmen in all that relates to Gims and Shooting. Eevised by the Author's Son. Square orown Svo. with Illustrations, 18«. The Dead Shot, or Sporteman'B Com- plete Guide ; a Treatise on the Use of the Gun, Dog-brealdng, Pigeon-shooting, &c. By Marksman. Fcp. with Plates, Ss. A Book on Angling: being a Com- plete Treatise on the Art of Angling in every branch, including fall Illustrated Lists of Salmon Flies. By Francis Francis. Second Edition, with Portrait and 15 other Plates, plain and coloured. Post Svo. los. Wneocks's Sea-Pisherman: eom- prising the Chief Methods of Hook and Line Fishing in the British and other Seas, a glance at Nets, and remarks on Boats and Boating. Second Edition, enlarged, with 80 Woodcuts. Post Svo. 12s. (,d. The Fly- Fisher's 3Bntomoiogy. By Alfred Eonalds. With coloured SetH«aeKtations of the Natural and Artiti- dal Insect. Sixti Edition, with 20 coloured Plates. Svo. 14«. Blaine's Veterinary Art : a Treatise on the Anatomy, Pliysiology, and Curative Treatment of the Diseases of the Horse, Neat Cattle, and Sheep. Seventh Edition, revised aad enlarged by C. Stjsel. Svo. with Plat«s and Woodcuts, 18s. Horses and Stafoles. By Olonel F. FiTZWYORAM, XV. the King's Hussars. Pp. 624; with 24 Plates of lUnsttationB, containing very numerous FigujffiS en- graved on Wood. Svo. 15s. Ybuatt on the Horse. Berissd and enlarged by W. Watson, M.E.C.V.S. 8vo. with numerous Woodcuts, 12s. 6d. 7onatt on tlie Dog. (By the same Author.) Svo. with numerous Woodcuts, 6». The Horse's Foot, and how to keep it Sound. By W. Miles, Esq. Ninth Edi- tion, with Blustratioiis. Imp. Svo. 12«. %d. A Flaln Treatise on Horse-shxneiss. By the same Author. Sixth Edition, post Svo. with Ilittstrations, 23. ^. 8tabl€is and Stable Fittings. By the same. Imp. Svo. with 13 Plates, 15s. Bemarks on Horses' Te^tli, addressed to Purchasers. By the same. Post Svo. Is, 6d. Eobbins's Cavalry Catechism ; or, Instructions on Cavalry Exercise and Field Movements, Brigade Movements, Out-post Duty, Cavalry supporting Artillery, Artil- lery attached to Cavalry. 12mo. S& The Dog in Health and Disease. By Stonehejwse. Witii 70 Wood En- gravings. New Edition. Square crown evo. 10s. M. The (JreThotind. By the same Author. Revised Edition, with 24 Portraits of Grey- hounds. Square crown Svo. Ws. &d. The Ox, his Diseases and their IPceat- ment ; with an Essay on Partnirition in the Cow. By J. R. DoBSON, M.E.C.V.S. Oisewn Svo. with lUiistrations, 7s. 6d. The Commerce, Navigation, and Mercantile A^^airs. The Elements of Banking. By Henry DnwNmG Macleod, M.A. of Tri- nity College, Cambridge, and of the Inner Temple, Harrister-at-Lew. Post Svo. \Nearig reaie^. Theory and Practice of By Henry Dunning Macleod, MA, Barrister-at^-Law. Second Edition, entirely remodelled. 2 vols. 8v«. 30e. 20 XEW WORKS ILBLISHED BY LONGMANS AND CO. The Law of Nations Considered «3 Independent Political Communities. By 1 SirJ Tkavers Twiss, D.C.L. 2 vols. 8vo. -30s. or separately, Paet I Peace, 12s. ll^PAiiT II. War, 18s. Practical Guide for British Ship- masters to United States Ports. By Piee- jiEPOST Ed-svards. Post 8vo. 8s. 6rf. M'Culloch's Dictionary, Prac- tical, Theoretical, and Historical, of Com- merce and Commercial Navigation. New Edition, revised ttiroughout tod corrected to the Present Time ; with a Biographical Notice of the Author. Edited by H. G. Eeid, Secretaiy to Mr. M'Oulloch for many years. 