expensive to the improver, and more advantageous to the kingdom, to bestow on the old inclosures all the improvements of which they are capable, than to diffuse our labour and manure over our present commons ? A greediness in occupying and appropriating that which usually obtains the name of waste land is, perhaps, more frequently the motive to Inclosure than public spirit; and it is a melancholy fact that the price of grain, and of provisions in general, has increased. in proportion as Inclosures have multiplied, though these measures are recommended as tending to produce a contrary effect. The question is not so easily decided, in a political point of view, as Mr. B. supposes, and it ought to be contemplated in all its bearings. Among the Miscellaneous Observations with which this paper concludes, several useful particulars are specified on the subjects of capital, self-attendance, letting work by the task, as it is called, in preference to hiring by the day, bailiff, shepherd, harvesting, roads, reservoirs of water on elevated situa tions, keeping of accounts, &c. From this mass of matter we are tempted to make one extract, because we are of opinion that the practice which it recommends ought to be extended: Harvesting. It is the practice in the northern parts of the county, and an excellent practice it is, to bind not only the wheat, but also the barley and oats into sheaves, and to mow it in the field. Every day's cutting of wheat is secured in the evening, and the corn can be put together a day or two sooner, than in the method usually practised; besides, if the mowa be opened, and put into hyle or shocks, early in the morning of the day when they are to be hauled into the large mow, they will in three or four hours be thoroughly dry. These small mows (provincially called wean mows) are conical in their form, about 10 feet high, and contain about half a waggonload. They are begun by an upright sheaf, surrounded by other sheaves obliquely placed, till the foundation is formed; after which they are raised to the height stated, lessening towards the top, and covered with an inverted sheaf. The principal attention necessary is to see that they are not made large, and that the middle of the mow is in the whole progress of its elevation kept much higher than the outside. The men in many parts of the county of Somerset are peculiarly dexterous in this work, and the mows frequently remain five or six weeks in the field without any damage. The cost of sheafing mowing does not exceed 38. 6d. per acre, and the practice is worthy the attention of other counties.' On Oak Timber, by Mr. Thomas Davis.-The information included in this paper is given in the shape of answers to .* It has been the custom lately to cut the wheat a week at least before it is thoroughly ripe, and by so doing, the colour and value of the grain is much improyed.' certain -- i certain questions, which were circulated by the, commissioners of Naval Revision, respecting the state of Oak-Timber. The account here afforded is clear, if it be not satisfactory, and manifests no inconsiderable knowlege of the subject. It is stated by the writer that the quantity of large oak-timber fit for the navy is certainly decreased, as well as the use of oak for country-purposes; that, though the price of oak has advanced between the years 1763 and 1806 from 45s. to 100l. per ton, this advance is not equal to that which cheese, butter, and many other productions of land, have experienced during the same period; that, notwithstanding the present high price of oak, it is less profitable to the planter than any other kind of timber;—that therefore few plantations of this tree are made;—that it has not been the interest of the proprietors of woods to allow trees to obtain their full growth;—and that the only means of postponing the cutting of oak, till it attains sufficient size for naval purposes, is the offer of such prices for large timber, as no individual can afford to give for country-purposes. Mr. D. is very solicitous of throwing the monopoly of large oak-timber into the hands of Government, and he urges that a considerable advance of price is necessary to insure the preservation of this timber in general. On the Blight in Wheat, by the same.-We cannot affix so much value to this paper as to the preceding, though it comes from the same source. As a good practical general rule, it may be admitted that any cause, which tends to weaken the wheat plant, will pre-dispose it to receive blight: but Mr. D. has given an instance in which he attributes blight to the plant being too vigorous and rapid in its growth. On the whole, he has left the subject just where he found it. On supplying the Poor with Milk. By the same. In a neat and perspicuous manner, the project of assigning large portions either of meadow or arable land to the poor whose extra labour can be adequate only to the culture of a garden, is here exposed; and it is clearly shewn that the labourer is more regularly and effectually benefited by small portions of manured land, lett to him at a small price for the growth of potatoes, and by milk supplied daily to him on the same terms. The experiment, tried in the populous village of Horningsham, under the direction of the Marquis and Marchioness of Bath, is one instance of the beneficial effects of such a plan for supplying the poor, and it is capable of being extended. Mr. Lewin Tugwell presents us with an essay on Slating,-. and on other matters, he should have added, for besides his professed subject he indulges himself with a philippic against thatching, thatching, boasts of his agricultural inventions, and puts himself in a hostile attitude against certain critics. As, however, he does not "shake his gory locks at us," we shall give ourselves no concern, but proceed to state that this paper is a supplement to one on the same subject in the preceding volume; that the mode of roofing and covering with slate, recommended by this gentleman, is fully detailed and illustrated by a plate; that it appears to possess advantages over the common practice; and that the hints respecting the cutting, squaring, and classing of slates according to particular sizes at the quarry, are too judicious (we should think) not to enforce attention. An Account of the Manufacture of two Pieces of Navy-Blue Broad Cloth, for the Premium of the Society; with the Report of the Committee; and a Letter from Dr. Parry, containing further Observations on his Wool.