8vo. price 63s. cloth. Works of Utility and General Information. -Modern Cookery for Private •^families, reduced to a System of Easy Practice in a Series of carefully-tested Ee- <^eipt3. By Eliza Acton. Newly revised 4ind enlarged; with 8 Plates, Figures, and 150 Woodcuts. Fcp. 6s. •On Pood, its Varieties, Chemical Com- •position. Nutritive Value, Comparative Di- gestibility, Physiological Functions and Cses, Preparation, Culinary Treatment, Preservation, Adulteration, &c. Being the -Substance of Four Cantor Lectures deli- vered before the Society for the Encouragc- .ment of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. By H. Letheby, M.B. M.A. Ph.D. &c. Crown 8vo. .^ A Practical Treatise on Brewing ; with FormulEB for Public Brewers, and In- structions for Private Families. By W. Black. Fifth Edition. 8vo. 10s. 6d. ■ Chess Openings . By F. W. Longman, Balliol College, Oxford. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. M. Whist, What to Lead. By Cam. Thu-d Edition. 32mo. Is. The Cabinet Lawyer ; a Popular Digest of the Laws of England, CivU, ■Criminal, and Constitutional. 25th Edition ; tvith Supplements of the Acts of the Par- liamentary Sessions of 1867, 1868, and 1869. Fcp. 10s. 6d The Philosophy of Health ; or, an Exposition of the Physiological and Sanitary ■Conditions conducive to Human Longevity And Happiness. By SonTHvt'OOD Smith, Ji.D. Eleventh Edition, revised and en- larged; with 113 Woodcuts. 8vo. 7s. 6rf. A Handbook for Readers at the British Museum. By Thomas Nichols. Post 8vo. 6s. Maunder's Treasury of Know- ledge and Library of Reference : comprising an English Dictionary and Grammar, Uni- versal Gazetteer, Classical Dictionary, Chronology, Law Dictionary, Synopsis of the Peerage, Useful Tables, &c. Fcp. 10s. Gd. Hints to Mothers on the Manage- ment of their Health during the Period of Pregnancy and in the Lying-in Room. By T. Bull, M.D. Fcp. 5s. The Maternal Management of Children in Health and Disease. By Thom.vs Blll, M.D. Fcp. 5s. How to Wurse Sick Children; containing Directions which may be found of service to all who have charge of the Young. By Charles West, M.D. Second Edition. Fcp. 8vo. Is. 6rf. ITotes on Hospitals. By Ploeence Nightingale. Third Edition, enlarged ; with 13 Plans. Post 4to. 18s. Instructions in Household Mat- ters. Written by a Lady for the use of Girls intended for Service on leaving School. Seventh Edition. Fcp. Is. Sd. Mary's Every-Day Book of useful and Miscellaneous Knowledge; illustrated with Stories, and intended for the use of Children. ByF. E. Bukbury. 18mo. 3s. 6rf. Tidd Pratt's Law relating to Benefit Building Societies; with Practical Observations on the Act and aU the Cases decided thereon, also a Form of Eules and Forms of Mortgages. Fcp. 3s. Qd. Collieries and CoUiers : a Handbook of the Law and Leading Cases relating thereto. By J. C. Fowler, of the Inner Temple, Barrister, Stipendiary Magistrate. Second Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 7s. Gd. WiUich's Popular Tables for As- certaining the Value of Lifehold, Leasehold, and Church Property, Renewal Fines, &c. ; the Public Funds ; Annual Average Price and Interest on Consolsfrora 1731 to 1867 ; Chemical, Geographical, Astronomical, Trigonometrical Tables, &c. Post 8vo. IDs. Coulthart's Decimal Interest Tables at Twenty-four Different Rates not exceeding Five per Cent. 'Calculated for the use of Bankers. To which are added Com- mission Tables at One-eighth and One- fourth per Cent. 8vo. 15s. INDEX. Acion'b Modera Cookery 20 Aloock'b Kesidenoe iu Japau 17 Aij.i£9 on Formation of Ohristendom 15 Alpine Guide (Tlie) 17 Althaus on Medical Electricity 10 Akdkews's Life of Oliver Cromwell 3 AbkoiiB's Manual of Euglisli Literature . . 6 Aenoti's Elements of Physics 8 Arundines Cami IS Autumn Holidays of a Country Parson .... 6 Atbe's Treasury of Bible Knowledge 13 Bacos's Essays by 'WHATEi.r 5 Life and Letters, by Speddihg . . 4 Works 5 Bain's Mental and Moral Science 7 on the Emotions and Will 7 on the Senses and Intellect 7 on the Study of Character 7 BaUi's Guide to the Central Alps 16 Guide to the Western Alps 10 Guide to the Eastern Alps 16 Baeuaed's Drawing from Nature 12 BAYtDON 's Bicnts and Tillages 13 Beaten Tracks 16 Beckee's Charicles and Galtus 18 Benpet's Sanskrit-English Dictionary 6 Black's Treatise on Brewing 20 Blacklet's Word-Gossip 7 German-English Dictionary . . 6 Blaine's Bural Sports 19 Veterinary Art 19 BouESE on Screw Propeller 13 's Catechism of the Steam Engine . . 13 Examples of Modern Engines . . 13 ' Handbook of Steam Engine — 13 Treatise on the Steam E ngine 13 Improvements in the Steam- Eiigine 13 BowDiEE's Family Shakspeake 13 Bbanse's Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art 9 BitAY's (C.) Education of the Feelings .... 7 Philosophy of Necessity 7 On Force 7 Bkownb's Exposition of the 39 Articles 11 Buckle's History of Civilisation 2 Bull's Hints to Mothers 20 Maternal Management of Children . . 20 BuHSEs's Ancient Egypt 3 God in History 3 Memoirs 4 BuNSEN (E. De) on Apocrypha 15 's Keys of St. Peter 16 Btjebuet'b Mary's Bveiy D.ny Book 20 BuEKE's Vicissitudes of Families i BUElON'a Christian Church S Vikram and the Vampire 17 Cabinet Lawyer 20 Calveet'b Wife's Manual 15 Cates's Biographical Dictionary 4 Cats and Fablie's Moral Emblems 12 Changed Aspects of Unchanged Truths .... 6 Cheshet's Euphrates Expedition 17 Indian Polity 2 Waterloo Campaigu 2 Child's Physiological Essays 11 Chorale Book for England 11 CLOtlSH's Lives from Plutarch 2 Cobbe'b Norman Kings 3 CoLEKSO (Bishop) on Pentateuch and Book of Joshua ^ 15 Commonplace Philosopher in Town and Country 6 CoifiirGXOif 's Chemical Analysis 9 Translation of Virgil's jEneid 19 CowTAH SEAU's Two French Dictionaries . . 6 ComrBEAEEandHowsoN'sLifeandBpistles ofSt.Paul 14 Cook's Acts of the Apostles 14 Voyages — 4 Coopee's Surgical Dictionary 10 Copland's Dictionary of Practical Medicine 1 1 Cotton's Introduction to Confirmation.... 14 CouLTHAET'a Decimal Interest Tables .... 20 Counsel and Comfort from a Cily Pulpit .. 6 Cox's (G. W.) Manual of My thology 18 Aryan Mythology 3 Tale of the Great Persian War 2 Tales of A ucient Greece 18 (H.) Ancient Parliamentary Elections 1 History of the Reform Bills .... 1 Whig and Tory Administrations 1 Ceest's Encyclopaedia of Civil Engineering IS Critical Essays of a Country Parson 6 CeoVTB's History of France 2 Ctjlley's Handbook of Telegraphy 12 CnsACK's History of Ireland 2 Daet's Iliad of Homer 19 D'AuBlQH^'a History of the Reformation in the time of Calvin 2 Davidson's Introduction to New Testament 14 Dayman's Dante's Divina Commedia 19 Dead Shot (The), by Maeksman 19 De la Rive's Treatise on Electricity 3 Denison's Vice-Regal Life 1 De Tooquetille's Democracy iu America ■ 2 DOBSON on the Ox 19 22 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. Dove's Law of Storms 8 Doyle's Fairyland 11 Dteb'b City of Rome 3 Eastlake's Hints on Household Taste 12 History of Oil Painting 11 Life of Gibson 11 Edmunds's Names of Places 6 Edwahds's Shipmaster's Guide 20 Elements of Boiany Ellicott's Commentary on Ephesians . . . . 14 — — Destiny of the Creature 14 Lectures on Life of Christ .... 14 Commentary on Galatians .... 14 Pastoral Epist. 