-Two pieces of superfine navy-bluecloth were manufactured by Samuel Yeats and Son, one of wool grown in England by Dr. Parry, on his Merino Ryeland sheep, and the other of prime Leonesa Spanish wool, of the Coronet pile the process in both instances was the same; and the result was that 41lb. 8oz. of Dr. Parry's clean washed wool made 26 yards, and 12 nails of cloth; while 44lb. of the Spanish wool made 27 yards, 6 nails. The manufacturers add: 'From this statement it appears, that 41 lb. 8 oz. of British wool have made, within ten nails, as much cloth as 44 lb. of Spanish wool; but the Spanish cloth is the stoutest. They have neither of them undergone any state of the press. The colour of the wool for both the cloths was directed to be exactly the same, but the British is darker than the Spanish. But though this may please the eye better, the darker colour will not handle so soft as the lighter shade of blue. Although perhaps we may be deviating from our sphere in pronouncing which is the finest of the two cloths, yet we feel so fully persuaded that we are only anticipating the decision of the Commit tee, that we do not scruple to say, that in our opinion as manufac turers, the cloth made with the British wool, and marked in Dr, Parry's name, is decidedly of the finest quality,' At the annual meeting in 1801, the Committee appointed to examine cloth and wool substantiate this account, and conclude their report by offering it as their decided opinion that Dr. Parry had, by his zeal, diligence, perseverance, and ac tivity, accomplished the grand object of producing in the climate and soil of Britain wool equal to that usually imported from Spain; and that in so doing he merited the warmest thanks of the country. To complete the report, it is proper to subjoin the following explanation, copied from Dr. Parry's letter: The wool of the cloth made by Messrs. Yeats and son, of Glo cestershire, in comparison with that from the Retina wool of the celebrated Coronet pile from Spain, consisted of ewes' fleeces from my flock, which is descended from Ryeland ewes, crossed with the rams of the King, and Lord Somerville, to the fourth generation. The British cloth would have been much finer, but from the unskilfulness of the wool-sorter, who, notwithstanding he had his choice of a great many better fleeces, admitted several of a coarser kind, which not only deteriorated the cloth, but greatly increased the relative proportion of the inferior sorts of wool. It will be easy to obviate a similar defect on any future occasion. I beg leave further to state to the Society, that the sheep producing these fleeces were kept in excellent order for a full twelvemonth before shearing, having been fed in the respective seasons, not only with grass and hay, but with vetches, clover, cabbages, potatoes, linseed, and oil-cake.' This experiment is not more flattering to Dr. P. than satisfactory to the country; and we should be happy to hear of its repetition on a large scale, so that reviewers as well as sailors may be supplied with a blue pair of pantaloons. Hitherto we have longed in vain to be all English, in our best clothes. An Account of sundry Proceedings in the Society, relative to an experimental Farm. By Mr. Matthews. Desirable as the objects proposed by Mr. M. in his plan of an experimental farm may be, we are of opinion that it is clogged with too many difficulties to be ever realized. Instead of expecting to find a volume of practical knowlege in a single farm, is it not better to compile it from detached leaves contributed by several intelligent, spirited, and persevering agricultural experimentalists? Why not request every farmer of the Society to convert the land which he occupies, as far as he possibly can with convenience, into an experimental farm, and annually to state the result? Account of the Wheat Moth, or Virginia Fly; as it appeared in France in the year 1755; and which damaged the Grain in the Township of Lower Dublin in the Harvest of 1802, 1803, and 1804. Communicated by Mr. Matthews. In this republication, the nature, ravages, and mode of destroying this pernicious insect are described. An Inquiry whether the pure Merino-breed of Sheep is now necessary in order to maintain the Growth of superfine Wool in Great Britain. By Dr. Parry.-Every discussion conducted by a gentleman of Dr. Parry's correct and philosophising mind must be interesting; and when patient experience is added to 5 cientific scientific acumen, as in the memoir before us, it is impossible to read without improvement. After having reasoned from analogy by taking a general view of races or breeds of animals, the Dr. comes to the specific object of inquiry; and in opposition to those who have contended that no cross-breed of sheep, however finely woolled, produced by any English ewes by the Merino-race, can, by breeding in and in, maintain the ultimate fineness of the fleece, without having recourse, from time to time, to new crosses of the pure breed,' and 'that fine wool can with difficulty be preserved in Great Britain,' Dr. P. undertakes to demonstrate that new crosses of the pure breed are no more necessary to preserve the fineness of the wool of sheep, than new crosses with Arabian stallions are requisite to perpetuate the qualities of our race-horses; and that the history of the Spanish Merino-breed, as well as recent experience with sheep of this race in various climates, must remove every doubt of the possibility of maintaining, with proper attention, all their valuable qualities in this island. We wish that our limits would allow us to make several extracts from this luminous essay: but we can do no more than transcribe its conclusion: On the whole, I think that experience authorizes us in laying down the following important maxims: That where any race of animals, in any country, has during 3 or 4 descents maintained certain valuable qualities, proper care uniformly directed to nutrition and breeding from the same stock, will deliver them down unimpaired to the latest generations; and therefore, 2dly, That under such circumstances, those animals are best for breeding, which possess those qualities in the highest degree, however they may be denominated, or from what country soever they may be derived.' To this paper, Dr. P. has subjoined Tables of the Female - Descendants from 100 shearling Ewes during 20 Years,' which - will be useful to breeders of sheep. In the former volume, Mr. Matthews, duly considering the - state of the times, obliged the public with observations on Family Wine Making, to which a letter on the same subject was affixed by the late Dr. Anderson. A kind of supplement is now furnished by Mr. M.: but he is so far from concurring with Dr. A. in the reprobation of spirits, that we find brandy an ingredient in his family mixture. The following is given as: An useful Recipe for making Family Wine. |