14 Philippians,&c. 14 Thessaloiiiaus 14 Essays and Reviews *.,...., 15 EwALD's History of Israel 14 Faiebaien's Application of Cast and Wrought Iron to Building 12 Information for Engineers .... 12 Treatise on Mills and Millwork 12 Iron Shipbuilding 13 Paeadat's Life and Lettirs S Faeeae's Chapters on Language 6 ■ Families of Speech 7 Felkin on Hosiery & Lace Manufactures.. 13 Ffoulkes's Christendom's Divisions 15 Fitzwygeam on Horses and Stables 19 Five Years in a Protestant Sisterhood 14 Flamank's Diversities of Life 7 Foebes's Earls of Granard 4 Fowlee's Collieries and Colliers 20 Feancis's Fishing Book 19 Feeshfield's Travels iia the Caucasits .... l(i Fboude's History of England 1 Short Studies e Ganot's Elementary Physios 8 Gascoigne's Doctor Harold 18 Gilbeet's Cadore 16 and Chuechili's Dolomites 16 Gietin's House I Live In 11 Goldsmith's Poems, Illustrated 18 Gould's Silver Store 6 Geaham's Boolt About "U'crds B Geant's Ethics of Aristotle 5 Home Politics 2 Graver Thoughts uf a Country Parson 6 Gray's Anatomy 10 Geefnhow on Bronchitis 10 Geove on Correlation of Physiciil Forces . . 8 GUENET's Chapters of French History 2 GwiLI's Encyclopuedia of Architecture .... 13 Hare on Election of Representatives 5 Haetwig's Harmonies of Nature 9 Polar World 9 . Sea and its Living Wonders .... 9 Tropical World 9 Hatch's Life of Shaftesbury 3 Hauguton's JIanual of Greology 8 Hawkee's Instructions to Young Sports- men , 1$ Heesohel's Outlines of Astronomy 7 Hewitt on the Diseases of Women 10 Holmes's Surgical Treatment of Children . . 10 System of Surgery 10 HooKBB and Walkeb-Abnotx's British Flora 9 Hoene'b Introduction to the Scriptures . . IB Compendium of the Scriptures . . 15 How we Spent the Summer 10 Howaed's Gymnastic. Exercises 11 HowiTI's Australian Discovery 17 Northern Heights of London .... 17 Rural Life of England 17 Visits to Remarkable Places .... 17 Hughes's Manual of Geography 8 Hume's Essays 7 Treatise on Human Nature 7 HUMFHBETS's Sentiments of Sliakspeare . . 12 Ihne's Itoman History 2 lifGELOW's Poems 18 • — Story of Doom 18 Mopsa 18 Instructions in Household Matters 20 Jameson's Legends of Saints and Martyrs . . 12 Legends of the Madonna 12 Legends of the Monastic Orders 12 Legends of the Saviour 12 Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 8 JuEES on Second Death 15 on Types of Genesis 16 Kalisoh's Commentaiy on the Bible 6 Hebrew Grammar 6 Keith on Destiny of the World 14 Fulfilment of Prophecy 14 Keel's Metallurgy, by Ceookes and RoHEia IS Kestevbn'b Domestic Medicine 11 KiEBT and Spenoe's Entomology 9 Landon's (L. E. L.) Poetical Works 18 Latham's English Dictionary 5 River Plate 8 Lawloe's Pilgrimages in the P.vrenees .... 16 Leckt's History of European Morals 3 Rationalism 8 Leighion's Sermons and Charges 14 Leisiire Hours in Town 6 Lessons of Middle Age 6 Lethebtou Pood 20 Lewes's Biographical History of Philosophy 3 Lewis's Letters 4 LiBDELL and Scott's Greek-Eng'ish Lexicon- 6 Abridged ditto 6 Life of Man Symbolised 11 Mari-'aret M. Hallahan 14 Lindlet and Mooee's Treasury of Botany 9 Lindsay's Evidence for the Papacy 14 Longman's Edward the Third 2 Lectures on History of England 2 Chess Opi-niiigs 20 Lord's Prayer Hlustrated 11 NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS and CO. 23 LouDOii's EncyclopiBclia of Agriculture .... IS Gardening IS Hants 9 Lowndes's Engineer's Handbook 12 Lyra Elucharistic!!, 1^ G«r[nanica 11, 16 Messianica 16 Mystica W Mabeldean 17 Macaulat's (Lord) Essays ■ S History of England . . 1 Lays of Ancient Rome 18 — Miscellaneous Writings 6 Speeches 5 Works 1 Macbaeeen's Lectures on Harmony U MACKiifTOSH's Scenery of England and "Wales 8 MACLEOD'S Elements of Political Economy 4 Dictionary of Political Economy i Elements of Banking 19 Theory and Practice of Banking 19 Mcculloch's Dictionary of Commerce .... 20 Geographical Dictionary .... 8 Maguibe's Life of Father Mathew 4 Manning's England and Christendom .... 16 Mabcet on the Larynx 10 Marshall's Physiology 11 Mabshman's History of India 2 Life or Havelock 4 MAETiNEAU'a Endeavours after the Chris- tian Life 16 Maetineau's Letters from Australia 16 Masset's History of England 1 Massingbeed's History of the Reformation 3 Matheson's England to Delhi 16 Maundee's Biographical Treasury 4 Geogranhical Treasury 8 Historical Treasiury 3 . SrientiflcandLiteraiyTreasury 9 . Treasury of Knowledge 20 Treasury of Natural History .. 9 Mauet's Physical Geography 8 Mat's Constitutional History of England. . 1 Melville's Digby Grand 18 General Bounce 18 ■ Gladiators 18 Good for Nothing 18 . HolmbyHouse 18 Interpreter 18 . Kate Coventry 18 Queen's Blaries 18 Mendelssohn's Letters 4 Menes and Cheops « 7 Meeivale's (H.) Historical Studies 2 (C.) Fall of theKoman Republic 3' . Romans under the Empire S . Btiyle Lectures 3 Meeeifield and EvEKS's Navigation .... 7 Miles on Horse's Foot and Horse Shoeing . 19 on Horses' Teeth and Stables 19 Mill (J.) on the Mind 4 Mill (J, S.) on l/iherty 4 England and Ireland 4 Subjection of Women 4 on Reprcs mlative Government 4 on ULilitarianisra 4 '8 Dissertations and Discussions 4 Political Economy 4 Mill's System of Logic 4 HamDton's Philosophy 4 Inaugural Address at St. Andrew's, 4 MiLLEB's Elements of Chemistry ■• 9 HymnWriters .,, 16 Mitchell's Manual of Assaying IS Monsell's Beatitudes 16 His Presence not Ms Memory.. 16 'Spiritual Songs' 16 Moobe's Irish Melodies 18 r-. LallaEookh 18 Journal and Correspondence .... 3 Poetical Works , 18 (Dr. G.) Power of the Soul over the Body 16 MoBELL's Elements of Psychology , 7 Mental Philosophy. 7 MifLLEB's (Max) Chips from a German Workshop 7 Lectures on the Science of Lau* guage B (K. O.) Literature of Ancient Greec« 2 Muechison on Continued Fevers 10 on Liver Complaints W MuEE'a Language and Literatnre of Greece 2 New Testament Illustrated with Wood En- gravings from the Old Masters 11 Newman's History of his Religious OpinionB 4 Nichols's Handbook to British Museum.. 20 Nightingale's Notes on Hospitals 20 Nilsson's Scandinavia 9 Noethcote's Sanctuary of the Madonna . . 14 NoETHCOTT on Lathes and Turning 13 NoETOH's City o! London 17 Odling's Animal Chemistry , , , 10 Course of Practical Chemistry .. 10 Manual of Chemistry , 9 Lectures on Carbon 10 Outlines of Chemistry 10 Our Children's Story IS Owen's Comparative Anatomy and Physio- logy of Vertebrate Animals 9 Lectures on the Invertebrota. ..... 8 Paoke's Guide to the Pyrenees 17 Paget's Lectures on Surgical Pathology , , 10 Peeeiea's Manual of Materia Medica 11 Peekins's Italian and Tuscan Sculptors . r 12 Phillips's Guide to Geology g Pictures in Tyrol 16 Piesse's Art of Perfumery IS Chemical, Natural, and Physical Mngic IS Peatt's Law of Hnilding Societies 20 Peendeegasi's Mastery of Languages .... 6 Peescott's Scripture Difficulties 15 Peoctoe's Handbook of the Stars 7 Saturn » 7 Ptne's England and France in the Fifteentlj Century r ■ 2 Quarterly Journal of Science 9 2t NEW WORKS pusLisuED by LONGMANS and CO. Recreations of a Country Faisou 6 Eeichel's See of Rome It Reillt's Map of Mont Blanc 16 Reimann on Aniline Dyes 13 Religious Republics 15 Riley's Memorials of London 17 EiVEKs's Rose Amateur's Guide 9 EOBBINS's Cavalry Catechism 19 RoGSBs'a Correspondence of Greyson 7 Eclipse of Faith 7 Defence of Faith 7 — Essays from the JEdinbitrgh Re- view ^ Reason and Faith 6 Eog-et's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases 6 Roma Sotterrauea 17 RoNALBS's Fly-Fisher's Entomology 19 Rowton'b Debater 5 RuasELL on Government and Constitution 1 's (Earl) Speeches and Despatches 1 Samuelsoh's German Worliing Man 17 Sakdaes's Justinian's Institutes 5 SoHEFSLEE on Ooular Defects 11 Scott's Lectures on the Fine Arts 11 Albert Durer 11 Seebohm's Oxford Reformers of U98 2 Seweil's After Life 17 Glimpse of the World 17 : History of the Early Church S Journal of a Home Life 17 Passing Thoughts on Religion . . 13 ■ Preparation for Communion — 15 Principles of Education . > 15 Readings for Confirmation 13 BeadinRs for Lent 13 Biamination for Confirmation .. 15 Stories and Tales 17 Thoughts for the Holy Week — 15 Setmotje's Pioneering in the Pampas 16 Shabtesbuky's Characteristics 7 Shakspeaee's Midsummer Kight's Dream, illustrated with Silhouettes 12 Shipiey's Church and the World 13 Invocation of Saints 16 Short's Church History 3 Smart's Walkee's English Pronouncing Dictionaries 5 Smith's (Southwoob) Philosophy of Health 20 (J.) Paul's Voyage ^d Shipwreck 14 (Sybney) MiscellafflSius AVorks .. 6 Wit and Wisdom 6 Southey's Doctor 5 Poetical Works 18 Stanley's History of British Birds 9 Stebeiko's Analysis of Mill's Logic 6 Stephen's ' Essays in Ecclesiastical Bio- graphy 4 Stieliko's Secret of Hegel 7 STOHEHEseE on the Dog 19 on the Greyhound 19 Steickland'b Tudor Princesses 4f ■ Queens of England 4, Strong and Free 7 Sundaci' Afternoons at the Parish Church of a Scottish University City - o SwEETMAN's Throygh the Night, and Onward , 17 Tayloe's (Jeremy) Works, edited by Eden ir. Thielw ALL'S History of Greece 2 TiftLBs's Curiosities of London 17 Thomson's (Archbishop) Laws of Thought 5 Thompson's Paraguayan War 16 (A. T.) Conspectus 11 Todd (A.) on Parliamentary Government . . 1 and Bowman's Anatomy and Phy- siology of Man 11 Teench's Realities of Irish Lire 2 Teollope'b Barohester Towers 18 Warden IS Twiss's Law of Nations 20 Tynd all's Lectures on Heat s Lectures on Sound 8 Uncle Petee's Fairy Tale 18 Uke's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Miucs 12 Van Dee Hoeven's Handbook of Zoologj-. . 8 Vaughan's Revolutions in English History 2 Waebukton's Hunting Songs 19 Watson's Principles and Practice of Physio 10 Watts's Dictionary of Chemistry 9 Webb's Objects for Common Telescopes .... 7 Webstee & Wilb:inson's Greek Testament U Weld's Notes on Burgundy 10 Wellinoton's Life, by Gleis 4 West on Children's Diseases 10 on Nursing Children 20 Whately's English Synonymes 6 Logic 6 Rhetoric 5 .— on Religious Worship 16 Whist, what to Lead, by Cam 20 White and Riddle's Latin-English Dic- tionaries 6 WiLOooKS's Sea Fisherman 19 Williams's Aristotle's Ethics 6 History of Wales 2 Williams on CUmate of South of France. . 10 Consumption..... 10 WiLLiOBfa Popular Tables 20 Willis's Principles of Mechanism 12 WiNSLOW on Light 8 Wood's (J. G.) Bible Animals 9 ■ Homes without Hands .... 9 • — (T.) Chemical Notes 10 WeiCtHT's Homer's Iliad 19 Yeo's Manual of Zoology 8 Yonge's English-Greek Lexicons 6 Two Editions of Horace 18 You ATT on the Dog 19 on the Horse 19 Zellee's Socrates S ■ Stoics, Epicureans, and Sceptics . . 3 iJPOTTISn-OODB AKD CO., PUINTEBS, SEW-STllEET SQUAttE AXU PAaLIAMBh'T STIIEBT. •nm>m)>inu*>yt->^n»/fi/,f